nycdaug Chapter 22 Farming
Chapter 22 Farming
Lin Yan turned the soil over.
She took out chili seeds from her spatial storage and planted them on the ground. She had already inquired at the spice shop beforehand and found that there were no chili peppers in this dynasty, at least the spice shop owner had never heard of them. They did have Sichuan peppercorns, but the main source of spiciness was dogwood.
According to the history of Lin Yan's time, chili peppers were introduced from South America via the Maritime Silk Road during the Ming and Qing dynasties, initially as ornamental plants. I wonder when the world will ever see that.
Fortunately, she still had some stock in her storage space, so she sorted and planted the chili seeds.
Nourished by the residual wood-type supernatural power in the soil, the chili peppers quickly sprouted and grew into plants more than half a meter tall, blooming with small white flowers, and soon producing bright red or green chili peppers.
There are long green peppers, pointed peppers, small red chilies, bird's eye chilies, facing-heaven chilies, Qin peppers, Erjingtiao peppers, and Mantianxing peppers, among others. These are all kinds of peppers that Lin Yan managed to collect with great difficulty during the apocalypse.
Long green peppers, Qin peppers, Erjingtiao peppers, and Mantianxing peppers are all suitable for sun-drying, while pointed peppers, small red chilies, and Zaozhuang thin-skinned peppers are more suitable for eating fresh, added to stir-fries or boiled dishes.
After sowing all the seeds, and with noon approaching, Lin Yan thought of making a spicy chicken dish for everyone.
So she forced a thin-skinned pepper and a small red chili to ripen, and then went up the mountain to catch a pheasant. This time it was not easy to find one; Lin Yan searched for quite a while before finding one.
Clean the chicken by removing its feathers and cutting it into pieces. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger slices and stir-fry until golden brown. Add Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the chicken pieces and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates.
Add scallions and a little Shaoxing wine, stir-fry the chicken pieces until slightly browned, then add sugar, soy sauce, and enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste, and simmer for another five minutes. The aroma of the chicken will then be released.
Finally, add the soul of spicy chicken: small red chilies and thinly sliced peppers, stir-fry for a while longer, and it's ready to serve.
Lin Yan couldn't resist taking a piece to taste. It was salty, fragrant, and spicy—absolutely delicious. "It's so good! Zaozhuang spicy chicken, yyds!"
Today, a dish of spicy chicken was added to the Lin family's lunch table. The chicken was tender and juicy, and the side dishes were a vibrant mix of red and green, making it look incredibly tempting.
It was the first time Lin's parents had eaten spicy food. They were sweating profusely but didn't stop. Then Lin Yan discovered that Lin Yu, this little glutton, couldn't handle spicy food very well.
He hissed and hissed, but couldn't take more than one bite. He could only watch and lick his lips. Lin Yan patted his shoulder sympathetically, looked at him with a look of affirmation and sympathy, and nodded.
Lin Yu took only one bite, and his lips were already red. His eyes were filled with tears, and he looked puzzled: "Sis, why are you looking at me like that?"
"This tastes pretty good, but my mouth feels a little sore!"
Lin Yan placed a bowl of water on the table. "It's alright, young man, I just feel sorry for you!" 'You've missed out on one of life's joys! But you're right, spiciness is pain!'
Pointing to the water in the bowl, she said, "I didn't cook anything else today, so rinse it before eating. I'll make you non-spicy food next time!"
Little Lin Yu had no choice but to eat the chicken that had been rinsed in water. Later, he discovered that rinsing it once wasn't enough; he had to rinse it twice.
So all three of them enjoyed the meal, except for Lin Yu, who mainly relied on staple foods to fill his stomach.
After dinner, Lin Yan and her father discussed planting some land at the foot of the mountain to the north.
Lin's father had just finished eating spicy food and was drinking water. He took a sip of water and said, "Okay, but I've already checked the soil. The plants are already quite mature, so I need to turn them over. Let me finish making the furniture before planting!"
Lin Yan shook her head. "I can work with A Yu first. I want to grow some vegetables or something, otherwise I'll always have to sell them."
Mr. Lin nodded reassuringly, “Alright, you two start by flipping them, just do what you can manage. If you can’t do it, I’ll take over!”
Lin Yan blinked, then smiled seriously. "Don't worry, Daddy, I'll definitely do my best!"
…………
Lin Yu, carrying a small hoe (made especially for him by his father), looked at the empty space in front of him, feeling a little apprehensive: "Sister, let's start from there."
Lin Yan walked towards the spot where she had planted chili peppers that morning. "Let's get away from here first, so my parents don't see us."
"See? See what?"
Lin Yan glanced at him, then activated her supernatural power. "See this!"
Lin Yu's eyes lit up: "You mean spiritual energy!" He was about to lean closer to take a look when he was startled by what he saw: "Ah~~~ Sis~ what is that?!"
The vines grew rapidly, quickly covering the ground in a dark green hue. They surged and rolled around on the ground, loosening the compacted soil. An acre of land was turned over in no time.
Lin Yu stared blankly as the sentient vines plowed the land for him: "This, this is done!!"
"Pretty impressive, huh! Haha! Haha! Ha!"
"But this thing shouldn't be used for this, right?"
Lin Yan tilted her head and smiled nonchalantly: "You need to be flexible! This is so fast!"
Lin Yu looked up at her, a little helpless: "This is too fast, isn't it?"
"It's alright! I'll tell Dad that you're very efficient at your work!" Lin Yan patted Lin Yu's shoulder with relief.
However, Lin Yan didn't do much; she only tilled two acres, enough to plant some vegetables. But she had to find the seeds in the village or buy them in the town.
…………
The next morning, Lin Yan went to the village entrance and hitched a ride on Uncle Li's donkey cart to the town.
She first bought some radishes, cabbages, cucumbers, garlic, green onions, cilantro, spinach, lotus roots, and eggplant seeds, but if she planted them in the ground, she wouldn't have to go out to buy vegetables so often.
Then Lin Yan went to the fruit shop and bought some peaches, apricots, and watermelons. Watermelons are called "cold melons" here, and they are in season now. You can also grow them yourself. The peaches can be made into candied fruit and peach wine later.
To make peach wine, one needs to purchase wine from a wine shop. Lin Yan and Uncle Li inquired and decided to try Hefeng Restaurant on the main street of town.
She went inside to ask the shopkeeper for four jars of wine.
Seeing that she was a young girl, the shopkeeper asked, "Four jars? How big of a jar do you want?" He pointed to a cabinet with wine jars of all sizes on the side.
Some can be held in one hand, some are about 30 centimeters tall, and there is also a wine jar that is one meter tall.
Lin Yan pointed to the 30cm one: "I want that kind!" She was just trying it out first, so she didn't need to buy a bigger one, but the smallest one definitely wouldn't be enough.
The shopkeeper glanced at Lin Yan's small frame again, "Can you lift those kinds of jars?"
Lin Yan blinked. "No problem! Just that kind, the best of the best." Ancient wines generally had a lower alcohol content, but wine made from green plums and peaches needed to have a higher alcohol content, so only the best could do it.
"Alright, 150 coins per jar, 600 coins in total!" The shopkeeper calculated the bill.
Lin Yan paid the money, and the shopkeeper asked the shop assistant to pack it up for her. In reality, it was just tying a rope to the mouth of the wine jar so that it would be easier to carry.
Lin Yan sat down at an empty table nearby. While waiting, she was drawn to the gossip being chatted by two businessmen next to her.