Chapter 197 (continued)

Xin Xianghong and Chang Qingqing exchanged a glance and said with a smile, "Let's drink later, we can't drink anymore now that we've stuffed our bellies full of corn."

Shi Wen, "Okay, then I'll put it in the refrigerator to chill."

Their family has a large double-door refrigerator and a large freezer.

Shi Wen troublesome to scoop out ice, so I simply put the pot in water to cool it down, and then put the whole thing in the large freezer.

Putting the pot in together like this is more hygienic.

Yan Kexing and the others returned early today as well.

Shi Wen saw Gong Jiang and the other two and invited them to eat corn.

Lin Chengqian took a bite of corn and exclaimed, "So sweet?"

Shi Wen, "Did they use enough fertilizer this year?"

Lin Chengqian: "It's tender too. Should we take this corn out to dry? Can it be dried?"

Shi Wen, "Sure, they're all ripe and ready to be sun-dried."

Lin Chengqian: "I thought that only corn that had dried on the vine could be dried in the sun."

Shi Wen, "Those are dried on the branches. Breaking them off and drying them would be about the same. We also need to use the corn stalks for silage. If we leave them to dry completely on the branches, the corn stalks won't be suitable for the livestock to eat."

Gong Jiang asked from the side, "Let's compromise, shall we?"

Shi Wen smiled and said, "That's about the gist of it."

Tonight we're making corn soup, Shi Wen specially took out some cured pork ribs from the freezer that we had for the Lunar New Year to use for the soup.

It was already mid-July, and everyone was astonished to find that his family still had leftover cured pork ribs.

Chang Qingqing asked, "Do you still have cured pork ribs at home?"

Shi Wen, "There are so many ribs on a pig, and we have cured pork ribs at home, what's so strange about that?"

Xin Xianghong: "I didn't expect you guys to be able to resist finishing the cured pork ribs?"

Shi Wen, "There aren't many left, just these last few. After we finish these, we'll have to wait for this year's sheep and pigs."

There were many people eating today, so in addition to the cured pork ribs, Yan Kexing also specially added a few pieces of beef bone.

The beef bones were leftover from when the cow was slaughtered; there were only a few left. Adding some will give the soup a unique flavor.

In the evening, everyone gathered around a table, drinking soup, with a table full of dishes on it.

Shi Wen's cooking was especially delicious, and everyone ate to their heart's content.

After the meal, Shi Wen brought out the desserts from the freezer. "I almost forgot we had mung bean soup today. Luckily, I took it out beforehand. Is everyone still able to eat?"

Yan Kexing behind Shi Wen, gently placed the jar of honey on the table.

Zhu Ji immediately replied, "Of course I can eat it! Even if I really can't eat anymore, I'll try to move my stomach to make room for honey."

Shi Wen, "Then everyone can scoop it themselves."

The mung bean soup has been cooked until it's mushy; paired with honey, it's cool, sweet, and especially refreshing in the summer.

Everyone sat in chairs, eating mung bean soup, their faces full of admiration.

Zhu Ji took a few bites, stared at the honey jar, and asked, "Is this spring honey?"

Shi Wen exclaimed in surprise, "You can even tell the difference in your taste?"

Zhu Ji: "Of course, it also has the scent of a hundred flowers. If I'm not mistaken, this is still late spring honey, and it tastes like some plants from late spring."

Shi Wen had nothing more to say but give him a thumbs up.

Chang Qingqing exclaimed, "Mr. Zhu, your sense of taste is truly remarkable!"

Zhu Ji said proudly, "I've tasted many batches of their honey. Every year, every batch is slightly different. You can tell this one is spring honey from late spring this year just by tasting it."

Shi Wen that someone is "picky."

Everyone laughed.

Zhu Ji didn't mind, and holding the bowl, asked, "The spring honey is here. When will you harvest your summer honey? Have you harvested it yet?"

There really isn't one.

Shi Wen said, "I had almost forgotten. I've been waiting for fritillaria honey all this time."

The fritillaria bulbs on the pasture bloomed one after another and never withered.

Shi Wen, and seeing that there are always fritillaria flowers, I haven't paid attention to fritillaria honey.

Theoretically speaking, the fritillaria honey in the beehive should be almost ready; it should be mostly fully brewed by now.

Shi Wen said, "Let's go take a look after we finish harvesting the corn these next couple of days."

Zhu Ji: "When you want to watch it, please include me. I'm always free."

The three men from Gong Jiang also turned their gazes over, and even though they didn't say anything, everything was understood without being spoken.

Shi Wen smiled and said, "We'll have to see about that later. I'm busy these next few days. I've hired a harvester to come and harvest the corn tomorrow, so I need to take care of the corn first. Oh, and Brother Zhu, could you take some corn to be tested later? If it's okay, I'll give some to the members."

Zhu Ji: "Okay, and could you give me two extra ears of corn while you're at it?"

After discussing it and drinking some more mung bean soup, everyone felt full and went home.

The next day, the two technicians Shi Wen had hired arrived in a combine harvester.

Fu Meng and his group continued to come and help.

It's impossible to make all 300 acres of corn into silage; that would be too much.

Shi Wen that they choose to make silage from half of their corn and dry the other half into hay.

His family harvested the corn a little early.

Now is the best time for corn stalks.

The corn stalks are sweet, juicy, tender, and delicious right now; if it's later, they won't taste as good.

Corn stalks are very attractive to livestock. The fragrant aroma they release during harvesting permeates half the pasture, and the livestock keep trying to run over to steal some.

Thanks to the dogs' efforts, they successfully prevented the other dogs from coming over to steal the food.

However, since it's only the first day, the situation is still barely under control.

If the livestock are tempted for a few more days, the dogs probably won't be able to control the situation.

With so many pregnant female animals, they dared not chase too aggressively, lest they cause a miscarriage.

Modern harvesters are extremely efficient.

The two workers, each responsible for 150 mu, finished harvesting Shi Wen's corn in half a day.