Chapter 5.2

A mountain of fruits piled up. As Su Ying approached, she introduced the fruits to the fans in the live stream room. These fruits were rare in other cities, so many fans genuinely didn’t know what they were.

“These fruits are unique to our area. They’re called ‘guniang guo’ (literally ‘maiden fruit’). When I was little, I couldn’t say it properly and called it ‘gu guniang’ instead.”

“They’re very sweet and not sour at all — one of my favorite fruits.”

The stall owner was very enthusiastic. The price was 10 yuan per jin (500g), which wasn’t expensive. Su Ying bargained with the seller:

“Two jin for fifteen, I’ll take two jin.”

“Two jin is at most eighteen. The fruits were picked early this morning and already peeled.”

Su Ying managed to lower the price by two yuan. The stall owner weighed out two jin and grabbed a big handful more — really very hospitable. After thanking the seller, Su Ying opened the bag and showed the fruit up close to the fans in the stream. Peeling off the outer membrane revealed small, round yellow fruits that looked ordinary. Su Ying peeled them and stuffed them into Li Tangtang’s hand; Tangtang ate them one by one. Su Ying bit one and showed it to the camera, saying, “Guniang guo has no pits. It really looks a lot like a cherry tomato, but I still prefer ‘gu guniang’ (the other name).”

Looking at the comment section, many fans were drooling, and some who were handy had already gone to check takeout apps. One searched and found a 200g box priced at 25 yuan. Compared to the affordable prices at the big market, they were quite envious, flooding the live chat with jealous comments.

Su Ying put the remaining fruits into the basket on her back and kept walking forward. Along the way, she also bought some Autumn Moon pears and apples that looked good. However, the apples Tangtang had brought home last time were still there — super sweet and crisp. She also bought some soft jujubes, which couldn’t be squashed, so she carried them by hand. She broke one open—it was a kiwi, soft and small. Li Tangtang was also busy buying, slicing various marinated cooked foods at the stalls, so they could add some dishes at home. She also got some vegetables not grown in their home garden—a bunch of scallions, which keep well and last a long time, plus can be used for wraps.

The early market had all kinds of goods. Two hours passed quickly as they wandered about. The live stream lasted over an hour. At the end, Su Ying and Li Tangtang found a convenient spot to show off their haul.

“Well, that’s it for today’s live stream. Thanks for all your support,” Su Ying said, waving goodbye to the camera before ending the broadcast. It was her first live stream, with no tipping enabled — the goal was simply to take fans along to the big market. After the stream, she checked her follower count and was surprised: a single live stream of the market trip had gained nearly ten thousand new followers. She was one step closer to 100,000 fans. The viewer count was great too, with a peak online audience exceeding one thousand.

The two packed up their baskets, Su Ying’s small basket was already full of scattered purchases, and Li Tangtang’s large basket was quite filled too, much of it souvenirs she wanted to bring back. Loaded down with their haul, it was nearly noon. Their bus back wasn’t until 1 PM, so they still had time and went to a lamb noodle stall. Su Ying ordered a plate of meat dumplings; Li Tangtang ordered a bowl of lamb noodles.

Over a firewood stove sat a large iron pot simmering with a big pot of lamb soup. Unlike modern tech and fancy gear, the lamb stalls at the market all cooked on-site. You could see the meat and smell the aroma. Soon the food was served. The dumplings were plump, handmade by the stall owner’s wife — all round and plentiful in a big bowl. The lamb noodles also contained plenty of lamb meat — the stall owner sold the equivalent of two whole sheep each market day. Su Ying took two disposable small bowls so they could both taste everything. On the table were chopsticks, spoons, and small plates filled with fragrant vinegar and homemade chili oil. This chili oil was fragrant but not spicy, perfect to eat with dumplings.

She picked up a plump dumpling and ate it plain first. The lamb filling’s juice exploded in her mouth — hot and fresh. The lamb tasted rich but not gamey, mostly lean meat with little fat.

Next, she dipped another dumpling in the sauces. The chili oil’s aroma combined with the vinegar’s slight acidity made it even more refreshing. Li Tangtang didn’t like vinegar, so she just dipped in chili oil and ate happily. Su Ying added some lamb noodles to her small bowl, drizzled chili oil on top, slurped a bite. The broth was clear and refreshing. She drank some lamb soup — truly comforting.

“WeChat payment received, 30 yuan.”

After transferring the money, Su Ying and Li Tangtang picked up their baskets and headed to the bus stop. Many people were already waiting for the bus; several buses from nearby villages arrived one after another. The crowd thinned as people boarded, and soon the bus for their village arrived. Su Ying and Li Tangtang got on, surrounded by familiar faces who chatted about their market finds.

After about an hour of bumpy riding, they got off, parted ways, and went home.

Su Ying carried her basket home, where her dad quickly helped take it from her. Her mom’s foot had healed, so she also came to help unpack the basket.

On top were the soft jujubes, which couldn’t be crushed — about half a kilo. There were Autumn Moon pears, scallions, the marinated goods (she had asked the stall owner not to cut them but to give some marinade so she could prepare a salad at home). Also the maiden fruits, twisted fried dough sticks (da mahua), and a big bag of hazel mushrooms and hazelnuts.

You don’t realize how much until you take it all out — the table was covered. Seeing the maiden fruit, her mom said:

“Now they have maiden fruits, they weren’t here at the market last month.”

Su Ying casually took out two maiden fruits, peeled and bit into one. “Yeah, very fresh. I bought two jin.”

She took a basin, rinsed two handfuls of hazel mushrooms, then poured boiling water from the thermos to soak them. “Tonight we’ll have chicken stewed with mushrooms.”

“Okay, I’ll go catch a chicken,” her dad replied and went off to catch a chicken, skillfully slaughtering and plucking it.

In the evening, Su Ying set up a tripod in the kitchen and recorded the process of making chicken stewed with mushrooms. The chicken was cut into mahjong-tile-sized pieces, cleaned. The soaked hazel mushrooms were full in a small basin; she squeezed out the excess water and saved the mushroom-soaking water.

She heated oil in a pot, added star anise and cinnamon bark, smashed garlic, then threw in scallion sections. The chicken pieces were added and stir-fried until browned. Home-raised chickens were fat, and during frying, the chicken fat seeped out, mixing with the aroma of spices filling the kitchen.

After browning, she poured in soy sauce and dark soy sauce, added salt to season, and a bit of sugar to enhance flavor. After frying a while, she added some boiling water and poured in the mushroom soaking water until the chicken was submerged. She brought it to a boil, then simmered on medium heat for an hour, occasionally stirring to cook the chicken evenly.

After an hour, the chicken was thoroughly cooked, and the mushrooms were added. Meanwhile, her dad kneaded a basin of cornmeal dough mixed with newly ground wheat flour, making a yellow dough. By the stove, he pressed the dough into flatbreads, covered the pan, and after fifteen minutes, the breads were cooked. The chicken stewed with mushrooms was ready to serve.

Su Ying used a spatula to scoop the breads off the pan, served the chicken and mushrooms into a basin, and dinner was ready to eat.

The video recording stopped. The whole family gathered cheerfully around the table, eating the freshly made breads. The breads dipped in the stew were even more delicious. One bite of the mushrooms, one bite of the chicken — another delicious meal.