Transmigrating with a Five Million Dollar Retirement Life

Chapter 68 Apricot Tree

Fortunately, no more were planted. The grapevines that Song Jiaojiao planted sprouted tender leaves one after another, and even the sugarcane planted grew a lot of leaves.

Feeling that nothing was wrong, Song Jiaojiao once again set her sights on Qingshui Mountain, as the peach tree she wanted was still nowhere to be found.

On a bright and sunny morning, Song Jiaojiao, carrying her basket, the dry rations prepared by Xu Fang, and a machete, set off into the mountains with great momentum.

Going into the mountains this season is not a good choice. The animals in the mountains have been hungry all winter and are out foraging for food. If you're not careful, you could become a meal for wild game.

Sure enough, Song Jiaojiao had just escaped a herd of goats when she encountered a wild boar leading its entire family out to forage for food.

Don't ask Song Jiaojiao why she let the goats go. The answer is that she couldn't beat them. Goats have sharp and long horns, and they're not domesticated. They get very agitated at the slightest disturbance. If one of them charged at her, Song Jiaojiao would be gored right through.

Not to mention the three or four hundred-pound male wild boar below, its long tusks were enough to send chills down one's spine, and Song Jiaojiao, hiding in the tree-covered hill, didn't dare to breathe.

We went into the mountains but found nothing; we were too busy hiding from animals. The food chain on Qingshui Mountain is so rich, there probably aren't any big insects there. Logically, this geographical location is unlikely, but the development of this era doesn't match the historical era, so we can't be sure.

Bored out of her mind, Song Jiaojiao could only admire the scenery from the tree. And you know what? This natural forest was really something else. There were all sorts of wildflowers in the low bushes, and looking up, there were pink and white flowers in the distance.

etc,

The pink and white flowers... could this be the peach tree I'm looking for? It's a bit far, and I can't even smell the fragrance.

Watching the wild boar family walk away without hearing any noise, Song Jiaojiao quickly climbed down the tree and headed towards the place where she had just seen the flowers. In no time, she saw a large expanse of trees with clusters of pink and white flowers, which looked quite beautiful.

It was a pity it wasn't a peach tree, but the trip wasn't a complete waste, because it was an apricot tree. Song Jiaojiao even saw apricot stalks with only pits left under the tree.

This vast expanse stretches as far as the eye can see. A gust of wind blows, and the petals dance in the breeze. It's just as beautiful as the cherry blossoms in some paid parks.

Song Jiaojiao couldn't move the big tree that had already blossomed, so she could only note its location and come back when the apricots were ripe. She would then dig up the saplings under the tree and the trees that were as tall as a person.

Working under the apricot trees covered in blossoms, more than an hour had passed by the time Song Jiaojiao finished digging up the saplings. Now, Song Jiaojiao smelled of apricot blossoms. If only she had a beehive, she could make wonderful apricot honey.

Unfortunately, Song Jiaojiao had never kept bees before and couldn't really distinguish between different types of bees, so the project ended in disappointment.

By the time Song Jiaojiao got home, it was already dark. The early spring evening was still chilly. Song Jiaojiao handed a basket of apricot saplings to Wang Shui and told him to remember to plant them on the back hill the next day.

There was a large open space on the back hill, waiting to be planted with peach trees, but unfortunately no peach trees were found. However, these apricot trees won't fill up the hill.

Song Jiaojiao had already dealt with all the vegetables in the greenhouse, and the tarpaulin on the greenhouse was also opened. Thinking that there was nothing to grow here, she took out the Polygonum multiflorum from her space and planted it in a greenhouse. Polygonum multiflorum is similar to growing sweet potatoes, so it doesn't need much care. In addition, the greenhouse is already fertile, so it won't be too bad.

Feeling utterly bored, Song Jiaojiao decided to take a stroll along the riverbank. Based on her experience reading novels in her previous life, she figured there might be some delicious food that the villagers wouldn't dare to eat.

It was the time for rice seedlings to grow, and most of the villagers were busy in the fields. When they saw Song Jiaojiao coming over, they all greeted her warmly.

"Jiaojiao is here."

"Yes, Auntie, we're raising seedlings." Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.

"Yes, the seedlings grown from the cultivated seeds grow well and produce a lot of fruit," the aunt said with a smile, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Yes, Auntie, you're busy. I'll go take a look over there."

......

Along the way, everyone, whether they knew her or not, would try to chat with Song Jiaojiao and become familiar with her, hoping that Song Jiaojiao would think of them first when she had work to do next time. Their faces were stiff from smiling so much after just one trip.

Suddenly, something in an untouched field caught Song Jiaojiao's eye. A dark brown creature with a shell on its back was slowly crawling, looking just like an African giant snail. Song Jiaojiao knew it wasn't a snail, but a field snail, not the small kind, but a large one. She also didn't see any pink eggs on the field ridge, indicating it wasn't an apple snail.

These are edible snails, which are quite common in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas in the last century. Song Jiaojiao picked one up and examined it closely. The aunt next to her watched Song Jiaojiao picking up stone worms, wondering what she was going to do.

"Jiaojiao, why are you picking up stone worms? Their shells are hard, there's not much meat, they smell bad, and they're full of sand. You can only feed them to the ducks when you get back." Right next to them was Aunt Lin's field. These past few days were for spring planting, so Song Jiaojiao gave them a few days off so they could focus on planting their crops first.

"Stone worm? That's quite a description, Auntie. These snails are edible, but there are quite a few steps involved in the initial preparation." Song Jiaojiao said, looking at the snails in her hand. She would take them home and keep them in water with some salt for six or seven days until the sand was mostly gone. Then she would cook the snails, extract the meat, and stir-fry it with chili peppers and pickled radishes. It was sour and spicy, and very fragrant.

When her aunt saw Song Jiaojiao staring blankly at the snails, she didn't say anything, but she remained skeptical of Song Jiaojiao's claim that she could eat them.

When Song Jiaojiao came out, she didn't bring much with her, so she had to borrow a basket from Aunt Lin next to her. She picked up a large basket of snails, not because there were few, but because Song Jiaojiao couldn't carry it; the snails were too heavy.

Song Jiaojiao quickly carried it back and kept it in water. Seeing that it was still early, she led the rest of her family, who were not busy, out to collect snails again. They hadn't seen any before, probably because the villagers had cleared the snails away. Seeing that there were only a few fields left untouched, Song Jiaojiao thought she should collect more.

The villagers in the fields were puzzled as they watched Song Jiaojiao leading people to collect so many stone worms. They didn't know what Song Jiaojiao was going to do with them. The only thing they could think of was that they could feed them to the ducks.

Finally, we finished picking all the snails in the empty fields before sunset, and the empty jars at home were all full, just waiting for them to expel the sand before we could start picking them.

It's a pity I didn't see any snails. Those small snails are really delicious, perfect for pairing with drinks.

And then there are crayfish. This is the season when crayfish are plump and delicious. Whether they are spicy or garlic and spiced, they are all delicious. Just thinking about it made Song Jiaojiao feel incredibly hungry.

Even during dinner, Song Jiaojiao was still thinking about it, "Big sister, have you ever seen a black creature that's about 20 or 30 centimeters long and covered in shell, with two pincers?"

Just as Mu Qing was pondering, Mu Xue shouted from the side, "I, I, I know, Mother, I've seen the creature you mentioned."