Sister-in-law Xiuhua was also planning not to eat, so she came to persuade Wei Yuyan.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, here's what I'll do: I'll go to your house and check if there are any poisonous mushrooms. If there aren't any, you can eat them without worry."
Wei Yuyan felt that Sister-in-law Xiuhua was making a big fuss over nothing.
"Okay, I feel much more at ease now that you say so. I was really bothered by this, and I was staring at the mushrooms at home, unsure whether to eat them or not."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law was worried that she might accidentally pick a poisonous mushroom.
Wei Yuyan knows herbs, so she definitely knows better than I do which ones are edible and which ones are not.
"Let's go."
Wei Yuyan took the key, locked the door, and followed Sister Xiuhua to her house to help her check the mushrooms.
When Wei Yuyan arrived at Sister Xiuhua's house, Sister Xiuhua had already washed up.
After drying them on the winnowing basket, Wei Yuyan inspected them one by one and actually found a few problems.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, remember what this mushroom looks like, and don't pick it again."
If it's cooked thoroughly, it's perfectly fine to eat. But if it's not cooked thoroughly, it can cause poisoning.
Adults may experience vomiting and diarrhea after consuming it; the effects would be even more severe if a child did so.
Wei Yuyan found three Boletus luridus mushrooms among the mushrooms picked by Sister-in-law Xiuhua. Boletus luridus is delicious, but it is very troublesome to cook, and it will cause poisoning if it is not cooked thoroughly.
I didn't expect this kind of plant to grow in this climate, but there probably aren't many. Sister Xiuhua only picked three.
"Ah, I see. Luckily you came to check for me. I have eaten this before. It should have been cooked thoroughly, so I didn't get poisoned."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua remembers eating this kind of mushroom at her parents' home. Luckily, nothing bad happened. She must let them know next time she goes back to her parents' home.
"Yes, these matsutake mushrooms, chanterelles, red onion mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms are all non-toxic, so you can eat them without worry. No matter how you cook them, you won't get poisoned."
Wei Yuyan comforted her sister-in-law Xiuhua.
"Okay, I understand."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua nodded and made a note of it.
"By the way, Sister-in-law Xiuhua, I saw some bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest. I'm thinking of going to dig them up in a couple of days. Would you like to come?"
Wei Yuyan didn't know whether her sister-in-law Xiuhua liked to eat bamboo shoots.
"What's so good about bamboo shoots? They're bitter and astringent, not even as good as mushrooms, and they're hard to dig up."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua looked at Wei Yuyan with suspicion, not expecting that Wei Yuyan would like to eat this kind of thing.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, did you stir-fry it without blanching it first?"
Wei Yuyan wondered why blanching the bamboo shoots would make them less bitter; it seemed they didn't know this.
"Yes, do you need to blanch bamboo shoots before stir-frying them? Besides, bamboo shoots absorb a lot of oil."
Nobody in the village eats it. The villagers just pick a few small bamboo shoots to eat, because the small bamboo shoots aren't bitter.
If you want to dig up big bamboo shoots, I can help you, but I don't like to eat them.
Sister-in-law Xiuhua remembers eating it once at her parents' home and never wanting to eat it again because it wasn't good.
"When the time comes, I'll cook something delicious, and you'll be scrambling to dig it up."
Wei Yuyan understood that they didn't know how to remove the bitterness, so they didn't like to eat it. Big bamboo shoots were much tastier than small bamboo shoots.
After saying that, she got up to go back.
"Okay, I'm really looking forward to your skills. Just let me know when you're digging."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law saw her to the door.
"The firewood at home is almost gone, and all these things have piled up at once. We need to go chop firewood again tomorrow. Do you want to come?"
Wei Yuyan remembered that she was going to chop firewood the next day, so she asked Sister Xiuhua to go with her.
"Go, go, I'll come find you tomorrow afternoon."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law still has some firewood left, but she'll have to chop it eventually.
A few days later~
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, we'll go dig for bamboo shoots tomorrow morning. I'll bring some dry food for lunch, and after we finish eating, we'll continue digging in the afternoon."
Wei Yuyan had made up her mind: she would dig up all the bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest, dry them, and eat them slowly.
The main problem is that the bamboo shoots only sprout one tip at a time, and finding them takes a long time.
Fortunately, we have two children, so we can let them search while I and Sister-in-law Xiuhua dig.
Let's see if two adults and two children can dig up enough for two baskets a day. Even after peeling the skin, two baskets won't even fill one basket.
"What? Why are you digging so much?"
Xiuhua's sister-in-law didn't understand.
"You'll know when I cook it for you tomorrow night. I've dug up some bamboo shoots tonight, and you and Brother Zhang can have dinner at my house."
Wei Yuyan was still very confident.
"Fine, you've already said meals are included, what else can I say?"
Xiuhua's sister-in-law stood up and began clearing the firewood the two had just chopped. They had been going up the mountain to chop firewood for the past three days and had chopped quite a lot.
"Okay, let's go home then."
Wei Yuyan has already carried it once, this is the second time. The firewood she has chopped in the past three days can last for another ten or twenty days.
The next morning, Wei Yuyan got up early to prepare breakfast and the dry food to take to the mountain.
The first thing to do is steam buns. Today's buns are made with a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour.
It goes well with mushroom sauce, but unfortunately I didn't have any meat at home. Otherwise, it would be delicious to make mushroom and meat sauce to eat with steamed buns.
Chop the mushrooms and dried chilies, fry them until dry, add seasonings, thicken with a little cornstarch, and they taste great sandwiched in steamed buns.
"Sister-in-law, it smells so good!"
Wu Qian appeared at the kitchen door with her hair all messy.
"Get up, wash up with your brother first, breakfast is ready."
Wei Yuyan found a small jar, poured some mushroom chili sauce into it, so it would be convenient to take it up the mountain later.
"Sister-in-law, what is this?"
Wu Qian watched as Wei Yuyan put something dark inside the steamed bun.
"Mushroom chili sauce, have a little bit for you and your brother too."
It's best not to feed children too much spice in the morning. Wei Yuyan only added a tiny bit of spice to their food, just enough to give them a little flavor.
"Sister-in-law, are we not coming back until the afternoon today?"
Wu Lei asked.
"Yes, I've steamed the buns too. I can take them over later."
Wei Yuyan nodded, finished the last bite of her steamed bun, and went to pack her things to take to the mountain.
Chili sauce, eight steamed buns, one large hoe, and one small hoe.
Wei Yuyan only carried a basket and a large hoe, while the rest was placed in Wu Lei's basket; he didn't plan to put bamboo shoots in it.
"I'll lock the door."
Wu Qian had already taken the key and lock.
"Why hasn't Sister Xiuhua arrived yet?"
Wu Lei stood at the gate and looked around.
“Then we can go first. Sister Xiuhua might be held up by something.”
Wei Yuyan guessed.
"I'm here! Oh dear, I was almost late. I was thinking of feeding the chickens and ducks before I arrived, so I'm late."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua suddenly rushed out, panting as she explained.
"No rush, Sister Xiuhua, let's go."
Two adults and two children, their backs turned to the sun, a heartwarming sight of them walking forward.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, over here~".
Although Wu Qian is young, she finds bamboo shoots faster than everyone else. Maybe it's because she's shorter and has better eyesight. Sister-in-law Xiuhua and Wei Yuyan can't keep up with her digging.
"Alright, alright, Qianqian, take a break after searching for a while, have some water."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
