Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 118.2

“How much could it be—”

Eldest Song was about to ask, but then he remembered the 20 yuan per pound purple vetch and fell silent.

He thought, What if it was 1,000 yuan per pound? He really couldn’t afford it! That would be too embarrassing.

While he hesitated, Mao Li and Sun Yanyan quickly grabbed their big plastic baskets and ran off—

They had to hurry!

Song Hongmei already had a plastic bag and was heading to the old lady’s garden. They had seen the lettuce there—it was just a small patch. And the scallions, which normally wouldn’t be worth much, were suddenly 20 yuan per pound!

They had to get them back quickly!

When they arrived, they saw Song Hongmei had already pulled out two lettuce stalks. Mao Li didn’t say a word, just placed her basket in front of the vegetable bed and started pulling.

Wang Lifeng’s lettuce was growing well this year, with layers of leaves piling up, and the tops already starting to bud. Now, with just a little effort, pulling them out wasn’t hard at all.

Song Hongmei had pulled out three lettuce stalks and grabbed two bunches of scallions, ready to stop. She turned her head and saw:

Wow!

These two had already pulled out a small pile. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you pulling so much lettuce? You can’t eat it at every meal.”

Song Hongmei was frugal but with a strategy. She wouldn’t just eat the same thing every meal to save money. If she did that, her husband would have turned the table over long ago.

Even now, with the lettuce growing so big, one stalk was enough for a family of three for one or two meals. The lettuce leaves could also be stir-fried, making three stalks enough for seven or eight meals. Even eating one every other day would last a week!

So, Song Hongmei figured that to ensure freshness, three stalks were perfect.

Besides, there were scallions. They could be fried with cured meat, eggs, or anything else, perfect.

But looking at Mao Li and her daughter-in-law, it seemed they planned to empty the vegetable garden and set up a stall at the market!

But with lettuce in every garden this season, how cheap was that? It wasn’t necessary!

Noticing Song Hongmei’s puzzled look, Mao Li smiled, “Oh, things in the city are expensive. Mom said we could take them, so I’m taking more back. Your brother loves hometown vegetables now.”

Song Hongmei was straightforward, but she wasn’t stupid.

What do you mean, he loves hometown food? Clearly, they just wanted to take advantage! She glanced at the silly mother-in-law and said:

“Take your time; I’m going back to clean the lettuce.”

She turned and left the garden.

When she returned, Qiao Qiao was happily carrying a basket full of fresh locust flowers down from the back mountain. He looked up and said, “Aunt, here are the locust flowers.”

Qiao Qiao tipped the plastic bag and poured the locust flowers inside, and Song Hongmei smiled with delight.

“Oh, my nephew really cares for me! Look at our Qiao Qiao, such a good boy! These locust flowers are great; they smell sweet. The ones in bloom can be steamed with eggs, and the unopened ones can be stir-fried later…”

Saying this, she plucked a few flowers and stuffed them into her mouth, tasting a sweetness she had never experienced before!

Song Hongmei paused, “Tan Tan, I think these flowers are great. Don’t eat them all; sell them instead. I’m sure someone would buy them for 20 yuan a pound.”

Song Tan sighed—she knew there would be buyers, but there just wasn’t enough quantity. Three to five pounds weren’t even worth the gas money.

If they grew more with the spiritual energy, there had to be a base amount first.

Otherwise, with just those two locust trees yielding a hundred pounds of flowers, her mother would never agree!

So, she generously packed them into the bag:

“Aunt, you’re such a good cook; take them all home and enjoy. If we want more, there are still more flowers on the tree.”

With so much food, locust flowers could be blanched and frozen for later. Song Hongmei was overjoyed!

After some thought, she reluctantly set aside a small portion: “Give some to your Eldest Uncle to try, or else they’ll start grumbling again.”

Looking around to make sure no one was there, she took out some cash from her pocket, carefully pulled out five yuan, thought for a moment, and gave another five to Qiao Qiao:

“Good boy, Aunt didn’t bring you any treats this time. Take this money and buy yourself something nice, but don’t let your Aunt find out.”

Normally, this would call for a bit of polite back-and-forth, like “I don’t need it” or “Please take it…”

But Song Tan didn’t. Instead, she helped Qiao Qiao tuck away the ten yuan, then grabbed a hoe from the corner:

“Aunt, the bamboo grove has fresh bamboo shoots growing. Want some?”

Bamboo shoots, once blanched, could be dried too!

Song Hongmei immediately pulled out a large plastic bag from her bag: “Let’s go! Let’s do it together!”