Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Xu Xiaoyan picked all the best-growing water spinach and amaranth, filling several large basins. Then, she set up a large basin under the bamboo shed and washed each vegetable clean.

When washing vegetables, you should not only make sure to wash the mud and sand off the roots, but also remove any yellow or rotten leaves.

Since it's something that goes into the mouth, she felt that washing it once wasn't enough; she wanted to wash it three times.

The first rinse removes large pieces of mud and sand, the second rinse removes small particles of soil, and the third rinse is done with clean water until no mud or sand can be seen at the bottom of the pot.

Take the washed vegetables out, drain them, and spread them out on a bamboo sieve to dry.

Next came the blanching. She filled a non-stick pan on the induction cooker with water, and after the water boiled, she put the water spinach and amaranth in in batches to blanch them.

The blanching time should not be too long, otherwise the vegetables will become mushy and lose their crispness; nor should it be too short, otherwise the bacteria and enzymes on the vegetable leaves will not be killed, and they will spoil easily when pickling.

She counted the seconds, silently counting to twenty after the vegetables were put into the pot, then used long chopsticks to scoop them out, drained the water, and put them into a large covered bucket that had been prepared in advance.

She layered the vegetables, sprinkling salt on each layer, then layering them again and sprinkling salt on the next.

Too much salt, and it will be too salty to eat; too little salt, and the vegetables will rot.

She sprinkled a small handful of salt on each layer, rubbed it evenly with her hands, so that every leaf of vegetable was coated with salt.

After arranging the vegetables, she placed a clean pebble on top.

She picked up the pebbles from the giant salamander pond; they were flat and round, just the right size to fit into the jar.

When the stone was pressed down, the vegetable leaves sank downwards, squeezing out the water from the gaps and accumulating a layer of light green, salty vegetable juice at the bottom of the jar.

She covered the mouth of the vat with a layer of plastic film, then sealed it tightly with a lid, and then put the large vat into the cave, where it was cool and there was no need to worry about the food spoiling due to high temperatures.

In the days that followed, she went to see him once a day, removing the gauze and smelling it.

On the first day, the vegetables tasted fresh, with a slight salty flavor.

The next day, a slight sour smell began to appear, very faint, as if something was quietly changing in the jar.

On the third day, the sourness was stronger, but it wasn't the mature, mellow kind of sourness; rather, it was a slightly pungent sourness.

On the fifth day, she couldn't resist picking out a water spinach to taste. It was the kind of sour that whets the appetite, and it was crunchy and delicious.

She finished chewing the water spinach, then picked up another one, and then another, unable to resist the urge to eat all the pickled vegetables in the jar.

Fortunately, she managed to control herself in time, covered the plastic film again, and allowed the remaining sauerkraut to continue fermenting.

She can wait a few more days until the sourness becomes more mellow, then she can enjoy it properly.

Sauerkraut stewed with fish or sauerkraut stir-fried with meat are both delicious. Even without any other ingredients, just chewing on the crisp, sour stems of the cabbage is the best enjoyment.

Soon, Xu Xiaoyan had pickled all the greens into sauerkraut, and neatly stacked buckets of them in the cave.

The pickled cabbage is finished, and the vegetable garden is empty. On that patch of land covered by the shade shed, all that's left are crops that will take a long time to grow.

She stood by the vegetable garden, pondering her next move.

Vegetable seeds are the cheapest of all seeds; she bought several large bags of them when she was in Xuan County.

Now that we have land, water, and successful planting experience, why not plant some?

Moreover, the act of pickling sauerkraut gave her a new idea: once fresh vegetables are made into sauerkraut, there's no need to worry about them arousing suspicion when taken out later.

After all, everyone knows that pickled foods can be stored for a long time without spoiling.

So she started planting again. This time, she was even more "bold" than before. Last time, she was very orderly, dividing the soil into rows and planting at regular intervals. This time, it was completely different.

She grabbed a handful of seeds, swung her arm, and scattered them.

The seeds of bok choy are tiny, slipping through your fingers and landing on the loosened soil. The seeds of amaranth are even smaller, reddish-brown, and almost invisible when scattered.

After sowing, gently rake the seeds to ensure they are in closer contact with the soil.

Because vegetable seeds were cheap, she bought a lot of them, so she didn't feel bad about spending money on sowing them.

She comforted herself by thinking that whatever grows is fine, and anything that doesn't grow is just fertilizer for the soil. She felt that this logic was impeccable.

However, she soon discovered a problem she had overlooked.

After sowing the seeds, you must water them. If you don't water them, the seeds will not germinate in dry soil, and even if they do germinate, the sprouts will be scorched by the sun.

She couldn't let these seeds rot in the soil because she was too lazy to water them; all her previous efforts would be wasted.

So she gritted her teeth and started watering, but she suffered that night.

Although the nights inside the sinkhole are cooler than the days, that's only relatively speaking.

After the sun set around 8 o'clock, the temperature gradually dropped from over 30 degrees to 27 or 28 degrees, but it was still not cool, and the air was still filled with the sultry heat accumulated during the day.

Xu Xiaoyan wasn't just watering a small patch of land, but the entire bottom of the sinkhole. Every inch of soil had to be thoroughly watered, otherwise the vegetable seeds might not germinate.

Although she has a space, not having to carry water makes things much easier for her. She can put the water bucket into her space, walk to the vegetable garden empty-handed, and then take it out, saving her the physical exertion of carrying the water bucket back and forth.

But watering requires effort; after all, she can't just pour water into one spot.

With the seeds so widely scattered, the watering must be even; one area can't be soaked while another remains dry. She needs to walk around and sprinkle water to ensure it falls evenly onto the soil surface.

Xu Xiaoyan tried splashing water directly with a bucket, but the water was too concentrated and washed away a large pit in the soil, washing away all the seeds.

She also tried sprinkling it with a ladle, which was much more effective, but it was slow. She had to sprinkle it ladle by ladle, and by the end, she couldn't even lift her hands anymore.

Finally, she came up with a solution: she poked a few small holes in the cap of a plastic bottle to make a simple watering can.

After filling the bottle with water, carry it around and sprinkle it as you go. The water sprays out from the small hole, forming a fine mist that falls evenly onto the soil surface, neither washing away the soil nor wasting water.

The problem is that she can only carry one 20-liter plastic bottle at most, so she has to keep filling and sprinkling water, filling and sprinkling water again.

Sweat slid down her forehead and into her eyes, stinging them so much she kept blinking. She wiped it haphazardly with her sleeve and continued to drip.

The veins on the back of my hand were bulging, caused by constantly carrying plastic bottles.

After nearly two hours of struggling, she finally finished watering the soil. Looking at the wet surface, she sighed helplessly, then bent over, rested her hands on her knees, and gasped for breath.

She felt that her behavior of randomly scattering seeds was brain-dead. Why did she have to be so impulsive in the first place?

If she had sown less seeds initially and saved them for the next batch, she wouldn't have had to work so hard.

If only back then—alas, there's no going back then.

Even the most idiotic decision, once made, must be endured to the end.