Chapter 15: Mountain Delicacies

Chapter 15: Mountain Delicacies

"Big sister, why is it called Guanyin Tofu?"

"Though named tofu, it's actually a type of grass jelly. Ancient texts say that long ago during a famine, the compassionate Bodhisattva Guanyin sprinkled nectar with a willow branch. Wherever the nectar fell, a Guanyin tree grew. The starving people took its branches and leaves, mixed them with plant ash to make this 'tofu,' and survived the famine by eating it. Hence, it's called Guanyin Tofu. This Guanyin tree is what you call the foul-smelling plant, also known as Grass Jelly Plant. It has many other names too, like Fubi, Doufuchai, Liuyue Dong, Liangfenchai, and so on."

Lin Xiaopu said with a grin, "I won't call it foul-smelling plant anymore; I'll call it Guanyin tree."

Shared among the three, the plate of Guanyin Tofu was quickly finished.

Lin Xiaopu hadn't had enough and sneaked a glance at the remaining half block in the pottery pot.

It was saved for Dad; she was just looking.

Lin Shu couldn't help but laugh. "There's plenty on the mountain. If Xiao Pu and Mom want to eat it later, we can just pick and make it whenever we want."

Lin Xiaopu remembered something and quickly said, "Mom, big sister said that the yellow chaste tree branches all over the mountains can also be used to make alkaline zongzi. Big sister has been traveling and missed the Dragon Boat Festival. She said she wants to make some zongzi to eat."

He Guixiang gently pressed her finger to Lin Xiaopu's forehead and lightly chided, "I think it's you, you little glutton, who wants to eat it, right?"

Lin Xiaopu giggled.

He Guixiang said, "If A Shu wants to make it, then go ahead. But we don't have much aged glutinous rice left at home; we probably can't make many."

Lin Shu replied with a smile, "That's perfect. We won't make many, just a few for everyone to taste. Xiao Pu, the mountain spring water in the jar isn't cold enough. Go fetch some fresh mountain spring water from behind the house. We'll use it to keep the remaining Guanyin Tofu cool so Dad can have the coolest, most refreshing Guanyin Tofu when he gets back."

The spring water from the mountain source is the coolest, but going up there would take time. The spring water flowing behind the house will do.

"Alright!"

Lin Xiaopu quickly responded, grabbed the gourd ladle for scooping water, and ran off with quick, light steps.

Though it was said to fetch spring water from behind the house, she actually had to walk a bit further to where the irrigation ditch and the mountain spring converged, to get the spring water before it flowed into the ditch.

Lin Shu wasn't idle either. She prepared to clean and process the loaches and field snails in the bucket, especially the field snails. Without a small brush, she could only scrub them repeatedly by hand.

After cleaning, she cut a small piece off the tail of each field snail with scissors so it would be easier to suck out the meat when eating. After cutting, she washed them again with clean water.

It was because preparing field snails was so troublesome that Lin Shu hadn't gathered many, only picking up a few handfuls from the field.

Though it wasn't completely dark yet, He Guixiang had already lit an oil lamp and placed it on the table. The two of them worked on the loaches and field snails by the warm, yellow glow.

After preparing them, He Guixiang didn't let Lin Shu do the cooking, but because Lin Shu had demonstrated her skill in making the Guanyin Tofu, she followed Lin Shu's instructions for cooking the loaches and field snails.

The field snails were quick-fried directly. Heat the pan with oil, add minced garlic, wild onion, Chinese mugwort, and other aromatics until fragrant, then add the field snails and stir-fry until cooked through. However, He Guixiang was reluctant to use too much oil, so the quick-fry ended up becoming a braise. Fortunately, the braised field snails were still very fragrant.

The loaches were cooked in the simplest way: loach and tofu stew. It didn't matter that there was no regular tofu at home; they had just made Guanyin Tofu. Minced garlic, onion, a large handful of Chinese mugwort, and the sectioned loaches were stir-fried together, then simmered with water. When the loaches were thoroughly cooked, the smooth Guanyin Tofu was added, seasoned with salt and garnished with chopped green onions before serving.

Before the loach stew was ready, Lin Dashan returned, calling out from afar, "Ma, I'm back!"

He Guixiang quickly wiped her hands dry with a cloth and went out to greet him. "Pa, why are you back a quarter of an hour later than usual today?"

Lin Dashan had gone to work in town. Usually, he left empty-handed and returned the same way, but today he was carrying a waxed paper package. He looked tired but somewhat pleased.

Lin Shu was still busy at the stove, and Lin Xiaopu ran over. "Dad, Dad, you're finally back! A Shu and Mom made something delicious for you!"

Lin Dashan cheerfully handed her the waxed paper package. "Bought two sweet rice cakes, one for you and one for your big sister."

Sweet rice cakes?!

Lin Xiaopu immediately jumped for joy. "Dad, you're the best! Big sister, big sister, Dad bought sweet rice cakes!"

The loach in the pot needed to simmer a bit longer, so Lin Shu first prepared the Guanyin Tofu. It had just been kept cool with mountain spring water and was at its most refreshing and cool.

"Dad, you must be tired and hot after walking so far. Have some of this Guanyin Tofu to cool you down!"

Lin Dashan had hurried back, walking quickly over sixteen li (approximately 5 miles) of mountain road. He was sweaty and sticky all over, thirsty and hot. The first bite of Guanyin Tofu cooled him down and made him feel completely refreshed.

He was surprised. "Ma, did you go to town today too?"

He thought He Guixiang had bought the food in town.

He Guixiang said happily, "It wasn't bought. A Shu picked it herself—picked leaves from the mountain and made it. She said it's a food she read about in ancient texts." She almost blurted out "foul-smelling plant" but caught herself and didn't say the name.

It wasn't that she didn't trust her husband; she just knew his temperament and thought it better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Lin Dashan wasn't interested in the ingredients of the dish; he was just amazed that his daughter, who had returned from the marquis's estate, had such skills! Making food from plants and grasses in the mountains—doesn't that mean it wouldn't cost a penny?

Lin Dashan grinned widely. "My daughter is amazing!"

After finishing a whole plate of Guanyin Tofu, Lin Dashan was so comfortable he didn't want to move.

The leftover coarse rice porridge was quickly reheated. He Guixiang brought it to the table along with the freshly stir-fried field snails. The just-finished loach and Guanyin Tofu stew, brought by Lin Shu, was creamy white and rich with a hint of green, looking very appetizing.

He Guixiang served the food while explaining cheerfully, "Xiao Pu and A Shu caught the field snails and loaches in the field, and A Shu cooked them. I tried a bite; they're incredibly delicious and not fishy at all!"

There were so many loaches and field snails in the rural fields, but why didn't people eat them? First, adults were busy with farm work and didn't have time to catch them. Second, these things had a strong muddy flavor, and if not cleaned properly, you could end up eating mud. Few people treated them as proper dishes. Even if children brought them home, more often than not they were fed to ducks or geese.

Lin Dashan was also quite surprised after eating. Saying there was no fishy smell at all was an exaggeration, but it was much milder. After a few more bites, he could even ignore the fishiness.

His chopsticks moved faster and faster.

Lin Shu, seizing the opportunity, said, "Dad, it's not just the loaches; even fish from rivers and streams can be prepared to have no fishy taste at all. If we could dig a fish pond behind our house, channel mountain spring water into it, and raise caught fish and shrimp there for two or three months, the texture of the meat would improve. We wouldn't need special preparation to remove the fishy taste; just simmering it with some water for fish soup would make it incredibly delicious."

As she spoke, Lin Shu used a bamboo skewer to pick out field snail meat, feeding half to Lin Xiaopu and putting the other half in Lin Dashan's bowl, being very thoughtful.

Lin Dashan was already hungry, swallowing large mouthfuls of porridge and stuffing piece after piece of loach into his mouth. Hearing this, he laughed. "Daughter, you want to build a fish pond? First, catch a couple of fish and let's see."

Like loaches and field snails, fish from the streams and rivers in Sweetwater Village were rarely eaten. First, catching fish was harder than catching loaches. Second, wild fish from small streams and rivers weren't as meaty as those from big rivers in fishing villages; they were all bones with little meat.

Of course, if someone could catch a fish, it wouldn't end up like loaches or field snails. After all, fish was considered proper meat, and its fishy smell was much lighter than loaches. Simmered into soup, it was very nutritious.

Children in the village who were too young for farm work often went to the river to catch fish every day, but they were unlikely to catch a single fish even after a whole day.

No wonder Lin Dashan laughed at Lin Shu's idea.

"Dad, if I can catch a few fish tomorrow, can I dig a fish pond behind the house?"

Lin Dashan said cheerfully, "If you can really catch one—not many, just one—if you can catch one fish tomorrow, Dad will call A Ye to help you dig the fish pond. You can dig it however you want."

"A gentleman's word is as good as gold!"

Lin Dashan scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

He didn't understand what "word" or "gold" meant, but his daughter was educated, and he felt very proud.

There were five loaches, some big, some small, but after being cut up and stewed, there wasn't much left. Lin Dashan finished them all by himself, even drinking every last drop of soup. After the meal, he was so satisfied he let out several satisfied belches.

There was still a little stir-fried field snails left, so the mother and her two daughters each took a thin bamboo skewer to pick out the meat while chatting leisurely—a rare moment of relaxation.

"When will Brother A Ye return? What does he usually bring back from the mountains?" Lin Shu asked curiously.

Zhou Ye had not returned all night, but the family didn't seem concerned, as if it were common for him to stay overnight in the deep mountains. That guy's definitely got some skills.

He Guixiang explained, "Your Brother A Ye stays overnight in the mountains about three out of every five trips. He usually brings back two or three pheasants or wild rabbits, and he also picks some shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are different from other fungi—after drying, they can be sold in town for fifty wen per liang!"

Lin Shu searched her memory and realized that "xiang xun" likely referred to shiitake mushrooms. At this time, shiitake mushrooms were considered a precious delicacy, not something ordinary people could easily afford.

Fifty wen per liang, with sixteen liang making up a jin, would amount to eight hundred wen. It sounded like a lot, but after drying, the weight decreased significantly. Who knows how many fresh shiitake mushrooms were needed to yield a jin of dried ones?

"Last winter, A Ye even dug up a ginseng root in the mountains and exchanged it for a full eight hundred wen in town!" He Guixiang added, her eyes smiling.

Eight hundred wen was a substantial sum, something a village household might not be able to save even after several years.

Lin Xiaopu's eyes widened, and she let out an astonished "Wow!"

She had known about this incident, but she had no idea the ginseng had fetched such a high price! Her mother had never mentioned it to her.

Lin Shu, however, calculated it in her head. Although she didn’t know the variety or quality of the ginseng, even the most common ginseng in an herbal shop costs at least two taels of silver per liang. Unless the dried ginseng root was exceptionally small, it would likely weigh at least one liang.

But then again, the herbal shop had to make a profit—they couldn't buy it at original price. Considering that, the selling price was actually pretty good, wasn't it?

She hadn’t expected that this supposed side character from the original story, who already appealed to her aesthetically, would also be so capable.

"A Ye is very capable. Thanks to him, our family isn’t as poor as you and Xiao Pu might think. I’ve been saving the money he earns," He Guixiang said gently. "So, if there’s anything you’d like to eat, just tell me. If we don’t have it at home, I’ll go to town and buy it for you."

Back when Lin Dashan, out of spite, decided to trade a bag of grain for a man, He Guixiang had strongly disapproved. For one, just looking at Zhou Ye’s intimidating face and exceptionally robust build made her uneasy—she feared they might be inviting trouble. Secondly, they had just split from the main household, with little grain to spare, and Xiao Pu’s medicine expenses were already a significant burden. How could they possibly feed another grown man?

But after a short time living together, He Guixiang began to feel grateful for Lin Dashan’s decision.

A Ye was an exceptionally easy-to-care-for young man. Though he ate a lot, he also worked hard. In addition to working the family’s fields, he frequently went into the mountains to hunt for wild game. The valuable mountain delicacies he found could be sold for a considerable amount.

Calculating it now, it seemed the Lin family had actually benefited from his presence.

If Zhou Ye hadn’t been driven to such desperation while fleeing the famine, a capable person like him would never have stayed in Sweetwater Village.

Author's Note:

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*The origin of Guanyin Tofu is based on online sources.