Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

She looked up at her two companions, her eyes filled with a sense of inquiry:

"Although the texture will definitely be different from that made with flour, and it may not be as chewy, as long as the moisture can be dried and it can be made into a firm, thin pancake, it should be able to be stored for a longer time, and it can still satisfy hunger."

The problem now is that steaming lotus root requires a lot of firewood, and we don't have a cooking vessel big enough for it. How about we try a different approach and take the lotus root to the market to trade?

Wang Xiao, I saw you took out some dried biscuits earlier, how many do you have left?

"I have a stainless steel bowl here. You can boil your dried biscuits in water, then put some pumpkin in, and you can make a lot of pumpkin biscuits."

Wang Xiao's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh, "That's right! My dried biscuits are just flour paste when boiled with water!"

I changed a lot when I left the base, plenty more! Xiaoyan, your method is reliable!

Xie Yingtang nodded. "It's an idea. It's low-cost, and we already have the materials. Even if it fails, the loss won't be significant."

If this works out, we'll have another type of dry food that we can carry around and replenish at any time. It's really uncomfortable to eat dry biscuits all the time.

Xu Xiaoyan used the cover of rummaging through her backpack to subtly stir her thoughts.

He took out a sturdy stainless steel bowl and a spoon from his spatial storage, and then naturally took out two unopened bottles of mineral water and placed them on the ground.

I saw her take out a large bowl.

Wang Xiao immediately sprang into action, taking out a stack of about ten hard, dry biscuits wrapped in clean plastic bags from his bulging backpack and handing them to Xu Xiaoyan:

"Here, these are some pancakes I saved up before. They've gotten a bit dry and hard, so they'll come in handy."

Xu Xiaoyan took the pancake and looked at her two companions, whose faces were filled with undisguised fatigue, especially Wang Xiao, whose eyes were even a little dark.

She pondered for a moment and said to Xie Yingtang, "Brother Xie, Wang Xiao, the production process is not complicated, but it will take some time. You are the main force working at night, so you need to make sure you have enough energy."

"How about this, you all go and gather some firewood nearby, then go and go to the He people's hut to sleep."

She paused, looking at the pile of firewood and ingredients. "I'm not too sleepy right now, so I'll process these pumpkins first."

Let's see if we can make it into a pancake. Maybe you'll be able to taste the finished product when you wake up.

Xie Yingtang glanced at Xu Xiaoyan, seeing that her eyes were clear and she didn't seem tired at all. Considering that what she said made sense, he nodded.

"Okay, then I'll leave this to you. We'll rest after we finish gathering the firewood. Be careful, and call us immediately if anything happens."

"Don't worry," Xu Xiaoyan replied.

The two men said no more, got up and walked deeper into the woods to search for scattered dead branches.

Xu Xiaoyan then stirred the charcoal fire to make it burn brighter, placed a stainless steel bowl on top, and poured in a bottle of mineral water.

After the water was slightly warm, she broke the hard, dry cakes into small pieces and put them into the water to soften them slowly.

Meanwhile, she peeled and deseed the large pumpkin, cut it into small pieces, and slowly put them into a bowl.

The flames licked the bottom of the bowl, and the water inside gradually boiled, bubbling and gurgling.

As the dried cakes soaked in pumpkin chunks and hot water, they gradually swelled and softened, blending together with the pumpkin that was beginning to soften and become mushy.

Xu Xiaoyan stirred and mashed the mixture with a spoon from time to time, until it was fully mixed and eventually formed a pot of thick, golden pumpkin paste, which exuded a simple and sweet aroma.

While waiting for the paste to cool down, she didn't rest, taking out her fruit knife.

I selected a few branches of moderate thickness and relatively straight, carefully peeled off the outer bark, sharpened one end to make simple skewers, and quickly sterilized them by burning them over a fire.

Once the pumpkin puree in the bowl had cooled to a suitable temperature for handling, she laid a clean plastic bag on a flat stone to serve as a work surface.

After washing her hands, she scooped up a lump of paste, kneaded it in her palm, and shaped it into small, evenly sized, and moderately thick round cakes. She then carefully placed them on a plastic bag to cool.

Once all the small round cakes had solidified, she picked up a sharpened twig and gently threaded it through the center of each cake to string them together.

Then, insert the skewered pumpkin cakes diagonally into the ground next to the fire, allowing them to bake slowly with the residual heat of the charcoal and the rising steam.

Time passed in silence as Xu Xiaoyan patiently tended the fire, turning the skewers of flatbread as needed to ensure they were heated evenly and the moisture was gradually dried out.

The originally soft dough gradually became firmer and darker in color, turning an enticing golden-brown. The edges curled up slightly, and the shape settled, resembling a string of antique copper coins.

When the last skewer of pumpkin pancakes was removed from the twig, Xu Xiaoyan counted her achievements.

Not counting the amount consumed in previous experiments, they actually made more than two hundred small cakes, each about the size of a copper coin and with a firm texture.

They were piled together, exuding a rustic aroma that blended the scents of caramelized pumpkin with the fragrance of grains.

She carefully cleaned the stainless steel bowl and spoon, and then, under the cover of putting away her backpack, put them back in her storage space.

The two bottles of mineral water were already empty, and she carefully put the empty bottles away. In times like these, any container might come in handy later.

Pack all the successful pumpkin pie pieces into clean plastic bags and carefully stuff them into your backpack.

The backpack, which had been empty, immediately became heavy and bulging. She zipped it up and adjusted the straps to the most comfortable position.

I looked up at my watch; the hour hand was pointing exactly to 10 a.m.

The sunlight was already quite glaring, and the temperature had risen. A strong sense of fatigue washed over her like a tide, and her eyelids began to feel heavy. She needed to rest.

Looking around, she spotted a large tree with fairly lush foliage and a thick trunk that cast a rare patch of shade under the scorching sun.

She walked over and, without any hesitation, lay down on her side on the bare ground next to the tree roots.

The ground was somewhat hard, covered with grass roots and pebbles, and a slightly damp coolness seeped through the thin fabric of my clothes.

In the past, she would never have lay on the ground so casually. She would have disliked the dirt, worried about the bugs, and thought about finding something to put under her.

But at this moment, all that refinement and restraint had long been worn away by reality, and whether it was worn away or not was no longer her priority.

She wouldn't sleep sitting against a tree trunk for the sake of so-called "cleanliness." Now, she only follows her body's most instinctive needs—whatever is comfortable and whatever is relaxing to sleep in.

Xu Xiaoyan placed the backpack containing all the pumpkin cakes beside her, her back pressed against the cool ground, the scent of earth lingering in her nostrils.

She closed her eyes wearily, and almost instantly, her consciousness sank into darkness. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled, flickering light on her serene face.