Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Wenfang came to the path leading to the back mountain once again. It was the time when spring was turning into summer, and tender buds and green leaves surrounded the path, layer upon layer, growing vigorously.

Chen Wenfang tried hard to identify anything edible. There was a patch of wildly growing climbing vines, with pale purple flowers, covering half the hillside. Chen Wenfang thought to herself, "If only this were sweet potatoes, I wouldn't have to worry about going hungry for the next six months. Sigh..."

Looking at this, doesn't this look familiar? What is this? Ah, I remember now, this is kudzu root, wild kudzu root. The root is edible and contains a lot of carbohydrates.

Chen Wenfang was overjoyed. She had tried everything to lose weight but couldn't, and after searching everywhere for low-carb alternatives, she found this. She had even studied how to distinguish between jicama, yam, and sweet potato. She quickly placed the dry branches aside, pushed aside the vines spread on the ground, found a root, and tried to pull it out, but couldn't.

Chen Wenfang carried firewood home, checking the fire and adding more as she went. Grabbing a cleaver and a bucket, she returned to the kudzu slope and began digging at the stubborn kudzu root. After digging for quite a while, she unearthed three rootlets as thick as her arm. "Haha, now we have something to eat!" she thought. She chopped off the larger, edible roots, replanted them, covered them with soil, and rearranged the leaves. She couldn't afford to starve herself until she found other food. Carrying the three large kudzu roots into the bucket, Chen Wenfang happily hummed a song as she washed them in the pond. Holding them close, she also carried half a bucket of water home, panting.

Back in the kitchen, I cut the washed kudzu root into small pieces and put them into the water with the thatch roots. I simmered it over low heat, afraid that if I boiled it too much, the water would overflow from the hole in the rim of the pot.

After busy for a while, Chen Wenfang moved a stone from the outer yard, stood guard over the pot, and slowly cooked the food. Watching the flames dancing at the bottom of the pot and the faint sweet aroma wafting in the air, a smile appeared on Chen Wenfang's face. She didn't have to worry about her child going hungry for a while.

As the aroma of the food grew stronger,

"Mom, what are you cooking? It smells delicious!" Chen Xuanyu walked into the kitchen.

They stared longingly at the pot.

"Sweetie, the kudzu root soup is ready to eat in a bit."

"Okay," Chen Xuanyu rushed into his mother's arms, and together they watched the flames.

Three seconds later, "Mom, can I eat now?"

"It's not ripe yet."

"Oh," Chen Xuanyu waited.

Three seconds later, "Mom, it's cooked!"

"Sweetie, not yet?" Chen Wenfang smiled and patted his head.

She got up, picked up the broken bowl, scooped half a bowl of broth from the pot, poured it into another bowl, then poured it back into the original bowl, repeating this several times. She touched the broth to her lips until it was cool enough to drink, then handed it to Chen Xuanyu. "Sweetie, drink slowly, be careful it's hot."

"Okay," Chen Xuanyu said sensibly, holding the bowl and sipping the drink slowly.

"Mom, it's so sweet, you should drink some too," Chen Xuanyu said, holding the bowl close to Chen Wenfang's lips.

“Mom doesn’t want to drink it, there’s still some left in the pot. My sweet baby is so thoughtful,” Chen Wenfang said with great satisfaction.

After simmering for a while longer, the kudzu root in the pot emitted a rich aroma. Chen Wenfang used two twigs to pick out a piece, put it in a bowl, and blew on it to cool it down.

It was given to Chen Xuanyu, who took a small bite and squinted his big eyes in bliss.

"Mommy, it's so delicious!"

Chen Wenfang also picked up a piece for herself. It was indeed very good, both pink and sweet. The fragrance of kudzu root and the sweetness of cogongrass root blended perfectly together. In addition, it was simmered over low heat, so the sweetness slowly seeped in and became even more flavorful.