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During a break from work, while the foreman was drinking tea, he said to Shi Wen, "It's truly a blessing to work on your farm."
Shi Wen laughed, "That's an exaggeration."
Foreman: "What's exaggerated? Look how fertile your soil is, how concentrated the fertilizer is, and how finely you tilled it. The corn you planted this year will definitely grow very well."
Shi Wen, "I'm somewhat confident about that."
There's no crop that his family can't grow well.
Not only are the fertilizers and soil good, but his farming techniques have also improved, making it difficult for the soil not to be good.
The two chatted for a while, Shi Wen remembered. "Master, do you have a fertilizer turner there?"
The worker asked, "We have hay rakes, but what's a manure turner?"
Shi Wen Wenxiao said, "We have more and more fertilizer here, and sometimes it's hard to wait for it to ferment naturally, so we have to add some fermentation agent and mix it well."
"We don't actually have that stuff." The master took a sip of tea. "Why don't you just add some fermentation agent when you pour the fertilizer into the fermentation tank? That would be enough."
Shi Wen, "That's exactly what we're doing now, we're just worried about insufficient fermentation."
The foreman said, "I see that your fertilizer has fermented very well; there's nothing incomplete about it. No one else in the surrounding area has fermented their fertilizer as well."
Shi Wen shook his head. "Let me see if I can do it better."
The master sipped his tea. "You young people are more ambitious. If it were us, we'd be content with what we have and wouldn't care so much."
Shi Wen, "Such a large ranch needs careful management; otherwise, if a loophole appears, it could easily have far-reaching consequences."
Master: "I don't understand the pursuits of you scholars. In my opinion, your ranch is already very good."
After resting, the two continued working.
The ranch was quiet even though they were the only two people there.
The sounds of cows mooing, sheep bleating, pigs squealing, dogs barking, and other miscellaneous noises drifted over, bringing a touch of life to the pasture.
Shi Wen finishing his work, Shi Wen would make a special trip up the mountain to collect the eggs laid by the hens and put them in a basket, and also check the fruit trees and other plants on the mountain.
Their fruit trees are growing very well, and many of them are already in bloom.
For example, the peach and apricot blossoms are in full bloom, their branches ablaze with red, promising a bountiful harvest this year.
The bamboo planted some time ago has all survived. The bamboo stalks have turned from yellow to green, and new branches and leaves have grown. There are also bamboo shoots at the bottom.
The bamboo in their yard is a cold-resistant variety. The bamboo shoots are not very big, only about the size of two fingers. They taste slightly bitter, but with a hint of umami. They are especially crisp and tender.
Shi Wen he likes to break off bamboo shoots, put them in boiling water for two minutes, then take them out and soak them in cold water.
Bamboo shoots prepared in this way lose all bitterness while retaining their tenderness. When stir-fried with their cured pork, the combination of freshness and saltiness creates an absolutely delicious flavor.
Perhaps because of their good fertilizer, the bamboo shoots that sprouted were large and plentiful; there were at least several hundred bamboo shoots from the two mountains combined.
The last few times when bamboo shoots grew, Shi Wen only picked as much as I could eat, just a little bit to taste.
There were so many bamboo shoots today, so he simply broke them all off, bundling them with vines as he went, and carried them down the mountain.
Shi Wen they eventually got about two hundred catties of bamboo shoots.
When Yan Kexing returned home, he saw the yard piled high with bamboo shoots and asked in surprise, "Why did you pick so many bamboo shoots today? Are you planning to make pickled bamboo shoots?"
"Can these bamboo shoots be made into pickled bamboo shoots?" Shi Wen answered before addressing the previous question, "When I saw the bamboo shoots today, I suddenly remembered that these bamboos were originally planted for Zhengzheng. I wonder how he is doing at the zoo. I'll ask Brother Xi later if we can take these bamboo shoots to feed Zhengzheng."
Yan Kexing: "Almost all bamboo shoots can be fermented into pickled bamboo shoots, I just don't know if they'll taste good. Zhengzheng's side is fine, you can ask them. If they don't want to feed them, I'll talk to them."
Shi Wen said, "It shouldn't have come to that."
Shi Wen contacted Xi Long readily agreed, saying that it was too much trouble for him and that he could just send it via cash on delivery.
Shi Wen Xi Long said that, he simply sent her a cash-on-delivery package.
The next day, Zhengzheng ate bamboo shoots produced on the ranch.
Zhengzheng is extremely intelligent. I remember Shi Wen the ranch and Shiwen were talking, it stopped and barked at the camera, as if it was saying something to express its gratitude.
Shi Wen that carrying so many bamboo shoots down the mountain and then having to ship them out is tiring, but watching this video really made all my fatigue disappear.
Shi Wen people busy working on the pasture.
That day, he ordered the dogs to drive the pigs, cattle, and sheep out, while he inspected the pasture.
He hadn't gone far on his motorcycle when his phone suddenly rang.
Shi Wen didn't check the caller ID, but when the phone rang, he answered it without thinking.
The caller was Fu Meng's daughter, Fu Ningjia. Shi Wen I deal with Fu Meng quite often, but this is the first time I've received a call from the little girl.
When Shi Wen was taken aback for a moment. "Jiajia?"
The little girl opposite me was clearly very nervous; even her breathing became erratic.
Shi Wen's voice softened a bit. "What does Jiajia want to see me about?"
Fu Ningjia hesitated for a long time without daring to speak. After a while, she whispered, "Uncle Shi, Huohuo is sick. Could you come and help?"
Shi Wen, "Who is Huohuo?"
Fu Ningjia: "It's Grandpa Zhao's dog, Grandpa Zhao doesn't care."
Shi Wen immediately knew who she was talking about. "Is it Zhao Yongqiang? Are there any adults in his family?"
Fu Ningjia: "He's not here, he went out."
Shi Wen, "I'm coming right away. Don't go near Huohuo, keep your distance, because Huohuo might bite if she's sick, understand?"
Fu Ningjia obediently replied, "Okay, Uncle Shi, we'll wait for you outside."