Spring comes to the desperate place

With the help of strong laborers, the small piece of bamboo sugarcane was soon cut down. Song Dazhuang helped transport all the bamboo sugarcane back under his son's starry eyes, feeling dizzy.

When he was carrying the pile back, Song Qin looked left and right behind him, but she couldn't see her son. She immediately put her hands on her waist and scolded him, "I told you to follow the child, but where is the child? What are you going to do with all this stuff? Aren't the dead branches and leaves at the foot of the mountain enough for you to burn? If you can't burn them all, are you going to carry them with you?"

Facing his daughter-in-law's scolding, Song Dazhuang expressed his grievance, "No, it was your son who specifically asked for it. I didn't take the initiative to cut it down!"

Song Dazhuang whispered to his wife, "Chunlin asked for this, and I don't know what it is, but it must be a useful... thing..." The more Song Dazhuang spoke, the more nervous he became. This small pile on the ground was not light, and it would be very tiring to carry it on the road.

Song Qin felt that her head was aching so much. It was bad enough that the little boy was making trouble, but the old man was also making trouble. He was almost pissing her off to death.

Although she said she was disgusted, Song Qin still put the pile of bamboo sugarcanes away, thinking that at worst she would not have to collect firewood for the next two days and could just burn these first.

Having achieved his goal, Song Chunlin smiled happily and followed his brother to dig sweet potatoes. He not only gave birth to bamboo sugarcane, but also a small patch of sweet potatoes. Anyway, there were only weeds and sweet potatoes on this small hillside, and everyone could dig them together, so it wouldn't be too abrupt.

Both the leaves and tubers of sweet potatoes are edible, so when the first person dug down along the sweet potato leaves, he soon found a round sweet potato. The sweet potato that Song Chunlin nurtured was a smaller variety, and this one was about the size of a child's palm.

Seeing such a big "grass root", everyone was dumbfounded, so they squatted on the ground and started digging. Soon, someone dug up a bigger sweet potato, so everyone continued to dig excitedly. As for whether it can be eaten? Well, dig it first and then give it to the adults to judge whether it can be eaten.

Oh, the leaves of the grass also looked tender. They had not seen such fresh and juicy leaves along the way, so they picked a big handful and took them back.

Seeing these children returning with their loads, everyone was amazed. They took their children home and studied the tender green leaves and huge rhizomes with each other.

An elderly man checked the sweet potato in his hand over and over again. Finally, he broke off a small piece and smelled it, but there was no special smell.

"This thing looks similar to yam, but it seems a little different. Wait a minute, let me try it first." The old man who spoke was the only herbalist in the village. He had been collecting herbs all his life and had some experience in judging whether plants were poisonous or not.

When everyone saw him take a cautious bite, their eyes suddenly lit up.

"Doctor Jiang, what's going on? What does this thing taste like?"

Old Master Jiang squinted his eyes and chewed carefully. It was very good, a little sweet but not numbing in the mouth, so it should be non-toxic.

After a long while, Mr. Jiang smiled and said, "Not bad, you can eat it. It tastes pretty good. I wonder what it tastes like when it's cooked."

After getting the answer that it was not poisonous, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The brave ones even broke off a piece and ate it. It was indeed sweet and delicious, even better than yam and kudzu berry!

So at noon that day, a sweet smell was wafting through the villagers' temporary camp. Not only the children were greedy for it, but the adults were even more greedy. This thing tasted fragrant and sweet when cooked, which was very tempting.

Break the sweet potato open, the yellow flesh inside is soft, sticky and sweet. The ones that are roasted just right will even ooze out juice as sweet as honey. One bite will not only warm your stomach, but also soothe your soul.

Because of the delicious taste of sweet potatoes, the village chief decided that everyone should stay here for a day, and all the strong laborers should go to the hillside to dig sweet potatoes. More food means more hope.

Song Chunlin did not go with them this time. He estimated that the sweet potatoes he had helped to produce might weigh about 300 to 400 kilograms, and each person would only get 4 to 5 kilograms, not much, and if they were saved, they could last for several days.

Amao Song put the picked sweet potato leaves in a pot and stewed them with a little water, then sprinkled some salt on them and it became a dish to be eaten with sweet potatoes.

"This thing is quite delicious. No wonder it grows underground. If it was hanging on the tree, it would have been picked up long ago."

"That's right. I'm so old, but this is the first time I've eaten such sweet food. My stomach feels bloated after eating this."

Song A-mo laughed and scolded, "Just keep talking nonsense, come and have a drink of water."

The old couple had a very good relationship. Song Chunlin and Song Chunsheng both covered their mouths and laughed secretly. Song Qin, who was feeding Song Xiaobao sweet potatoes, also laughed. The family was very happy.

Song Chunlin knew that eating too many sweet potatoes would cause heartburn, so he ate only one and stopped. He was still thinking about the sugarcane he brought back.

After asking Song Qin to get a knife, Song Chunlin asked Song Chunsheng to peel the sugarcane for him. Song Chunsheng peeled the sugarcane reluctantly but doted on his younger brother. Song Chunlin held the peeled sugarcane, studied the position of the lower mouth, and then bit it.

Song Chunsheng was frightened by his action, fearing that his brother would lose his front teeth in order to chew on a bamboo pole.

But to Song Chunsheng's surprise, Song Chunlin not only did not bite off the tooth, but instead took a bite of the bamboo pole. He kept chewing it, and then spat out the residue in his mouth with a "Puh" sound.

Song Chunlin bared his teeth and handed the sugar cane to Song Chunsheng: "Brother, it's sweet because it has water in it!"

Water? How could there be water in this broken bamboo pole? Song Chunsheng was half-believing and half-doubting. Looking at his brother's sparkling eyes, he made up his mind and bit it, thinking that if his brother could chew it off, then he could do it too!

The expected pain did not occur, but the taste buds tasted a hint of sweetness. Song Chunsheng took a bite and chewed it in his mouth like Song Chunlin. The sweet juice flowed through the gaps between his teeth into his throat, moistening his long-thirsty throat.

Song Chunsheng also spat out the sugarcane residue and said, "It's really sweet, and very juicy!"

Song Qinshi and Song Amuo had been watching the two of them. Seeing them each take a bite of the bamboo pole, they thought they were just joking. Unexpectedly, the next moment they held the sugarcane in front of them like a treasure.

"Ah, Mom, this is juicy and sweet!"

Aunt Song and Qinshi Song were both confused, but they still took a bite each under the expectation of the two children. The moment the sugarcane entered their mouths, they found something different. The dry-looking bamboo poles were actually juicy and extremely sweet!

The more they chewed, the happier they became. There were so many bamboo poles, and if every one of them was like this, then they would not lack water!