Song Tan's Notes

Dr. Wu and the other two: ...

Putting aside the issue of whether or not to buy a car, are people in the countryside really this informal?

He hesitated and said, "If we buy a car, then we won't take this bus anymore."

"No, no, I don't need to." The driver was remarkably nonchalant: "I get paid, whether there are passengers or not, I'll drive. Young people who want to travel around should buy a car; it's convenient to carry some things."

"If you're worried about the cost, our bus runs twice a day just for you, that's fine with me."

Well, now that they've come to the village, the drivers are so casual. If this is really the case, they really won't need to buy cars—

Wait, what was the real reason I wanted to buy a car in the first place? Right now, all I can think about is today's food and tomorrow's food; I can't remember at all.

Everyone was speechless, feeling despair at their young but useless brains.

Then, noticing several large plastic bags next to the driver's legs, I quickly changed the subject: "What did you buy? It looks like... sauce?"

The driver chuckled: "Zhang Hong's fermented bean curd and tofu sheets! What do you call this? Buying on behalf of others! It's two yuan extra per pound or jar. I make two trips a day, between the town and the city, and I can earn several dozen yuan."

It's a pity that the soft tofu couldn't be carried; it's too fragile...

Dr. Wu's eyes widened again: How can such a small mountain village sell everything from large pills to tofu through purchasing agents?

"Is it very famous?" everyone eagerly asked.

The driver was proud: "I don't know if it's famous or not, but almost everyone who drives here from the city every weekend buys tofu from this shop."

"If you're sending local specialties to your family during holidays, this is definitely the right thing to do."

"Since you're new here and don't know the locals well, you have to go early in the morning to queue up and make reservations."

The condition of giving Lao Song's family several hundred yuan a month for using the pool water deterred many people. Zhou Maozhu's family said regretfully: "We hesitated for one night, but Zhang Hong was quick and went for it."

Now you'll regret missing out!
The money they earned was hard-earned, but it was like a treasure trove! Although it was indeed hard work to get up early and work late, the villagers weren't afraid of hardship.
What I fear is working hard but not getting paid.

Fortunately, although no one else earned this income, Zhang Hong also didn't earn the more convenient and flexible income from selling vegetables.

Everyone joked around a bit, and there was no real envy or jealousy involved.

Without this tofu, their local cuisine wouldn't have become so famous so quickly. According to the Song family, what's it called?
This is called a lack of focus or emphasis on core strengths.

The driver glanced at the group of young men, and upon hearing they were from Dr. Guo's clinic, wanted to curry favor with them further, so he added:
"Also, if you're going to the city to visit relatives and friends, you can buy more vegetables, and there won't be any problems. Every family grows slightly different kinds, so just pick whichever you like to eat."

It's a bit pricey, but think about it, if you buy 10 pounds of vegetables for five or six yuan a pound, it's only a few dozen yuan. Isn't that more appealing than bringing two boxes of milk?

The dishes from their Yunqiao Village are now quite famous in Yuncheng.

……

Meanwhile, Dr. Guo changed into shorts and slippers, picked up a basket, and met up with Zhang Yanping, who was waiting by the roadside. They then rode an electric scooter directly to the riverbank.

But they were a step too late; Song Tan and Qin Yun, along with their group, had already started picking the fruit.

The children could swim and weren't afraid of getting wet, so they wore small life jackets, held swimming rings, and splashed around in the shallow water by the river.

The water there was shallow, but now it's all murky. They laughed and joked, their laughter filling the air, and even the increasingly silent He Tuoluo temporarily put aside his unhappiness.

The adults were much more cautious, especially since there were quite a few people who couldn't swim.

Song Tan brought out all of her family's small boats, including two antique-style electric awning boats left behind by the film crew after filming wrapped up, and a blue plastic boat that she could buy that day.

In comparison, the main focus is on the stark contrast in appearance.

So the traditional-style boats were unhesitatingly taken over by the ladies, while the men, who didn't like taking pictures, just sat on those ugly blue boats!
There weren't enough bright orange life jackets either.

Therefore, the men who could swim had no choice but to back down again.

The ladies were taking photos and laughing, and even before they had picked a single water chestnut, they were already brimming with emotional value.

With such a great place, why would I go to any other holiday tourist destination?
"that is!"

Yunfeng's wife also sighed, "Yunfeng's days off are always real holidays, which is so rare."

Staying home and taking care of the kids is really boring.

Go outside, it's absolutely packed with people...

and……

Yunfeng's wife muttered, "Don't we live in the capital? During holidays, we always have relatives and friends coming to the capital and we have to host them."

Treating people to meals is a small matter; the key is to accompany them to scenic spots.

Good heavens! In the first two years after we got married, she climbed the Great Wall 12 times during the National Day holiday alone! She was practically worn out.

So nowadays, she can't stay in the capital during holidays, whether it's the suburbs or tourist attractions.

If she's already in such a predicament, then Yunfeng's situation is even more difficult.

Not only does he have to climb the Great Wall, but he also has to ask connections to get hospital appointments. When an elder needs to see a doctor, he begs and pleads to get an expensive appointment through a scalper, only for the patient to complain about the price and not come back.

If they stop coming, I can't withdraw my money either. I get depressed a few times a year.

It's only in recent years, with things gradually becoming more standardized and requiring various certificates and licenses, that things have improved somewhat.

However, these are all trivial matters in life, and nowadays I am mostly happy.

Especially now, shimmering in the golden light of the setting sun, that's double the joy!
Everyone put aside their previous complaints about the bizarre incidents and enthusiastically discussed the vast fields of water chestnuts in front of them, and the large white goose in the distance, leading its ducks and swaying its rear end in the water as it faced the setting sun...

This is so relaxing!

……

"Dr. Guo is here!"

Although I'm a little embarrassed, I still have to say that Dr. Guo is more popular among men than among women!

Everyone greeted her with a reserved yet enthusiastic demeanor. As they watched Zhang Yanping carefully escort her onto the boat, and considering the contrast between the two, it was hard not to fall silent for a moment.

Fortunately, Dr. Guo is an easygoing person, and his fair complexion made him look no different from a college student, which prompted his wife to quickly come over.
"Dr. Guo, you're so young, did you have a medical procedure done, or did you have some internal conditioning? Could you help me with that too?"

"No problem!" Dr. Guo was very generous: "Come back tomorrow when you have time to take my pulse, and I'll prescribe a beauty treatment for you."

Despite this, she emphasized, "I have some experience with gynecological treatments and men's health. Other aspects are really quite ordinary. This beauty formula might take a while to show results..."

Looking at her face, everyone felt that her humble words were not convincing, so they hurriedly pulled her to the center position.

Qin Yun's wife was even more generous, putting her own life jacket over her head:

"You pick them, and I'll take a picture of you."

Lu Chuan was steering the small boat, but because there were water chestnuts right in front of them, and everyone was still posing for photos and finding the right angle, they hadn't really started moving the boat at all. Only Song Tan said helplessly, "If you keep taking pictures like this, none of us will get many water chestnuts tonight."

"It's right there in front of you. Just scoop up the whole water chestnut, stem and all, soaking in the water."

Picking the small water chestnuts one by one and throwing them into the basket, then tossing the bunch back into the water—what an easy thing to do!
“When I was managing the riverbank, there wasn’t much in the river. The water chestnuts here were brought from elsewhere. There are red water chestnuts, as well as the old variety of small four-cornered water chestnuts, and also the large water chestnuts from the market… You can pick any kind, they’re all the same.”

"However, I personally think that the small, four-cornered water chestnuts of the older varieties are the sweetest when they are young, and the red water chestnuts are also good when they are young. The large water chestnuts are generally not as good; they are better for making soup when they are older."

Qin's mother sighed, "I haven't seen such fresh and tender water chestnuts in many years. Last year I bought a bag of them at the market, but when I got home, the shells were green and black, and the old ones were so tough I couldn't even break them. I was just about to cut them with a knife."

The problem is, it doesn't taste good even after you cut it open and peel it. Not only is it too old and tasteless, but even after cooking, although it has a powdery texture, it still has no flavor.

In short, a bad review!
Song Tan laughed, "Then try some of our tender water chestnuts later tonight. When I was little, my grandma would go to the pond and scoop out two basketsfuls at a time. They were so sweet and delicious; I could sit there peeling them all afternoon."

The river water was clear but not too fertile, and the water chestnuts were not overly plump; they varied in size.

They scoop up one, then pluck off another, put it back, and scoop up two more, like they're on a treasure hunt.

It not only creates a sense of anticipation, but also brings a sense of stress-relieving joy.

Everyone sat in the small boat and leaned down, feeling even more comfortable.

In contrast, the men's side is much more rugged.

No one was doing anything before, but now they're moving too fast.

They scooped up a handful, ripped off the water chestnuts, threw them back, and then scooped and ripped them again... It wasn't a game at all; they were there to work as water chestnut pickers.

Lu Chuan had to repeatedly remind them to keep an eye on their children, but the parents didn't seem to care at all.
"It's just a shallow beach. As long as you don't fall in, what could happen? I'm wearing a swimming ring and a life jacket."

The water was stirred up too much and it was impossible to see anything. I don't know what kind of mud monkey I'll look like when I get back.

So the group discussed, "Let's take them out of the boat before we leave and rinse them in deep water, otherwise how are we going to wash them when we get home?"

Yeah!
The parents all agreed with this statement.

Song Tan was speechless upon seeing this.

She remembered when Yunfeng's mother-in-law was taking care of Yun Danqing, the girl was running and jumping around, and she had to worry about her catching a cold from the wind. So she always carried a small towel with her and would wipe her back and chest every now and then inside her clothes.

Now, after a few days, the child doesn't mind being soaked in muddy water anymore.

It just goes to show that different places have different customs.

Seeing that the men were picking water chestnuts too quickly, and that there were so many, they didn't know when they would finish eating them, and since the tender ones couldn't be stored for long, Song Tan reminded them:

"See that thin stalk under the water chestnut leaf? Break it off, and you can stir-fry it, just like eating sweet potato stalks."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Qiao turned to look at Song Tan.

Song Tan also turned her head away guiltily.

Then I heard the honest younger brother emphasize again: "Nothing tastes as good as sweet potato stalks!"

nonsense!

Nobody believed it, but his sweet potato stalks were stir-fried with chili peppers, and they were incredibly delicious with rice! Just that one dish was enough to make everyone eat two or three bowls of rice.

If there weren't so many choices, everyone at the table would have started fighting over this.

These water chestnut stalks look plump and sturdy, and they all look pretty much the same—although they're a bit shorter, they're still stalks.

Why doesn't it taste as good anymore?
Even if it's not as delicious as sweet potato stalks, or even just a little bit worse, it's still incredibly delicious!

Everyone immediately perked up: "Do we need to choose between old and young?"

Qiao Qiao: ...

He sighed, not understanding why the adults didn't take his words seriously.

Harvesting water chestnut stems is troublesome, and cleaning them involves peeling off the outer skin, which is also a hassle. When stir-fried, the texture is indeed inferior to that of sweet potato stems.

The key question is, with so many delicious foods at home, why insist on eating this?

But he still dutifully said, "If you pinch too hard, it means the skin is a bit too old, then you can skip it."

Moreover, he hesitated, looking at the lush green leaves in his palm: "So, we just pick these leaves and throw them into the river? Won't that cause pollution?"

It's not that he's polluting the water source, but he keeps fish at home. If there are microorganisms decaying in the fish tank, the fish will get sick.

The fish at Song Tan's house are so delicious, they must take good care of them. It's always good to ask them a few questions.

"No way!" Qiaoqiao said seriously.
“My mom said that the original soup should be used to digest the original food. Besides, if you throw the leaves into the river, fish will eat them, geese will eat them, and ducks will eat them. If they don’t eat them, they will rot and turn into soil at the bottom, which can also nourish more fish and shrimp…”

What a wonderful way to digest food with the original broth!
The cultural figures who wrote and published books were immediately stunned.

But then everyone started to say: If you say that, they won't feel bad about picking them!

……

Here comes the joyful laughter of people picking water chestnuts:
"Look at this big water chestnut! It's huge!"

"Big doesn't necessarily taste good. When I buy fruit, I pick the extra-large ones, but they're already a bit pithy in the middle."

"These are small, four-cornered water chestnuts. They're so green and tender!"

On the other side is—

"This stalk is so fat! Look, I've picked a whole bunch. Will the ones we've picked tonight be enough to make a big pot of stir-fry?"

"If possible, let's skip the chicken, duck, fish and meat, and just stir-fry two simple dishes."

We're eating so well every day, I'm starting to feel a little embarrassed.

Lu Chuan didn't care. When entertaining friends, one should naturally do one's best, after all, his friends had also put in a lot of effort when he went to visit them.

"I don't mind if you want to reduce the workload of Master Chai and the others."

"Reduce it a bit, reduce it a bit."

Putting everything else aside, Lu Chuan and Song Tan aren't even married yet, and he's already killing chickens, ducks, and sheep every day. It's really embarrassing.

When I arrived, I felt I had shown my sincerity and prepared all the gifts. But after staying for two days, I realized that nothing I did could truly express my appreciation.

Putting everything else aside, is that enough for a meal?
Even if you're feeling a bit sour, just look at Lu Chuan: How come this guy gets all the good things in the world?

It's sour, so incredibly sour. I bet these sweet potato stalks would be sour too if stir-fried with pickled peppers. (End of Chapter)