Chapter 52: The Effects of the Wild Ginseng
Page (1/3)
After agreeing on what time to go to the commune the next day, Gao Jianjun hurried away.
As the production team’s captain and Party secretary, he was usually very busy.
Zhou Yichen watched the efficient captain stride away, a warm feeling rising in his heart.
In this unfamiliar era, it was lucky to meet someone who genuinely cared about him.
When he returned home, Zhou Yichen glanced at the time and realized it was already getting late.
The workers at the production team had already finished for the day.
Jiang Xiaoman would probably be home soon as well.
Zhou Yichen rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen.
The piece of fatty pork he had bought from the commune supply cooperative that day had yet to be prepared. He needed to render some lard first.
Lard was precious stuff. It made stir-fried dishes fragrant, and it could also be stored for later.
More than half of the pork belly remained after the plate of twice-cooked pork they had eaten at noon.
Zhou Yichen planned to use it to make a pot of soup.
From the small cloth bag in the corner, he carefully took out the wild ginseng root.
Its rootlets were intact, and the body of the ginseng was plump.
He cut off only a few of the rootlets, then picked out several warming and nourishing herbs from the medicinal plants he had gathered himself—among them astragalus and angelica.
Both he and Xiaoman needed to build up their strength.
Heaven rewards diligence. A healthy body was the foundation of all effort.
He had just cut the pork belly into chunks and tossed them into the pot to blanch when the courtyard gate was pushed open.
“Yichen, I’m home!”
Jiang Xiaoman’s crisp voice swept in like a gust of wind.
She skipped to the kitchen doorway, her shoulder-length hair bouncing with every step.
“Wow! You’re cooking! What delicious things are you making today?”
She craned her little head inside, her large eyes sparkling.
Zhou Yichen turned around and smiled.
“I’m about to render some lard, and I’ll stew a pot of pork while I’m at it.”
“I’ll help!”
Jiang Xiaoman reached out to get started.
“Don’t.”
Zhou Yichen set down what he was doing and took her hand.
He carefully examined the blisters on her palm.
After he had treated them with herbs and ointment the night before, the once-plump blisters had already shriveled and scabbed over. There was no sign of swelling or redness around them either.
“They’re healing well. The scabs should fall off in another two days.”
He released her hand and nodded.
“Of course! It all depends on who treated them!”
Jiang Xiaoman lifted her chin proudly, though she looked a little uneasy.
“Then… what can I do?”
“Help me tend the fire. That won’t strain your hands.”
“Sure!”
Jiang Xiaoman agreed readily and ran to the stove, skillfully feeding it firewood.
Watching her small figure from behind, Zhou Yichen found the corners of his lips lifting of their own accord.
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
“Working in the countryside is like this. The beginning is always the hardest.”
“Once your hands develop calluses, it gets easier.”
Jiang Xiaoman pulled the bellows and glanced back at him. The firelight made her cheeks glow even redder.
“I know! Once my hands are covered in calluses, I’ll be the toughest iron girl in Sunrise Brigade!”
She waved her little fist, looking full of fighting spirit.
Zhou Yichen chuckled. He lifted the blanched pork belly from the pot and began rendering the fat.
“By the way, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
The fatty pork in the pot began to sizzle and release oil under the high heat, and its fragrance instantly filled the kitchen.
As he turned the pieces with a spatula, Zhou Yichen said in an offhand manner, “Secretary Gao came to see me earlier.”
“He said he’ll take me to the commune tomorrow and try to secure me an official village health worker position.”
“Really… really?”
Jiang Xiaoman asked, hardly daring to believe it.
Seeing how much more excited she was than he was, Zhou Yichen felt a warmth in his heart.
He nodded.
“Nothing’s settled yet. Secretary Gao only said he would try.”
“That’s wonderful!”
Jiang Xiaoman sprang up from beside the stove and rushed to Zhou Yichen in just a few steps, grabbing him excitedly by the arm.
“With Secretary Gao taking action, it’s sure to work!”
“Yichen, you’re amazing!”
Her eyes seemed filled with stars, shining dazzlingly.
Shaken by her enthusiasm, Zhou Yichen nearly laughed.
“All right, all right. Go watch the fire.”
“The lard is almost done.”
“Oh, right!”
Only then did Jiang Xiaoman remember. Like a happy little butterfly, she flew back to the stove.
But there was no hiding the smile on her face. The corners of her mouth were practically stretching to her ears.
Before long, a pot of golden lard had been rendered.
Zhou Yichen poured it into a clean earthenware jar, leaving only the crisp, fragrant cracklings in the pot.
He picked up a piece with his chopsticks, blew on it, and held it to Jiang Xiaoman’s lips.
“Try it. Careful, it’s hot.”
Jiang Xiaoman opened her mouth and took a loud bite.
The crisp texture and rich, oily fragrance burst across her taste buds.
“Mmm! Delicious!”
She narrowed her eyes in bliss, like a little cat that had stolen a bite of something savory.
“It tastes exactly like the cracklings my mother used to fry when I was little!”
Zhou Yichen also picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
It really was fragrant.
It was the finest kind of delicious memory, belonging to childhood and years of scarcity.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
The two of them took turns eating, and soon finished the small plate of cracklings between them.
Next, Zhou Yichen began stewing the pork.
He put some of the freshly rendered lard into the pot, fried slices of ginger until fragrant, then added the pork belly and stir-fried it until lightly browned.
He poured in hot water and added the prepared ginseng rootlets and medicinal herbs.
Then he covered the pot and let it simmer over low heat.
Before long, an assertive meaty fragrance mingled with the distinctive freshness of the herbs and drifted out of the pot.
Jiang Xiaoman leaned against the stove, sniffing eagerly.
“Yichen, what did you put in the pork? Why does it smell so good?”
“Just a few good things.”
Zhou Yichen smiled mysteriously.
“I guarantee I’ll fatten you up until you’re rosy and plump.”
The meal was soon ready amid the warm atmosphere of their cheerful conversation.
There was a pot of wild-ginseng-stewed pork fragrant enough to make one’s mouth water, a plate of plainly stir-fried cabbage, and two golden cornmeal buns.
The pork was especially tempting. The broth was rich, the meat tender enough to fall apart, and the fragrance seemed strong enough to drift beyond the courtyard.
Fortunately, Zhou Yichen’s house stood alone at the easternmost edge of the village. It was a good distance from both the educated youth compound and the homes of the other villagers.
The powerful aroma of meat would not easily spread far enough to cause unnecessary trouble.
After the meal, warmth steamed from both of them.
Jiang Xiaoman in particular had a lovable, childlike face flushed red from the heat, like a fully ripened apple. Fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, her lips shone with grease, and her youthful complexion was so plump and smooth that anyone might have felt an urge to give her cheek a gentle pinch.
Zhou Yichen ate the most.
As the broth infused with ginseng rootlets and the essence of medicinal herbs entered his stomach, it felt as though a ball of fire had ignited in his lower abdomen. A warm current flowed through every limb and bone, bringing him an indescribable sense of comfort.
But the energy was too abundant. Unless he guided it elsewhere, he would probably be too restless to sleep that night.
After eating, he did not let Jiang Xiaoman clean up. Instead, he went straight into the courtyard and assumed the opening stance of the Eight Brocades.
His arms rose slowly, then pressed downward. Every movement was expansive yet powerful, each form carrying an indescribable rhythm.
As the sequence unfolded, the warm current within him seemed to find an outlet. It surged along with his movements, finally transforming entirely into white vapor rising from his forehead.
Only after performing the Eight Brocades seven or eight times in succession did Zhou Yichen complete the exercise.
He exhaled a long breath of stale air, feeling clear-minded and refreshed. The trace of restlessness brought on by the nourishing food had vanished without a trace.
He had to admit, wild ginseng truly was invigorating. In that short while, his proficiency had risen by several dozen points.
[Eight Brocades, Level 4 — 168/400]
He was already nearly halfway through the experience required for Level Four.
If he ate like this every day, it would take only a few days to reach Level Five.
Night fell like ink.
Zhou Yichen lay on the warm brick bed. An extra thick quilt beneath him radiated heat, driving away all the chill of the winter night.
He lay with his eyes open, watching the cool moonlight filtering through the papered window. Yet his heart was not nearly as calm as he appeared.
Go to the commune.
Secure an official village health worker position.
In this era, anything connected with the word “official” represented a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
It was a ticket to a broader world.
Zhou Yichen felt no nervousness. Instead, he possessed the calm certainty and anticipation of a chess player just before placing a piece.
Page (3/3)