Chapter 52: Torrential Rain, Water Hyacinths

After the swimming pool was scrubbed clean, the rain quickly filled it with fresh water.

To prevent stagnant water from becoming polluted and breeding parasites, everyone searched the entire yacht. Under Jiang Linhai’s guidance, they finally gathered the materials needed to seal the pool.

Jiang Linhai also found some piping and faucets in the storage room and connected them to the kitchen and bathroom, making water access much more convenient.

He turned the faucet on, and water from the pool flowed smoothly into the kitchen. Then, using tools, he connected it to their homemade filtration system.

The filtered water became crystal clear—just needed to be boiled before it could be used for drinking.

Since they couldn’t use electricity, and there was no traditional stove on the yacht, only a charcoal stove, they had to rely on coal, alcohol blocks, and the yacht’s fuel reserves.

But, of course, those would eventually run out.

There were lifeboats and inflatable rafts onboard, so they dismantled the unfinished wooden boat from earlier for firewood. The other fuels were saved for emergencies only.

Occasionally, driftwood floated by the yacht. Whenever the rain lightened, they braved the weather to collect it as reserve fuel.

Grandma Zhang Qingfang had already planted the garden beds with baby bok choy, leeks, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries.

Little Niuniu had planted the strawberry seeds herself. She watched the tiny green sprouts eagerly and asked,

“Grandma, when can we eat strawberries?”

Since Qin Shen had given her a cactus fruit that one time, she hadn’t eaten any fruit again.

Grandma Zhang chuckled,

“It usually takes about three months from flowering to fruiting. But if we take good care of them, you might get to eat sweet strawberries sooner.”

Niuniu’s eyes sparkled with joy,

“Then I’ll help Grandma fertilize, water, pull weeds, and catch bugs!”

Grandma patted her head and smiled,

“Niuniu knows so much already. You’re amazing! You’ll never go hungry in the future.”

Niuniu blushed and looked at Lu Zhifeng,

“Daddy taught me.”

If Jiang Si’s family hadn’t rescued him and his daughter in the lifeboat, he wouldn’t be standing safely on this yacht now—watching his daughter smile so brightly.

To Lu Zhifeng, Jiang Si’s family were his lifesaving benefactors. He turned to Zhang Qingfang earnestly,

“Aunt Zhang, are our vegetables and grains enough? Should we bring in more soil and expand the garden a bit?”

The yacht was surrounded by clear tempered glass, so there was enough sunlight for crops. Expanding the planting area was feasible.

Zhang Qingfang nodded with a smile,

“Sure. Once the rain stops, we’ll dig up more rich soil. We can also hatch some chicks and raise them on the boat, so we’ll have eggs regularly.”

Jiang Si had tried hatching eggs with an incubator in her space before, but since no living things could survive in the space, it never worked.

Now they only had eggs and no hens. If they wanted chicks, they’d have to do it the old-fashioned way.

Fortunately, everyone in the family was quite handy. They crafted a large cardboard box with a smaller one nested inside, surrounded by cotton padding. Underneath the padding were four hot water bottles. After disinfecting the eggs, they placed them in the smaller box, and the incubator was ready.

That was just the first step. In the first week, the box had to be kept at exactly 38.5°C (101.3°F), and the eggs needed to be turned every two hours. On the eighth day, the temperature had to be lowered slightly to 38.2°C, and eggs turned every 3.5 hours.

To ensure the chicks would hatch successfully, they all took turns monitoring the eggs during their watch shifts and flipped them regularly.

Every morning, Niuniu’s first task was to check if the chicks had hatched.

Seven days passed. The rain still hadn’t stopped. The yacht was drifting downstream with the current, in constant danger of hitting rocks. Besides Jiang Si and Qin Shen, no one else could operate the yacht, so the crew began adding another survival skill to their training: navigation!

When the rain grew too heavy, they would even hoist sails—an upgrade inspired by pirate ships, retrofitted to fit the yacht’s structure.

With each improvement, they gained more control over their vessel.

During the second week of incubation, they held the eggs up to sunlight and saw faint red blood vessels inside—more and more as the days passed.

As the yacht drifted into the southern city zone, green specks began appearing on the water. They were blooming clusters of purple flowers—water hyacinths.

Water hyacinths were originally ornamental plants known for purifying water, which led to their introduction domestically. But they reproduce extremely fast and once caused rivers and ponds to overflow, leaving fish with no room to survive—prompting widespread harvesting efforts.

Jiang Si remembered that when she was in elementary school, the Longquan River had also been overtaken by water hyacinths—but they quickly disappeared after a while.

When Shen Baoying saw the green plants clearly, she exclaimed with delight,

“Si Si! Water hyacinths are amazing! They can be used for both fertilizer and feed. Feeding chickens with them saves us grain!”

Zhang Qingfang added,

“The flowers and tender leaves are edible too. They taste just like baby bok choy. We ate a lot of them back in the day.”

Jiang Linhai chimed in,

“Si Si, we could use a floating rope to enclose an area and grow water hyacinths right on the surface. That would give us another source of wild vegetables!”

Lu Zhifeng agreed,

“They grow super fast, and even if they get washed away, new ones will grow soon. They really are great for fertilizer and animal feed.”

Niuniu clapped excitedly,

“Then we must raise some!”

Jiang Si smiled,

“The water’s moving too fast right now, and the yacht keeps drifting downstream. Once we anchor somewhere stable, we can raise them. But tonight, we can taste how delicious water hyacinth roots are!”

They scooped up some water hyacinths with nets and saved a few healthy ones in water basins.

Shen Baoying picked some water hyacinth flowers, dipped them in egg and flour batter with a pinch of salt, then fried them. A thin coating was enough. As they sizzled in the oil, a mouthwatering aroma spread through the air.

The golden-fried blossoms looked like delicate works of art. Paired with ketchup, they were both beautiful and tasty.

The tender stems and leaves were boiled briefly, rinsed in water to remove bitterness, and prepared two ways: one as a cold salad, the other stir-fried.

The cold salad was tossed with shrimp skin, wood ear mushrooms, chili oil, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, and garlic—bursting with color, aroma, and flavor.

The stir-fried dish started with fragrant scallions, then added tofu and water hyacinth. The sizzling sound was music to their ears.

Under Shen Baoying’s expert hands, the three dishes were vibrant, fragrant, and incredibly appetizing.

Niuniu swallowed hard and praised,

“Auntie, you cook so well!”

Shen Baoying pinched her chubby cheeks with a smile,

“Eat lots then!”

Shen Baoying loved cooking. Now that there were more mouths to feed, she prepared four dishes and one soup for every meal, each time with something different.

After tasting the water hyacinth dishes, everyone was even more eager to start cultivating them.

Niuniu even suggested putting more basins on the boat just to grow water hyacinths.

Everyone agreed, and as they were about to start, they suddenly realized—the yacht had already been surrounded by water hyacinths.