After the beginning of winter, the weather became colder and colder. The whistling north wind was blowing straight at people like knives. The leaves hanging on the trees also turned from golden to withered yellow, and finally fell down in the howling cold wind. As the old saying goes, spring grows, summer lasts, and autumn is harvested and stored in winter, isn’t it? The dried radishes must be put away, and the piles of cabbage must not be left to freeze outside. There are also dried cabbage and dried beans hanging under the eaves. I have to pack it up indoors... But fortunately, everyone is resting for the winter, so there is no need to rush.
For six consecutive years, no matter it was the wheat autumn or the autumn, the yield per mu of their sixth production team was always increasing. Take wheat as an example. The original yield per mu was 750 kilograms, which made everyone very happy. , right now, the yield per mu has increased to more than 900 kilograms. In this way, year after year, each family's food store is not empty, and three or five more are added, and the cellar is getting bigger and bigger. Many families have also built additional auxiliary rooms and shacks for growing rice seedlings, storing dried vegetables, and stacking firewood. There is no need for space.
For example, Qu Zhongdong's family built four additional rooms directly in the courtyard. Two rooms are equipped with rice seedling beds. All the rice seedlings needed for spring come out from here. The other two rooms are filled with baskets of dried radishes and sweet potatoes. There are also various dried vegetables. They also made the shack at home much wider and higher, and it was filled with firewood for winter.
From the beginning of winter, Qu Zhongdong’s fire pit has been burning, and the windows have been re-pasted. In this way, no matter whether it’s windy or snowing outside, it’s always warm inside, even if you wear a thin cotton coat. His face was red from the heat. Sometimes I accidentally overheat, and the heat makes me writhe at night, and I might even have to kick off the quilt.
Who wants to get up early and go out? It’s not that the bed is not warm enough or the earthen bed is not hot enough, there is nothing we can do about it. For example, Qu Changhai and his eldest brother Hongwei had to get up early in the morning, one to go to the Associated Press and the other to the cotton ginning factory; their second eldest brother Hongjun and Qu Changjiang’s eldest son Guoqing were the same age, and both attended high school in the commune, so they also Gotta get up early. The remaining children are all in primary school, and because they are so close, they can sleep for about ten minutes longer.
It's rare that adults don't have to go out, but they are not idle either. Qu Zhongdong and his two sons made straw curtains to cover the heated kang to keep warm when the time came. Yue Cuiyun and his three daughters-in-law took apart all the bedding at home, added new cotton and made them again. After finishing their work, they started making new cotton pants and jackets for the whole family to wear during the New Year.
The only person who is truly free is probably Xiao Qu Ning. She is still young and not old enough to go to school, and her family is not willing to let her touch needlework or the stove for fear of hurting her... In this way, Professor Liu in the clinic has nothing to do with her. She must be diligent in going there. Beating her arms, legs, and back are all knowledge. She must learn from the experts.
The old and the young have always speculated. Even if they were talking about what they had for lunch, they would talk happily for a long time, and this day was certainly no exception.
"My grandpa made lunch for lunch, and the radish with garlic sauce was delicious -" thinking of the taste, Xiao Qu Ning couldn't help but wipe her mouth, for fear of drooling out, "boil the radish dry, Then cut it into strips and fry it with garlic juice and oil. It will be soft and fragrant. When you bite it, the hot garlic-flavored soup will enter your mouth. It is so comfortable!"
"Hmm... Not bad, not bad. Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer. This is a good time to eat radish. This dish is also suitable for my teeth. I will try it next time." Professor Liu was even a little greedy after being told by Xiao Qu Ning. .
"There was also a goose egg that was pickled and oily. I dug out half of it with a spoon and wrapped it in the steamed bun. The egg white was very tender. The egg yolk was rusty and broke when I squeezed it. All the egg butter was absorbed into the steamed bun. It's time for dinner!" Xiao Qu Ning couldn't help but click her lips. Originally, she wanted to eat the whole thing, but her family wouldn't let it, for fear that the salt would hit her throat.
"I ate one and a half egg yolks..." Qu Ning proudly showed off to Professor Liu, "Grandpa gave me his half of the egg yolk, and my dad also gave me half."
The others also wanted to give it, but who told them to be slow? Later, when they tried to add egg yolk to Xiao Qu Ning's bowl, Qu Zhongdong scolded him and told him not to eat too much egg yolk.
This time Professor Liu can only be greedy. He doesn’t know how to pickle goose eggs!
"Alas~" After showing off, the regret in her heart also came up. Qu Ning sighed softly. She frowned, but her chubby face and her small body didn't match at all. Look. She didn't look serious at all, and sighed: "You can see that Tian'er will get tired of eating like this. In winter, there is less food..."
"It's not that you can't grow vegetables in winter. There are already out-of-season vegetables in the capital, but the supply is very small and there aren't many varieties. Oyster mushrooms, yellow garlic, and tomatoes are the more common ones..." There's something about out-of-season vegetables. Professor Liu really knew something, "It seems that some greenhouses have been built in the suburbs of Beijing. Temperature should be the key."
Hey, yes, greenhouse, how could she forget it?
Xiao Qu Ning suddenly became energetic, her eyes seemed to be lit up by something. She hurriedly said hello to Professor Liu, and then ran home. She had to tell her grandparents about this quickly. Aren't the two rooms where the seedlings were kept just a greenhouse? It was just right.
At first, everyone thought Xiao Qu Ning was just joking and nodded. But the more they listened, the more serious they became, and the more they thought about it, the more they thought it was feasible. It’s hard to say anything else, but growing garlic is easy. , anyway, the house at home is ready-made, and the heated kang is also ready-made, and there is plenty of good garlic. When the time comes, we can seal the windows with straw curtains and it will be ready.
"Then let's give it a try!" Qu Zhongdong finally made the decision and decided to plant yellow garlic. "I will go to Brother Liu's place later and ask more about it. You guys need to clean up the rice box first."
When it comes to eating, everyone is very motivated. By evening, large cloves of garlic have been soaked, just waiting for them to absorb enough water before entering the pit.
"Master, how long does it take to eat garlic?"
"Twenty or thirty days is probably enough. It's very fast."
"That's great. I don't have to eat radish, cabbage, potato vermicelli every day anymore!"
"Baby, you are so awesome!"
…
They have never thought about the possibility of failure. They have a good baby, so there is nothing to be afraid of. They will just do it if they are not afraid.
But they did not fail. About twenty days after planting the garlic, they finally ate the first crop of yellow garlic.
The leaves are tender yellow, and the part near the roots is very bright white. It is a little spicy, but not strong, and has a very special fragrance. After stir-frying, the fragrance becomes stronger, and it is fresh and sweet. It has a hint of spiciness and is also mixed with garlic. The garlic is so tender that it becomes soupy when stir-fried, but it is not wasted. Just dip it in the steamed buns and it won’t be much different from the garlic itself, and it can also be eaten with rice.
Hiccup~
After eating, everyone was extremely satisfied. They leaned on the quilt and talked on the kang, so beautiful that their legs straightened up.
What a wonderful little life.
They did not forget Professor Liu's contribution. They cut a bundle and sent it to him that day. He was so happy that his beard almost stood up. It's so hard to order fresh vegetables in the middle of winter. How can he be unhappy?
In addition to Professor Liu, they also sent some to Qu Zhongqiu, as well as Qu Yiyi who was in the city. Okay, now it's quite a limelight.
