Chapter 35 The Lonely Foodie
"Uncle, how do you use this?" Zuo Shan asked, suppressing her excitement. If this thing really was a mutated peppercorn, her future meals would be much more flavorful.
"Every time I cook wild vegetable paste, I throw it in and cook it together. The wild vegetable paste has an extra numbing flavor, which makes it much tastier."
However, you should be careful when using it. If you cook it for too long, more than an hour, you will feel numb all over your body after eating it. People who are not knowledgeable about this should not use it.
After cooking, take it out, wash it clean, and use it again next time.
"This one can be cooked at least ten times; after that, it won't have much flavor," the uncle explained earnestly.
"Uncle, have you ever tried grinding this sesame seed ball into powder and adding just a little bit each time?" Zuo Shan asked tentatively.
"Grind it into powder? The flavor will fade quickly, no way." The uncle waved his hands repeatedly.
"You can put the powder in a sealed plastic bag, and the smell won't evaporate much," Zuo Shan said.
"Hey? Your idea might actually work! I'll give it a try!" The uncle exclaimed excitedly.
"By the way, little girl, what's your name?" The uncle seemed to have found a kindred spirit and started chatting with her.
"My name is Zuo Shan."
“Good name. My name is Wu Qiong. My parents gave me this name because they wanted me to never be poor in my life.”
With this little shop they left behind, I may not become rich, but I'll never have to worry about food and drink.
I don't have many hobbies in my life, except for tinkering with some delicious food.
I learned that a mercenary brought these sesame seeds back from the wild. Nobody knew what they were for, so he gave me two. I tried boiling them in water, and the whole house smelled strongly of sesame seeds.
Later, when I was making vegetable porridge, I tried adding a little bit of the water from cooking sesame balls, and the taste was surprisingly good!
I planted the last one in my yard. It was very easy to grow and quickly took root and sprouted. The following year, it produced a tree full of hemp balls.
With this hemp seed tree here, those mutated insects don't like to come to my house anymore.
Later, I introduced this to other friends, but unfortunately, none of them liked the taste.
What a pity! Such a wonderful seasoning, yet no one knows how to appreciate it.
"But I can tell you definitely know how to appreciate good food, how about I cook something for you to try right now?"
"No need, no need. I plan to buy a few to take home and slowly study how to eat them. I'll bring them back for you to try when I make some delicious food with them later," Zuo Shan hurriedly said.
Although the man was very enthusiastic, he was still a stranger to her, and she couldn't trust him right away.
"Why should I pay you? Take as many as you like and eat them." Uncle Wuqiong casually grabbed five from under the counter and stuffed them into her hands.
Feeling embarrassed to take something for free, Zuo Shan took out a handful of yam strips from his backpack and handed them to him.
"Uncle, these are yam strips I made myself. You can eat them directly, or you can add them to vegetable porridge. They taste similar to mutated potatoes."
"Okay, then I won't be polite, Uncle." Wuqiong took it, casually put it in a sealed bag, and planned to cook it for dinner.
Because of the sesame ball, the two became acquainted very quickly. Zuo Shan asked him if he had a suitable container, the kind used for pickling vegetables.
Wuqiong was stunned when he heard this. He had never heard of a cooking method like pickling vegetables. However, he still found her a cylindrical plastic jar used for purchasing nutritional supplements. It was 60 centimeters tall and 30 centimeters in diameter.
In a world where kimchi jars are clearly impossible, she was already quite content with having such a cylindrical plastic container.
Although this was far from the kimchi jar she knew, it was the only usable container she could find at the moment.
"Don't worry, these boxes are made of food-grade plastic. The nutrient solution manufacturer recycles them every now and then. Each box can be sold for 12 silver coins. Let me give you 10 silver coins. This thing will definitely be fine for storing your kimchi."
"When you make your kimchi, remember to bring me a piece to try next time you come. If you like it, you can make more and I'll help you sell it," Uncle Wuqiong said warmly.
"Okay, once my kimchi is ready, I'll definitely send you a plate. I guarantee you'll love it!" Zuo Shan said excitedly.
I originally came here to buy kimchi jars, but I never expected to find them in this little shop.
Before Zuo Shan left, the uncle gave her a manual metal grinder, which looked a bit like a small meat grinder from her previous life. He said it was a free gift from a manufacturer that produced energy stones, and it was for grinding the ore.
With energy minerals in short supply these days, this business is no longer viable. I have a bunch of grinding machines left at home, but no customers are willing to spend money to buy them.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Most people here eat mutated wild vegetables, so they don't really need this kind of grinder.
Zuo Shan also inquired about the price of white sugar, which was shockingly expensive. One hundred grams of white sugar cost 400 silver coins, and it was made from moderately irradiated mutated sugarcane.
Okay, Zuo Shan completely gave up on the idea of buying candy.
Overall, the trip was quite fruitful. Before Zuo Shan left, Uncle Wuqiong even closed the shop door and saw her off to the bus stop.
“Miss Zuo, if any thugs dare to stop you in District 48, just mention my name, Wu Qiong, and I guarantee no one will dare mess with you,” Uncle Wuqiong said, patting his chest.
Zuo Shan couldn't help but feel a little alarmed. She didn't know if this Uncle Wu Qiong was involved in the underworld, but she was still very touched that he had protected her so much so that they had only just met.
Zuo Shan decided that if she ever made any new dishes, she would definitely come to District 48 as soon as possible to give them to him to taste.
It's not surprising that Wu Qiong was so enthusiastic towards her. In the wasteland era, in a place like District 48, everyone was struggling to make ends meet, and it was rare to find someone who knew how to cook. The world of foodies was just too lonely.
Zuo Shan was just a little disappointed. If she weren't so poor, she would definitely exchange culinary experiences with Uncle Wu Qiong more often.
After taking the bus back to the 49th District station, Zuo Shan, carrying a shoulder bag, started jogging home. As she passed Lin's small shop, she inadvertently met Qi Yang's gaze.
Standing beside him was Lin Dandan, who was looking at him with a fawning expression. She held a glass of water and looked at him with tender affection, while Qi Yang's expression was somewhat perfunctory. He was holding repair tools and fiddling with a part.
Zuo Shan did not deliberately turn her head to avoid his gaze, and her pace was neither fast nor slow, as if he were just an unrelated passerby who would not affect her in the slightest.
Qi Yang accidentally bit the tip of his tongue and hissed.
"What's wrong?" Lin Dandan asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, just a few mouth ulcers, it'll be fine in a few days," Qi Yang said casually.
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