dognovel Chapter 8: It's just turning over the soil, what does it mean to have the coffin buried deep in
Chapter 8: It's just turning over the soil, what does it mean to have the coffin buried deep in
"Hey? Uncle Bagen? This is Lin Ye. Yes, I'm back at the ranch. Is your farm machinery team available today? I have about a hundred acres of degraded grassland that need deep plowing and rotary tillage... Price is negotiable, lunch included!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Ye clapped his hands in satisfaction.
Uncle Bagen is a well-known farm machinery operator in the nearby town. He owns several high-horsepower tractors and rotary tillers and works extremely efficiently.
In less than half a day, a cloud of yellow dust rose from the distant horizon. Two heavy tractors painted bright red, pulling huge rotary tillers, drove into this tranquil basin.
Uncle Bagen poked his head out of the cab, his face full of wrinkles, and waved to Lin Ye. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two tractors drove directly into the degraded slope.
"Boom!"
The massive rotary tiller plunged deep into the hard, compacted soil, mercilessly shredding and turning over the soil that was originally covered with withered grass with sharp alloy blades.
Lin Ye controlled the drone, zooming in to 100 meters to take a downward shot. The tractor trailed black mud, drawing straight lines on the ground, providing extreme stress relief.
The viewers in the live stream were watching this "obsessive-compulsive joy" and frantically spamming online novel dubbing references, but Lin Ye's eyes suddenly went blank.
"Holy crap! Dude, slow down a bit!"
Lin Ye suddenly seemed to have discovered a new continent. He didn't even care about the drone and rushed straight into the soft, freshly turned soil.
As the camera zoomed in from Lin Ye's perspective, viewers in the live stream discovered that as the rotary tiller turned over the dark brown soil, hundreds and thousands of startled little creatures were jumping out in droves!
Those were autumn grasshoppers covering the mountains and fields! And each one was extremely plump, as thick as an adult's thumb, green with yellow tinges, and with round, plump bellies.
"Brothers, this is top-quality wild game from the grasslands!"
Lin Ye excitedly took off his coat and used it as a makeshift insect net, swatting and catching insects on the ridges of the fields. In the late autumn of Northwest China, grasshoppers, as the saying goes, "can't hop around for more than a few days after autumn." Because of the drop in temperature, their movements are already somewhat sluggish, but in preparation for winter, they have accumulated an extremely rich amount of fat and protein!
In less than ten minutes, Lin Ye had filled his jacket with two or three pounds of large, heavy "goods".
The live stream chat instantly split into two camps: [“Hey! Why are you catching bugs, streamer? They look disgusting!”] [“City folks don’t understand! These are called ‘flying shrimp’! Autumn grasshoppers are full of eggs; deep-fried or roasted, they taste amazing!”] [“Bear Grylls is ecstatic! Crunchy, tastes like chicken, and has six times the protein of beef!”]
"Disgusting? Just don't drool over your screens later!"
Lin Ye deftly found some dried cow dung and dead wood by the edge of the field and skillfully started a campfire. No pot in the wilderness of Northwest China? No problem!
He took a brand-new, unused flat-headed shovel from the back of his pickup truck, washed it with water, and placed it directly on the campfire.
Today I'll teach you how to make the most authentic grassland teppanyaki dish—dry-fried autumn king oysters!
Lin Ye deftly plucked off the grasshopper's wings and barbed hind legs, then rinsed it simply with water. He even secretly added a tiny drop of [Life Spring Water] to the water, as if it were a secret flavor enhancer.
The shovel was scorching hot over the fire. Lin Ye didn't add a drop of oil; he simply poured the prepared grasshoppers onto it.
"Sizzle—!"
With a crisp, melodious sound, the white steam evaporated instantly. Then, an incredibly magical scene unfolded.
Under the scorching heat, the fat inside these plump autumn grasshoppers began to melt rapidly. They didn't need any external oil; their own secreted golden oil sizzled and oozed out along the edge of the shovel!
The original greenish-yellow shell quickly turned into an extremely tempting bright red under the simmering of hot oil, just like a cooked shrimp!
"Gulp..." In the live stream, countless viewers who had initially expressed disgust couldn't help but swallow hard when they saw the golden and crispy appearance.
But that's not all! Lin Ye took out a small handful of wild cumin (dried cumin) that he had casually picked on the hillside from his tactical backpack, crushed it vigorously in his palm, and sprinkled it evenly on the sizzling grasshoppers along with coarse salt.
"Boom!" The moment the wild cumin came into contact with the hot oil, an extremely domineering aroma, a complex blend of caramel, meat, and unique spices, seemed to penetrate the phone screen and strike the souls of all the viewers!
Lin Ye used a twig to stir-fry it a couple of times, picked up a grasshopper that was roasted until golden brown and sizzling with oil, with a crispy shell, blew on it to cool it down, and then put it directly into his mouth.
"Crunch!" The extremely crisp chewing sound was amplified infinitely in the microphone.
Lin Ye closed his eyes, a look of extreme enjoyment on his face.
With the blessing of that drop of life-giving spring water, the taste of this grasshopper was elevated to a divine level!
The outer shell is crispy and fragrant. The moment you bite into it, the rich, fatty filling bursts on your tongue, bringing a unique sweetness from nature and the intensity of wild cumin. It's so delicious that you'll want to swallow your tongue!
"Brothers... this taste... I can only say, even the gods would trade their thrones for it!" Lin Ye gave the camera a thumbs up. "The meat is even more tender and firm than the finest river shrimp, and the aroma of the oil goes straight to the top of your head! It's so addictive!"
The barrage of comments completely broke down:
"Ahhh! Look at this, I'm so drooling!"
[One second ago: Yue, bugs! The next second: Streamer, please, please open a SF Express cold chain store, I'll pay you a thousand yuan for a plate!]
"Damn it! My instant noodles suddenly don't taste good anymore!"
"This isn't a relaxing farming video, it's clearly a food porn production!"
Amidst a screen full of protests with people "drooling," Lin Ye invited the uncle over to enjoy the food together!
After thoroughly enjoying a large plate of "Grilled Flying Shrimp," I patted my belly and got down to business.
The soil-turning work was completed quickly, and after seeing Uncle Bagen off, the next step was the sowing.
Using the excuse of "going to get the seeds," Lin Ye avoided the camera and retrieved the 500 jin of alpine rye seeds that had been packed in ordinary burlap sacks from his system space. Afterward, he secretly poured the entire bottle of "Life Spring Water" that he had won in the lottery into the large water tank of the tractor used for spraying water to help the roots establish.
The seeder started up again, and the seeds were evenly buried in the soft soil, while a mist of water mixed with spiritual spring water was sprayed onto the land.
After finishing all this, the sun had already set. Lin Ye herded the well-fed sheep back to the observation station, had a meal with the snow leopard "Gu Gao" after a battle of wits, and then fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning. As the first rays of sunlight shone on the roof of the observation post, Lin Ye, without even having breakfast, mounted his horse, turned on the drone, and galloped towards the hillside where he had just sown the day before.
"Brothers, the early bird catches the worm. Today, let's take stock of yesterday's work..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ye suddenly pulled on the reins, his voice caught in his throat.
Viewers in the live stream also witnessed a breathtaking scene that left them speechless. What was a barren, brown wasteland yesterday evening was now covered overnight with an incredibly dense, vibrant green fuzz!
Each ryegrass seedling broke through the soil at a speed that defied the common sense of biology, growing to two or three centimeters tall! A gentle breeze swept by, and the new green shoots rippled like the surface of a lake, exuding unparalleled vitality.
[Holy crap!! Am I seeing things? It sprouted overnight?!] [Even eating Fertilizer didn't have this effect! Is this some kind of legendary miracle from Northwest China?]
Lin Ye swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing his shock. To avoid trouble, he quickly smoothed things over: "Ahem, everyone, don't make a fuss. These are the latest genetically engineered improved seeds developed by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, their main feature being rapid germination. Science! We must believe in the power of science!"
Looking at this vibrant new pasture.
"The pasture problem is solved. With this top-quality hay, the sheep will definitely grow as strong as calves. And that gluttonous Gu Gao is temporarily settled down too..."
Lin Ye stroked his chin, a smile of anticipation for the future playing on his lips:
"Next, I need to find an exceptionally intelligent sheepdog to completely free my hands!"