Chapter 52 When Spring Blossoms 3

April is the planting season.

If nothing unexpected happens, I really need to start growing vegetables and grains.

The sun has been very strong these past few days, and it quickly dried the mud on the road, making it very firm.

I'm going to go out and check out the situation outside.

First, use a drone to wander around and investigate.

You can see some lush green grass sprouting from the ground, and the melting snow forming small puddles.

But I didn't see anyone.

When I bought the drone, the seller told me that it could fly more than ten kilometers.

So I took a bold step and flew the drone toward the two farmhouses closest to me.

There were no signs of life in the yard, not even a footprint.

It seems I'm all alone around here.

After confirming that it was safe, I set off with my hiking backpack.

The bag contained a stun gun, a baseball bat, and a slingshot.

I didn't choose to bring both dogs, fearing they might be too reckless on their first outing.

I'll consider bringing them after I'm familiar with the terrain and situation.

I climbed back up the small slope where I had previously observed the terrain.

Climb up the small slope to the mountain behind the house, which is called Xiaohuan Mountain.

Standing on the mountaintop, I observed the surroundings through binoculars.

There was no trace of human beings anywhere I could see.

But you can see that several mountains are covered with endless fruit trees.

Half of the fruit trees died, but most of them had already begun to sprout new buds and grow flower buds.

According to normal climate conditions, the flowers should already be in bloom at this time of year.

However, it's normal for flower buds to only be appearing now that the weather has just warmed up.

It seems that it won't be long before the mountains and fields are covered with flowers.

Imagine a mountain covered in pear blossoms, peach blossoms, and apple blossoms, stretching as far as the eye can see.

It reminds me of a period drama I watched before – "Eternal Love".

There weren't as many period fantasy dramas back then as there are now.

So it really amazed me, as I've never seen anything like it before.

The peach blossoms covering the mountains and fields, the light-colored dress, and the song "Liang Liang" playing, completely captivated me and made me cry my heart out.

I was still in high school at the time, and I had a cold and was getting an IV drip at home.

With needles stuck in my hand, and seeing that Bai Qian had no eyes, tears streamed down my chin.

Just then, my dad came home from get off work and, seeing me like this, teased me, saying that even when he died, I probably wouldn't have cried this hard.

But later, Dad didn't see how much I cried when he left...

Let's not think about those things anymore, let's think about the future!

The thought that I might one day have an endless peach blossom forest, filled with the fragrance of flowers, is simply wonderful.

From now on, I will be the master of this area.

Of course, if the real mountain lord returns, I will still have to retire honorably.

After wandering around for a while and not finding any danger, I went home first.

Let's summarize the current basic situation around us.

The surrounding mountains are covered with fruit trees, and fruit can be eaten in different seasons.

The fruit trees are spaced far apart, so there is plenty of land available for cultivation.

Walking out along the small slope at the entrance of the courtyard, there are two flat plots of land on the left and right sides at the bottom of the slope.

Actually, the flat land at the bottom of the slope is the best place to grow vegetables, but if it's too far from home, passersby might see it.

If something is stolen or a criminal sees it and comes to the house, it's not easy to be discovered.

So I decided to plant vegetables on the hill to the north, in the empty space where the apple trees were.

The two flat plots of land below the slope will be left vacant for now, and will be planted when it feels safe to do so.

This way, they are not easily detected in the mountains, and can be monitored in real time.

All you need to do is look north from the window in your room to see the vegetable garden on the mountaintop.

If someone comes from the mountain, they can be seen at a glance as long as they are near the side of the house.

Now we don't need to use a stove at home anymore; we can keep warm by just heating the kang (heated brick bed).

At noon, I cooked myself a simple bowl of noodles on the stove in the east room, and after eating, I tidied up the farm tools and seeds.

I took out the hoe and pickaxe I needed, and then picked out some seeds that I wanted to plant.

Go to the basement and find a few pairs of old Beijing cloth shoes for spring, and clothes that are convenient for plowing.

The basic work before planting has been completed.

Since I plan to start farm work tomorrow, I'm going to make myself some easy-to-eat food in advance.

When I'm tired from work, I can just heat it up and eat it without having to expend energy on cooking.

However, the food cannot be too casual. Working is physically demanding, and if there is little oil or food, or if the food is not good, one will not have the strength.

First, make a big pot of braised pork.

Take out a piece of frozen pork from the freezer, thaw it with warm water, and then cut it into pieces the size of mahjong tiles.

Blanch the pork chunks in boiling water to remove scum and impurities.

Pour oil into a pot, stir-fry the soybean paste until fragrant, then add scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.

Then add the pork chunks and stir-fry quickly.

Add some white sugar and pork chunks and stir-fry together.

Once the pork chunks are almost cooked, add more warm water.

Then add chicken bouillon, thirteen-spice powder, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and a suitable amount of aged vinegar.

The pork was stewing in a large iron pot over a high flame, and I started kneading and proofing the dough.

Place the dough with yeast on a heated kang (a traditional heated platform) to rise.

After the braised pork has simmered for half an hour, it's ready to serve.

After scooping out a large pot of braised pork, take a small portion and put it into a large bowl.

The rest can be left to cool in the bowl.

This small portion of braised pork will be used to make braised pork buns later.

Besides the braised pork buns, I also want to make some buns with other fillings.

The vegetables I can eat now are all grown in pots.

There is a pot of bok choy, two pots of lettuce, a pot of garland chrysanthemum, two cucumbers, two green beans, a zucchini, and seven tomatoes.

This is all the vegetables I have.

There are still some potatoes and sweet potatoes left, but they have already sprouted.

The sprouted ones are poisonous and cannot be eaten; I kept them to use as seeds.

Remove the only two zucchini from the vegetable bowl, take them to the kitchen to wash them clean, and then cut them into small pieces.

Add more minced meat to the zucchini, along with various seasonings, and stir vigorously.

Make yourself some steamed buns filled with zucchini and minced meat, or braised pork.

Clean the large iron pot thoroughly and add water.

By this time, the dough had risen properly.

Place the dough on the cutting board and cut it into individual dough balls.

Roll it out into a flatbread, then wrap it around plenty of zucchini and minced meat filling and braised meat filling.

Then put it in a pot and steam it.

This is a huge pot of steamed buns; it feels like it will last a long time.

There was some dough left, some filled with white sugar, some with honey, and some were just steamed buns.

Once the first batch of steamed buns is done, the second batch of white sugar steamed buns, honey steamed buns, and the like will be steamed right away.

The first batch of steamed buns filled a whole basin, each one with a thin skin and generous filling.

Some of the braised pork buns even had oil seeping into the bun skin.

The amber-colored liquid left speckled marks on the bun skin.

Isn't this the giant oil-soaked steamed bun that went viral online? I accidentally made it myself.

I picked up a meat bun soaked in oil and took a big bite right at the amber-colored bun skin.

The outer skin was soaked in oil, making it soft and oily.

Needless to say, the filling is incredibly flavorful, with both meat and sauce.

The meat inside was very tender, melting in your mouth, and the fatty parts were even more delicious.

Halfway through eating, some juice leaked out of the meat bun, so I quickly ate it.

The meat juices had a slightly sweet flavor, which was absolutely delicious.