Chapter 36 This Jar is All Sweet
Sang Zhixia was immersed in the joy of making a small profit and did not notice Xu Yu's unusual behavior at all. Or perhaps it could be said that at this moment she could not see anything except the silver flying towards her with small wings.
She is really a money-grubber.
The money-grubber suppressed his ecstasy and pulled out a clay pot. He squatted beside the trunk, fiddling with it while explaining, "This is a sugar maple tree. You don't find them in warmer places. Finding one younger than that is useless. A tree that's at least forty years old is going to be useful. Coincidentally, the one you found is of sufficient age."
She winked at Xu Yu mysteriously and said, "Do you know what this tree can be used for?"
Xu Yu kept a straight face and maintained his calm demeanor. He looked at the sap flowing down the tree trunk and raised an eyebrow. "Is this sticky sap useful?"
Sang Zhixia snapped his fingers in the air.
"Of course it works."
She held up the borrowed drill and hammer and said to Xu Yu, "You're strong. Help me drill a small hole in the tree trunk at this location."
Xu Yu worked tirelessly to drill the hole. When the drill was completely embedded in the tree trunk and pulled out, Sang Zhixia immediately took the prepared bamboo tube.
Xu Yu brought back this bamboo tube overnight as she asked.
A bamboo as long as an adult's arm was split in half from the middle. The middle node was polished smooth and the moisture was dried on the edge of the charcoal, which was just right for catching the juice flowing out of the small hole.
Sang Zhixia carefully fixed one end of the bamboo tube on the tree trunk and placed the other end on the mouth of the pottery jar. The liquid flowing out of the tree trunk slid into the bottom of the jar, and the invisible air seemed to be filled with a greasy sweetness at this moment.
Xu Yu pondered for a while and couldn't help but said, "Can this be used as candy?"
Otherwise why ask him if it is sweet?
Sang Zhixia said without looking up, "You can't use it directly, but if you boil it down, you can make excellent maple syrup. Can you imagine how much syrup costs?"
Sugar is more expensive than meat!
Xu Yu tried to capture the sweetness that might remain on the tip of his tongue, but after licking it for a long time, he felt his whole body stiff.
Seeing Sang Zhixia squatting there, afraid that the syrup he had obtained would leak out, he let out a sigh with an indescribable feeling, placed the rack he was going to use to tie the firewood to the ground, and put his coat on top of it.
"If you squat for too long, you'll feel dizzy. Just sit down and watch."
Sang Zhixia sat down reluctantly without raising her head, and Xu Yu began to sigh again.
"I'm right here, call me if you need anything."
"good."
Seeing that she never turned back, Xu Yu walked to the side with mixed feelings.
The strange tree that once troubled him became a treasure in Sang Zhixia's eyes. He didn't dare to leave Sang Zhixia alone in the forest, so he simply narrowed the scope of his activities to a circle. When Sang Zhixia called him, he would walk over as quickly as possible and drill holes skillfully.
After drilling the sixth hole on the tree trunk, the pottery jar brought by Sang Zhixia was finally full.
She solemnly sealed the pot, smiled with relief, and said, "I'll bring a few more pots tomorrow so I can catch more before it gets too cold."
Xu Yu hummed vaguely, looked at the nearly chopped firewood not far away, and said, "Pack up the things you brought and prepare to go down the mountain."
If it were him, he would definitely stay a little longer.
But as dusk fell, it became even more difficult to walk, so it was better to go out early.
The two bundles of firewood together weighed a hundred pounds, and Sang Zhixia was of no help.
Xu Yu carried a heavy load of firewood on his shoulders and held in his arms the treasure that Sang Zhixia had been holding for the whole day.
Sang Zhixia followed behind him, holding the wooden stick he gave her, and said with some concern: "How about I help you? Actually, I..."
"Just walk steadily on your own."
Xu Yu walked as if on flat ground, his face calm and his breathless as he said, "After this trip, you can go home. I will come back to transport the rest later."
As they were talking, they finally reached the foot of the mountain, and the people waiting there hurried over to greet them.
Aunt Xu said, "Put it on the ground. I can take it home."
Xu Yu squatted down and untied the straps around his shoulders. He handed the canister to Sang Zhixia, who was waiting with both hands, as if completing a handover. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Today's bundles are heavier than yesterday's. Second and third aunts, you can carry them in several loads. I'll take the rest back later."
Aunt Xu laughed and sighed. Seeing the pottery jar in Sang Zhixia's arms, she asked curiously, "Why are you carrying a jar into the mountains? Don't we have enough water bags at home?"
After safely descending the mountain with a bountiful harvest, Sang Zhixia beamed with joy and said, "This isn't just filled with water."
"Second Aunt, didn't you say yesterday that the sweet-scented osmanthus tea wasn't sweet enough? I'll make you something sweet to try later."
Aunt Xu was squatting on the ground sorting bundles of firewood. She looked up in surprise when she heard this.
"Xia Xia, please don't scare me. Can we still eat sweets at home now?"
Sang Zhixia raised the pottery jar in her hand as if presenting a treasure and said with a smile, "How could it be fake?"
"This jar is all sweet."
Her words made those who were so tired that they could not straighten their backs burst into laughter, but few people took her words seriously at the moment.
If they could just go into the mountains and get a jar of sugar, why would they bother chopping wood?
It was not until Sang Zhixia poured the contents of the jar into the pot and lit the stove that Xu Wenxiu, who was still helping at home, came over, smelling the increasingly strong sweet aroma.
She asked curiously, "Xia Xia, what's cooking in the pot?"
The water doesn't look like water, and the soup doesn't look like soup either. Its color is a deep yellow, and it smells quite like sugar.
Sang Zhixia lowered the heat to the lowest setting, stirring the increasingly thick syrup in the pot. She said, "This is the sugar maple syrup Xu Yu and I found in the woods. Once it's boiled, it can be eaten like honey."
This was the first time Xu Wenxiu had heard that sugar could be grown from trees. She asked in surprise, "Is this syrup?"
"Sugar, of course."
The only equipment for making sugar was a large iron pot and an iron spoon. The final product could not be compared with what she had eaten before, but it was definitely sweet enough.
As she spoke, she scooped out the almost cooked syrup and resealed it into the clay pot, took out the remaining syrup from the bottom of the pot and put it into a small bowl, then turned her gaze to the stone mill covered with dust in the corner of the yard.
After Xu Yu had carried the last bundle of firewood back and forth, he walked into the house covered in mud and dead leaves, and saw Sang Zhixia leading several small children to grind the mill.
The cleaned stone mill seemed too big for them and it was extremely difficult to grind it.
Sang Zhixia took the lead in helping out, and Xu Mingyang followed by spinning in circles vigorously until he gritted his teeth. Xu Yanran held a large bowl in her left hand and a small bamboo brush in her right hand, pointing it at the grinding mouth, and quickly scooped the rice noodles into the bowl as soon as she saw them coming out.
Xu Mingxu and Xu Jinxi wanted to help, but the two little ones were not even as tall as the millstone pole, so the most appropriate position for them was to clench their fists and shout until their faces turned red.
"come on!"
“Push harder!”
"Put on some force!"
"Ooo ...
The old man had just come in and taken a rest. He patted the mud off his clothes and watched the big and small ducks turning the mill in circles. His gray eyebrows were trembling with laughter, and the old lady also smiled, which was a rare sight.
"These kids are quite capable of making trouble."
The long-lost joy infected everyone's face with a sense of satisfaction. Xu Minghui also finished his work in the backyard and walked out quickly.
"Sister-in-law, how about..."
"Zhizhi, I'm coming."
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