Strawberries

Steam rose from the stir-fried river snails, Zhao Danshi's focused figure appearing and disappearing behind the haze.

Watcher stood to one side, guiding Zhao Danshi as he added the rice wine. It sizzled, and thick steam billowed up. The fishy smell quickly vanished, replaced by an indescribable fragrance.

That was not all. Timing it perfectly, Watcher had Zhao Danshi pour in the previously rendered pork cracklings and stir-fry them quickly. Then he added the bone broth that had been bubbling away, first bringing it to a rolling boil over high heat before simmering it slowly over low heat.

The river snails were fresh and delicious, the pork cracklings rich and fragrant. Blended with bone broth, the originally plain flavor instantly became far more complex.

The flavors of the vegetables inside also unfolded layer by layer at just the right pace. The sour bamboo shoots removed that trace of fishiness from the river snails, leaving behind nothing but fresh, savory fragrance.

The aroma of the river snails was incredibly intense. It drifted out through the chimney for who knew how far, and even neighbors dozens of meters away could smell it.

The other villagers still working in the fields could not bear the hungry rumbling in their stomachs. Farmers who had originally planned to work until twelve-thirty or one o'clock all headed home, so hungry their stomachs were nearly cramping.

Shaozi lived close to Zhao Danshi's home, and the two families were familiar with each other, often visiting back and forth. Smelling that aroma, he could no longer sit still. He brought his son Zhao Luxing over for a chat and called from outside the courtyard, "What are you making? Why does it smell so good? The scent's practically shooting straight up my nose."

The old man sat in the courtyard playing with Dou Dou. Chuckling, he said, "They're filming a video. Wait here a moment; they'll be done soon. Have you eaten yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, I have. Then I'll wait a bit. This is making me crave it to death. We've already had lunch, but we still can't withstand this smell. I keep wanting to eat something to fill my stomach."

"I can't withstand it either. I've already eaten several crackers. Come, have some tea first. It should be ready soon."

Zhao Luxing sat stiffly in front of the old man, his eyes constantly darting curiously toward Dou Dou's face.

Dou Dou was not afraid of strangers. Seeing this unfamiliar older brother, he flashed him a huge smile, waving his tiny hands and feet. He even rolled over, seeming to want to crawl toward Zhao Luxing.

The old man saw it and said, "Oh my, Dou Dou likes you. Lu Xing, do you want to hold Dou Dou?"

Zhao Luxing looked at his father. His father laughed heartily. "Be careful. Hold Dou Dou properly, and don't drop him."

Having received permission, Zhao Luxing stretched out his hands and imitated the old man, holding Dou Dou in his arms. The old man did not dare let go, staying beside him to watch over them.

After Dou Dou had gotten his fill of being held, the old man took him back and settled him in his little bed.

"Children grow so quickly. The last time I saw Dou Dou, he was only this big. Now he's grown again."

"Exactly. He just learned to roll over these past couple of days. I think he'll soon be able to sit, crawl, and walk. In a few years, he'll probably be going to school with Lu Xing."

"That's a good thing."

Zhao Danshi heard the conversation outside. He scooped up the river snails and placed them on the table beneath the eaves.

The old man and Shaozi knew he was still filming, so they deliberately moved farther away to stay out of the shot.

Once Zhao Danshi had plated everything, he picked up a few snails to taste. The video finally came to an end.

Seeing Li Ping turn off the camera, Shaozi could not help asking, "Danshi, what did you put in those stir-fried river snails? Why are they so fragrant? It smelled so good I couldn't even sit still at home."

"I added pork belly, pork cracklings, and bone broth. There are also sour bamboo shoots and all kinds of seasonings. You can start sucking on the snails first. I'll stir-fry a couple more dishes and come back."

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony." Shaozi went in to help tend the fire. "I'll watch what you make and pick up a few tricks while I'm at it."

"There's nothing special, just ordinary greens."

Though Zhao Danshi said that, the vegetables beside him had already been chopped. His movements were quick and efficient as he stir-fried three dishes in a row before calling Shaozi and his son over to eat.

The first dish on the table was the stir-fried river snails. Nobody bothered with appearances as they picked up the snails and sucked on them.

There was a trick to eating river snails. First, lightly suck the tail to drink up the broth inside, then suck the meat out from the head. You could also use a toothpick to gently pick it out and eat it.

"How is it? These river snails are good, right?" Zhao Danshi looked somewhat proud.

Shaozi and his son were extremely supportive, nodding hard. "Honestly, before we ate river snails at your place, we never could have imagined they could taste like this. They're so delicious! We'll go catch some tomorrow too."

Zhao Luxing immediately said, "Dad, I want to go with you too."

"Sure. Once you finish your homework, we'll go together." Shaozi agreed readily.

Everyone ate and drank around the table, finishing three or four jin of river snails in a single meal.

The little glutton Dou Dou watched them eat from the side and cried out anxiously. He kept smacking the railing of his little bed, trying to get their attention.

Zhao Danshi had no choice but to pick him up and place him in his arms. He dipped his chopsticks into the bone broth and put them into Dou Dou's little mouth, letting him have a taste.

Dou Dou smacked his lips, his tiny brows knitting slightly, as if he were puzzled by why the taste was different from the smell.

Zhao Danshi could not help laughing. He dipped another little bit of bone broth and put it into his mouth.

Watching this, Shaozi sighed. "Ah, your Dou Dou is really too clever. You can still fool him now, but in a few months, you probably won't be able to hide it from him anymore."

"For now, we can let him drink a little meat broth. In a few months, he can taste some vegetable juices too."

The video had been filmed, and that evening Zhao Danshi and Li Ping edited it and uploaded it to Weibo.

They had been posting videos for a while now, and they had more followers than before. The video quickly received responses after being posted.

-Ahhh, Brother Danshi is so handsome! How can someone look so good just handling river snails?

-The ingredients in those stir-fried river snails are way too generous, right? I can practically smell that aroma through the screen.

-Did the neighbors come over to mooch a meal? So jealous. I want to be Brother Danshi's neighbor.

-Are there still so many river snails around now? I thought river snails were for autumn.

-Brother Danshi, do you want to do a repost giveaway or something? No other prize needed, just the river snails you cooked. How about it?

Only after being reminded by his followers did Zhao Danshi realize that he had posted three videos without setting up any repost giveaways. Other self-media bloggers basically held a giveaway with every video to attract followers.

Zhao Danshi turned to Li Ping. "Senior Brother, should we do a giveaway too?"

Li Ping leaned over and glanced at the screen. "What do you want to give away?"

"How about stir-fried river snails? We can draw next week and pick ten people. We have ice packs now, so as long as they aren't in especially remote areas, the river snails should not spoil if we send them by SF Express."

"Alright, then let's do a giveaway."

Zhao Danshi grinned and reposted the stir-fried river snail video he had just uploaded: Repost and @ one person. Next Saturday, ten winners will receive authentic wild river snails. Cooked or raw, your choice~

After posting that Weibo update, he came back to check after taking a shower and found that the reposts under the video had indeed increased considerably.

Drying his hair, Zhao Danshi asked Watcher excitedly, "How is it? Did we receive any Bio-Energy?"

"We did. Seventy-seven shares, 13.86 Bio-Energy. Split equally, that gives you 6.93 Bio-Energy. The Bio-Energy collected will probably peak tomorrow."

Zhao Danshi was so happy that he immediately wanted to pounce onto the bed and roll around. Li Ping caught him by the collar in time and hauled him back, then took the towel and helped dry his hair. He softly scolded, "You're already such a grown man. Why are you so unsteady?"

"We found a viable source of stable Bio-Energy growth. Of course I'm happy." Zhao Danshi's eyes gleamed, his face full of anticipation. "Senior Brother, if I became like those other internet celebrities and had several million, or even tens of millions, of active followers, how much Bio-Energy could I earn from one video?"

"It will happen. Let's work hard in that direction."

Li Ping held him in place and gently dried his hair. "After we post another seven videos and reach ten, how about we buy a Weibo Hot Search?"

Once his hair was somewhat dry, Li Ping took a hair dryer from the drawer and began blow-drying it for him.

Zhao Danshi sat in the chair. "Would that work?"

"Why wouldn't it? What we need most right now is publicity. If we get on Weibo Hot Search, we should make use of it as soon as possible. Once we have more followers, it will be easier to gain new followers based on our existing ones."

"Alright, I'll listen to you. Senior Brother, let's make our videos more frequent. How about we go on a picnic for the next one? The peach blossoms on Oxhead Mountain are in full bloom right now. A little bridge, flowing water, peach blossoms, and a picnic—it should be quite a sight. We can bring a chicken and make Beggar's Chicken."

"Alright. Next week, we'll film a picnic video." Li Ping finished drying his hair, then casually tucked the hair that had fallen below his eyebrows behind his ear.

Zhao Danshi did not think there was anything wrong with the gesture. He touched his mostly dry hair and shuffled in his slippers to check on Dou Dou.

Dou Dou had already eaten and drunk his fill, and he had peed too. He was sleeping soundly. Zhao Danshi gently lowered his head and kissed Dou Dou's chubby little cheek, smiling as he silently told him goodnight.

Li Ping also came over and kissed Dou Dou, then said to Zhao Danshi, "Go to bed early. Tomorrow, we'll get up early to pick strawberries and make a trip to the county town."

Zhao Danshi nodded. "Senior Brother, goodnight."

Li Ping's voice was low and gentle. "Goodnight."

The next day, they got up a little after five. After washing up simply, they took the foam boxes prepared at home and headed to the fields.

It was getting light earlier and earlier now. By nearly six o'clock, they could already see everything clearly.

They each took a pair of scissors, found separate strawberry rows, and began picking strawberries.

Strawberries were soft and delicate, so they had to be careful when picking them. A little too much force could crush them. Besides watching their strength, they also had to watch for ants around the strawberries.

Their strawberries grew well. Besides being sweet and juicy, they gave off a fragrant scent that was especially attractive to ants.

Zhao Danshi and Li Ping had never wanted to spray pesticides. Fortunately, these ants generally did not eat strawberries, and they did not have to worry about wormholes. They only had to be careful when the ants were around, lest they end up with ants all over their hands and get bitten.

The ants here were all black ants, each one thick and sturdy. A single bite could make the wound swell to the size of a pigeon egg.

The two worked quickly, their scissors snipping as they cut off one bright-red strawberry after another. They filled foam box after foam box, eventually packing four and a half boxes.

"The weather is clear and warm. More strawberries have ripened than I expected. With so many strawberries, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to sell them all at once."

"It's fine. We'll try first. If we can't sell them, we can bring them back and make candied strawberries. The weather is good anyway, so we don't have to worry about them not drying."

The old man had already made breakfast at home. After they went back and ate, they loaded the strawberries into the trunk, secured Dou Dou's carrier, and headed for the county town with Dou Dou.

Now that they had their own car, they no longer had to make a special trip to town to rent a truck. Traveling was much more convenient.

It was just that using Li Ping's million-yuan car to sell vegetables was really rather unfair to such a fine vehicle.

"Do you know which fruit shop in the county town is the biggest?"

"Let's check around Central Plaza near the pedestrian street. I remember there are several fruit shops there. They also sell expensive cigarettes, alcohol, and other things, and their business seems pretty good. Those should be the larger fruit shops in the whole county town."

"Alright, let's try there first."

Li Ping drove a good car, and people in business had some sense for these things. When the fruit shop owner saw him park outside the storefront, he immediately came over with a broad smile. "Boss, what fruit would you like to buy? I have every kind of fruit here. If it's for a gift, I also have specially made fruit baskets."

Li Ping looked over his shop. "Do you have strawberries here?"

"Yes, yes. They're fresh strawberries that came in this morning, twenty-five yuan per jin. How many jin would you like?"

Li Ping smiled. "I'm not here to buy strawberries. I'm here to sell strawberries today."

"Huh?" The owner stared blankly, unable to react for a moment.

Li Ping opened the trunk. "These were freshly picked this morning too, grown in our own fields. Try some first."

Li Ping had been a leader for so long that even after being a farmer for all these days, he had not worn away the air of authority around him. His smile was gentle but impossible to refuse. The owner put on a troubled expression, but Li Ping ignored it and opened a foam box, revealing the bright-red, glossy strawberries inside. "Try my strawberries first, then we can talk."

Strawberries were expensive now, and there was no reason not to eat them for free. Hearing Li Ping say that, the owner indeed took a few, washed them briefly nearby, and put them into his mouth.

Before tasting them, he had been quite suspicious of Zhao Danshi and Li Ping. But the moment the strawberries entered his mouth, he could not voice a single doubtful word.

He had run his shop for so long and changed suppliers batch after batch, yet he had never eaten strawberries this delicious!

The strawberries were sweet, tart, and juicy. Biting into them released an indescribably rich aroma, and they tasted wonderful.

Most importantly, this sweetness was not the artificial sweetness of added sweetener, but something indescribably fresh and natural! After being a shop owner for so long, this was the first time he had enjoyed such a treat!

The owner ate happily, finishing the strawberry in his hand after only a few chews. Just as he wanted to ask Li Ping for another couple, he met Li Ping's smiling gaze.

The owner instinctively felt a chill in his heart.