CHAPTER 182: CHAPTER 182: LOTUS ROOTS AND LOTUS SEEDS

"These lotus seeds are so hard." Xiaoxue peeled off a lotus seed, pinching it, but couldn’t move it at all.

"This is the shell of the lotus seed, the seed is inside." Erniang used a branch to nudge the lotus root over, then picked it up and set it aside.

The lotus root grew nicely, white as snow, about the thickness of two wrists, with a sharp bud at one end as if ready to sprout and continue growing.

The section with the bud, along with the adjacent section, was broken off by Erniang and placed separately; once stored properly, it could be planted directly next spring.

Of course, that’s assuming there is water.

The family still had some lotus seeds, which Jiang Hu asked Master Zhang to help find, along with the method for planting lotus roots and notes on what to watch out for.

Xiaoxue placed the seeds into a small bamboo basket: "Mom, the shell is so hard, how do we get the seed out without smashing it?"

She’d eaten pecans before, also found by her father from the mountains, which were particularly hard, needing a hammer to crack open to get at the little bit of nut inside.

Even though there was little nut meat, it was delicious, but when you cracked them open, the nut would often be damaged.

Erniang picked up a seed: "No need to crack it, see this pointed part here, it’s the sprouting area. Rubbing it like this on a stone to create a notch will make it sprout."

Erniang demonstrated, rubbing it on a large stone a dozen times or so, which flattened the point a lot, and after a bit more rubbing, a small notch appeared.

Tiedan’s eyes immediately lit up: "Looks fun! I want to try it! Mom, teach me!"

"Just rub this spot, don’t get it wrong, and be careful not to rub your hand, there’s a little nub here."

"Got it, I got it." Tiedan eagerly started playing.

With a dozen lotus pods, each with about a dozen seeds, two to three hundred seeds in total, it would keep them amused for a while!

Alas, before even finishing one seed, Tiedan was wrinkling his nose, shaking his hand vigorously: "So tiring."

Jiang Hu had already come out of the pool, and Erniang promptly had him sit by the fire.

In just that short time, Jiang Hu’s hands had turned pale from the cold: "Really cold."

He warmed his hands first, then began to take off his wet boots, even though he’d been very careful, water had still seeped in, soaking his calves halfway.

Erniang stoked the fire a bit more and took a bundle from the basket: "How about changing clothes first?"

Though they had brought a set of clean clothes to prepare for such occasions, water still got in.

Jiang Hu shook his head: "I’ll warm up a bit first, it’s too cold."

He took off his shoes and placed his numbed foot near the fire.

Erniang placed the bundle aside and retrieved the remaining sections of lotus root from the pool.

Jiang Hu spoke beside her: "Erniang, you come warm your hands too, it’s freezing out."

Though it wasn’t raining or snowing and even a bit sunny today, that didn’t stop the cold.

Initially, each child had their own room, but now Xiaomi sleeps with Xiaoxue, and Tiedan squeezes in with his big brother for warmth.

Xiaomi gathered more dry firewood nearby, agreeing with her father deeply.

From her two years’ experience, she noted that in Cheng County, on the southern side, winters were damp and icy cold, the air-like ice beads.

Clothes wouldn’t dry even after many days of being hung out, and when roasted by the fire, they’d still emit steam!

The most frustrating was, despite the cold, you couldn’t see a single snowflake; it was so disheartening!

"Wait, there are only a few more left; let me retrieve them first."

As they spoke, the last few were nudged over, and after taking them out, Erniang quickly moved near the fire.

Even just picking them from the surface, one couldn’t avoid touching the pool water, which was too cold, turning her fingertips pale.

"There’s quite a bit of lotus root here, probably over tens of kilograms."

Earlier, there were just a few withered leaves, a few lotus pods, not much feeling occurred, but now seeing the heap of lotus roots together, it seemed quite substantial.

Jiang Hu nodded: "They’ll last for a while, conserve them carefully, and they can be eaten during the New Year."

The New Year was only a month away.

Speaking of the New Year, Erniang remembered another matter: "By the way, Hu, this year let’s slaughter a pig ourselves; make plenty of cured meat and sausages."

In previous years, all pigs were sold to restaurants, and then they’d buy a bit of meat for the New Year.

But in the past, there were only at most four pigs; this year, they raised eight.

It was quite tiring, but after a year’s care, the once piglets had grown into nearly two hundred-pound hogs, a satisfying sight.

Jiang Hu agreed without hesitation: "Alright, I was thinking the same thing, stocking up on more meat is good, who knows what things will be like next year."

Outside, Jiang Hu wouldn’t dare to discuss such things, fearing causing unrest, for which he could be held accountable.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t secretly prepare, with such a large family to consider, even if it seemed unfounded worry, he needed to be thoughtful.

Nearby Liu Ze, who had been peeling the last lotus pod, was moved by the discussion: "Uncle Jiang, can I buy a pig? I want to send it to my parents."

If there really was a drought next year causing crop shortage and difficulty raising livestock, then even life in the county wouldn’t be easy.

And even if a drought didn’t occur and their concern was needless, it didn’t matter, as Uncle Jiang’s pigs weren’t easily bought outside.

"Why buy, just drive a pig back, shall we have Qixi bring the pig to town tomorrow, and have your family send it to the county?"

Jiang Hu had no idea how long it took from Cheng County to Xiangma Town, but he imagined it wasn’t short, as he hadn’t heard of Liu Ze’s parents coming back all this time.

If they slaughtered the pig, the time delay might spoil the meat; better to drive a live pig back and let the family handle it, which would allow for fresh consumption or making cured meats.

Liu Ze shook his head: "No, it must be purchased; when I get back, I’ll tell Grandpa."

Jiang Hu didn’t accommodate at all: "It’s the same no matter what you tell your Grandpa, I’m in charge of this, no sale!"

It’s just a pig, bought for only a hundred copper coins or so, sold for only a few ounces of silver.

It’s not that he discounted those ounces of silver, but the assistance from the Liu family far exceeded several pieces of silver.

Not to mention the yard’s design; according to Qixi, just drafting such a plan costs over a hundred ounces of silver elsewhere.

A single pig was something he could certainly afford.

Liu Ze, being sternly refused by Jiang Hu for the first time, was momentarily speechless.

He felt he should pay for it, but unable to refute, his brows knit tightly.