Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 296 Next year, let my uncle help me grow peppers

Shen Yu then realized that he was only concerned with having fun and had scared everyone.

She waved her hands hurriedly: "Yutao, quickly help me pour a bowl of cold water, I will be fine after rinsing my mouth."

Yutao quickly went to the kitchen to pour a bowl of water. Shen Yu took it and rinsed his mouth several times, then took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears. Only then did he feel better.

Seeing everyone looking at her nervously, she quickly smiled and said, "I'm fine. It's just that the chili pepper is too spicy. I didn't expect it to be a ghost pepper. I was reckless."

Everyone felt relieved when they saw that she was now speaking normally except for her red face.

Li was still frightened and said worriedly, "This chili pepper is really scary. I'm afraid it can't be eaten."

"Yuzhi, you should go to the street medicine shop and ask the doctor to check your pulse. Don't be afraid that you are really poisoned."

Shen Yu smiled and shook her head: "Mom, don't worry, it's not poisonous. Besides, I didn't eat it. I rinsed my mouth. Look, I'm fine."

Seeing how Shen Yu was hurt by the spiciness just now, everyone just looked at the chili pepper and didn't dare to pick it up.

Shen Yuze said, "I just don't know how to grow this chili pepper. It grows well in the extremely hot south. It is said that it can be grown well with just a little watering. I don't know if it can survive here."

The people present, including Li, a country woman from the village, had no farming skills, and when asked by Shen Yu, they were unable to answer.

Li thought for a moment and said, "Speaking of farming, your uncle is recognized in the village as a good farmer. If the Li family encounters something they don't understand about farming, they will go to ask your uncle for advice."

Shen Yu's eyes lit up. Yes, he would give the chili pepper seeds to his uncle Li Lao Da and let him try to grow them. It should be successful.

Li continued, "We have been out for several months, and we have only sent messages to your uncle a few times."

"When the Chinese New Year comes, we'll go home to celebrate the New Year. I'll tell him about this and he'll definitely be able to grow the crops and keep them alive."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Mom is the best. Now I feel relieved."

"If we can really grow chili peppers, I will buy as much as Uncle has, and I will make sure that Uncle's work is not in vain."

Li said disapprovingly: "You girl, you are settling accounts with your uncle."

"Your uncle helped you plant some flower trees, and when they bore fruit, he asked you to spend money to buy them. If this gets out, your uncle will be laughed at to death by the villagers."

Shen Yu said seriously: "Mom, you can't say that. Brothers should settle accounts clearly."

"Relatives can only maintain a good and long-lasting relationship if they don't try to take advantage of others in money."

For a moment, everyone seemed to be touched by what they heard and stopped talking.

Li thought of the time when Mr. Shen was alive, when she returned to her parents' home her sister-in-law would always greet her with a smile and be very warm and friendly.

Later, life became worse and worse. Every time the eldest brother brought money and food to support her, the eldest sister-in-law would complain for a few days and look at her eldest brother when she returned.

Whenever I went back to my parents' home, I never saw my sister-in-law smile again.

After all, it's all about money.

Zheng Sanniang, who was listening, seemed to understand something. She thought for a moment and said, "At first glance, what the young lady said seems heartless, but if you think about it carefully, it is indeed true."

"If relatives only care about calculating money, then the relationship will become distorted, and relatives may become enemies."

Seeing that everyone was in a bad mood, Shen Yu was confused for a moment, so he smiled and said, "We have to wait until next spring to try growing chili peppers. It's still too early."

"I just don't know if the seeds can be preserved if the skin of the chili pepper is peeled off."

She pointed at the two saplings in the earthenware pot and said, "Who among you is good at growing flowers? Help me check whether these flowers are dead or alive."

Jiang pulled herself together, hiding the sadness in her eyes, and smiled as she stepped forward and said, "I used to grow a few pots of flowers and plants when I had nothing to do."

"In my opinion, it is better not to peel the pepper skin. Peel it off when you try to plant it. The seeds will have a greater chance of surviving."

"When you start to try planting these seeds, you need to use different seedling raising methods to grow several different kinds of seeds, which is safer."

Jiang said, and took a closer look at the two pepper seedlings, and said confidently: "The flowers are alive, but they seem to have been sunburned and overwatered. I don't know if they can be saved."

Shen Yu is a person who can even kill a cactus, let alone these plants with leaves.

After hearing this, she hurriedly took the earthenware basin and stuffed it into Jiang's hands, flattering Jiang without hesitation: "Aunt Jiang is the best."

"I knew that if I had any problems, I would go to Aunt Jiang. She is the most reliable person."

"I'm leaving this flower tree in your hands. Please save it. You've come all the way here, so you have to keep it alive."

"If these two flower trees survive here, we will have a better chance of success when we plant chili pepper seeds next year."

Li pretended to be jealous and said, "Oh my, everyone, please judge for yourself. It's not my mother's turn to be the best at this moment."

Shen Yu chuckled, and hurriedly took Li's arm, saying in a flattering manner: "Mother treats me the best, Aunt Jiang is the most capable, and I am the most blessed."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed.

The rain fell intermittently all night, and it stopped early the next morning. All that could be heard was the whistling of the wind outside the window.

A few days ago, the weather was clear and cool, but now it has suddenly entered the bleak late autumn. The trees on the street were blown by the wind and soon became bare, leaving only branches.

When the weather gets cold, the only vegetables available at the vegetable stalls are cabbage and radish. Tofu and bean sprouts are available all year round.

The issue of storing winter vegetables has become a priority for every household.

As a modern person, Shen Yu had never thought about these things before.

All year round, you can buy any vegetables you want in supermarkets or farmers' markets. The only difference is that seasonal vegetables are cheaper and off-season vegetables are more expensive.

But here, it is impossible to eat fresh cucumbers and tender rapeseed in winter, even if you have money.

The vegetables that we commonly eat in winter, apart from cabbage and radish which are durable in storage, all rely on various pickled vegetables.

It was late autumn now, and cabbages and radishes were being sold in carts. Every household was busy making pickles and storing enough winter vegetables in the vegetable cellar to last the family through the winter.

There is also a small vegetable cellar in the corner of the Fengnian Restaurant yard.

Perhaps because there are not many people in Old Man Zhou’s family, the vegetable cellar is not big.

According to Zhou Dalang, in the past, the vegetables stored in half of the vegetable cellar would be enough to eat until the next spring.

But now, the Shen family has a large population and they run a restaurant, so this small vegetable cellar is not enough.

After Li and Shen Yu discussed it, they took advantage of the clear weather and called in craftsmen to expand the vegetable cellar and renovate it.