Song Tan's Notes

Chapter 1662. Picking Sesame Leaves Again

Yang Zhengxin angrily pounded his pillow in his dormitory.

"Why! Me! Want to come to summer camp!"

He was filled with grief and indignation, and felt completely uncomfortable all over.

So I simply got out of bed, dipped a small bread roll into a jar of fermented bean curd, and ate it with that neither sweet nor salty taste. Life seemed to become more meaningful that way.

Several heads poked out from the beds in the dormitory, filled with resentment: "Don't you think it's a crime to dip Panpan in fermented bean curd?"

Someone else swallowed hard: "If you had just said you'd let me have one more bite, I would have stolen a steamed bun from the cafeteria for you."

Upon entering the closed summer camp, all of Xiao Yang's good qualities vanished. Now, he treated his fermented bean curd like a treasure, complaining:
"You bunch of animals!"

He initially really did uphold good traditions, and the Qiao brothers were so reliable, promising to send him things often.

So, with the air of someone who couldn't keep his fine clothes hidden at night, the naive Xiao Yang enthusiastically shared his goodies with everyone in the dormitory.

Good heavens, that very night someone knelt by his bedside calling him godfather, saying they were so hungry in the middle of the night that they couldn't stand it anymore and begged for a little more food...

He ate little by little, from godfather to father.

The worthless dignity of these young men vanished one by one, along with the empty cans of food.

Now, even if Qiaoqiao sends them every week, it can't keep up with their cravings.

This fermented bean curd was the last bit of glory that Yang Zhengxin had explicitly forbidden himself from saving for himself.

He said bitterly, "I don't need steamed buns. If there's not even bread, I can lick the bottle."

In short, we can no longer let this group of people taste his treasure.

But now, looking at his phone again, he couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness:

"They're going to eat sesame leaf noodles, stir-fried noodles, and chicken soup noodles now!"

My roommates crawled out of bed like crickets, then gathered around me:
"How did you know? Is it because we can catch the live stream now? Come on, let's watch and see, maybe we can snag something good?"

Yang Zhengxin remained silent.

He wanted to say that Qiaoqiao had no intention of selling the sesame leaves she picked today. But these things need to be processed before they can be eaten, and he couldn't even use the small electric stove in his dorm room, so he couldn't even taste them. So he remained silent.

Just imagine how much Qiaoqiao will make these people drool.

Only in this way can one resolve their lingering resentment.

In Yunqiao Village, under the afternoon sun at four or five o'clock, Qiaoqiao, as usual, wore a hat and an old shirt, with a simple cloth bag tied around her waist, and walked into the sesame field with great enthusiasm.

This year, they planted 5 mu of sesame. Uncle Qi estimated that with many family members and relatives, they would need to prepare about 200 jin of sesame oil, which would cover about 2 mu of land.

The rest went to Boss Chang—money had corrupted the Song family, and now they always wanted to have more of whatever good things were available, so that Boss Chang's restaurant wouldn't be empty.

The sesame leaves that came with those five acres were purely an extra harvest.

Of course, this work wasn't done by Qiaoqiao alone. Even if picking leaves wasn't difficult, it still couldn't cover several acres of land!

Therefore, there are other employees as well.

As Seventh Uncle instructed, it's okay to pick them slowly, just don't damage the sesame seeds.

This job isn't difficult. Although the weather is hot in June, the temperature is still manageable, and four or five o'clock is exactly when farmers start working.

So this year's newly promoted employees, wearing sun-protective clothing and hats, all dutifully settled into the sesame field.

Regardless of whether the sun-protective clothing is pink or black, they all have a large white cloth bag around the waist.

The self-taught girl, now living in the countryside, has given up on her city dreams; she's only focused on the large pockets around her waist.

"Can't we use a basket?"

Qiaoqiao said, "Sure, but sesame leaves take up a lot of space. You can't pick many in one basket before you have to move them out. If you press the leaves down, they'll bounce back up and fall off easily."

So there's such a thing as a rule.

The man who was having his stomach cut looked at her and then laughed at her: "It's really inconvenient to carry a basket. Look at how sesame is planted here. People have to be careful when walking in it. If the basket is poking around, it's easy to damage the sesame stalks."

Everyone was having a great time, and although they sweated a bit, they didn't feel anything because they were in good health.

Yun Duo set up her phone nearby: "Qiao Qiao, I'm starting my live stream!"

Qiaoqiao nodded, then turned and leaned close to the phone: "Kids, today I'll show you how to pick sesame leaves!"

"Last year we planted very little sesame. We didn't even dare to pick the sesame leaves casually, for fear of affecting the yield. We only ate them for a few meals before they were gone."

“This year we planted 5 mu of land, and my seventh uncle said we could pick as many as we wanted, so today I came with my older brothers and sisters to pick some.”

"The sun is shining now, so we can take the sesame leaves back, wash them clean, blanch them, and dry them in the sun. They can be stored for a long, long time, and we can eat them during the winter and Chinese New Year."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "We can eat it when we slaughter pigs on Laba Festival."

Good guy!
In short, it really boosted the spirits of everyone who had just entered the live stream.

Is there still a Laba Festival pig-slaughtering feast this year?

[Pass this message down: Qiaoqiao is inviting me to the Laba Festival pig-slaughtering feast!]

I can't even imagine how fierce the competition will be for this spot!

[Haha, this year I'm going to be the number one on the leaderboard! The number one leaderboard definitely deserves it!]

That's too vague. Why don't you ask Qiaoqiao if she sells sesame leaves?

[Link above]

Is this really tasty? It seems like you guys eat all kinds of leaves? Chili leaves, sesame leaves too!

It's delicious! You can use this to make braised noodles, soup noodles, stir-fried noodles, or thick noodles—it tastes good no matter how you make it!

[Sobbing, a traveler far from home sees their hometown food gently crumbled.]

The broadcast had barely started, and the number of fans in the live stream hadn't even increased yet, but Yun Duo could already see people constantly sending virtual gifts in the background...

And they're throwing money at people like it's free.

Her scalp tingled with tension, and she shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Qiaoqiao, so many people have given you tips, and the amounts are quite high!"

The fan rankings next to it kept changing every time it was refreshed; it was dizzying.

She hadn't seen the grand livestream of last year's Laba Festival pig-slaughtering feast, so she couldn't understand why everyone was so enthusiastic.

Qiaoqiao was momentarily confused, but quickly followed suit and waved her hand hastily, saying:
"No more tips, no more tips, I'm rich now, lots and lots of money. The pig-slaughtering banquet will still have a lucky draw, everyone just wait for the draw."

Everyone dismissed this with disdain.

Just because you have money doesn't mean I don't! I want to give you a tip!

[A lottery? If I could win that, would I have been drooling over it for miles around last Laba Festival?]

With over a million people vying for just a few opportunities, I can only dream about it.

Things that can be bought with money are easier to obtain. But the problem is, I don't have any money. [How come the former number one on the leaderboard has dropped to tenth?]

[What's there to be afraid of? The former top earner is working in the village. Teacher Qiao, are they hiring in the village this year?]

[Looking for a job! I got laid off from a big factory, I'm a complete wreck! Now I don't know what to do!]

Everyone was talking at once, making a lot of noise while still showering each other with virtual gifts.

The clouds looked and looked, and eventually silently got used to it.

She thought to herself, other top streamers with millions of followers must also have their own number one fan, so what if Qiao Qiao has a few more?
That's perfectly normal.

That's how the influencer world is.

But then I refreshed the page again—good heavens, the internet obviously has its own monetary system! How come these people are throwing money around like it's watering the streets!

Qiaoqiao, however, had already quickly put those tips out of her mind.

The lush green sesame leaves in front of him were waiting to be picked to his heart's content, but the large white cloth bag tied around his waist was still empty.

He was wearing gloves, and his hands were moving quickly as he picked them off, all the while he was loudly telling the others:

"Remember not to remove the top, it's too old and won't taste good. You have to pick the top off!"

Don't pick too many sesame seeds from one stalk.

He is clearly very concerned about this.

"I know, I know!"

Everyone responded loudly, as they had all been taught before and there was no way things would go wrong.

As for what is old and what is young... you can tell once you get to the field and pick something.

Moreover, this mechanical and repetitive action, unlike the strenuous work of harvesting rice or digging the ground, offers a unique sense of relaxation and mental tranquility.

The villagers may not be sensitive to this, but those who have worked as cattle and horses really enjoy this kind of repetitive and mechanical outdoor work.

The heavy negative emotions seemed to have been swept away.

Looking at the adorable tubular flowers on the sesame stalks, and anticipating the sesame leaf noodles that Chef Jiang had promised that evening, everyone became even more excited!
"Ugh, I just said I was going to lose weight, and tonight it was all carbs again..."

"Me too, I've gained four pounds despite exercising so much."

"Don't worry, I've measured my waist. Because I've been working a lot, my muscles are firm, so even though I've gained weight, I actually look thinner."

"I've gotten a bit tanned... Hey! What sunscreen do our boss and Qiaoqiao use? They're so fair-skinned!"

"Yeah! I thought I was doing a good job with sun protection this year and didn't get tanned, but when I walked up to him, my arms looked like they were coated in soy sauce."

The girls whispered amongst themselves, while the men hesitated: Should they eat two or three bowls of rice for dinner? Eating too much wouldn't be good, would it?

But it's absolutely impossible to make them not eat, so I could only silently vow: I'll definitely eat healthily tomorrow!
Whether it was due to the strength of his will influencing Qiaoqiao or something else, he suddenly spoke to everyone again:
"Sister, you can ask Master Jiang to make more."

"If you can't finish the noodles at night, they'll taste even better if you reheat them for the next meal."

Everyone: !!! With such fresh sesame leaves, they couldn't even imagine how delicious it would be. How could it possibly taste better?

The phrase "leftovers are unhealthy" only briefly crossed my mind before quickly turning into a longing for a late-night snack.

But... how much is enough for Master Jiang?

If I eat little at night, what if there's nothing left? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Ugh!
Everyone was immediately caught in a dilemma.

They were caught in a dilemma, and the number of viewers in the live stream was increasing, but the chat wasn't as noisy as before. Instead, many people watched and sighed once again.

[Great, I'm getting sleepy again, I'm going to take a nap.]

Are you sure you're not selling? If not, I'm going to project my housework routine onto the screen.

I'll check if our local farmers' market sells this.

These sesame seeds are growing really well. Will you sell roasted sesame seeds later? And will you sell sesame oil?

Qiaoqiao is really skilled at farm work!

I don't know why, but watching these live streams makes me feel so peaceful; my mind isn't so restless anymore.

[Qiaoqiao's live stream is the only one I can watch from beginning to end; I've lost patience with many slow live streams now.]

[Alas! The internet has ruined me!]

The live stream room was bustling with activity, and so was everyone in the sesame field.

Although the cloth bag at her waist was large, the leaves still took up a lot of space. She quickly picked the leaves with both hands, and it was soon full.

After pressing down a few more times, the bags were so full that it became inconvenient to carry them around. So, everyone raced against each other and quickly untied the bags and threw them onto the tricycles parked nearby.

With such a large quantity harvested this time, Song Tan's family couldn't handle it.

So Uncle Qi and Chef Jiang set up a huge pot in the canteen—the pots used for cooking employee meals here were even bigger than the ones used to be for cooking pig feed in the countryside.

This is incredibly efficient for blanching.

At the factory gate, Aunt Lianhua and the other women from the village filled a basin with clear water, ready to thoroughly wash the sesame leaves several times.

Everyone chatted idly:
"I'll plant some sesame next year. I haven't farmed for many years, and I haven't thought about planting these things for a while."

"I need to plant more rapeseed; the sprouts are really delicious. It would be good to press some rapeseed oil too."

"We don't like using rapeseed oil at home, the taste is too strong. If we're going to grow anything, we'll grow peanuts..."

"Whose amaranth is growing in that wasteland at the bottom of the hillside? It looks old, and it's grown thick, tall, and strong."

"These are from my house. I deliberately saved them so I could get some more fermented amaranth stalks..."

"Oh! I'll help you out then, and get me a bowl to try."

"That's nothing to talk about. You can just go there when the time comes. It's never too late to plant amaranth. I think it's growing quite well, even more vigorous than the weeds in the field. I'm just about to sow some more seeds."

"This stuff is heat and sun resistant. Do you have extra seeds? I'll sow some too."

"My family doesn't like to eat stinky amaranth stems, but we can pickle some tender stems—we also have amaranth at home, but it hasn't grown that big yet, so we won't eat it for a while and let it grow."

People were all talking at once, and even Uncle Qi, who had come out for a stroll, couldn't help but feel a little envious after hearing this.

Old Song's family planted quite a lot of amaranth this year, but they only picked the tender ones to harvest for Boss Chang, and there are still some left in the field.

Or maybe we should wait until they get old and then collect them to make more fermented amaranth stalks?
But the thought had barely crossed his mind when the tricycle brought the sesame leaves back.

Everyone quickly rushed forward. The thing wasn't heavy, and each person dragged two bags back to the yard.

Untie the cloth bag, then pour it into the water—wash it!
Washing this stuff takes a lot of time.

Because these leaves are sticky when washed, you have to squeeze them out and wash them several times.

After washing them thoroughly, blanching them, and then drying them in the sun, even a large cloth bag can't hold much.

Everyone rubbed the sticky leaves, chatting and laughing, knowing that the height of summer was just around the corner.

My concentration was really low today, so I decided to grab something to eat late at night, but after looking around at the food delivery options, I quietly gave up.