Chapter 213: Acorn powder, kudzu root powder, fern root powder...
Two months later.
Every autumn rain brings a chill. After the Frost Descent, the weather in Tianshui Village grows increasingly cool, with the winds in the mornings and evenings even feeling a bit chilly. Aside from the evergreen conifers, the leaves of the other trees in the mountain forests have gradually turned yellow, some even tinged with red. Gazing out toward the mountains from afar, the scenery is a dazzling riot of color, a truly stunning sight.
With no news of relief aid from the imperial court, the villagers, as usual, rose early to queue at the porridge shop for rice porridge. A bowl of rice porridge warmed the stomach, but the porridge at the porridge shop was becoming increasingly watery, hardly enough to fill the stomach. The poorer families would pick wild vegetables and mushrooms to make soup, or go to the mountains to gather wild fruits. Those with extra food would return home to cook a pot of porridge. The more extravagant, like Lin Laoer's family, would inevitably have bowls of brown rice.
"Sister He, A'shu——" Outside the courtyard, Lin Zhaodi's voice arrived before she even showed up.
The two families still lived in opposite houses, and over time they became closer.
Lin Zhaodi, carrying an empty backpack, asked, "A few of my sisters-in-law from the village and I want to go to the mountains to pick some chestnuts. Would you like to join us?"
Lin Shu replied, "What a coincidence, sister-in-law. Ah Ye and I are also planning to go into the mountains, so we won't be going with you."
In previous years when there were no major floods, the villagers liked to go to the mountains to pick up some hairy chestnuts to eat in their spare time. Hairy chestnuts are wild chestnuts, which are not as big as those in later generations, only the size of a finger. Although they are difficult to eat, the villagers put them in the stove and simmer them, and they taste very delicious.
Now that there is a famine and food shortage, the hairy chestnut has become one of the villagers' favorite wild fruits.
When the first batch of chestnuts ripened last month, villagers eagerly headed into the mountains to pick them. Poorer families even considered chestnuts a hunger-saver, as they were easily filling.
When Lin Zhaodi heard what Lin Shu said, she smiled and glanced at her, "You and A Ye go yourselves, I'll call Sister He to go with us."
He Guixiang laughed when she heard this and replied, "That's fine. It just so happens that there's nothing going on at home."
Lin Shu and Zhou Ye naturally did not go to places that the villagers often went to. With A Ye leading the way, they could go deeper into the mountains and pick more wild fruits.
However, this time the two of them were not going to the mountains to pick chestnuts, but to pick oak trees.
They had already gathered a batch of chestnuts, dried them, and stored them. They would be delicious when stewed with chicken or rice, and could also be used to make chestnut cakes. Unfortunately, there weren't many chestnuts in the mountains, and many villagers relied on them for their food supply, so Lin Shu didn't compete with other villagers for this little bit of food.
On the contrary, no one picked up the cyperus quinquefolius in the mountains because of its bitter taste, and all of them fell into the hands of Lin Shu.
While others find it inedible, she finds it incredibly rare. Acorns are a type of acorn that can be processed into acorn flour, which, like ash flour, can be stored for a long time. This acorn flour can then be used to make snacks like vermicelli, acorn cakes, and acorn tofu.
Lin Shu had been waiting for this for a long time. Last month, as soon as the first batch of cycads ripened in the mountains, she and Zhou Ye picked two full baskets and took them home. There was no such thing as too much; she only needed to leave some for the wild boars, moles, and other small animals in the mountains, and she wanted to take the rest home.
Ah Ye laughed at her greed, and Lin Shu turned around and gave him a big eye roll: "Who told you to have two gluttons at home?"
A big glutton and a small glutton.
Other girls and men can be fed with just one bowl of rice, but she and A Ye need to eat several bowls to be satisfied.
The villagers all thought that they lived a good life and were the rich families in Tianshui Village, but they forgot that she and A Ye, two gluttons, had to eat several times more than the average person at every meal.
There is a lot of food stored at home, but it will be gone soon.
A few days ago, some idlers from the neighboring village came to their place in the middle of the night and tried to steal food. There were not just one but three of them. The result was predictable: they were caught and beaten up by her and Aye.
Each village has its own rules. As long as the crime is not murder, it is assumed that it will be resolved privately. After all, they are all from the same village. If the matter is made too big, it will only cause gossip.
Lin Shu knew this very well, so she took advantage of the fact that their identities were still unclear and beat the three thieves until they cried for their parents. Their faces were swollen like pigs. After she had beaten them enough, she handed them over to the village head for handling.
There are large tracts of Quercus glauca in the mountains, and these Quercus glauca are Lin Shu's support. Even if the relief from the court is delayed, she and A Ye will not starve to death.
Many of the sycamore nuts on the trees have fallen off after they matured. You can fill a basket by picking up the nuts directly from the ground, or you can hold up a long bamboo pole and tap the branches gently, and the ripe sycamore nuts will fall off easily.
Before long, the two empty backpacks of Lin Shu and Zhou Ye were both filled with small spinning top-shaped qinggangzi.
Lin Shu smiled with her eyebrows curved, "Aye, the first batch of acorn flour we made at home is almost dried today. I'll go back and make you acorn tofu."
Zhou Ye raised his voice slightly, "Okay. It's still early, shall we dig some more kudzu and fern roots to take back?"
"Okay, these can all be made into flour, let's stock up!"
After the Frost Descent, not only do the wild fruits in the forest become sweeter, but the edible grass and tree roots also contain the most starch, and can be dug from late autumn to late winter.
Zhou Ye was very skilled at digging these, and soon he found a few kudzu roots. The kudzu roots in the mountains grew thick, and some were as thick as a human leg. Zhou Ye even dug out a piece of kudzu root as big as Lin Shu's head, which looked like an oversized sweet potato.
Lin Shu held the big kudzu root and touched it happily several times before putting it in the backpack.
Because the kudzu seeds are small and easy to scatter, they cannot be filled to the brim, so the backpack can hold more things. The large pieces of kudzu roots that were dug out can be put into the backpack just right. After it is full, use straw ropes to weave a net around the opening of the backpack so that the kudzu roots will not fall out.
Fern roots are much easier to deal with. They are long and slender and look like thin tree roots. They can be bundled like firewood.
However, because the fern root is slender, it is not as easy to dig as the kudzu root. Not only are there many thorny vines and shrubs around it, but the soil where it grows is also relatively dry, making it quite difficult to dig.
"Next time, wait until it rains. The soil is moist and easier to dig."
Zhou Ye replied as he dug: "It's okay. If we dig after the rain, the fern roots will be covered in mud and it will be more troublesome to clean. As long as there is something to eat, these troubles are nothing."
Lin Shu was amused by him, "Aye, you really should let your father see how desperately you fight for a bite of food. In his eyes, you are a perfect son-in-law."
Lin Dashan had a number of minor ailments, but the flood had perhaps forced him to face reality: his family could still thrive without him. He wasn't the pillar of support, the one everyone depended on, as he'd assumed. Far from it, he actually had to rely on the rest of the family. Unconsciously, he'd gotten rid of many of the minor ailments that had plagued his mother for over a decade.
Of course, Lin Dashan is still the face-conscious Lin Dashan, and will unconsciously show off his good daughter and good son-in-law, but he knows how to hide his wealth and complain about his misfortunes. If outsiders want to borrow food, it is difficult to borrow even a grain of rice from him.
Now Lin Dashan's most common words are -
"Brother, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you, it's just that Ah Ye and Ah Shu at home are both overeaters, and my rice jar is almost empty."
"Brother, where did you hear that? We have so much food that we can't finish it all? How is that possible? Ah Ye eats six or seven bowls of dry rice in one meal, and Ah Shu eats two or three bowls. No matter how much food we have, we can't afford it. Our family is worried sick."
Zhou Ye listened to her joking words, but his brows softened. "It's not shameful to fight for a bite of food."
Lin Shu pulled a weed and threw it in his face, saying with a smile, "Since you like digging tree roots so much, I'll punish you by making you come to the mountains every day to dig up a basket of tree roots and bring them back."
A smile appeared in Zhou Ye's eyes, "No problem."
"Aye, have you ever eaten this fern root when you were fleeing famine?" Lin Shu squatted on the side, holding her face and watching him work.
Zhou Ye: "I have, of course I haven't. I chewed it raw once and it gave me a terrible headache and a sore throat."
Lin Shu explained: "Fresh fern roots are poisonous and cannot be eaten raw. They must be processed before eating."
Zhou Ye glanced at her distractedly and hummed, "Later, I discovered that roasting it over a fire and chewing it after it's cooked through won't cause this. Chewing it makes you feel full, so my tribesmen and I chewed quite a bit along the way."
Lin Shu stared at him intently, not sparing her praise or hiding her fascination with him. "Aye, you're so smart. And you're so handsome when you're working."
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly pounced towards Zhou Ye.
Zhou Ye was working seriously and didn't guard against her at all, so she pounced on him and knocked him to the ground.
No matter whether it was kudzu root or fern root, they had to dig it out by hand, because if they used a hoe, they would break it if they were not careful. His hands were covered in mud, and for a moment he couldn't hug or push it away. "Shu, stop making trouble, I'm working."
Lin Shu lay on top of him, poking his hard chest with her fingertips, and said with a smile: "Who is making trouble with you? I have to do what I want to do immediately. Unlike some people, who are like Ninja Turtles and can really endure. Ah Ye, famine can't deprive people of the joy of life, don't you think?"
Zhou Ye looked at her, and a dormant part of his body almost instantly revived after hearing these words, and even slapped twice.
Lin Shu let out an affected "ah" and slapped him lightly on the chest. "W-What are you thinking? I just want to kiss you, that's all."
Zhou Ye's voice was slightly hoarse, "A Shu, please stop teasing me."
Lin Shu leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips, gently holding his lips and pursing them, "Okay, I won't tease you anymore, I'll give you a kiss."
Zhou Ye's eyes darkened for a moment, but after glancing at his dirty hands, he suppressed the absurd thoughts in his mind and finally let out a helpless sigh.
He knew that Ah Shu did it on purpose. She knew that he would not do anything to her when he was dirty, so she teased him on purpose.
"Aye, why aren't your ears red anymore?" Lin Shu said somewhat disappointedly after teasing the man.
Zhou Ye glanced at her and asked seriously, "Maybe the blush on your ears has moved somewhere else. Do you want to see it, Ah Shu?"
Lin Shu:!!
Okay, I lose.
This time we returned with a full load.
When the two of them returned, He Guixiang, who had followed Lin Zhaodi and others to the mountains to pick chestnuts, had already returned and was spreading out the chestnuts they had picked that day to dry.
"There were too many villagers picking chestnuts, so I only brought back one basket." He Guixiang turned her head and said.
Seeing the two of them bringing back both cyperus seeds and kudzu root fern roots, she immediately beamed. "The way you're collecting, the wild boars in the mountains won't have any cyperus seeds to eat. And as for kudzu root fern roots, we already brought back two baskets a few days ago. How come you've dug up so much again today? You two better not empty the mountain."
Zhou Ye said, "Mom, Shan Da, you can never dig up all of these, and even after you dig them up, the remaining roots in the soil will still sprout new buds next year."
He Guixiang said, "That's good."
No matter how many times she heard Aye say "Mom", she felt very comfortable in her heart.
All the picked qinggang nuts were spread out to dry. After they were dried until the shells cracked, they were put into a mortar to remove the shells.
Aye was very strong, and with a light tap of a wooden hammer, the shell fell off the flesh.
The fallen pulp of the Cyperus rotundus, also known as acorn rice, is placed in a basket and then soaked in the fish pond behind the vegetable patch. The mountain spring water in the fish pond is flowing. After soaking in flowing water for ten days, the bitterness and astringency of the acorn rice can be completely removed.
After removing the bitterness and astringency of the acorn rice, put it in a stone mill and grind it into acorn paste. It doesn't matter if there is no stone mill at home. Zhou Ye and Lin Shu are both strong. They can put the rice in the mortar and pound it a few times with their hands to make it into paste.
The slurry is then rinsed several times with clean water and filtered to remove any residue. You can use a thin cloth or a fine sieve to filter it.
Finally, you will get a large wooden barrel of pulp water without any residue. Let the pulp water settle for three days. After three days, a layer of white sediment will be deposited in the barrel, which is acorn starch.
Pour out the clean water on the top layer, use a wooden shovel to scoop out this layer of acorn starch and dry it in the sun. When it dries, you can get acorn powder as fine as ash flour.
Coincidentally, the first batch of processed acorn flour had been placed in a bamboo sieve to dry for two days and was completely dry today.
Lin Shu twisted it with her fingertips and smiled with satisfaction. Aye mashed it into a pulp and the dried acorn powder was very fine.
There was a clean earthen jar in the kitchen, which Lin Shu had bought last month. It was just the right place to store this batch of dried acorn powder.
Ten pounds of unshelled acorn rice can produce one pound of flour, and the first batch of acorn flour only produced seven or eight pounds. But these seven or eight pounds of acorn flour can be eaten for a long time.
Next to the earthenware jar containing acorn powder were two coarse pottery jars, one containing fern root powder and the other containing kudzu root powder.
Compared to acorn rice, bracken and kudzu roots are much simpler to prepare. After washing, they are directly placed in a mortar and pounded until they are mushed. The subsequent process is the same as for acorn rice: filtering, settling, and drying.
Dried fern root powder is dark brown, while kudzu root powder is light yellow. It is not as fine as acorn powder and is more like sweet potato powder.
It's not easy to get this powder. Pueraria root is similar to acorn rice, and you can get one pound of powder from ten pounds of it. Fern root is not as good, and you can only get one pound from fifteen pounds of it.
But Zhou Ye was a skilled and capable digger, and he could dig up a lot at a time. It wouldn't be long before the two earthenware jars were full.
Thinking that Aye had been busy today and his stomach was already empty, Lin Shu scooped two full spoonfuls of kudzu root powder from the coarse earthenware jar into the bowl, threw in a stone-sized piece of rock honey, first dissolved it with a small amount of mountain spring water, and then scooped a ladle of boiling rice soup from A'niang's pot and poured it in, stirring as she went.
The kudzu root powder dissolved in cold water in the bowl was quickly mixed into a paste. Only two spoonfuls of kudzu root powder were enough to make a paste that filled half of the bowl.
"Aye, I've prepared a special meal for you, come and eat!" Lin Shu shouted to Zhou Ye, her eyes sparkling like stars.
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