Free Web NovelChapter 294: Chapter 296: Three Bowls of Rice
An Ning pushed aside her thoughts and focused on watching the child.
Lin Cuihua and her sister-in-law were quick and efficient. In no time, they had whipped up several dishes and cooked a pot of rice.
There were also the dumplings An Ning had made, just not very many.
Making them from scratch was always a bit slow.
Most importantly, they had run out of ready-to-use meat at home.
"Time to eat! Time to eat!"
As Lin Cuihua called everyone to the meal, her sister-in-law took Hei Dan’er. An Ning grabbed a few washbasins and pumped water in the courtyard for everyone to wash their hands.
"An Ning, there’s hot water in the pot. That well water is freezing."
"Got it!"
An Ning turned and went back into the house. She returned with a ladle, scooped out plenty of hot water, and poured a generous amount into both washbasins.
"There are new towels here."
An Ning pointed to some towels on the clothesline before heading back inside with the ladle.
After everyone washed their hands, they gathered around the circular table. They looked at one another, and their gazes eventually settled on Lin Cuihua.
"Alright, alright, dig in. I didn’t make anything fancy. Tomorrow, we’ll have some meat. I used up all the meat we had today for the dumplings."
"This is already wonderful. Fresh greens are hard to come by these days."
Yu the Elder spoke up, breaking the awkward silence at the table, and everyone began to eat.
On the table was a large bowl of meat-filled dumplings and six other dishes.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, blanched aralia sprouts, shredded cucumber mixed with dried tofu, bok choy with pork cracklings, spinach with peanuts, a plate of fried dried fish, and a side of fresh vegetables for dipping with an egg and chili sauce.
They were authentic farmhouse dishes, bursting with fresh flavor.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks. After one bite of the vegetables, they couldn’t stop eating.
"These vegetables are delicious. Truly delicious."
Yu the Elder asked, "Did we buy these vegetables? Are they for sale right now?"
In a casual tone that couldn’t hide a hint of pride, Lin Cuihua said, "We didn’t buy them. They’re all homegrown. Eat up, we have plenty."
This made Yu the Elder even more curious.
An Ning chimed in, "After we eat, I’ll take you to have a look."
"That would be great."
And so, their after-dinner plans were set.
The meal of farmhouse vegetables left the two father-son pairs feeling extremely satisfied.
Even Zhou Xiaoshan, who had intended to find some fault with the place to avoid having his father actually make him stay for an apprenticeship, felt too embarrassed to say anything as he looked down at his third bowl of rice.
Who would believe he didn’t like the food?
After the meal, Lin Cuihua shooed away Yu Zheng and Zhou Xiaoshan—who was being coerced by a look from his father—when they offered to help clean up. They had no choice but to follow An Ning toward the greenhouses.
Along the way, whenever they encountered people, the younger ones would proactively greet An Ning, and An Ning would take the initiative to greet the elders.
Her popularity was beyond imagination.
On the country paths, small blades of grass poked out everywhere, and budding trees and sprouting willows were a common sight.
People on the dirt roads moved at a leisurely pace; some carried hoes on their shoulders, others held earthen baskets, all heading home unhurriedly.
It was a picture of idyllic beauty—leisurely, content, and free-spirited.
Yu the Elder said, deeply moved, "When my mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be and the higher-ups don’t need me anymore, I’ll come to the countryside. Tending a patch of land would be quite nice."
"With your pension, it would indeed be very nice."
"You see the people in this village—they look relaxed, but they’re also hustling to make a living. It’s just that their way of hustling is different."
"Yes, you’re right. In this world, everyone scrambles for a few coins. Without them, you can’t get anything done."
Yu the Elder wasn’t some ivory-tower expert detached from the real world. He had suffered, truly suffered. He knew the bitterness of a hero being thwarted by a single penny, the hardship of a person being driven mad over a single steamed bun.
An Ning didn’t say much more. Everyone here was intelligent.
Only when intelligent people get their hands dirty can they truly bring prosperity to a place.
"My family’s greenhouses are just ahead."
An Ning pointed to a cluster of greenhouses up ahead and led the four astonished men to the first one.
The man who worked regularly in the greenhouse and kept an eye on it came over to say hello. Seeing it was An Ning, he left them be.
It was only then that An Ning remembered about finding some dogs.
She suddenly turned to face Zhou Yicheng.
"What’s wrong?"
Zhou Yicheng looked at An Ning, confused.
"I wanted to ask, do you know of any retired dogs over there that don’t have anyone to care for them? I’d like to raise a few in the village."
"Don’t worry. The dogs here eat well, live well, and have fun. Just look at Da Huang, who greeted me today, for an example."
An Ning gave her little pitch. Zhou Yicheng hadn’t expected this request, but it wasn’t hard to understand.
"I’ll contact some people for you."
"Thank you."
An Ning opened the door to one of the greenhouses, and the group ducked inside.
"This is bok choy. When you’re cooking noodles, tossing in a handful makes it incredibly fresh."
The four men who followed An Ning inside felt all their fatigue wash away, healed by the sea of green before them.
In late April in the north, green was still a rare sight.
The blossoms on many fruit trees were only just beginning to open.
A lush green patch of vegetables like this was truly uncommon, or rather, completely unheard of.
"Using sunlight, plastic, and trapped heat to allow vegetables to grow... it’s certainly a good method."
Zhou Xiaoshan commented, acting like a little adult. An Ning glanced at him but didn’t respond.
Ignored by An Ning, Zhou Xiaoshan felt a hollow pang in his chest. ’What’s with her? Didn’t she say she wanted me as her apprentice?’
"Vegetables like this only give you a timing advantage. Once the regular growing season for vegetables arrives, your place won’t have any edge at all."
Zhou Xiaoshan spoke up again. An Ning glanced at him once more. Without explaining or arguing, she simply said a few words.
"Three bowls of rice."
Zhou Xiaoshan’s face flushed red in an instant. He understood what An Ning meant.
He had eaten three bowls of rice just to have more of those delicious vegetables.
For these vegetables, the timing advantage was just the icing on the cake; the flavor was the true foundation.
"HAHAHAHA, well said! The flavor of these vegetables is worth more than just three bowls of rice."
Yu the Elder also understood, adding, "The customer base is different. If you want to last, flavor is what’s eternal. There will always be people willing to spend a bit of money to eat better."
"In our great nation, there’s certainly no shortage of people who can eat and who love to eat."
Yu the Elder’s words immediately earned An Ning’s approval.
The two of them, chatting happily, walked out of the greenhouse to check on the others.
Zhou Xiaoshan followed behind, unconvinced, muttering under his breath, "Liar!"
"She said she wanted to take me as her apprentice, but she doesn’t value me at all."
Zhou Yicheng was right behind Zhou Xiaoshan and chuckled to himself when he heard his son’s muttering.
His brilliant son had a long way to go when it came to being tamed.
The method An Ning was using now wasn’t much different from how they trained new recruits, breaking down their pride.
For a moment, Zhou Yicheng thought that leaving Zhou Xiaoshan here would be a very good thing.
After all, the atmosphere here, the sense of family, was truly wonderful.
’Perhaps Xiao Shan will find what he’s looking for here, something that I can’t give him.’
The scales in his heart gradually tipped, and he felt no desire to stop it.
