Chapter 56: Green Sichuan Peppercorns (Part 1)

Chapter 56: Green Sichuan Pepper (Part 1)

Zhou Ye didn't turn around; it was unclear whether he had heard Lin Xiaopu's words.

Lin Shu secretly glared at Lin Xiaopu and whispered, "You little imp, keep it down."

Today, her mother had played the matchmaker, suggesting she consider Zhou Ye, and her younger sister had acted as a go-between, trying to pair her with him. Thinking about it, Zhou Ye, that simple-minded fellow, was truly fortunate!

Lin Xiaopu observed her expression, noting she wasn't displeased but rather embarrassed. She chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Sister. Brother A Ye isn't as clever as I am; he wouldn't grasp the subtle meaning."

But if her sister disliked her saying such things, she wouldn't bring it up again. She'd just whisper about it privately with her sister later, hehe.

Hearing this, Lin Shu immediately retorted, "Your Brother A Ye is just slow of speech, not dull-witted. He's sharp and clear-minded, very clever indeed."

Remembering something, she idly tapped her chin with her fingertip, her eyes curving slightly. "No, I've realized he's not actually inarticulate. If he wants to, he can certainly say nice things."

With that, Lin Shu hummed a little tune and went back to busy herself by the stove.

Besides making delicious Termitomyces soup, frying Termitomyces into oil is also perfect. Since Termitomyces contains not only protein but also fat, slowly frying it in rapeseed oil results in a crispy texture that's even more fragrant than meat!

Unfortunately, the rapeseed oil at home was nearly gone. They could use lard instead, and there was plenty of that, but Lin Shu couldn't afford to be wasteful.

Oil extraction techniques in the Da Yan Dynasty were quite advanced. Sesame oil and rapeseed oil were the most common, with the former consumed more by nobles and the latter being relatively cheaper and more popular among commoners.

But in impoverished rural mountain villages like Sweetwater Village, even rapeseed oil was a luxury, as one *jin* cost forty to fifty *wen*—more than four times the price of rice!

In years of poor harvests, common folks couldn't afford to buy oil; they made do with plain boiled vegetables. In slightly better years, they would buy oil, but only in small amounts, being extremely frugal.

When Lin Shu arrived, the rapeseed oil from their last market trip was almost gone. Fortunately, He Guixiang had saved some lard, so their dishes still had some oil. Later, Zhou Ye hunted a wild boar and made sure to save the large sheet of leaf fat from around the belly and internal organs when dividing the meat.

This leaf fat, a large sheet of fat wrapped in a thin membrane, yielded lard that was finer and whiter than that rendered from ordinary fat meat. Being essentially pure fat, it yielded more oil—one *jin* of leaf fat could render almost seven *liang* of oil!

Moreover, leaf fat was easy to store; it didn't need to be rendered immediately. It could be kept wrapped in its membrane for a long time.

The large sheet of leaf fat Zhou Ye had cut was sliced into sections by He Guixiang. Last time, she only took two sections to render into fine, white lard, filling a large bowl. The rest were wrapped individually in Tung leaves, tied up, and hung from the rafters, to be used later when needed.

But Lin Shu had been generous with the oil when cooking. He Guixiang's large bowl of lard was used up quickly, with Lin Shu scooping one or two spoonfuls per dish. In just a few days, about half had been used up. They had to be more frugal with what remained.

Termitomyces oil required too much oil, so Lin Shu decided against it. Instead, she would make Termitomyces sauce.

Termitomyces sauce used less oil—well, admittedly, slightly less.

She only planned to make a small bowl to taste.

"What a pity we don't have any Sichuan pepper at home," Lin Shu sighed regretfully.

Logically, even without chili peppers, they should have Sichuan pepper, but she had never seen her mother use it, nor had she seen any Sichuan pepper trees on the back mountain. It was said that people in the southwest loved the numbing and spicy flavors. Without chili peppers, they could use substitutes, but how could they manage without the numbing taste of Sichuan pepper?

Whether stewing or stir-frying for freshness, Sichuan pepper could take the flavor up a notch.

For the Termitomyces sauce she was making, if she had Sichuan pepper, frying it would infuse the oil with a numbing aroma, making it incredibly fragrant.

He Guixiang paused at her words and said, "Sichuan pepper? We have some at home, though not much."

Lin Shu exclaimed in surprise, "What? We have Sichuan pepper?! Since we have it, why have I never seen you use it when cooking?"

He Guixiang explained, "Our Jingxi Town area produces green Sichuan pepper. The numbing taste is very strong. Your grandmother, your father, and his two brothers couldn't stand its taste. So, whether it's meat or vegetable dishes, we never use Sichuan pepper. We've all gotten used to not eating it."

That explains it, thought Lin Shu. Just like in later times, even in modern provinces known for loving spicy food, not everyone could handle it. Her grandmother and father were probably such exceptions.

But thinking she had missed out on several meals where she could have used Sichuan pepper, Lin Shu said with playful complaint, "Mom, since we have green Sichuan pepper at home, why didn't you tell me earlier? For dishes we all eat together, we could leave it out for Father's sake. But for cold dishes, we could prepare the seasonings separately. If Dad doesn't eat it, we can make a separate portion without Sichuan pepper for him, right?"

"Take for example, the Guanyin Tofu we just finished; adding a bit of Sichuan pepper to the seasoning would make it even more delicious. Green Sichuan pepper is perfect for cold dishes and quick stir-fries, great for enhancing freshness. I love that numbing taste!"

He Guixiang said with a helpless laugh. "It's not that I kept it from you; it completely slipped my mind. After all these years, every meal has been cooked with just a bit of oil and salt. How could I remember? The Sichuan pepper we have stored at home isn't for eating; it's used to repel odors and keep rats and ants away. It's not edible anymore. If you need some now, I'll go ask the neighbors for some."

Lin Shu, never one to hesitate, immediately took her up on the offer. "Mom, yes, please!"

Then she had a thought and asked, "Mom, is green Sichuan pepper common in Sweetwater Village?"

He Guixiang replied, "Most do. Many people in our village love the taste. Several families even dug up wild Sichuan pepper trees and planted them in their vegetable plots so they can have fresh green Sichuan pepper every day."

"Where did they dig them from? I haven't seen any on the back mountain," Lin Shu's eyes lit up with interest, and anyone could guess what she was thinking.

He Guixiang smiled. "When your grandmother was still alive, there were several large green Sichuan pepper trees on the back mountain. They were dug up by villagers who craved the flavor, but the transplanted trees didn't take root. The village chief scolded them for quite a while after that."

Lin Shu also felt it was a shame. "Transplanting trees is tricky. The bigger they are, the harder it is for them to survive. It would've been much better to transplant smaller ones. Or even start from seeds—it only takes three to five years to grow. When the wild green Sichuan pepper trees were on the back mountain, everyone could pick some. But once they were dug up, there were none left to harvest."

"Exactly, but some people don't think that way; they only care about their own gain. They think, what if the tree survives transplantation? Then they'd save themselves three to five years."

As He Guixiang spoke, she tidied herself up—smoothing the stray hairs at her temples, straightening her collar and cuffs. Once she was presentable, she prepared to go out and ask for Sichuan pepper for her daughter.

Lin Shu glanced at Lin Xiaopu and suddenly remembered something. "Mom, go borrow from Aunt Li's house. Aunt Li seems like someone who loves numbing and spicy flavors; she must have plenty of Sichuan pepper stored at home. Today, A Ye just went to borrow a broken urn from her. First time strangers, second time acquaintances. If we go again, our two families will become even closer. I'm not in a hurry for the Sichuan pepper, so take your time borrowing it."

He Guixiang exclaimed, "You guessed right! Aunt Li has a Sichuan pepper tree planted beside her house. It's been there for six or seven years! But Sweetwater Village is small; every household knows each other. We greet each other when we meet on the road; it just depends on which families interact more often."

"Our Xiao Pu is about the same age as her Wang Yingen. Our families used to interact quite a bit initially, but her boy is too rough, and Xiao Pu is shy outdoors. I was afraid Xiao Pu would get bullied, so I visited less."

"But Aunt Li is truly something. When we first split from the family, times were tough. During the hardest period, I borrowed money from several relatives in the village. Your father is hardworking and reliable, so many were willing to lend, but only small amounts of copper coins. Aunt Li, however, was generous—she lent me a full half-string of cash!"

He Guixiang sighed softly. "Actually, Wang Yingen isn't a bad kid; he's just mischievous and doesn't know his own strength when playing around. He also has a sharp tongue."

Lin Xiaopu, standing nearby, snorted but didn't say anything.

Lin Shu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "There are very few children who are truly malicious at heart. Probably, Aunt Li is too fierce and sharp-tongued, and he's picked up some of that from her. But from what you've said, Aunt Li is indeed righteous."

Someone willing to help others in times of difficulty is definitely worth befriending. As for her mischievous son, it's a small issue. Lin Shu had plenty of methods to deal with such unruly children.

"Xiao Pu, go with Mom to Aunt Li's house and borrow two handfuls of freshly picked green Sichuan pepper."

Lin Xiaopu said, "Huh? Me too?"

"Mom will be bored alone. Keep her company. I'm busy here and can't spare the time."

Lin Xiaopu thought it made sense and agreed to go. Although she disliked Wang Yingen's sharp tongue, he wouldn't dare say anything unpleasant in front of Aunt Li.

After the two left, Lin Shu continued working.

The porridge was simmering on the small stove, leaving the large wok free. Lin Shu took some embers from the small stove, first stuffing the large stove with dry grass that caught fire easily, then gradually adding fine firewood, followed by thicker pieces.

Once the fire was going and the iron wok heated up, she poured all the remaining rapeseed oil from the jar into the wok, then added two spoonfuls of gleaming white lard.

The heat needed to be controlled carefully; the oil temperature couldn't be too high. She used low heat, around 30-40% hot, when the oil surface was slightly moving but without green smoke, to add the diced Termitomyces. She simmered it slowly over low heat for half an hour, fully frying out the moisture from the Termitomyces.

Lin Shu kept stirring the diced Termitomyces with a wooden spatula. She hadn't added much oil, so she added the diced Termitomyces bit by bit. Once the oil in the wok just covered the added Termitomyces, she stopped adding more.

Because there wasn't much oil, she had to stir continuously to prevent the diced Termitomyces from sticking to the pan. If they stuck, the fried Termitomyces wouldn't have the right texture.

Lin Shu had only been working by the stove for a short while but was already sweating heavily, wiping her forehead with her sleeve several times.

Working by the stove in winter is a nice chore, as it provides warmth, but in the summer, the heat is just stifling, making it quite unbearable.

Hearing a noise outside, Lin Shu looked up and saw Zhou Ye returning to the courtyard with an empty basket after delivering the snacks.

She called out right away, "A Ye, you’re back just in time! Could you fetch me a palm-leaf fan from the main room? I can’t leave this spot—"

Zhou Ye walked straight over, set the empty basket aside, removed the cloth stopper from the bamboo pipe by the stove, and carefully washed his hands before replacing it.

After shaking off the water droplets, he walked over to Lin Shu and took the wooden spatula from her. "I've got it. Just tell me what to do."

Lin Shu didn’t stand on ceremony and replied cheerfully, "At first, the diced Termitomyces need constant stirring. But after a while, once they’ve dried out a bit from frying, they won’t stick as easily. Then you can stir them less frequently, but you still can’t leave them unattended—you have to keep an eye on them the whole time."

Zhou Ye nodded. "Alright, I’ll handle it. You go sit on the bench and rest for a bit."

Lin Shu stepped aside, her lips quirking up slightly. "I’ve only been standing for a short while—how could I be tired already? Do you really think I’m so delicate that I can’t handle a bit of work?"

Without looking at her, Zhou Ye, his attention fixed on the diced Termitomyces in the pan. "Didn’t your feet hurt? You’ll have to walk a lot at the market tomorrow."

Lin Shu sat down on the long bench, resting her heels on the ground and wiggling her toes. She laughed, "They stopped hurting a long time ago. I’ll have no problem managing the trip to town and back tomorrow."