13

Lin You said she would make meat, and she wasn’t kidding—it was really meat.

The pig’s elbow was first steamed, then boiled, until it was tender and falling apart. With a little force, the large bone inside could be pulled out. Then, she cut the elbow, skin and meat together, into chunks, chopped it finely with green peppers, and added a spoonful of braising sauce. Whether mixed with rice or stuffed in a freshly made flatbread, it was delicious.

The chopped elbow had sticky skin, and even when stuffed in the bread, it was oily but not greasy. The rice was shiny with oil, with a chewy texture, but it didn’t stick to the teeth at all.

Yao Jiu ate the meat-filled bread, then the rice with the chopped hock. She almost finished the whole hock by herself.

After eating, she leaned back and burped.

Lin You looked at her with concern: “Can you still go this afternoon?”

Lin You had taken two days off, and today, she was finally going to do a live stream. She posted the live stream time, which was set for three o’clock in the afternoon.

Yao Jiu struggled to sit up: “I… I can.”

Lin You was really worried that this girl might end up overstuffed in her yard, so she went inside to make some hawthorn water for Yao Jiu. She muttered softly, “One elbow weighs two or three kilos, plus rice and flatbread… Yao Jiu, you’re a wonder of a woman who can eat five kilos in one meal.”

The miraculous woman sipped the hawthorn water, her expression as if she were about to ascend to immortality: “Youyou, this hawthorn water is so delicious.”

Lin You was still worried: “It’s to help with digestion, don’t drink too much or you’ll overdo it.”

Yao Jiu: …

Lin You packed up the things she’d need for the mountain trip—small chisels, a small backpack, and shoes for hiking.

That’s right, today’s live stream would be about going up the mountain to gather some mushrooms and wild vegetables.

The mountain on the other side of the village was too steep, so Lin You didn’t plan to go there. Instead, she chose the lower peak to the east of the village.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Lin You. Today, I’ll take you on an adventure up the mountain.”

As soon as the live stream started, Lin You noticed that this session was much smoother than the previous ones.

Although there were some negative comments, most were neutral and didn’t carry any malice.

【Peach Oolong Tea: The live stream’s started! Does the little yellow car have egg cakes? My kid wants some!】

【Kicking the Crippled Leg: Wow, are you going to dig mushrooms today? Will you find any little people mushrooms?】

【Cabbage Stewed Meat: Are you still doing a giveaway, blogger?】

—

There were all sorts of harmless questions, and Lin You no longer avoided answering them, instead smiling and responding one by one.

“I’m not making egg cakes anymore, I can’t keep up with it alone. I’ll be careful when digging mushrooms, I won’t dig up any little people mushrooms… As for the giveaway, it depends on the content, since many things are inconvenient for giveaways.”

She walked up the mountain along the east side of the village, bypassing the still-under-repair Taoist temple, and reached a forest area with Yao Jiu.

“Alright, we’re here.”

Lin You adjusted the camera to first-person view. The small hillside in front of them wasn’t very high, and since it had just rained, the ground had a damp feel to it. In the moist soil, various plants could be seen scattered across the ground.

Lin You: “Everyone, look at this. This cluster here is called earth fungus. Although it looks like a wood ear fungus, it’s not actually a wood ear. Earth fungus shrivels into small black pieces in dry weather, and when the wind blows, it spreads to different places. When it rains, earth fungus rapidly expands and multiplies…”

Perhaps it was the rain that had caused the wild vegetables to sprout in clusters, as Lin You quickly found several other types of wild plants not long after.

Noodle vegetables, grey vegetables, dandelions…

【momo: The blogger is amazing! These wild vegetables look so similar to me, but she can actually pick out which ones are edible from all these almost identical grasses.】

【Beggar’s Royal Robes: I know, right? Even though I’m from a rural area, I only know the names of many of these wild vegetables.】

【Strawberry Ice Cream: Please! The goose intestines grass Lin You just picked—it’s scientifically called Fan Lu and can be used as a medicinal herb! It promotes blood circulation, relieves swelling, and eases pain.】

【Fill the World with Cilantro: I only know that when I was little and scraped myself, my grandmother would crush this herb and put it on my wound. So it’s called goose intestines grass!】

—

Lin You walked up the mountain for a while, and although she didn’t find many mushrooms, she did find a good number of wild vegetables.

At this point, someone in the chat suddenly became very excited.

【June Grass: Blogger, do you sell wild vegetables?】

【June Grass: That goose intestines grass! Do you sell it?】

【June Grass: Blogger, look at me!】

With that, the other sent two fireworks.

One firework costs 100 yuan, so that was 200 yuan in total.

Even Lin You couldn’t help but notice them. June Grass was still excitedly asking Lin You if she would sell the wild vegetables.

Lin You: “Goose intestines grass is actually easy to buy. As you saw earlier, it grows in large patches, and it’s not very expensive. Many cities have it in their vegetable markets.”

June Grass typed frantically in the chat.

【June Grass: But I’m abroad!】

Before Lin You could respond, the chat exploded.

【Daytime Fireworks: Oh my god, you want to buy wild vegetables while abroad, what kind of spirit is that?】

【Strawberries with Bananas: Who says otherwise? But by the time Lin You sends the veggies abroad, they’ll probably be wilted.】

【Shining Crystal: Not just that, customs might not even let it through. Who would believe someone wants to send wild vegetables abroad?】

Then June Grass clarified, saying that the vegetables were for their family.

【June Grass: My parents love eating these, but most of what I can buy are greenhouse-grown, and they don’t have the same taste. They always talk about the pure wild ones they used to eat.】

This explanation resonated with many people.

【A Jug of Wine Between Flowers: Who doesn’t agree? Now everything is mass-produced, and even those labeled as wild vegetables are actually cultivated on a large scale.】

【A Little Cat: My mom says I loved chicken when I was little. She asks me why I don’t like it now. Well, obviously because today’s chicken doesn’t taste like chicken! It’s all fast-growing farm chicken, not like the free-range chicken we had when I was little.】

Seeing the lively discussion in the chat, June Grass kept asking if they could buy the vegetables.

Lin You thought for a moment and replied: “I can send some, but only this time.”

Wild vegetables are tricky, it’s hard to say whether they’re safe to eat. If something went wrong and people got sick, could she really treat them one by one?

Seeing the chat filled with people eager to buy wild vegetables, Lin You quickly wrapped things up.

“Thank you all for watching, that’s all for today’s live stream.”

Compared to the hostile comments from the previous streams, today’s chat was much friendlier, with many people expressing regret that Lin You wasn’t selling egg cakes or wild vegetables.

Lin You ended the stream and happily carried a basket of wild vegetables home.

Yao Jiu was also puzzled. “Can you believe people are willing to spend 200 on wild vegetables?”

Were they crazy, or was she crazy?

Lin You: “What’s the big deal? If you tell people these wild vegetables have some kind of medicinal benefit, not only would 200, but even 500, could be sold.”

It’s the health economy. People who’ve lived in the city for a while tend to see natural things through a filter.

Yao Jiu seemed to be thinking about it.

Lin You: “How about we cook some wild vegetables tomorrow? Hehe, I bought some ham, it’ll arrive tomorrow morning. We can make a soup with the ham and wild vegetables, it’ll be really delicious.”

Yao Jiu, having learned from her rushed attitude toward the egg cakes before, nodded modestly. “Okay.”

The two of them walked past the Taoist temple, and Lin You was curious. “Who does the temple worship?”

She hadn’t found any details about it in the memories of the previous owner, so she was quite curious.

Yao Jiu scratched his head. “I think it’s ^[1]Bixia Yuanjun (碧霞元君), also known as the “Princess of the Azure Clouds” or “Lady of Mount Tai,” is a Taoist goddess widely worshiped in Chinese folk religion and … Continue readingBixia Yuanjun? I can’t remember, though. Since the last Taoist priest left, no one’s taken care of it for many years.”

Lin You stood outside the temple, barely able to see the feet of the statue inside.

“Should we go in and pray?”

Their family’s land was nearby, and the family graves were also around here. It almost felt like passing by without offering a prayer would make her feel guilty.

Yao Jiu hesitated. “Should we pray? What should we offer?”

Lin You rummaged through the basket and pulled out a bunch of March herbs she had just picked. “Let’s offer these.”

Wrapping the March herbs in clean leaves, Lin You respectfully placed the offering at the threshold of the temple, standing outside with her hands clasped together in prayer.

Yao Jiu followed suit and prayed too.

Afterward, they both felt a little silly.

“Who is Bixia Yuanjun?” Lin You realized after a moment.

Yao Jiu: “She’s… she’s the goddess who grants children?”

Lin You: …

So what was the point of us praying?

It’s not like we can ask for children from afar!

The two of them left, bickering, completely unaware that a bright light suddenly flew out from the statue behind them and hovered over the fruit they had left at the threshold.