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Shi Wen enthusiastic invitations. "Try it! The broth from Yan Kexing's stir-fried dishes is so fresh and fragrant, it's delicious!"
Zhang Deyuan then dipped a piece of meat in the hot pot, tasted it, and praised it highly, "Yan Kexing skills are truly superb. What good stuff did he put in it?"
Shi Wen, "It's just tomatoes and butter, nothing else."
Hearing them say that, Old Man Ma couldn't resist dipping a piece of meat in the tomato broth and eating it, then said, "Can tomatoes alone really taste like this?"
Shi Wen, "My tomatoes are the best."
Zhang Deyuan: "It tastes good, both sour and fragrant."
Old Man Ma still couldn't believe it. "Just because the tomatoes are good doesn't mean it's good! My tomatoes are good too!"
Shi Wen their disbelief, Shi Wen went to the kitchen, washed a plate of tomatoes, chopped them up, sprinkled them with sugar, and served them as a cold dish. "You'll see when you try them; these tomatoes from my family are really delicious."
When the tomatoes were served, Zhang Deyuan and Old Man Ma each picked up a piece and, after tasting them, were indeed won over by the refreshing sweet and sour flavor of the tomatoes.
Zhang Deyuan: "Ah, it tastes just like it did when I was a kid."
Old Man Ma: "Nonsense! Didn't your childhood tomatoes taste just like those big, juicy tomatoes we grow now? These tomatoes are much better than what we grow."
Zhang Deyuan shook his head. "That's different. When I was a child, white sugar was so rare. I could remember eating sugar-coated tomatoes for a whole year after just one bite. I can also remember the sugar-coated tomatoes from Shi Wen's house for a whole year, so it tastes just like it did when I was a child."
Old Man Ma chuckled, "If that's what you mean, then there's nothing wrong with it."
The three chatted and ate, finishing all the vegetables and meat that had been cut up, until their bellies were round and full.
Shi Wen that they had both been drinking, Shi Wen simply drove them home.
When delivering them Shi Wen also included a large bag of tomatoes with each of them.
When they arrived at Zhang Deyuan's house, his wife, Xin Xianghong, came out to greet them, "Oh, you've already gone to the trouble of bringing him back, why did you bring something along?"
Shi Wen, "These are tomatoes I grew myself, have a taste."
"Wow, what huge tomatoes!" Xin Xianghong exclaimed after taking a look. "My tomatoes are almost ripe too, but they're not as big as yours, and they don't look as appetizing."
Shi Wen said, "Then you should try some of my family's products. Sister-in-law, I'm going home now."
Xin Xianghong: "Take a bag of strawberries home with you. They're from my family, and they're so sweet. You can't find them anywhere else."
Shi Wen without hesitation, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Shi Wen I gave away two bags of tomatoes, just for sharing, without thinking about anything else.
Unexpectedly, just two days later, Chang Qingqing came to visit, asking Shi Wen for tomato seeds, "Everyone says your tomatoes are delicious, so I've shamelessly come to ask you for some seeds. My child loves this tomato and egg stir-fry the most."
Shi Wen was stunned. "Sister-in-law, you're the one who gave me the tomato seeds!"
Chang Qingqing: "Really? Xin Xianghong said your tomatoes are especially sweet and fragrant, unlike other people's."
Shi Wen took Chang Qingqing to the kitchen. "These seeds really are from your family. You'll know once you taste them."
Chang Qingqing picked up a ripe tomato with some skepticism, took a bite, and then said, "I knew your tomatoes were different. They really are; they taste much stronger than mine."
Shi Wen had already forgotten what tomatoes tasted like last year. "Then, sister-in-law, take a bag home and eat them."
Shi Wen handed Chang Qingqing a large bag of tomatoes. "You can just take out the seeds and plant them."
Chang Qingqing was a little embarrassed. "I don't need so many, two are enough for me."
"Shi Wen, handing it to her. "The tomatoes in my house are almost crushing the vines, and we can't eat them all. Please help us share the load."
Chang Qingqing then said, "Alright, I won't stand on ceremony. Your tomatoes are delicious, I'll take them home to satisfy my craving."
Chang Qingqing took the tomatoes home.
In the afternoon, two more villagers came to ask for tomato seeds.
Tomatoes can be grown year-round, except in winter. If you get the seeds, you can plant them right away.
When Yan Kexing returned home that evening, he noticed several extra packets of local specialty pastries in the cupboard and asked, "Who came?"
Shi Wen, "Sister Chang and the others came over and asked me for tomato seeds."
Yan Kexing expressed the same question, "Didn't we get our tomato seeds from them?"
"That's what I said too. After they tasted them, they said they were quite different. Our tomatoes have a much stronger tomato flavor and are much bigger," Shi Wen said casually. "Anyway, tomatoes aren't anything valuable, so I just gave them to everyone who wanted them."
Yan Kexing: "I suspect these tomatoes are indeed different. I'll take a bag tomorrow and send it to the Abnormal Affairs Bureau for testing."
Shi Wen, "That's fine. But I feel it only has an advantage in flavor; if you actually send it for testing, they probably won't be able to detect anything special."
Yan Kexing smiled and said, "Just in case, let them take a look."
Yan Kexing happened to be going to work in the city the next day, so he took a bag of tomatoes to see Zhu Ji.
Zhu Ji, thinking it was for himself, took out a large tomato and was about to take a bite. "Wow, your family has so many fruits and vegetables that you can help our poor friends in the city?"
Yan Kexing: "What kind of poor friend are you talking about? It's for your testing."
Zhu Ji opened his mouth and then closed it again, saying sullenly, "I thought it was for me to eat."
Yan Kexing: "Eating two won't hurt. There are so many tomatoes; we won't even use them all for testing."
Zhu Ji then took a bite. "I knew it! Such a big bag of tomatoes, you can't just leave me with nothing, can you? Mmm, these tomatoes are really delicious, sweet and juicy, and the skin is so thin."
Yan Kexing handed him a tissue. "So I brought it in for testing to see if there's anything different."
Zhu Ji wiped the tomato juice off his face. "Okay, I'll have Duan Kuo take it for testing later. Is there anything unusual on your ranch?"
Yan Kexing: "It's just routine work, nothing to worry about. You can send it for testing, I'm going to work."