Chen Lan looked at everyone staring at her, rubbed her nose, and smiled sheepishly, "Nothing? Nothing? Uncle Fu's reminder just now made me remember something about preparing seeds for the seedlings in advance."
She paused and continued, "I asked my father-in-law last time, and he said that starting the day after tomorrow, there will be three more days of clear weather. We need to start from the day after tomorrow and use these three days to build a greenhouse before the next rain. I've asked my father-in-law to prepare the materials for building the greenhouse, and we just need to mobilize everyone to build it together. Once the greenhouse is built! We can also use it to grow vegetables in winter."
Everyone's interest was immediately piqued when they heard about growing vegetables in winter in the greenhouse, and they gathered around.
Xiang Dong asked curiously, "Xiao Lan, can you tell us how we can grow vegetables in a greenhouse in Changbai Mountain, where the winter temperature is so low, around minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius?"
Chen Lan wasn't entirely sure for a moment, but she couldn't back down!
So, she searched her memory from her past life for knowledge about greenhouses and said, "It specifically depends on the type of greenhouse we build. If we're just growing vegetables for everyone to eat in winter and nurturing seedlings, a regular warm-temperature solar greenhouse will suffice."
Seeing that everyone still had questions, she added, "The issue of a warm greenhouse will depend on the specific materials my father-in-law provides us to determine what kind of warm greenhouse we can build."
Just then, her mother-in-law came out of the kitchen, stood at the doorway, waved at Chen Lan, and called out, "Lan'er, come here for a moment."
Perfect! Chen Lan was unsure how to continue the conversation. Hearing her mother-in-law call, she immediately got up and went to the kitchen.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, Chen Lan asked, "Mom, what do you need me for?"
Her mother-in-law said in a low voice, "Lan'er, Mingxuan is home these past few days. Shouldn't we stew some nourishing soups and broths for him to help him recover?"
Chen Lan nodded and replied, "Yes! Mom, Grandma always asks Mama Cui to stew wild ginseng chicken soup for Mingxuan ge every day!"
Her mother-in-law disagreed, "Lan'er, you're all being reckless. If you have Mingxuan drink wild ginseng stewed wild chicken soup every day, he won't be able to tolerate it. Healing requires slow replenishment, preferably gentle nourishment. How can you drink ginseng chicken soup every day, every meal? You should alternate between different nourishing soups. You can't just drink ginseng chicken soup all the time; too much ginseng can cause internal heat."
Chen Lan was dumbfounded and stammered, "That... but? Mom, what should we do then?"
Her mother-in-law continued, "Didn't you prepare a lot of snow clam in the spring? You can use snow clam stew to make nourishing soup. Mingxuan is injured, right? That's perfect! Snow clam can enhance the body's immune function and has a good nourishing effect on people with weak bodies.
Also, I noticed he's coughing a bit today, and his throat seems a little uncomfortable. Let's stew snow clam with snow pear. Snow pear has the effect of clearing heat and moisturizing the lungs."
Chen Lan remembered as her mother-in-law spoke. Now was the time when snow clams returned from the forest to the water to hibernate for winter. Today, it was raining, and the temperature had suddenly dropped, making it a good time to catch snow clams.
With this thought, Chen Lan interjected, "Okay! Mom, let's stew snow clam with snow pear. Mom, besides snow pear and snow clam, do we need any other ingredients?"
Her mother-in-law said in a low voice, "We also need some white fungus, red dates, goji berries, and rock sugar."
Chen Lan mentally opened her system to buy rock sugar, red dates, and snow pears, and said cheerfully, "Okay! Mom, we have white fungus and goji berries in the kitchen. Let's stew a larger portion today. Except for the children, everyone can have some to moisturize their lungs.
After entering autumn, the weather has become too dry, and everyone is suffering from internal heat, dry and tight skin. Oh, right, Mom, do you want to rehydrate the dried snow clam oil, or use fresh ones?"
Her mother-in-law asked in surprise, "What? Lan'er, can you still get fresh snow clam now?"
Chen Lan took out thirty catties of snow pears, fifteen catties of rock sugar, and five catties of Xinjiang red dates from her system's warehouse.
As she answered, "Yes! Mom, now is the time when snow clams return from the eastern and western slopes of the forest to the dark river to hibernate for winter. They will gradually enter the water and hibernate collectively.
Snow clams caught in autumn are better than those caught in spring because they have eaten insects and wild fruits for several months and have accumulated months of nutrition and energy to hibernate in the dark river for about half a year. Now is the time when the snow clam meat is the most plump and their vitality is the strongest.
Later, I will go and catch some. The snow clam oil will be stewed with snow pear to nourish Mingxuan ge and everyone.
Snow clam meat is also tender and easy to digest and absorb, suitable for people of all ages, especially for the weak and the elderly, and has good nutritional supplement effects. We can stir-fry or braise it for everyone to eat."
Her mother-in-law said worriedly, "Lan'er, if we catch them like this, will we wipe them all out?"
Chen Lan thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, this year we'll only catch enough males for everyone to have a meal. For females, we'll only catch a few to nourish Mingxuan ge for the next few days. If we want to eat them next year, we can raise some ourselves."
Her mother-in-law asked in surprise, "Lan'er, can these things be raised by ourselves?"
Chen Lan thought seriously. She remembered that most of the snow clams in Changbai Mountain in her previous life were artificially farmed, so she nodded and said, "Yes, it's a bit troublesome. Alright! Mom, you continue with your work. We'll chat again later. I'll go and ask if anyone wants to come with me.
We need to go to the dark river to catch some snow clams. You need to stew the soup now, right?"
With that, she turned and left the kitchen and ran out.
Her mother-in-law chided, "This child, really. She has a son and a daughter, but she still acts like a child who hasn't grown up."
Chen Lan ran back to the living room and walked up to Xiang Xi, asking, "Little Watermelon, I'm going to the dark river now. Do you want to come with me?"
Xiang Xi stopped swinging his legs and asked in surprise, "Little Basket, it's windy and rainy outside. What are you going to the dark river for?"
Chen Lan replied, "I'm going to catch some snow clams to replenish everyone's health."
She then continued to explain, "Now is the time when snow clams are the most plump and have the highest nutritional value. Think about it, they've eaten insects for several months in the forest and are now preparing to return to the dark river to hibernate. They must have accumulated a belly full of nutrients. It's the perfect time to catch them!"
Xu Mingxuan and Xiang Dong, who had been paying attention to the conversation, were also very interested when they heard this and wanted to go to the dark river to catch snow clams.