Chapter 130 Wild Vegetable Buns

Chapter 130 Wild Vegetable Buns

“Lin Xiaopu! What nonsense are you spouting?!” Lin Shu hissed, her face a fiery red.

If someone more worldly had uttered those words, Lin Shu wouldn't have reacted this way. But it was the innocent and naive Lin Xiaopu, delivering such risqué remarks with the most guileless expression, making Lin Shu's face burn crimson. It was just… just…

Lin Shu’s mind was flooded with one thought: utterly crude and inappropriate.

Yet, she had no idea how to explain it to Lin Xiaopu. Could such matters even be explained?

Some things are better understood than spoken aloud!

Lin Xiaopu, oblivious to the shock her words had caused, merely chuckled at her sister’s embarrassment. “Don’t worry, Sister, I understand. These private matters shouldn’t be discussed with others. I’m only telling you because I’m genuinely concerned about you and A Ye—Mmph!”

Lin Shu’s hands still smelled of wild vegetables from digging. She hadn’t wanted to cover Lin Xiaopu’s mouth with dirty hands, but if she didn’t stop her, who knew what other inappropriate things the girl might blurt out?

That rascal Wang Yingen—how could he talk about such things with Xiao Pu?

Lin Xiaopu pushed Lin Shu’s hand away and took a breath. “Sister, your hand smells like grass—it’s all up in my nose now. If you don’t like hearing this, I won’t say it anymore. I’ll just go tell A Ye to take it easier on you.”

Lin Shu:!!

“Lin Xiaopu, if you dare mention this to anyone, our sisterly bond is over!” Lin Shu declared, exasperated but amused.

Lin Xiaopu quickly pleaded for mercy. “I won’t, I won’t! I won’t tell anyone. Don’t be angry, Sister.”

But her small face was full of confusion, unable to comprehend why her sister was so upset. She was only worried about her, after all.

Lin Shu, remembering that despite her mature demeanor in many matters, Lin Xiaopu was only nine years old and naturally naive about such things, let her anger subside. She took the opportunity to explain a bit about the birds and the bees—not the details, but emphasizing that such topics should never be discussed openly.

Lin Xiaopu nodded after listening. “I understand, Sister. It’s like bathroom business—private and not to be spoken about casually. Talking about them would be crude and vulgar.”

Lin Shu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How did she make that connection?

In a way, it wasn’t entirely wrong?

Though only half-understanding, Lin Xiaopu still felt worried, recalling what Wang Yingen had said.

Oh well, her sister was no fool—she was sharp as a tack. If starting a family was really so hard and exhausting, she would surely tell A Ye. And A Ye, who adored her sister, wouldn’t let her suffer too much.

Dropping the subject, Lin Xiaopu said to Lin Shu, “Sister, if you’re tired, rest for a while. I’ll dig the wild vegetables.”

No sooner had she spoken than Lin Xiaopu’s gaze drifted into the distance and spotted Wang Yingen and his group.

An idea struck her, and she immediately called out to them, “Wang Yingen—Feng Shitou—Sun Laifu—”

Wang Yingen and his six companions were called over.

Before Wang Yingen could speak, one boy named Feng Shitou grinned widely and asked, “Sister Xiao Pu, what do you need us for?”

This was the boy who had received a bamboo water gun from Lin Xiaopu earlier; another named Sun Laifu had gotten her bamboo slingshot.

Wang Yingen shot Feng Shitou a look. “I’m the leader—you should wait for me to speak first.” Then he repeated the same question.

Lin Xiaopu showed them a sample of purslane and dandelion. “Do you recognize these two wild vegetables? Help me and my sister fill our baskets with them.”

“Isn’t this just grass? There’s plenty of it in the fields.”

“This is dandelion. The other one—my mom often cuts it to feed the chickens. It’s ‘chicken grass’.”

“Village Head Grandpa’s family cuts this grass too—they feed it to the pigs.”

“Sister Xiao Pu, why are you digging grass meant for chickens and pigs? Are you taking it home to feed the chickens?”

For some reason, Lin Xiaopu was too embarrassed to say it was for them to eat. Her lips moved but no sound came out.

Lin Shu, glancing at her, explained, “Wild grasses that livestock like pigs and chickens can eat are also edible for people. These are both wild vegetables. Xiao Pu and I are gathering them to eat.”

The group of children burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, Lin Xiaopu is digging pig and ‘chicken grass’ to eat herself!”

“Who eats pig and ‘chicken grass’ these days? Is Lin Xiaopu’s family that poor?”

“My family rarely even eats amaranth—the best thing is the little greens from the garden!”

These were the mischievous boys who had never quite accepted Lin Xiaopu.

“Sister Xiao Pu, why do you and your sister want to eat ‘chicken grass’ and ‘pig grass’? It doesn’t look tasty,” said Feng Shitou, who had been calling her “Sister Xiao Pu” ever since receiving the water gun.

Sun Laifu, who had gotten the bamboo slingshot, scratched his head and asked, “Sister Xiao Pu, my family grows plenty of vegetables. If yours doesn’t have enough, I can bring you a basket tomorrow?”

Lin Xiaopu initially felt a twinge of embarrassment, but their remarks made her furious. Remembering how her sister had dealt with Wang Yingen before, she lifted her chin and sniffed disdainfully. “What do you know? My sister has read many books and knows everything. Dandelion and purslane are good for you! Dandelion cools you down and reduces fever, and protects the liver. Purslane nourishes the body and improves eyesight. You don’t know anything, yet you run your mouths!”

The group fell silent, exchanging uncertain glances.

One boy stammered, “B-but these wild grasses taste awful. If they were good, why don’t villagers dig them to eat?”

Lin Xiaopu had even more to say to that. “Have you ever tried them? How would you know they’re awful? If you think they’re bad, it’s because your mothers and grandmothers don’t know how to cook them! My sister is gonna use this dandelion as filling for wild vegetable buns today. They’ll be delicious!”

The boys looked skeptical.

“Really? You’re not fooling us, are you?”

Lin Xiaopu rolled her eyes and turned to Lin Shu. “Sister, tell them—won’t the wild vegetable buns you make be delicious?”

Lin Shu smiled. “Whether they’re delicious or not isn’t for me to say,” she said. “But I can tell you this: the dandelion filling will be mixed with lard, scrambled egg bits, and diced mushrooms. The dough for the buns will be rolled thin. When steamed, the oil will seep through the skin. Bite into the soft wrapper, and the slight bitterness of the dandelion will blend with the savory lard flavor in your mouth, becoming sweeter the more you chew…”

The group of eight- and nine-year-olds listened, wide-eyed. Several began to have their mouths watering.

They didn’t know if the wild grass tasted good, but the filling included lard! And eggs and mushrooms—special treats they seldom got to eat!

Then Lin Shu changed her tone. “Xiao Pu and I alone will take forever to gather enough. How about this: if you boys aren’t busy, help us dig. Whoever gathers the most will get a wild vegetable bun when they’re ready.”

Hearing this, Wang Yingen and the others quickly said they weren’t busy and would help dig right away.

“Sister A Shu, Sister Xiao Pu, I know where there’s lots of dandelion! I’ll use the hem of my shirt to carry it back!” Wang Yingen declared.

“Sister A Shu, me too! I’ll definitely gather more than Wang Yingen!”

“I’ll dig too, I’ll dig too…”

As the boys scattered to gather vegetables, Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu exchanged a glance and laughed, their smug little smiles nearly identical.

Lin Xiaopu had called Wang Yingen and the others over with exactly this plan in mind. But her skills weren’t as polished as her sister’s—she wasn’t as good at sweet-talking people. Just hearing her sister describe the buns had made her mouth water, not to mention Wang Yingen and his friends, she thought.

“Big Sis, if they all dig up the same amount of wild vegetables, who gets the wild vegetable buns?” Lin Xiaopu asked curiously.

“Then give them all one,” Lin Shu said.

Lin Xiaopu hesitated a bit. “But the flour belongs to Aunt Lin. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to use Aunt Lin’s flour to make wild vegetable buns and give them away? Isn’t this just borrowing from Peter to pay Paul?”

Lin Shu: “Of course, we need to ask Aunt Lin’s opinion. But there are only so many wild vegetable buns; giving away a few large ones won’t work. We can make a few small ones specially. I’m pretty sure Aunt Lin will agree to give them away because Wang Yingen and the others helped dig up the wild vegetables. They put in the labor for this, and knowing Aunt Lin, she would definitely be willing to share.”

“But even if Aunt Lin doesn’t agree, we can always knead a fresh batch of dough ourselves. The skin of the wild vegetable buns doesn’t need to be leavened. Leavened dough would make them more like steamed buns. Freshly kneaded dough rolled out thin, when steamed, allows the green of the wild vegetables to show through the thin skin, and the juices inside become visible—both beautiful and delicious.”

Lin Xiaopu laughed. “Big Sis, if you keep talking, I’m going to drool too!”

With the help of Wang Yingen and the six mischievous boys, the two baskets were soon filled to the brim with wild vegetables.

The children all watched eagerly at Lin Shu, waiting for her to inspect their harvest and pick the best one.

Lin Shu said cheerfully with a wave of her hand, “All of you did well. Each of you gets a wild vegetable bun as a reward! Come on, let’s go to my house. As soon as the wild vegetable buns are out of the steamer, you’ll get them hot and fresh.”

Hearing this, the group of children cheered excitedly, especially the youngest and least productive gatherer. He had thought he wouldn’t get any, but it turned out he would also get a wild vegetable bun?!

The mischievous kids all trotted happily after them to Second Uncle Lin’s house.

Lin Xiaopu was a little confused at first, but when her sister returned and had Wang Yingen and the others help wash the wild vegetables, she finally understood.

This was called making the most of everything!

She needed to learn from her sister how to skillfully get people to help. Look, Wang Yingen and the others were all happily helping with the work.

Lin Shu didn’t really want to use "child labor," but the amount of wild vegetables was just too large. Two baskets of wild vegetables yielded a small pile each of dandelion and purslane. Even if they didn’t use all the dandelion, only about half, there was still plenty left.

Washing the dandelion was particularly troublesome. The leaf bases and serrated edges tended to trap mud and sand, requiring each leaf to be scrubbed individually. After washing once, the water had to be changed, and this process repeated two or three times until the water ran completely clear before they could be considered clean.

Now, with six children helping to wash them, Lin Shu’s workload was significantly reduced.

“A Shu, why did you bring these little rascals over?” Lin Zhaodi quietly pulled Lin Shu aside and asked in a low voice.

Wang Yingen and these boys were notorious troublemakers, the kind both people and dogs in Tianshui Village disliked. Even though Lin Zhaodi had always hoped for a child of her own, seeing Wang Yingen and his gang gave her a headache. Especially Wang Yingen—Lin Zhaodi had heard plenty from Li Chunmiao about the outrageous things he’d done, each story enough to make someone want to whip his backside with a birch switch.

Lin Shu explained: “Aunt Lin, we should thank Wang Yingen and the others today. Without them, Xiao Pu and I wouldn’t know how long it would have taken to dig up all these wild vegetables. I thought it wouldn’t be right to let them work for nothing. Since we have plenty of wild vegetables, I’ll go mix up some more dough later, add a few more wild vegetable buns to the steamer, and let them have a taste.”

Hearing this, Lin Zhaodi gently patted her arm and scolded lightly, “Silly child, there’s no need for you to knead more dough. It’s just six little kids. The dough I have can make forty or fifty buns—surely we can spare six for them? Besides, who benefits from them helping gather wild vegetables? I do! If you do this, it’ll seem like you’re treating me as an outsider.”

“I was worried Aunt Lin might not have enough dough. Tonight’s meal should prioritize Uncle Zhao San and the others first—they’ve been working hard all day. We can’t let them go hungry. But since Aunt Lin says there’s enough, I won’t stand on ceremony with you.”

Lin Zhaodi finally said, “Ah, that’s more like it!”

However, when Lin Shu later took out three eggs and a small bowl of dried shiitake mushrooms, Lin Zhaodi frowned again. “A Shu, the eggs are one thing—I’ve been keeping track of how many eggs from your family we’ve used these past few days, and I’ll pay you back later. But these dried shiitake mushrooms are hard to come by. Buying even an ounce outside costs a lot of money. You should take them back.”

Lin Shu immediately replied, “Aunt Lin, you just told me not to treat you like an outsider. Why are you treating me like one now? It’s only seven or eight dried shiitake mushrooms—feel how light they are. They’re not worth much. I wouldn’t part with more anyway—A Ye risked going deep into the mountains to gather these.”

She wouldn’t say something like, “A Ye finds these mushrooms easily; if we finish them, he can just gather more.” She wanted people to know these mushrooms were precious, something she usually couldn’t bear to take out and eat.

“It’s only because I feel such a strong connection with Aunt Lin that I’m willing to take them out for guests. I wouldn’t bring them out for anyone else,” Lin Shu added.

Lin Zhaodi felt warmth spread through her heart. “You child, how can you be so endearing!”

She didn’t care about having a son anymore. If she could have a daughter as clever and capable as A Shu, she would have no regrets in this life.

Over at the other side, He Guixiang was clearing the table. Once the filling was ready, they would roll out the dough on this table—she and Lin Zhaodi, one rolling and one wrapping.

Turning her head and seeing the adoring look in Lin Zhaodi’s eyes, she felt a faint sense of pride. It was only natural that her A Shu was so well-liked.

With Wang Yingen and the other children helping, the small pile of dandelion was washed in no time.

The cleaned dandelion was left in a bamboo colander to drain. Meanwhile, they heated half a pot of water. Once the water boiled, the dandelion was blanched briefly.

The blanching couldn’t be too long. Gently stirred with bamboo chopsticks, the leaves were taken out as soon as they softened and turned darker in color, then immediately plunged into cold water to cool. This blanching process not only removed most of the bitterness but also locked in the best texture.

After cooling, the dandelion was squeezed dry by hand—squeezed multiple times until thoroughly dry. Otherwise, the filling would release too much water. Then it was finely chopped, and the filling could be prepared.

Lin Shu ladled out a bowl of the freshly boiled water—perfect for rehydrating the dried shiitake mushrooms. Once the mushrooms softened, they were diced. Three eggs were quickly beaten, stir-fried, then taken out and also chopped finely.

The diced dried shiitake mushrooms and chopped eggs were all added to the dandelion. Salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings were mixed in. Finally, three large spoonfuls of lard were melted and poured over the mixture.

Following Lin Shu’s instructions, Lin Zhaodi methodically stirred the wild vegetable filling in the basin, a smile on her face that never faded.

Just looking at this filling made her mouth water. The wild vegetable buns made from it were sure to be delicious!

Not to boast, but with A Shu’s help this time, the two meals she prepared today were definitely the most sumptuous ones the laborers in the village had after a hard day’s work!