PFC Chapter 19 Tomatoes Ripen
Chapter 19 Tomatoes Ripen
A few days later, the tomatoes that Xia Shiyu had planted ripened!
Xia Shiyu looked at the tomatoes in the field, most of which were red. The tomato vines were wrapped around the trellis, and red fruits hung among the green leaves. The tomatoes were large and plump, bright red, and neatly arranged. She picked one that was as big as two fists and felt heavy in her hand.
She took a big bite. The tomato had a thin but firm skin, and the juice was overflowing. It was sweet and sour in just the right amount. Even she, who doesn't usually like sour food, found it acceptable and couldn't help but take another bite. She also picked another one from the vine and handed it to her mother.
"Mom, try it, it's delicious!"
He then ate the rest of the tomatoes with gusto.
Yu Juan took the tomato from her hand with great surprise, "Wow, it's so big and quite heavy! Let me try it, hmm, it tastes good too."
After finishing her meal, Xia Shiyu wiped her hands and mouth with a paper towel and made a cheerful decision, "Let's pick two more to take back with us today. We'll have a tomato feast: tomatoes with sugar, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and I can also make some tomato sauce later."
Yu Juan looked at the tomatoes in the field and nodded, "Okay, let's do it this way. But so many of them are ripe, we need to pick them quickly and sell them."
Xia Shiyu nodded, "I can call people to pick them this afternoon, and we can sell them directly tomorrow. By the way, I'll ask the hotel, the hot pot restaurant, and my cousin-in-law if they need any tomatoes tonight."
“Okay, I think so. These tomatoes are no worse than the previous dishes,” Yu Juan replied with a smile.
After looking around, the two picked a few vegetables and headed home. However, Xia Shiyu frowned when he saw birds coming into the field to steal food. The vegetables in the field were quite attractive to these animals, and even though they had fenced off the area, they still couldn't stop them.
“These birds aren’t afraid of these scarecrows. I think we should catch a few dogs to keep an eye on them. And it’s not just animals we need to keep an eye on people too.”
“Sure, there are plenty of stray dogs in the village. I’ll ask around and bring back a few.” Yu Juan kept this in mind.
After returning home, Xia Shiyu plugged in the rice cooker and put in only a little bit of rice, as she wouldn't be able to finish it if she put in more.
The two then started cooking.
Yu Juan took out two eggs, first fried them in oil, then set them aside. Next, she started frying tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes into chunks, stir-fry them until they release their juices, then add the eggs and seasonings back in. Soon, fresh tomato and egg stir-fry will be ready.
Xia Shiyu cut the tomatoes into small pieces, added white sugar, and put them in the refrigerator. After the rice was cooked, she took them out and they were just cooled.
It's a pity we didn't have any beef brisket at home, otherwise making tomato beef brisket would have been a good idea.
Thinking this, Xia Shiyu silently made a mental note to buy beef brisket next time.
After the two finished their work, they waited quietly for the rice cooker to start cooking. With a "ding," the rice cooker switched to the keep-warm mode.
"Dinner's ready!" Xia Shiyu said, then went over and turned on the rice cooker.
After each of them served themselves a small bowl of rice, they sat down. Besides the pickled vegetables, there were only two plates of bright red tomato dishes on the table. Today, tomatoes were the main attraction.
Xia Shiyu couldn't wait to pick up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour taste of the tomatoes was brought out and neutralized by the salt. Paired with the delicate texture of the eggs, there was no eggy taste in her mouth. The tomatoes were also not like those in the market that were injected with water and tasted bland.
"So delicious!" Xia Shiyu exclaimed and picked up another piece of sugar-coated tomato. It was still slightly cool from being taken out of the refrigerator. The sugar had melted into the juice, mixed with the delicate fruit pulp, making it irresistible.
"This is delicious too, Mom, you should try it," Xia Shiyu said enthusiastically after finishing her meal.
Yu Juan was also engrossed in eating. She poured the scrambled eggs with tomatoes over the rice. The delicious scrambled eggs with tomatoes and rice blended together, creating a different flavor that made people eat several large mouthfuls with the rice.
After hearing Xia Shiyu's words, she also reached for the sugar-coated tomatoes with her chopsticks, "They are indeed delicious."
The two of them ate the rice and finished off the two dishes on the table. In the past, Xia Shiyu often ate snacks and could only eat half a bowl of rice before she couldn't eat any more vegetables. But since she started growing vegetables, her appetite has been getting better and better.
Luckily, she didn't let her mom cook too much, or she would have eaten too much again.
After eating, she rested for a while and then went to her room for a nap. She planned to ask about the situation at three o'clock in the afternoon.
At 3:30 pm, Xia Shiyu guessed that the noodle shop was not so busy now, so she sent a WeChat message to Ye Wan to ask.
[Sister-in-law, are you free now? I just harvested a new batch of tomatoes; would you like some?]
Xia Shiyu received a reply just minutes after the message was sent.
[Yes! But I don't need much, just seven or eight catties a day is enough.]
Ye Wan excitedly sent the message. She was so happy. Ever since the noodle shop started using the vegetables grown by Xia Shiyu, her business had improved a lot even after she raised the price by just one yuan. Customers who came here all said that her noodles were delicious, but many times they came just for the vegetables.
Ye Wan was quite happy to see that Xia Shiyu had brought tomatoes this time, as it would be perfect for making tomato and egg noodles. In fact, she had put a lot of effort into it, and all the tomatoes were fresh, unlike some places that just use tomato sauce, but the taste was just average, so business wasn't good.
However, given her trust in Xia Shiyu, she's sure this batch of tomatoes will be exceptional and will definitely satisfy customers.
After seeing the message from the night, Xia Shiyu simply replied with an "OK" gesture.
You can be more casual with relatives, but you still need to call and talk to the owners of restaurants and hot pot restaurants in person.
They even have to try the food first before making a decision.
Fortunately, Tan Yue from the hot pot restaurant told her she didn't need to go through all that trouble, as their hot pot restaurant needed the base ingredients that were perfect for making tomato broth.
As for Manager Wu, he was indeed being more cautious. Although the vegetables had brought good results before, this was only their second collaboration, and as a hotel manager, he had to be more careful.
"Mr. Xia, we'll need you to bring some for tasting so we can make a decision."
Xia Shiyu readily agreed, "No problem, Manager Wu, I can bring some for you to try tomorrow."
After discussing the matter with Manager Wu, Xia Shiyu hung up the phone and then called two helpers to go to the field to pick tomatoes.
Fortunately, these tomatoes are quite heavy and easy to pick. It only takes one small tricycle to fill them up. Manager Wu just calls people to pick up the goods himself, so he doesn't have to worry about it.