Chapter 204: Earth Ear

Chapter 204: Earth Ear

The bamboo raft was small, and the burly Zhou Ye alone took up the space of two. As Lin Shu collected more and more odds and ends, the raft became packed to the brim.

Looking at the pile of things she had gathered, Lin Shu smiled slightly, feeling quite satisfied.

On their way back, they made a final stop at their own family compound.

Since their thatched hut had been built not long ago, and the roof had been recently replaced, it had only collapsed in one corner compared to the others. If they weren’t afraid of dirty water soaking their pant legs, they could wade inside freely after stepping off the raft.

However, Lin Shu did not enter the house. Instead, she moored the raft by the stove and had the tall and strong Zhou Ye reach inside the stove cavity.

The clay pots, bowls, and dishes that they couldn’t take with them earlier had been hidden in the stove, with gaps padded with straw to prevent breakage. It was unsure if any were broken.

Zhou Ye held onto the edge of the stove with one hand and reached into the stove with the other. After a moment, he turned to Lin Shu and said, “Only one or two bowls and plates are broken. The rest are in one piece.”

Lin Shu was delighted to hear this. “That’s already very good. We’ll only take five pottery bowls, three pottery plates, and one large serving bowl for soup. We’ll leave the rest behind.”

Eating from bamboo tubes was not as convenient as using bowls and plates, but there was no need to take too many—just enough for their own use. If they brought too many, they might end up being loaned out left and right, and any mishandling could cause friction. It was better to avoid such situations from the start.

“Also, let’s take one more wooden washbasin. We can use it to cool the congee later. Before we left, I tied the wooden washbasin together with the tables and chairs, so it shouldn’t have been swept away by the floodwaters.”

Zhou Ye naturally did as she said. When the two of them returned with the pile of odds and ends, the chickens and ducks they brought back caught the attention of the villagers, who were craning their necks to see.

Zhang Lamei’s eyes darted around, and she immediately shouted loudly, “Young niece, have you two turned thieves, snatching other people’s livestock for yourselves? That duck in Zhou Ye’s hand looks just like the one my family raised!”

A man in a nearby shed mocked, “Wife of Old Lin, aren’t you talking about the duck your family lost a few days ago? That duck has been missing for some time. How is it that it only showed up after the flood?”

Another woman said, “I think this white goose looks like the one my family raised. Look, there’s a black spot on its foot. My family’s goose had one too.”

“A black spot? My family’s goose also had a black spot! We left in a hurry, and one of our geese ran away when we were catching the ducks and geese. I think this is the one that ran away from my family!”

Someone else said, “The chicken in Zhou Ye’s hand is from my family. There’s no doubt about it—it’s ours.”

“That chicken is clearly from my family. Look at its feathers. My family’s rooster looks exactly like this…”

In just a short while, several families were arguing over the poultry.

Lin Shu and Zhou Ye went straight to the village head and handed the poultry over to him.

Zhou Ye explained, “The thatched huts of every household have been flooded, and many have collapsed. We can no longer tell which family belongs to which. This chicken was found on the collapsed roof of one house, and the duck and goose swam out of the courtyards, so we have no idea which families raised them. Please help us determine whose they are and return them to their owners.”

Upon hearing this, the villagers who had thought Zhou Ye and Lin Shu intended to keep the poultry for themselves blushed with shame.

It turned out that the young couple had never planned to keep the poultry. They had simply brought them back because they happened to come across them. If they hadn’t brought them back this time, the chickens, ducks, and geese would have wandered off somewhere by the time the villagers returned to the mountain a few days later.

The village head took the poultry, but it was difficult to determine their ownership. In the end, as Lin Shu had predicted, the poultry were made communal property. Most people were happy with this outcome, as they would all get a bowl of the stew when the poultry were stewed.

After organizing the pile of odds and ends she had collected, Lin Shu didn’t rest for a moment. Instead, she and Zhou Ye split up to get to work.

Zhou Ye went to gather more firewood, while Lin Shu took Lin Xiaopu and Liao Dunzi to forage for wild greens in the mountains.

Seeing this, Li Chunmiao quickly pushed her son, Wang Yingen, to follow them.

She didn’t care if others called her a copycat. At a time like this, she wanted to follow the smartest person. Not only for the days they would spend in the foothills but also for when they returned to the village later. She intended to learn from Lin Shu. Otherwise, no matter how much food they had left at home, it wouldn’t last until next year.

Going without grain and living on wild greens was rough!

Zhang Qiaohua was also clever. Lin Zhaodi had improved her life by currying favor with A Shu. As A Shu’s aunt, how could she do worse than an outsider? She didn’t need to deliberately flatter A Shu, but following her lead was definitely the right move. Her son, Yu Shu, had gone to town, and his situation was unknown. With no son to rely on, she took matters into her own hands, toting a basket and following Lin Shu and the others.

Her actions prompted several other households to join them.

In the end, Lin Shu was followed by six or seven village women, some addressed as aunts and others as older sisters.

She didn’t keep secrets, sharing all the edible wild vegetables available during the season with the women who followed her and explaining various ways to prepare them.

Lin Shu’s favorite was purslane. It could be eaten fresh as a cold dish, and when dried, it could be used in more ways—soaked and used as filling for dumplings and buns, mixed with flour to make steamed dishes, or stewed with meat for a flavorful dish.

Taro stems could still be harvested, but most of the taro stems on the back mountain had already been picked and dried by her for storage. Other villagers would likely have to search in the mountains three miles away if they wanted to find some.

Then there was the earth ear, which resembled wood ear mushrooms and was also known as “ground ear.” It was abundant on wet ground and rocks after rain. The villagers were familiar with it once Lin Shu mentioned it.

“A Shu, aren’t you talking about the ground moss? This thing is everywhere on ridges, slopes, and forests after rain. It’s a slimy blob. Can this really be eaten?”

Lin Shu explained, “Auntie, don’t you think this ground moss looks a bit like wood ear mushrooms? That’s why it’s also called earth ear. It is edible, but it’s very difficult to clean—quite a hassle. I don’t eat it often. But now that food is precious, we should save wherever we can. We can’t be too picky. Having more food is what matters.”

“That makes sense!” the woman quickly agreed.

Since earth ear grew close to the ground, they were often mixed with dead leaves and grit, making them extremely difficult to clean. If not cleaned properly, even after cooking, a bite would be full of grit. Because of the trouble, Lin Shu rarely gathered them. The time spent cleaning earth ear could be used for many other tasks.

But now she wasn’t being picky. She instructed Lin Xiaopu and Liao Dunzi to gather all the earth ear they could find, especially those growing on rocks. These had less grit and were relatively easier to clean.

Since Lin Shu had brought it up, she also shared the cleaning method with the women who had followed her.

“When cleaning earth ear, first soak them in clean water for fifteen minutes to remove most of the grit. Then soak them in light salt water or water from rinsing rice for another fifteen minutes. After that, sprinkle two handfuls of ash and rinse repeatedly with running water or change the water multiple times. Do this three to six times, and it should be clean. While cleaning, you can gently rub the surface with your fingertips, but be careful not to press too hard and damage them…”

The women who followed her were willing to listen to Lin Shu. Not only did they gather wild vegetables with her, but they also memorized everything she said.

Purslane and earth ear were wild plants that could help Sweetwater Village survive the winter. Who wouldn’t appreciate having more wild vegetables to eat?!

Lin Shu didn’t just explain how to clean them; she also provided detailed instructions on how to cook and preserve them.

Cold tossed earth ear was refreshing and appetizing. Earth ear stir-fried with eggs was a classic home-style dish. Earth ear dumplings burst with flavor and were full of fresh flavor. Earth ear egg soup was light and stomach-nourishing. Earth ear stir-fried with cured meat was exceptionally delicious. And earth ear stuffed pies were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!

In addition, earth ear tofu soup, earth ear stewed with vermicelli, and other dishes each had their own unique flavors.

Before even tasting these dishes, the village women began to salivate just from Lin Shu’s descriptions.

Who would have thought that the common ground moss could be used to make so many delicious dishes!

“…There’s plenty of this stuff. As long as you aunties don’t mind the trouble of cleaning, you can gather as much as you want. After cleaning, dry them in the sun, store them airtight, and store them in a cool place. They can be stored for one or two years without any problem. Just soak them in water before eating.”

The village women were hardly bothered by the trouble. Hearing this, each of them was delighted.

When everyone returned with a full harvest, the villagers who hadn’t joined them breathed easier upon seeing that they had only brought back some purslane, ground moss, and straw mushrooms.

They had thought Lin Shu had taken a group to dig up something valuable, but it was just this?

Lin Shu paid no attention to the villagers’ private whispers.

There were indeed many edible wild vegetables on the mountain, but why did so few villagers enjoy gathering them? Mainly because they didn’t know how to cook them, and most wild vegetables had a bitter taste, making their texture incomparable to the greens grown in every household. However, many wild vegetables were actually highly nutritious. If their texture could be improved, they could truly be considered wild delicacies.

Lin Xiaopu and Liao Dunzi helped clean the gathered earth ear. Water from rinsing rice was available after making congee, and ash could be scooped directly from the stove. Lin Dashan fetched two buckets of mountain spring water, ensuring there was enough water for cleaning.

The two of them cleaned all the gathered earth ear thoroughly.

Lin Shu took one large bowl of the cleaned earth ear and set the rest out to dry for future storage.

“Sis, what delicious food are we making for dinner?” Lin Xiaopu couldn’t help but ask. She remembered clearly—her sister had described so many ways to prepare the earth ear to the aunts and elder sisters earlier, and her mouth was watering listening.

Lin Shu’s lips curled slightly. “We still have plenty of eggs at home. I’ll use a couple to make you earth ear stuffed flatbreads.”

What she really wanted to make was earth ear turnovers, similar to leek turnovers, but those would use too much oil. The precious oil she’d traded for today wouldn’t last if she used it so lavishly, so stuffed flatbreads it was.

She started by making the dough using the half-scalded dough method: half the flour mixed with boiling water, the other half with cold water, then combined and kneaded into a smooth, soft dough. This way, the wrappers would be soft and chewy, not easily torn or tough.

After kneading, she let the dough rest for fifteen to thirty minutes.

The filling was simpler: diced earth ear mixed with scrambled eggs, seasoned with oil and salt.

Wrapping and pan-frying were kept straightforward too. She divided the dough into small portions, rolled them out thin, filled them, sealed the edges tightly, and shaped them into easy-to-close crescent moons.

He Guixiang, having finished her tasks, came over to help wrap. With one large bowl of filling and thin wrappers, they made ten in total.

The rice congee in the pot was done, so she transferred it to a clean wooden basin to cool. After rinsing and drying the pot, she lightly brushed a thin layer of oil with a small brush. The earth ear flatbreads went into the pan and were pan-fried over medium-low heat until both sides turned golden. Finally, she covered the pot briefly to keep them soft. The result: crispy on the outside, savory and fragrant on the inside!

The first flatbread out of the pan went straight into Lin Xiaopu’s hands. She blew on it a few times, took a big bite, and her eyes sparkled with delight. “Mmm, so good, so good!”