Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 814 - 804. Picking vegetables at night

Chapter 814: 804. Picking vegetables at night

At half-past eleven at night, the alarm went off and Li Lanhua got out of bed.

Zhou Maozhu had gone to help build fermentation tanks during the day and was now sleeping so deeply, snoring loudly, which made Li Lanhua, who struggled with sleep during menopause, quite envious.

However, thinking that the couple could earn three to four hundred a day and save a meal’s cost, she was filled with enthusiasm again.

As she stepped out of the courtyard, she saw Zhang Hong, who was also heading to the mountains, just arriving at the door: "I was about to call you."

Li Lanhua, beaming with joy, said: "I set an alarm—you said you weren’t coming tonight?"

An eight or nine hour shift during the day, merely overseeing machines and leisurely packing boxes wasn’t tiring, but collecting vegetables in the dead of night wasn’t that easy, right?

But Zhang Hong sighed, "Ah, I’ve been sleeping poorly these past two nights, might as well do some work... I called Wu Lan at eleven, she wasn’t too happy about it."

Li Lanhua laughed heartily: "She’s worried you’d faint from exhaustion and collapse in the field."

Zhang Hong didn’t mind: "It’s just about distributing the time, not too tiring. Eight or nine hours during the day, four at night, but eating well, staying at my own home! I’d rather enjoy meals cooked by a professional chef."

"My neighbor works in a factory’s packaging, standing on the assembly line for 12 hours a day for a wage of 180, but they only get half an hour for meal breaks... Is that earning money or risking life?"

As the topic of work came up, they inevitably discussed it further—should they try for a permanent job next year?

The salary for a permanent worker, when carefully calculated, definitely doesn’t match the daily income of these temporary jobs. But a permanent job guarantees income rain or shine, three meals a day, every month is stable!

Zhang Hong considered: "I still want to be a permanent worker. Temporary jobs pay well when busy, but there’s no work when it’s slow, it’s not secure."

"And besides, I don’t want to cook at home... You know my cooking, it’s not that great. After a tiring day, having to cook for myself is quite troublesome."

The canteen on the mountain was different. When they ate there before, they noticed that Master Jiang was organized and liked cleanliness, the stove was spotless.

The oil and other ingredients they used were the same as those they used at home, the taste was good, and there were many varieties...

With ready-made meals, who would still want to go home and cook?

As she said this, Li Lanhua hesitated—what should she do next year?

While chatting and pondering, the two quickly made their way along the brightly lit road to the slope.

At the factory gate, two transport trucks were already waiting. Wu Lan was standing in front of a stack of white plastic baskets, and when she saw them, she quickly waved:

"Are you really planning to keep going non-stop? I don’t need that much vegetables today, it should work out."

Collecting vegetables for three or four hours earned eighty yuan, only a fool would refuse! Zhang Hong and Li Lanhua decided resolutely:

"We’re already here... You just tell us what vegetables you need and how to prepare them, we’ll start right away!"

"Alright!" They were straightforward, and so was Wu Lan:

"First, tie this little stool around your waist, it’ll be convenient to sit in the vegetable field later."

"Then get a basket here, and then head over to the hollow heart vegetable patch, pick the tender ones row by row."

At this rate, these hollow heart vegetables had been planted only about a month ago, how could they have aged?

Zhang Hong exclaimed "Ai!" and without another word, followed Wu Lan’s lead by tying a stool around his waist. Then, with an empty basket in hand, he headed straight to the vegetable field.

The type of hollow-stemmed vegetable here wasn’t the usual sprawling kind grown in their village. Instead, these were slender and upright like young bamboo, approximately 20 to 30 centimeters tall.

When the night lights came on, the tender green of the stems looked as crisp as green apples. A gentle pinch with two fingers was enough to snap them, emitting a crisp "Ka" sound.

This was the first time Zhang Hong and Li Lanhua had harvested this type of upright hollow-stemmed vegetable, and they were a bit clumsy at first. However, once they got the hang of it, their hands moved with remarkable speed.

Even with just the two of them, they managed to create a rhythmic flow within the vegetable bed.

The uniformly sized and neatly arranged hollow-stemmed vegetables in the rectangular white plastic baskets had a fresh green tint...

Whether one was OCD or not, witnessing such a sight could instantly make one feel at ease.

While working, they chatted: "These straight-stemmed hollow-stemmed vegetables look cleaner and prettier than the sprawled ones we used to have... I wonder if they’ll save seeds this year; if so, I might also plant some next year."

"Indeed. I’ve seen the same type in the urban area supermarkets... Next year, I’ll check the seed shops. They look so tender; they must be delicious."

The stools were at just the right height, so initially, neither of them felt tired from the work; they even had the energy to observe other parts of the vegetable field—

Incredible! There must be about five to six acres of these hollow-stemmed vegetables alone.

It’s impressive how they have managed varying growth stages; there’s a fresh pick each day, no wonder the initial seed spreading was paced over several days.

Moreover, hollow-stemmed vegetables can grow abundantly, almost yielding two thousand kilograms per acre. After one harvest, another can be carried out in just over half a month...

Thinking about the continuous work in the coming days energized both Li Lanhua and Zhang Hong.

After they finished picking a row of hollow-stemmed vegetables, others from the village gradually arrived. However, everyone had different tasks, such as picking amaranth—its tender, swaying leaves in the evening breeze suggested it was also delicious.

The lush, green Crown Daisy looked so inviting one would want to pick it by hand, chop it up, blend it with some flour and steam it—nourishing the heart and brain without causing weight gain!

And it tasted wonderful!

A bit further away, others were harvesting leeks...

The new leeks of October were nothing like the withered ones from June; their leaves were thick and wide, and a big handful could be grasped in one hand, cleanly cut off at the root with a sickle...

Ah! Whether used in dumplings or fried with eggs, they were delicious and excellent for kidney health and vitality!

Around the periphery of the field, some were busily pulling up onions and garlic!

Round, multi-cloved garlic, purple-skinned single-cloved garlic, tender and uniquely fragrant garlic sprouts, and similarly lush green local small red onions...

Somehow, as they worked, their smiles grew wider and wider. Soon, the mountainside was filled with joyful and lively chatter.

Though it was deep into the night, the mountain was brightly lit, bustling as if it were daytime.

Wu Lan, pulling along Song Sancheng, kept moving filled vegetable baskets over to be weighed and then carried the empty ones back, turning up a sweat in the cool autumn wind.

Meanwhile, the two drivers guarding the vehicle were puzzled:

"Why go through the trouble of picking vegetables here, traveling so far across provinces? It’s like paying a price for meat on a plate of tofu! Outsiders indeed have their own ways of doing things."