Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 468 - Chapter 468 468. Tender Chestnut_1

Chapter 468: 468. Tender Chestnut_1 Chapter 468: 468. Tender Chestnut_1 There was something else Zhang Wang hadn’t mentioned.

Lately, he had been eating and drinking every day at Song Tan’s place. It could have been because he was getting enough nutrients, or maybe it was just that the home-cooked meals were so good that he unintentionally overate a bit…

For villagers, as long as the food is good, it’s only a matter of time before their health is good too.

He now felt much healthier than he had in the first half of the year. Not to mention, carrying and lifting things daily with Wu Lei, a young man, had become much less strenuous for him.

At this rate, he might live another ten or twenty years.

As long as he was able to work, he would look after the Peach Garden, and when he couldn’t work, he would make straw mats for Song Tan’s family… If ever he became truly unable to do anything, he didn’t have anywhere to spend money anyway. He was saving his salary and his savings, planning to hire someone to look after him if needed…

If it ever came to the point where he couldn’t be looked after properly, then he would be done for good.

Now, as long as he could mentally let go, Zhang Wang felt that life couldn’t get any more comfortable.

As a result, he seemed even more carefree than before.

Song Tan had no idea that this always honest and simple-hearted Uncle Zhang could be thinking so openly.

She was currently just getting on her tricycle: “Alright then, Uncle Zhang, please keep an extra eye on Wu Lei.”

“What are you talking about?”

Zhang Wang laughed: “Having a young man to help is easier than doing it myself, and there’s someone to talk to, no matter what.”

…

When Song Tan drove the tricycle up to the Chestnut Garden, she could hear Song Sancheng regretting inside:

“The soybeans ripened too fast this year; didn’t get to eat fresh edamame much. I was hoping to have them with a drink.”

Qiaoqiao then spread out her palm: “Daddy, here, this pod is green, it’s edamame.”

Song Sancheng: …

Amidst the golden leaves and pods scattered on the ground, just this one green one… What, should he make a cold dish out of this single pod?

Song Tan came in and laughed.

“No worries. Next year we’ll plant in phases, early and late harvests…”

But that would be just for family consumption, not for sale. Fresh edamame requires someone to specifically go pick them, unlike soybeans, which are simpler to harvest all at once.

Looking at Song Sancheng again, he was busy cutting soybeans, picking up fallen pods and exploded beans from the ground–truly busy.

Song Tan looked at Dabao and Erbao, who were excitedly gathered around:

“Dad, don’t pick them up.”

“Our beans are tasty; it’s a shame to leave them here.”

Song Sancheng found it hard to let go.

“It’s alright.” Song Tan patted Dabao and Erbao’s heads: “With them here, why not think of it as saving some snacks for them?”

And it’s true; the thought of beans scattered around the ground did pain Song Sancheng.

But the idea of Dabao and Erbao eating them instantly satisfied him.

He laughed: “Okay, our Dabao and Erbao are so well-behaved, look how well they guard the Chestnut Garden! Eat, eat as much as you like!”

Well then, Dabao and Erbao, who could understand human speech, perked up at the mention of eating. Both dogs eagerly snuffled around on the ground with their noses, impatient to find the scattered beans–they scooped them up with their tongues and crunched them down without hesitation.

Nevertheless, to have guarded the treasure without tasting a single bite was truly moving.

Song Sancheng was clearly approving.

But Song Tan glanced at the two Baobaos, thinking: They eat with such expertise; they must have sneaked in some snacks when no one was looking.

As for the instigator…

She looked at Qiaoqiao ahead, who was bent over cutting the soybeans and not uttering a word, and smiled helplessly.

…

The family of three gripped a handful of soybean vines with their left hand and slashed downwards with the sickle in their right hand. The soybean stalks were quickly packed into the basket and then dumped into the tricycle.

Among them, Song Tan worked the most efficiently – everywhere she went, not a single blade of grass was left standing, which made Song Sancheng click his tongue in amazement:

“Tantan, if you were to demonstrate this technique back in my younger days, no one in the entire village could match your work.”

“Of course not!” Song Tan boasted as well, “Dad, haven’t you seen the kind of genes I’ve inherited?”

For a while, laughter, the rustling of the wind, and the barking of dogs carried far and wide through the whole forest.

Before leaving, Song Tan casually broke off a branch that had four or five chestnut burrs hanging from it – the branch was too thin, and the chestnuts too heavy, almost drooping down.

In doing so, she was also lightening the load for the chestnut tree.

Qiaoqiao, looking forward to it, held the branch and said, “Let’s go! Time to go home and eat chestnuts!”

…

Chestnut plants might seem very defensive, but in reality, they are also very easy to eat.

For instance, on the oval chestnut burr, there is actually a weak spot in the form of a cross. That part doesn’t have any spikes; it’s just protected by the intersecting spikes on either side. When they ripen, they will explode into four sections from this cross…

In short, while they are still tender chestnuts, skilled farmers only need to step with one foot on one half and then gently slip scissors along any vertical or horizontal line, and then – with a twist:

The round chestnut burr splits into two, revealing the soft, tender, and white chestnuts inside.

The shell of the chestnuts, being not yet old, is an off-white color, very soft. The inner skin is also moist and soft, making it particularly easy to peel.

The light yellow chestnut kernel, once bitten into, bursts with a rush of fresh juice.

It’s incredibly sweet and exceptionally delightful.

Honestly, it tastes a hundred times better than the mature chestnuts!

With just these few burrs, each containing three or four little chestnuts, by allocating two for each person at home, it’s like Zhu Bajie eating Ginseng Fruit, leaving Qiaoqiao gazing longingly in the direction of the Chestnut Forest:

“I still want to eat…”

“Eat!” Song Tan was especially generous, “What we grow is meant to be eaten, but these chestnuts are still a tad small. Give it a couple more days until they grow bigger; they’ll be much more worthwhile to eat then.”

“When you feed the dog next time, just pick some to bring back.”

“But…” Qiaoqiao hesitated, looking at Wu Lan, “Mom, didn’t you say we shouldn’t eat unripe chestnuts? It’s wasteful.”

Wu Lan was also stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “What you’re talking about is from many years ago, the old almanac. Back then, we counted on selling chestnuts for money. Eating a little chestnut burr would mean selling half a pound less at harvest; of course, we were reluctant.”

“Now we don’t rely on that anymore. You can eat as much as you want; even if you were to eat up the whole mountain, it would be fine.”

Back in those days, we had to go up the mountain every day to watch the chestnuts before they matured. Otherwise, people would steal them.

Nowadays, many chestnut woods in the village are left uncultivated. Whoever wants to eat can go pick for themselves.

Times have changed!

…

Meanwhile, Song Sancheng spread the soybeans out in the open space in front of the door. Many of the pods had already fallen off, but some were still attached to the stems:

“Let them sun for a while, then we’ll beat them and tidy them up.”

Seventh Uncle looked over them and went inside to see if there were any greens, picking them directly off:

“We’ll stir-fry some fresh soybeans for lunch.”

Qiaoqiao came over, curious, and began searching too. It took a good while to gather a small bowlful.

The unripe soybeans were green when shelled, and after coming home and removing the husks, one more transparent membrane needed to be peeled off. Braised in a pot and then stir-fried with things like green pepper and minced pork sauce, this also offered a unique taste…