Chapter 57 Mung Bean Cake

Old Dao finally realized that Lu An was also a madman.

On their way back, they didn't visit anyone else, which meant they were in isolation the whole way. This saved them the trouble of quarantining again after arriving home, and because they were on the same route, they got back much faster.

But the speed was just... too fast.

As long as they were awake, they were always on the move. Sometimes they didn't even light a fire. The two of them would eat rice cakes with some pickles and canned chicken. After they finished eating, they would get on the car and leave without waiting to digest. So these past few days, Lao Dao was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Even if someone slashed his neck with a knife, he probably wouldn't wake up.

The main problem was that his buttocks and legs really hurt. The bike seat had been thickened, but the whole day of riding still caused his buttocks a lot of damage. Even when he got off the bike, he felt like his legs were still pushing forward. Helplessly, Lao Dao had to defecate more often during the journey. When he was really tired, he would get off the bike under the pretext of defecating and find a grove of trees to rest.

Old Dao roamed the country on a beat-up bicycle, his stamina far exceeding that of the average person. Even he felt tired, so Lu An must have had it tough too; Lu An was just barely hanging on. Sometimes, when Old Dao returned from his long, arduous journey to the toilet, he would find the kid asleep, leaning against a tree.

Old Dao knew he was worried about Zhao Xuan. The sooner he got back, the safer Zhao Xuan would be. Old Dao thought for a moment, if his wife and daughter were waiting for him at home, wouldn't he also be eager to go back?

In this high-energy rush, the two naturally had no time to groom themselves. On the way there, Lao Dao had the leisure to go fishing, but now he didn't even have time to wash his face. If they were to camp by a water source, they could at least wipe their faces. Otherwise, after Lu An boiled water, he would slip a rice cake and a pot of hot water into Lao Dao's hand, and the two of them would eat them dry as they continued on their way.

Thanks to Lu An, that jinx, the two of them hardly took a bath along the way.

Every day they were drenched in sweat, layer upon layer of grime accumulated, leaving a trail of sourness wherever they went within a radius of several miles.

As they approached the village, Lao Dao sensed that Lu An had completely lost his mind. When Lu An suggested traveling home that very night, Lao Dao, rubbing his aching backside, looked at Lu An's burning gaze—he wanted to punch this simpleton unconscious. But somehow, Lao Dao reacted against his own will; he heard himself say, "Okay."

Old Dao felt he should punch himself too; he was exhausted.

Lu An was well-prepared; he had fully charged his solar-powered flashlight and strapped it to the front of his car. He shone it from the front while Lao Dao followed behind.

The further you go, the more familiar the road becomes.

The two people's tricycle caught fire.

Finally, in the dead of night, they saw the familiar house. In the deserted mountain night, the moon shone especially brightly, making the outlines of every house clear. Lu An recognized the quiet house at a glance.

Then came knocking, waiting, knocking again... until Zhao Xuan came barefoot to open the door, hopping like a little rabbit and hugging him tightly.

The day after they returned home, all three of them slept until late morning.

Lu An developed a low-grade fever, which reached 37.8 degrees Celsius. Despite the fever, his eyes were clear. He had been pushing himself along the way with his last breath, and now that breath was gone, his body couldn't take it anymore and he got sick.

If it's a low-grade fever and there are no other symptoms, it's not considered a serious illness, so Zhao Xuan told Lu An to stay in bed. He went downstairs and saw that Lao Dao had also gotten up, looking pale as well. Upon hearing that Lu An had a low-grade fever, Zhao Xuan actually saw a look of triumphant satisfaction on Lao Dao's face.

Old Dao walked with a slight limp, clearly indicating that the injury to his buttocks from riding the bicycle had not fully healed.

Lu An was still asleep in bed, while Zhao Xuan and Lao Dao began to sort through the supplies they had acquired.

While helping unload the goods, Lao Dao recounted their journey. He said that Zhao Xuanhong's mushrooms were of good quality and were very popular with people by the sea, especially the red mushrooms. People in the province believed that these mushrooms were good for replenishing blood, and they sold well before the apocalypse, and even more so after the apocalypse.

Old Dao recounted the various aspects of the saltworks market, and Zhao Xuan's eyes lit up when he mentioned that there were people selling herbs there.

She had some knowledge of herbs; Sister Lu had taught her how to identify herbs. However, Sister Lu wasn't a professional doctor, and the properties of herbs she knew were very limited: which ones could be taken orally to reduce inflammation, which ones could be applied externally to heal wounds, some fresh herbs could be crushed and applied to wounds, while others needed to be dried and boiled in water to drink—each herb corresponded to a specific ailment. But Zhao Xuan knew that some herbs could treat far more than one ailment, and she didn't understand the synergistic or antagonistic effects between herbs.

Furthermore, the only way Zhao Xuan knew to process medicinal herbs was by drying them. Her specialty was making mugwort; she recognized several types of mugwort, dried them, and made them into sticks. She had many mugwort sticks at home, which she used to kill germs and repel mosquitoes in the summer.

Zhao Xuan slapped her forehead, realizing she had miscalculated. Wild mushrooms weren't anything special, but medicinal herbs were. There weren't many people who recognized medicinal herbs these days. Although she only knew how to dry them, if she put her heart into finding and drying a large batch of herbs this spring and summer, and then had Lu An exchange them in winter, wouldn't that mean she could get even more things in return?

Some herbs, like red mushrooms, don't grow by the sea; they only grow in the mountains.

This year, we can invite Sister Xiaohe to go dig for medicinal herbs together. Sister Xiaohe also knows about medicinal herbs. If the Yao family wants to stay here for a long time, they will need to go to other markets to exchange for some daily necessities.

Of the two trucks Lu An and his team brought back, the largest weight was 200 jin (approximately 100 kg) of salt, which they had traded for dried bamboo shoots. Next were various kinds of dried fish, all from sea fish that couldn't be caught in the mountains, tightly wrapped in plastic film. As soon as the film was opened, a fishy smell wafted out. 460 loved the smell, barking and circling the truck. Zhao Xuan took out a dried fish, tapped it on the truck bed—it made a loud thud, as hard as wood. Worried that too much salt would be bad for 460's health, she picked out a small, hard dried fish and tossed it to it. 460 happily chewed on the dried fish and walked away.

Besides various dried fish that even Zhao Xuan couldn't name, there was also a large jar of dried scallops and dried razor clams. After Lu An finished the jar of chicken heads, he didn't throw away the empty jar, but carefully washed and stored it away. These small dried goods were then stored in several jars. Dried scallops can be used to make soup, and dried razor clams are cheaper than dried scallops, so there was more of them. After soaking, they can be stir-fried with chili peppers, making them both fresh and tender.

There were also some dried squid and dried shrimp. The dried shrimp included large dried shrimp the size of a palm, but not many, as well as small dried shrimp that came in jars.

Besides the dried seafood, they also brought back huge quantities of kelp and seaweed, which were the cheapest items. They bought them without hesitation, and the quantity was so large that it would last until next year. These were the most cost-effective iodine supplements.

The dried kelp was still covered in a layer of white salt, rolled up like tattered mats. Just cut off a piece, soak it in water, wash away the salt and dirt, tie it into a knot, and it's ready to be used in soup. It's also delicious sliced ​​and served cold. The seaweed, on the other hand, was baked into large round cakes, just like before the apocalypse, except that there were visible impurities inside. It seems it still needs to be carefully washed before eating.

Besides the food, they also brought back some spices and snacks. There were Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon, as well as half a jar of homemade five-spice powder and four bottles of homemade aged vinegar. Most of the spices were expensive, and no matter how much they pleaded, the sellers wouldn't lower the price—except for cinnamon and aged vinegar, these spices weren't produced much in the province, so they were ridiculously expensive. The aged vinegar was sold in bottles, and the buyers had to bring their own containers for the other spices. The sellers seemed indifferent, but luckily they had empty bottles, so they packed everything back in them.

What surprised Zhao Xuan even more was that they brought back a large bag of shallots. This plant looks similar to small onions, but its taste is different. Shallots can be chopped and fried to make shallot oil, an important spice for making braised pork rice.

Old Dao said that many people near the market grow shallots, which are very cheap and plentiful, so much so that it's not worth going to the market to exchange them. This bag of shallots was bought outside the market. If Zhao Xuan is interested, he can exchange some shallot seeds with leaves with the locals when he goes to the salt field market next time, and try to grow them himself to see if they can survive.

Besides the essential survival foods mentioned above, Lao Dao and his companions also brought back some snacks, including various dried fruits such as dried figs, dried mangoes, dried longans, and dried lychees, as well as a bag of passion fruit. The passion fruit was fresh; they didn't know how it was preserved until winter. In addition to the dried fruits, Lu An also bought a small box of mung bean cakes. He told the woman selling the cakes that he had cycled 400 kilometers away and wanted to buy a box for his wife to try. His charmingly naive appearance fooled the woman, who was deeply moved. She not only sold them to him cheaply but also slipped a desiccant packet into the cakes. The desiccant was pre-apocalyptic, but well-preserved; the woman said it would prevent the cakes from spoiling too quickly.

A box of mung bean cakes was handed to Zhao Xuan. The box contained four cakes, and they looked almost exactly the same as before the apocalypse. The temperature was very low, so the cakes hadn't gone bad. As soon as it was opened, a sweet aroma wafted out.

As Lao Dao carried the goods, he complained, "He treasured this box of biscuits all the way here. He was afraid that the biscuits would be ruined by the fishy smell of the seafood, so he put them in his backpack. But he was also afraid that it would be too stuffy inside and spoil the biscuits, so in the end he put them together with the sea salt, putting the sea salt on top, saying that it would prevent the flavors from mixing and that they would not be easily crushed."

Zhao Xuan handed Lao Dao a piece: "You've worked so hard! Come on, have a taste!"

"Oh dear, how could I accept this? That kid would be furious if he found out!" Old Dao said, taking the pancake without hesitation and starting to eat it.

—They haven't had such exquisite pastries in a long time.

Before the apocalypse, a small mung bean cake, cloud cake, or sweet potato candy were just ordinary snacks. A whole bag of them cost less than a small, exquisite cake in a coffee shop. Now that cakes are gone, these traditional snacks made with sugar, flour, and lard have become a luxury again.

The mung bean cake has a very thin outer layer, and the glossy skin faintly reveals the grayish-green filling inside. The person who made the pastry put their heart into it; the small cake is round and plump, and a red "福" (fortune) character stamp is stamped in the center of the pale yellow cake, making it look exactly the same as before the apocalypse.

With a small bite, the pancake breaks open, revealing a sandy filling with uncrushed mung bean particles. The high sugar content gives a sense of satisfaction, but it doesn't feel cloying because mung beans have a natural refreshing quality that neutralizes the sweetness, leaving only a nostalgic, refreshing sweetness in this small mung bean pancake.

Zhao Xuan and Lao Dao temporarily stopped working. She brewed a pot of tea, and the two of them ate the pancakes with the hot tea. After finishing, Zhao Xuan was still not satisfied. She licked her fingers, glanced at the two remaining pancakes, and decided to leave one for Lu An and the other for the dog.

After finishing their biscuits, the two continued working.

Before Lu An went to the salt field market, Zhao Xuan gave him a shopping list, which listed a long list of things that were currently lacking at home, so that Lu An could buy them according to the list when he got to the market. Lu An bought most of the food, but he didn't bring back some things like goji berries and angelica. Zhao Xuan thought about it and realized that these things should no longer be considered seasonings, but rather medicinal herbs, so it was understandable that he couldn't buy them.

They didn't particularly need to buy any daily necessities, as they had already collected a lot, and also had many left in Taiping Town. Lu An brought back two hand-cranked flashlights and a large-capacity power bank, which he could use to charge the flashlights in the wild. The power bank was very expensive, almost costing Lu An all the mushrooms he had, but the shopkeeper was very generous and gave him a small plug-in lamp as a gift. This lamp sold for 19.9 yuan online before the apocalypse, with free shipping; it had a USB interface and could be plugged into a computer or power bank for illumination.

In addition, Lu An also replaced some parts and got two brand-new pairs of hiking boots. One pair for him and one pair for Lao Dao, as a reward for their journey.

The shoes still had their tags on and were neatly placed in the cardboard box. The owner said these were the last batch of stock after the apocalypse, and once they were sold out, there would be no more new shoes. The new shoes would definitely be much more expensive than those refurbished old shoes.

Old Dao replied to the shopkeeper, "You're telling a story. I came here half a year ago and you were already selling the last batch of new shoes. You're still selling the last batch now. Young man, your warehouse must be huge."

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, but in the end, Lu An and Lao Dao got the shoes at a satisfactory price.

Neither of them wore them, and they brought the shoes back intact. Old Dao said that there were also women's clothes for sale there, in large quantities and varieties, as well as jewelry. If Zhao Xuan had time in the future, he could go there himself to take a look and try on some pretty clothes.

There were also many paper products and soaps among the household items, most of which were expired. The longer they were expired, the cheaper they were. There were also homemade soaps and paper products, which were affordable. Even cheaper were dried soap pods, which could be used as soap. However, Lu An still had a lot of these household items at home, so he didn't replace them.

Besides the above, the remaining items are the most precious medicines.

They packed these items separately into their backpacks, keeping the backpacks with them. Inside were large bundles of bandages, medical cotton swabs, iodine and alcohol, as well as some precious fever reducers and antibiotics, a tube of burn ointment, a tube of Wuji ointment, a box of Baoji pills, a bottle of Zheng Lu pills, a dozen or so bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi water, Yunnan Baiyao, and a Pien Tze Huang pill. Some of these medicines were expired, but only slightly, and some were even still within their shelf life.

It seems that societal collapse is not something that happens overnight; some factories are even still producing goods after the apocalypse.

Zhao Xuan knew that the dried goods she brought could not be exchanged for these medicines. From her conversation with Lao Dao, she could roughly guess the prices of various items.

Old Dao said this was Lu An's payment for repairing the car at that saltworks camp. This camp was strange; it had a strong armed force and seemed to have many technicians, but they mostly focused on high-tech fields and weren't good at car repairs, so Lu An got the job. Lu An didn't need many of each type of medicine, except for bandages, so the camp generously provided them.

Their officers wanted to keep Lu An there, saying that staying in this camp would certainly be more comfortable than anywhere else, but Lu An refused.

The camp has excellent conditions, and they will soon be able to hire a mechanic. Lu An may not be able to find a bargain next time.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuan paused, then suddenly smiled faintly.

The two slowly carried supplies into the house when the door opened—it was the dog's voice: "Sister Zhao Xuan, open the door! I'm here!"

Zhao Xuan went to open the door. The dog first saw the two large tricycles parked in the yard, and then it saw Lao Dao carrying things. It shouted, "Uncle Lao Dao! You're back!"

The way people addressed each other had long been a mess. Zhao Xuan and the others called the Yao couple "brother" and "sister," and Gougou also called Lu An and Zhao Xuan "brother" and "sister." Lu An, Zhao Xuan, and the Yao couple called Lao Dao "brother," since Lao Dao was the oldest among them. Gougou called him "uncle," and logically he should call Lao Dao "uncle," but Lao Dao thought "uncle" was too old-fashioned, so he let Gougou call him that.

Upon seeing the dog, Lao Dao's eyes crinkled with laughter, and his voice even cracked slightly: "The dog's here!"

The dog arrived a little late today; his ewe had given birth to a lamb.

The dog said, "This is Xiaoxue's first time giving birth. She was in labor all night and only gave birth this morning, so we're late." Xiaoxue was the name the dog named the sheep; he named all the sheep. As he spoke, the dog stretched his head and looked around, but not seeing Lu An, his face immediately turned grim: "Sister Zhao Xuan, Brother Lu An, he..."

“He’s not dead!” Zhao Xuan already knew what the boy was thinking. “He’s just too tired and is still sleeping.”

The dog was clearly reassured.

Zhao Xuan picked up a mung bean cake and handed it to the dog: "Here, this is some good food your brother brought back this time, you can have a piece!"

The dog happily accepted the pastry, carefully holding it in his hands. He probably rarely saw this kind of pastry before. He asked, "What is this?"

Have you ever tried mung bean cake?

The dog shook its head: "I've only ever eaten Malay cake."

"Then you should try it, it's delicious!"

The dog stared at the fragrant pastry for a while, then finally swallowed and said to Zhao Xuan, "Could you give me a piece of paper? I'll wrap it up and take it home for my parents to try."

Zhao Xuan took out a piece of cling film, carefully tore off a piece, wrapped the mung bean cake in the dog's hand, and returned it to him. She told the dog that Lu An and Lao Dao were back, and the dog no longer needed to come here every day.

After saying goodbye to the dog, Zhao Xuan continued to squat in the yard packing her things. She took out a few salted fish and a few bundles of seaweed, intending to deliver them to the Yao family when she had time, to thank them for taking care of her over the past two months.

There was some leftover rice and porridge from last night, so Zhao Xuan fried a big bowl of fried rice and shared it with Lao Dao. He added some vegetables and minced meat to the porridge, cooked it, and brought it over to Lu An.

Lu An's low-grade fever was due to a temporary decrease in immunity caused by prolonged lack of rest. This had happened frequently in recent years, but this year, with everyone having rice and meat to eat, fevers had decreased significantly. Zhao Xuan fed Lu An some porridge and then put him to bed. Going downstairs, she glanced at the energetic Lao Dao and sighed at the differences between people.

Because everyone was tired, they didn't rush to do any heavy farm work. Zhao Xuan stored two hundred catties of salt in the warehouse, and sorted out the dried seafood. The medicinal herbs were put into the warehouse where daily necessities were stored. There was a row of large cabinets there, which contained all kinds of clothes and bedding that they had collected. There were three locked drawers in the cabinets, which were hidden very deep. The medicines were stored in those drawers.

Lu An recovered the next day after sleeping for a day.

Zhao Xuan enthusiastically showed him the supplies he had found in Taiping Town. When Lu An heard that Zhao Xuan had gone to Taiping Town alone and had a dog as cover, a rare look of displeasure appeared on his face.

Zhao Xuan quickly pounced on him: "Don't be angry! Come here and let's kiss!" She clung to Lu An, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her face against his.

Lu An ultimately didn't get angry, but Zhao Xuan promised never to act alone again.

Zhao Xuan happily led Lu An to see a household oil press and other supplies. While pulling out the red and blue machine, Zhao Xuan casually showed him a bunch of cards and asked, "Which one is the most fun?"

Lu An glanced at the game cartridge and said, "The Legend of Zelda is fun, let's play this."

Last year, during the off-season, they would either play chess or read books, but Zhao Xuan didn't like the novels they found. Now, they have another form of entertainment during their off-season, but it's not the time for leisure now.

With the Awakening of Insects past and the Spring Equinox approaching, they need to start preparing to plant rice.

Before they returned, Zhao Xuan had already selected plump seeds and incubated them with warm water until they sprouted white buds. She then transplanted the sprouted rice seeds into the seedling nursery, which required constant attention. Zhao Xuan covered the seedlings with a greenhouse to maintain their temperature. Although the temperature had risen somewhat, it was still a bit cold at night, and the greenhouse temperature wasn't high enough. Zhao Xuan would bring some charcoal braziers to burn to raise the temperature inside the greenhouse.

Under Zhao Xuan's meticulous care, the rice seedlings have grown very well over the past month.

After resting for a few days and regaining their strength, the three of them were ready to plant rice seedlings.

This time, Lao Dao and Lu An took on the important task of transplanting rice seedlings.

They all felt that it was too hard for Zhao Xuan to manage more than ten acres of land by himself, and that they could leave the transplanting of rice seedlings and the subsequent work in the dry fields to them.

So life seemed to have returned to the time last winter when Lu An and Lao Dao were laughing and joking as they made rice noodles, and now they were back to planting rice seedlings, arms around each other's shoulders.

The weather is getting more and more comfortable each day, and the daytime temperature is rising steadily. Transplanting rice seedlings in this weather is not as painful as in the summer.

Lu An had already planted rice seedlings twice, and Lao Dao also knew how to plant them. The two of them worked very quickly, and the seedlings were planted very neatly.

The Yao family also started planting rice seedlings at this time. Yao Yuan and Zhang Xiaohe planted rice seedlings together, while the dog was in charge of the family's meals.

Zhao Xuan hadn't seen the Yao family for a while. Instead of going to the fields, she stayed home preparing seeds to plant in the dry fields. She selected the best-looking sweet potatoes and potatoes; after a winter, some of the sweet potatoes had already sprouted tiny white buds, perfect for cutting them off as seeds. After cutting off the sprouted pieces, she coated them with wood ash, covered them with straw for insulation, and waited a week until the sprouts emerged before planting. By then, the rice seedlings in the paddy fields would have been transplanted, allowing for seamless planting of crops in the dry fields.

As for crops like peanuts and corn, they can be sown directly into the soil at that time.

The effect of having an extra strong laborer in the family was obvious. Even with the extra few acres of paddy fields belonging to Lao Dao, Lao Dao and Lu An still managed to transplant the rice seedlings in a shorter time than last year.

As usual, I planted some glutinous rice in the paddy fields this year. Glutinous rice has a long growing cycle, and one season's glutinous rice is enough to grow two seasons of rice. I also plan to plant some wheat and cotton in the dry fields, hoping for a good harvest this year.

After Lao Dao and Lu An finished transplanting the rice seedlings, they went to plant crops in the dry fields.

Daytime temperatures could sometimes soar to over 20 degrees Celsius, so Zhao Xuan took off her woolen hat and changed into lighter clothes. She also took off her thick cotton shoes, which she usually wore at home, washed and put them away, and put on thick-soled sneakers. She was planning to go into the mountains.