Xu Han first took out all the ducks that Lu Chuan had recently hunted and chopped off their heads, necks, feet, and gizzards.

Chop up some more duck wings; we'll braise the duck parts later. We'll save the rest of the duck carcass for stir-frying later.

Put the chopped duck parts into a large wooden tub and soak them in the blood-removing water first, then start cooking them after a while.

After finishing, Xu Han went to turn over the mint leaves that were drying outside.

He turned around and went outside the wasteland, clearing away the weeds from the pumpkin and winter melon patches.

There were no weeds in the sweet potato field, as they were all covered by the sweet potato vines. There were no weeds in the pumpkin field either; what needed to be pulled were the weeds next to the pumpkin vines.

It's the season when pumpkin vines grow like crazy. Pull out all the weeds around them so the pumpkin vines can grow properly.

As far as the eye can see, there are golden flowers everywhere, as well as many small pumpkins.

After weeding, Xu Han picked the tender pumpkins that had grown the most, intending to cook them as pumpkin dishes or dry them as pumpkin shoots.

Young pumpkins are also very delicious! Removing the young pumpkins is also to allow the mature pumpkins to grow better.

Early-ripening old pumpkins don't keep well and spoil easily if stored for too long. It's best to store them after the pumpkin vines have turned yellow and withered. Old pumpkins that have been treated with a sweet frost are sweeter and more mealy.

Xu Han picked several baskets of tender pumpkins today. She will cut the pumpkin shoots and dry them in the sun to preserve them when she gets home.

Winter melons that are too young cannot be dried in the sun because they have too much moisture. They can only be picked after they have aged a bit more.

After picking all the fruit, Xu Han went home.

First, clean the pre-soaked duck parts thoroughly, then prepare to braise them.

First, blanch the cleaned duck parts in boiling water with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine to remove excess blood and fishy smell.

After blanching, take the duck parts out and rinse them clean in cold water.

Then start preparing the seasonings. First, stir-fry some sugar caramel water. This will make the braised duck parts look better and taste better.

Add a suitable amount of oil to a pot, then add white sugar and stir-fry until the sugar changes color and produces large bubbles. Then add a large pot of water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Add appropriate amounts of spices, a large amount of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers, as well as light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, and sweet bean sauce to the pot.

After the water boils, put the cleaned duck parts in and braise for 40 minutes according to different times, then soak for four or five hours before eating.

Xu Han didn't cook lunch, but made herself a bowl of pea jelly instead, which was refreshing and filling.

I woke up at 3:30 pm. I went to the kitchen first to taste the braised duck products from this morning.

I grabbed a duck foot and started gnawing on it. Mmm! It tastes just like Zhou Hei Ya (a popular braised duck brand), sweet, spicy, and a little numbing. It tastes even better than the ones you buy from roadside stalls!

Excellent! A perfect replica!

Take all the duck parts out and put them in a colander to drain the water. Then prepare some vegetables to braise.

Take out a few potatoes, peel them, cut them into thick slices, and wash away any excess starch.

Cut the pre-soaked kelp into sections, and add some enoki mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms.

It would be even better if there were lotus root slices, but it's not lotus root season yet, and there are no lotus roots for sale at the market.

After the water boils, put the vegetables into the pot and cook for three, four or five minutes. Then take them out and put them in a large wooden basin to soak in the broth.

You can take them out and eat them in the evening. Don't throw away the broth from the braised duck. Just add some water and salt and you can use it again next time. After soaking the vegetables, put them in your storage space for later.

After finishing everything, Xu Han started cutting pumpkin shoots in the yard.

Cut the pumpkin into quarters, then slice it thinly without washing it. You'll need to soak and wash it before eating!

After slicing the pumpkin, coat it with wood ash and let it soak in water. Take it out to dry the next day. This way, the dried pumpkin shoots will be crisp and won't soften or spoil.

You need to use plenty of wood ash, and it must be completely dry to coat the pumpkin slices. Otherwise, the pumpkin slices will spoil because of the high moisture content.

After everything was settled, Lu Chuan returned.

"You're back! I made some braised duck today, it's a great dish to go with drinks, would you like some?" Xu Han asked.

Seeing that Xu Han was in such high spirits, Lu Chuan happily said...

"Sure! I wonder if the fruit wine I made before is still drinkable! I'll go get it and check!"

"Wait a minute, I'll go with you. I'll go get a bowl first so I can try it later!"

The two went to the cellar together. Lu Chuan opened a bottle of mulberry wine, smelled it first, and then used a bamboo tube to extract a little and taste it.

"How was it? Did it work? Does it taste good?" Xu Han asked expectantly, blinking her big eyes.

Lu Chuan poured some for Xu Han and said, "It's quite delicious, sweet and sour, and not too strong. You should try it!"

Xu Han couldn't wait to take a sniff. Hmm! It smells pretty good. It should be a success.

He took another sip, smacking his lips as he savored the taste. "Looks like it was a success. Not bad, not bad, very delicious, better than beer!"

"You girls probably prefer fruit wine, but I still prefer beer and baijiu. Fruit wine is sweet and sour, but baijiu is more potent."

"Then you drink the baijiu! I'll keep this for myself, I like it."

In modern times, Xu Han often drank with her friends. She wasn't a very good drinker; she was the kind of person who was both bad at drinking and loved to drink.

However, he has good self-control and only drinks in moderation when he's out drinking, never getting drunk.

Lu Chuan opened the other fruit wines and tasted them all. They were all sweet and sour, and not very strong. Perfect for girls!

"Remember to bring back a small wine pot next time you go to the county town! Otherwise, we'll have to use bowls to serve the wine like we did today, which doesn't look good!" Xu Han said to Lu Chuan.

“Okay, I’ll pick out a few sets of wine utensils when I go to the county town. I haven’t used them before and hadn’t thought of buying them.”

The two left the cellar together and went into the courtyard. Xu Han took out wine glasses from her spatial storage to hold the fruit wine. They looked quite nice.

There are many sets of glass wine glasses in the space! Xu Han bought them all for herself to enjoy at home.

However, there are no decanters. Serving the wine will be a bit of a hassle. Lu Chuan can just buy some next time he goes to the county town!

Xu Han put the table in the yard, and took out the snails she had made a while ago from her space. Paired with today's duck parts and vegetables, it was simply too delicious!

These are not enough! Neither of them has eaten any staple food today; Xu Han had pea jelly for lunch.

Lu Chuan, on the other hand, grills his own food outside and brings some steamed buns and pickled vegetables with him every day. But today he brought pea jelly, so he must be hungry now.

So Xu Han took out some side dishes and white rice from her spatial storage. "Eat some rice first, and then drink the wine later when you're full."