Chapter 9 Raspberry

Lu An decided to place the turbine generator near the waterwheel at the top of the village. The waterwheel was located in the most turbulent part of the stream, and there was a small house for milling rice next to it. Placing the generator inside would provide shelter from the wind and rain.

He spent a long time observing the village and the waterwheel: the village was too old, and many of the power lines were erected on utility poles, unlike in the city where cables were buried underground for aesthetic reasons. This actually made things easier for Lu An – he needed to select a few sturdy, non-leaning utility poles to install the power lines in order to connect his home to the turbine generator.

He drew many blueprints over the past few days, some for laying power lines, some for installing machines, and some for diverting electricity. Zhao Xuan couldn't understand them. At the beginning of the actual installation of power lines in Lu'an, she and 460 went to watch. After watching for most of the day, she got bored and left, while 460 stayed with great interest.

In this respect, her interest in learning is less than that of a dog.

The first thing Lu An did was connect the power source. The waterwheel wasn't far from their house, but the length of the cable he brought was more than enough. He secured the cable to the utility pole, connecting one end to their house and the other to the small rice mill shed; the process went relatively smoothly. The second thing was to divert the water. Although the section of the stream where the waterwheel was located was swift, the water flow was dispersed. The generator blades weren't large, so they needed to install pipes to divert most of the stream water, artificially creating a greater impact. The third thing was to install a turbine below the water flow. The large volume of water flowing through the pipes impacted the blades, causing them to spin rapidly, the machine to roar, and it began generating electricity.

Finally, connect the wires to the turbine generator, and a crude self-generating system is complete.

With both generators operating together, their daily electricity needs can be fully met, while the remaining generator serves as a backup in case of unforeseen circumstances.

These three short steps took Lu An more than a week.

During those days, he left early and returned late, carrying various materials back and forth between the waterwheel and the house. He seemed to have become much thinner and darker, but his eyes were still bright and alert. Zhao Xuan didn't seem to be able to help much, so she decided to take advantage of this break to do other things.

As they stayed in the village longer and longer, seeing no other people or wild animals, Lu An gradually lowered his guard and agreed to let Zhao Xuan go out alone.

She still had many planned things to do this spring.

The first step is to process the newly picked tea leaves.

Regarding tea making, she only remembered that the process was complicated, but she couldn't quite recall the specific steps. So she simplified it and condensed all the steps into one: tea frying.

After being dried overnight, the tea leaves had become soft and fluffy. Zhao Xuan rubbed the tea leaves several times with her hands, making the leaves curl into small strips. This process reminded her of the dried vegetables she made. In fact, she was making tea leaves in the same way she made dried vegetables.

This is what they mean by "all roads lead to Rome".

After kneading the tea leaves into the shape of dried vegetables, Zhao Xuan washed the large iron pot clean. She lit charcoal in the stove, the embers slowly licking the bottom of the pot. Once the temperature was up, she poured the tea leaves into the pot and gently stirred them with her palms to evaporate excess moisture. The process seemed to require almost no skill compared to tea picking, but it was simply too hot. After a while, Zhao Xuan realized that using her hands wouldn't work, so she turned and took a pair of wooden chopsticks from the cabinet behind her.

Gently stir the tea leaves with chopsticks.

...It's really starting to look more and more like dried vegetables.

She stirred the tea leaves with chopsticks, but felt that the surface area exposed to heat was too small, and that she still needed to press and rub them with her palms. However, it was too hot, so she decided to take the pot of tea leaves out to cool down a bit before stirring them again. She vaguely remembered that her grandmother made tea in this way.

In my memory, in that slightly dim kitchen, a thin old man patiently stirred the tea leaves in the pot. When the temperature got too high, he would take them out to rest for a while, and then put them back in to stir-fry. The dark green tea leaves, which had already withered and curled up, would slowly turn into dark green and blackish brown under the roasting of charcoal fire... until the tea leaves lost all their moisture and curled up into a small, brittle ball, and then the tea was truly made.

The process differed slightly from what Zhao Xuan knew about the tea culture museum, but farmers are self-sufficient in many things, so the production process of many agricultural products is simplified as needed.

The aroma of her grandmother frying tea lingered in Zhao Xuan's mind. The whole house was filled with the strong fragrance of tea, a smell she called "clean." The tea leaves blended the scent of charcoal and morning dew, making people feel at ease.

At this moment, the tea leaves she is holding are emitting the aroma of tea from her childhood. There is no need to get close to smell them; the aroma will be stronger than ever before during the tea-making process, and it can even drift far away.

She was certain that this was how she made the tea. If there were any mistakes, she, being a farmer, wouldn't be bothered by them.

After cooling, the tea leaves were put back into the pot and stir-fried again. After several repetitions, she watched as the fresh leaves transformed into the dried tea leaves she remembered. She picked up a leaf and tasted it. It was rather bitter. Undeterred, she took a small bowl, put a few leaves in it, and poured boiling water over them.

The tea leaves at the bottom of the bowl unfurled again, returning to their original shape as when they were first picked.

Zhao Xuan picked up the bowl and took a sip of tea.

Hmm, it's slightly bitter at first, but then it has a sweet aftertaste. It's delicious.

The containers for the tea were already prepared: two square iron boxes printed with the words "Family Pack of a Certain Brand of Biscuits." She first lined them with clean plastic bags, then put the cooled tea leaves inside, tied the plastic bags shut, and then put the lids on, pressing them down to make sure they were tightly closed.

Two large boxes of tea leaves are enough for them to drink for a year. They will drink one box first, and when autumn comes, the tea leaves from the other box can be used to roast some jasmine flowers or mix with some dried chrysanthemum flowers to make flower tea.

She carefully put away one box of tea, placed the other on the small dining table in the living room, then, after a moment's thought, felt the box was too large and somewhat unrefined. Ultimately, she found a smaller tin can, the perfect size to hold in one hand. She poured some tea into the small tin, which took up little space on the table, and she could easily pour out a little whenever she wanted a drink. She then carried the large family-sized biscuit tin to the second-floor storage room.

Perhaps Lu An could make a shelf in the living room to store frequently needed items, such as tea leaves. To get rid of insects and rodents, she threw away all the furniture in the first-floor living room, and now, apart from the dining table and chairs and 460's nest, the living room looks too empty. If she plans to stay here, she really needs to get a shelf.

It's been raining for the past few days, a fine, continuous drizzle. You only need to wear a straw hat to go out. It's the kind of straw hat commonly used by farmers, woven from bamboo and oiled to give it a bright yellow color. The bamboo is woven into two layers, with several layers of transparent plastic sandwiched in between, which provides rain protection.

She was always very careful with plastic products. These industrial goods, which were ubiquitous before the apocalypse and could even be described as rampant, had become rare and scarce items. Raincoats, rain boots, plastic bags—once they were used, they disappeared. Therefore, most of the time, if the rain wasn't too heavy, she and Lu An would wear straw hats. Lu An was tall and sometimes needed a raincoat, but for her, a straw hat was enough to cover her completely.

Plastic sandals can be worn without any worries. These sandals are of excellent quality and can last for several years without breaking. In this slightly warmer season, a straw hat and a pair of sandals make for a perfect match.

While Lu An was busy setting up power lines, Zhao Xuan wasn't idle either. In the light drizzle, she wore a straw hat, carried a basket on her back, and prepared to go into the mountains.

When Zhao Xuan was a child, he picked mushrooms with his grandmother. Before the weather was as warm as it is now, mushrooms would grow in the weeds after a rain. They were a kind of brownish-yellow mushroom that was cold to the touch. When you saw them, most of them had already opened their small caps. The caps were yellowish-brown and the stems were light brown.

After every rain, they were as numerous as stars. She remembered that she could gather many of them by wearing the woolen shoes crocheted by her grandmother without having to venture into areas with many weeds.

Grandma said these were pine needle mushrooms, but Zhao Xuan didn't know if they were real or not. She remembered that Grandma stir-fried them with ginger slices, sometimes adding a couple of dried chilies. When they were done cooking, the light brown mushrooms would turn dark brown, and the juices from the mushrooms would make the whole dish thick, like it had been thickened with cornstarch. These mushrooms are cooling in nature, and although they taste good, you can't eat too many, or you'll get diarrhea.

Zhao Xuan, now in his twenties, still clearly remembers what the mushrooms looked like. On these rainy days, it's not suitable for gathering firewood or farming, but it's perfect for picking mushrooms.

—Ever since Lu An fell ill and was forced to work alone, traveling alone has become more and more natural for her.

During her serious illness, both her parents died, and she was devastated. Lu An took care of her, and they wandered for a long time before settling in a camp that smelled bad all year round. Lu An even let her leave the camp on a whim and go out to wander again... During these years, she was like a walking corpse, never thinking about how she would live tomorrow.

She was preoccupied with the thought of one day dying of the disease like her parents.

In this spring, in this long-abandoned village, she seemed to be thinking more and more about what to eat and what to do tomorrow. She even thought about next year: more tea leaves needed to be picked so that they could be drunk for a year, more dried bamboo shoots needed to be dried for soup in winter, and even more rice needed to be planted in case of a poor harvest next year.

She began to recall every little detail of her childhood in the countryside.

Pick plenty of mushrooms; you can dry them and save them for later. Although winters in the southern mountains aren't as harsh as in the north, there's still not much to eat. Vegetables don't grow much in winter, and there's certainly no fruit, so it's essential to prepare plenty of dried goods during the spring and summer.

Before going to Taiping Town, she and Lu An had already gone to the bamboo forest by the rice paddies and cut all the bamboo shoots. The cart was full of bamboo shoots. After removing the outer skin, about 30-40% of them could be kept. However, since there hadn't been any sun for the past few days, they couldn't dry the bamboo shoots, so they were just sitting in a corner of the hall.

Fresh bamboo shoots can be kept in a cool, shady place for a while as long as the outer skin is not peeled off and the roots are not cut off.

Zhao Xuan planned to collect more mushrooms and, if there was a large quantity, dry them with bamboo shoots over charcoal.

The village is surrounded by fields and forests, including mixed forests, fir forests, and bamboo groves. Their house is located on the upper edge of the village, with a stream meandering through it. The upper section has waterwheels and washing platforms, while the lower section is divided by the farmers living here, with the water flowing into the paddy fields. Since it's only a few minutes' walk from their house to the fields, Zhao Xuan planted all her crops there. Below the village are the threshing ground and well water, and beyond that are a few scattered acres of paddy fields connected to a few ponds. However, the distance is much farther than the fields at the upper edge of the village, so she and Lu An didn't bother to tend to them. Now, the spring grass there has grown to waist height, and the ponds are full of water hyacinths.

The pond was a paradise for wild ducks. She often saw wild ducks playing in the pond. Water hyacinths and snails and loaches in the paddy fields were all favorites of the wild ducks. However, these birds were too wary, and Zhao Xuan never thought of catching them.

Besides these, compared to the continuous fields above the village, the forests below the village are noticeably denser. The forests above the village require crossing a long stretch of fields to reach, while the forests below only require passing through a few ponds and paths.

Zhao Xuan plunged headfirst into the roadless wilderness.

The light rain couldn't reach the woods, so she took off her straw hat and placed it on the basket on her back. Holding a machete, she chopped down any weeds that blocked her way. She walked slowly because the deserted mountain ridge was covered with thick leaves, and she had to test the ground before stepping on anything to avoid stepping into a puddle hidden by dead branches.

Looking up, one sees dense, lush foliage; looking down, one sees thick, withered branches that obscure the earth.

Her shoulder was brushed by a branch, and the rainwater carried by the leaves soaked her shoulder.

She was surrounded by deep forests on all sides, and the world seemed to consist of only her as a bright spot. No matter which way she went, she only walked into a darker place.

She picked up a stick and took a step, using it to push aside the half-rotten leaves to search for the various mushrooms growing underneath.

As expected, Zhao Xuan saw all kinds of mushrooms. The rich colors and shapes dazzled her. She dared not pick them randomly, only those she was familiar with—the yellowish-brown pine mushrooms that looked honest and unassuming.

These mushrooms grow incredibly abundantly; you don't need to walk far to fill a basket. Her aunt used to be an expert at picking these mushrooms; during this season, she could fill a large basket in just two hours. The baskets were originally used by farmers to store rice, and they had a huge capacity.

Those who know how to pick mushrooms should be familiar with the mushroom growing environment and find mushrooms based on experience. This kind of experience that comes with practice also applies to those who know how to dig for winter bamboo shoots.

Besides the brownish-yellow pine mushroom, Zhao Xuan also found another type of mushroom with a bright red cap and a stem that looked like it had been smeared with rouge. The white stem was tinged with light red, and the mushroom stood tall and elegant, bright and beautiful.

This is a red mushroom, a wild mushroom that couldn't be cultivated before the apocalypse, and it was very expensive back then. Red mushrooms themselves don't taste particularly good, and can even be a bit tough, but the soup made from them is extremely flavorful and sweet, which Zhao Xuan really enjoys.

Besides red mushrooms, there are also common shiitake mushrooms, with brown caps and white stems, looking just like honest, unassuming creatures. Shiitake mushrooms like to grow in clusters on decaying wood, and once they start growing, there are many of them.

Red mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms are suitable for drying. Once the mushroom season is over, these dried mushrooms can be used to make soup or as a flavor enhancer when cooking noodles.

Mushrooms grow faster during the rainy season than fireworks burst in the sky. Even a novice like Zhao Xuan, with no experience, could easily fill a basket with them in no time.

She figured that Lu An had been busy setting up power lines and connecting electricity these past few days, and farming was impossible during the rainy season, so she might as well make a few more trips in the next few days to pick more mushrooms for the winter.

She's increasingly enjoying the pleasure of stockpiling.

On her way back, she glanced casually and suddenly noticed a clump of vines extending from the grass beside the road. Or perhaps it wasn't even a vine, but rather a clump of grass even more tangled than weeds, with yellowish-green leaves and drooping stems. Yet, strangely enough, this ugly plant was covered with a whole bunch of bright red berries.

The berries, about the size of a fingertip, are made up of tiny, hollow vesicles when you look closely, and they are very light when picked.

Zhao Xuan leaned over, twisted off a piece, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

Sweet with a hint of tartness, and you can even bite into tiny, crunchy seeds—this is a raspberry, a fruit that ripens in spring.

Even as society collapses and humanity scatters across the world, amidst such immense changes, the raspberry still retains its familiar flavor.

Zhao Xuan considered these wild berries to be exclusively for children, because only children would brave the undergrowth for a measly snack that barely fills a tree. Like digging for bamboo shoots and searching for mushrooms, experienced children would memorize the locations of each raspberry bush. The raspberry season is very short, only a few days in spring, so Zhao Xuan, coming from the city, always missed out. Either they had already been picked clean by other children, or the growing spots were too difficult for her to reach.

Now, the whole village belongs to her, and no one will compete with her for this small wild fruit tree.

She grabbed the hem of her clothes, making a pocket, and picked all the raspberries. She wanted to take them back for Lu An to try.

On the way back, the mushrooms were hers, and the raspberries were hers too.

As she stepped onto the edge of the village, she dipped her muddy feet into a nearby pond. Her plastic sandals were waterproof, but when she pulled her feet back, two thin leeches crawled onto them.

Zhao Xuan was in a good mood. She freed one hand, pulled off the leech that hadn't yet clamped its grip on her skin, and tossed it back into the pond.

When I got home, I saw Lu An's tricycle parked in the yard, loaded with scraps of water pipes and electrical wires. I could hear noises coming from the kitchen; he must have arrived earlier and was cooking.

As Zhao Xuan entered the hall, about to unload a basket of mushrooms, he happened to see a small dish on the dining table, piled high with bright red berries. The berries had been washed and were still covered with water droplets.

She exclaimed, "Oh!" and ran to the kitchen without even taking off her basket. "Lu'an, why did you pick raspberries too?" she said, then held out her clothes, which were full of raspberries, to show him. "Look! I picked some too!"

The man in the kitchen was sitting on a small stool, fanning the stove with a palm leaf fan. There were a few specks of dust on his face, it was hard to tell whether he got them when he lit the fire or when he was setting up the electrical wires.

"I just picked them when I saw them on the way."

Zhao Xuan chuckled, dipped her hand in some water from the jar, and wiped the dust off Lu An's face: "How did you know this stuff was edible?"

In her memory, Lu An, a city child, should have never seen a raspberry before. Although they had been wandering since the apocalypse, they had been traveling between various cities before leaving the camp. This spring was the first spring they had experienced in the mountains and fields, and Lu An should have seen this wild fruit for the first time.

“I saw these fruits growing all over the mountains before, but I was worried they were poisonous, so I ignored them. Today I saw 460 eating them right in front of me…” Lu An’s eyes lit up. “If it dares to eat them, they must taste good.”

After arriving in the village, 460 was always eager to try all sorts of food, probably because it was afraid of being hungry at the campsite. It wasn't picky about food; it ate vegetables, fruits, rice, and noodles. Sometimes when it went out with the two of them, it would sniff some wild grass and then bite off a piece. Later, it became familiar with the village and would stay out all night long. No one knew what it ate outside, but overall, 460 knew how to eat better than the two of them. The things it dared to eat were basically not poisonous and tasted quite good.

"It's so amazing now?" Zhao Xuan exclaimed, then looked around. "Hmm? Where's its dog?"

"I lost him when he came back, and I guess he won't be coming home tonight either."

"Could it have already settled down and started a family outside? Had it had a litter of pups with a wolf and become a local overlord? Maybe it's just temporarily escaping the power struggles and seeking a moment of peace when it comes back to sleep."

"Isn't this the typical trope for male protagonists in novels?"

Have you seen "The Call of the Wild"?

"I've heard of it..."

"That book is great! I'll look for it next time I go to Taiping Town. I remember there's a small library there, right..."

Later, the two of them sat by the door, holding a bowl of raspberries, and slowly ate them. There weren't any fruits available in spring, so the raspberries were a welcome treat.

A light rain was falling outside, but the gentle drizzle brought with it a thick fog, making it difficult to see the distant houses and mountain ridges even though it was midday.

Zhao Xuan wondered if spring was already more than halfway over.