Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Chapter 426: Cool Water on a Hot Day

The two men nodded and scanned the wheat field, not letting go of any bird or insect.

After Zhou Guo finished his instructions, he patted the head of the black man beside him, pointed at the wheat in the yard, and then pointed at the sparrows flying around in the sky, and said, "Don't go to the fields in the afternoon. Help watch the grain at home. If there are sparrows coming to eat, drive them away. Got it?"

Hei Dadan barked at her twice, then squatted beside the wheat and didn't move, his pair of black eyes looking around constantly.

Zhou Guo smiled knowingly and said to Zhou Su and the others, "I have found a very good helper for you."

After saying that, he went into the kitchen to help with cooking.

The vegetables had been bought yesterday, including pork ribs, a live duck, and some badgers that the old man had taken time to catch in the mountains. They were kept in the backyard. There was too much meat to keep, so we bought the ones that were alive if possible.

If you can’t buy them alive, just hang them in a well and keep them there for a few days.

Zhou Xing had already brought the meat out of the well. She quickly cut it into pieces and put it into the pot to cook.

Zhou Guo rolled up his sleeves and began to prepare seasonings. It was a busy farm day, hard work, and the sun was scorching. He had to have some food in his stomach, so he had to make braised pork at noon. He used the cut meat scraps to stew a pot of beans, picked a few cucumbers from the vegetable garden, flattened them, mixed them with minced garlic, sesame oil, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, and pine mushroom powder, put them in a basket, and hung it in the well to cool it down. It became a cold and delicious dish, and there was also a pot of cooling tea soup.

Although there are few dishes, the quantity is large, the oil is sufficient, and it is enough to eat.

Zhou Guo served some of the prepared food and called Zhou Su and the others, "You guys eat under this eaves. Don't go anywhere after you're full. Just stay in the room. If you want to sleep, don't all sleep. One person can sleep and the other can watch. Got it?"

Zhou Su and the others nodded repeatedly, "Got it, sisters, don't worry, we will wash the dishes after you finish eating."

Zhou Guo was very confident about them, so he fetched two buckets of water before leaving and moved the big stone that usually covered the well mouth to block it. Now he didn't have to worry about them falling into the well. He carried one bucket to the ground and left the other bucket at home.

"This water is enough for you to wash dishes or drink. I've brought it to the kitchen. Go drink it if you're thirsty."

Zhou Xing even took out the last few melon seeds in the house, put them in a basket, and placed them on a small stool, saying with a smile: "These melon seeds are enough for you to eat. I think it won't be boring to eat while looking at the yard. Just look after the house."

They were even happier; they had food to eat, drinks to drink, and company; this was a great job!

After giving the instructions, Zhou Guo looked around and saw that there was nothing special to instruct, so the two of them picked up the baskets and drove two carts to the fields.

It was already noon at this time. The sun was scorching like fire. The weeds by the river had all drooped their heads, but the cicadas all over the field were tirelessly chirping, making people irritated and irritated.

The two men arrived at the field and found that everyone was still working.

Zhou Guo frowned. It was noon and the sun was so strong. He should take a break.

When the old man saw them coming, he dropped the sickle in his hand and walked with heavy steps to the big tree, which was where the family rested.

Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi looked back and stood up after finishing cutting the wheat next to them. They raised their sleeves and casually wiped the sweat off their faces. When they moved their heads, their necks were full of prickly wheat stubble. The sweat flowed into their eyes, stinging them painfully. Their backs and chests were all wet with sweat. They really wanted to be shirtless.

Li also stood up, took the hand of Xu who was still working, and wiped the sweat off her face. The two sisters-in-law used to compete with each other openly and secretly, and she hated them too, but now her parents-in-law are gone, and the two heads of the family are gone, leaving only them, and they are stupid and crazy. She doesn't care about the past anymore, and there is no point in arguing about it.

Zhou Guo brought down the water that had just been drawn from the well. There was something covering it. "Here, this is freshly drawn from the well. It's still cold. Come and drink it!"

The people in the fields nearby heard the shout and immediately felt thirsty. Their own water was warm, which was no match for the well water. They couldn't help but ask, "Zhou Guo, do you have any extra water? Can you give me a sip?"

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Come on, I brought a full bucket, anyone who wants some cold water can come."

When everyone heard this, they stopped eating, picked up their weapons and came towards them.

"Oh my god, the sun is too strong. I drank no less than six bottles of water this morning and didn't even go to the toilet. All the water turned into sweat and flowed out. Look at my clothes and pants. You can wring water out of them. If you don't know, you would think I peed myself!"

"You think you're the only one like this? Everyone is the same. Damn it, it doesn't matter whether I eat or not. I just want to drink something cool. The water I brought has become hot now."

A sip of cool water is now more attractive than any delicacies from land and sea.

My throat was so dry that it was smoking. At this moment, I took a sip of cool well water, which flowed from my mouth to my throat, esophagus and stomach. I immediately felt comfortable all over. I couldn't help but sigh, "It's so comfortable! It's so satisfying!"

People from this field came one by one, drawing water from bamboo tubes one by one. They would draw more water when they had drunk enough. In the end, after everyone had drunk some and drawn some back to the fields, there was only a small half bucket of water left in the wooden barrel.

Everyone in the family had drunk the water. Zhou Guo put the water in cowhide bags. These two cowhide bags were obtained when she and Zhou Dacang went out to look for Zhou Suli. They were very useful for storing cold water.

Fill the gourd, bamboo tube and cowhide bag with cold water again and put them into the wooden barrel.

Zhou Guo stuffed a bunch of weeds in it and covered it with a branch. Although it couldn't be compared with a refrigerator, it could still be used for a while. At least it wouldn't warm up so quickly.

Before drinking the cold water, I couldn't eat at all, as if I wasn't hungry at all. But after drinking it, I saw the dishes in the clay pots and the large basket of steamed buns, and my saliva started to water.

They got up while the stars were still hanging in the sky, and went to work in the fields after dinner. They felt hungry during the work and ate some homemade rice cakes to fill their stomachs.

But that thing, without salt or oil, is suitable as a snack, but not as a proper meal. After eating a few, it's the same as not eating anything. Even if you are full, it will be gone in a few bites and you don't know where it went.

To be honest, I'm already hungry!

Seeing the shiny and greasy braised pork, he couldn't help but start to swallow his saliva. Zhou Guo took out the chilled cucumber wrapped in layer after layer of hay.

When everyone saw how tightly it was wrapped, they immediately became excited. Even the braised pork was not wrapped so tightly.

As soon as she opened the lid, a pot of ordinary cold cucumber appeared in front of everyone.