In the courtyard where the Long Teng companions lived, once only their own people remained, the captain couldn't wait to lead the charge and ask Yang Xinjie, "Xinjie, what did you mean by those two home-style dishes you wrote about?"
"Heh heh, you don't know, do you? Before the apocalypse, Xin Ci was a very picky eater."
Yang Xinjie counted on her fingers the things Fu Xin Ci disliked.
"Eggplant, chili peppers, cucumbers, radishes… and many more. To get her to eat more vegetables and ensure balanced nutrition, Fu Mama would add some rehydrated black fungus to shredded cabbage with vinegar, and stir-fry it with sliced or shredded carrots."
"My goodness! Fu Mama is so creative!" Pang Dun'er exclaimed in astonishment.
"Anything else?" the captain continued to ask.
"For the stewed pork belly with cabbage, Xin Ci likes the vermicelli inside."
"It's delicious with frozen tofu too," Xu Ruyi's mouth watered.
"Xin Ci doesn't eat frozen tofu."
Xu Ruyi: "Oh."
Xiao Ai: "I'm starting to wonder how Fu Mama managed to raise her."
"From what I know, it was just those few dishes, which is why she never ate at other people's houses, for fear of being ridiculed."
The captain: "How do you know that?"
"Fu Mama's cooking was exceptionally delicious, I often went to their place to mooch meals," Yang Xinjie said, her eyes dimming instantly. "I really miss Father Fu and Mother Fu."
They missed the wonderful Father Fu and Mother Fu just as much.
"If only there was no apocalypse, we could also go to Sister Xin Ci's house for meals."
Pang Dun'er's wish was everyone's wish.
Alas, they could only imagine.
…
After Qi Yuanshan brought the young men from the garrison back with all the carrots his father and son had found.
Grandpa Meng, with his granddaughter, also solemnly dug up a donkey cart full of potatoes from the wild.
Passing by the garrison, Grandpa Meng generously left more than half for them.
Qi Yuanshan and the soldiers at the garrison thanked the grandfather and granddaughter incessantly.
The joy on the soldiers' faces also infected Grandpa Meng. As they were leaving, he reminded Qi Yuanshan, "Yuanshan, it's getting cold. You must not get frozen, and you absolutely cannot go hungry. Uncle has ordered another batch of grain, it will be delivered in a couple of days, and Uncle will send some over to you then."
"Uncle…"
"We're like family, no need to be formal. Besides, when those scoundrels come to harass us, you need to be well-fed to have the strength to fight back."
After saying his firm words, Grandpa Meng whipped the donkey and headed back along the sandy path by the river. Grandpa Meng glanced at his granddaughter and thought: You should thank Ci'er, but he couldn't let his granddaughter's secret be known to others.
Otherwise, all sorts of factions would appear, and his granddaughter's life would probably never be peaceful again.
"Grandfather, keep an eye out for me. I'll take out some more potatoes." Fu Xin Ci saw that there was no one nearby and said to her grandfather.
"Mm."
Grandpa Meng stealthily looked around. Seeing that no one was in sight, he quietly said to his granddaughter, "Ci'er, there's no one around now, so carefully put the potatoes on the donkey cart. Be mindful, don't put too many at once, take your time."
"Grandfather, I know."
"Ci'er, just put a little. At worst, the two of us can go out again another day."
"Mm." Fu Xin Ci nodded. It seemed her grandfather also liked potatoes very much.
Should she take out some sweet potatoes too and let her grandfather try them?
Finally arriving at their doorstep, Meng Qicheng quickly opened the large gate, removed the threshold, and after his second uncle drove the donkey cart into the yard, he discussed with his second uncle, "Second Uncle, it's getting cold. Next time, let me handle this kind of strenuous work."
Grandpa Meng thought: Where would you be any good?
But he said righteously, "It was also Ci'er's sharp eyes that spotted the unusual plants in that wild patch from afar. We ran over to take a look and only then did we realize they were potatoes. That's how we got this great fortune."
Qi He, listening nearby, felt so wronged. "Why is it that when I go out, I never encounter such good luck?"
"I almost missed it today too," Fu Xin Ci quickly explained (to cover up). "From a distance, everything else was withered and yellow, only that one spot had some green. I was curious, so I asked Grandfather to stop the donkey cart and take a look. I didn't expect there to be such good things."
"Sigh." Qi He had to admit that Sister Fu had good luck. "Fortunately, Sister Fu went with Grandpa Meng today. If it had been me, all these potatoes would have frozen in the ground and gone to waste."
Fu Xin Ci: Is it really okay to keep deceiving children?
The guilt lasted only a moment before she gleefully grabbed two sweet potato vines and said, "Today I also found two sweet potatoes."
"Sweet potatoes…" Grandpa Meng was about to ask what sweet potatoes were, but seeing everyone present, he wisely kept quiet.
After everyone worked together to put the potatoes in the cellar, Fu Xin Ci, with great effort, carried over a dozen sweet potatoes and placed them at her grandfather's feet.
Grandpa Meng dared not speak, fearing he would reveal something.
Fu Xin Ci left the vines behind and then, with a playful wink at her grandfather, said, "Grandfather, you always said sweet potatoes were delicious. Today we finally get to taste them."
Grandpa Meng: Can you stop acting first and then reporting? Grandfather's brain can't keep up with your speed, it's easy to make mistakes.
Fortunately, as the saying goes, ginger is spicier when it's older. At critical moments, Grandpa Meng said little, thus avoiding any slip-ups.
However, in private, he still reminded his granddaughter, "Ci'er, since these things are as good as you say, we can't eat them all. We need to keep some for seeds."
"Grandfather, don't worry. These two sweet potato vines are probably enough."
"Just the vines?"
"Mm. If you're worried, Grandfather, let's plant them in the warm shed right now."
"Alright." Grandpa Meng considered it a major matter and went to the warm shed with his granddaughter. Before leaving, he remembered to put the sweet potatoes in a basket. Before the seed issue was resolved, not a single sweet potato could be touched.
The ground in the warm shed had already been turned over by Meng Qicheng.
Fu Xin Ci, with practiced ease, took the sweet potato vines to the warm shed, found a spot in the corner, and cut the two vines into several sections, planting them in the soil.
"Ci'er, is this alright?"
"Grandfather, we shouldn't have high expectations at this season. As long as they can survive, it's fine."
"Grandfather means the same. Even though we built a warm shed ourselves, Grandpa Meng didn't expect a bumper harvest in the first year.
After all, everything is in the experimental stage, and besides, this is the first time he's seen sweet potatoes.
But his granddaughter said sweet potatoes are high-yielding and easy to grow, which piqued his interest.
After his granddaughter finished planting the sweet potato vines, Grandpa Meng, like a curious baby, pointed at the sweet potatoes in the basket and asked his granddaughter, "Ci'er, can these sweet potatoes be planted?"
"Of course."
Fu Xin Ci picked up a sweet potato, and a very good idea suddenly popped into her mind.