After Wang Lun finished planting the cassava seedlings, Li Ling took him to eat. Wang Lun asked, "Have you eaten? Do you want some more?" Li Ling replied, "I just ate a little while ago. I was only doing some work when you came back." Hearing this, Wang Lun knew she must have been waiting for a long time. Seeing that he hadn't returned, she cooked some food this time, so he said, "Next time, cook for yourself when it's time. Don't wait for me; I don't know when I'll be back." Li Ling said, "Who's waiting for you? I wasn't hungry then. By the way, is there anything good in this basket?" Wang Lun said, "Go see for yourself; there's some good stuff." Then Li Ling went to sort through the harvest in the basket, ignoring Wang Lun.
Li Ling reached the basket, which was topped with wild vegetables and mushrooms. She tossed the vegetables into the pond to wash later, and placed the mushrooms on a nearby stone. Suddenly, she noticed a poisonous mushroom and exclaimed, "You picked up poisonous mushrooms again?" Wang Lun replied, "I know. Keep the poisonous mushrooms separate; they'll be useful later." Li Ling said, "Okay." She continued tidying the basket, and after removing the top layer of vegetables and mushrooms, she found a dozen or so peaches. Li Ling was immediately overjoyed and exclaimed, "You picked peaches too?" Wang Lun said, "I found a peach tree and picked a few ripe ones." However, Li Ling didn't listen to what Wang Lun said at all; upon seeing the peaches, she immediately took them out... Two peaches were washed in the pool. Li Ling ate one as she walked, while Wang Lun placed the other on the table, asking, "What did you just say?" Wang Lun sighed and said, "I came across a peach tree and picked a few ripe ones. I'll pick the rest in a few days." Hearing about the peach tree, the peaches, and the planned return trip, Li Ling said, "I'll go too, and pick all the peaches." Wang Lun said, "Okay, go pick them all." Li Ling was delighted to hear Wang Lun say he would go, and asked, "Is there anything else in the basket?" Wang Lun said, "There are some wild vegetables, Sichuan peppercorns..." Hearing about the Sichuan peppercorns, Li Ling's eyes lit up, and she immediately ran to tidy up the basket. She quickly took out the wild vegetables and mushrooms, then noticed the Sichuan peppercorns. She picked up a handful, looked at them, smelled them—sure enough, they smelled like Sichuan peppercorns—and then picked one up and put it in her mouth. A tingling sensation immediately followed, but Li Ling was happy. So he quickly went inside, took out a basket, and collected all the Sichuan peppercorns into it, placing them aside to dry so they could be preserved. Then he continued tidying up his basket; the rest were wild vegetables and cassava.
Then Li Ling took the mushrooms, strung them together with a rope, and placed them under the eaves to dry before eating. She then went to find Wang Lun and asked how to prepare the cassava. Wang Lun said, "Peel it, cut it into small pieces, and soak it in water for two days, then it's ready to eat." Li Ling listened to Wang Lun and went to prepare the cassava. Wang Lun finished the last bowl of soup in a few bites, then took the pot and bowl with him. When he was about to wash them, Li Ling told him to leave them for her. Wang Lun didn't stand on ceremony, so he put the pot and bowl down, picked up his basket and machete, and went out again. This time, Wang Lun was going to cut some dry grass, to prepare extra, as straw mats and straw sandals all needed dry grass, and he was afraid he wouldn't have enough.
Wang Lun first went to the meadow to cut grass, then made rope traps and placed them in different locations. Since he didn't have much rope, he only made five rope traps. Then Wang Lun carried the hay back to the camp.
Back at camp, Wang Lun called Li Ling back. The sun was almost setting; there was no need to stay up so late. The two rested for a while in the camp, and then Wang Lun taught Li Ling how to weave straw sandals. While the mat was important, the straw sandals were even more so. They spent the better part of an hour making the straw rope, and then Wang Lun began teaching Li Ling how to weave the sandals, step by step. It took them over an hour to weave one sandal each. By then, it was already dark, and the fire outside, used for burning pottery, had long since gone out and should have cooled down.
Wang Lun and Li Ling went to check on the pottery firing. After sifting through the wood ash, they found the earthenware pot was fine, except for a chipped lid, which wasn't a problem as long as it worked. Of the two earthenware jars, one had a crack, and it was unclear if it leaked; the other was fine. Of the four small bowls, one was broken, one of the other three had a crack (but the inside wasn't), and the remaining two were fine. The two large bowls, however, were a success. As for the teapot, it could only be used to boil water; the spout and handle were broken in half, but the lid was intact. Overall, however, the pottery firing was a success.
The two moved all the pottery to the pool, washed it clean, filled the two cracked ones with water, and placed them under the eaves to test for leaks. The rest were brought inside; smaller pieces were placed on shelves, pottery jars on the floor, and the earthenware pot was placed on the stove with a pot of water by Li Ling, who planned to cook meat in it that day. With the addition of Sichuan peppercorns, the stew would surely taste better. Since Li Ling could handle the cooking, Wang Lun continued weaving straw sandals. He planned to prepare several pairs, five for each person—one pair to wear indoors and four pairs for changing as needed. After all, Wang Lun was often out and about, which caused significant wear and tear on his shoes. With straw sandals, he could keep the shoes provided by the production team until it got cold, and they could also be washed.
Once the water boiled, Li Ling first added a few peppercorns. Then she put the chopped fish pieces into the earthenware pot. When the fish was almost cooked, she added the wild vegetables and some salt, then covered the pot and waited patiently until a fragrant aroma wafted from it. Then it was ready to eat.
The two didn't eat until eight or nine o'clock. Partly because they had eaten late in the afternoon, cooking rice was delayed, and partly because stewing meat in an earthenware pot was really time-consuming. But when they finally ate, they felt it was worth it; the time was worth it as long as it tasted good. So they decided to use an earthenware pot for stewing meat almost always from now on, because it really does taste better. Of course, it's also possible that they added Sichuan peppercorns this time, but that doesn't matter anymore.
The two spent almost half an hour finishing the stewed meat and vegetables in the earthenware pot. After resting for a while, they went to the pool to wash the pot. After washing the pot, Li Ling rinsed the wild vegetables, then placed them on a rack to dry before storing them in a basket. Wang Lun continued making straw sandals.
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