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墨書 Inktalez
On the way up the mountain, Yezhi could no longer remember how many times she had walked this path, but each time felt different. She began to understand what Xiaobai had said; as long as she reached the forest, she felt joyful, especially when she saw the vibrant red of Mountain Red. Although her mouth had started to sour, this tangy feeling brought her happiness.
"Yezhi, don't wander too far!" Barefoot Aunt reminded her.
Barefoot Aunt was there to gather herbs, while Aunt Li, Flower Sister, and Red Sister were collecting autumn fruits: mushrooms, Mountain Grape, Asian Pear, Mountain Red... They all picked half and left half, showing great restraint.
After Yezhi finished picking a patch of Mountain Red, she also gathered some wild autumn chrysanthemums. Niu Niu's small body darted through the bushes.
"Woof woof!" Niu Niu kept barking from one spot.
Yezhi ran over to see what was happening. She was in luck again; she found a ginseng plant. "Xiao Fang, how old do you think it is?" Counting the leaves, she wasn't quite sure.
"Master, this ginseng is seven years old." The years were too short; she couldn't bear to damage it. "Let's mark it so it can absorb a few more years of essence from the sun and moon."
Xiao Fang's mouth curled up in a smile; she didn't know what he was laughing about. Seeing that her master wasn't moving, Niu Niu anxiously wanted to scratch. "Baby, you can't scratch it randomly."
"Woof woof woof!"
"It's not that we don't want it; it's just not old enough yet. By the way, how did you know this is a good thing?"
"Master, isn't it said that a dog's nose is the most sensitive? Niu Niu must have remembered this scent after hearing you mention it."
Yezhi picked up Niu Niu. "Oh my, I didn't expect this little one to be so capable. Xiao Fang, I might not need you anymore. Baby, remember the scent of this Monkey Head and bark when you find it!"
Xiao Fang dramatically flopped onto the ground and whined in a childish voice, "Only seeing new people smile and not seeing old ones cry... Boohoo~!"
Yezhi lightly kicked it in the rear and scolded, "Get out of here!"
Aunt Li looked at Yezhi flirting with the "cow" and laughed, "This leaf!"
Autumn in Changbai Mountain is colorful, changeable, and magical. The clear sky is as blue as a mirror, and different altitudes present different landscapes, with rolling mountains displaying a variety of colors.
"How beautiful!"
"I also think our mountains are the most beautiful." Flower Sister said simply and proudly, prompting Red Sister to respond, " One Egg's father said the mountains behind are even higher and the scenery better, with leaves as red as fire, hot spring pools, waterfalls... he couldn't take it all in, but it's just a bit far from our village, and it's too dangerous deep in the mountains."
Upon hearing this, Yezhi became interested. "Is that where the Heavenly Lake is?"
"I don't know? But that's a really nice name."
Seeing Yezhi looking eager, Red Sister hurriedly said, "You mustn't go there alone; it's dangerous!" Yezhi, who was already plotting, nodded randomly. Red Sister was still worried and planned to have One Egg keep an eye on her.
Returning home with their harvests, they chatted and laughed as they entered the village. Aunt Ren Er rushed over, "Leaf, why are you back so late?"
Upon hearing this, Yezhi nervously asked, "What happened?"
Aunt Ren Er exclaimed excitedly, "It's not bad news! The county sent someone to bring us electricity!"
"Really!"
"We're getting electricity!"
Yezhi was also very happy, and Uncle Zhang kept his word, not deceiving her about the carrots.
"Let's go take a look!"
Aunt Ren Er stopped them as they headed towards the village, "They are not in the village; Everyone is helping to set up the electric poles along the way!"
On the day before National Day, with the cooperation of the residents of Zhou Family Village, Zhoujiatun finally got electricity, and Everyone was grinning under the bright lights.
Two employees from the electric company were so overwhelmed by the villagers that they couldn't tell north from south. When they left, they were loaded with traditional goods from Zhoujiatun, buried under a pile in a cart. After returning, they chatted about mushrooms and black fungus, and the electric company staff became more enthusiastic about rural visits.
After National Day, the novelty of electric lights wore off for the villagers. Many began to hesitate to turn on the lights and returned to using candles. Yezhi understood their feelings; on one hand, they were used to saving, and on the other hand, they were still struggling financially.
It seemed necessary to find a few money-making projects. After thinking for two days, she approached Zhou Village Head, " Village Uncle, I have a few ideas."
"Go ahead!"
"As the saying goes, 'To get rich first, build roads.' Isn't it time to fix our village road?"
"Fixing roads! That's a big deal."
" Village Uncle, this road must be repaired. In two years, when our village's peaches are ripe all over the mountains, how long will it take to transport them just by cart? The worst part is that if we don't get them out in time, they'll rot in the fields."
Zhou Village Head thought about it and realized it was indeed true. "Then I'll go to Commune tomorrow."
"And I wonder where we can learn to drive. It would be even better if we could send people from the Transport Team in batches to learn how to drive."
"I'll ask tomorrow too!"
"Village Uncle, I also want to try raising crabs in the rice fields."
Zhou Village Head tapped the smoking pot and said, "Aren't we already raising fish? Crabs don't have much meat, and no one here eats them." If it weren't for hearing about the news of the Chinese Mitten Crab's rampant spread in Germany, Yezhi would have considered naturally raising them in the Wetland.
"Village Uncle, everyone might not know how to eat them, but I actually want to raise Chinese Mitten Crabs. The best ones come from Yangcheng Lake, which are regarded as the freshest in the world. Our Zhoujiatun is beautiful with clear mountains and waters; I want to see if we can raise the best in the world. Just think about it!" Yezhi looked at Village Uncle.
Zhou Village Head excitedly replied, "Then we could sell them for a good price!"
"Exactly!" In the past, authentic Chinese Mitten Crabs were priced at one hundred fifty to sixty per pound in the seafood market. If they gained a reputation, the future would be bright.
Zhou Village Head sensed the interest and urged, "What else? Say it all at once!"
"I think we need to reform the distribution method of our rice field farming. The breeding farms can diversify their operations, but we shouldn't have too many." Yezhi truly didn't want to rely on raising chickens or ducks for wealth; she planned to keep it small-scale in aquaculture, just enough to be self-sufficient and accumulate enough fertilizer.
"We currently have two duck farms feeding 600 ducks; that's not too many. I think we could raise another two or three thousand."
"Raising that many would be like locusts invading; it would harm the environment too much." Zhou Village Head listened to Yezhi's words. "Then tell me how we should change the distribution method." Yezhi hadn't really thought this through either. "Village Uncle, why don't you listen to everyone's opinions? Let's all think about it." After saying what she needed to say, Yezhi got up to leave; she still had to tend to the Peach Orchard by pruning branches and weeding.
Days passed slowly; the potatoes and cabbages in the Field ripened one by one. Black Treasure, this strongman, ran happily while carrying baskets full of potatoes and cabbages.
Thursday Brother patted Black Treasure on the shoulder and laughed heartily, "Black Treasure, you're really something!"
Black Treasure returned the gesture with a slap that nearly knocked Thursday Brother down.
Xiao Fan, Zhou Xiaomu, laughed at Thursday Brother, saying that he was not as strong as Black Treasure. Thursday Brother was not angry; he simply called out to Black Treasure, "Black Treasure, after you're done, come over to my house for some potatoes!" Black Treasure nodded repeatedly. Xiao Fan, Zhou Xiaomu, pulled Thursday Brother and asked if there was any food for them. Thursday Brother gave both of them a light pat on the back and laughed, "You two just run around aimlessly and haven't done any work, so you won't get anything to eat!"
Hearing this, Xiao Fan, Zhou Xiaomu, was not convinced and began to seriously help the adults with their work. By the time she got home in the evening, she fell asleep without even eating dinner.
Black Treasure was different; it ate three bowls of staple food but still wanted more. It then devoured two bowls of Asian Pears and insisted on having a mooncake for dessert. At home, aside from the box of mooncakes that Xiaobinzi had given Aunt Zhou, most of them ended up in Black Treasure's belly.
After finishing the leg meat that Xiaobinzi had sent over, Yezhi started to control her diet. However, today they had just harvested potatoes, and she couldn't resist. In the end, not only did she have dinner, but she also tossed a few potatoes into the stove. Once they were cooked and she peeled away the dark skin, the fragrant aroma wafted into her nose. The soft yellow interior with a bit of honey was incredibly delicious.
Using its sense of smell to identify things, Black Treasure sneaked into the kitchen. "Yezhi, you're eating alone." The words "eating alone" were pronounced particularly clearly by Wolf Child.
Yezhi divided one potato for herself. Black Treasure noticed that there was no honey in its mouth and nudged her with its plump body.
This nudge caused her to fall to the ground. Elder Brother Yu came in and saw the mess in the kitchen; he issued a "no loitering" order to Yezhi, telling her not to wander around in the kitchen unnecessarily.
Back in the room, Sister Luo held up a piece of red cloth and gestured at her. "Red cotton jacket, red scarf; perfect for December." Imagining herself in bright red attire made Yezhi shake her head vigorously.
Aunt Zhou chuckled and said, "If you don't wear red for your wedding, what do you want to wear?"
"You and Zhang Ling both said that weddings should be bright red for good luck; why are you reluctant yourself?" Sister Luo's teasing made Yezhi feel like she was shooting herself in the foot.
"If only we had a sewing machine!"
Sister Luo's words struck a chord with Yezhi. She wrote a letter to Xiaobinzi, and a week later, Cart Master brought back a sewing machine and a radio.
"Wow, could this be a wedding gift from Comrade Xiao Lin for our sister?" Yezhi touched it here and there but remained silent with a smile.
She was secretly calculating Xiaobinzi's finances, worried that he might be out of money. Later, she went to the post office in Commune and sent him 200 yuan.
The arrival of the sewing machine and radio enriched the villagers' leisure lives. Her home was often bustling with women gathered around the sewing machine and men and children surrounding the radio.
Although it was lively every day, once everyone dispersed, the house was left with a mess of fruit pits and sunflower seed shells, which was quite bothersome. In the end, Yezhi decided not to take the easy route and donated the radio to the village, telling everyone that if they wanted to listen, they could go to Team Daba.
With the sewing machine, more people came to Sister Luo for clothes. After discussing it as a family, they hung up a sign that read "Sister Luo's Tailoring" outside their yard. This way, it could provide some extra income for Sister Luo while deterring some villagers who might want to take advantage.
When Director Yu returned to Zhoujiatun, he brought Yezhi a dairy cow, which made her extremely happy. Milk was such a wonderful thing.
The villagers helped her build a cow shed, and from then on, a cow with a patterned coat named Spots settled in her home.
Spots was large and had gentle eyes. Black Treasure was a bit afraid of it, but Niu Niu, who also had big eyes, got along well with Spots. Yezhi also liked the docile Spots. When she went to work in the Peach Orchard, Spots would obediently graze around the Peach Tree, such considerate behavior that moved Yezhi deeply.
Every morning, Xiao Fan would carry Zhou Xiaomu's bucket into the cow shed to milk Spots. Wolf Child and Black Treasure would hide outside, watching eagerly. Spots didn’t like them; when Yezhi asked why, Spots mooed that Wolf Child looked like he wanted to eat it and that Black Treasure was too ugly to look at. If Black Treasure, who considered himself quite handsome, knew what Spots said about him, he would surely claim that Spots had no taste.
A single dairy cow could only contribute so much, so Yezhi let the weaker villagers drink first.
One day, as she passed Old Master Zhou's house and saw his two sheep, she immediately thought about starting a Sheep Farm. Sheep meat could be eaten, wool could be sold, and sheep milk was more nutritious than cow's milk. Yezhi found Village Uncle in the autumn rice fields and proposed her idea; Village Uncle agreed that they would raise sheep next year.
The Agricultural Bureau colleagues also joined the villagers in harvesting rice, sharing in the joy of the harvest. However, they could not mention Pesticide; it had become a taboo among Zhoujiatun people. As soon as any colleague from the Agricultural Bureau brought it up, the villagers would immediately change their expressions.
This was exactly the effect Yezhi wanted; without Pesticide, although villagers had to work much harder, time would reveal its value. Once they finished harvesting two hundred acres of rice fields and the weather turned cooler, everyone worked together to grind the rice. Yezhi then began busying herself with oil extraction.
The first pressing of Rice Bran Oil smelled wonderful. Village Uncle announced right away that it was time to distribute it. The villagers held bowls and jars exclaiming joyfully: "This is great!" Indeed, this was just when everyone ran out of oil for cooking rice.
After finishing the meal, One Egg and Zhou Xiaomu ran to her house for some food. Their cheeks were stuffed, and One Egg happily exclaimed, "Sister Ye, your cooking is so delicious!"
Yezhi smiled and said, "This isn't my cooking; Uncle Yu is the real chef in our family."
Flattering Uncle Yu, One Egg held up his bowl and said, "Uncle Yu, your dishes are so good they almost make me cry."
Elder Brother Yu replied cheerfully, "If you like it, then come every day!"
Zhou Xiaomu quickly chimed in, "I want to come every day too!"
"Ah~!"
"What's wrong, Zhou Xiaomu?" They wondered if the little one had gotten a bone stuck in her throat.
Zhou Xiaomu put down her chopsticks and slapped her forehead. "Oh no! Look at my memory; I'm getting old and can't remember anything!"
Yezhi covered her mouth and coughed while One Egg laughed heartily, pounding his chest.
Sister Luo finally calmed down enough to ask, "Zhou Xiaomu, what did you forget?"
Zhou Xiaomu looked at Yezhi and said, "Sister Ye, my dad wants you to see the furniture he made."
She had just visited two days ago to check out the finished sofa and wardrobe and mentioned a few changes. Could it be that everything was fixed so quickly?
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