Chapter 231 230. Old Qi in the Imperial Capital
In the capital, Lao Qi, who lives in an old neighborhood on the North Fourth Ring Road, was pulling a cart and dragging a large box that afternoon.

Walk slowly through the small park at the entrance of the community.

This is where the old men and women from nearby chat, play cards and bask in the sun.

Very lively.

As soon as Lao Qi appeared, someone greeted him.

"Lao Qi, what are you doing?"

Lao Qi stopped and took a breath, pretending to rest, and answered casually: "I was trying to pick up a package, but the people at the delivery station said the box was too big and they wouldn't deliver it, so I had to take it myself."

"Is it sent by your son again? Old Qi, you are so lucky. Your child is so filial." An old man praised.

Lao Qi was very happy, but he still had to praise and criticize, "Oh, what filial piety? The family has everything they need, but they send mail back all day long, and they don't know how to do it. It's a waste of money."

"Old Qi, just go ahead and show off. Who knows how happy you feel." An old lady nearby told the truth.

Lao Qi didn't mind and laughed.

This is an old neighborhood, and we have been neighbors for decades. Everyone knows each other.

Lao Qi came here specially just to show off.

Showing off is the source of happiness.

A few old men and women nearby also came over and surrounded Lao Qi.

An old lady asked, "Lao Qi, where did you buy the prawns your son brought back last time? My grandson came over last week and asked for them."

"My son went to work first and will be back in the evening. He will ask you when he comes back." Lao Qi answered.

Another old man asked again, "Also ask about the rice you made that time. Oh my god, it smells so good. The whole house smells good after cooking a pot of rice."

Lao Qi said, "I have two more bags at home. Come back with me to get one later, but you have to help me move the things."

"No problem, I'll carry the box back for you." The old man was very happy.

Speaking of big boxes, "What are we sending you this time?"

"I don't know. My son didn't say anything, so it must be food and drink. Open it and take a look." Lao Qi was very generous.

The other old men were just waiting for this sentence. One of them even took out his keys. Upon hearing this, he used the teeth on the key to cut open the tape on the box.

Neat.

When I opened it, I saw a net bag, a bag, and several foam boxes inside.

The old man who opened the box pulled out the net bag first, "Wow, old corn, now all of this is being sent back. It's five yuan a stick in the supermarket, but it's not available everywhere."

"Can what Xiao Qi sent back be just an ordinary thing? Open it and let me take a look." The old lady, who had been calling Lao Qi, pushed the old man who was unpacking the box away with her buttocks, and took out a pocket from the box with great effort.

I opened it and saw, "This carrot is bright and red, it looks good."

He put a bag of carrots aside, took out another bag, and was surprised again, "The celery is really big, one celery must weigh three pounds."

This bag contains super large celery, with the head chopped off, no leaves, just two stalks.

Then, another bag.

This time it was a cucumber, "with flowers and thorns on top, but still very straight."

An old man nearby was watching the novelty and was delighted when he saw the things being taken out of the box. "Hey, Lao Qi, this is like moving the vegetable market here. Weren't there all new things before?"

Lao Qi also laughed, "I don't know either."

After saying that, he picked up a cucumber, checked whether there was any mud on it, rubbed it in his hands, wiped off the small thorns, and plucked off the flower on the top.

He broke it in two with a snap and stuffed one piece into the hands of the old man who was speaking.

As soon as the cucumber was broken open, everyone around fell silent.

The smell of cucumber is so strong that it goes straight into my nose.

It's like a breeze through the fields on a summer afternoon, with a hint of sweetness and freshness, making people feel as if they are in a lush green vegetable garden.

Lao Qi and the old man had cucumbers in their hands. They couldn't help it and put them into their mouths with a big bite.

The old man's eyes widened at once, and he quickly swallowed the cucumber in his mouth, praising it: "This cucumber is really good, it tastes like cucumber, just like the cucumbers in the past."

Lao Qi was also intoxicated. When he bit into the cucumber, he found the taste was pure yet layered. It had the natural flavor of vegetables and a subtle sweetness.

The aroma spreads in the mouth, awakening the taste buds, as if it is a touch of coolness bestowed by nature.

Take a bite of a cucumber on this lonely autumn afternoon in the north.

Hey, top.

Lao Qi swallowed the cucumber in his mouth and hurriedly said, "Come on, come on, try it, try it, it's real good stuff."

When the people around saw their expressions, they knew it was a good thing and reached for the bag.

But everyone knows the rules. They don't take too much. They just break a cucumber into three or four sections and share them among themselves to taste.

There was chaos, food sharing, and then silence again.

Several old men and women gathered in a circle, silently eating cucumbers, and eating them very quickly. The scene was really weird.

Soon, everyone finished eating the small piece of cucumber in their hands. Everyone joked with the man in the market, "Old Zhang, go to the market and find something like this for me. When has Old Qi's family ever made ordinary stuff? This is called the filling of the bun is not in the folds, learn from it."

Then he held up Lao Qi and praised him, "These celery, carrots and old corn must be special. I have to take some. I have two bottles of pure distilled liquor. You can take one away later."

When people in the capital talk about clean distillation, they are referring to the distilled liquor of Red Star Erguotou. Generally, the green bottle of Red Star Erguotou is 56 degrees, while the clean distillation is 65 degrees. It is not sold for take-out and is particularly difficult to make.

This return gift is of considerable value.

Once someone mentioned it, the others followed suit. One mentioned the pork elbow from Tianfuhao, another mentioned the mutton from Niujie. They were all good stuff.

He can't even show off good things like Wu Yutai's tea cores.

It's for Old Qi Mei. He waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No need, no need. You guys can take some later and take them home to try."

This is also an old tradition.

When Lao Qi walked by this side pulling the suitcase, he knew this was going to happen.

Whenever we have something good, we have to share some with our old neighbors.

The old men and women did not refuse and all agreed. Of course, as a courtesy, they would find a chance to deliver the promised things.

"There are a few boxes in here. Take them out and take a look." Lao Qi is also curious now.

The old lady didn't hesitate at first. She took out a foam box from the bottom layer and opened it. "Wow, tomatoes. No wonder they are so heavy. They are so beautiful."

Isn't it beautiful? This foam box is divided into grids, with a tomato in each grid, two rows of twelve in total.

The color of this tomato is bright red, with a little pink in some places.

The color is not uniform, and you can tell at a glance that these are naturally ripened tomatoes.

It's so beautiful under the sun.

"You can't buy it in the vegetable market." The old lady didn't forget to stab the old man again.

He put the tomatoes down and took out a foam box.

This time it was a box of fresh mushrooms, two types: oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms.

It’s hard to tell whether the mushrooms are good or bad if they’re not cooked, but since they can be put together with these things, they must be good.

And then comes the last box.

It is also the largest.

Electronic bottom layer.

The old lady couldn't get it out by herself, so she called two old men for help. She dug from above while the two old men pulled the cardboard box down. It took them a long time to finally get it out.

When I opened it, I saw that there were quite a lot of things in the box.

There were two rows of iron cans stacked on the side, ten in total.

In the middle were several cylinders wrapped tightly in newspapers.

The old lady first dug out a jar, picked it up and looked at it, "Hot sauce, this is unacceptable, no one in my family can eat spicy food."

An old man who was pulling the box became excited and quickly took it, "My granddaughter likes spicy food, so I got this."

After saying that, he put it directly into his pocket.

Several old men and women also started chatting.

"I don't know where the young people nowadays learned this, but they can all eat spicy food."

"That's right. My daughter brought back some Maoxuewang a few days ago. It was covered with a layer of red oil. She insisted that I try it. I took a bite and it was spicy. I drank several jars of water and felt uncomfortable for half the night..."

While chatting, the old lady opened the cylinder wrapped in newspaper.

"It turns out to be leeks. They are packed so tightly. You can tell they are freshly harvested. They have a strong smell."

The cylindrical paper package contained green leeks. The color was not dark, but light green, fresh and especially bright.

However, the leeks are packed in a stacked manner.

The old lady opened the paper bag and spread it on the ground, then spread out the leeks, looking a little dumbfounded.

This chive is particularly long, almost half a meter.

The leaves are also exceptionally broad.

The head is not pointed, but round.

The roots below are particularly short.

It’s different from the common leeks they eat.

"Eh? What kind of leek is this?"

　I was busy packing New Year's goods today and wasted time.

　　So there is only one chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)