Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 115

Chapter 115 Chatting In the Snow

Another snowfall. The children's games did not disappear due to the changing seasons. The children, who had nothing to worry about, were always able to find something to make them happy. At least the children of the Zhang and Wang Manors were like this.

When they opened the door for the first time in the morning and saw that the snow was high enough to cover their knees, what the children wanted to do was carefully raise their leg and put it down, leaving their own footprints on the white snow.

The residents who had nothing to do in the winter were busy clearing the snow. Streams of smoke rose above the manor, showing the other manors the superiority of the Zhang and Wang manors. Breakfast was not a meal that everyone could have.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan also got up early. They didn't have to go to school. They ate a few meat buns and drank a bowl of goat milk. Afterwards, they took Shi'liu and the others out to find fun things to play with. Shi'liu no longer worked on making liang'pi; she handed this job over to someone else. They were planning to pass this technique to the shops in the Capital city later in spring.

The planting of wood fungus and white fungus had also stopped because Shi'liu had no idea how to control the temperature during winter. Ying'tao had also stopped hatching poultry. During this season, chicks and ducklings would freeze to death, and there was not enough room to raise them indoors. Xiao'hong also handed her feeding job to others.

Er'niu and Hu'zi happened to have nothing to do at home so they went along too. The seven of them headed straight for the field.

There were more straws piled up in the fields than elsewhere. During autumn, a lot of straws were collected from other places. Some were used for burning, and some of them are going to be directly incorporated into the soil during spring. This year, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan planned to adjust the planting process again.

This method would save a lot of effort. The straw itself contains the nutrients needed by the rice seedlings. The two of them didn't know what the actual effect would be like. They decided to try this on a section of the field first. For this section, before water is added, the soil would first be tilled. Once the soil is evened out, water can be added. The remaining steps would be the same as last year.

When the time comes, the one with the best results would be adopted. Wang Juan also set aside half an mu of land separately. She and Zhang Xiao'bao planned to take close care of it and inspect it frequently, and apply some methods that they can think of on it. It would be their experiment field. As for whether it would be successful or not, it is to be verified.

Following forefathers' theories, the two people wanted to find a male plant in the field that was unable to reproduce, and then from those, choose a more plump plant for crossbreeding.

Wang Juan recalled this while wading in the snow, and she turned to ask Zhang Xiao'bao, "Do you think the hybrid rice would be successful? Why do I feel like our theory is a bit imperfect? If we fail, then wouldn't that mean we worked for a year in vain? "

"So what if we worked for a year in vain? People can work for so many years in vain. You have to believe in yourself. Do you know what male sterile rice looks like? I think all the rice looks the same. It's a bit difficult."

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Zhang Xiao'bao had confidence and determination, but he didn't know how to distinguish the two. This was the hardest part.

Wang Juan shook her head like a rattle. She had never learnt this before. She had occasionally glanced at other people's theories before, but she was never interested. She took a guess and said, "Does sterile mean that other rice plants will grow, but it won't grow? "

"A lot won't grow, but which one is the male and which one is the female? It's not like an animal where you can tell at a glance. If that really does not work, then test each one. We have a lot of people; we can mobilize the power of the masses. Get them to bring over any that doesn't grow and then we can teach them according to our advanced theories. The power of the masses is great.

Let's take Shi'liu as an example. Didn't she say she wanted to continue cultivating mushrooms when the weather turns warm? Pine mushrooms1 too. As long as she keeps trying, she might be able to figure out how to grow other mushrooms too. The type that grows on sawdust. It's very cheap a bit over one yuan per pound. "

Zhang Xiao'bao was planning to spread his confidence to others, but Wang Juan knew that he was shifting responsibility. She wondered how many people would be driven mad by this kind of plan.

"I think you are gloating about others misfortune. Shi'liu is the meritorious one. That wood fungus can be used as a key public relations tool. Magistrate Jia ate it and he thought it was good. He has a catty of wood fungus and I heard that he sent over half of it to the Capital. I wonder who it is for."

"Yeah, that did happen. Let him give it away. Tomorrow, give him another catty and let him keep giving it out. After he gives it out a few times, we will cut off his supply of fungus. Let's see if the person who has now developed the habit of eating fungus will take the initiative to ask him for more. Since he doesn't have any anymore, we can take over. We are not afraid of their greed, but we are afraid that there is no way to send it to them."

Zhang Xiao'bao put a lot of effort into this matter. He wanted to build a huge network of relationships, and work together with Wang Juan to create a strong family.

Wang Juan nodded. She looked at the five people who were following them, and said to Zhang Xiao'bao, "That Magistrate Jia is too greedy. We taught him a lesson twice already, yet he still doesn't know how to restrain himself. Didn't the one who came here to deliver the message last night say that the bailiffs we set up have been bribed by him, just like how we imagined?"

"This is called perseverance. It would be great if he knew how to farm, then we could hand over the task of growing hybrid rice to him. Speaking of planting wood fungus, I suddenly thought of something. How do you think ginseng is grown? We can plant around 100 mu of it. If that fails, we can eat it like it's a radish."

Zhang Xiao'bao was running through thoughts. Wang Juan didn't even dare to think about planting ginseng, "Don't try to attempt that. We don't even know what the seeds of ginseng look like. Right, it's cold now, so it's suitable to go to an apothecary to buy some ginseng and then use it to make chicken soup for the weaker people to drink.

Buy a few more deers, and then cut the antlers in the spring. I want the antler blood. What else can be used in the wine? Help me think about it, I don't want to lose my relatives to minor illnesses before I grow old. "

After kicking the snow in front of him, Zhang Xiao'bao also pondered. Before, he only thought about providing his family with proper nutrition, but now it seems that he has to give them some traditional Chinese medicine to warm their body. In particular, for rheumatism and cold weather. They didn't sleep on heated beds when it was cold back then. After being exhausted from work, they would just lie down and sleep. Once they turned old, their legs and feet were no longer as good. I have to think of a way to relieve their aches.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a good recipe. In the past, the Orphanage Grandfather also made some wine with Chinese medicines for drinking or external use. There were many kinds of medicines. I don't remember them. It seems that there are some mulberry roots, leaves, and branches. This is the simplest type. I'm not sure about the effect though. We can spend money to collect recipes from people. Let's go to your house at noon today and eat there."

"Okay, what should we eat?" Wang Juan also wanted to go home and have a look. She was here with Zhang Xiao'bao everyday. Normally, she would only see her family when they came over to visit. Occasionally when she and Zhang Xiao'bao went out to play, they would drop by her home and then leave.

When Wang Juan asked, Zhang Xiao'bao stopped walking. He looked up at the sky, pondered for a while and said to the people following them, "Hu'zi, go to other villages to see if anyone is willing to sell a black dog and buy one and slaughter it. We're going to Juan'juan's house at noon to eat dog meat."

Hu'zi left to carry out the instructions he was given. Then Zhang Xiao'bao instructed Ying'tao, "Take out some of the dried vegetables that we have specially dried in the autumn. I want the kind that was dried in the shade. Then soak some soybeans and prepare the coriander and everything else."

Ying'tao also left, and then Zhang Xiao'bao made arrangements for Shi'liu. "The thirteen mixed spices I made there are some packages with the word "heavy" on it. Grab two of those packages. Remember to get some dried tangerine peels. Go to Juan'juan's house first and get someone to cook our spicy soybean sauce. Add extra spring onions, and remember not to add soy sauce."

"Young Master, I'll go right now." Shi'liu knew the Young Master's ability in this area. Thinking that there was something good to eat at noon, she shouted happily and ran off.

"Steady, don't fall." Wang Juan looked at Shi'liu's lively appearance and shouted from behind. Seeing that Shi'liu did not hear her at all, Wang Juan shook her head, "Sigh~! She doesn't follow the rules at all."

Xiao'hong pursed her lips and smiled beside them. She liked to follow the Young Master and the Young Miss the most. They were not like other people who would beat their servants with a whip when they made tiny mistakes. Xiao'hong and the other servants only needed to obey the rules when they were in front of outsiders. On normal occasions, they could do whatever they wanted.

Wang Juan had never really eaten dog meat before. She heard people say that it is not good for females to eat dog meat. When she tried it for the first time, she found the taste to be too gamey. She tapped Zhang Xiao'bao and asked, "Does dog meat taste gamey?"

Zhang Xiao'bao thought of an item that was specially paired with dog meat hotpot. Generally, if you eat dog meat hotpot in the northern region, you must ask for it before entering a restaurant.

"It could be found if you go out to sea. We can get people to ask if any sailors went to Guangzhou before and ask if they brought anything back. What if someone went before, and they brought back chili peppers? What item are you talking about? Why is chili pepper needed?"

Wang Juan heard Zhang Xiao'bao talking about chili pepper and began to crave for it. She didn't care for it back then, in fact, she didn't even really want to eat it. However, now she wanted to eat it but there was none to eat. Lacking an ingredient meant that a lot of delicious tastes were unattainable. Furthermore, eating chili pepper can help people cope with the humidity.

Zhang Xiao'bao gesticulated with his arms, "Spicy fish. Notably in restaurants run by North Koreans. When people eat dog meat, they would ask if there is any spicy fish. If the restaurant had it, then they would eat there. If the restaurant doesn't have it, they won't eat there since it's not an authentic Korean dog meat restaurant. I know how to make that sauce. The green onions in it are the best tasting. If you eat that sauce with spicy fermented cabbage, that taste is indescribable. With one ingredient missing, I can't do anything apart from feeling anxious."

"I'm also craving what you just described. Let's go play over there, and build a house." Wang Juan was drooling at what Zhang Xiao'bao talked about. Even though they just finished eating, she still wanted to eat.

"Yeah. Once the children are on their break at noon, we could play with them." Zhang Xiao'bao forced himself to not think about eating. He pulled Wang Juan with him to run forward. With a thud, two human-shaped outlines appeared on the snow.

Translator's Notes

1. Pine mushroom

This refers to the Tricholoma matsutake mushroom, commonly called matsutake. I used the literal translation instead of the commonly used romanji name.