It took Wang Lun and the other three over twenty minutes to clean all the foul-smelling chaste leaves. Then Wang Lun took out the earthenware pot and the iron pot. He filled the iron pot with some water, sprinkled some wood ash on it, and left it aside.
The earthenware pot was cleaned thoroughly, and then a bamboo tube and a relatively thick stick were found. Li Ling was asked to wash the bamboo tube clean. Wang Lun then trimmed one end of the stick to make it smoother.
After completing the preparations, Wang Lun grabbed a handful of stinky chaste leaves into the bamboo tube and began to crush them vigorously with a stick. Once the leaves were crushed and released juice, he poured the juice into the earthenware pot.
Not long after Wang Lun started pounding the food, Liu Ruoxi called him and Li Ling to eat. They had packed their baskets quickly that day, so they hadn't eaten outside and planned to eat when they got back. However, they started making cold noodles as soon as they returned, and didn't even have time to mention they hadn't eaten. They had eaten some dried meat each, so they weren't too hungry. When Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling were unpacking their baskets, they realized they had only eaten one piece of dried meat; the rest they had brought back. Liu Ruoxi asked Liu Ruoling, who honestly admitted they hadn't eaten, especially since she had eaten three-quarters of the dried meat, while Wang Lun had only eaten a quarter. Actually, the whole piece of dried meat weighed less than a pound; although it was said to be three-quarters, it really wasn't much.
When the two heard that they hadn't eaten yet, Liu Ruoxi immediately went to get a pot and started cooking for them. Li Ling originally planned to help, but Liu Ruoxi told her to stay and watch how to make jelly, so that Wang Lun wouldn't have to make it himself. Li Ling followed Liu Ruoxi's advice and watched Wang Lun make it, asking him what to do next.
After Liu Ruoxi finished cooking, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling went to eat. Li Ling then started pounding the stinky yellow leaves, while Liu Ruoxi watched. Li Ling also told Liu Ruoxi the method Wang Lun had mentioned earlier, and the two thought it was quite simple. But could it really make jelly? They were initially quite skeptical. However, after seeing Wang Lun's actions, their doubts lessened somewhat, but some remained. After all, neither of them had ever made it before, nor had they ever tasted it.
After Wang Lun finished eating, he saw that the earthenware pot was more than half full of liquid, so he told Li Ling to stop. He said they could get the remaining stinky chaste leaves tomorrow; they could eat this for today. Li Ling stopped, then poured out the residue from the bamboo tube and squeezed out the juice. Wang Lun collected the remaining residue and placed it in the yard. He planned to cook it that evening with a little salt, drain the water, and then dry it in the yard to preserve it. He planned to grind it into powder later to feed the pheasants.
Rabbits are alright; they can eat some hay in winter. But pheasants are different. They depend on them for eggs, so they can't afford to deprive them of food. What if they stop laying eggs? As long as they have a full meal and eggs every day, Wang Lun and the other three are still showing some consideration.
Wang Lun scooped out the larger impurities from the earthenware pot. Then he brought over the settled wood ash water. He poured some of the clear water from the top into the pot while stirring. When Wang Lun estimated it was ready, he stopped all activity. He placed the pot in the pool, placing a few stones underneath to prevent it from tipping over. Now all that was left was to wait patiently.
Putting them in water, where the temperature is lower, will speed up the solidification process. While waiting, Wang Lun wanted to keep them occupied, so he led them to collect stones in the stream. Since they weren't in a rush this time, they worked slowly, even catching crabs while collecting stones, but Wang Lun didn't say anything. He even joined in catching crabs, saying they should catch plenty to eat that evening. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling were immediately excited, while Liu Ruoxi, though happy, seemed a little worried. After all, her period had come several days early last time they ate crabs; surely it wouldn't come early again this time? However, no one noticed Liu Ruoxi's worry, as everyone was having a great time.
The four of them caught dozens of crabs before Wang Lun called them to stop. After collecting all the crabs, Wang Lun discarded some that looked problematic, and then threw away some of the smaller ones. This left only about thirty crabs. Wang Lun had them clean the crabs thoroughly so they could be cooked that evening.
The four of them cleaned the crabs and carried some of the stones they had found back to the campsite before finally resting.
The four rested for a while, and the sky began to darken. Wang Lun went to check the jelly in the earthenware pot. He found that it had all solidified, although there was still some liquid left, it didn't affect its edibility. Wang Lun put the earthenware pot back in the sink, planning to take it back after dinner was cooked, so that it would solidify even better.
Wang Lun first took out an iron pot, melted some fish oil he had collected, and then put the crabs into the pot to fry. After the crabs were cooked, Wang Lun picked them up and used a stone slab with a large wild vegetable leaf on it to hold the crabs.
Wang Lun didn't waste the remaining oil; instead, he used it to fry some pancakes. Then he cooked a pot of wild vegetable stew with fish. While the fish was cooking, Wang Lun brought back the earthenware pot. He cut out a large piece with a bamboo knife and put it in an earthenware bowl. Then he cut it into smaller pieces with the bamboo knife, added some wild fruit jam, and mixed it. Wang Lun tasted it and thought it was quite good. Li Ling and the Liu sisters wanted to try it too, and Wang Lun gave each of them a piece. After eating it, they all felt it was delicious. So they wanted to try more, but this time Wang Lun refused. He told Li Ling and the Liu sisters to each bring a dish to the table, and Wang Lun also brought the wild vegetable stew with fish to the table.
The four of them began to eat. Li Ling and the other two, without prior arrangement, reached for the jelly noodles first. The green jelly noodles, paired with green jam, were similar in color but still distinct. The sour and salty jam added a lot of flavor to the slightly alkaline jelly noodles. As for aroma, there was practically none; only the pungent smell of the jelly noodles' yellow leaves, mixed with a hint of wild fruit fragrance. This dish of jelly noodles with jam, with its perfect color, aroma, and taste, was quite delicious. Naturally, all three of them wanted to eat first. Besides, they had only taken a bite to taste it earlier, so this time they wanted to eat more.
Seeing that all three of them were choosing cold noodles, Wang Lun didn't say anything, but simply filled a bowl with soup for himself. However, just as he finished filling the bowl and before he could even take a sip, another bowl was handed to him. Wang Lun wondered who was so bold as to let him fill the bowl with soup. Turning his head, he saw Liu Ruoling chewing on her cold noodles while handing the bowl to Wang Lun. Seeing him looking at her, she gestured with her eyes for him to fill the bowl with soup, all the while still chewing on her noodles, her other hand reaching for more noodles.
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