Crossing the Unknown Country

Shopkeeper Yang was very happy to sell his stock. Su He was also very happy to buy potatoes, which could save lives in ancient times when disaster struck. Su He told his parents that the yield was very high and they could be eaten as food and rations and were easy to store. If they were directly placed in the cellar, they could be stored for more than a year. This was a good thing.

Su He's parents knew that taro was so good, so they asked, "Why don't people grow and eat it?"

Su He smiled and said, "I guess no one really understands its benefits, so no one grows it in large quantities."

The family drove the ox cart home, and the cart was full of things. Su He looked at the potatoes he bought, feeling very happy, and finally found what he wanted to buy. Today was a great harvest, and the vinegar he made was very popular, so he would make a few more jars for later use.

After returning home, the family unloaded their things. Su He cut a few potatoes into pieces and prepared to germinate them in the vegetable garden at home. She pressed the potatoes with the toothed side facing up into the sand, which Su He had asked her brother to dig from the river. She watered them, covered them with a basket, and waited for them to slowly sprout.

I am going to cut three potatoes tonight and make stir-fried potato shreds. Grandma has hot peppers, and I have a Sichuan pepper tree at home. I don’t have peppers but I have leaves. Cut the potato shreds and blanch them in water. I don’t want to throw away the water. I will put it in the porridge later. It is all starch. When a plate of potato shreds is ready, Su He pours the vinegar he made on it when it is out of the pot. The perfect vinegar potato shreds are ready. I set aside half and asked my eldest brother to send it to grandma. I put the other half on the table, came over and put the warm water in the pot and waited for the pot to boil. I added the kudzu root powder and beat an egg. The egg soup was ready in a few minutes. I added a handful of chopped green leaves and turned off the heat.

Everyone ate together, eating steamed buns baked by the fire at home, eating shredded potatoes, and drinking egg soup. The family's dinner was already quite sumptuous. The second brother smiled and said, "Now we can have one more dish. This shredded potato is delicious. My sister has discovered a treasure again."

After dinner, the family chatted and laughed. The three children began to copy books. After taking four books from the library, they could copy separately. Su Pei and Su Che copied books at home, each copying one book. Su Feng and Su Run could also copy one book. Su He only copied medical books, and started studying after copying. She did not participate in their copying work. However, she would read the books they copied so that she could learn more about the dynasty.

Su He did not ask for more. These were enough. If he wanted more, he would not be able to finish it. It would be better to copy one book at a time. He would not be nervous and could study and copy books at the same time. His brothers also agreed with Su He's suggestion. It would be better to separate them so that they would not have to run back and forth. If the brushes were gone, they would make a few more. However, the ink would need to be bought when it ran out, and the price was not cheap.

Looking at the gradually decreasing ink block, Su He thought it would be better to make ink by herself. She had seen this and had a plan to shoot it, but she had not yet learned it in detail when she came here. At that time, she had a general understanding, and now she had to do it while exploring. The simplest method is to collect the black ash from the iron pot or the flue, wash and grind the ash, wash and then settle it, and then add gum. You can ask the carpenter Uncle Li for this, he has his own glue.

Su He did what she said. She asked her father to take the pot off the stove and use a knife to clean the ash on the bottom of the pot. She had to get something to scrape the ash out of the flue. After a while, she came out with a black nose and a black face. She put the ash she scraped off in a bowl and asked her father to lend her a hammer. A hammer is necessary for making ink. A small hammer will do. Only the stonemason has this size of hammer. It is just right to borrow it this evening and return it tomorrow morning so as not to delay the stonemason's work. She also went to Uncle Li's house to get some glue.

Su He's father went to borrow it quickly. Because of Su He's grandfather, the villagers have a good relationship with them now. Su He's father went to borrow the hammer. Stonemason Li was very straightforward. He smiled and said that he would do big work tomorrow morning and the small hammer would be used in the afternoon. There was no need to return it in a hurry. It would be fine as long as it would not delay his work in the afternoon. Su He's father smiled and thanked him. He went to the carpenter's house to get a small bamboo tube of glue, and quickly took the hammer and glue home.