sbdcsierra Chapter 21 Gathering in the Mountains
Chapter 21 Gathering in the Mountains
The mountains in summer are full of life and vitality, with not only a variety of wild fruits but also many delicious wild vegetables. In this season, nature bestows upon the people of the mountains endless treasures.
There was plenty of wild amaranth growing on the mountain, its lush green color quite appealing. Wild amaranth stir-fried with eggs was incredibly delicious, so Su Yuning picked a lot of tender green leaves and put them in her basket. The Zhou siblings also loved this wild vegetable, so they gathered amaranth not far from Su Yuning.
Zhou Xi explained to Su Yuning, "This vegetable is called amaranth, and the villagers also call it Yingying vegetable. There are many ways to cook this wild vegetable. The first is stir-fried amaranth with eggs. The second is cold amaranth salad with minced garlic. The third is amaranth pancakes. The fourth is amaranth meatball soup. My family often makes this soup. I like to drink the soup, and my father and Zhou Dong like to eat the tofu meatballs."
Su Yuning nodded in agreement and replied, "Yes, yes, my family has also made this kind of wild vegetable. My mother's stir-fried amaranth with eggs is so delicious, I think it's even more fragrant than meat!"
In addition, there were patches and patches of shepherd's purse on the mountain. Some of the shepherd's purse had already blossomed, while others were still very tender. Digging for shepherd's purse was a favorite activity for almost everyone in Xinghua Village, young and old. Shepherd's purse was not only a food ingredient but also a medicinal herb, so Su Yuning naturally wouldn't miss it. She gathered a lot of shepherd's purse and put it in her basket. The basket was brought from home by Zhou Dong, and Su Yuning would have to return it after using it.
Afterwards, the Zhou siblings split up. One of them was responsible for digging up dandelions and plantains, while the other collected leafy green vegetables and small leaves of lamb's quarters.
Su Yuning didn't understand this at all, and she asked curiously,
"Sister Zhou, can we eat dandelions? And plantain? I've never seen these dishes on my family's table before?"
Zhou Xi smiled and told her, "I didn't collect these two things to eat, but to boil water for my father. He goes out hunting all year round, and summer is the hottest time of the year, so drinking water boiled with plantain or dandelion can help reduce internal heat."
Su Yuning nodded, "I can tell you're a filial child."
"And me!" Zhou Dong quickly added, "I even wash my dad's clothes!"
Su Yuning smiled and replied, "You're great too!"
Because Su Yuning had never eaten noodle-like vegetables before, she was curious about how to prepare them, so she asked Zhou Xi.
"Sister, how does the noodle dish taste? How do you usually make noodle dishes at home?"
Zhou Xi patiently explained to her, "Some people say that noodle vegetable is delicious, while others don't like it. I think that noodle vegetable tastes good and has a unique, refreshing flavor. You can make a cold noodle vegetable salad. Just blanch it in boiling water, then add vinegar and minced garlic and mix it up. It'll be a dish that the whole family will fight over when it's served."
Su Yuning responded, "I see. Then I'll collect some too, and ask my mother to make a cold dish for me later."
"Yes, that's fine, but Uncle Su isn't fully recovered yet, so his portion should be light and bland, without chili peppers or garlic," Zhou Xi kindly reminded him.
"Okay, I understand, thanks for reminding me!" Su Yuning said politely.
The mountains are a treasure trove, not only with a rich variety of wild vegetables but also with all sorts of wild fruits, such as the paper mulberry fruit, which resembles a bayberry in shape. It's not only a favorite food for birds but also a delicious treat for children. During their hike, they encountered several paper mulberry trees laden with fruit. Zhou Xi and Zhou Dong both loved this wild fruit, so they each picked a large handful to eat as snacks along the way. Su Yuning picked a few to try and found them sweet, so she picked some more and put them in her basket to take home.
In addition, the mountains also have black nightshade, wild strawberry, peach, nectarine, raspberry, and so on.
Zhou Xi liked to eat nectarines, so she arranged for her younger brother to climb a tree and pick some for her. Then she stood under the tree, picking up the nectarines and putting them in her basket. Su Yuning didn't like the nectarines, so she walked to the side. As she walked, she discovered fuzzy peaches. Although they didn't look very appealing, she knew that fuzzy peaches tasted excellent, so she picked several and put them in her basket.
Afterwards, the three friends continued to dig for wild vegetables, not letting any common wild vegetables go unpicked, and soon they had dug up quite a lot.
Before she knew it, the sun had risen high in the sky, and it looked like noon. Remembering she needed to prepare medicine for her father, Su Yuning took a basket of wild vegetables and headed down the mountain ahead of time.
"You guys keep collecting, I'm off! Let's meet again another day! Bye-bye!"
“Okay, we’ll head back later too,” Zhou Xi replied politely.
After returning home, Su Yuning put the wild vegetables in the kitchen, then skillfully put the herbs into a clay pot, added water, put it on the stove, and then started a fire to boil the medicine.
It's really not easy to stay in the kitchen in the summer. It's not only stuffy but also hot. Su Yuning had only been in the kitchen for a short while when she was already sweating profusely. She then remembered her mother, who cooked in the kitchen every day and brewed medicine for her father three times a day. She was truly hardworking and great!
For some reason, her mother, who usually came home early after digging for wild vegetables, hadn't returned by noon today. She was a little anxious, but she still had to patiently brew the medicine, pour it into a bowl, and hand it to her father. She told him to drink it slowly and said to him, "You rest well at home. I'll go out to look for Mom and help her dig for wild vegetables."
Old Su nodded, "Yes, don't worry, I'll take good care of myself."
Su Yuning came up the mountain again, but it was lunchtime and the villagers had all come down the mountain, so there were hardly any people to be seen on the entire mountain.
"Mom, where are you! I've come to find you!" Su Yuning called out as she walked, but no one responded at all.
Just then, the village chief's nephew happened to pass by and explained to Su Yuning, "Don't shout anymore, most of the villagers have gone to work in the vegetable garden in the next village, and your mother went too."
"That's strange. She clearly told me she was going to dig for wild vegetables to cook, so why did she go to the vegetable garden again?" Su Yuning muttered to herself, puzzled.
The village chief's nephew laughed. "What's so strange about that? She just didn't want you to worry, so she made up an excuse to go out. By the way, the vegetable garden in the neighboring village provides lunch. The workers eat communal dishes and rice, so you don't need to worry about your aunt. Go back and cook some food to eat with your uncle."
Su Yuning nodded in agreement, "Okay, thank you for reminding me! If you haven't eaten yet, come to my house for dinner later. We happen to have some wild vegetables at home, so we can make a soup."
The village chief's nephew waved his hand and declined her offer, saying, "No need, I just came back from the vegetable garden, and I've already eaten."
"Then why did you come back, but the other workers didn't?" Su Yuning asked, puzzled.
The village chief's nephew glanced at her and replied, "I came back to get my tools. I'll be going back later. Do you think I'm slacking off?"
Su Yuning laughed, "That's not what I meant. I thought you had something to do at home and had taken leave to come back."
"I'm not going to argue with you anymore, bye-bye!" The village chief's nephew waved goodbye to her and then walked quickly towards home.
When Su Yuning got home, she didn't go into the kitchen first. Instead, she asked her father what he wanted to eat before starting to cook.
Old Su said he hadn't had shepherd's purse wontons in a long time and missed the taste, so Su Yuning poured all the little flour she had into a bowl and kneaded it. Then she rolled the dough out very thinly with a rolling pin and cut it into neat squares. Finally, she made the wonton filling. Although her family's living conditions were better than before, they didn't have many ingredients in the kitchen. Besides flour, pickled vegetables, eggs, and a basket of wild vegetables she had just dug up, there was nothing else.
Su Yuning picked the shepherd's purse, washed it several times with clean water, then placed it on the cutting board and chopped it very finely. Next, she added a little soybean oil, two eggs, and some salt to the shepherd's purse filling, and then stirred the wonton filling with chopsticks. After all the ingredients were perfectly mixed, the wonton filling was ready.
Because Su Yuning used to be a food blogger, she had a certain level of skill in food preparation. Before long, rows of little goldfish wontons appeared on the steamer rack. After the water boiled, Su Yuning put the wontons into the pot to cook. And you know what? The wontons really did look like fish swimming in the water after they were put into the pot.
While waiting for the wontons to cook, Su Yuning added salt and five-spice powder to the bowl to make a broth. Once the wontons were cooked, she first ladled out the broth, then the wontons. Only when the wontons were no longer too hot did she bring the meal to her father. By the time he finished eating, it was already afternoon. The sensible Su Yuning then considered eating for herself. She ate the remaining wontons, then drank a small bowl of soup, and felt quite full.
After lunch, Su Yuning said goodbye to her father and went out. She first went to the Zhou family to return the basket and asked what the Zhou siblings were doing. The hunter, Old Zhou, told her that the siblings had already gone hunting. With that, Su Yuning waved goodbye to Old Zhou and turned away, feeling a little forlorn.
Then, having nothing to do, Su Yuning went to the lotus pond by herself. At this time, only the village chief's wife was enjoying the cool shade under the banyan tree by the pond; no one else was there.
Su Yuning smiled and walked over to ask, "Auntie, didn't any villagers come to fish today?"
The village chief's wife waved her hand with a smile, "No today. Recently, most of the fish have been caught. The remaining ones are all very small fish. Let's leave them to grow for a few more years."
Su Yuning nodded, "So what has everyone been busy with today?"
The village chief's wife replied, "The villagers have all gone to the vegetable gardens in the neighboring village to do odd jobs. As for me, my back hurts, otherwise I would go and work to earn money too. By the way, Miss Su, you haven't been to the vegetable gardens yet, have you? The scenery there is so beautiful!"
Su Yuning responded frankly, "No, I really don't. I used to go into the mountains with my parents to collect medicinal herbs, so I didn't have time to wander around elsewhere."
The village chief's wife was a kind-hearted person, and at this moment she took the initiative to suggest, "How about I take you to see? There are many kinds of vegetables over there, and many of them can be eaten directly."
Su Yuning looked at her curiously, seemingly a little disbelieving. Just then, the village chief's wife told her with a smile...
"You can eat cucumbers and tomatoes directly; they taste amazing!"
Su Yuning slapped her forehead. "Oh dear, how could I forget about that? I'm so forgetful."
The village chief's wife didn't laugh at her. Instead, she comforted her, saying, "It's alright, it's alright. You've just been too busy lately, so you're sometimes careless when thinking about things. You'll be fine after a rest."
As the two left the lotus pond, the village chief's wife didn't forget to pick two large lotus leaves, giving one to Su Yuning and keeping the other for herself. These natural green umbrellas provided excellent shade!
The two walked around for a while, turning left and right, and finally arrived at the vegetable garden in the neighboring village!
"Wow, the vegetable garden is huge!" Su Yuning exclaimed as soon as she arrived at the edge of the garden.
The village chief's wife asked with a smile, "How is it? The scenery is pretty good, isn't it?"
Su Yuning nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, I've really had a feast for the eyes this time!"
The village chief's wife went to chat with the farm owner, while Su Yuning stayed by the edge of the garden.
Just then, a villager who was picking vegetables in the field recognized Su Yuning and quickly greeted her.
"Miss Su! You've arrived!"
Su Yuning smiled and nodded, "Yes, I came to see where my mother is."
The villager pointed to a woman picking green beans not far away, and Su Yuning happily ran over to her.
"Mom, you've worked so hard!" Su Yuning said sweetly.
The woman smiled with relief, "It's not hard work. Picking vegetables isn't tiring, and I can even earn some pocket money to supplement the family income."
“I’m not too busy lately, how about I come with you to work in the vegetable garden tomorrow?” Su Yuning asked sweetly.
The woman felt sorry for her daughter, worried that she would get too hot or too tired, so she quickly refused, "No, you shouldn't come. Your father needs someone to cook for him, make his medicine, and take care of him. Besides, the people working here are all elderly men and women, so young people shouldn't come."
Su Yuning was a little indignant. "Isn't the village chief's nephew also doing odd jobs here? Why can he come, but I can't?"
The woman was both amused and exasperated. "He's been chosen by the farm owner's daughter and will be marrying into the family soon. It's only right that he works here."
Su Yuning couldn't help but sigh, "Such a fine young man, and good-looking too, why doesn't he find a job to earn money and save up to buy a house? What's so good about marrying into a family? Many sons-in-law are looked down upon."
"Shh! Keep your voice down. It's not good if someone hears you. Don't talk nonsense in public anymore," the woman kindly reminded her.
Su Yuning nodded immediately, "I understand, Mother."
"The village chief's wife is about to leave. She's over there calling you. Hurry up and leave with her."
"Alright then, Mother, go home early too." Su Yuning nodded in agreement, not forgetting to remind her mother.
The woman smiled and nodded. "Yes. It'll be time to wrap up soon. You can go home and cook dinner."
Su Yuning agreed and left the vegetable garden with the village chief's wife.
In the evening, Su Yuning made vegetable soup, just like her mother, and then she made shepherd's purse and egg pancakes. Just then, the woman returned, bringing back a full bundle of vegetables that the gardener didn't want because they didn't look very appealing, including cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and green beans.
At this point, Old Su suggested making another cold dish, so the woman went to the kitchen and made a delicious smashed cucumber.
Although dinner was simple, the family ate with great relish. The woman instructed Su Yuning, "It's been quite hot lately, could you make some tomato soup at home tomorrow? It's sweet and sour, and very appetizing." Su Yuning nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll try."
After dinner, Lao Su asked Su Yuning about her future plans. Su Yuning was a little conflicted. She wanted to stay with her parents, but she also wanted to go to the city to do business and make money.
Old Su suggested to her, "It's not easy for anyone in the village. They can't make much money selling mountain products all year round. You should consider a project that can help the whole village get rich."
“Okay.” Su Yuning nodded in agreement immediately.