Chapter 986: 966. Putting gold on the face
Yu Yan was about to respond, but Song Tan waved her hand dismissively:
“Oh, no need. I brought them up the mountain to work off their al a little. They eat too much at ho—I’m worried they’ll burst!”
Yu Yan’s expression froze, staring at Song Tan in utter disbelief—
You’re aware you brought us up here to work off the food?
And yet, just a mont ago, you asked
if I wanted so radish! Do you even have a conscience?!
But Master Jiang understood perfectly. He quickly placed the food bowl back and said, “Oh, the first ti eating here, right? When I first ca, and when my wife first ca, we ate so much we couldn’t even walk straight!”
With good intentions, he placed the leftover food back in the pot to keep warm. Then, grabbing a bottle of sesa oil, he poured it over the freshly mixed chili-oil radishes. The radishes already had great flavor, but now, with the sesa oil blended in…
The assistant was the first to give in. His face turned red as he said, “I… I’m going to stand by the door for a bit.”
Outside in the cold winter wind, the earlier flush of his cheeks began to fade gradually, and his overwhelming appetite started to calm down as well.
A mont later, noises sounded beside him—clearly, everyone else had co outside too.
Yu Yan was trying hard to act composed: “Rice balls are nothing special. I an, if they bake long enough to get crispy, they could chip your teeth when you bite them.”
“Exactly!” The caraman chid in seriously, with the deanor of an expert on a health TV segnt, “Pickled vegetables like this aren’t nutritious. Too much of it isn’t good for you.”
Only Brother Li, ever honest, sighed and said, “I don’t care about good or bad—I just want to taste it. It slls so good!”
In the kitchen, Master Jiang peeked outside at the few figures standing around and softly asked Song Tan:
“You’re not usually this tough on people, are you?”
Song Tan smiled sweetly, pure-hearted as ever: “I’m not being tough! This just happened while we were talking a stroll… Besides, I did so research beforehand. I heard the newspaper office is really desperate for content nowadays. With soone like Qiaoqiao, if they write sothing, it’s sure to generate clicks naturally.”
It’s even more tempting than adorable pets or gourt food.
“If they don’t realize how amazing and precious this stuff is, what if they actually take it lightly just to chase clicks?”
The people in the ten miles and eight villages here would be less accommodating because of their proximity—unlike online fans, who are far more forgiving.
Master Jiang understood this logic. Seeing soone win a million in the lottery online hits different from seeing soone in a nearby village win the sa amount.
He nodded knowingly: “Got it! Later, take them for another walk by the riverside. Show them we don’t just have veggies—there might even be at coming up.”
Song Tan laughed. “Already planning on it. This is a long-term strategy, you know. Slow and steady wins the race.”
…
True to her word, Song Tan held a rice ball in hand, crisp on the outside, soft and sweet within. Inside, the crunchy, tangy radish added to the appeal. She walked leisurely up the slope toward the playground, leading the group.
All the while, she asked thoughtfully, “Next, we’ll be walking another ten to twenty minutes. Do you all think that’s too tiring?”
But before anyone could respond, she continued nonchalantly: “Try to hold on. The midday al is going to be really delicious—it’d be such a sha if you didn’t have the appetite for it.”
Everyone watched her eat with irritation, eyes glued to the rice ball in her hand. Even the weakest young assistant couldn’t bring themselves to say no.
By the ti she slowly finished her rice ball, a large expanse of reeds and the riverside beach ca into view.
It was mid-winter, and only a few patches of green grass speckled the beach. Their tender tips had long since been nibbled off by cows and sheep that occasionally wandered by, leaving them looking terribly sparse.
The dry, yellowed reeds along the riverside swayed in the wind, their leaves and fluffy seeds drifting with the moisture-laden breeze. Despite the starkness, it carried a certain poetic desolation.
The caraman muttered first, “This spot would be perfect for wedding or portrait photography.”
Song Tan chuckled. “That’s only because it’s been cold lately, and the cows and sheep haven’t been out much. If you ca when the grasses were lush and green, there’d be cow pies every three steps and sheep droppings every two steps. Who’d want to wear a wedding dress here?”
The caraman shrugged it off. “You’re underestimating people! They’ll jump into cold water to take pictures in the winter if it looks good.” Looking closer at the area, though, much of the land near the reed field appeared tilled, not entirely natural.
Curious, he asked, “What’s planted here?”
“Different kinds of pasture grass.”
Song Tan pointed to various parts, explaining, “This is Imperata Cylindrica. That’s Pennisetum Purpureum. Over there, the land’s been tilled but hasn’t been planted yet—that’s for diverse new varieties we’re prepping for next spring.”
As the group strolled along the riverbank, they spotted a sizable house within the fenced area and asked, “Is that where the cows and sheep are kept?”
“It is,” Song Tan nodded.
“That area houses the animals, plus there’s a row of dorms. The shorter buildings nearby are ferntation pits. The reason the stuff from our mountain tastes so good is because it’s entirely natural—no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Even the manure fertilizer is ho-fernted.”
Of course, this was more about what sounded nice to say.
Anyone who’s actually fard knows that if you never use any chemical fertilizers, no matter how organic or ticulous the thods, the yield simply won’t co up—that’s the reality of even the most intensive farming.
Otherwise, why would Professor Song get so excited about it? Was it just because the food tasted good?
Still, most people didn’t understand this detail, so the pitch about natural farming still sounded persuasive to them.
For instance, Yu Yan exclaid in amazent, “Not even a trace of chemical pesticide residue?”
“None,” Song Tan answered confidently.
“We don’t even use chemical fertilizer.”
The group asked for more details about natural composting techniques and marveled among themselves before turning their gazes toward the young man working vigorously atop the ferntation pit with a shovel.
“Is he a worker from the village?”
Song Tan paused before replying, “No, he’s my cousin. He graduated from college and stayed to help
in the village.”
“No way!”
Yu Yan furrowed his brows at her. “What kind of charm do you have that a college graduate would give up city life to shovel manure back here?!”
Has society really beco this competitive?
The caraman muttered under his breath, “I bet your family’s cooking is just that irresistible.”
But surely irresistible food alone couldn’t make soone give up their life in the city, could it?
Just as they were speaking, a couple erged from the nearby house, clearly having heard the conversation. They glanced at Song Tan and couldn’t help but laugh:
“Don’t let Tantan give her cousin too much credit. That worker is my son. Do you think I don’t know what he’s like? With his smarts, if he went out to work in the city and got so money in hand, he’d probably get scamd out of it all. It’s better for him to stay here and work steadily!”
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