Chapter 76 Hibiscus
After drying all the harvested grain this year, Zhao Xuan took a small booklet and began to check the grain for storage: how many kilograms of grain were harvested this year, and how much of it would be kept as seeds for next year; how much old grain and agricultural by-products were left over from last year, and how much of it should be consumed soon; all the inventory was rearranged and reorganized, and how much dehumidifying charcoal needed to be replaced in each room... Zhao Xuan was full of energy when he did these things, and every big harvest was a time when Zhao Xuan would become young again—Lu An had made similar comments about Zhao Xuan's magical state many times.
After spending several days thoroughly inventorying the house's overflowing stock, Zhao Xuan would sit in the living room and carefully analyze the data in the booklet to determine the direction they needed to work towards next year.
Finally, she called Lu An and 460 together for a debriefing meeting, where the two of them and the dog reviewed the year's achievements and looked forward to the coming year.
Of the four seasons, autumn and winter bring Zhao Xuan the most joy, one representing abundance and the other representing peace.
Of course, the autumn harvest is not limited to crops, but also includes many fruits and wild game.
Oranges and chestnuts aren't ready to eat yet, but loquats and grapes are already very sweet. This year, Zhao Xuan tried making some canned loquats and raisins.
In the mountains, there are so many autumn fruits to eat, including peaches, pears, and jujubes, which are also in season. Last year, Lu An brought a bag of fresh passion fruit from the salt fields by the sea, and they planted it. However, it didn't grow very well. This year, they harvested some fruit, but it looked very shriveled and tasted extremely sour. Zhao Xuan dug out some of the pulp, added sugar, and made passion fruit water, which they ate chilled.
The weather is still very hot, and apart from being able to eat a wide variety of fruits, there is no sign of autumn.
The Yao family often brought them fruit. There were many fruit trees in Xiaxi Village, and sometimes the Yao family would go to places that Zhao Xuan and his family had never been to and find fruits that neither of the two villages had. At that time, they would also bring some to Zhao Xuan and his family.
That day, Zhang Xiaohe came to deliver fruit again. This time, she brought several pomelos, a large basket of melons, and a basket of hibiscus flowers.
During the off-season, Yao Yuan took his dog to explore the map again. They explored further out from the reservoir for three or four days and found pomelos and melons. However, the pomelos, neglected, were small and bitter. Zhang Xiaohe said that making pomelos into jam would be especially good, and the extra peels could be saved to smoke meat in the winter. As for the melons, they could save the seeds this year and plant them in their own field next year so they could also eat melons.
Melons don't spoil easily. If stored properly, they can be eaten in winter. If there's a good harvest of melons the following year, they can be taken to the salt fields by the sea to sell.
Hibiscus flowers are not found in either of the two villages, and these should be the last batch of hibiscus buds, since hibiscus flowers taste best in the height of summer.
Yao Yuan deliberately avoided the house near the reservoir during the map-lighting activity, so to this day they still don't know who lives under the smoke rising from the chimney by the reservoir.
When Zhang Xiaohe came to visit, Zhao Xuan warmly washed watermelon and dates. The watermelon season was ending, while the dates were just ripe, each one still green and only the size of a thumb, but sweet and crisp. The date tree was very productive; Zhao Xuan could easily fill a large basket with just a few picks. Like pears, dates are very sweet and filling. Perhaps because they had once been extremely hungry, Zhao Xuan and Lu An both loved these high-sugar fruits.
Zhao Xuan said he would bring Zhang Xiaohe more fruits that were not available in Xiaxi Village, so the two of them sat together on the steps of the hall, chatting and picking fruits.
Zhao Xuan was too greedy. She had picked two large baskets of dates in the past few days. She picked out the good, red ones and planned to give half to Zhang Xiaohe, while the bad ones were thrown into another basin to feed the pigs and chickens.
The two chatted casually, and when the topic turned to chickens, Zhao Xuan slapped his forehead and remembered that there was a mulberry tree in the village that attracted a lot of flies. Although the mulberries were covered by countless flies and were not suitable for human consumption, the eggs laid by chickens that ate them were particularly good. So, in the afternoon, the two went to pick two more baskets of mulberries.
They happily finished distributing the dates and mulberries, and evening was approaching.
Zhang Xiaohe glanced at the dawn, then suddenly remembered something and asked Zhao Xuan, "Xuanxuan, do you remember when we went to Xiwei Village together last year?"
Zhao Xuan nodded: "I remember, so what?"
"Where did you actually plan to go that day?"
Zhao Xuan paused for a moment, then said, "Ah! There's an abandoned railway track a bit behind the village. If you walk along the track for a while, there's a big stream. I don't know where the stream flows to, but it's cool there. Lu An and I were discussing going there to cool off after the harvest." As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and pointed in the direction of the railway track, "Just walk that way, it's easy to see."
Zhang Xiaohe nodded thoughtfully.
When Zhang Xiaohe visited Zhao Xuan's home, she carried a full basket of fruit, and she left carrying the same full basket. Her basket was a crossbody style, so all the weight of the basket rested on one shoulder, which looked very strenuous. However, Zhang Xiaohe seemed to be used to it. She would put a towel on her shoulder before carrying the basket so that the straps wouldn't chafe her shoulder.
She didn't come on a tricycle; she said she would wait for him on the road where the dog herds sheep so they could go home together.
After seeing Zhang Xiaohe off, Zhao Xuan began to pack up the fruit she had brought. She put the melon in the refrigerator, placed the pomelo in a cool corner, and washed the remaining hibiscus flowers, preparing them as a side dish for dinner.
Many flowers in the mountains and fields are edible, such as pumpkin blossoms, daylilies, and rose hips. Many flowers can be used to stir-fry with eggs, make meat soup, or stuff with meat. She and Lu An ate a lot of rose hip blossoms in the spring, but she hadn't eaten hibiscus flowers in a long time. In all these years since the apocalypse, she didn't seem to have seen a hibiscus at all.
Hibiscus flowers are very beautiful, with petals layered upon each other, somewhat like carnations. The hibiscus flowers sold in supermarkets are actually small buds, pink and white in color, and a box costs about ten yuan, which is not expensive.
Zhao Xuan chopped some garlic and stir-fried hibiscus flowers with lard, then garnished them with some green peppers. A simple stir-fried hibiscus flower dish was ready.
When hibiscus flowers ripen, their pink color turns purple. In a bowl, they resemble diced eggplant, but their texture is similar to okra, somewhat sticky, and the flavor is very mild—many flowers have a mild flavor, and eating flowers is mostly about enjoying the texture rather than the taste.
After finishing his farm work, Lu An returned home and stared at the blue and purple hibiscus flowers in the large bowl for a long time. Lu An, a city child, had never eaten hibiscus flowers before, but he sincerely praised the dish for its beauty.
Dishes made with flowers are indeed the most visually appealing.
The variety of food in the mountains is so abundant. Spring, summer, autumn and winter produce all kinds of things all year round. Even a lazy person can survive in the mountains.
After all, this is a province that has topped the list of forest coverage rates in China for more than 40 consecutive years. Even though they have lived in the mountains for two years, there are still many things they have never eaten before.
Lu An really likes the smell of hibiscus, and Zhao Xuan knows that he also likes okra, as the two have similar tastes.
Zhao Xuan thought he would ask Yao Yuan where the hibiscus bushes were when he had time, and see if he could transplant some to his own village. Hibiscus has a long flowering period and beautiful flowers, so he could often cook them for Lu An.
A few days later, as the sun was already half-setting above the mountain peaks, Zhao Xuan was collecting laundry on the third floor when she heard a ringing bell. Holding the sheets, she looked in the direction of the sound and saw her dog riding a large bicycle towards her home.
"Sister! Sister!" When the dog saw Zhao Xuan looking over, it waved vigorously at her.
Since the incident with Yu Laosan, the dog and Zhao Xuan have become even closer. Now, when he calls Zhao Xuan and Lu An, he no longer uses their names as prefixes, but simply calls them "sister" and "brother".
Yao Yuan felt that the generational order among them was a bit messed up. After all, Zhao Xuan and the others called Yao Yuan and Zhang Xiaohe "brother" and "sister," and Gou Gou called Zhao Xuan and the others "brother" and "sister," which inadvertently made Gou Gou and his parents equal. Zhang Xiaohe, on the other hand, was more open-minded. She said that Lu An and his wife had never had children, and since no one had children, everyone was still a child, so they should just call them "brother" and "sister."
The dog sped up, its face flushed red from the blazing sun. Zhao Xuan hurried downstairs and took out some mung bean soup from the refrigerator for it.
Just as the dog was taking a couple of sips of mung bean soup, Lu An, carrying a hoe, also came home with 460. So Zhao Xuan served Lu An another bowl of mung bean soup.
Lu An said he was covered in mud and didn't want to get the stool dirty, so he sat on the steps in front of the hall to eat. When the dog saw this, it also picked up a big bowl and sat down next to Lu An. The two men, one big and one small, sat quietly and obediently in the afterglow of the sun, sipping their sweet soup.
Zhao Xuan added a large spoonful of cooled boiled water to 460's food bowl. 460 frantically spun its tail and drank it down, it seemed they were both extremely thirsty.
Seeing that Zhao Xuan and Lu An were both there, the dog finally spoke up and explained the purpose of their visit: "Sister, my mom said she wants to go catch Shi Run in a few days, and she asked me to come and ask if you want to go with us?"
"What is Shi Run?" This touches on Lu An's area of ignorance.
Zhao Xuan replied, "A kind of frog." Then she asked the dog, "What? They can catch them?"
The dog nodded: "Yes, we got lost in these mountains before we settled down. My dad caught some stone frogs for me to eat, but you have to catch them at night, so we'll have to stay outside for the night. My mom asked you two if you want to go. If you do, my dad will teach you how to catch them. If you catch a stone frog, you can split it in half."
Zhao Xuan was very tempted. She glanced at Lu An, who looked dazed, and knew that the little devil inside him was probably staring blankly at a completely black skill tree. She didn't need his consent; Zhao Xuan agreed on his behalf.
Zhao Xuan told Lu An that in the days to come, when they lived in the mountains, she would take Lu An to eat all kinds of food that he had never eaten before.
There are many foods in the mountains that you can't find in supermarkets. Lu An had never lived in the countryside, but Zhao Xuan had, and she had an exceptionally good memory. Zhao Xuan remembered eating many foods that Lu An thought were inedible at her grandmother's house, such as the rock frog, which looked incredibly ugly but tasted delicious.
The dog said they didn't need to prepare any tools; his parents would prepare everything, and they just needed to bring a tent and food and follow along.
Before leaving, Zhao Xuan stuffed a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds into the dog's pocket.
They agreed to leave the day after tomorrow, so Zhao Xuan and Lu An had a whole day to prepare.
After being away from home for two days, Zhao Xuan could feed the chickens more millet and corn kernels, and the pigs also needed more food. Cooked pig feed would spoil if left out for a day, so Zhao Xuan piled some leftover fruit in the trough for the pigs to eat whenever they wanted. Although it wasn't as good as pig feed with bran added, at least they wouldn't go hungry.
Besides the fruit she had picked herself, Zhao Xuan glanced at the pomelos Zhang Xiaohe had brought. She had already peeled them and they were drying, but the small pieces of flesh hadn't been eaten for days, and the peel was now hard and dry. After a moment's thought, she ultimately decided not to touch the pomelo flesh.
This pomelo is just...too sour, both sour and bitter. Even Lu An, who isn't picky about food, couldn't eat a single bite.
Zhao Xuan didn't send them to be used as pig feed; instead, she planned to boil the pomelo pulp into pomelo jam, which could be used to make a drink.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An were already quite adept at preparing their gear for going out, and this time they planned to bring 460.
The tent, food, and some necessary tools were the same as those prepared before the trip, except that Zhao Xuan prepared extra moxa sticks and mint leaves, since the mosquitoes in the mountains were so big they could eat children, and he had to take all necessary precautions against mosquitoes.
In winter, Zhao Xuan likes to hold a small stone mortar and pestle and grind mugwort. This kind of work is very time-consuming but good exercise, and it also allows her to clear her mind. An hour or two will pass in the blink of an eye.
The prepared mugwort sticks can be hung in mosquito nets to repel mosquitoes, or used to fumigate clothes. They can also be burned directly in the wild as mosquito coils.
With practice, Zhao Xuan became more skilled at making moxa sticks, and the moxa sticks he made were both solid and beautiful.
Bring enough mugwort sticks and peppermint leaves, along with mentholatum and some ointment for external injuries, all packed in waterproof bags. Prepare spare clothes by fumigating them with mugwort beforehand to repel mosquitoes.
We brought some potatoes and sweet potatoes for food. The place where we caught rock frogs was near the water, where we could find some small fish and snails to eat. We cooked a pot of sour and spicy river fish soup on top, and buried potatoes and sweet potatoes underneath. When the soup was ready, the staple food under the campfire was also ready.
In terms of light sources, they have their own rechargeable flashlights, as well as hand-cranked flashlights brought back from the salt fields by the sea. They can also bring large-capacity power banks bought from the market. These items are more than enough for their two-day, one-night trip.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An discussed it and decided that they would still set off on a tricycle this time. Lu An also put a sunshade on the back of his tricycle so that Zhao Xuan would not be exposed to the sun.
On the day of departure, Zhao Xuan got up early. She boiled a large bucket of cooled boiled water and filled it into a purified water bucket. Along with the tent, food and other things she had packed earlier, nothing seemed heavy, but Zhao Xuan had brought a lot of different things. After adding another bucket of water, she looked at the tall cargo bed of the tricycle and fell silent.
After a three-second silence, she slung her backpack over her shoulder. She decided not to sit in the back compartment, to lighten Lu An's load. At the same time, she gave 460 a wink, indicating that it would walk the rest of the way this time and wouldn't take a car.
460 felt a bit wronged, after all, there was almost nothing of its own in the back bed, yet it was deprived of the right to ride in the vehicle!
After locking the gate, the three people and the dog began their journey.
Despite Lu An's earnest advice to Zhao Xuan that she could ride in the car even if another one came, Zhao Xuan stubbornly shook her head and said she would wait until they came back. She said the food and water in the car would be gone by the time they returned, and she would ride in the car when the situation improved.
460 had long forgotten its worries about not being able to ride in the car. It happily panted and wagged its tail, circling its two owners like a satellite.
When they arrived at the agreed-upon path behind the village, the Yao family was already waiting there. They had brought two vehicles with them this time: Yao Yuan rode a tricycle, Gougou rode a bicycle, and Zhang Xiaohe sat quietly in the back.
After the two families met up, they followed Yao Yuan. Their journey was slow, and it wasn't until after they had walked for a while that Zhao Xuan realized they had arrived at the broken section of railway.
Zhang Xiaohe said to Zhao Xuan, "I heard you say that if you walk along the railway, you can see a big stream. Later, A Yuan went there and thought there should be stone frogs there—of course, it doesn't matter if there aren't any. Let's just say that our two families went there to cool off. What do you say, Xuanxuan?"
Apart from the designated plots of land, the two families did not have clear ownership of other areas. Farming is different from hunting. Hunters divide their territory to hunt animals within it, but for farmers, in addition to the land they cultivate, the food produced in the mountains and fields is inexhaustible. Zhao Xuan could not even finish eating all the wild fruits and vegetables produced in his own village, so he would not set his sights on other places.
Therefore, the stream that Zhao Xuan and Lu An discovered does not belong exclusively to their family. Just like the reservoir that Yao Yuan discovered, both families can go there anytime they want.
Zhao Xuan thought Zhang Xiaohe made sense. Even if they couldn't catch the stone frog, they could still treat this trip as a way to relax after a busy farming season, get in touch with a different kind of nature, and change their environment, which would make them feel better.
This section of railway must have been abandoned before the apocalypse. The rails were rusted and overgrown with weeds, but at least the railway hindered the growth of most plants. At this moment, the railway was like a mountain path. Walking along the path beside the railway, one had to push aside branches that stretched into the path from time to time. The tricycle was not moving fast and was a bit bumpy, so Zhang Xiaohe simply got off and walked.
Walking is slower than driving, so Zhang Xiaohe and Zhao Xuan told the three men to go first, while the two of them, who knew the way, would follow slowly behind, leaving the 460 to them.
After the others had gone far away, Zhang Xiaohe took off her backpack, her hand holding the zipper, and told Zhao Xuan to take a thermal box from inside.
Zhao Xuan took it out as instructed, and after unscrewing it, he saw several pieces of pomelo that looked like ice crystals lying inside.
"I made rock sugar pomelo last night, and I specially saved a few pieces for you to try, otherwise the dog would have eaten them all," Zhang Xiaohe said with a smile.
The bitter and sour pomelo flesh is orange-pink and glistening. Like oranges, the pomelo's segments, arranged neatly, are translucent and particularly beautiful to Zhao Xuan. Now, this beautiful pomelo is encased in a crystal-like sugar shell, reflecting an enticing light in the sunlight.
The rock sugar pomelo was refrigerated, and because it was kept in an insulated box all the way, it was still steaming when it was taken out.
"Beautiful, a work of art." Zhao Xuan held the rock sugar pomelo high, admiring it intently in the sunlight.
Even before the apocalypse, she loved snacks coated in transparent sugar. She especially loved candied hawthorn berries and candied apples, not so much for their taste, but for their shiny, beautiful appearance.
Zhao Xuan took a small bite, the cool sugar coating crumbled in her mouth, sweet... followed by the refreshing aroma of grapefruit and a heavy sour taste.
But the sweetness of the sugar balanced the sourness of the grapefruit, making Zhao Xuan feel like he was eating a fruit popsicle.
She took a bite of one of the candied pomelos, then closed the thermos again, leaving the last one for Lu An to try.
"Sister Xiaohe, you are incredibly skilled." Zhao Xuan said while chewing on a candy, praising Zhang Xiaohe's cooking skills without reservation.
Zhang Xiaohe was amused by Zhao Xuan and said, "When winter comes, I'll make more for you. Rock sugar oranges are delicious too."
The two people and the dog walked slowly forward, while Lu An and the others who were walking ahead had long since disappeared from sight and could no longer be heard.
The further you walk, the denser the shade becomes, until you hear the sound of water. Looking up, you can see a large stream flowing down from the mountain. A culvert has been built under the railway, and the water flows through it, but you don't know where it is going.
Following the stream upstream, there was a narrow mountain path, clearly worn smooth by human footsteps. It seemed people often came here before the apocalypse; the path, barely wide enough for one person, was firmly trodden, and even now, no weeds grew on it. At the entrance to the path stood a tall jujube tree. Lu An and his companions had their vehicle tied to this tree. The vehicle was mostly empty; it seemed the tricycle was no longer suitable for further ascent. Therefore, they carried their belongings and began hiking deeper into the mountains along the path, searching for a place to camp.
The jujube tree bore many fruits, but no one picked them. The ripe fruits fell to the ground, some yellow with a hint of green, and others, having fallen for a long time, had turned brownish-yellow.
Zhao Xuan casually picked up a few fresh ones, wiped them on his clothes, peeled off the skin, tasted them, and immediately spat them out with a "goo".
So sour.
It has a sticky texture and is extremely sour; besides being plentiful, it's utterly useless.
If you accidentally step on it, you can get a smear all over the sole of your shoe. No wonder she remembered her grandmother calling jujubes "snot jujubes"—Zhao Xuan thought to herself as she looked at the tree full of fruit.
Lu An and his companions must have tasted the sour jujubes before, and then they went up the mountain without any hesitation.
Zhao Xuan and Zhang Xiaohe took the remaining items from the bucket. 460 sniffed the path ahead, probably smelling Lu An's scent. It turned around, barked twice at them, and went ahead to clear a path for them.
In the northern part of the province, where waterways are densely distributed, there are many such streams, which are common sights in many forest parks. There are even more wild streams in the deep mountains. They are usually not flat streams, but rather winding mountain springs. When several springs converge, the water flow becomes large enough to form a stream. The water level varies, and there are many large rocks on the banks or in the water, forming small eddies or quiet pools.
The two walked forward with their heavy loads, and soon they met Lu An and his group who were returning. Lu An took the large and small bags from Zhao Xuan's hands, and they all walked towards the camp together.
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