章 51: Chapter 617: Harvesting Rice!
"I'm back!"
As soon as Tang Xiaoxin got home, she heard the rhythmic sound of chopping vegetables coming from the kitchen.
She ran to the kitchen and saw her mom chopping scallions and ginger. There was a marinated fish next to her, and the oil in the pan was starting to smoke slightly. "Wow, are we having fish for dinner?"
Tang's mom shooed her away, "Out, out! I'm about to put it in the pan. Don't get splashed with oil!"
"Okay," Tang Xiaoxin obediently replied.
A series of sizzling sounds followed, accompanied by the aroma of fish wafting out. The kitchen door closed, and the sound of the exhaust fan kicked in.
Tang Xiaoxin sat on the sofa, cuddling her cat Xiao Hei while scrolling through her phone, preparing to select some nice photos to post.
After a while, her mom came out of the kitchen, closed the door behind her, wiped her damp hands, and smiled, "Come on, tell me how your day at the zoo was."
Seeing the crane-themed stationery set on the sofa, she picked it up curiously, "What's this? It looks pretty fancy!"
Tang Xiaoxin opened the set and happily showed it to her mom, "This is the new stationery set from the zoo! It includes tape, a notebook, a ballpoint pen, and other items. Look at the beautiful designs on them. The notebook even has illustrations inside. Isn't it exquisite?
"But I can't bear to use this notebook for notes. I'll use it to jot down lyrics and poems!"
"Is it expensive? How much was it?"
"The set was 98 yuan."
Tang's mom flipped through the notebook, admiring the elegant crane illustrations and the graceful cloud patterns, "Oh, that's not too bad."
She understood her child's love for beautiful stationery, having gone through that phase herself.
It was just a bit surprising how advanced stationery had become! The zoo was quite good at generating revenue.
However, this revenue generation was done ethically. Despite various improvements, the ticket prices hadn't changed, and there were no separately charged areas. One ticket allowed access to the entire zoo.
There were no random feeding or animal interaction projects. The animals that could be fed and interacted with were domesticated ones like alpacas and pigeons.
Visitors could bring their own food and drinks to the zoo, avoiding the high prices often seen at such places. This increased visitor satisfaction, as they were more willing to support the zoo with their purchases, especially since the products were genuinely good.
Tang Xiaoxin excitedly recounted, "Today, Keke and I went to the gibbon exhibit first thing in the morning and heard the gibbons sing! Their songs are really beautiful and moving. I heard they're the only animals that can sing in harmony! Oh, I was so mesmerized that I forgot to record it. Otherwise, I would have let you listen to it too."
"Gibbons singing?" Tang's mom tried to imagine it but couldn't quite picture it.
However, seeing her daughter's genuine smile and excited demeanor made her feel that maybe skipping the tutoring classes for a zoo visit wasn't so bad.
After all, once you start working and get married, such pure joy becomes rare.
Especially during the first few years of work, the pressure of life can be overwhelming, leading to nights of crying under the covers.
She wanted her child to study hard but also be happy, often feeling conflicted about it.
"And the hippos! Wow, when they fart, it's like a lawnmower, making a huge noise while pooping, swinging their tails and flinging poop everywhere. It's really something!"
Tang Xiaoxin's vivid description made her mom laugh, "Hey, we're about to eat. Can you not talk about that?"
Tang Xiaoxin suddenly remembered, "Oh! The rice I planted at the beginning of the semester is now golden and ready for harvest! The zoo's hot spring hotel is also open. When can we go as a family to enjoy it?"
Tang's mom thought it was a good idea, "Let's ask your dad when he gets back and see when he's free."
The rice was indeed ready for harvest!
Not just the rice, but also the corn planted on both sides, which matured in four months.
A week later, the zoo's first farming group sent a message notifying everyone that they could come and harvest on the weekend.
The harvest was scheduled for 8 AM, to take advantage of the cooler weather before the sun rose. After the harvest, they could enjoy freshly cooked rice!
The zoo's official account also posted an article inviting interested people to come and watch.
...
On the weekend, the sky gradually brightened.
White clouds drifted leisurely across the blue sky!
Birds sang melodiously from the treetops, and some hopped around the fields, pecking at the grains.
In the early morning, the edges of the rice leaves still held dewdrops, which glistened in the soft sunlight, displaying a translucent green!
Among the leaves, the heavy golden rice heads drooped down, gently nodding in the breeze.
By the pond, frogs croaked loudly, jumping into the water and swimming away.
The pond's edge was adorned with light purple, pink, and various other colorful wildflowers, attracting butterflies and bees.
It was a serene rural scene!
The vast golden fields exuded a sense of harvest joy.
The alpacas in the nearby pen stretched their necks, eyeing the rice heads with apparent envy.
Children and parents had already gathered, admiring the fields and chatting excitedly.
Tang's dad spotted a dragon-bone waterwheel by the pond and, intrigued, started turning it, splashing water and having fun.
Of course, the waterwheel had been moved aside since the fields were ready for harvest, but the water outlet was still in the pond.
He laughed, "I didn't expect to see something like this at the zoo! These things are rare in the countryside now."
Tang Xiaoxin joined her dad in playing with the waterwheel, curiously asking, "Did you use waterwheels like this back then?"
"A bit different, but similar!"
Tang's dad reminisced, "You wouldn't know, but water was precious in the countryside back then. Especially close to harvest time, water directly impacted the crop yield. Without enough water, the grains would shrivel. High temperatures were particularly feared, and everyone would pray for rain.
"Normally, village relationships were good, but during such times, people would argue fiercely over water, even over trivial matters. Villages upstream and downstream would sometimes get into fights over water, and there were even fatalities."
Tang Xiaoxin blinked, finding it hard to believe that people would lose their lives over water disputes. It sounded terrifying.
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