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After breakfast, Zhao Danshi took them out to the fields and assigned them their tasks for the day.

"You'll weed these few mu of fields. Put the weeds you pull into baskets, and we'll carry them back together at noon. If you see any bugs while weeding, catch them too and put them in this scoop. We'll take them back to feed the chickens, understand?"

"Understood!" Blackie and the others roared.

"Good job. We'll stir-fry river snails for lunch." Zhao Danshi encouraged them, then slung his hoe over his shoulder and went to loosen the soil with Li Ping.

They had been watering heavily lately. If they did not loosen the soil, it would easily harden and become bad for the crops' growth.

Zhao Danshi and Li Ping worked all morning, then came to find the teenagers at eleven forty.

"How is it? How many weeds have you pulled?" Zhao Danshi stood on the ridge between the fields and called out to them with a smile.

"We've cleared all the weeds from these two mu of land. Uncle Danshi, come down and see if we got them all?"

Zhao Danshi did not stand on ceremony. He came down and inspected the fields carefully, finding that they had indeed pulled out every weed without damaging any of the crops.

"All clear. Let's call it a day. We'll come back and work this afternoon."

Li Ping loaded basket after basket of weeds onto the flatbed cart, and the group pushed it home. Blackie and the others were still carrying two scoops of bugs in watering ladles, mostly cabbage worms, along with grubs, cutworms, and other insects. They had filled two and a half scoops.

When they got home, Li Ping said to Zhao Danshi, "I'll throw these weeds into the pond first, then feed the chickens and ducks."

"Sure. By the time you're back, it'll be about time to eat."

They now weeded about once every half month. They did not throw away the weeds they pulled, but put them into the pond.

Quite a few fish in the pond could eat grass. The grass growing along the bank was not enough to feed them, and the lotus had not grown much yet, so these weeds were an effective supplementary food source.

As for the bugs, they were excellent feed for chickens and ducks.

The chickens and ducks at home were raised free-range. They were basically left to roam during the day and only shut into cages at night so small wild animals like weasels would not bite them to death. They got plenty of exercise and had strong resistance, so eating this small amount of bugs would not hurt them at all.

Zhao Danshi washed his hands and face, then went to pick up Dou Dou. He played with him for a while before heading into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

The river snails had already been clipped almost clean. Zhao Danshi planned to stir-fry them in two batches, so while he cooked, the teenagers clipped snails in the courtyard. Nothing was delayed.

Zhao Danshi chopped the side ingredients with a clatter. He looked impressive, and his knife moved quickly. The teenagers had never seen anything like it. By the time they finished watching, their eyes were full of admiration when they looked at him.

"Uncle Danshi, did you used to be a chef?"

"Bullshit. I was a designer." Zhao Danshi laughed and scolded, "Have you ever seen such a handsome chef?"

Blackie grinned. "If you became a chef, then there would be one."

"Back then, I was a designer who graduated from a prestigious university. Why would I need to become a chef?"

Chengtou was unconvinced. "Then why did you come home to farm?"

Seeing that he was still unconvinced, Zhao Danshi straightened his expression. "Do you know how long I've been farming since I came back?"

Chengtou nodded. "I know. You came back last year."

"Then tell me, have I been successful at farming? Am I well-known?"

Blackie protested, "It's all just farming. What's the point of making it sound so fancy?"

"How is there no point? I farm well, so people from all the villages around here come to me to buy vegetables. You all know that, right?"

The five teenagers nodded in unison. If Zhao Danshi had not been well-known, their families would not have agreed so readily to let them come help him work.

"See? That's the benefit of studying. If I want to sit in an office in the city, I can sit in an office. If I want to come back and farm, I can farm. Whatever I do, I can support myself. And when it comes to farming, the vegetables I grow are better than other people's. They even sell for one or two yuan more, and I'm not afraid of not being able to sell them. So tell me, is going to university useful or not?"

Blackie mumbled, "I don't want to go back to farming after I finish university."

"Then don't farm. You can sit in an office when the time comes." Zhao Danshi chatted with them cheerfully as he deftly poured the cooked river snails into the back pot and added pork bone broth to braise them.

"Give me that bucket of clipped snails. I'm going to cook the second batch."

"Uncle Danshi, your river snails smell so good. You're cooking so many. Can you finish them all?"

"If we can't finish them, some will be given away." Zhao Danshi directed them, "Come on, who can help me make the fire bigger?"

Chengtou snatched the spot and squatted down to tend the fire for him.

Zhao Danshi started stir-frying another batch of river snails. The house was filled with steam, and he could barely catch his breath. "Leave Chengtou here to tend the fire. The rest of you pick and wash the Chinese cabbage and scallions. Once I'm done with the snails, I'll stir-fry the vegetables. Oh, wash more garlic too. We'll stir-fry some cured sausage later."

The teenagers rushed to grab buckets and basins to wash and prepare vegetables.

Once the second batch of river snails was done, Zhao Danshi scooped them up and poured them into the back pot to braise with the first batch. Then he washed the wok clean and started cooking the vegetables.

Li Ping knew exactly how fast Zhao Danshi worked, so he returned at just the right time. Everyone sat noisily along the corridor and began eating lunch.

While they ate, Zhao Danshi lectured them again. "See? How could studying be useless? I've read more books, so even my cooking tastes better than the average person's."

This time, the teenagers were completely convinced.

Seeing his smug little expression, Li Ping asked him with his eyes, Did you get into an argument with those teenagers?

How could that be? Zhao Danshi gave him an incredulous look. Am I that childish?

Li Ping lowered his head and chuckled.

Blackie looked at one, then the other, and said enviously, "Uncle Danshi, everyone in your family is so good-looking."

"Good eye!" Zhao Danshi laughed loudly and forced him to pick a side, pointing at Li Ping. "Who looks better, me or him?"

Blackie could not decide. Of the others, some said Zhao Danshi looked better, while some said Li Ping did. Blackie tried to smooth things over. "Both of you look good, just in different ways."

"Hey, you really know how to talk." Zhao Danshi patted his shoulder. "You've got a future, kid."

Zhao Danshi had scooped out about two jin of river snails. Over the course of one meal, everyone sucked them all clean.

Afterward, the teenagers still wanted more. "Uncle Danshi, isn't there still some in the basin in the kitchen? Bring out some more."

"You brats, don't forget that when you sold me those river snails yesterday, you charged me five yuan per jin."

"We didn't forget, we didn't forget. Uncle Danshi, bring out some more. How about we go catch river snails for you again next week?"

"I don't want to eat river snails three weeks in a row. Forget the snails. Next week, finish your homework early and come back to work for me."

The teenagers agreed readily, and Zhao Danshi was quite happy to have recruited such good labor.

Though they were young, these teenagers did not slack off at farm work. Especially when they were serious, they had sharp eyes, quick legs, and plenty of strength. They worked even faster than the average adult.

That afternoon, Zhao Danshi and Li Ping took a short nap, then packed the river snails into one-jin portions in food containers, wrapped them with ice packs, and drove to the county town together to send the packages through SF Express.

Zhao Danshi had already contacted the courier and placed the orders online. Once they delivered the packages to the courier shop, they could be shipped out that day. Depending on the distance, they would arrive the next day within the province and within three days outside it. By then, the ice would not have completely melted.

Besides sending packages to the ten selected fans, he also sent one each to his two families of parents and Ran Yuanyao.

The five boys, including Blackie, had worked at Zhao Danshi's home for the entire day. When they left, they were all extremely satisfied and said they would come again next week.

Blackie asked, "Uncle Danshi, are you still taking people here?"

The work at Zhao Danshi's home was not hard, the food was good, and they were paid. It was much better than riding bicycles around aimlessly, so Blackie could not help wanting to bring a few more friends over.

Next week, they would also need to fence off the area by the pond to raise ducks, which required a great deal of labor.

Zhao Danshi agreed at once. "I'll take reliable people, but don't bring too many. Eight at most. If there are more than eight, I won't be able to host everyone. If they come, I'll still give each of you a fifty-yuan red envelope. Just say you're here for social practice, so no one says I'm hiring child labor."

"Okay." Blackie swung onto his bicycle. "I'll ask around. Thanks, Uncle Danshi. See you next week."

"See you. Be careful on the road, and don't run off somewhere else to play."

After Zhao Danshi sent out the river snails, Ran Yuanyao called him the next day after receiving his package. "I got the delivery. Thanks. Who cooked these river snails? They're unbelievably good."

"Who else could it have been but me?" Zhao Danshi laughed. "Don't you think my cooking has improved a lot?"

"It has. I opened the package right in the office, and the smell was so good my coworkers couldn't sit still. That huge box of river snails was divided up among them in just over ten minutes. You have no idea, while we were eating them, a patient came over to ask about his condition. A grown man was so tempted by the smell he was nearly crying, but he had dietary restrictions. The way he looked at us was so resentful."

Zhao Danshi said happily, "Then I'll send you more next time."

"Sure. You don't need to send me too many fresh vegetables. I don't have time to cook anyway. But if it's prepared food, feel free to send it over."

"Okay." Zhao Danshi agreed. "How have you been lately?"

"Same as ever. Busy as hell. I barely even have time to use the bathroom." Ran Yuanyao said, "But it's good too. I've learned a lot lately. It looks like our hospital wants to focus on training me."

"Congratulations!"

"How about you? How's Dou Dou? How far have things gone between you and Li Ping now?"

"About the same. There's still a layer of paper between us, and neither of us has poked through it, but it feels like we're almost there. Oh, and Dou Dou has started growing teeth. Just a little bit, but he always wants to bite things. He bit me a few days ago, and it still hurt a little."

"That's how kids are. I'll come see Dou Dou one weekend."

"Sure. Come whenever you have time, and I'll make you something delicious."

"Oh, someone over here recommended a particularly good formula. I've already asked someone to buy it for me. Once it arrives, I'll send it to you so Dou Dou can try it." Ran Yuanyao said, "If Dou Dou likes it, I'll buy more after he finishes it."

Zhao Danshi did not refuse. "Sure."