Chapter 8 Zhang's Thoughts
Xu Zhichun went up the mountain today and had no intention of releasing potatoes and sweet potatoes. After all, to say that they were found in the mountains was a bit too far-fetched and would be treating the locals like fools.
People's ancestors have been wandering around these mountains for generations, and everyone has a rough idea of what grows on them.
It's hard to tell how many varieties of weeds there are, but sweet potatoes and potatoes are crops with distinct plant characteristics. Potatoes have very obvious flowers, and if they were real, they would have been discovered long ago. Sweet potatoes are even more remarkable, with a single plant producing a vast vine, so if they were real, they would have been spotted by the villagers.
Xu Zhichun went up the mountain today to get some fresh bamboo shoots and mushrooms to try.
There are also some in the fresh food warehouse. Well, if she finds one on the mountain, she has a reason to dig out ten kilograms from the warehouse.
With this idea in mind, Xu Zhichun was not very active when looking for mushrooms, but he was lucky enough to find a small area of red mushrooms and pine mushrooms, and later picked up some straw mushrooms.
There are even more bamboo shoots at this time of year, and she could never dig them all. She only got about six or seven pounds and took them back with the shells. The peeled shells can be fed to pigs.
The wild vegetables by the ditch at the foot of the mountain are also growing exceptionally lush and tender. I can pick some of them up and we’ll have pig feed for today.
While collecting pig grass, Xu Zhichun accidentally discovered konjac and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Everyone knows it's poisonous, so no one eats it. But she knows it can be made into konjac tofu, which is delicious whether mixed with cold dishes, stir-fried with vegetables or meat, or combined with chicken in a chicken pot. If you only use the white part of the konjac, you can make konjac flour, which can also be made into snow-white konjac noodles. When stewed, stir-fried, or boiled, it's a completely different experience, very crisp and delicious.
Xu Zhichun decided to make konjac tofu.
This is something she can make now, and it's very simple, but others can't. Moreover, the ingredients are plentiful and easy to obtain, so she can't finish it.
Because no one wanted it, she found a large piece of it next to a ditch at the foot of the mountain, which covered an area of more than ten acres.
Besides here, there are other places too.
Xu Zhichun did what he said. He went home with his backpack, put down the bamboo shoots, mushrooms and pig grass, and went out to dig konjac again with the backpack and hoe.
Konjac grows in any place, so I easily dug up half a basket of it, and each one was bigger than a bowl.
The feeling of finding more the more you dig is really addictive and you can hardly stop.
If Xu Zhichun could carry so much with his small body, he would definitely have dug more.
She first came to the river with a basket full of konjac on her back, washed it and then took it home.
There is no well at home, so we have to fetch water, which is very troublesome.
Well, there are countless boxes and barrels of mineral water in the harbor warehouse, so you can use them when you really don’t want to carry water.
Xu Zhichun was washing konjac when he suddenly heard his great aunt Zhang ask in surprise, "What are you washing? Taro? Why doesn't it look like taro?"
Another woman was also puzzled: "Yeah, it looks a bit like taro. Zhichun, is this edible? Why are you digging up so much of this?"
Xu Zhichun thought to himself that he was unlucky, but he had to stand up and greet them with a smile: "Auntie, Aunt Hua."
This Aunt Hua seemed to be Lu Laoliu's wife. She was not familiar with the Lu family and had no dealings with Aunt Hua. However, seeing that Aunt Hua had a good relationship with Zhang, and looking at her unabashedly inquiring and direct gaze, Xu Zhichun disliked her very much.
She wanted to make konjac tofu to sell, and since she couldn't hide it from anyone, she said, "This is konjac."
Zhang was confused: "Konjac?"
Aunt Hua suddenly remembered, "I was wondering why this thing looked so familiar. It turns out to be taro root. Someone in our village thought it was edible, but ended up getting poisoned and nearly died. Why did you dig up so much?"
Xu Zhichun: "In my hometown, this is called konjac. It turns out here it's called konjac tofu. There's a snack in my hometown made with this konjac. I want to try and see if I can make it myself."
Xu Zhichun wasn't from here; she was Liang Minglang's wife, brought from outside the city. It was said her family lived far away. Liang Minglang and his brother's parents had long since passed away, and by bringing his own wife home, his eldest and second uncles could easily handle his marriage. They were happy with this and didn't care where Xu Zhichun came from.
Otherwise, it would not sound good if it were to be made known to others that a biological uncle did not care about the marriage of his nephew who had lost his parents.
Zhang sneered: "If you are poisoned——"
Then she thought, wouldn't it be better if he was poisoned and died? She immediately changed her mind and said, "Just do it if you want."
Xu Zhichun nodded: "Well, I always have to think about the future, and I think it would be good to sell it for a little money."
Zhang looked as if she couldn't wait to sell the poison so she could kill a few people. Thinking that she would be caught and beheaded by the government, she was even more willing. "Haha, then go ahead and sell it. You're really becoming more and more capable."
Zhang didn't hide her expression at all, her thoughts and calculations were clearly shown on her face and could be seen through at a glance.
Xu Zhichun didn't bother to pay attention to her and smiled modestly: "I have to raise Mingxuan, so I have no choice but to bite the bullet and do it."
Zhang sneered and kept a distance from Xu Zhichun while washing clothes, as if she was afraid of being contaminated by poison.
Aunt Hua's eyes rolled around, and she said jokingly with a smile, "Oh, Zhichun, you didn't die last time, so you don't want to live anymore, right?"
Xu Zhichun felt sick and said coldly, "It has nothing to do with you."
Aunt Hua laughed: "Look, she's still angry, hahaha!"
Xu Zhichun couldn't stand it any longer and scooped up a handful of water to throw at Aunt Hua. Aunt Hua's face and body were soaked. She was furious and said, "You stupid girl, what are you doing?"
Xu Zhichun said coldly, "I was about to ask you what you wanted to do. Have I gotten in your way in any way? Do you think it's funny that I was so heartbroken that I committed suicide for my husband? Do you think it's funny that I've recovered and only want to raise my brother-in-law for my deceased husband? Do you think it's appropriate for you to make fun of this? Are you trying to force me to death or something? If you don't accept it, let's go and find the village head to judge the matter. Let's go!"
As Xu Zhichun said this, he was about to pull Aunt Hua to Liang Lizheng's house.
Aunt Hua was of course unwilling to go, but she did not dare to provoke Xu Zhichun again. She pulled her hand back angrily and said, "Who is mad at you?"
After saying that, she decided not to wash the clothes here. She glared at Xu Zhichun and went to find another place to wash the dirty clothes with a basket.
Xu Zhichun still squatted down to wash the konjac.
Zhang's eyes widened in surprise. She stared at her and scolded her for a long time: "Aunt Hua is the elder after all. How can you be so arrogant? How can you talk to an elder like that? You have no manners at all."
Xu Zhichun had long since given up on tolerating Zhang. "The younger generation has their own rules, and the older generation has their own rules. An elder who is kind and compassionate, and who cares for the younger generation, is truly an elder. What kind of elder is one who only pokes fun at others' flaws and is filled with malicious calculations? That's just a damned old woman!"
(End of this chapter)
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