Chapter 25 Mulberries and Loquats
The next day, Zhao Xuan packed two large bamboo baskets, some food, and two jugs of water, and called to Lu An. The two planned to go and pick some ripe fruit.
According to Zhao Xuan's notebook, the mulberry tree in the west of the village and the loquat trees in the mixed woods inside and outside the village could be picked.
There are so many fruits to eat in this village in the summer, including plums, mulberries, loquats, grapes from Xiaxi Village where the Yao family lives, and watermelons that Yao Yuan mentioned growing in other villages.
When she and Lu An arrived at the village in late autumn, the mulberries had long since rotted, and a few loquats were still hanging on the branches, but they were shriveled and inedible.
Zhao Xuan doesn't know how to make dried mulberries or loquat syrup, so he can only pick some to eat right now. These fruits hanging on the branches must be eaten quickly, otherwise they will be eaten horribly by birds and mice in a few days.
The village has many fruit trees. Jujubes and oranges have already borne green fruit, and chestnuts are covered with many thorny buds. These fruit trees grow according to the weather, but they are all growing well.
This year has had good rainfall, with rain showers every now and then, and the sunshine has been strong and bright, so the autumn fruits must be very sweet.
The mulberry tree in the west of the village is an old tree, but not very tall; Lu An, who is over 1.8 meters tall, can easily reach it by stretching out his hand. The fruit on this tree is black, and they grow in small bunches, like miniature grapes.
Fruit trees generally bear fruit sparsely for a few years, as if they are gathering strength. Once they have gathered enough strength, they will produce a large amount of fruit in a certain year, like fireworks exploding. In Zhao Xuan's view, this old mulberry tree was in the year of exploding fireworks.
Although the mulberry tree was not tall, it produced many branches, resulting in a wide canopy. Each branch was laden with plump mulberries, so many of them that the branches drooped to the ground, making Zhao Xuan feel sorry for it.
Perhaps it was because of the hot weather that many mulberries split open on the branches, emitting a faint sweet smell.
The tree's beautiful fruit attracted Zhao Xuan and his companion, and also drew in a dense swarm of... flies.
Lu An struck the mulberry tree branch with a stick, and immediately a buzzing sound arose, as loud as if it were in a machine room. A swarm of black flies flew away, and a few blind ones even crashed directly into Lu An's face.
The branch swayed a few times, and then Lu An and Zhao Xuan watched as the flies landed again and landed back on the mulberries.
After a moment of silence, Lu An asked, "...Shall we still collect them?"
“Pick them! Why not pick them?! We can just blanch them in boiling water and eat them! At worst…” Zhao Xuan hesitated, “At worst, we can feed them to the chickens! I heard that chickens that eat mulberries lay blue eggs!”
So the two of them started picking mulberries, and they remained silent, which was unusual for them.
Both of them were afraid that if they opened their mouths, a fly would fly into them.
They quickly filled half a basket, their hands sticky with the deep purple mulberry juice. They washed their hands in a nearby stream, and Lu An picked a handful of mulberry leaves to cover the mulberries. Then they got on the tricycle, and Zhao Xuan jumped into the back compartment. The two sped away from the mulberry trees.
The sun was already high in the sky, and the cicadas around her were chirping incessantly, making Zhao Xuan's head buzz. She sat down, wiped the sweat from her brow, glanced at the mulberries covered by mulberry leaves, and smelled their sweet aroma. Zhao Xuan swallowed, then remembered the swarms of flies on the tree. Without hesitation, she opened her packed bundle and took out two tender, thorny cucumbers with blossoms still attached.
She wiped the cucumber on the hem of her clothes, stood up, put one hand on Lu An's shoulder, and shoved the cucumber at Lu An with the other: "Open your mouth."
Lu An obediently tilted his head and took a bite, making a crisp crunching sound.
The vegetables she and Lu An grew were quite ugly, but miraculously they were all very fresh and delicious. Whether it was cucumbers or tomatoes, whether they were used as vegetables or fruits, they were all particularly sweet and juicy.
Zhao Xuan fed Lu An with one hand and ate a cucumber with the other. The tricycle slowly drove along the overgrown country road. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and blew the straw hat off Zhao Xuan's head.
"Stop! Stop! My hat flew off!" she exclaimed.
The tricycle came to a creaking stop. Zhao Xuan nimbly jumped off the bed, picked up his wide-brimmed straw hat, fastened the hat string to his chin, and sat back down in the bed. Only then did the tricycle start up again, creaking and groaning.
There were many clouds in the sky, fluffy and white. The sun would occasionally peek through the clouds. The temperature was still hot, but slightly better than a few days ago. When there was no sunshine, a gust of wind would make it quite cool.
After finishing the cucumber, Zhao Xuan casually tossed the lid away, and it disappeared into the lush weeds by the roadside.
They strolled slowly along the outskirts of the village, following the instructions in Zhao Xuan's notebook, heading towards the thicket outside the village.
The grass piled up in the thicket was as tall as a calf. When it rained, the weeds and rotten trees inside turned into mud, and if you weren't careful, your shoes would get stuck and you wouldn't be able to pull them out. On days like this, when it hasn't rained for ten days or so, the thick grass will keep piling up high enough to walk on.
The trees inside were ugly; some were diseased, and some were dead. Zhao Xuan had come here to cut firewood a few times, which is why he saw the two loquat trees inside.
For some reason, the two loquat trees were growing better. In fact, all the fruit trees in this village were growing quite well, probably because they had been carefully tended by the villagers before the apocalypse. The loquat trees grew on the edge of the mixed forest, so you didn't have to go too far, but they were tall, so you definitely couldn't pick the fruit by hand.
The tree had few leaves, but the branches were laden with loquats, all pale yellow, clearly not yet at their best for eating—Zhao Xuan had decided to pick them early, because once the loquats were fully ripe, the birds wouldn't leave them even a single one.
Neither Zhao Xuan nor Lu An could climb trees. They hadn't brought a ladder, and the ground beneath their feet was too soft for a ladder to stand steadily. So Lu An climbed up a small, nearby shrub and then jumped from the shrub to the lowest branch of the loquat tree.
Zhao Xuan watched this process with bated breath.
After Lu An settled down on the loquat tree, he began to break off small branches laden with plump loquats and throw them down. Zhao Xuan used the hem of his coat to catch them, removed the branches, and then picked them up.
Loquats are small, slightly larger than longans, and round. They are much more meager than the loquats sold in fruit shops before the apocalypse. This is how the loquats grown in the mountains are: thin and small with large pits. The only edible part is the thin layer of pale yellow flesh in the middle, but it is actually very sweet, even the flesh near the stem is sweet.
Zhao Xuan was afraid of crushing the mulberries, so she didn't put the loquats in the basket, but instead put them in the bucket. She and Lu An could only eat a small amount, and after filling the bucket halfway, Lu An jumped down from the tree.
Zhao Xuan sat on the outer edge of the back compartment, dangling her legs as she peeled the loquat. She chose a slightly yellow one, tore off the thin skin, and patiently ate the few pieces of fruit.
She frowned slightly; it was still a bit sour and would taste better if left to sit for a while longer. Lu An leaned against her and ate several in a row. He wasn't a picky eater and could eat a little bit of everything.
The two quietly finished enjoying the loquats in the shade. Zhao Xuan then casually tossed the loquat pits back into the thicket. She looked up at the two thriving loquat trees and muttered to herself, "Let the birds have the rest!"
She suddenly missed out on out-of-season fruits.
Watermelons, strawberries, and cherries in winter… Back then, Mom always said that out-of-season foods were bad. She believed that people should eat grains and other foods according to the seasons to maintain balance and good health. Now, she lives in harmony with the seasons, but Mom will never see it.
She rarely thinks of her parents now; their passing devastated her. Losing a loved one is something everyone will experience in their lifetime, but no one can truly understand the pain. Now, thinking of her parents still tears her heart apart, though she doesn't show it on her face. Sometimes she wonders what the point of her life is, going through all four seasons like a busy worker ant. Her loving parents will never see her striving to live.
But actually, life itself doesn't need too much meaning.
She had tasted the delicious commercial loquats, and she had also tasted this handful of wild loquats in her hand. She had felt the love of her parents, and now she also had Lu An's love.
So there's no point in trying so hard to live life, but I also feel that the feeling of living so desperately is pretty good.
"Lu An, let's take some loquats to Sister Xiao He and the others," Zhao Xuan suddenly said.
Yes, besides Lu An, she also had the Yao family members she had just gotten to know, and her friends.
Lu An nodded without hesitation.
The little tricycle creaked off again. A breeze picked up, and Zhao Xuan, his hat pulled down, peeked out from behind Lu An with a grin on his face.
"Lu An, do you know a song called 'The Wind Rises'?"
"The Wind Rises? Who sang that?"
“It’s not ‘the wind is rising,’ it’s ‘the wind is rising’!” Zhao Xuan leaned closer and said mysteriously, “I’m telling you, I can sing the Japanese version, I’ll sing it for you!” As she spoke, she started singing in Japanese.
Lu An became increasingly suspicious as he listened, and asked, "Are you just singing nonsense?"
"Where?!"
“Then sing that part you just sang again.”
"..."
When the two arrived at Xiaxi Village in a car, it was already 2 p.m. Zhang Xiaohe was preparing lunch, while Yao Yuan and Gougou were squatting in the yard, banging and clanging as they reinforced a long bench. Gougou was in charge of holding it up, and Yao Yuan was in charge of nailing it.
The Yao family was delighted to see Lu An and Zhao Xuan. Yao Yuan explained that he had been so busy setting up power lines that he had forgotten the time and was only now preparing lunch. When he learned that Lu An and the others hadn't eaten either, he invited them to have lunch with him.
Zhao Xuan felt a little embarrassed. After all, this was no longer the time when everyone was rich. In those days when even he couldn't get enough to eat, treating someone to a meal carried a great deal of goodwill.
After all, those mulberries and loquats aren't anything rare, so exchanging them for a meal is a great deal.
Yao Yuan took a string of smoked dried fish into the kitchen, and the couple busied themselves there. Lu An craned his neck and called out into the kitchen, "Brother Yao, Sister Xiao He, don't make too much!"
Zhang Xiaohe responded from the kitchen, "There's nothing much, just add a plate of fish."
Lu An and Zhao Xuan divided the loquats and mulberries in half and put them into the bucket the dog brought.
Looking at the glossy, plump mulberries, Zhao Xuan instructed the dog, "You need to scald these with boiling water before eating them, and don't eat too many."
The dog asked, "Why can't I eat more?"
"Eating too much will cause diarrhea." Wouldn't eating maggot eggs cause an upset stomach?
The child nodded knowingly.
The Yao family traded some sauces for eight chicks from Zhao Xuan. In early spring, Lu An and 460 caught several hens, taking two broods in total: one brood of seven for the Yao family and the other brood of ten for themselves. The Yao family's chicks have now grown up, some starting to lay eggs. Although not many, they have greatly improved the Yao family's diet. Coupled with the abundance of edible food in the various wastelands and rivers, the Yao family's life is visibly improving; even their four sheep have become quite plump.
In the dining room on the first floor, there was a square table stacked with many manuscripts. The paper sizes and condition varied, and the ruler holding the papers down was broken. Lu An glanced at them and realized they were various sketches needed for setting up the power line. He looked at them one by one, picking up a pencil and gently marking the problematic parts.
Just then, Yao Yuan came out carrying a plate of food and asked, "Is there a problem?"
Lu An pointed out a few points: "There's not much of a problem. It would be better if these few places were changed." As he spoke, he explained the proposed changes to Yao Yuan one by one.
Yao Yuan is a meticulous person, and he also trained the dog very carefully. At the same time, he learns things very quickly.
Lu An was actually quite fortunate that they met the Yao family, and he genuinely considered them his friends.
The Yao family's meals were simple: a bowl of steamed taro, a bowl of smoked dried fish, a pot of vegetable soup, and a pot of steamed pumpkin rice.
Adding various filling ingredients to rice is a common way to deal with a lack of rice. Common ingredients include corn, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin. Now is the peak season for pumpkins, and you can easily pick more than ten pounds of pumpkins in any field. They are all golden and round, and cutting one down is enough to eat for several days.
This was the most sumptuous meal the Yao family could offer.
Zhang Xiaohe's cooking skills are excellent. The taro is stewed with sesame oil and soy sauce until it's soft, tender, and flavorful. The dried anchovies are spicy and glossy because of the extra oil added. They're so crunchy that you can make a loud cracking sound when you bite into them. The vegetable soup is very sweet and delicious, and the pumpkin rice is quite filling.
The five people sat around a square table, eating and chatting. When Yao Yuan heard that their fruit was picked from their own village, he seemed to remember something and said, "There are watermelons in the villages further up. I'll go pick some some and bring them back for you to try some sometime."
Zhao Xuan asked, "How long does it take to get to the next village?"
"How about a day? Go in the morning and you can come back near dusk."
Zhao Xuan was somewhat tempted. She and Lu An had never been to that village before. According to Yao Yuan's description, there were obviously many edible foods growing in the village: "Brother Yao, call me when you go. I'll go and carry the watermelons myself."
Yao Yuan nodded. "Great! There are still lots of crops over there. If we have enough time, we can dig some up and bring them back. When are you going, Xiao Zhao?"
Just as Zhao Xuan was about to reply, Lu Anxian said, "I'm afraid it's not possible during this period. Our rice is ripe and will be harvested in a few days."
They plant their rice early, and they need to finish harvesting it before the start of autumn, and then rush to plant another batch, so they can harvest two crops in late autumn.
The idea of double-cropping rice came from Zhao Xuan. Summers are a bit longer in the small hills of the south, so growing double-cropping rice wouldn't be a problem. She's a very cautious person, and it's always good to stockpile more food.
The Yao family arrived a little later than them, and their rice is only now filling out, so they will only plant one crop of rice this year.
Zhang Xiaohe said, "Then you have to be careful not to get heatstroke." Although she had never experienced the hardship of double-cropping rice, she had heard people in the camp talk about it. Farmers have to do the most farm work during the hottest time of the year, and the hardship is unimaginable. If there were tractors to help with harvesting and planting, it would be easier, but now it has to be done entirely by hand. If there were oxen, it would be better, but unfortunately they have neither machines nor oxen.
Zhang Xiaohe didn't say any of this, and saying it wouldn't reduce their fatigue, so there was no need to say it now, as it would only add to their psychological burden.
Zhao Xuan nodded: "Yes, yes! After the rice harvest is over, we'll go to the neighboring village to find some good food!"
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