After he had selected the timber and tied it with vines, he had just hoisted it onto his shoulder when he turned around and saw a deer munching on grass roots nearby. He thought for a moment, then divided the timber into two bundles, connecting them with two vines in the middle. He then led the deer over, took the reins off his shoulder, and placed the timber on its back.
Unexpectedly, the fawn did not resist at all. Instead, it kicked and thrashed about. Before Yan Zheng could tie the reins, it rushed straight down the hillside towards the cabin, leaving Yan Zheng alone on the hillside, the reins in his hand looking like a joke.
When the pork rib soup was almost ready, Jiang Xi threw in the sweet potatoes and peeled cooked chestnuts and simmered them for a while longer before calling the two of them back for dinner.
When the two returned, a small stove had been lit on the wooden table in the cave, with an earthenware pot on it. The pork rib soup inside was bubbling, with scallions and wild mushrooms boiling and churning. The green scallions and yellow mushroom oil mixed together, releasing bursts of heat and aroma.
Several plates were placed next to the pot, including fresh matsutake and morel mushrooms that I brought back yesterday, as well as shepherd's purse and water celery, and a plate of soaked wood ear mushrooms.
The ceramic bowls they took out were broken, and now there weren't enough ceramic bowls left in the cave, so Jiang Xi took out the large clam shells she had collected earlier to make bowls, and gave one to each person.
Jiang Xi first served Yan Zheng two pieces of pork ribs into his bowl. Just as she put down the wooden spoon, she saw Yan Jing'an holding the bowl in front of her, looking at her innocently, as if to say, "Why didn't I have any?"
Jiang Xi was about to serve herself when Yan Zheng stopped her, serving her a bowl himself and saying, "Come on your own next time."
He lowered his eyes and nodded.
First, eat the cured pork ribs and the soft-boiled chestnuts and yams. Then add fresh chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms and porcini mushrooms. The last step is to add the washed shepherd's purse and water spinach.
The pot only contained salt and some Sichuan peppercorns for garnish, but Yan Jing'an found it incredibly fragrant. He hadn't eaten with anyone for many years. In recent years, he had mostly eaten dry rations and compressed biscuits by himself.
After the cold wave hit, many parts of the world could no longer produce food, and the vast majority of people went hungry. Those who could get a few compressed biscuits were the ones who risked their lives outside, braving the extreme cold to find and transport supplies, clear roads, and participate in rescue efforts, in order to earn a meager amount of food.
It's been many, many years since we last gathered around a hot pot, eating meat heartily. Back then, Jiang Xi was still around. Thinking of this, Yan Jing'an felt a pang of sadness.
The meal dispelled the chill from their bodies, and all three of them were sweating as they ate. The whole pot of ribs and several plates of vegetables were all eaten clean.
After dinner, Jiang Xi took out all the sprouted root potatoes, looking at them with heartache for a long time, thinking that if only she had a greenhouse, she could grow them all. She also asked Yan Zheng, "Do you think they'll be like the potatoes, unable to be eaten after sprouting?"
When she was little, her grandmother told her that potatoes that sprouted were poisonous and could kill people if eaten.
Yan Zheng smiled and said, "Then why don't you try growing it in water? It would be nice as a green plant."
He casually finished speaking, but Jiang Xi's eyes lit up. What a great idea!
Because of the earthen stove burning inside the cave, the temperature won't be too low. If they can actually grow leaves, the cave won't look so desolate in winter.
Then, she suddenly thought, since potatoes can sprout, what about soybeans? Then she thought, soybeans sprouting are just bean sprouts and bean shoots, if it really works, wouldn't that mean we can eat bean sprouts and bean shoots in winter?
Now we don't have to worry about vitamins in winter.
Thinking of it, Jiang Xi immediately went to make it. She scooped up a spoonful of soybeans and soaked them, looking forward to eating her homemade bean sprouts as soon as possible.
She also stood the sprouted tubers upright in a ceramic jar filled with water and placed them on the shelf. Her only worry was that the light in the cave was very poor during the day, and she didn't know if they would be able to grow green leaves.
Then they threw themselves into a new round of production and construction. Yan Zheng took Yan Jing'an to gather the foxtail grass that they had left to dry on the hillside before they left. Although the temperature was not high now, there was still sunshine at noon, so the grass was all dried. Yan Zheng used the wooden rake he made to gather the grass together.
After tying the hay into small bundles about two fingers wide, he measured the size of the cave entrance with a stick, and then used the rattan rope that Jiang Xi had previously twisted to tie the bundles of hay into a straw curtain of the appropriate size.
The three of them together were much faster.
Yan Zheng then made a wooden ladder using mortise and tenon joints. Before sunset, he and Yan Jing'an carried the ladder into the cave and used it to hang up the curtain.
The curtains were hung at both the front and back of the cave. The front entrance was particularly large, so it had to be divided into two sections, left and right, for hanging. Two layers of curtains were hung in the cracks of the inner cave to keep out the cold.
After the straw curtain was hung up, the light in the room quickly dimmed, and Jiang Xi lit the oil lamp.
Although the problem was temporarily solved, Yan Zheng was not satisfied, because once it rained, these straw mats would become very heavy after getting wet, and they might even freeze in winter, so it was hardly a perfect solution.
After finishing with the straw mat, Yan Zheng went to the back mountain to check the traps for two-legged rabbits. There were two traps, and a rabbit was caught in them.
Dinner was Sichuan peppercorn rabbit. Yan Zheng cut the rabbit meat into cherry-sized cubes, marinated them with salt and Sichuan peppercorns, and then stir-fried the cubes in a pan with lard until they turned a brownish-red color. He then added green Sichuan peppercorns and continued to stir-fry, filling the cave with a numbing and fragrant aroma.
Fearing that there wouldn't be enough for the three of them, Jiang Xi washed a few more fresh porcini mushrooms, took out a piece of braised pork from the earthenware jar, cut it into evenly sized thin slices, heated the lard in the wok, sautéed the scallions until fragrant, stir-fried the pork slices until the oil was rendered, then added the porcini mushrooms, added a little water to cook them, and sprinkled some Sichuan peppercorn powder and a little salt on top before serving.
As usual, the main dish was root potatoes, and the aroma of mushrooms and meat blended perfectly, making the three of us thoroughly enjoy our meal.
After a long day, I ate all the boiled potatoes with diced rabbit meat and braised pork.
After dinner was the only time to rest each day, but it was really boring for the three of them to live together and stare at each other. Jiang Xi took out rattan fibers and let the other two continue to twist ropes, while she continued to crochet sweaters with rattan fibers.
Yan Zheng had crocheted two sweaters before, and gave one to Yan Jing'an yesterday. She needs to hurry up and make a few more. The temperature is getting colder every day, and if there is another sudden drop in temperature, people will not be able to stand it.
The three of them sitting together felt a little awkward. When it was just her and Yan Zheng, they chatted and laughed and the time passed quickly. But now that Yan Jing'an was also there, the atmosphere suddenly became subtle.
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