An orphan girl from a farming family: Everyday farming in the mountains during natural disasters

Chapter 207 Harvesting Vegetables and Preserving Seeds

"Okay! Let's do all these now while we have some free time. We need to find dry firewood to make charcoal and prepare other things for the winter. We also need to kill a pig and make bacon later."

"Yes, there are still many things to do. In the morning we will fish and shrimp, and in the afternoon we will go to the fields to harvest pumpkins and red peppers. When the wheat, sorghum and sweet potatoes are ripe next month, we will also have to harvest them."

She did not forget that her home in the tiankeng was growing crops, and planned to go back at the beginning of next month.

Just like last time, Han Zhibai went to the river to catch fish and shrimps, killed and cleaned them and took them back, while Xia Qingyue stayed at home to pickle them.

This time, she added some star anise, cinnamon and peppercorns to the pickling salt and fried them together until they changed color slightly and released a fragrant aroma, then poured them out and let them cool.

The fish had not been brought back yet, so she cut off the tails of the stone snails that had been soaked for a few days and were already very clean, rubbed them with loofah pulp, washed them several times, soaked them in water temporarily, and fried them to eat at noon.

After a while, Han Zhibai came back with the fish. She started to pickle the fish. Most of the river shrimps were big, so she poured half a bucket into hot water and cooked them until they turned red. She then took them out and rinsed them with cold water, and finally spread them out on a bamboo raft or winnowing basket to dry.

There were also stone snails. I kept half a bucket and soaked them in chili powder and rusty ironware, and smashed the rest to feed the chickens and ducks.

Two hours later, many bright red river shrimps were displayed in the large front yard for drying. The air was filled with the faint aroma of shrimps. The scene of both fish and shrimps was quite spectacular.

After pickling a pot of fish, Xia Qingyue looked up and saw the scene in the yard. She felt the joy of a great harvest and laughed happily. With these foods, she would not have to worry about food in the winter.

It’s time to make lunch. There are pickled bamboo shoots soaking in the jar, so I take some out and stir-fry snails.

She left a grass carp unpickled and made a braised fish, and finally cooked a bowl of vegetable soup.

Just as lunch was ready, Han Zhibai came back with another cart of fish and shrimp.

She walked out of the main room and said, "Wash your hands and come back for dinner."

Han Zhibai responded, went into the kitchen, and pulled out a basin for washing dirty hands from one of the layers under the wooden rack where washbasins were placed. He filled it with hot water, added cold water to make it warm, and applied a pinch of tea seed powder to rub his hands.

After washing his hands, he came to the main room and sat down to eat.

"This is fried snails with sour bamboo shoots. Try it. This is how you eat it." Xia Qingyue picked up a snail with chopsticks and sucked it with her mouth. With a slurping sound, the tasty soup and snail meat went into her mouth.

Han Zhibai learned it after watching it once. He ate one, his eyes widened, and he said in amazement: "It really has no sand or mud. It's delicious, sour and spicy, and the snail meat is chewy."

She smiled and said, "If it tastes good, eat more."

After lunch, Han Zhibai went to wash the dishes, and she processed the fish and shrimps she had brought back.

In the afternoon, the two put on straw hats, carried backpacks and went to the vegetable field to harvest old pumpkins, red peppers, as well as some old loofahs, gourds, eggplants, cowpeas and soybeans for seeds.

Xia Qingyue was harvesting in the fields and had a backpack and two wooden barrels, so Han Zhibai carried them home and put the old pumpkins into the cellar in the backyard. He cracked open the ones he wanted to keep for seeds and took out the seeds to dry in the sun. The flesh was not tasty when it was old, so he simply chopped it up and fed it to the poultry.

The harvested vines are left in the field and dried for a few days before being harvested and used as kindling.

Xia Qingyue was fully armed today and wore a piece of gauze on her face. Although it was a bit stuffy, the leaves of the crops did not rub against her face, so she felt much better.

There were many red peppers in the pepper field. After harvesting the old pumpkins and other crops, she picked them with Han Zhibai.

"With so many peppers, let's dry some of them and make a few jars of garlic chili sauce and glutinous rice peppers. They can be eaten until next year and are durable."

"Ciba Chili?" It was the first time he heard this name.

"You'll know when I'm done. It'll be delicious if you put a little in when cooking." She looked ahead at the two plots of land planted with ginger and garlic. "Dig them out tomorrow, dry them in the sun, and store them in the cellar."

There were several varieties of peppers. Han Zhibai picked out some good ones to keep for seeds, and took the rest home and dumped them in the corner under the eaves.

I was busy picking peppers for an hour and it was almost dark. Unfortunately, I hadn't picked them all yet and would have to wait until tomorrow to pick them.

Fortunately, the weather was cool and we could keep all the vegetables we picked.

It was almost dark, and Han Zhibai took the time to collect the dried fruits, fish and shrimps that were drying in the yard.

Xia Qingyue was cooking dinner in the kitchen. They usually had a simple meal in the evening, so she kneaded a dough, fried river shrimps and pan-fried fish bones together to make a rich and fragrant, light red soup. She pinched fingernail-sized pieces of dough and threw them into the pot. When the dumplings were almost cooked, she added some vegetables.

First scoop out the food for the two little ones, then put some salt into the pot for seasoning.

The finished dumpling soup looked plain and light, but it tasted delicious. Han Zhibai ate two bowls, and Xia Qingyue, who ate little at night, couldn't help but eat a little more.

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In the early morning, the horizon was dimly lit. Xia Qingyue finished her morning exercise in the yard and continued to practice archery. Han Zhibai, who went to the vegetable garden to harvest red peppers, came back with the peppers and gave her some pointers on archery from time to time.

After the hour of Chen, the morning sun broke through the thick clouds and peeked out halfway, the sky became brighter, and mist was rising from the distant mountains and forests. Most of the trees had lost many leaves, and the leaves turned yellow, and the scenery was bleak.

After practicing archery, Xia Qingyue walked towards the main room with an arrow. When she went up the stone steps, she suddenly felt a dull pain in her abdomen. She stopped and put one hand on her stomach.

Han Zhibai, who was carrying red peppers from the backyard, happened to see this scene. He ran over and asked nervously, "Qingyue, what's wrong with you?"

"I..." She opened her mouth, her cheeks slightly red, "I'm about to come."

"Which one?" Han Zhibai just asked, and seeing her reaction, he belatedly realized something. He took off the backpack on his back and said, "Qingyue, go back to the room and rest. I'll make breakfast."

Last month’s menstrual belt was almost used up, and she wanted to make a few more, so she nodded and went back to the house.

Wood ash is needed to make a menstrual belt, so she burned some dry mugwort in advance and moved it in a few days ago and placed it in the room. She took out needle and thread, washed a cloth bag, and sat on a low stool beside the bed to sew.

I made four short ones and three long ones for the night, put things away, had breakfast and then continued.

When she came out of the room, delicious food was already on the table, including porridge with steamed eggs, a dish of pickled cucumbers without chili, and a large bowl of stir-fried chicken with mushrooms. On the side where she was sitting to eat, there was both porridge and a bowl of red soup.

"It's five-red soup, best drunk while it's hot." Han Zhibai came over with chopsticks and a wooden spoon. He put the spoon into the five-red soup bowl, placed the chopsticks on the edge of the plate, then gently pressed Xia Qingyue's shoulder and asked her to sit down.

The five-red soup is made by boiling red dates, red-skinned peanuts, wolfberries, red beans, and brown sugar. It can replenish qi and blood for women.

Xia Qingyue had occasionally made it to eat before, but most of the time she found it too troublesome and just cooked poached eggs with brown sugar and astragalus.

The warm five-red soup was fragrant and sweet, just to her taste. She ate a bowl of it, and afterward her stomach felt warm and she felt much more comfortable.

She usually eats more in the morning and at noon, and also has some vegetables with half a bowl of porridge.

"Qingyue, just rest well at home these days and don't worry." Han Zhibai looked at her inquiringly.