Chapter 74 Soy Milk Powder
After the rice is harvested, the paddy fields need to be plowed again. At the same time, rice seedlings need to be planted, and then a new round of transplanting will begin. After busying themselves with the work in the paddy fields, it is time to harvest the crops on the dry land.
These events may only be described in a short sentence, but Lu An and Zhao Xuan know how much bitterness and tears were contained within them.
Thanks to their experience, their harvest this year was good. Of course, this was also due to the favorable weather they had experienced in the past two years since they moved into the mountains. Apart from the rice in Lao Dao's fields, their own fields produced 120 jin more rice than last year. Other crops such as potatoes, corn, and wheat also looked to be growing well.
After some calculations, they estimated that this year's harvest would be enough to feed and clothe them for two years.
Lu An still didn't let Zhao Xuan do too much farm work, so after the rice harvest, Zhao Xuan stayed home to cultivate seedlings and dry the rice, while Lu An took care of both turning over the paddy fields and harvesting the dry fields all by himself.
During this period, Lu An had a large appetite, eating three large bowls of rice in one meal. He was so tired every day that he didn't want to say a word. After eating at home, he could fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Compared to the off-season, Zhao Xuan's life at home was not much easier. She took on all the housework, as well as drying grain and raising seedlings.
The hot weather meant the rice seedlings grew well, so it didn't require much effort. However, drying the rice was physically demanding. Zhao Xuan alone carried over a thousand kilograms of rice to the drying ground below the village on a tricycle. After drying, he had to carry it back. Not to mention the round trip carrying the rice, even the bamboo mats used for drying the rice were incredibly heavy. Every time Zhao Xuan finished carrying all that rice, his face would turn as red as a cooked shrimp.
As for food, she and Lu An both prefer cold dishes or light soups. In the morning, Zhao Xuan would grind half a pot of soy milk and eat it with rice noodles mixed with the thick soy milk. This is a way of eating in the northern part of the province. Some ginger shreds, scallions and a little bit of yellow wine can be added to the soy milk powder. The taste is very light, but it has a wonderful aroma of soybeans and rice.
Lu An had never tried soy milk powder before, but it was so easy to eat, especially on a cool morning. A big bowl of it was both filling and thirst-quenching.
Zhao Xuan said that this kind of soy milk powder tastes best when paired with fried dough sticks, but she doesn't know how to fry dough sticks.
If you don't have time to cook rice noodles, you can pour a raw egg into boiling hot soy milk. The soy milk with egg, along with the golden-brown fried rice cakes and some pickled vegetables, can make for a satisfying meal.
The leftover soy milk is sometimes boiled to make dried bean curd sticks, and sometimes mixed with vinegar to make tofu. These soy products are delicious whether used in soups or stir-fried.
As life got better, Zhao Xuan had more and more food choices. She often reminisced about the days before her serious illness, and if she had the means, she would cook whatever she wanted to try.
They have so much time that they can spend a lot of it on eating.
Farm work is already a piece of cake for Zhao Xuan and his colleagues, who have been farming for two years. Although it is still tiring, they no longer feel as flustered as before.
Labor filled their days. In these tiring yet fulfilling days, they finally dried the rice and stored it in the warehouse. The rice paddies were also plowed again and filled with water. The two of them braved the scorching heat to plant the second batch of rice seedlings.
The crops in the dry fields were also being harvested one after another. Corn, peanuts, wheat, and glutinous rice had all ripened in the past two months and were harvested by Zhao Xuan and Lu An. The glutinous rice harvest was particularly good compared to the previous year, yielding a huge harvest of eighty jin per mu! After deducting the amount saved for seed, the remaining glutinous rice was enough for Zhao Xuan to make a feast of New Year's cakes this autumn and winter.
After the crops in the dry fields are harvested, the excess dry roots and stems are burned on the spot. The fire can kill the pests hidden underground, and the ash can also be used to fertilize the fields.
The Yao family's progress was similar to theirs; both families were hardworking, and with a good harvest, they both had a good year.
Time flew by, and summer transitioned from its peak to its end. Because of the sufficient temperature and humidity, the rice seedlings in the paddy fields changed every day, growing from sparse seedlings to a lush, fluffy patch.
Over this period of time, Zhao Xuan's injuries have completely healed. After all, she is young, and as long as the injury is not fundamental, she recovers very quickly. Her fingers have recovered a lot, but she doesn't know if it's psychological, but she always feels that her fingers are not as flexible as before. However, she doesn't pay too much attention to it. With the long time, her emotional wounds will also heal, and once her emotional wounds are healed, her physical discomfort will also be completely cured.
The crops in the dry fields had been harvested, and the rice seedlings had been planted, indicating that the most tiring time of the year was over. Looking at each other's dark and thin faces, the two quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
By now, although Zhao Xuan has become accustomed to the daily life of a farmer, she still dreads the summer harvest every year. Laziness is ingrained in every human being. The life of two people in one house, three meals a day, and four seasons may seem idyllic, but in reality, every step is built on heavy physical labor and a long investment of time. If she could choose, Zhao Xuan would of course choose a life without working. After all, if farming weren't hard, there wouldn't have been so many farmers throughout history studying diligently, dreaming of leaving agriculture to pursue politics or business.
Fortunately, the frequent labor and regular lifestyle made Zhao Xuan and Lu An's bodies stronger. They rarely got sick anymore, slept as soon as their heads hit the pillow, and didn't gain weight even if they ate a lot. Although Lu An became thinner during the busy farming season, he didn't lose much muscle. His subcutaneous fat was getting thinner, making him more adept at heavy work. Even Zhao Xuan felt her arms were rock hard to the touch. Before the apocalypse, she was a short and weak ordinary girl who struggled to carry a bucket of water up three flights of stairs.
Looking at the food filling the room, Zhao Xuan, whose face had turned black from lack of sweat, grinned from ear to ear. She exclaimed that the mountains were wonderful; there were no insect plagues, no droughts or floods, and even the wild boars that could damage crops were kept out by their fences. No wonder everyone liked to run to the mountains when there was a disaster; no one would starve there.
Zhao Xuan thought that if the second crop of rice also yielded a good harvest, she and Lu An could take a break next year and plant only one crop of rice, since they would have more food than they could eat.
After two months of intense work, the farm was back to a temporary lull. Lu An couldn't stay idle, so he took out his tools and reinforced the pigsty, chicken coop, and toilet next door. Then he went to the hunting lodge in the mountains by himself. Now that he had plenty of time, he could travel back and forth between the two places from time to time, so he could set up the traps there. Maybe he could catch a wild boar or a muntjac in the fall.
Days passed uneventfully, and then fate successfully shattered Zhao Xuan's fantasy of taking a break the following year.
The typhoon has entered the country.
A few hours before the typhoon made landfall, the sky had already darkened, the temperature had dropped, and the dim sky was filled with flying insects and birds.
Lu An was in a hunting lodge deep in the mountains, hurrying towards home. Zhao Xuan, on the other hand, didn't feel much about the sudden darkening of the weather. After being hot for half a month, she was actually quite happy that it was finally going to rain, thinking that it would be cooler.
There are usually no torrential rains in late summer; the rain usually stops after a while. However, the rain will moisten the ground, making it a bit hotter at first, but it will cool down a lot after the wind blows.
The province has a subtropical climate, and because it is near the sea, summers are very long, and even as autumn approaches, temperatures remain high.
Before the heavy rain, strong winds had already begun to blow.
Zhao Xuan took in the clothes, closed the doors and windows. It was already too dark to see clearly in the afternoon. The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. As Zhao Xuan was taking in the clothes on the third floor, he craned his neck to look in the direction of the hunting lodge. Seeing that Lu An had not yet returned, he was a little worried.
The stewed meat was still bubbling on the small stove, and the rice was simmering in the pot. She had also made a small bowl of grass jelly today, but it wasn't very successful; it was a bit soggy. However, she was still very happy and put the grass jelly in the refrigerator's crisper drawer, waiting for Lu An to come back so they could try it together.
In the short time it took to collect the laundry, the sky darkened a bit more.
Zhao Xuan then realized something was wrong. She thought the rain might be heavy, so she had to feed the pigs first, and she wouldn't go out if it rained later.
460 seemed a bit restless, pacing back and forth in the yard, occasionally barking.
The pigs next door also seemed uneasy. While cooking pig feed, Zhao Xuan herded the free-range chickens back into their pen. The wind was getting stronger, and Zhao Xuan could tell that a heavy rainstorm was coming. He hurriedly finished feeding the pigs and rushed back to his own yard. He took back the garlic cloves and corn hanging on the window security bars. After thinking for a moment, he also took away the dustpan, broom, and other things that he usually kept in the corner, and even locked the two tricycles together.
Then Zhao Xuan took the carrying pole and bucket and went to the well at the bottom of the village to fetch water.
When there is a heavy rainstorm, the well water will be murky for several days. Although Zhao Xuan had no idea what the upcoming heavy rain was, she at least thought that she should store some water.
Her ability to carry water was as weak as ever; she could only carry half a bucket each time. Lu An returned on her third trip.
460 was guarding the gate. When he saw Lu An, he happily called out a few times and then pulled Lu An to go pick up Zhao Xuan.
The two met at the bottom of the village. Lu An took the carrying pole and walked quickly home, saying to Zhao Xuan as he went, "Xuanxuan, go to the vegetable garden and pick all the vegetables you can."
Zhao Xuan nodded, jogged home, and went out with a large basket on his back.
Lu An filled both water tanks to the brim, but he didn't stop there. He filled all the buckets and basins he could find in the house with water. Zhao Xuan also made several trips back and forth. Now, the vegetables in the half-acre vegetable garden were enough for the two of them to eat. Picking all the edible vegetables was no small task. Zhao Xuan's basket was filled with various melons, fruits and vegetables, and he was carrying handfuls of freshly picked green leafy vegetables in his arms.
The two men worked diligently, their lips pursed, carrying water and vegetables like tiny ants. After finishing, Lu An directed Zhao Xuan to fill sacks with sand and transport them to the courtyard gate to block it. After several trips, both were drenched in sweat. The wind was growing stronger, bending some small trees low. Lu An pushed Zhao Xuan inside to take shelter, while he then inspected his own house and the neighboring pigsty again. After confirming there were no major problems, Lu An returned home, closed and locked the courtyard gate. He went inside, closed and locked the door as well.
Their house was located on high ground, so the water was unlikely to flood in. Lu An was worried about the electricity—the power lines he had installed were not as sturdy as traditional power lines. In the pre-apocalyptic world, there was a possibility of power outages during extreme weather, and he didn't know if the power lines he had installed could withstand this strong wind.
He could tell from the way back from the hunting lodge that this heavy rain was unusual; it must be an approaching typhoon.
Before the apocalypse, the province was located near the coast and would likely be hit by one or two typhoons every year. However, the province is a hilly area, and when typhoons made landfall along the coast, they would generally be downgraded to tropical storms by the time they reached the area. Therefore, compared to the coast, the area was much less affected by typhoon disasters.
Lu An and Zhao Xuan had lived in this village for two years without encountering any extreme weather. Since there were no weather forecasts after the apocalypse, they naturally didn't know how many typhoons had made landfall in the province in recent years, how big they were, or what their paths were. Although some typhoons had passed through their area, their paths had deviated too much, bringing at most a few showers. Summer was rainy, and at this time, the rain wouldn't even make them think that it was brought by a typhoon.
But this time, Lu An estimated—they were unlucky, as the place they lived in was right in the eye of the typhoon.
Fortunately, they still have time to prepare before the typhoon officially hits.
Lu An was secretly relieved that the typhoon had come after the summer harvest; if it had come two months earlier, they would have had no harvest at all.
It wasn't even evening yet, but it was already completely dark. In the dim light, Zhao Xuan could see thick, dark clouds covering the sky, like a quilt, pressing down and making it hard to breathe.
Lu An had already turned off the power, and with the doors and windows tightly closed, the room was very stuffy.
Zhao Xuan wiped away the sweat from her body, changed into a set of loose clothes, and lay on the bed holding her daughter, Donggua. She was a little uneasy. Lu An lowered the mosquito net for her and comforted her, "Take a nap first, don't be afraid, I'm here." As he spoke, he carried several thick quilts downstairs.
After the power was cut off, the refrigerators stopped working. He covered the top of the cabinet refrigerator with a thick quilt to reduce the loss of cold air.
Zhao Xuan tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Although she was exhausted from a day's work, she just couldn't fall asleep.
The wind outside gradually picked up, a strange wind swept through the mountains and forests, through their houses, and then towards the abandoned houses below the village. The force grew stronger and stronger, and it made all sorts of strange sounds, as if a giant was blowing a peculiar whistle, making everyone feel uneasy.
There were no lights or candles in the room, so it was hard to see anything. The red and blue machine still had power, but her fingers were clumsy and she hadn't played it in a long time. After making pancakes a few more times, Zhao Xuan simply sat up. Just then, Lu An came upstairs, carrying two bowls of something dark. He handed one of the bowls to Zhao Xuan: "Here, this stuff will definitely go bad if you put it in the refrigerator. You can eat some to replenish your energy."
He was holding the not-so-successful grass jelly that Zhao Xuan had made that morning. Lu An had cut the grass jelly into small pieces and sprinkled some sweet red beans that she had steamed a few days ago on top.
Lu An handed Zhao Xuan a bowl, then took his own bowl and crawled into the mosquito net. The two of them sat facing each other with their legs bent, eating snacks.
Zhao Xuan asked, "Lu An, won't this wind damage our house?"
"Don't worry, the typhoon has weakened a lot by the time it hits this area. It looks scary, but the houses definitely won't be damaged."
Zhao Xuan then asked, "Do you think Sister Xiaohe and the others are prepared?"
“They have much more survival experience than we do. I could tell that a typhoon was passing by, and they must have known as well.”
Zhao Xuan thought for a moment, then said, "It's a good thing you reinforced the pigsty a few days ago! How come you're so lucky to have reinforced the pigsty at that exact moment?"
By this time, Lu An had finished his grass jelly. He looked up, and in the darkness, he could only see Zhao Xuan's swaying, fluffy head. He said, "Didn't you say a few days ago that I was just bored?"
Zhao Xuan replied smoothly, "Look how old you are, you must have misremembered."
The two chatted for a while, and Zhao Xuan seemed to calm down. Lu An took a fan and fanned her to cool her down, and Zhao Xuan drifted off to sleep.
She hadn't slept long before being woken by the sound of heavy rain pounding against the window. She stirred, waking Lu An, who reached out and patted her back, saying, "Sleep peacefully."
On a typhoon day when the power is out, all you can do is sit and sleep. Sleeping at least allows you to recharge, so sleeping is the obvious choice.
460 seemed to be frightened by the typhoon, barking wildly every now and then. Lu An went downstairs several times to comfort it.
The wind was estimated to be around force 8, and the doors and windows were rattling loudly as the wind and rain pounded against them. Some water seeped in through the loose windows, but fortunately, the house was sturdy enough that the minor leaks were not a problem.
Every now and then, a few broken, thick branches would fly past the window, and leaves carrying countless grains of sand would rush past in the wind and rain, knocking against the doors, windows, and walls.
The house was quiet and dry inside, like a safe nest. Zhao Xuan was like an egg sleeping in the nest. She curled up in the mosquito net, wrapped in a thin blanket, and finally fell asleep. Lu An got up every now and then, carrying a flashlight, and patrolled the three floors of the house in case of any emergencies.
The night was spent in a fierce storm.
After the eye of the storm passed, the wind subsided significantly, and the rain also lessened. Lu An hadn't slept all night. As dawn broke, the torrential rain turned into a light drizzle. He went out wearing a straw hat—he was checking the electrical circuits. The refrigerator had been out of service all night, and if it wasn't plugged in soon, the meat inside would spoil.
Zhao Xuan also got up early. When she opened the door and window, the fresh air rushed in. She had been sweating all night, and the sticky face broke out in goosebumps as soon as it came into contact with the cool air. She moved the sandbags blocking the doorway away. Yesterday, the rain hadn't spread, but a lot of withered branches and leaves had flown into the yard, and there was a thick layer of mud on the ground.
The rain continued to fall, so there was no point in cleaning the yard now.
Zhao Xuan went to check on the pigsty next door. Although the pigsty had been reinforced, the wind was too fierce last night. A corner of the sheet metal covering the pigsty had been blown away, and the poor fat pigs were now huddled in a corner of the pigsty. They had been terrified in the wind and rain all night.
Zhao Xuan sighed. The rain was still falling, and repairing the pigsty would take too long. There were more important things to do now.
The village was in complete disarray. Two old wooden buildings, already crumbling, had collapsed in the typhoon and were now utterly ruins. Some houses had their roofs blown off, and their doors and windows were shattered by flying stones. Leaves and branches were everywhere, and some small saplings had been uprooted and blown to who-knows-where.
This already abandoned village seems to have aged several years even more in this natural disaster.
As Zhao Xuan had predicted, the well water at the bottom of the village had indeed turned yellow. The water had overflowed, and a layer of rotten leaves floated on the surface. The well opening was wide, like a secluded pool, so Zhao Xuan easily cleared away the dead leaves. However, it would take at least a few days for the water to clear.
After cleaning the wellhead, Zhao Xuan ran into Lu An on his way home.
Miraculously, the power lines were not damaged in the strong winds. Lu An repaired some loose wires before returning home, turned on the main switch, and the power was back on.
Zhao Xuan asked, "Will this typhoon turn back?"
Lu An thought for a moment and replied, "It's possible, but the probability is not high."
It's not uncommon for typhoons to make a comeback in history, but once they've weakened to tropical storm level, their return is unlikely to be as powerful as the first one.
The light rain was still falling.
The firewood piled under the eaves of the courtyard was soaked by the rain. Zhao Xuan picked and chose for a long time before finally managing to start a fire.
No matter how big the problem is, nothing is bigger than eating.
After eating, the two repaired the pigsty together, then cleared away the pebbles and fallen leaves, and replaced the big fat pigs with dry straw. The pigs, who had been frightened all night, collapsed into the straw pile, making satisfied grunting noises.
The chicken coop next to the pigsty was not damaged, and all the chickens inside were still there, but they were obviously frightened and laid eggs haphazardly. Zhao Xuan picked up four eggs outside the coop.
In the afternoon, the two planned to go to the fields to take a look.
The road was littered with pebbles and broken tiles. Wild grass on both sides lay flat on the ground, battered and dying by the torrential rain. Even more exaggerated was the large willow tree next to the stream. Because it was the only large tree in the area, it bore the brunt of the typhoon's fury. What used to be thousands of green ribbons hanging down had now become a bald tree with a few withered branches hanging from it.
Zhao Xuan was actually in a pretty good mood, and even laughed when he saw the bare willow tree.
As they expected, the rice paddies were in a mess, the rice seedlings were blown about, the fields were in chaos, and the water had become murky, filled with stones and broken branches.
The stronger rice seedlings were battered by the storm and fell into the water, while the weaker ones were blown far away. The Yao family's rice next door was similar; the seedlings from both families had been scattered and were no longer distinguishable from where they had originally been planted.
Zhao Xuan thought that their fate of planting double-cropping rice was really terrible. Last year, wild boars almost destroyed their entire harvest, and a typhoon also devastated the crops. She had originally planned to take it easy next year and not plant double-cropping rice, but now she thought that all kinds of natural disasters and man-made calamities were too much to bear. She decided to stock up on food and continue planting double-cropping rice next year.
Perhaps last year's encounter with the wild boar had broadened their horizons. This year, seeing this desolate scene, they exchanged a glance, then without much expression or words, rolled up their trousers and sleeves and went into the water to plant rice seedlings.
While they were working, the Yao family of three arrived.
The wind and rain that night caused the Yao family a lot of trouble. Their house was a covered walkway, and when the wind blew, the rain poured directly onto the doors and windows, and the rainwater quickly seeped into the bedrooms and storage rooms. This forced them to repair the doors and windows overnight. The Yao family's sheep were even more timid than pigs, howling all night. The dog, fearing the sheep would run away, had to stay in the sheepfold all night. Fortunately, the sheepfold was sturdy and was not damaged by the wind and rain.
Their yard was similar to Zhao Xuan's, covered in a thick layer of mud. Without time to clean the yard, they hurriedly went to the rice paddies.
The dog was riding a big bicycle. He was originally going to check on Zhao Xuan's house as Yao Yuan had instructed, but since he had run into him in the rice paddy, he could skip that step and simply changed direction to cut some grass for the sheep.
The remaining four adults were cleaning up the mess in the field.
The rain was still falling, with occasional light breezes.
Compared to the scorching heat of the past few days, the temperature dropped to a comfortable level after the typhoon.
Zhao Xuan was clearing away the pebbles and leaves from the field and leveling the land, while Lu An was gathering the surviving rice seedlings and replanting them in the land that Zhao Xuan had cleared.
Having been bent over for a while, Zhao Xuan straightened up to relax. Looking up at the increasingly clear sky, she felt calm. Compared to the last pig plague, this typhoon didn't stir up much emotion in her.
It was just a matter of doing more work; their food supply was enough to last for two years, so she felt at ease.
The Yao family members nearby were also in a stable mood. Zhang Xiaohe even joked with Yao Yuan, saying that the silly dog had gone to cut grass to feed the sheep, but the grass was covered in mud.
The sky is vast and the earth is wide; the clouds roll and the wind is gentle.
In the quiet mountains and waters, faint human voices occasionally rise, along with the whistling of the wind echoing through the wilderness.
Zhao Xuan let out a long breath, then looked at everything and smiled inexplicably.
Their second summer here was drawing to a close.
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