China News Service, Changsha, January 22, title: Chinese young people are happy to cultivate "balconies" and add "new" dishes for the New Year
Author Zhang Xueying
Cut a piece of hydroponic shallot, pick two self-planted tomatoes, peel a few cabbage leaves that are still stained with soil, and add a handful of bought noodles, and a bowl of steaming tomato and cabbage noodles comes out of the pot.
"Eating vegetables in the morning on the first day of the new year is just like eating a year's fast." In some areas of China, there is a tradition of not eating meat for breakfast on the first day of the new year.
Hu Yujie picked off the white orchids she planted and dried them, put them in envelopes and gave them to friends.
Respondents provided
On this day, Dong Qiqi, a "post-95" white-collar worker in Hunan, woke up early to pick and choose in her "vegetable garden" of less than five square meters, preparing for the "vegetarian meal" on the first day of the new year.
Unlike those balconies decorated with flowers, Dong Qiqi's balcony only has low-hanging tomato branches, knotted pea shoots, half-exposed radishes and other seasonal vegetables.
"Chinese people may have a little bit of vegetable growing complex." Dong Qiqi introduced to the reporter, because she accidentally discovered that the residents downstairs had planted some onions and garlic on the balcony, and out of curiosity, she tried to grow a pot of tomatoes.
"I didn't expect it to be delicious and fun, and I started the days of 'one vegetable is as deep as the sea'."
Nowadays, more and more young people are competing to become "urban farmers", instead of tending flowers and weeds, they pick up hoes and scissors, dig the soil and cut branches silently.
The reporter searched on social media with the keyword "growing vegetables on the balcony". As of now, there are 130,000+ notes and 8,000+ products on Xiaohongshu, and the Douban flower growing and vegetable group has more than 160,000 "vegetable farmers" , Weibo-related topics have been read more than 100 million times.
"My peppers and radishes are ripe, and I'm going to buy a jar to make them into hot and sour pickles." During the conversation, Hu Yujie, a "post-90s" Changsha girl, skillfully pulled out a radish and carefully cleaned the roots. of dirt.
"Fruits and vegetables are used for eating, flowers are used for vases, and the growing process is for chatting, and the fruits of a good harvest can be given as surprises to family and friends." Hu Yujie said that growing vegetables on the balcony has its own social attributes, and the strawberries harvested in the past were dried by her. Finally, the fruit was dried and presented to friends, which received unanimous praise.
Compared with Dong Qiqi's uniform combination of vegetables and fruits, Hu Yujie's "vegetable garden" is more abundant. There are white orchids, jasmines, golden osmanthus and other seasonal flowers in the space. In the cast city, the "forest" can also be easily touched.
Pork stuffed with cabbage, strawberry milkshake, scallion oil noodles... In the eyes of Yi Jia, a 31-year-old Changsha photographer, growing vegetables also has the derivative attribute of "labor education".
"When my little niece visits my house during the holidays, I will cook some of her favorite dishes with the vegetables and fruits I grow myself, and tell her about the growing process of the vegetables."
Strawberries grown by Yi Jia.
Respondents provided
Looking back on her career as a "vegetable farmer" over the past five years, Yi Jia believes that the biggest gain lies in the improvement of personal identity with life.
"From one seed to two leaves, to the shape of the leaves, to flowering and fruiting, the fruits and vegetables planted are changing every day, which keeps me looking forward to 'tomorrow'."
Referring to the new year's planting plan, Yi Jia said that she will try to grow some asparagus and mustard greens after the weather picks up. If they are well maintained, she will make dumplings to share with family and friends.
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