Chapter 31: Queen of Fruits
Chapter 31: Queen of Fruits
Guangxi is renowned in China for its abundant fruit production. In Baise County, the months of May and June are peak fruit seasons, with a variety of fruits such as lychees, longans, jackfruits, starfruits, mangoes, and guavas ripening and hitting the market.
At this moment, Deng Shirong was slicing open a jackfruit that weighed over ten pounds.
Jackfruit, also known as the "Queen of Tropical Fruits," is the largest and heaviest fruit in the world. It comes in two varieties: dry and wet. The wet variety has a texture similar to durian, but the dry variety far surpasses it in flavor.
Even among dry jackfruits, the taste can vary greatly. Poor-quality dry jackfruits are bland and unremarkable, while high-quality ones are incredibly sweet, crisp, and fragrant, earning universal praise from those who have tasted them.
However, despite its delicious taste, the sticky sap of the jackfruit can be quite a nuisance. If someone unfamiliar with handling it gets the sap on their hands or knife, it can be a real headache to clean up.
But as a southerner who grew up eating jackfruit, Deng Shirong knew exactly how to avoid the sticky sap. By simply rubbing a bit of oil on his hands and the knife before cutting, he could solve this annoying problem.
Deng Shirong efficiently cut the jackfruit in half horizontally, revealing the golden flesh inside and releasing a tantalizing aroma.
Deng Yunzhu's eyes lit up at the sight. "The threads inside are all ripe. This jackfruit must be very sweet."
Deng Yunzhen smiled and added, "The variety of this jackfruit tree is excellent, so the fruit it bears is always top-notch."
Deng Shirong continued slicing the jackfruit as he spoke. "Your grandfather brought back the seed of this jackfruit from Longtan when he was selling firewood there. He was lucky enough to taste such a delicious fruit and decided to plant the remaining seed. That's how we got this jackfruit tree."
The children were surprised to learn the origin of the jackfruit tree they had enjoyed since childhood.
The seeds of the jackfruit can be planted or cooked and eaten. They have a starchy, glutinous texture and are quite tasty. Some varieties are watery and less appealing. The seeds are rich in starch and are known as "rice trees" in Sri Lanka, serving as a food substitute.
Deng Shirong cut the jackfruit into eight pieces and removed the core, revealing a layer of sticky sap on the flesh. If this were in a later era, he could have used plastic bags to wipe it clean. But in this rural setting, plastic bags were nonexistent, so he used clean rags instead.
Once the sticky sap was cleaned, Deng Shirong announced, "It's ready to eat!"
The children eagerly grabbed pieces of the jackfruit and started digging into the sweet, fragrant flesh.
Despite Guangxi being a major fruit-producing province, the village of Naye in this era had very few fruit trees. Jackfruits were still a rare treat, unlike in later times when they were more common.
"This jackfruit is so sweet!" Deng Yunzhu exclaimed, savoring the taste.
Deng Yunsong added, "The threads are even sweeter. They're really delicious!"
Deng Yunhua, enjoying the sweet and succulent flesh, suggested, "Grandfather brought back one seed and planted it. Why don't we plant a few more? Once the trees grow and bear fruit, we won't have to worry about running out of jackfruits!"
Deng Shirong nodded. "If you want to plant more jackfruits, that's fine. We can start with our family's plot of land. Once the production team divides the fields and hills among the households, we can turn our share of the hills into an orchard. We can transplant the jackfruit saplings there and plant other fruit trees like lychees, longans, and yellow plums. This way, not only will we have a steady supply of fruits, but we can also sell them for profit, providing a path to wealth."
Deng Yunzhu played with a yellow thread, her curiosity piqued. "Dad, what do you mean by 'fruit freedom'?"
Deng Shirong smiled. "It means being able to eat as much fruit as you want."
His children all looked wistful at the idea. Everyone loved fruit, and it was a treat in any era.
"If we could really have fruit freedom one day, just like Dad said, that would be so wonderful!"
"Are you serious about this orchard idea, Dad?" Deng Yuntao asked, swallowing a mouthful of fruit.
"Of course I am," Deng Shirong replied. "We definitely plan to start an orchard. The specifics will depend on how much land we get from the production team. We don’t know yet how much we’ll be allocated!"
In truth, Deng Shirong knew exactly what to expect. If everything went as planned, they would receive a moderate-sized hill, suitable for planting about 1,300 fruit trees.
In his previous life, after the land was divided, people initially didn’t think much about planting fruit trees. It wasn’t until the first pioneer emerged that everyone started following suit. Within three years, every household had planted lychee trees on their hills.
At that time, Deng Shirong’s family was among those who followed the trend, and the whole family worked hard for half a year to plant over a thousand lychee saplings.
Unfortunately, they lacked the foresight to choose better varieties. Instead, they opted for less profitable ones. In the end, their lychee hill, which required significant effort and resources, didn’t yield much profit, making it a rather disappointing venture.
Now that Deng Shirong had been reborn, everything was different. He knew exactly which varieties to choose this time, ensuring he wouldn’t face the same dilemmas as before.
Hearing his father’s confident words, Deng Yuntao didn’t press further. As his father said, the land division was still a long way off, and there was no point in discussing it now.
The family continued chatting while enjoying the jackfruit. Deng Yuntao updated his father on the progress at the pottery factory.
Currently, about a dozen workers were busy at the factory. If the weather held, the first batch of products would be ready by early July.
It would soon be clear whether the pottery factory would be profitable!
Deng Yuntao, as both a master potter and a small business owner, was eagerly looking forward to it.
Deng Shirong, however, remained calm. He had already experienced this in his previous life and had a good idea of the potential profits.
With the profits from the pottery factory and his eldest son’s wages, plus the wedding gift from Deng Changfu and Guan Yongying’s marriage, they could finally start planning to build a new house.
That, more than anything, was what Deng Shirong was truly looking forward to.
(End of Chapter)
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