Chapter 200: Your Hair’s a Mess, and Artemisia Tofu

Lin Heng tossed a few stones into the river, and soon Xiao Xia joined in, picking up pebbles and throwing them into the water. Every time a splash burst up, she giggled with delight.

Children are endlessly curious about the world. She was learning about water and stones in the most natural way—by playing.

Lin Heng gently pulled her over to Xiulan’s side, then lay down on a large bluestone beside them to soak up the sun. It was still early, and a little sunbathing wouldn’t hurt.

Life doesn’t always need a purpose. This clean, beautiful bluestone, the warm sunlight, and the gentle murmur of the river all made him want to stretch out and relax.

Xiulan glanced at Lin Heng, who had closed his eyes to bask in the sun. She reached out and plucked a tiny leaf fragment from his hair, her hand lingering there for a moment.

Xiao Xia played for over ten minutes before tiring out and came to lie down on the bluestone to sunbathe as well.

Xiulan took the chance to lie down too. The bluestone had been warmed by the sun, and lying on it made her whole body feel toasty, front and back.

With her eyes closed, she listened to the soft river breeze, the crisp chirping of birds, and the gentle gurgle of the water.

After a while, the river breeze picked up, and the sun no longer felt so warm. Lin Heng sat up, stretched lazily, and smiled. “Let’s go.”

He reached out a hand to Xiulan.

“Alright!”

She took his hand and sat up, then helped Xiao Xia to her feet.

With Xiulan carrying a bamboo basket and Lin Heng holding a hoe, the three of them headed into the bamboo forest.

All along the ravine, bamboo stretched across both banks. The smallest stalks were as thick as an adult’s forearm, and most were as thick as a grown man’s upper arm or even his thigh.

Not many people came here to dig winter bamboo shoots. The Lin family’s bamboo grove was mostly untouched.

Digging winter shoots is different from picking spring shoots. Spring shoots sprout above ground and are easy to spot. Winter shoots, however, grow underground. Without some know-how, finding them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Lin Heng, of course, was well-versed in the art. The key to finding shoots lies in observing the bamboo.

The best candidates are fresh, green stalks that are only a year or two old. Older bamboo—those over three years old and gray-green in color—rarely produce shoots.

Once you’ve identified the right bamboo, the next clue is the leaves.

If the leaves are lush and green but have a few yellowing ones mixed in, there’s a good chance a winter shoot is growing below. That’s because the plant diverts nutrients to the shoot, causing the leaves to yellow slightly.

Lin Heng scanned the grove and quickly spotted a bamboo that fit the bill.

He checked the ground around it and immediately noticed a small mound of raised soil.

He gently dug with his hoe and soon uncovered the pointed tip of a winter shoot poking through the earth.

“Got one,” he grinned, then started digging in earnest. In just a few minutes, he unearthed a plump, golden-brown shoot.

“Nice find.”

Xiulan smiled as she picked it up and placed it in the basket. The shoot was tightly wrapped in its husk, with no blemishes—top quality.

“There should be more,” Lin Heng said, eyeing the bamboo rhizome and following it further underground.

Each bamboo stalk typically sends out two rhizomes, and if you follow them, you often strike gold. The only downside is that it can damage the bamboo, but Lin Heng wasn’t too concerned. New shoots sprouted every year.

“I’ll go check over there,” Xiulan said, taking Xiao Xia with her to scout around.

While she searched, Lin Heng dug up two more small shoots, each weighing about two or three ounces.

Then he found another promising stalk. Following its rhizome, he soon uncovered two more shoots.

“These are pretty big.”

He was pleased—one shoot weighed over a pound, and the other was close to it.

“Honey, I found some too! And they’re not small!” Xiulan called out, pointing to a spot nearby.

Lin Heng walked over with his hoe and the shoots he’d just dug up. On the ground was a large, rounded mound.

“This area’s got water. Look—there are several shoots here,” Xiulan said with a smile, pointing to the flat patch of earth.

“They’re all pretty big,” Lin Heng nodded. There wasn’t a stream in this ravine, but water seeped through the soil, keeping the stone slabs damp year-round.

This central area was especially moist, and the bamboo here was noticeably thicker than the ones on the slopes.

With a few swift strokes of the hoe, Lin Heng dug up another shoot. Xiulan weighed it in her hand and beamed. “This one’s at least a pound and a half.”

Lin Heng nodded. “We’re hitting the jackpot. The rest of these should be around a pound each too.”

Xiao Xia clapped and cheered, “Daddy, dig faster!”

Laughing, Lin Heng replied, “Alright!”

With his wife and daughter by his side, he was full of energy and dug with renewed enthusiasm.

In no time, he had unearthed the remaining five shoots in the patch. Thanks to the moisture, each one weighed about a pound.

“Found more over here!”

Xiulan and Xiao Xia soon discovered two more shoots. The damp soil made them easy to find—no special skills needed.

After digging up about fifteen or sixteen shoots, Lin Heng sat down on the hoe handle to rest.

Xiulan pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow. But before she could finish, Xiao Xia shouted and grabbed the handkerchief. “I want to wipe Daddy’s sweat too!”

“Alright, alright,” Lin Heng chuckled and lowered his head to let his daughter do the honors.

Xiao Xia’s technique was clumsy compared to Xiulan’s, but Lin Heng didn’t have the heart to stop her. He endured it patiently, touched by her enthusiasm.

After a short break, Lin Heng checked the bamboo basket. They had about ten catties of bamboo shoots—roughly five kilos. But once the husks were peeled, it would probably be only four or five pounds, which was still far from enough for him.

So he kept digging. On both sides of the moist ravine, there were plenty of shoots. Over the next two hours, Lin Heng dug up more than thirty.

Altogether, they now had about thirty catties—fifteen kilos—of bamboo shoots.

Still not satisfied, Lin Heng began searching the slopes.

The slopes were drier, and the shoots were harder to find, buried deeper underground.

Xiulan noticed that Lin Heng always seemed to find them and couldn’t help but ask, “How do you do it? Is there some trick?”

“Of course there is.”

Lin Heng gave her a mysterious smile. Not many people dug for shoots around here, so few knew the secrets.

“Come on, tell me!”

Xiulan urged him eagerly.

Lin Heng didn’t keep her in suspense. “It’s actually pretty simple…”

After listening, Xiulan’s face lit up with sudden understanding. “So that’s how it works!”

She couldn’t wait to try it out and soon found a shoot of her own.

“How do you know all this?” she asked, even more curious now. It seemed like Lin Heng knew everything.

Lin Heng smiled. “Your husband’s got a keen eye for details.”

“Ugh, show-off. Fine, don’t tell me,” Xiulan pouted, then pulled Xiao Xia along to keep searching.

Before they knew it, it was already one in the afternoon. The three of them had been digging bamboo shoots in the forest for three or four hours.

“Let’s head back. I’m getting hungry,” Lin Heng said with a smile, finally stopping.

It had been a good haul today—not only was the bamboo basket full, but even the snakeskin bag was half-filled. Altogether, they had gathered sixty or seventy jin of winter bamboo shoots.

But none of them had been peeled yet.

“I’m hungry too!” Xiao Xia patted her little belly and chirped.

Xiulan took her hand and said, “Then let’s go home and make something delicious for you.”

“Okay!”

…

Lin Heng walked ahead, the gentle breeze brushing past him as he listened to the mother and daughter chatting behind. After carrying the bamboo shoots across the river, he turned back to help Xiao Xia and Xiulan across.

By now, the sun had dipped below the horizon at the riverbank, and the wind had turned a bit chilly. Once across, the three of them quickened their pace toward home.

Father Lin and the others were still distilling liquor—it would probably take another two days to finish.

Lin Heng dropped off some bamboo shoots in the courtyard. “Dad, here’s some bamboo shoots for you guys. We dug up quite a lot.”

Father Lin nodded with a smile. “Great. Tonight, your mom can stir-fry some with meat. Go shovel some charcoal and roast them.”

Lin Heng didn’t stand on ceremony. He shoveled some charcoal from the firewood pile and brought it home.

Xiulan brought a few shoots over to her sister-in-law, Liu Juan, and kept the rest for themselves.

Xiao Xia was happily munching on some kudzu root starch that Xiulan had prepared for her, her little face beaming with joy.

Taking advantage of the moment while their daughter wasn’t causing mischief, Xiulan and Lin Heng sat by the fire, peeling bamboo shoots together.

Peeling them wasn’t hard. Just slice down the side with a knife, and the husk came off easily by hand.

Winter bamboo shoots had fewer husks than spring ones, but a jin of unpeeled shoots usually yielded only four or five liang of edible shoot—six or seven liang if you were lucky.

As they peeled, they chatted idly.

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and said, “The New Year’s coming up. Let’s soak some soybeans and make dried tofu. We’re out of fermented tofu too—we can make some for next year.”

“Sure, let’s make extra fermented tofu,” Lin Heng nodded. It was one of his favorite foods.

Xiulan smiled and nodded. “Then I’ll go soak thirty jin of soybeans in a bit. We can make tofu tomorrow or the day after.”

Lin Heng thought for a moment and added, “Sounds good. We could also make some mugwort tofu. I’ll go pick some mugwort in the morning.”

Mugwort tofu was made with tender mugwort leaves. Though most plants withered in winter, you could still find fresh shoots growing near muddy patches.

Around here, people liked to chop the mugwort finely and mix it into tofu to make mugwort tofu.

It was basically vegetable tofu, except instead of cabbage, they used mugwort.

The flavor was unforgettable—one bite and you’d crave it again. It was usually only made in winter.

Winter mugwort wasn’t as pungent and was much more tender.

Paired with garlic and chili, just thinking about it made Lin Heng’s mouth water.

Xiulan blinked and said, “Okay, let’s go together tomorrow morning. I’ve been craving mugwort tofu too.”

“Alright.”

Lin Heng nodded. Feeling a bit hungry, he picked up the pace peeling the shoots.

In just over half an hour, the two of them had finished peeling all the bamboo shoots. Lin Heng grabbed a scale from the cupboard and weighed them.

Seeing the number, he grinned. “Not bad—just the peeled shoots alone weigh twenty-one jin and six liang.”

If they hadn’t given some to his parents and elder brother, they’d have had close to thirty jin.

Xiulan looked at him and said, “Let’s keep five jin for ourselves and pickle the rest into sour bamboo shoots?”

“Let’s just pickle ten jin. Winter shoots are delicious—when we want pickled ones, we can use spring shoots instead,” Lin Heng said after thinking it over.

Xiulan nodded and took the shoots to the kitchen to start cooking.

Winter bamboo shoots weren’t bitter, so they didn’t need to be blanched—perfect for direct cooking.

Xiulan made stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat and a simple green vegetable and egg drop soup.

Soon, the dishes were on the table.

The meat was cured pork belly, a beautiful deep red, stir-fried with bamboo shoots and slices of pickled radish. The flavors complemented each other perfectly.

It wasn’t just savory from the meat—the sweetness of the bamboo shoots and the tang of the radish added depth. Every bite was rich and satisfying, perfect with rice.

“This is delicious.”

Lin Heng devoured his meal and downed a bowl of soup, letting out a contented burp.

He was a fast eater, so once he was done, he helped feed Xiao Xia.

They were already teaching Xiao Xia to use chopsticks and a spoon, so she didn’t need constant help. Just watching her eat was enough.

After dinner, Lin Heng washed the dishes and soaked the soybeans, while Xiulan started pickling the bamboo shoots.

Once the soybeans were out, Lin Heng asked, “Feels like thirty jin might not be enough. Should we just soak fifty?”

Xiulan glanced at him. “Sure, but we’ll be grinding forever tomorrow.”

“That’s fine,” Lin Heng waved it off, unconcerned.

After all, it wasn’t him doing the grinding—it was the ox.

Once they were done, Xiulan took Xiao Xia over to her parents’ place to wash the bedding.

Lin Heng stayed behind to clean the stone mill in the courtyard.

“You guys making tofu? Your sister-in-law’s planning to make some too,” Lin Yue asked with a smile.

“Perfect timing,” Lin Heng replied with a grin. “I’ll clean the mill and we can all use it.”

They didn’t have a small mill at home—this one was massive, nearly a thousand jin in total, with each grinding stone weighing two hundred jin.

It took two strong men to move it—or an ox.

After scrubbing the mill clean, Xiulan still wasn’t done washing the bedding, so Lin Heng took Xiao Xia and went around the village looking for mugwort.

It grew all over the countryside. Lin Heng carried a bamboo basket, picking mugwort and digging up shepherd’s purse as he went.

Even with Xiao Xia “helping” (and mostly getting in the way), he managed to gather half a basket of mugwort and another half of shepherd’s purse in just an hour.

Shepherd’s purse was one of the tastier wild greens—great even as a simple cold dish.

When Xiulan got home from washing clothes, she cooked it up for him that night.

The next morning, the two of them lazed in bed a while and didn’t get up until nine.

After a bit of exercise and breakfast, it was already ten-thirty when they carried the soaked soybeans over to his parents’ courtyard.

Seeing Lin Heng arrive, Lin Yue asked with a grin, “So, little brother, are you grinding by hand or…?”

“Of course I’m using the ox,” Lin Heng replied. “Why waste human effort?”

Then he went off to fetch the ox.

It had been fed straw that morning, but when Lin Heng got there, he sighed.

The ox was filthy—its pen hadn’t been cleaned, and manure was stuck all over its body.

If it shook itself while working, the tofu would be ruined.

“No problem, I’ll wash you up!”

Lin Heng went back, grabbed some laundry detergent and a brush, and called his elder brother to help him take the ox to the river.

Half an hour later, their big yellow ox was sparkling clean.

“Moo!!”

Apparently refreshed, the ox let out a loud, satisfied bellow.

“Now go home and grind properly. I’ll give you some soybean dregs later,” Lin Heng said, patting its head and leading it back.

Even though it was already noon by then, sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the chopping of firewood.

What Lin Heng didn’t expect was that Mother Lin and Xiulan had already started grinding.

He was speechless. “Didn’t I say to wait for the ox?”

Mother Lin waved it off. “People can grind too. We’ve already done ten jin while waiting.”

Lin Heng looked at his mother helplessly. “You’ve got an ox and still insist on doing it yourself—what can I say?”

His mother’s way of thinking just didn’t sit right—she always wanted to throw herself into everything headfirst.

Not only did she wear herself out, but Xiulan ended up drenched in sweat too. And all for nothing—they didn’t have to work this hard.

Shrugging, he hitched up the ox and told his mother to take a break.

He drove the ox while Xiulan added soybeans and water.

With the ox helping, the job was a breeze. What used to take them half an hour of hard labor to grind just ten jin by hand, now they could do forty jin in the same time.

Lin Heng really couldn’t understand why his mother insisted on doing these backbreaking chores. Would it kill her to take a break once in a while?

(End of chapter)