After hearing the whole story, Song Yaodong said thoughtfully, “It seems that Shen Che is not as bad as the rumors say.”
Upon hearing this, Song Zhaodi was stunned for a moment, and thought about the rumors about Shen Che: he was not liked by the clan and was driven out, which angered his mother to death. He was vindictive, arrogant and willful, and a bully in the village.
That doesn’t quite fit.
As Song Yaodong added fuel to the fire, he said, “Just cook a small piece of this meat, and marinate the rest so we can eat it slowly later.”
For families like theirs, it’s already a blessing to have enough to eat; they can’t possibly eat meat every meal.
That’s too extravagant.
Following instructions, Song Zhaodi marinated the remaining meat, covered it with an earthenware pot, and turned to Song Yaodong, saying, “Dad, from now on we will definitely be able to live a life where we have meat every meal.”
Song Yaodong smiled, taking it as his daughter comforting him.
Not to mention that their family was already poor, and in the past two years they have suffered from either drought or flood, resulting in poor harvests, and they can only survive by eating wild vegetables.
Now that his leg is injured again, it will be even more difficult for him to recover.
As they spoke, Song Zhaodi had already washed the mushrooms, torn the termite mushrooms into strips, and sliced the Boletus edulis into thin, even pieces. She then began preparing the side dishes.
When Song Yaodong looked up, he saw her cutting a piece of Bodhi seed. Thinking of what Pandi had told him, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Zhao Di, is it really okay to eat this poisonous lump? Won’t it cause any problems?”
“Dad, don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll want to eat more after you start.”
As she spoke, she had already heated the oil, put the garlic cloves into the oil to fry until fragrant, and then added the Bok choy, stir-frying it while secretly counting the number of cloves.
When you reach six thousand, add chili peppers and salt to taste, continue stir-frying, and count quietly again.
She followed the recipe steps strictly, preferring to cook the mushrooms a little longer until they were fully cooked, rather than rushing the process.
Song Yaodong watched as his daughter waved the spatula around while muttering incantations, just like a shaman performing a ritual.
Could it be that the secret to eating poisonous lumps is reciting some kind of incantation while cooking them?
Filled with doubt and trepidation, he finally heard Song Zhaodi say, “It’s done.”
The aroma was irresistible, and each of the poisonous nodules glistened with oil, its color enticing and mouthwatering.
Not only Song Zhaodi, but also Song Yaodong and Song Pandi silently swallowed.
Song Zhaodi picked up a piece and felt relieved when she saw the ‘non-toxic’ label on it.
Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, Song Yaodong shouted, “Wait!”
He looked at Song Zhaodi cautiously and said, “Zhaodi, it’s not that your father doesn’t trust you, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Why don’t we test the poison on a rat first?”
The rumors about the poisonous lump were deeply ingrained and could not be changed by a few words. Therefore, Song Zhaodi allowed Song Yaodong to catch a rat to test the poison.
The rats in Old Song’s house, like the people in Old Song’s house, were pitifully thin. Due to malnutrition, they were listless and would devour a piece of Boletus luridus in just a few bites as soon as they saw food.
Then came the waiting.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the rat showed no signs of poisoning. On the contrary, having eaten, its weak limbs regained strength, and it seemed much more energetic. Smelling the aroma from the pot, it tried to crawl over and eat some more.
Song Yaodong remained cautious and waited another fifteen minutes. Finally, seeing the lively rat, he picked up a piece and fed it to the chicken. Seeing that the chicken was fine after eating it, he was relieved.
“I’ll eat first. If you’re free, you can eat later.”
He first picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, chewed it, and his eyes lit up.
“Zhaodi, these poisonous lumps are tender, smooth, and delicious.”
“Right?” Song Zhaodi ate a piece herself, then fed a piece to Pandi, who had been staring at her eagerly for a while, before asking, “Dad, this is a kind of mushroom called ‘Jianshouqing’. Do you think it would sell well if we sold it?”
Song Yaodong nodded immediately and said, “It’s so delicious, it’ll definitely sell well.” He paused halfway through his sentence and added, “But these mushrooms use too much oil.”
Ordinary families couldn’t afford to eat that.
“So, we can’t sell them at the market,” Song Zhaodi said, adding, “Boletus edulis uses a lot of oil, but Termitomyces albuminosus is fine.”
“Termitomyces mushrooms are not poisonous and do not require a lot of oil or long-term stir-frying, so they are suitable for most households to eat.”
Song Yaodong was completely confused, but he caught one thing he didn’t understand.
“What is stir-frying?” At this point, he asked the question he had wanted to ask yesterday, “Zhao Di, I’ve noticed that your cooking these past two days is quite different from before.”
It’s no longer boiling or steaming. “Isn’t your method what they call ‘stir-frying’?”
“Yes, Dad. This is stir-frying. The water celery from the day before yesterday was also stir-fried. I learned how to do it from a book,” Song Zhaodi explained.
Song Yaodong suddenly realized, and said with some pride, “My daughter Zhaodi not only learned to read but also learned so much while working. She’s really great.”
Song Pandi chimed in, “Yes, my uncle has studied for so many years, but he still can’t write as many characters as my eldest sister.”
This is also true. The original owner had a naturally good memory. Although he only did odd jobs in the private school, he learned a lot of characters over the years.
Even the private tutor said she was exceptionally intelligent, but it was a pity she was a girl, otherwise she would have had a bright future.
“Whether I have a bright future or not is not important to me now. What’s important is to fill my stomach and cure my father’s leg.”
As Song Zhaodi spoke, she washed the large basket of shepherd’s purse that Pandi had picked that morning, stir-fried the oil residue in the pan to extract the oil, added minced garlic and stir-fried until fragrant, and then added the shepherd’s purse.
The tender shepherd’s purse leaves, coated in oil, gleamed with a vibrant green sheen and emitted a fragrant aroma that wafted into the air.
“It smells so good!” Song Dachuan’s voice rang out in the courtyard. “Zhaodi, what are we having for dinner today?”
When the food was served, Song Dachuan looked at the table full of unfamiliar dishes, his expression a mix of confusion and anticipation. Finally, he looked at Song Zhaodi.
“Zhaodi, apart from shepherd’s purse, I don’t recognize any of these vegetables on the table. They’re all edible wild vegetables?”
Song Zhaodi nodded and introduced the dishes to him, while also telling her parents, “This is ‘Jianshouqing’, a kind of wild mushroom; this is purslane salad; this is shepherd’s purse stir-fried with pork cracklings.”
Fresh purslane has a sour and salty taste, not as good as dried purslane. Song Zhaodi dried some a couple of days ago, and it’s delicious today.
Although Song Dachuan didn’t understand, he knew that they were all edible, so he didn’t hesitate any longer and urged everyone to start eating.
When they tasted the Bok choy, they praised it repeatedly, and in the end, they almost licked the plate clean.
Finally, having eaten and drunk his fill, Song Dachuan looked at Song Zhaodi with an unprecedented tenderness.
I never expected my eldest daughter to cook so well. I didn’t even get heartburn after eating, and my stomach felt very comfortable.
“Zhaodi, from now on you will be in charge of cooking all the meals at home.”
Song Zhaodi had no objection, but she still deliberately asked, “Then what will Grandma do in the future?”
Previously, Sun Xiuhe was mainly responsible for cooking at home, while everyone else had to work in the fields.
Mentioning Sun Xiuhe, Song Dachuan’s face immediately fell, and he said irritably, “She’s working in the fields! Asking her to cook is just a waste of food.”