Chapter 60 Making Dried Mangoes
Upon hearing the faint sound, Su Yun immediately gripped the handle of the stick, stood against the wall, and turned to stare at the corner from which the sound had come.
The second floor is dimly lit.
Dust-covered debris was piled up in the corner, making it difficult to see clearly.
Looking closely, all one could see was a bunch of moving creatures huddled in a dark corner, seemingly awakened by the noise of Su Yun going upstairs in the night, making a soft "squeak" sound.
Unable to see clearly what it was, Su Yun dared not make any rash moves. She gripped the handle of the stick, stood in the corner, and carefully observed the situation. Ye Feng also stood beside her.
The two stood in the darkness, moving carefully, afraid of disturbing them.
Just then, a series of "thump thump thump" footsteps came from downstairs. Rose excitedly ran up the dilapidated stairs, "Su Yun, look what I found!"
The dilapidated iron staircase rattled under Rose's footsteps.
"Don't come up! There's something here!" Su Yun shouted in a panic, trying to stop Rose, but it was too late. The creature in the corner was severely frightened and crawled out of the pile of rags. It spread its wings and squeaked along the wall, scattering away along the dilapidated wall.
Su Yun and Ye Feng were already prepared. They raised their weapons and slashed at the approaching mutated rats one by one to prevent them from hurting them.
Rose, carrying something, excitedly ran upstairs, while the mutated rat, in its panic, spread its wings and charged straight at her face.
As soon as Rose reached the stairs, several dark, gooey things rushed towards her. Caught off guard, she screamed "Ah!" and tumbled down the stairs with a thud.
......
After a chaotic brawl, the battlefield was cleaned up.
The mutated rats either ran away or died.
The night breeze calmly strung them together, preparing to pack them for dinner.
Su Yun, carrying a knife, hurried downstairs to check on Rose's condition.
Rose kept squawking downstairs, "Aaaaah, where did this mouse come from!"
"That scared me to death!"
"Waaaaah!"
......
Despite the loud noise coming from the stairs, the little mutated rat hadn't actually hurt her before Rose's sharp claws swiftly and accurately tore it through, leaving it with no chance of survival.
The incident happened so suddenly that Rose was too panicked and accidentally twisted her ankle, falling down the stairs.
Fortunately, Rose is tough and hardy, and apart from twisting her ankle, she was fine.
Seeing Su Yun come downstairs and sit on the ground, happily holding up the papaya she had just picked, she said, "Look what I found. Can I eat this?"
Su Yun was embarrassed: "What time is it? You're still thinking about food! Are you alright?"
Rose held up the papaya and grinned foolishly, "No, I'm perfectly fine."
Su Yun, still worried, went over to check and found several bruises on the other person's arms and legs, but fortunately, no bones were broken. Oh, and—aside from that, the papaya she was holding was completely unharmed.
"What is this? It smells so good, is it edible?"
The world of foodies is so hard to understand; they'd rather die than ruin something delicious.
Su Yun pointed to the yellowish papaya and deliberately put on a long face, saying, "No, it's poisonous."
"Huh?" Rose was stunned on the spot. Her originally happy face visibly fell, even more heartbroken than when she fell down the stairs. Holding the papaya, her eyes were filled with despair: "No way, no way, it can't be? It smells so good to me! How can it be inedible? Su Yun, take another look?"
Rose stared wide-eyed, looking utterly dejected, her ears drooping, as if the sky were about to fall.
Su Yun couldn't bear to continue bullying the other person. "I was just kidding. I can eat a lot."
Rose: "Hmph! I knew it! My nose is never wrong. This smells so good, it has a milky aroma, it must taste delicious!"
Su Yun smiled wryly: "You should at least pay more attention to your own injuries. You've fallen like this, and you're still thinking about eating. See if you can even walk."
Rose became happy again when she heard that papayas were edible. "Then I want to eat them now!"
"Alright, alright, let me see your feet first." Su Yun sighed helplessly, muttering, "What a glutton!"
Rose: "Hehe..."
Tragically, Rose did sprain her ankle. She couldn't run anymore, and even walking was affected; she could only walk slowly.
Su Yun sighed: "I told you to be careful, and now look what happened because of a papaya. Look at your feet."
Rose, meanwhile, was holding a sweet papaya, eating it without a care in the world. She even broke off half of it and handed it to Su Yun, saying, "This papaya is so sweet! It has a sweet, milky flavor. Su Yun, you should try some too."
Su Yun: "Alright, I can't explain it to you. Let's go back after we've eaten, it's getting late."
Rose munched on a papaya and nodded, "Mmm!"
Su Yun broke off half for Ye Feng, tasted a piece herself, and found it juicy, sweet, and had a faint milky aroma, with absolutely no astringency.
No wonder Rose ate so happily.
The orchard has a lot of papayas growing; let's pick a few to take home.
However, Rose is injured again, so we can only take some of it for now. We'll figure out a way to take the rest another day and ride a tricycle on another route.
There should be other villages nearby. Once we get into a village, there will be a main road, which will make it much easier to ride a tricycle.
Su Yun sat on the lawn, thinking. This time, she should take the most important things back first. She looked around and thought that she could take the wire mesh and plastic greenhouse with her next time. She could pick some ripe fruit first.
Su Yun scanned the two-story building, and then suddenly noticed a protruding iron block on the ceiling, which looked like a small lamp.
But this is a desolate orchard in the middle of nowhere, and there are no power lines, so how could there be lights?
Su Yun stared at the flat panel light for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Ah! Solar power!"
Su Yun sat up excitedly, looked around the two-story prefabricated house, and was quite certain that the two dark things were solar lights.
These solar lights are typically connected directly to solar panels to collect sunlight and convert it into electricity, making them ideal for outdoor gardens and orchards where there are no power lines.
This is the best equipment in a post-apocalyptic world where electrical wires are no longer usable.
Su Yun was already eager to climb up and pick it.
"Solar lights! I didn't expect this trip to be so fruitful!" Su Yun excitedly went into the house to find a ladder.
"Solar lights?" Night Breeze asked, puzzled.
"It's a light that lights up at night, so I won't have to go to the toilet in the dark anymore." Su Yun was so excited she almost cried. "Ah, I don't know if it will still work."
Night Breeze: "Let me help you!"
In the end, Su Yun unexpectedly acquired four solar lights, two outdoors and two indoors.
So the three of them carried mangoes on their backs, held lanterns, and walked slowly all the way until they finally got home as dusk fell.
Finally, as darkness fell, the solar-powered lights indeed began to glow softly.
Night Breeze, Rose stared in surprise at the few lamps emitting white light.
Rose tapped the crystal light bulb and exclaimed, "This is so beautiful! It's like a moon!"
Su Yun: "Be careful! Don't break it! We finally found it!"
Night Breeze stared intently at the lamp placed in the courtyard, his eyes lighting up as well.
"So flashy."
"Don't stare at it, or you'll hurt your eyes." The solar light bulb seemed to be an evolved version; it wasn't the ordinary round bulb, but something like a diamond plate, brighter and more dazzling, illuminating the entire yard.
Su Yun hung one lamp in her bedroom, one in the kitchen, and one each in the yard and the toilet.
The whole room was instantly brightened up, as if it were daytime.
Su Yun expressed his satisfaction with this.
Ye Feng suddenly felt a little gloomy. Now that the master bedroom was so bright, was Su Yun going to kick him back to the second bedroom?
However, when it was time to go to bed, Ye Feng finished washing up and stood hesitantly at the door, clutching her pillow.
Su Yun locked the courtyard gate, turned off the lights, and saw Ye Feng standing at the bedroom door. His old face flushed slightly, and he lowered his voice and said, "Hmm? Sleep together?"
Night Breeze hugged her pillow, lowered her head, and nodded, looking obedient and adorable. "I can give you a tail..."
Thinking about the mutated rats she encountered during the day, the heavy workload in the next few days, and the comforting, furry tail, Su Yun didn't really want to have trouble sleeping because she wasn't used to it.
So, feeling guilty, she peeked out the door. Rose had twisted her ankle; it was unlikely she'd climbed over the wall. Probably...no one saw her...
"Okay, just this once, okay? Don't let Rose find out. Let's get up early tomorrow."
Night Breeze nodded obediently: "Mmm!"
So, Night Breeze successfully moved his bedding back to the master bedroom.
The room was no longer empty. There was a familiar person by the bed, a familiar scent, and a familiar fluffy tail. Su Yun fell asleep contentedly, curled up with the little tail.
The newly harvested mangoes ripen very quickly.
Although roses are quite edible, there are simply too many of them.
Especially these past few days, the weather has been so hot that as soon as one mango ripens, the next one quickly spreads the ripening process, often resulting in half-ripe mangoes. It's really hard to eat them all in time.
Su Yun thought for a moment, picked out all the ripe mangoes, took a small basin, sat on the threshold, and began to peel the ripe mangoes one by one and put them into the basin.
Rose had just finished eating a mango with her hands when she saw Su Yun thoughtfully peel it. She came over again and grabbed a piece with her hands, exclaiming, "Wow, was this prepared especially for me?"
Su Yun slapped her thieving hand back: "Don't even think about touching them. These are meant to be dried into mango slices. Don't touch them. Peel them yourself if you want to eat them."
Rose reluctantly withdrew her hand: "Oh—"
She wasn't going to eat them because they weren't peeled, and she was too lazy to eat them anyway, since she had eaten five more after her main meal and her stomach was already full.
She idly squatted to one side and watched Su Yun peel mangoes. Before long, the basin was filled with peeled mangoes of all sizes.
The bowl was piled high with golden mangoes, looking incredibly tempting, but Su Yun had no intention of eating them yet.
Rose asked curiously, "Su Yun, why are you peeling so many mangoes?"
"Drying mangoes!" Su Yun said, peeling a mango without looking up.
"Hmm? Dried mango? Is it delicious?" Rose held her head in her hands, her eyes darting around with great interest.
Su Yun: "Yes!"
Rose: "Can I eat it?"
Su Yun: "Come help me and you can eat it. Come help me peel it, and I'll slice it."
Rose becomes very enthusiastic when she hears there's something delicious to eat, and obediently comes over to help peel the skin.
Su Yun picked up the already full bowl, got up and went to the kitchen, where she began slicing the mangoes.
Su Yun chose pitted mangoes, which were very easy to slice, just like slicing vegetables. Looking at the smooth feel of the knife and the very neat thin slices, Su Yun couldn't help but marvel at the greatness and wisdom of mankind once again.
The chopped mangoes were placed directly on a clean, dried bamboo tray and left to dry in the sun in the yard.
These past few days have felt like summer has already arrived; the sun is very strong.
Cut the mango into pieces and leave them to dry in the sun. They will be ready to eat in about three days.
However, these dried mangoes haven't been soaked in sugar water, so they don't keep for very long.
Su Yun thought for a moment, then boiled a large pot of water, added a lot of rock sugar to make syrup, and prepared to soak the remaining dried mangoes in the syrup overnight before drying them. This way, the mango slices marinated in the syrup could be preserved for a longer time after drying.
Rose's claws were very useful; she easily finished off the remaining mangoes in no time. After Su Yun quickly sliced them, she poured them all into a sugar syrup jar, sealed it, and soaked the whole thing in well water.
Rose gazed at the "mango syrup" in the glass jar, wagging her tail with eyes full of longing: "Still no food? I think it's ready to eat!"
This guy, he just ate two mangoes while peeling them, and now he's eyeing the mangoes in syrup. He's lying on the edge of the water tank, staring at them with a pleading look.
Unable to resist the watchful gaze, Su Yun scooped up another jar, took out some of it, and served her a bowl.
"Wow! Su Yun, you're such a good person!" Rose looked at the mango syrup handed to her and happily hugged Su Yun, about to jump up.
"Be careful, be careful, don't spill it!" Su Yun said, holding the sugar water and trying her best to steady her hand. Rose then stopped.
Su Yun handed the porcelain bowl to Rose, "Take it!"
"Yay!" Rose took the bowl, skipped happily to the porch, and drank it up blissfully. "Wow, it's so delicious, sweet and cool. Is there more?"
Su Yun: "That's all. We'll make dried mangoes with the rest."
Rose looked at the half-empty jar behind her and snapped, "You're lying! There's still more than half a jar left!"
Su Yun said seriously, "This is for Ye Feng. It's so hot, and he still goes out hunting, which is so tiring!"
Rose immediately wilted. "Oh! Okay!" Ever since she sprained her ankle, she had been mostly recuperating at home. She could no longer hunt or do anything else, and could only help Su Yun with some farm work that she could manage. However, this wasn't her forte, so she was inevitably clumsy. Therefore, Su Yun generally didn't let her come over and cause trouble.
"Sigh, it's so boring staying at home! Why isn't Night Breeze back yet?" Rose sighed for the nth time, looking up at the sky. To prevent her injuries from getting worse, Su Yun held Rose tightly, preventing her from going out and running around.
This guy couldn't go out and have fun, nor could he flirt with handsome guys, and suddenly he felt that life was boring.
Su Yun started making dried papaya, saying without looking up, "They'll come back when they catch their prey! What's the rush?"
Rose: "But Rose is so bored!"
Su Yun was busy processing papayas and didn't have time to pay attention to her: "If you're bored, go read a book."
"Reading is so boring!" Rose is lively and active; reading is simply not her thing.
Amidst Rose's sighs, Su Yun suddenly remembered something. "Right, Rose, didn't you have one last heat cycle? Why hasn't it arrived yet?" Su Yun placed the papaya, cut into thin strips, on a winnowing basket and laid it out in the yard to dry, just like dried mangoes.
Rose: "How would I know... Rose is still young, Rose doesn't understand anything, it's all hearsay."
"What?" Su Yun was stunned.
Author's Note:
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