Chapter 28, Inn No. 28: Gathering Mushrooms and Nostoc
Seeing the reactions of those around her, Yunyin also looked on with curiosity. The men in the dragon boat race were all tall and strong, with clearly defined muscles, exuding a masculine beauty. No wonder the women beside her were all screaming in surprise.
She couldn't help but admire the beauty of these men. When she heard Song Xuan's cold snort from the side, she turned around and saw that Xie Yan had covered her eyes.
Yunyin watched the two bickering, shook her head, and turned to look in the other direction. Song Shi also stood next to Luo Man, pulling her aside to talk and distract her, which only made Yunyin seem even more lonely.
Cheers erupted from outside; both teams were ready, and the dragon boat race was about to begin. Yunyin sat back down in her seat, waiting for it to start.
Two dragon boats were already lined up on the river, waiting for the order to start. I heard that these two teams are professionals from Beijiang County and Long'an County, and the two counties jointly organize the event every year, starting in Longjiang County and ending in Beijiang County.
Listening to the crowd's discussion, Yunyin realized that there was no need to squeeze in with everyone else. She could see the river more clearly from where she lived, and she planned to invite her friends to watch the dragon boat races next year.
With a deafening drumbeat and the sound of a gong, the two teams set off. The shouts of the oarsmen instantly drowned out the cheers from the shore, and the dragon boats sped towards Beijiang County like swimming dragons.
After watching the dragon boat races, it was already noon, and Yunyin and her group returned to the county town for lunch. After lunch, she went with a few others to watch the herb-fighting competition.
This is a unique activity of the Da Zhao dynasty, and everyone from noblewomen to children enthusiastically participates in it. The herb-fighting game is divided into two types: literary and martial. The literary type is further divided into judging the quality of the herbs and the flying flower order style literary type.
This time, Yunyin and the others were watching a literary contest called "Flying Flower Order," in which one person would first recite a poem containing a plant, and the opponent would have to recite a corresponding poem about a plant, which was a great test of memory and adaptability.
Yunyin watched with great interest from the sidelines until Song Xuan also joined the event. The usually reserved person seemed to be radiating light at this moment, standing at the front and speaking eloquently, able to immediately respond to any poem her opponent recited.
She and Luo Man could only clap their hands enthusiastically as they stood aside. "Madam Song is really amazing, she knows so many poems."
Luo Man said, "Madam Song is a famous talented woman in Long'an County, otherwise why would she be engaged to Xie Yan?"
"Don't be fooled by Xie Yan's current studies in Long'an County. His family has someone holding official positions in Chang'an. If it weren't for his appreciation of Song Niangzi's talent and his personal proposal to marry her, the Xie family would definitely not have agreed, given the Song family's background."
Looking at the radiant Song Xuan, Yun Yin was immediately drawn to her confidence and composure. She smiled and said, "Madam Song is truly remarkable. If I were a man, I would also be attracted to her."
Roman agreed, "That's true."
"Is Song Niangzi and Xie Yan's wedding date coming soon?"
Luo Man thought for a moment and said, "I heard Song Shi mention it once before. They are both still young, and Xie Yan still has to study. They plan to get married in two years."
Yunyin listened to her mention Song Shi quite naturally, and asked curiously, "And what about you, Sister Aman? What about your relationship with Song Shi...?"
Luo Man smiled bitterly, "It's impossible for us to be together. We can only wait for Song Shi to come to his senses. Fortunately, he's still young now, and he should understand when he's older. Choosing the right person is so important to him."
Yunyin turned around and saw Song Shi smiling at Luo Man. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the two of them and hoped that they could have a good ending.
After the intellectual contest, there was still the physical contest. Yunyin and the others didn't continue watching this one. Instead, they called Song Shi, Xie Yan, and the others to go see other song and dance performances.
According to Song Shi and the others, the Dragon Boat Festival in the prefecture city was more grand, and the song and dance performances were more beautiful than those in the county town. However, Yunyin thought the song and dance performances in the county town were also very beautiful, with each dancer graceful and charming.
After watching the performance, Yunyin took the sachets and fans they had given her home, sat on her new bed, and sorted out the profits from selling zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for the Dragon Boat Festival.
One hundred copper coins were still strung together, and there were 50 strung together in total, which was 5 strings of cash. It was not as much as the money from selling pastries, but it was still a lot. It would take a farmer several years to earn that much.
She took out the money she had earned and counted it. It totaled 24 strings of cash, which was not enough to build a restaurant. She needed to save more.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather got hotter and hotter, and the rain gradually increased. Looking at the continuous raindrops, Yunyin sighed, "This rain is really at the worst possible time. We just transplanted the rice seedlings, and now it's starting to rain heavily."
Zhang Lin sat down beside her and said, "Don't worry, Lady Yun. I've already drained the water. As long as the rain doesn't keep falling, it won't cause too much of a problem."
Yunyin said helplessly, "This is the only way. I think the people in Linjiang Village will transplant the rice in a few days, so they must know it's going to rain. It's a pity we don't have many people, so we have to transplant them in advance, otherwise we won't be able to find anyone later."
“This is indeed a problem.” Zhang Lin was also troubled. “There are still many things to do in the future, such as weeding, fertilizing, and drainage. These all require careful management for the rice to grow well.”
"Sigh, we don't have enough people." Yunyin sighed deeply. "No wonder those landlords are fighting with the government for people; farming really does require a lot of manpower."
"Forget it, if it really doesn't work, we can pay them more and we'll be able to find someone to help."
The heavy rain lasted for three days before stopping, and few people passed by during those days, so the two of them rested for three days as well. Taking advantage of the fact that the rain had just stopped and there were still few people around, Yunyin carried her basket and went into the mountains early in the morning.
May is the season for straw mushrooms to grow, especially since it has just rained, and many straw mushrooms will sprout up.
Straw mushrooms are called straw mushrooms because they grow in piles of straw. They grow very quickly, and if not harvested quickly, they will open their caps. Opened straw mushrooms generally don't taste very good. Therefore, it's better to harvest straw mushrooms when they are still in bud.
Yunyin carried a basket on her back and headed deeper into the mountains to search for straw mushrooms. The straw mushrooms were very small, so she had to be careful when picking them, otherwise she would miss them if she wasn't paying attention. She spotted a bulge in the grass ahead, which looked like it contained mushrooms. She parted it and sure enough, there were two straw mushrooms growing inside.
Gently picking the mushroom and placing it in her basket, Yunyin continued her slow search in the mountains. Mushroom picking was relaxing for her; each time she found a mushroom, she would be happy for a long time. This was why she especially loved mushroom picking. She had even made a special trip to Yunwu Village to pick them, but ended up here by accident.
Yunyin found another bump, went over and parted the haystack, saying regretfully, "It's a pity the umbrella has already opened, so we can't eat it."
Although the mushroom had opened, Yunyin still picked it and took it back. She had wanted to cultivate straw mushrooms before, but had been unable to do so because of the lack of mycelium. Bringing these opened straw mushrooms back would be excellent for cultivating mycelium.
After Yunyin finished picking the open mushroom, she suddenly saw something green growing on the grass next to her, so she quickly went over and picked it.
This lush green thing is lichen, which only grows abundantly after summer rains and in areas free from pollution. Yunyin used to be able to pick it often when she was a child, but it gradually became rarer. Seeing it again now, she was pleasantly surprised.
Nostoc commune tastes delicious, but it's difficult to clean. However, if you want to enjoy its deliciousness, a little effort is worthwhile.
Now that she had discovered the lichen, she certainly wouldn't let it go. In between picking straw mushrooms, she would also look around to see if there was any lichen nearby. This kind of thing often grows in patches, and many can grow after rain.
After finishing her harvest, Yunyin planned to move on to another spot and found a cluster of black fungus on a broken and rotten tree trunk. This was also a good find, so she decided to collect it.
When she came down the mountain, she not only filled a basket full of straw mushrooms, but also filled a wicker basket full of lichen, and even had fresh black fungus.
Yunyin washed the black fungus and placed it on a winnowing basket to dry. Fresh black fungus contains toxins, which must be removed by sun exposure.
After drying the black fungus, Yunyin started cleaning the lichen. This was really difficult to clean because the lichen grows entirely in the soil, so each fold contains a lot of dirt and impurities. And its body is too small and soft, so it takes a lot of time to clean.
Yunyin washed it many times before she finally got it clean. Looking at the big basin full of it, her mouth watered.
When was the last time she ate lichen? It seems like it was when she was a child; she hadn't eaten it since. Thinking of its delicious flavor, she couldn't wait.
Stir-frying lichen with chili peppers makes it a great dish to eat with rice, but Yunyin doesn't have any chili peppers right now. She plans to stir-fry it with eggs and make a soup instead, and that will be her lunch for today.
She quickly cooked the dishes and, before any guests arrived, invited Zhang Lin to eat.
Stir-fried eggs with lichen are golden and green, with the slippery lichen wrapping around the tender and smooth eggs, giving the already soft and delicious eggs a bit of chewiness. If you savor it carefully, you can also taste the fresh fragrance of the mountains and fields.
The lichen and egg soup has a completely different texture. The soft and thin lichen seems to melt in your mouth. Before you have a chance to savor it, it melts into your mouth, leaving you only a hint of sweetness.
Simple ingredients can bring out such a rich flavor; nature's gifts are truly amazing.
Yunyin ate happily, but Zhang Lin, on the other side of the table, said, "Miss Yun, this dish isn't very appetizing. Should we sell this in the future?"
Zhang Lin doesn't like to eat anything that isn't meat, so Yun Yin is used to his dislike of this dish.
She shook her head and said, "This vegetable is too troublesome to clean, so it's not suitable for selling. Besides, it's very cheap to sell anyway. It's better to make some other dishes."
"If any of my regular customers like it, I can make one for them, but I won't sell it in large quantities."
After she finished eating, she said to him, "Now that we have straw mushrooms, Linjiang Village will definitely be picking a lot in the next few days. Go and check tomorrow. If anyone is picking them, bring them back and we'll continue making mushroom sauce."
Mushroom sauce is still very popular, and you can make a lot of money per jar. In fact, it's more profitable than selling pastries, and the recipe is simpler.
Moreover, the prepared mushroom sauce can be stored for at least a month if stored properly, which is also very convenient for people who travel long distances, so she will continue to make it.
Since her culinary skills were recognized, her mushroom sauce has not only been purchased by students and merchants, but also by young women in the county. When they go out for a spring outing, they can take a jar with them and have a delicious meal with just some steamed buns or noodles. They don't have to carry too much food, so they also buy it.
Ordinary people will also buy it; meat sauce is still too expensive for them, but the price of vegetarian mushroom sauce is acceptable. Although vegetarian mushroom sauce doesn't contain meat, it's still quite oily, and adding a spoonful when cooking can even eliminate the need for oil.
Yunyin's mushroom sauce this time is different from the previous ones. She also wants to sell more to ordinary people and plans to make the sauce with fermented black beans and straw mushrooms, which may be more popular.
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