Looking at the persimmons hanging on the branches, Zhao Zheng was also puzzled. Why didn't anyone pick them?
On second thought, he realized that he had already reached the depths of Wild Dog Ridge, and not everyone was willing to run that far.
Besides, this place is bare and all the firewood has been taken away. What are you going to do here?
Even if someone knew there were persimmon trees here, they might not bear fruit due to the drought this year.
Zhao Zheng looked down and saw a tiny stream of water flowing down the cliff.
"Hey, no wonder there are so many fruits, it turns out there is water here."
Excluding some rotten fruits that fell to the ground, there were at least eighty fruits on the tree.
Zhao Zheng climbed up the tree and picked a ripe persimmon with a layer of white frost on the surface. He took a bite and sucked it, and the sweet flesh with juice opened in his mouth.
Eating sugar can make people secrete dopamine and make them feel happy.
The same goes for fructose.
"Although it's a bit numbing and the seeds are large, it's definitely the best fruit you can eat in winter right now."
Zhao Zheng couldn't wait to pick the persimmons from the tree. Seeing some persimmons that were pecked by birds, he felt sorry for them. "Let's not waste them. If you don't eat them yourself, you can give them to others!"
After a while, Zhao Zheng had picked all the persimmons. "Except for the ones that were rotten, there are still about 100 to 200 left, which means at least 20 kilograms."
[Ding, wild persimmons, one pound for six coins, valued at one hundred and sixty coins, for storage/for sale?]
"Deposit!"
It's too cheap, not worth it.
It's better to keep them for yourself. If you can't finish them, you can dry them into dried persimmons and keep them for emergencies.
Although eating too many persimmons can easily cause kidney stones, it is definitely a treasure for the poor.
Persimmon trees are drought-resistant and cold-resistant and do not require special care. A small plant can grow dozens of kilograms.
In times of famine, it saved countless lives.
"Uncle Youde also has a persimmon tree at home. He treats it like a treasure, but it still doesn't bear as many fruits as this persimmon tree."
Thinking of this, Zhao Zheng picked up the fruits on the ground again. If he didn't eat them himself, he could give them to others.
He took out three pounds of persimmons from the warehouse, put them in his clothes pocket, put all the rotten fruits into the bin, and then walked back satisfied.
At this moment, the three women also dug up all the wild vegetables nearby.
The total weight is less than two pounds.
But Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe still expressed their gratitude profusely.
Wu Yueying wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "Why thank me? If you have any good things in the future, just don't forget me."
She paused and said, "It's getting late. I have to go back to cook. Why hasn't Uncle Zhao come back yet?"
Yang Zhaodi was also a little worried.
At this moment, Zhang Xiao'e said, "Father-in-law is back, and he seems to have something in his pocket!"
"Zhao Di, Xiao E, look what treasure I found." Zhao Zheng stepped forward and spread out his clothes, and the red fruits caught the eyes of the three women.
"Persimmon!" Wu Yueying was shocked. "Uncle Zhao, where did you find this?"
Zhao Zhengdao said, "There's a persimmon tree growing on the cliff face right where the waterfall is. I was lucky enough to find it."
As he said this, he put down the bamboo basket behind him and said, "There are still some in here, but they were all damaged by birds. There are only so many good fruits left. What a pity."
Wu Yueying was extremely envious.
The three of them worked so hard to dig wild vegetables for such a long time, but they didn't get as much as Zhao Zheng did by wandering around.
This persimmon is absolutely a treasure. If you sell it at the market now, it will fetch at least ten cents per pound. Rich people eat it as a dessert.
If it is made into persimmon cake, it will be even more expensive.
Yang Zhaodi said happily, "Father-in-law is really amazing. With so many persimmons, we can make a lot of persimmon cakes."
Zhang Xiao'e swallowed hard and said, "If you take it to the market, it will definitely fetch a lot of money."
"What are you selling? Keep it for yourself." Zhao Zheng grabbed a few ripe persimmons and stuffed them into the two women's hands. "Try them. Eating too much of this stuff is not good for you."
"Thank you, father-in-law." Zhang Xiao'e had eaten half a wild vegetable cake at noon and was already hungry. She took a bite of the persimmon and her eyes narrowed immediately. "So sweet!"
Yang Zhaodi hadn't eaten persimmons for a long time. The last time she ate persimmons was a few years ago when her father took her to the market and secretly sold her a persimmon cake.
"It's sweet, so sweet, it's sweet to my heart." Yang Zhaodi said with a smile.
Wu Yueying swallowed and tried hard not to look, but how could she help it?
They were already short of food and clothing, and their bodies were in desperate need of sugar.
She just wanted Uncle Zhao to give her a persimmon to eat.
But then I thought, I just borrowed half a pound of corn, and I still want to eat other people's persimmons?
That's too greedy.
"I don't want a good one, even a rotten persimmon will do!"
At this moment, Zhao Zheng also handed two less ripe persimmons to Wu Yueying, "Everyone who sees it gets a share, Yueying, try some too!"
Wu Yueying was stunned. "Me, I have one too? Uncle Zhao, it's very expensive..."
"Didn't you bring us here to pick wild vegetables?" Zhao Zheng stuffed a persimmon into her hand. "Eat it. Don't be polite."
Wu Yueying felt warm in her heart. Although Uncle Zhao had a bad reputation in the village, he was indeed good to her.
Thinking of her prejudice against Uncle Zhao, she actually felt ashamed, "Thank you, thank you Uncle Zhao!"
However, she resisted the urge to eat, carefully placed the persimmons in the basket, and then covered it with wild vegetables.
"Sister Yueying, don't you want to eat it?" As she spoke, Zhang Xiao'e had already eaten the third persimmon.
"Let's eat when we get home." Wu Yueying licked her lips and said.
Zhao Zheng knew at a glance that she was planning to leave it for her family.
But he didn't say anything, nor did he have the intention of giving more. Even if he still had more than 20 kilograms of persimmons, he would not be a pushover.
A little bit of rice is a favor, a peck of rice is a grudge.
Even if you want to be nice to others, you can only do it gradually. If you feed them too much, you will create enemies.
Zhao Zheng put the good persimmons into the two women's baskets, covered them with wild vegetables, and then said, "It's getting late, let's go home."
The three women all nodded.
On the way back, Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe were particularly happy and kept discussing how to deal with the persimmons.
Wu Yueying also agreed, but her smile seemed a little forced.
When we reached the village, it was almost dark.
Many people were surprised to see that the three women had really dug up wild vegetables, especially those who had laughed at Zhao Zheng in the morning. They all came over to try to get close to them and wanted to ask them where they had dug up the wild vegetables.
Zhao Zheng's smiling evasion made them angry and helpless, and they all cursed Zhao Zheng for being cunning in their hearts.
In fact, all the wild vegetables in Yegouling had been dug up, but Zhao Zheng refused to tell them and let them guess and think, which made them very angry.
Wu Yueying also smiled and shook her head. She did not tell others her thoughts. Since wild vegetables can grow in that place in winter, there will definitely be more growing in spring.
After parting with Zhao Zheng and the other two, the first thing she did when she got home was not to deal with the wild vegetables, but to call out her two daughters, "Huahua, Xiaocao, come out quickly and see what goodies mother brought you!"