This morning, when Tian An was inspecting the fields, he passed by a bamboo forest on the edge of the mountain and remembered that it was the peak season for spring bamboo shoots! They are a rare delicacy in the mountains!
After returning home, I took the grains of rice, a backpack, and a small hoe and went out. On the way, I met Qiu Tian again, and we went to the bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots together.
The three of them only took two backpacks. After meeting Qiu Tian, Qiu Tian took Tian An's backpack and carried it on her back.
Qiu Tian: "Miss, the food is almost gone! So we have to go dig bamboo shoots."
Tian An stopped and looked at her: "We are digging bamboo shoots, what does it have to do with food!"
Qiu Tian said a little embarrassedly: "Bamboo shoots are very bitter. Only people who have no food to eat would dig bamboo shoots and bring them back to eat."
Tian An then remembered that the people in the village did not eat bamboo shoots.
As they walked, he said, "Don't worry! We can't let everyone go hungry! And bamboo shoots are delicious. You think they're astringent because you don't know how to cook them. We'll dig up some more and soak them all afternoon. Then tonight, we can let everyone taste this delicious wild delicacy."
Bamboo shoots grow very fast in spring, looking different every day. They have just sprouted now and are very fresh and tender.
The bamboo forest is large, so they can dig in different places every day until around the Qingming Festival! If they dig more, they can dry it and save it for winter!
Thinking that there would be one more edible dish on the table, Tian An's steps quickened with excitement.
"When you dig later, pick bamboo shoots with small paths, weak bamboo shoots, shallow-whip bamboo shoots, crooked-head bamboo shoots, and withered bamboo shoots. Be careful when digging and don't damage the bamboo shoots. Remember to fill the bamboo shoot pit immediately after digging." Tian An instructed the two as soon as they arrived at the bamboo forest.
The two men remembered Tian An's instructions and started digging. It was almost noon at this time, and the sun began to rise. The three of them dug for a while and were sweating profusely.
Tian An stopped them: "Let's take a break first! After we've rested, we can carry half a basket of grains back first. It's almost time to cook lunch. Qiu Tian and I will dig for a while and then go back when it's time for lunch."
After Grain in Ear was over, Tian An and Qiu Tian dug up a lot more bamboo shoots. In addition to the half basket that Grain in Ear had taken away, they dug up another full basket, and there were still so many on the ground that they couldn't even hold them all!
The two were young and couldn't even carry an adult's basket. Just when they were worrying about how to take the bamboo shoots back home.
"An An, An An, where are you!"
Hey! It sounded like Brother Danniu's voice. Tian An immediately responded, "Brother Danniu, I'm here!"
When Da Niu heard Tian An's voice, he came over soon.
When Tian An saw Daniu bringing another backpack, he said happily, "Brother Daniu, did you come all the way here to see me?"
As Danniu picked up the bamboo shoots that were not packed on the ground, he said, "When I was going back, Mangzhong said that you might not be able to carry the bamboo shoots you were digging in the bamboo forest back home, so I came here."
A small half basket of unpacked items was picked up from the ground. If Daniu hadn't come, Tian An and the others would not have been able to take them back.
After picking up the items, Da Niu carried the full basket on his back, while Tian An and Qiu Tian took turns carrying the rest.
When the three of them returned home, the grain in ear meal was ready. Tian An wanted Qiu Tian to stay at home for dinner, but the little girl refused to go and ran back to the homestead.
After dinner, Tian An prepared to spend the afternoon digging bamboo shoots. In the morning, she saw many fresh bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest!
If you don't dig up bamboo shoots when you see them today, they will be old when they sprout tomorrow.
So, Tian An went to the homestead and found a few girls about Qiu Tian's age and took them to dig bamboo shoots for an afternoon.
Seven or eight half-grown children dug five full baskets of bamboo shoots in the afternoon. Da Niu and Chen Feng ran twice to carry them back.
After lunch, Tian An taught Mangzhong how to peel the bamboo shoots, cut off the old roots, then cut them in half, cook them in cold water, and soak them in cold water when they are fully cooked to remove the bitterness of the shoots.
Tian An kept all the maids for dinner.
After the rice was cooked, Tian An took a basin of bamboo shoots that had been soaked during the Grain in Ear Festival and cut them into slices. Then he prepared garlic and dried chilies.
Heat oil in a wok and sauté garlic and dried chilies until fragrant. Add the bamboo shoots. Since the bamboo shoots are already cooked, they don't need to be stir-fried for too long. Stir-fry briefly after adding them to the wok. Add a pinch of salt and a little soy sauce, stir-fry again until the flavor is absorbed and you can remove from the wok.
After stir-frying the spring bamboo shoots, Tian An originally wanted to make a cold-mixed spring bamboo shoot dish, but unfortunately there was no spices at home, so the chili oil used for stir-frying was not fragrant and the dish was not tasty.
After the spring bamboo shoots were cooked, Tian An took over the cooking job and asked Mangzhong to take a little girl to carry half a basket of spring bamboo shoots to the big canteen on the homestead for everyone to taste. By the way, he also told the girls' families that they would not be going back for dinner.
After the Grain in Ear season came, everyone started eating. The moment the fragrant stir-fried spring bamboo shoots were served on the table, everyone started gulping.
Tian An was afraid that the girls would feel uncomfortable, so he separated the table into two. Everyone started eating only after Daniu and Tian An started eating.
The fragrant stir-fried spring bamboo shoots with rice stimulated the taste buds, and a large bowl of stir-fried spring bamboo shoots was finished in a short while.
Freshly dug spring bamboo shoots cannot be kept overnight. After dinner, everyone started helping to process the bamboo shoots, peeling them, cutting them, boiling them, and pickling them.
They were busy until dark, and the little girls' parents came and found that they had not finished yet. So they joined in, and the whole group of people worked hard for almost an hour before they finished.
Tian An made a rough estimate and found that excluding what they ate themselves, they had processed about 300 kilograms of spring bamboo shoots throughout the day. If they could sell one kilogram for five or six cents, that would be more than a thousand cents.
Tian An immediately told Daniu his idea: "Brother Daniu, let's sell the bamboo shoots tomorrow!"
No one ate spring bamboo shoots before, and many people must have never eaten them. This time they prepared the bamboo shoots, and they tasted so good just by stir-frying them.
If we take it to a restaurant, the skilled chefs will surely make it even more delicious. Vegetables are scarce this season, so if we buy bamboo shoots, we can create a fresh dish! The restaurant business will also be better.
Da Niu also thought it was feasible, so the two decided to go to the restaurant in town to try it out the next day.
Tian An thought that he could go to the medicine store to buy some spices to make chili oil, and also make cold bamboo shoots!
Speaking of cold bamboo shoots, Tian An thought of another wild vegetable that is also delicious when made into a cold dish: fern. And it seems that fern also starts to sprout in this season!
He immediately found Chunxi and said, "Chunxi, take a few more people with you to dig bamboo shoots tomorrow. Then look for bracken moss. If you find any, pick them too. Only the tender shoots in the middle are important!"
Chunxi thought about today's spring bamboo shoots and said, "Miss, can fern moss be eaten?"
Tian An nodded and said, "Okay! You pick them first. If we go to sell bamboo shoots tomorrow and everything goes well, we can sell the fern moss as well. If not, we can eat them ourselves."
Thinking that the family would have new income, Chunxi was also happy, and silently prayed in her heart that everything would go well for the girl tomorrow. Only when the girl was well could they follow her well!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
