Song Tan's Notes

Tonight's meal is more than just stewed green beans; it's a veritable gathering of heroes, a green bean conference.

Vice President Chen was very satisfied with the guesthouse—the aesthetics, the quality of the furnishings, and the comfort of the bedding were all perfect.

It's hard to imagine that this is the quality of a homestay in such a remote mountain village.

But precisely because of this, after a quick wash, he hesitated to leave when faced with the message from Secretary Zhu on his phone.

What are you moving?!

He just wanted to order takeout to soothe the moment he heard about the old green beans. Unfortunately, the mountains were high and the roads were long, and he lived in a remote, impoverished area, so he had money but nowhere to spend it.

On the other hand, I am a vice president, after all. These township leaders are really bad. They talk a good game when discussing cooperation, but when I arrive, they just use this as a way to get rid of me!

Mr. Chen comes from an ordinary family. When he was a child, there was always an endless supply of bean curd sticks in the summer. He got tired of them long ago, and now he hasn't seen them on the dinner table in the summer for many years.

But Secretary Zhu was eager to take a bite.

Seeing that no one had replied for a long time, he actually came downstairs to wait for them.

Mr. Chen forced a smile, and as he watched the guesthouse owner set off with an umbrella in the continuous rain, his hopes dwindled.

……

The Song family didn't make a special effort to entertain this Vice President Chen—that was Secretary Zhu's business—so the usual practice was still to serve four large basins of food.

They were only responsible for getting a free meal for others, but now Seventh Uncle is wielding a large ladle and stirring the food in the pot with practiced ease.

Lu Chuan is helping to serve the dishes.

If there's one appliance in the house he couldn't successfully upgrade, it's this stainless steel basin used for holding vegetables.

It's undignified, ugly, and doesn't even stimulate the slightest appetite.

But it can hold a lot! If a dozen or twenty people eat only four dishes and a soup, how heavy would other dishes be?

Moreover, it's very durable and can withstand bumps and knocks when you wash it, even with all the thumping and clanging.

Therefore, no matter how ugly it was, he gritted his teeth and endured it, hoping to find some enamelware or similar items later to improve the aesthetic standards here.

Nowadays, the dish served is a fragrant, tender stew of old green beans stir-fried with twice-cooked pork.

Then, another plate of steamed green beans is served, made with oil, cornmeal, and some seasonings, with chopped green beans mixed together and steamed.
The seasonings are already prepared, and just the aroma alone is spicy and savory, with the unique richness of mature green beans. Steamed tender green beans don't have this flavor at all.

Then, serve a bowl of clear stewed green beans. There's no meat in it, but the split green beans release plump cowpeas from inside. They're cooked until soft and tender, and served with rice soaked in the broth, it's incredibly flavorful.

These potted plants, placed there one after another, are indeed quite impressive, but—

"Why are they all old green beans?"

Ulan muttered to herself.

Their green beans are delicious, and my family isn't that picky about food, but in the middle of summer, with so many other vegetables available, why are we only eating this one?
The only dish that wasn't green beans was a small fish that I picked out this morning when I was catching fish for Boss Chang. It was stir-fried with pickled cabbage and pickled peppers, and the broth looked so delicious that it made me want to eat more rice.

Seventh Uncle was making a soup with the baby corn he had peeled earlier when he heard this, and raised his voice amidst the crackling of the firewood:
"You'll have to ask that!"

They asked us to pick some old green beans, and we picked a whole basketful!

Picking a whole basketful is fine, but if you can't finish them all, just put them in the refrigerator in bundles.

And what happened? I don't know if it was stupidity or just plain foolishness, but they broke off the whole basket!

If you leave the old green beans that have been broken into pieces in the refrigerator, they'll look awful tomorrow.
Ulan: ...

She didn't know; she went to chat with Lu Jing. Looking again at Song Sancheng, the other person was muttering to himself:

“I figured all that stuff in the basket would have to be broken up anyway, so this saves you some work…”

He paused, then added, "Doesn't it smell delicious? We'll eat it in one meal, but these cowpeas mature very quickly. There will be more in a couple of days."

Everyone fell silent. It was delicious, but if three dishes were all green beans, no one would want to eat it again tomorrow.

When Party Secretary Zhu arrived with Deputy General Manager Chen, they were greeted by this strange atmosphere.

But she didn't notice; she only couldn't help but look forward to it as she closed her umbrella under the eaves:

"It was raining so hard that you couldn't smell the aroma outside the yard. But it smells so good now! Mr. Chen, you'll probably have to eat two big bowls of rice tonight."

Then he added with a smile, "Don't panic, we have special digestive tablets."

Mr. Chen didn't quite get the joke, and at that moment he stiffly tugged at the corners of his mouth again.

However, this stingy Party Secretary did make a valid point: it does smell quite good.

Thinking of this, his waning appetite returned slightly.

Seventh Uncle watched as Secretary Zhu's face grew fuller day by day, and now it's round and looks very auspicious.

He then laughed and said, "Eat more, eat more. If you're worried about gaining weight, eat more of those steamed green beans. They're seasoned lightly, so you can eat less rice."

He's capable, but Secretary Zhu isn't!

This is Old Song's fragrant rice.

So she smiled and asked, "Do you have any rice crusts? I'd like to grab a piece of fermented bean curd before I leave to have as a late-night snack."

Take a piece of rice crust the size of a face plate, pick up a chopstick of fermented bean curd and spread it evenly on top, then sandwich two pieces together!
This is what a true connoisseur is like!

Seventh Uncle beamed: "Yes! I'll save one for you."

Then, looking at the young and handsome Vice President Chen, he said warmly:
"Can you save a table for us guests?"

"Thank you, but I won't—"

"Stay!" Secretary Zhu interrupted him!

It's not that she likes to act on her own initiative, it's just that the village is poor. If she wants people to put in more effort, she has to satisfy them in the small details first.

Regardless of whether Vice President Chen eats now or not, he will definitely eat at night.

Putting everything else aside, if I hadn't saved these crispy rice crusts in advance, I really wouldn't have gotten a chance to eat them.

Vice President Chen: ...

Fine.

What else could they do but exile them to a mountain village?
Whose bowl do we live on, and whose authority do we obey?

Besides, authentic farm-style dishes do smell really good, so let's just eat them.

He was being warmly invited to sit at the head of the table—there were four large stainless steel bowls, and later, this bowl of soup made five.

With five large bowls crammed onto the table, it's really hard to say which one is the seat of honor.

I looked up again—hiss!

How could you find such a family in this rural area! It's Teacher Qiaoqiao's sister and her boyfriend—

As he looked at it, his heart ached again.

Such a straight figure like a poplar tree, such a smiling and reserved demeanor, and that beautiful and intelligent older sister of Qiaoqiao.

She's so beautiful, Qiao Qiao must be beautiful in real life too.

No wonder his wife still calls him "Qiao Bao" so sweetly, and she thinks it's unreasonable when he's a little jealous.

He was a baby when he was young! It's a pity his love ended before he even grew old… (End of Chapter)