(1)
The strawberries in the strawberry field were sprawled low to the ground.
At first glance, they looked just like wild weeds spread across the earth, but if you looked closely, you’d spot the clusters of red berries hiding among the leaves.
In fact, strawberries aren’t even shrubs; they’re herbaceous plants, so it’s normal for them to grow so low.
Although you could set up supports for them to climb, people rarely do—maybe it’s too costly, or maybe it just doesn’t help them grow better.
On a bare Ridge, there was a cheap Folding Table with two Plastic Baskets containing a few strawberries on top.
A simple wooden Cane was propped against the table, and a tall, sturdy-looking middle-aged man was sitting in a Rattan Chair that seemed a bit too small for him.
The bright sunlight shone down on his slightly stooped back as he slowly flipped through a thick Photo Album.
“Dad! I brought my friends!”
“Oh? Oh…”
The middle-aged man, whose face was covered in wrinkles and whose hands were rough, looked up and gave a slightly awkward smile.
“Hello, all…”
“Hello Uncle, I’m their Cousin. I brought them here to play, sorry for disturbing you.”
“No, no, it’s no trouble at all.”
The middle-aged man stood up nervously with his Cane in hand.
“It’s not a disturbance. There are plenty of strawberries in the field this year, way more than we can sell. Eat as much as you want, don’t go home until you’ve had your fill.”
“Hello Uncle, it’s been a while!”
An Jing smiled and greeted him.
“You look less skinny than before.”
“You are…?”
“Ah, I, I’m…”
“Dad, she’s the one who came here before, my brother, a guy, I even explained it to you!”
“Did you?”
“Didn’t you?”
“Forget it, I’m getting old, I probably can’t remember things clearly anymore.”
The middle-aged man smiled and tapped his forehead.
“You go on and take everyone to pick strawberries. There’s not much to see in the fields, but if you get bored, go walk somewhere else. There’s a Well in the mountains, the scenery there is quite nice.”
“Dad, you sit here, don’t get up again. I’ll take them in.”
Fang Qiang turned around and waved enthusiastically.
“Follow me! Today, you’ll get to taste the freshest, most delicious strawberries!”
“Strawberries, strawberries~!”
Zhu Ying bounced and jumped as she pressed down on An Jing’s shoulder.
“I want to eat delicious strawberries!”
“Hey, hey, don’t get so excited, you look like a little kid…”
“If you’re a kid but don’t enjoy the happiness of being a kid, isn’t that just boring, Xiao Jing?”
Zhu Ying shot her a sidelong glance.
“Tch…”
“Strawberries… Even though I grew up in the Countryside, I haven’t seen many strawberry fields. By the Seaside, people usually plant Watermelon in the sandy soil.”
“Yeah. Whoa—this strawberry is huge!”
As An Jing spoke, she suddenly crouched down and gently cupped a large strawberry hanging in midair in her palm.
“Though it’s kind of a weird shape…”
“Haha, the big ones don’t taste as good! You have to pick the smaller ones—they’re sweeter!”
Fang Qiang laughed as he walked deeper into the field.
“Don’t look at these, these are just what’s left over after picking. I’ll take you to the really good ones—the ones we save for ourselves!”
“Do the people who come to purchase them all drive here?”
Yu Minghui took off her sunglasses, shook her head, and flicked her long hair.
“Do you have to pick them yourselves?”
“We usually pick them ourselves to make sure. Otherwise, people might mess up the field.”
Fang Qiang looked ahead.
“There are too many strawberries this year, and the purchase price dropped a lot. The ugly ones only sell for five yuan per jin, and even the good-looking ones only fetch ten yuan at most… Oh! Here we are. This patch is for you, pick as much as you like!”
“Can we eat them as soon as we pick them? Or should we wash them first?”
“We just eat them right away. If you’re worried about dust, you can wash them or wipe them with a napkin.”
Fang Qiang bent down and picked a perfectly sized, temptingly red strawberry, popped it straight into his mouth, and tossed the calyx on the ground.
“Mmm—this year’s strawberries really are delicious.”
Zhu Ying was practically drooling.
She couldn’t wait to squat down and pick one herself. After hesitating for a few seconds, she took a small bite of the tip of the strawberry.
“Mmm…! So good..!”
“There are still quite a few here. Just look around and you’ll find some. If you want to wash them, you can collect them in a basket, and later wash them at the Water Tap.”
Fang Qiang pointed to a Small Wooden House in the middle of the field.
By the door, a silver-grey metal pipe brought water from elsewhere.
“Okay~ Xiao Jing, help me pick some too!”
“Aren’t you already picking on your own?”
“I want to pick a lot so I can gorge myself later. Or—can we take some home?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Fang Qiang agreed readily.
“Take ten jin home if you want, we even have Strawberry Boxes made just for packing strawberries.”
“Whoa, isn’t that too much?”
“Yeah, I’ll just take a jin home for my mom and dad to taste, as for myself, I’ll eat my fill here first~!”
“Then I won’t hold back either, I’ll pick some for Feifei to try.”
“Fei-jie doesn’t like strawberries, right?”
An Jing asked in confusion.
“How could she not like them?”
“The last time we passed a stall selling strawberries, she said, ‘Only fools eat strawberries!’”
“Pfft, that’s just because the store strawberries are too expensive.”
“Yeah, strawberries in stores are still expensive this year. Last time my dad bought just a few,” Zhu Ying exaggeratedly pinched her fingers together, as if she’d only bought a single strawberry, “Just that, and it cost fifty yuan!”
“Haha, then this time you can eat as much as you want.”
Fang Qiang scratched his head.
“You all pick, I need to water the field.”
“You still have to water by hand?”
“Yeah, you could install an automatic Water Tap system, but that costs too much. I just use water from the River.”
“Watering every day must be a lot of work.”
“Yeah, but my mom used to water in the evening after work on her electric bike.
Now that my dad is taking care of it, it’s easier. His legs aren’t so agile, but watering is still fine.”
“Do you have to keep watering after all the strawberries are picked?”
Zhu Ying asked curiously.
“Of course, that goes without saying.”
“I thought you’d just burn the fields and plant again next year.”
“It’s not like planting rice or wheat…”
“Xiao Ying, why do you like strawberries so much?”
“Because they’re sweet with a hint of tartness, really refreshing, never cloying. That’s why I like them.”
“But it seems like you never get tired of them. That doesn’t seem like ordinary ‘liking’.”
“That’s because I especially—like them, just like I especially like Xiao Jing. Besides the reason we first got together, do you really need another reason?”
“Eww—”
“Ugh, I can’t find any more strawberries over here!”
“Here, I just picked two. Want to try? Though they’re a bit small.”
Zhu Ying turned to look at the two tiny strawberries lying quietly in An Jing’s palm.
“Oh~ they really are small, barely bigger than a fingernail.”
“They’re still a bit bigger than a fingernail… Want them? If not, I’ll eat them myself.”
“I want them! If Xiao Jing picked them herself, I definitely want them!”
Zhu Ying grabbed the two strawberries and tossed them into her mouth without hesitation, cheeks puffed as she chewed.
“Mmm—this one’s even sourer, but it tastes better. Strawberries are best when they’re sweet and a little tart!”
“Ah, you ate them both, I didn’t get to taste any. I think those were the only two tiny ones…”
“Really? No wonder they’re as sweet and sour as Xiao Jing!”
“Eww—!!”
***
(2)
In small towns, you can see mountains no matter where you are.
And these farmlands were all cultivated right next to the mountains.
Stream water drawn down from the mountain babbled through the River, and two big baskets of strawberries were placed on the table for everyone to enjoy.
Even though she’d already eaten quite a lot while picking, Zhu Ying was still eating enthusiastically.
Yu Minghui was taking photos with her camera.
Even though the scenery all seemed similar, up close there were countless subtle details.
“Huihui-jie, do you usually go out to have fun?”
Zhu Ying asked, biting into half a strawberry and swinging her legs.
“Not that often, really. Maybe only once or twice every couple of weeks.”
Yu Minghui smiled, lips pursed.
“At home there isn’t much to do, but it always feels like the day is over just after doing a couple of things—as if I haven’t done anything, but somehow I’m still busy all day.”
“It’s like that at home. Sometimes I wake up and it’s already noon.”
“That’s because you’re so…,”
An Jing’s eyelids drooped.
“By the way, where did that big guy Fang Qiang go?”
“He went to pick strawberries. Said Zhou Chao would come by on his motorcycle tonight to get some.”
“Oh~ he likes strawberries too?”
“Uh, Ah Qiang said he has a new girlfriend…”
“Eh? Is it Qiqi? It has to be Qiqi!”
An Jing scratched her head, not sure whether to tell Zhu Ying or not.
“No, it’s not her.”
“Huh—?”
“I think he was just joking that day. They sit together in class now, but they’re not really dating…”
“You say that, but… I heard he was a bit of a player, but I didn’t think he was that much of a flirt!”
“Sigh…”
An Jing scratched her head awkwardly.
“Anyway, he probably just wants a girlfriend, so he finds one to have fun for a while… I always thought it was weird how he managed to hold back for so long.”
“Qiqi made herself so clear, and that’s already pretty bold for a girl. He… even if they aren’t officially together, it was getting really ambiguous between them, honestly!”
“That’s just how he is.”
“I’m going to tell Qiqi later—better not get together with him after all. I used to think he wasn’t so bad.”
“Ahem!”
As his best friend, An Jing felt awkward.
She scratched her cheek, wanting to say something nice for Zhou Chao.
“But he’s always really good to his buddies…”
“In any case, Xiao Jing, you must never be like him!”
“Don’t worry.”
“Hmph.”
“Oh right, Xiao Ying… is this your… first time, first relationship?”
“Yeah, look, it’s my first time dating, but you’re already on your second.”
“That was in elementary school…”
“Just don’t break my heart, okay? Did you hear me?”
“Just don’t dump me first…”
An Jing sighed helplessly, covering her forehead.
“I won’t. I’m not like other people—I’m super faithful!”