After this incident, the matter of swimming was temporarily put on hold, and Yunling went up the mountain with Yunruochun. This time, she was surprised to find that small white balls were sprouting from the places she had marked, which seemed to be close to growing into termite mushrooms.
Yun Ruochun didn't know what Yun Ling was happy about. She just felt that it was too hot and she needed to find a place to rest in the shade. So she took Yun Ling to the place where they had caught wild crabs last time. They drank a couple of mouthfuls of spring water to cool off. Just as she was about to sit down on the rock to rest, she saw the black-shelled shrimp.
"Ling-jie, we can have an extra meal tonight."
"Add what?"
Yun Ruochun pointed to the centipede grass, "Look, black-shelled shrimp, it's delicious with rice."
"Black-shelled shrimp? Where?"
"There's plenty of centipede grass there."
Yunling almost doubted her own eyesight. She clearly had superpowers, so why couldn't she see the shrimp? She rubbed her eyes hard, but still couldn't see them. She started to panic.
Seeing that Yun Ling didn't speak, Yun Ruochun assumed that she had seen it, so she didn't say anything more. She took out the small winnowing basket she usually used for washing rice from the basket, put it into the pile of centipede grass, and lifted it up. In the small winnowing basket, there was a leaf, centipede grass and a group of jumping little creatures.
"See, isn't that right?"
Is this the legendary black-shelled shrimp?
It's no wonder Yunling didn't see it. In her understanding, there are no shrimp that small. At the very least, they should be about the size of the wild crabs from before. How could she not have noticed them?
"Auntie, it's so small, can it be eaten?"
"Hey, that's what it looks like. It's not a big deal. It's delicious when used to cook porridge or congee. Or you can pair it with chives and add some dogwood for flavor. It tastes so fresh."
Yunling's pity for these black-shelled shrimp had vanished; she was swallowing her saliva with gulps, wishing she could devour them all in one pot.
"Auntie, please have more."
"Of course."
Yun Ruochun was adept at using her skills, and in no time she had filled a basket to the brim. After picking out the miscellaneous items and rinsing them in the water, she picked up the basket and took Yun Ling down the mountain.
Zhang was delighted to see the black-shelled shrimp, so she put them directly into the pot without adding oil and simmered them over low heat. This also allowed her to pick out any smaller debris.
Then add a handful of chives, and some dogwood to enhance the spiciness. A fragrant stir-fried black-shelled shrimp with chives is ready to serve.
Looking at the red, green, and orange color scheme, Yunling thought of the traffic lights that had been destroyed and tilted to the side during the apocalypse. She had heard from others that these lights used to be called traffic lights and had three colors. Yunling thought that perhaps these were the colors in this dish.
**
The summer heat continued, and apart from doing farm work such as weeding in the fields, no one wanted to go out. Everyone was listless, but Yunling's black-skinned chicken mushrooms were ripe and ready to be picked, and they were very energetic in the flowerpot.
Yunling didn't pick them immediately. Instead, she carried the basket on her back and called Yun Ruoxia to come up the mountain together.
The termite mushrooms had also sprouted; some had opened their caps rapidly, while others were still half-open. Yunling quickly used a stick to pry them open, and the mushrooms were easily picked off.
There's another saying about harvesting termite mushrooms: you shouldn't use iron tools to dig or pry them, otherwise you'll disturb the ant god, and they won't appear in that spot again.
Yunling thought that she could dig with either iron tools or wooden sticks, but she had to be careful not to disturb the ant nest or break the termite nest. Then everything would be fine.
Yun Ruoxia followed Yun Ling's method, and the two worked together seamlessly. They quickly pried off all the chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms in the marked area, filled two baskets, and happily went home.
Yun Xiaosi bumped into them and, seeing the abundance of matsutake mushrooms, hurriedly ran up the mountain. But when he saw that all the mushrooms had been picked clean, he couldn't help but regret arriving too late. He secretly thought that he would come up the mountain every day to check on them, and that he would be the first to pick the mushrooms when they grew back.
But these termite mushrooms aren't something he can just grow by going up the mountain every day. They usually grow once a year, and in a few areas twice a year. It's hard to say whether he'll have the patience to wait for them.
After Yunling and the others brought the termite mushrooms home, they took out a small portion to try and used the rest to extract oil.
Zhang used a loofah to wash all the mushrooms, tore each one in half, poured water into a pot, and after the water boiled, added the chicken mushrooms and cooked them for a while. She then added salt and lard to taste, and sprinkled a handful of coriander on top before serving. A milky white chicken mushroom soup was then ready.
Yunling was secretly fed a bite by Zhang. The freshness of the mushroom and the aroma of lard combined to create a delicious and fragrant taste that lingered on the palate.
As for pressing the oil, we'll do it after Granny Yun buys rapeseed oil from another village. It will be dusk by then, but the whole family will never forget the aroma of pressed matsutake mushrooms. Even Granny Fan, who is usually not one to cause trouble, couldn't help but ask loudly:
"My God, what's that smell? Old Pan, what good stuff are you guys hiding here this time?"
Grandma Yun said happily, "It's just some fried food. I'm getting old, but I still have a sweet tooth. I'll bring you some later."
Grandma Fan closed the door with satisfaction, while the rest of the village could only look on with envy. They quickly ate the porridge in their bowls while the aroma was still fresh, so as to save on other dishes.
Zhang added Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, nutmeg, cardamom, and other seasonings, making the aroma even stronger, which made Liu and the others so angry that their faces twisted in anger.
After cooking, they were put into small jars. Granny Yun ran to deliver one portion to Granny Fan first. Zhang ate it with the remaining noodles, and put the crumbs into the pancakes. She ate it with great relish.
Yun Ruoxia stared at the small jar on the table, thinking that she should give one to the Lu Family Trading Company. Such a rare item should be sold, but since Yun Ling had discovered it, she couldn't make a decision on her own.
"Ling-jie, are you going to keep all of these for yourself?"
"Does Auntie have any ideas?"
Yun Ruoxia didn't mince words and said directly, "I want to explore whether this channel can be sold, so I'm thinking of sending a jar to the Lu Family Trading Company to try. What do you think?"
"Alright, but don't forget to send a can to Manager Zhou."
Yun Ruoxia hesitated. It wasn't that she was reluctant to part with this jar of chicken mushroom oil, but if Manager Zhou followed suit and pressed other mushrooms into oil as well, wouldn't their chicken mushroom oil be less special?
How can she then sell at a high price? How can she break into the market?
"Ling-jie, aren't you afraid that Manager Zhou will do the same thing? If that happens, he'll be able to control us. We can't afford to do that."
Yunling chuckled as she listened. Her aunt was kind, but a bit too cunning. "Aunt, do you really think Manager Zhou is so naive and incompetent that he can run such a large restaurant and maintain good relations with someone like Master Song?"
"He can keep using mushrooms as a dish and even make a name for it. Doesn't he know how to cook mushrooms, how to make them taste good, and how many ways there are to cook them?"
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