The Cabbage in my House Supplies half of the Community

How much do people living in the Northeast love to hoard vegetables? Before winter comes, people will pull truckloads of Chinese cabbage to the side of the road. People either carry woven bags or ride electric vehicles to move them home one by one.

The reason why such a situation is staged in the Northeast is that the Northeast used to be in a state of scarce vegetables every winter. And Chinese cabbage, which is cheap and rich in vitamins, has become the most suitable “winter vegetable” for Northeasterners.

But now, with the improvement of material living standards, vegetable markets and supermarkets have a rich variety of green leafy vegetables, and fewer and fewer Northeasterners are hoarding vegetables, especially young people like me who feel that hoarding vegetables is a bit of a hassle. Buy veggies if you want, it will be fresher.

Our family of three lives together with our grandparents. For the elderly, hoarding vegetables is inscribed in their genes, so no matter how much I persuade, we still have to obediently help grandparents buy cabbage every year.

Our family lives on the first floor. When we bought the house, we took a fancy to the small courtyard in front of the door that was attached to the first floor. In the first few years, my mother planted flowers in the small courtyard, and my father also built a leisure area for the small courtyard. In this beautiful courtyard, we often played in the shade or invited our friends to come, enjoy flowers, and drink tea.

But since the grandparents moved here two years ago, the small courtyard has begun to change greatly. Except for a small plot of land that still retains some flowers, the rest of the place has been planted with tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. Dad’s leisure area has also been transformed into a place to store cabbage.

Although most of the family members expressed dissatisfaction with Grandpa’s renovation project, we did not say anything in order to allow the elderly to adapt to life here, and thus they have something to do. It was not until this year that the community was suddenly closed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pendemic, that I felt the wisdom of Northeasterners to hoard vegetables, and the true meaning of “there is an old family in a family, if there is a treasure”. Everyone in the owner group was caught off guard by the sudden closed management, and I felt a full sense of security when I saw the rice, noodles, grain and oil on the kitchen and balcony at home, and vegetables and fruits in the yard.

In order to solve the problem of eating for everyone, the property quickly coordinated several nearby vegetable shops, but you need to pay 24 yuan for 6 tomatoes, such an expensive price is unaffordable.

Most young people use their mobile phones to buy food, but the elderly who live alone are in trouble. There were elderly people in the community who wanted to buy Chinese cabbage from us, and we delivered them directly.

Every once in a while, neighbors will ask grandparents for a handful of onions or a cucumber across the fence of the small courtyard. Although we said that there is no need to exchange, the neighbors still “throw” things directly into the yard, sausages, milk, potato chips, chocolate… In terms of eating, it can be said that my life has not been affected by the pandemic at all.

Also because I have more time, I also learned to grow vegetables with my grandparents. I heard that our community will be unlocked in a few days. Spring is the season for sowing. Maybe in a few months, I will be able to eat the vegetables I grew myself.