Chapter 17: 17 Shepherd's Purse Dumplings

Chapter 17: 17. Shepherd's Purse Dumplings

The spring rain fell even harder during the night.

The pitter-patter of the rain rapidly moistened the soil in the silent depths of the night. The cool moisture carried wisps of white mist that drifted through the mountains, forests, ponds, and fields, making the greens appear even more lush and the tender leaves even more expansive...

By dawn, the rain had stopped, but the weather remained overcast.

Song Sancheng brought in a few pieces of firewood from outside, stuffing them into the stove to make the fire burn brighter, while patting his hands together. "What are we eating this morning?"

After several busy days, they had finally found some leisure time last night and today. Ulan had been sleeping well recently; even the air smelled fresh and clean, leaving her in a wonderful mood.

"Let's have dumplings. That shepherd's purse from last night was so fresh."

The emerald-green shepherd's purse was finely chopped and mixed with slightly coarse minced meat. Soft dough skins wrapped them up, accompanied by a side of vinegar sauce...

Delicious.

It was so savory that one's tongue almost wanted to swallow itself.

Song Sancheng polished off two large bowls all by himself.

Qiaoqiao ate even more, nearly three small bowls, followed by half a bowl of dumpling soup: "Mom, it's so good!"

"A growing boy will eat his father into poverty"—it truly wasn't an exaggeration. They had only wrapped them last night, and Ulan had been thinking of freezing the leftovers for breakfast, but she hadn't expected everyone's appetite to surge lately; they were wiped out in a single meal.

Except for Song Tan.

It was savory, yes, but there were indeed impurities. Eating a bowl under this mixed flavor felt to Song Tan like eating a bowl of fragrant, rich rice mixed with sand.

Every time she ate, she swore to herself that she must grow her own rations.

Seeing that she still looked thin, Ulan wondered, "Did you wear yourself out working outside and ruin your stomach? You work so hard every day, so why is your appetite so small?"

Song Tan thought to herself: *It's not that my stomach is ruined; I've just become a picky eater.*

But if she started picking through wild vegetables, her mother would probably roll her eyes and scold her: "You're just spoiled by eating too much good food."

So, she changed the subject: "The wild vegetables yesterday were delicious, right? After this rain, they'll definitely be even better!"

Were wild vegetables delicious?

Of course they were!

A handful of Malan head (Chinese fat hen) with its bright green leaves and red stems was blanched and chopped, then mixed with some minced meat.

Then, a duck egg was cracked and beaten, seasoned with cooking wine, salt, and MSG, and fried in a sieve in the pan to create egg shreds.

Next, scallions and ginger strips were sautéed, then the minced meat, Malan head, and egg shreds were all tossed in...

Crispy, fragrant, and refreshing—how could it not be delicious?

The remaining watercress was blanched and mixed with salt and MSG.

Then, Sichuan peppercorns were slowly fried in oil to release their aroma, followed by a sauce made of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, MSG, peppercorn oil, chili flakes, and chopped scallions. The blanched, tender stalks of watercress were tossed in...

*Slurp!*

Crisp, tender, and refreshing, with a numbing, spicy, and savory kick.

Paired with wild onion crucian carp soup and scrambled eggs, the family of four finished the basket of wild vegetables from yesterday completely clean.

Only after they were stuffed did they chop the shepherd's purse to make dumplings.

Thinking about it now made her mouth water.

If yesterday's wild vegetables were that good, today's vegetables, stimulated by the spiritual energy, should be even better, right?

Thinking about her first business venture, Song Tan asked, "Mom, how much do you think I should sell them for per jin tomorrow morning?"

Even though the Awakening of Insects had passed in early March, the green vegetables hadn't truly emerged yet; it was currently a period of seasonal scarcity.

Lettuce was bitter, bok choy was old, and yellow heart cabbage wasn't sweet. Even at a supermarket, any greenhouse vegetable would start at ten yuan or more.

Ulan managed the household with great skill, but she had zero experience selling wild vegetables. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Why don't you just charge ten yuan a jin?"

There was no particular reason; she just wanted to keep the math simple.

For today's vegetable market, this price wasn't actually expensive, but since they were wild vegetables, Ulan knew everyone in town loved them, yet her childhood experiences made her subconsciously indifferent to the price.

As a result, she sounded quite uncertain when she said "ten yuan."

Song Tan thought about it; ten yuan would do.

Wild vegetables don't go far; despite looking like a large handful, they shrink into a tiny clump once blanched. She believed the quality nurtured by the spiritual energy would be exceptional, but for her first business, she had to let people taste the quality before worrying about the future.

"Alright, ten yuan it is!"

Song Sancheng suggested, "This year's shepherd's purse is really good. Why don't we wrap some more dumplings and freeze them? Otherwise, once we start inoculating the mushroom spores in a couple of days, we'll be too busy to eat properly."

In two days, once preparations were complete, they would start inoculating the spores. Song Sancheng discussed with Song Tan that this task didn't need to be rushed; they could simply invite some elderly villagers to help.

"They are old, but their hands might not be slow. If they are slow, don't be impatient, Tan Tan... There are only so many households left in our village. They are old, and sitting there every day staring blankly or dozing off looks quite lonely."

"We can just call them over. We won't even mention money; they can just work at a slow pace. Once they're done, we'll buy some meat to help them take home. If they need anything, we'll lend a hand. While they work, your grandparents can keep an eye on them... What do you think?"

That sounded fine.

How could it not?

Song Tan agreed readily.

Firstly, there was no rush for the wood ear and silver ear mushrooms to sprout... she hadn't even finished setting up her outer netting!

Secondly, they were all villagers; it didn't matter who did the work. Her grandparents' spirits had been declining over the past few years; having something to do was better than staring into space.

However...

Song Tan looked at their small courtyard, which was filled with motorcycles and flower beds: "Our courtyard is a bit small, isn't it?"

Inoculating spores required pressing them into pre-drilled small holes in the chestnut logs. The logs were somewhat long and heavy; they would fit in the courtyard, but it would make walking around inconvenient.

Song Sancheng thought for a moment: "I'll go talk to your grandfather later. We'll put them in his courtyard; it's more spacious. Your grandmother can be responsible for cooking, and your mother can go help... There are only about eight or nine elderly people in the village, so they won't eat much. We'll just bring over some rice, flour, and vegetables."

The family of four went over the plan (with Qiaoqiao responsible for humming), feeling that everything was arranged. Seeing it was almost nine o'clock, Song Tan quickly called to Qiaoqiao

"Come on, let's take a big basket and go dig for shepherd's purse!"

And while at it, see how much the wild vegetables had grown from yesterday's spiritual energy.

As they climbed the hillside with practiced ease, Qiaoqiao was stunned.

His mouth fell open: "(⊙o⊙) Wow!"

"Sister, it's so green!"

Of course it was green!

Clumps of wild onions were growing wildly, as thick as layers of hair, occupying the entire edge of the mountain forest slope.

The Malan head that had barely been enough for one plate yesterday was now competing to poke its emerald heads out, green and red stems crowded together as if afraid someone wouldn't be able to pull up a whole plate at once.

As for the shepherd's purse... it went without saying. They grew densely in every crevice, their leaves so tender they looked as if they were about to weep water.

Even before picking them, one could smell the intense, fresh fragrance of the grass.

It formed a sharp contrast with the nearby trees, whose branches had only just begun to sprout green buds.

Song Tan was actually mentally prepared and quite confident. But even so, she felt a sense of daze, relying on Qiaoqiao to help her dig back a whole basket of fresh, tender shepherd's purse.

On the way back, they detoured to look at the pond.

It was excellent.

Dense patches of watercress and purslane occupied the area, growing wildly as if boosted by hormones; one could hardly see the ground or the water's surface by the pond!

She suppressed the joy in her heart—

These vegetables were giving the spiritual energy way too much respect!

No more for today!

***

Spring vegetables are indeed very expensive, and even more so during the New Year.

Recipe reference: *New Special Wild Dishes of the Mountains and Fields*

Writing this kind of thing when it's mealtime is a very specific feeling; it makes your mouth water.

Actually, most wild vegetables have a very strong grassy flavor; they shouldn't be prepared too lightly, otherwise, they won't taste good.

Of course, it mostly depends on one's skill...

Official vegetable selling starts tomorrow!

(End of Chapter)