Chapter 915: Childhood Memories

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation   Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The villagers saw the Su family walking home and greeted them. Shen Qiuhua asked, “Ms. Yang, aren’t you going home for lunch? It’s already noon.”

Ms. Yang cut the wheat with her sickle and said, “Not yet, but I brought lunch.

I’ll continue harvesting until later to finish my work earlier.”

She typically worked in the embroidery shop. However, the shop was closed so the employees could harvest their wheat. Therefore, she prioritized harvesting her wheat.

Furthermore, the villagers had grown accustomed to bringing their lunch to the fields. Ms. Yang added, “It’s okay, Qiuhua. I don’t feel tired doing all this. Wheat is growing well this year. The grains look big, and the yield is high. I feel motivated to put them aside.”

Someone beside her laughed and said, “You’re right, Ms. Yang. I feel a little tired when growing crops but motivated during harvesting season. This year’s grain output is so high.”

“Yeah, I think so, too. I was so excited when I saw how big the grains were that

I almost couldn’t sleep last night.”

Everyone was enthusiastic regarding their grain production.

“l think the seeds are doing better.”

“Yeah, they’re good. The yield was so high when we harvested the potatoes and sweet potatoes.”

“l produced several thousand pounds of potatoes in one acre of land.”

No one expected the potato and sweet potato production to be so high. The villagers were shocked when they harvested their things.

“This amount of food is good enough. I can eat my fill during every meal. We’re all grateful to your daughter, Qiuhua. Thanks to her, we have so much stored food at home.’

“We don’t even have to plant rice. One acre of land can produce enough food, even if we don’t have much land.’

Everyone was excited when they saw their wheat.

“We can also make delicious fried potatoes. Not only that, but sweet potatoes are just as tasty.”

“My family and I made boiled sweet potatoes for lunch. We were full after eating so much.”

Everyone was delighted to see the bumper harvest. The villagers could not stop smiling. Shen Qiuhua saw everyone’s smiles and laughed. “Potatoes are versatile. You can cube and shred them. The sweet potatoes taste the best when you roast them on the stove.”

“l fried some potatoes at home the other day. They were delicious.”

“l didn’t want to fry them last time because I was careful about using my oil. However, we have too much oil now because of the vegetable seeds. We use it to fry our vegetables, too. They were so crispy.”

The villagers thought having potatoes was like having snacks. Moreover, the potatoes were very filling.

Su Binglan knew sweet potatoes lacked protein, even though they tasted excellent. She said, “You should all eat other things, too. Eating more eggs is good for your health.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“We’re more willing to eat eggs now. The cow farm you run sells fresh milk, so we ordered some for our children to drink. The milk is so fresh but doesn’t taste weird. Our children love it.’

“My children even said they sleep better after drinking milk.”

Everyone was sincerely grateful to Su Binglan. It was thanks to her that the village had improved. The shops could also use milk to make cakes and milk tea.

Since milk benefitted one’s health, Su Binglan tasked someone with checking who ordered milk. Then, she would deliver the milk straight to the regular customers. It was also cheap, costing two copper per bottle.

Many families would order two to three bottles a day. Some families would order milk for themselves, and others ordered it for their children. Now that everyone’s livelihoods had improved, they were willing to buy milk

The Su family was on their way home but spent fifteen minutes talking to the villagers instead. After all, they had much to talk about.

Su Binglan knew it was the custom in Su Teng Village. She could not stop smiling as she watched the villagers work in the fields. She felt at ease as she looked on.

The wind blew gently, and she felt refreshed, even during the hot and dry weather. After some thought, she said, “People from the government will come to collect some potatoes, sweet potatoes, and wheat soon.

“If you can’t finish what you harvested, you can sell them to the government. They will buy your extra harvests at market price, so you won’t have to worry about them shortchanging you.”

Every household had harvested more than enough food because of the high yield and production of seeds. Thus, the villagers set aside a portion of food when they heard Su Binglan’s advice.

Lan Ruozhu and Su Binglan had ordered the government officials to buy the villagers’ extra harvests. Then, the Imperial Court would distribute the seeds to various places and allow others to grow high-yield crops.

Later, Su Binglan and her family returned home. Shen Qiuhua asked,

“Binglan, Jin’an, what do you two want to eat?”

Su Binglan replied, “You can rest, Mother. I’ll cook.”

“But you and Jin’an have been working all morning. I can cook because I’m not tired.’

“We should eat something simple,” Su Binglan said, “Let’s make some sushi.

After all, we cooked rice this morning, right?”

Sushi was simple and quick to make. Since everyone was hungry, making sushi would be best. Su Binglan had made some last time, and her mother remembered how delicious it was. Even so, it had been long since the family ate sushi.

Everyone washed their hands and helped Su Binglan. The family finished making the sushi quickly because they worked together. Soon after, the family sat together and shared the meal.

Su Binglan then urged her family to nap and replenish their energy. They would then continue working in the fields after their nap. Even she and Luo Jin’an returned to their rooms to sleep.

Su Binglan could hear the cicadas outside as she lay in bed. She even saw a child playing with a cicada just now. She thought of how crispy cicadas would be after frying them.

Su Binglan remembered her father going to the fields to catch cicadas on rainy days. When he returned, Shen Qiuhua fried the cicadas for the family to eat. Although reluctant to use oil back then, Shen Qiuhua would still cook for the family.

Those were Su Binglan’s childhood memories. She thought she would fry some cicadas after the family put away their wheat. Since cicadas only appeared on rainy days, she would use fire to attract them.

“What are you thinking about!” Luo Jin’an asked.

Su Binglan said excitedly, “l thought of eating fried cicadas after we finish harvesting the wheat.”

Luo Jin’an smiled helplessly and stroked his wife’s hair.. “Aren’t you tired after working all morning?”