Indeed, cooking in rural areas is mostly heavy oil and salt, which was in the past, in the era of pure manual labor. At that time, it was very tiring to shoulder a lot of farm work, especially summer sowing and summer harvest, which we call "June Fanjiu" here, that is, rushing to harvest and seed.
During this time, I started working early every morning. Old people at home cook porridge, sweet potatoes and taro, and add a few "salty whites", that is, salted dried radish. The porridge is put in a lunch box and the others are put in a basket. Speaking of Tiantou, it's brunch. If there is little labor force at home, women with children also work in the fields, and put an umbrella in the fields to keep the children from the sun, so that they can sleep there.
If the child wakes up, breast-feeds or feeds porridge, and then continues to work, and the child continues to sleep or walk, it is basically unreasonable, just calling the child from time to time and responding.
Sweating after work, dirty clothes, soon dry and wet again. Grandpa said it vividly, called "dry and wet alternation" Behind it is a glistening piece, which is caused by salt and dryness in sweat. This has been done until dark, and when you come back, you have to pick vegetables, wash vegetables and cook. With such labor intensity, can you make up your strength by cooking without heavy oil and salt?
There is also a strong smell in the city. I noticed that a group that earns money by physical strength is the unloader. A truckload of dozens of tons of coal is shoveled down by hand. In order to gain time, there is little rest in the middle, only a sip of water at most, and then continue to work.
I saw that the lunch boxes they brought were basically vegetables and pork, all of which were heavy oil and salt without exception. After unloading the car, I washed my face and sat on the shovel handle to eat, so that I could observe what they were eating at close range. Of course, I pretended to pass by as if nothing had happened, afraid to take pictures, and even more embarrassed to take videos.
There are also brick movers. I know a friend, Lao Chu, who is a construction worker. His occupation is to lift bricks upstairs and walk others through walls. After moving bricks, the elderly will "rub the pulp" to increase their income. This process is to mix sand, lime and cement in a certain proportion, add water and turn it over until it becomes thick.
I once had dinner at Lao Chu's house. I washed the chicken he fried with boiling water, but it was still too salty. Lao Chu and other workers ate with relish. Not only meat, but also vegetable soup, but I know very well that I have experienced such a life, although the essence is different, but the nature is the same.
Now that living standards have improved, people no longer ask for two meals a day, but worry about asking for one night at night, and even the wind of "health preservation" has blown up. Aunt Qin, the neighbor opposite, eats boiled water every day and cooks whole grains in one pot. Of course, there is no oil and little salt.