When Xu Han had picked half of the vegetables, Lu Chuan came out and saw that Xu Han had already pulled up some vegetable vines, so he quickly helped her pull them up as well.
When Xu Han saw Lu Chuan coming over, she said, "Since the weather is nice these days, I plan to make some fruit and vegetable powder later. That way, when I make snacks for Mu'er and Ze'er in the future, the colors will be more appealing."
What is fruit and vegetable powder?
"It involves extracting color from vegetables, and then adding the fruit and vegetable powder when making steamed buns or other foods, so that they can become colorful."
“This is great, they’ll definitely love it. They’d still love it even without these. Both of our sons are definitely little foodies.”
"Haha, who talks about their own child like that?"
Lu Chuan smiled but didn't reply. "I'll take care of it. You go make breakfast."
"Okay, then I'll leave these to you. I'll head back now."
When Xu Han returned home, she first made breakfast, and then took out pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot and spinach from her space.
After cleaning them, I took a small bowl to the vegetable garden and picked some Malabar spinach seeds. The color is very nice, just like blueberries, but it's a bit redder. A lighter shade is magenta, and a darker shade is purple.
After cleaning everything, Xu Han took out some fruit from her spatial storage.
There were dragon fruit, strawberries, and cherries in the refrigerator.
After washing the vegetables, they were sliced thinly and steamed in a pot. The fruits were simply sliced thinly as well. Then, they were laid out one by one on the perforated bamboo mats woven by Lu Chuan to dry.
This bamboo mat was specially made by Lu Chuan at Xu Han's request. Unlike other bamboo mats, it is not dense, and there are small gaps between each bamboo strip, so that things can not fall in while still allowing ventilation.
It's perfect for drying things. Originally used for drying bamboo shoots and mushrooms, it's also great for drying fruits and vegetables.
After washing it clean, it can be used again next time, and it doesn't take much effort.
Making fruit and vegetable powder is very simple. After drying the fruits and vegetables, grind them directly into powder, and then add them directly to steamed buns or similar products next time.
As is Xu Han's usual practice, she made quite a lot of fruit and vegetable powder today, enough to last a long time.
By the time Xu Han finished making all the fruit and vegetable powder, it was already noon.
Lu Chuan and his team had just finished harvesting all the peanuts in the field.
With nothing else to do, the family sat around in the main room picking peanuts.
The peanuts that were picked off were not shelled; they were simply laid out in the yard to dry. Once dried, they could be shelled slowly during the winter when there was nothing else to do.
Don't throw away the peanut vines either; they're good fodder to feed the livestock.
"There are only some sweet potatoes left to harvest. They were planted late, so there's no rush to harvest them. We'll start spreading the manure we brought back on the ground this afternoon, and we can start tilling the land around tomorrow."
Grandpa Zhao nodded and said, "That's the plan. Now that we've been here for a while, we know exactly what to do in each season. Who would have thought we'd be so familiar with these things one day? Hahahaha."
The Taoist priest agreed, saying, "You know what, being a farmer is really great. When the weather is good, you just need to plant the crops and you'll have a harvest. You can focus on the crops and not worry about anything else. I'm starting to really enjoy this kind of life."
Upon hearing this, Xu Han replied, "Ordinary farmers don't live such a good life. Their families are too large, and what they grow all year round isn't enough to eat."
Not only that, but they also have to pay grain tax every year, plus poll tax and all sorts of other miscellaneous fees. Unlike us, living deep in these mountains, we don't have to pay taxes or any other odds and ends; whatever we harvest is ours."
Lu Chuan chimed in, "That makes sense. We're deep in these mountains, and nobody cares about us, nor does any government collect taxes."
Moreover, living near the mountains means you can gather a lot of mountain produce throughout the year, which in previous years could be exchanged for a considerable amount of money.
"Sigh, it's all fate. No wonder people say the mountains are a good place. Everyone knows the mountains are rich in resources, but how many ordinary people dare to come here? Without real skills, you can't get out of these mountains."
Xu Han joked, "So, none of you here are ordinary people."
The Taoist priest laughed without any politeness, "Hahaha, you're just trying to make yourself look good."
Xu Han, with her thick skin, said smugly, "I don't care. I live deep in the mountains, so I'm not an ordinary person. I may not be good at fighting myself, but I have three bodyguards."
Lu Chuan smiled and said, "Since we've done our best to protect you, could you cook something nice for lunch today?"
Xu Han said loudly and generously, "Okay, then I'll make you a special dish today, how about chicken stew with mushrooms?"
"Haha, that's perfect. I'll go start the fire."
In no time, a large pot of delicious-looking chicken and mushroom stew was ready.
At lunchtime, the family ate heartily. After finishing, everyone sat motionless in their chairs, clutching their stomachs, clearly stuffed.
Grandpa Zhao also reminded everyone, "Go take a nap after you've had some digestion."
Lu Chuan stood up and cleaned up the mess, saying, "Okay, I'll go wash the dishes first."
"Then I'll go see the children."
The Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao also returned to their respective rooms, and the group met again in the afternoon.
Xu Han carried Ze'er and followed the others out of the courtyard. Today was the day to turn the soil, and Xu Han went along to watch the excitement.
The group had become quite skilled at turning the soil. After watching for a while, Xu Han picked up Ze'er and headed towards the orchard. Mu'er quickly followed her mother after she left.
"Mother, are we going to pick fruit?"
"Yes, Mother, go check if the plow is ripe. The persimmons should be ready to be picked too."
"Okay, I love eating fruit the most." Mu'er skipped and hopped after Xu Han as they walked inside.
When Xu Han arrived at the orchard, she saw that the pears had changed color. She picked one, took a bite, and found it sweet and crisp. This pear variety was really delicious. Seeing that it wasn't astringent, she picked another one for Mu'er.
"It's so sweet."
Xu Han picked a few more, "Go and send some to Father and the others, so they can have a taste too."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Seeing Mu'er run over, Xu Han reminded her, "Run slowly, don't fall."
Hearing Mu'er respond from afar, Xu Han stopped worrying about it.
We continued walking forward to see if the persimmons ahead were ripe.
As you get a little closer, you can see that the high branches are full of bright yellow persimmons, which looks particularly pleasing.
Xu Han touched it and saw that it was still a bit hard and hadn't changed color yet, so she didn't pick it.
Hard persimmons are inedible, especially astringent ones, and Xu Han has no desire to try them.
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