On their way back, they didn't take the shortcut down the steep and rugged road, but changed direction. Although it was a long detour, there was no rush, so they just walked slowly, and had the opportunity to hunt some game and pick some wild vegetables and fruits.
Passing a clump of wild honeysuckle, Xue Huan caught a glimpse of a golden, oblate object hidden among the flowers. She took a closer look and saw, "Pumpkin!"
It turned out to be a pumpkin as big as a millstone.
Wu Qi took a look and asked, "What is pumpkin? Can it be eaten?"
Xue Huan nodded, "It's edible. It's delicious whether it's used in cooking or snacks."
Wu Qi's eyes suddenly changed when he looked at the pumpkin. He pulled it out and held it in his arms.
Xue Huan followed the pumpkin vine and a tall tree appeared in front of her. Thick pumpkin vines were wrapped around the trunk, and pumpkins the size of cantaloupes dropped down. These were unripe young pumpkins, and under the tree, lying or reposing were old pumpkins as big as wheels.
This area is completely occupied by pumpkins, it is simply a natural wild pumpkin field.
Pumpkins are a great thing! They can be used as both a vegetable and a meal, and their yield is amazing! One acre of land can yield thousands of kilograms. Best of all, they're even easier to grow than sweet potatoes. Simply plant a seed near a wall or on a slope, and it'll sprout in no time.
Xue Huan had never seen a pumpkin before. Not only in Fengchi, but also anywhere else.
She posted a bounty at the Tianxia Pawnshop, looking for crops such as potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins, but no one ever completed it.
She accidentally discovered the sweet potato in He Shen's yard.
She hadn't received any news about the other types. She guessed that they might not have been introduced to Daqi yet, or that they had been introduced but not taken seriously and promoted.
These pumpkins in front of me have probably been growing here for several years. The main vine is as thick as a human wrist. From a distance, it looks like a python coiled on a tree.
Xue Huan guessed that the pumpkin seeds were probably brought here by birds. The birds ate the seeds and then excreted them, and the pumpkin took root in this place and grew to its current size.
But these pumpkins apparently went unnoticed.
It’s not surprising when you think about it. After all, this is a deep mountain with few people. Even if someone discovered it, they probably wouldn’t dare to try this new thing growing in the wild easily.
Xue Huan called Wu Qi over: "Come and help me pick all these pumpkins."
It would be a waste to leave so many pumpkins here. It would be better to take them back and use them as food for the people in the village.
The two of them picked pumpkins together for half a day before they finally picked all the ripe pumpkins. They piled them together and formed a small hill.
Xue Huan waved her hand and all the pumpkins on the ground were collected into the space.
She dug up another vine and put it away.
"Big brother, what are you holding in your hands?"
Xue Huan and Wu Qi each held a big pumpkin in their arms. When they arrived at the entrance of the village, a little boy asked her curiously.
Xue Huan smiled and said, "This is called pumpkin. It's a good thing we found in the mountains. It can be made into something delicious."
When the child heard that it was delicious, he became greedy and couldn't help but put his fingers to his mouth and sucked them.
The child had just been playing in the mud, and his hands and face were all dirty, but his eyes were bright. He looked at the big pumpkin in Xue Huan's arms with a desire that was almost greedy.
Xue Huan put the pumpkin down and pulled his hand away. "Your hands are covered in mud. Don't put them in your mouth. Otherwise, your stomach will hurt."
She took out a jar of candy from her purse. It was an exquisite porcelain jar as big as a fist. Inside was a bunch of snow-white candy balls. The candy balls were wrapped in candy paper made of malt sugar and could be eaten directly.
She took one out and fed it to the child.
The sweetness melted in his mouth, and the child's eyes narrowed with happiness. He had never eaten such delicious candy before! It should be said that he had eaten candy only a few times in his life. The candy he had eaten before was the brown sugar that his mother secretly dipped her finger into for him to taste.
Brown sugar is very sweet, and he would sip a little bit of it over and over again for a long time.
But now the candy that this big brother gives him is hundreds of times more delicious than brown sugar!
The child was reluctant to swallow it, so he spit it out, held it in his palm, ran to his mother quickly, and handed it to her: "Mom, have some candy!"
Xue Huan did not show favoritism and gave each of the other children a candy as well.
The children were extremely happy.
Seeing the children laughing so happily, the adults couldn't help but smile too.
Xue Huan went to the kitchen with Pumpkin in her arms. Lu Jinyao came over with a booklet in his hand, which recorded the situation of everyone in the village.
"Sir, please take a look."
Xue Huan sat on the long bench in the kitchen and started reading. The handwriting on the paper was neat and beautiful, and the font was regular script, which looked refreshing.
The records of each person's situation are also very complete.
She flipped through it and had a general understanding of the situation of the entire village.
"You've done a great job. Here, I'll give you some candy as a reward." Xue Huan took out a lollipop and handed it over with a smile.
Lu Jinyao blushed a little at her smile, and felt a little helpless. He looked at the candy, not knowing whether he should take it.
Xue Huan realized that she was now pretending to be a man, a handsome young man at that. Her behavior just now probably made Lu Jinyao embarrassed, so she restrained her smile and handed the candy to her, "Take it."
Lu Jinyao put the candy into his sleeve pocket.
Xue Huan also asked her to call a few women who were good at cooking.
The few people didn't know why she called them over, and they all looked a little nervous. Xue Huan said gently, "Don't be nervous. I called you over to help make a snack."
She said she wanted them to help, but in fact she wanted to teach them how to make something. Xue Huan planned to teach them how to make pumpkin cake, which is a crispy, sweet, soft and sticky snack suitable for all ages.
The method is not complicated.
Hearing that they were asked to make snacks, the women felt relieved. Following Xue Huan's instructions, they first washed two large pumpkins, peeled and removed the pulp, and cut them into small pieces.
Then put it in a steamer and steam it until cooked.
After steaming, use a spoon to mash the pumpkin into a paste while it is still hot, add glutinous rice flour and knead into a ball.
When the stronghold was still ruled by bandits, the second in command was a greedy man. In addition, the stronghold became rich and the living standards improved, so the warehouse was piled with a lot of food purchased from outside, including sugar, oil, glutinous rice flour, etc.
There were four women in total. Xue Huan asked three of them to knead the dough, and the other one to make red bean paste.
Xue Huan stood aside and reminded, "No need to add water. Just knead until the dough is no longer sticky to your hands. Then add a spoonful of oil. This way, the surface of the finished pastry will be glossy."
After the three people have kneaded the dough, the red bean paste on the other side is also ready.
Xue Huan fried some white sesame seeds and set them aside to cool.
She took a ball of dough the size of an egg, rolled it into a ball, flattened it, added red bean paste into it, gently rolled the dough into a round ball, flattened it into a small round cake, and coated both sides with a layer of white sesame seeds. In this way, a pumpkin cake was wrapped.
"That's it, got it?"
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