"Quack, quack, quack."
"Woof woof."
"Quack, quack, quack... cluck..."
…
Ji's yard is bustling with activity. In addition to the thousands of ducks, he also bought two dogs today. The puppy was not afraid of animals at all and jumped up and down in the yard, scaring away the chickens next to it.
Wang Xiufen had just cooked a pot of peanuts and put a few red sweet potatoes in it to cook together. She picked up the pot and poured the peanuts and sweet potatoes into a small bamboo basket. She was walking out, holding the hot peanuts in her hand and blowing on them. He took two bites and opened it, looking at the short-legged dog, "What kind of dog is this? It looks stupid and stupid."
"Samoyed. My classmate's female dog gave birth to a litter. Their family couldn't afford to raise it, so they brought it back after giving her a few hundred yuan." Ji Huai looked down at the two dogs. They were not purebred Samoyeds, but they looked like Very nice too.
"I heard that some dogs have to eat ribs, dog food, and air conditioning. Is it easy to feed this dog? You have to raise a local dog." Wang Xiufen continued to eat peanuts, looking at the two delicate dogs, and she didn't like it very much.
Native dogs are easy to feed and will eat anything. They have a small family and a large breeding area. They are afraid that thieves will come in in the middle of the night. Whether it is stealing chickens, ducks or feed, it will be a loss, so they have to keep dogs to guard the house.
"Give it a try first and raise it like a native dog." Ji Huai got the puppy some mashed rice and mixed it with some soup.
The little Samoyed ran over at a short trot, gathered around the bowl and started eating rice with his head down.
Ji Huai walked aside, brought a bamboo pole over, then went to the kitchen to get a few plastic bags, tied them to the other end of the bamboo pole, and carried them to the duck shed.
The wealthy Wang Xiufen grabbed another handful of peanuts and followed him slowly.
Under her guidance, Ji Huai was clumsily feeding the ducklings, holding the bamboo pole in his hand and chasing the ducklings away.
He was so playful that he went down and chased away a large number of ducks. The little ducks were frightened, squawked wildly, and ran around in a hurry.
"Just touch it lightly with the plastic bag in front of it. Do you mean to rush it? If it is hit with a bamboo pole, it will die." Wang Xiufen stood outside and shouted anxiously.
Today's ducklings are too small and die easily. If they are not raised well, thousands of them may die.
Ji Huai moved slowly and patiently, but he couldn't help but play tricks on these little things.
Little ducks can't eat much feed, but they can't handle the large amount, so they need a lot in a day. Ji Huai gets up every day and rushes to the duck shed to see the little ducks that look the same every day, growing up and slowly growing duck feathers, and he feels full of accomplishment.
Meanwhile, ducks are dying every day. These ducks that have just hatched have been vaccinated, but some of them have poor physical conditions and cannot adapt to such a high-density living environment, so they are destined to be eliminated.
He picked up two dead ducks today and had to quickly disinfect and clean them to avoid affecting other ducks. The biggest fear is that it will cause duck plague. If it dies, it will wipe out the entire army, so you need to be extra careful to observe and pay attention to.
Ever since he raised a duckling, Ji Huai has never gone out to fool around. He has endless work to do when he opens his eyes.
Fetching water, feeding, cleaning, disinfecting...
The young man's tall and thin body was busy in the huge breeding farm. Sometimes the weather was too hot, so he took off his shirt and put it on his shoulders, working shirtless in the bright sun.
"Chop a bunch of bananas and come back later, and pick up some banana leaves as well." Wang Xiufen gave instructions at the other end.
"Okay." Ji Huai finished the work at hand, picked up the big knife in the small warehouse, and walked back around the fish pond.
There is an enclosed land to the east, and Wang Xiufen has planted an acre of banana trees in it. Green banana trees come into view, and strings of banana trees are wrapped in blue plastic bags.
He walked around, cut off one of the bunches with a knife, placed it gently on the ground, and pulled out a lot of withered and dry banana leaves. He picked up the bunch of bananas and walked back with the banana leaves.
The bananas cut from the tree are not yet ripe. They are green bananas and taste bitter and cannot be eaten. They have to be kept for a while and they will become soft and sweet when ripe.
Ji Huai put the banana aside in the hut. When he walked out, Wang Xiufen picked out a dozen duck eggs from the duck shed. They raise more than a dozen laying ducks at home, and they lay eggs every day.
"Are you going to make salted duck eggs today?" Ji Huai asked her.
There is a process in making salted duck eggs in their family, which requires the use of banana leaves.
Speaking of this salted duck egg, their family has been making it for decades and it is a craft passed down from their ancestors. The salted duck eggs made in the past were also quite famous in the local area. When Grandpa Ji and his parents were still alive, people often came to his house to buy salted duck eggs, and the small room next to them was filled with salted duck eggs.
"Yeah." Wang Xiufen nodded, "If you can't finish the duck eggs, make some salted duck eggs and sell them if you can't finish them. They will be easy to sell in the summer."
In summer, everyone likes to eat porridge to quench their thirst. Porridge and salted duck eggs are a perfect match.
She successively took out the duck eggs she had picked up a few days ago, nearly a hundred in total.
Before making salted duck eggs, you need to wash them first. Wang Xiufen held a large basin filled with water. She washed the duck eggs skillfully and quickly with her rough hands.
Ji Huai moved a small stool and sat next to her, looked at it carefully, and suddenly asked, "Why do you need to use cold boiled water to wash eggs? Can't you use plain water?"
"The eggs will go bad." Wang Xiufen quickly objected, pointing at the eggshell with a serious face, "If you use clean water, the eggs will not be good. Eggs picked up on rainy days cannot be used to make salted duck eggs, they can only be eaten. .”
"Oh." Ji Huai nodded with half-understanding, and checked online. It is said that eggshells have a certain degree of breathability, and bacteria can penetrate into the eggshells.
Wang Xiufen has not read any books and cannot write her name. This is gained from experience.
After understanding the principles of the steps, Ji Huai put down his mobile phone and washed the duck eggs with her. The washed duck eggs are put aside, followed by frying them with salt.
There are many ways to make duck eggs. It is easy to make duck eggs salty. Simply add some spices and salt, and then pour white wine. You can eat it for a few days, but the egg white is not very tasty, and the taste of the yolk is not that mellow.
To make the egg yolk clear and oily, while the egg white is tender, delicate and fragrant, a complicated process is required.
Next to Ji's small foreign-style building is an old kitchen with a stove and a large iron pot on the stove. When steaming rice dumplings, making rice cakes and making salted duck eggs, Wang Xiufen always comes here. She thinks the taste cooked with firewood is more authentic than with gas.
Ji Huai stooped into the small and dark old kitchen, and sat in front of the stove with a stool to help her light the fire.
Wang Xiufen Ma Liu cleaned the large iron pot, and the smoke rose from the small kitchen. When the heat was right, she put spices in it. There are spices that are usually prepared in medicine stores, as well as some herbs from the mountains. Now that the forest is reduced, it is difficult to pick, so she planted some on the hill behind.
Ji Huai is no stranger to these herbs. He knows their names and recognizes them.
Stir-fry until fragrant, add salt and start stir-frying quickly. The heat must be controlled steadily. She stir-fried skillfully, asking Ji Huai to light the fire from time to time, or add more firewood.
The shovel and the large iron pot made a collision sound, accompanied by the crisp sound of salt being stirred. The herbs are slowly fried from green to dry, and then stir-fried until they become crispy.
Wang Xiufen stopped what she was doing, grabbed a handful of herbs floating on the fine salt, squeezed them gently, and crushed them into powder.
"Pour the water in." She directed Ji Huai.
Ji Huai picked up the water on the ground and poured it into the pot.
Wang Xiufen stirred it with a shovel, and the water quickly boiled. After the salt melted completely, she could scoop it up and set it aside to cool.
Banana leaves need to be burned. After burning them into ashes, put the ashes into cooled salt water, stir them into mud, and then paste them on the surface of the duck eggs and place them in an earthen pot.
Ji Huai carefully observed Wang Xiufen's steps and mixed the duck eggs with a bit of unfamiliarity.
"Do you want to learn?" Wang Xiufen asked casually when she saw how enthusiastic he was.
"That's right." He responded quickly, pasted up an egg duck and put it in an earthen pot. "When you get old, won't you have no successors? Of course I have to learn, pass on the craftsmanship, and carry it forward."
He raised a thousand egg-laying ducks. When it was time to lay eggs, he could lay a thousand eggs every day. One duck egg could be sold for several cents more when made into salted duck eggs.
"Our salted duck eggs are different from those outside. We have been making them for decades." Wang Xiufen began to recall that when she was very young, she followed the previous generation to make salted duck eggs and walked several kilometers to sell them. .
Because they can make salted duck eggs and raise ducks, their family's life has always been good and they never go hungry.
Ji Huai wrapped all the duck eggs in a layer of salt mortar, and moved the earthen jars into a small room on the side. After more than ten or twenty days, this batch of duck eggs will be ready to eat.
With the desire to learn, Ji Huai began to take action.
After he finished his work, he went to the banana field and brought back some dried banana leaves. Then he went to the duck shed to pick up ten eggs. From washing the eggs to frying the salt, he did it all by himself.
Wang Xiufen watched from the side, explaining to him and teaching him techniques.
The step of frying salt is the most tiring. He has to fry for more than half an hour continuously. This process makes his arms very sore and weak, almost useless. It is more tiring than working, but he still insists on frying. It is necessary to force out the fragrance, but do not burn it, otherwise the taste will be destroyed.
He burned banana leaves and looked up at Wang Xiufen, "Do I have to use banana leaves? Can I use something else?"
Two small Samoyeds were running around him, and Ji Huai used his hands to keep them away. These two things are so clingy.
"You can use loess or white wine, but in our family, in addition to banana leaves, we also use rice straw." After she finished speaking, she emphasized, "It must be glutinous rice, and nothing else will work."
Ji Huai received education.
For several days after that, he would make ten salted duck eggs every day, put them in glass jars, and put them next to the earthen jars. He wanted to see if there was any difference between what he did and what Wang Xiufen did.
Early September.
The ducks in the duck shed have been raised for several days and are growing rapidly. The other two fish ponds have also been cleaned and disinfected, and the fry are ready to be put in. Wen Yun's military training is also over.
The school sent a car to pick them back up. Although they were reluctant to let go of their relationship with the instructor, they were obviously happier to be free again.
Wen Yun had not contacted Ji Huai for half a month. Her mobile phone was still locked in the cabinet in the dormitory. The first thing she did when she came back was to turn it on and contact him.
As soon as the phone is turned on, messages come one after another, vibrating continuously.
The other three were packing their things, taking a shower and washing their hair, while complaining about the miserable life at such a time. Wen Yun walked out with her mobile phone.
He sent many messages to her, knowing that she would not reply, but he sent them intermittently. Some were photos, some were videos, and some were texts. He was obviously sharing them with her.
She clicked on the video, and the screen was filled with ducks, "Quack, quack, quack..." they kept quacking, and a puppy was running happily. The latest photo showed a lot of duck eggs.
He said he was making salted duck eggs, with a proud tone in his voice. He must have been very happy at the time.
A trace of smile appeared on Wen Yun's face, and before she could reply to him, she saw him calling.
As soon as she picked up, he hung up. Before she could call, he sent a video call. The two looked at each other for a few times, and he asked, "Back to school? Was the military training hard?"
"I couldn't hold it for a few days, but I got used to it later." Wen Yun stood at the top of the stairs, looking at him in the video, "Did you really buy a little duck?"
"Do you think I'm joking? When the rice is harvested, I will drive them out of the fields." Ji Huai replied.
Wen Yun also grew up in the village. Ever since the image of Ji Huai driving ducks to the fields appeared in her mind, she couldn't stop laughing and said softly, "Why is it so funny? Are you going to drive behind with a bamboo?"
"What if?" he replied.
She looked at his short hair and said, "You also cut your hair short."
Ji Huai played with his much shorter hair, not caring about his image at all, and leaned his head towards the camera: "It's so hot that I even get prickly heat. How about my hairstyle?"
"It looks good." She didn't think it would affect her at all. On the contrary, she had a lot of tan and was now a mess when she came back.
Seeing her hiding from the camera, he smiled and joked, "What are you hiding from? After so many days of military training, you are not black, you are white."
"My hands are dark." She raised her hands in embarrassment. She applied sunscreen all over her face and paid great attention to sun protection, but her hands were much darker.
"You're already white now. Have you gained some weight?" Ji Huai looked at her face and asked.
"Ah?" Wen Yun remembered that there was a scale at the door of the dormitory, so she went down the stairs to weigh herself, and found that she was indeed four pounds heavier.
Seeing her frowning, Ji Huai said, "You are so thin that you are malnourished. It would be nice to gain some meat."
Hearing this, Wen Yun quietly moved a little closer to the camera and looked at her cheeks. It seemed that she had gained some flesh, wasn't she ugly
Ji Huai looked at her little face and felt itchy.
The two chatted for a while. After ending the call, Ji Huai sent a message: "I bought milk for you and filled in the school address. It should be here soon. Remember to pick it up."
At the same time he sent the message, the school's courier also sent her a message.
Wen Yun thought he bought one box, but it turned out that he bought two boxes, and they were 24 bottles per box. When the courier boy took them out, she was dumbfounded.
She sent her a message, meaning not to buy it next time. Ji Huai asked her if she was resisting his expression of love? Are you so sensible
The irony was so obvious that she didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. If Ji Huai really didn't care about her that much, she would be the one who would be sad.
After moving it up, I took a photo of it, and after sending it to him, I added: It’s so heavy, I can hardly move it up.
I hope he buys less next time.
Wen Yun put her phone on the table, squatted down, opened the box, and gave each of the three of them three bottles. They thought she bought it herself, and said nothing after thanking her.
"Wen Yun, I got a tan even when I used Nair sunscreen, but you didn't get a tan even when you used Baixi sunscreen." Li Ru stared at her face with a very surprised and unwilling tone.
She uses a big brand, and the price is much more expensive than the other party's.
Wen Yun put the milk on her table, "I'm a little darker too, and my hands are even darker."
"Your face is not dark, why am I the only one who is dark?" Li Ru looked at the other two people and saw that they had not changed much. She was very angry and scolded Nair's sunscreen as rubbish, and angrily threw it in the trash can. .
It’s understandable that Feng Shuli and Shi Jing didn’t take advantage of the big names, but how come Wen Yun didn’t take advantage of them? She is the only one who is black.
Feng Shuli turned around and said that the brand's reviews were not very good, and then the three of them started talking about sunscreen and skin care products.
Wen Yun sat back on the chair, and Ji Huai replied to her: It means that her physical condition is not good, and she has to drink two bottles a day. I'll buy it for you in time.
“…”
Freshman year requires self-study in the morning and evening, plus electives, so the class schedule is quite full.
Wen Yun did not forget to put the matter of finding a part-time job on her schedule. She had to support herself. Most of the time at school, she went to the cafeteria to find part-time jobs, and she was very proactive in finding them.
The salary in the cafeteria is very low, only ten yuan a day, three hundred a month, but it includes two meals, and you have to come to help every day, and you have to come earlier on Saturdays and Sundays.
She looked at her class schedules in several stores and found that most of them had classes before school, but they didn't want her and said they weren't suitable.
She was not discouraged and started to try other part-time jobs. On that weekend, she went to the school stadium as a paid volunteer. The seniors from the college next door were doing activities and were paid 120 yuan a day. , two days is two hundred and four.
But there were very few such jobs, so she joined a part-time job group and went out to look for them when she didn't have classes.
Part-time job messages would be posted in the group. She followed the address and came to a building. The man with glasses who received her said that they were an agency and specially introduced part-time jobs to them. There were many part-time jobs every day.
Wen Yun was very happy, "I can do it on weekends, and I can do it even if I don't have classes on weekdays."
"That's okay. Our part-time salary is relatively high. We have different part-time jobs every day. Sometimes we will charter a car to take you back. Many of them are college students." The man with glasses opened the document in his hand and showed it to her, "This is what we have Hotels, companies, and some institutions that we regularly cooperate with often look for part-time jobs. It’s the National Day holiday soon, and the wages are generally much higher.”
"I'm free during National Day." Wen Yun said immediately.
"We need to recruit a lot of part-time workers during the National Day. Those shopping malls and plazas have to hold activities, right?" The man with glasses smiled at her and said to her. He was extremely patient. He also told her about the jobs they took last year. Some of them could earn two or three dollars a day. Hundred.
Wen Yun doesn't expect two or three hundred dollars a day, as long as she can support herself. Her consumption is very low, four hundred dollars a month can make her live, and a part-time job of forty or fifty dollars a day is pretty good for her.
"Is this the group?" She turned on her phone and asked.
From now on, she should pay more attention to group messages and not miss messages.
"No." The man with glasses smiled, "We also have a VIP group."
"What is the VIP group?" Wen Yun had a bad feeling.
The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses: "That's right, our VIP group will only post part-time news. However, you have to sign a contract with us first and pay a deposit of 400 yuan. We will give it to you after you have done a certain number of part-time jobs. Retreat, because..."
She didn't listen to what she said next, and she was already very disappointed, "Sorry, I'm not looking for a part-time job anymore."
"You can't just give up, you have to trust each other, right? You are so good-looking. The daily salary of the etiquette lady is not low. You can make it back in one day." The man with glasses persuaded her and showed her the contract. , “We are all formal companies with formal contracts.”
"No, thank you." Wen Yun said as she stood up and left.
The bespectacled man who had been so amiable just now suddenly changed his face, lowered the corners of his mouth, slapped the document in his hand on the table, took the document and walked out first without looking back.
"..." Wen Yun also walked out quickly with her schoolbag on her back. When she went down the stairs, she muttered dissatisfiedly, "Liar!"
She couldn't find a part-time job on campus, nor could she find a part-time job outside of school. When she took the bus back to school, she was still panicked and lost, not knowing how to survive.
She suddenly missed Ji Huai and didn't know what he was doing, so she took out her mobile phone and made a video call to him.
The other end was quickly connected. Behind him were ducks. Compared with the last photo he sent her, the ducklings had grown up a lot and had hair on their wings. Listening to the quacking sound, she asked : "Where are the two Samoyeds?"
"There." Ji Huai turned the camera. Not far away, the two Samoyeds were hurting each other and rolling on the ground. He smiled, "They have become local dogs."
Her frown eased slightly, and she pursed her lips, "Dogs are healthier."
"Didn't you become a volunteer a few days ago? Did you receive the money?" Ji Huai asked her.
Wen Yun: "I posted it today."
"I bought you some snacks and I'll pick up the express later." Ji Huai was adding water to the duck's drinking basin.
"Is there another express delivery?"
"Don't you girls like to eat snacks? What about milk tea, cake, spicy chips, burgers..." Ji Huai looked up at her, "This is called air feeding. They all buy it for their girlfriends, so I have to buy it for you too." "
Wen Yun's cheeks bulged, but she was still a little happy, "What did you buy me?"
"It's just a random buy. I think it's a good deal for nine dollars and ninety-nine with free shipping. It's said to be a blind box." He took out the bucket and put it under the faucet, and continued to collect water.
"Is it so cheap?" She opened her eyes slightly. She heard that it was a blind box, and she was inexplicably looking forward to it.
"That's right." Ji Huai said seriously, "It depends on your luck. I heard that the prettier you are, the better your luck will be."
"You lied to me." She couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.
"Really." He looked at the camera and nodded seriously.
Back at school, she walked to the courier and gave her mobile phone number. The courier guy pulled out a bag that was half a person's height. Because it had a hole, he thoughtfully helped her take out the contents.
This is a snack gift bag half as tall as a person. The packaging is a bit cute, with a certain brand’s welfare gift package written on it.
Wen Yun was a little surprised. She still believed that this was a blind box with free shipping for nine yuan. With a sweet look on her face, she took it back and opened it, taking out the contents one by one.
Pistachios, pecans, pine nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pork...
She did not continue to take it out, but looked inside and saw dozens of packages. She couldn't help but take her mobile phone and send a voice message to Ji Huai: "Big liar!"
Only a businessman would not lose such a huge sum of money, and there would not be such a blind box for nine yuan!
Ji Huai didn't answer, but sent a cute emoticon. The grizzly bear came over and pounced on the white bear, but he kissed and hugged him hard.
When it was time to eat, several people were there. Li Ru saw it and asked, "Who gave it to you?"
Such a large package must have been given as a gift, and I generally would not buy it.
"My boyfriend." Wen Yun looked inside and saw that everything had been dismantled and she couldn't return it, so she asked, "Do you want some snacks?"
The three of them all came to choose a pack. Li Ru saw a lot of snacks and was definitely envious. "Your boyfriend is very nice to you and even gives you snacks. Which school is he from?"
"He doesn't want to study anymore." Wen Yun didn't make any secrets.
Li Ru thought it was expected, "If you don't study, then you go out to work?"
No wonder he was so nice to her. He didn't even study anymore. He was a level below them and must have become a bitch.
"No, he works at home." Wen Yun replied.
"What work?"
"Raising ducks."
…