Chapter 559: Chapter 559 Harvesting Rice
When the supervisor, Old Zhu, spoke, Family Head Chi Zhong’s palm clenched tightly onto the armchair, always feeling as if the armrest might crack into pieces the next second.
"How many pounds did you say?"
Lowering his head, Supervisor Old Zhu clearly repeated, "Around a thousand pounds."
Chi Zhong, sitting down, remained silent for quite some time. Just as Supervisor Old Zhu was about to lift his head to check, he heard the booming laughter of the Chi Family Patriarch.
"Good! Very good!"
Watching the suddenly overjoyed Family Head, Supervisor Old Zhu grew a bit worried—had the Family Head... been overstimulated?
"Old Zhu, you’ve been a supervisor for so many years, don’t you know about saving seeds?"
Seeds?
Supervisor Old Zhu also abruptly realized, right!
They could save seeds.
"Family Head, I’ll take care of it right away, hurry the harvest, propagate the seedlings, and plant the next batch."
"Good, go handle it."
Chi Zhong waved his hand, and Supervisor Old Zhu left the council hall, his steps much lighter than when he arrived; no longer did he carry an air of lifelessness.
He was truly muddled!
What’s there to fear with seeds!
None of the Chi family had yet realized there might be a problem with the seeds; throughout their centuries-long history of farming, seeds had always been preserved this way.
The Chi family worked quickly, arranging for people to harvest, weigh, prepare to dry, and propagate the seeds.
They aimed to plant as soon as possible and check the seedling situation.
The rice harvest of the Chi family, like a signal, triggered everyone who had bought seeds from Shutong Nian to begin their harvests in succession.
On Planet 6452, belonging to a certain Wang family.
The five members of the Wang family were die-hard fans of Little River Live, so when Xiao He broadcasted the seeds for sale, the fairly well-off family promptly purchased the first batch of seeds.
Following the detailed instructions provided with the seeds, the family somewhat cluelessly planted them; a total of ten acres of paddy fields, and aside from some initial trouble during planting, they hardly ever fretted over it.
It left the family puzzled: was farming really this straightforward?
Even with five people in the family, with students attending school and workers going to their jobs, no one had to take time off to do farm work; after planting, the rice crops just grew naturally with the heavens’ help.
Moreover, the seeds from Little River Live didn’t require purchasing radiation-proof shelters for coverage. In fact, after planting, they noticed something—the radiation around the paddy fields had completely vanished.
Apart from the cost of purchasing the seeds, they had virtually no additional investments.
Today, the whole family took the day off in a fluster, heading to the rice fields.
"Dad, is this really our rice? Make sure you didn’t get it wrong."
"Exactly, what big brother said makes sense—if we harvest the wrong field, our family can’t afford the loss."
"Even though I planted it myself and check on it from time to time, I still can’t help but question if we’re in the wrong place."
The Wang family decision-maker, also the Wang father, doubted himself as he looked over the field.
Was this really their rice? How much rice was here? How much money could this be worth?
It felt like their family was about to strike it rich.
"All right, stop standing around, look at Xiao He’s video tutorial; when the rice looks like this, it’s ready to harvest. If we wait longer, the grains will fall off; don’t you care about that!"
Mrs. Wang was the first to step into the paddy field, sickle in hand, ready to harvest the rice.
"Of course, I care! The last time I had a rice meal was over a month ago!
The Wang family’s youngest son immediately joined his mother in the field, helping her with the harvest.
The remaining members of the Wang family also hurriedly proceeded—they’d regret losing even a single grain.
"Dad, can we have a full meal today?"
Mr. Wang, his eyes brimming with pride, waved his sickle and shouted, "Eat! Today, the whole family shall feast on rice until we’re full!"
"Yeah!"
"Awesome! Mom, let’s buy some fish tonight and stew a pot to go with the white rice!"
"Okay!"
The Wang family was full of energy, and plenty of others who heard the news rushed over, eyeing the Wang family’s paddy fields with envy.
It wasn’t just about the satisfying rice; it was also about the golden Star Coins!
Many people started to regret, initially mocking the Wang family for spending money on seeds. What was the point?
The whole interstellar knew that only the Chi Family were the farmers, but no one expected to be proven wrong so swiftly and painfully.
People standing near the paddy fields looked on with envy, some even calling out to the Wangs laboring below.
"Old Wang, need a hand?"
"Yeah, we’re not busy, want some help?"
Mr. Wang, working below, immediately stood up straight and called back to those beside the paddy field, "No need, no need, thanks for the generosity, but our family of five is enough."
"We don’t want to trouble everyone."
Mr. Wang decisively refused the offers, firstly because he was afraid others might mishandle the precious rice, leaving it wasted on the ground, and secondly, since when does one get help for nothing? At the very least, he’d have to invite them for a meal, right?
What to eat? Was there even a need to ask?
Mr. Wang felt he just couldn’t bear it yet.
The family of five, as if driven by a shared instinct, quickened their pace. The faster they worked, the less others would covet their crop.
They even considered staying up all night to finish up, wary that someone might come and steal the rice.
As the Wang family busied themselves, the same scene was unfolding in several other places.
Everyone was the subject of envy and jealousy, and all families that had crops were hastening to harvest their rice.
That evening, at seven.
Little River Live was about to start.
"Hello, everyone, I’m Xiao He. Today’s chef is Master Fan who will be preparing a new dish for us all."
In the live broadcast, Fu Yunhe, having finished speaking, stepped back, and a pair of hands familiar to the audience, a chef’s hands, appeared on screen.
"Hello, everyone, today I will teach you how to make a pot of braised rice."
[When Master Fan appears, you know it’s going to be a masterpiece.]
[I feel like Mr. Xiao He has been making fewer appearances lately, right?]
[It’s not too bad. There are always things to take care of.]
[Yeah, and Master Fan’s cooking is really incredible. My grandpa is a chef, but he says he can’t compare to Master Fan, not on the same level.]
[It’s true, my dad says that even with the same recipe, the dish just isn’t as tasty as when Master Fan makes it.]
[That must be natural talent.]
Master Fan didn’t chit-chat, just pulled over a pot of raw rice.
"Today’s braised rice will mainly consist of white rice, sausage, cured meat, bamboo shoots, potatoes, carrots, and a bit of kidney beans."
"Chop all the ingredients into small pieces. Since I don’t have raw meat here, there’s no need for pre-treatment; just mix them with the rice, add some seasonings, soy sauce, oyster sauce, etc."
"The cured meat I prepared is salty, so no need for extra salt. If you don’t have cured meat, add just a little salt."
"This pot goes straight into the steamer. Once the rice is cooked, the rest of the ingredients will be too."
After mixing, Master Fan placed the large pot into the steamer, but he also took out a pot that was already steamed to show everyone.
"After it’s cooked, mix well, and there you have it, a complete meal. Tasty and simple, no need to stir-fry."