The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Mother, Aunt, is eldest brother here?"

Zhao Xiaoyue was sharing some cogongrass with her younger cousin when she looked up and saw her older brother. She immediately called out to him and ran towards him.

"Sister Xiaoyue, wait for me!"

Zhao Xiaole also started running.

"Big brother!"

Zhao Xiaoyue ran and shouted, waving to her older brother who was walking towards her from time to time.

"Slow down, be careful not to fall!"

Hearing his younger sister's voice, Zhao Shi'an responded loudly and quickened his pace.

"Big brother, here's some Imperata cylindrica for you!"

Running all the way to her older brother's side, Zhao Xiaoyue proudly pulled out a handful of lush green grass with white downy hairs at the tips.

"Brother, do you want some Imperata cylindrica root? It's so sweet!"

Zhao Xiaole followed closely and pulled out a handful of plump, white roots.

"I'll try it!"

Upon seeing what his two younger sisters were holding, Zhao Shi'an's eyes lit up. He first took a few of the cogongrass needles that his younger sister handed him.

This thing is green and looks like a large sewing needle, hence the local dialect name "maozhen" (茅针), and its scientific name is Imperata cylindrica (白茅草).

It's edible when it's young, and it tastes pretty good!

Skillfully peeling back the outer skin reveals the soft, white down inside. Putting it in your mouth and chewing it, you taste a sweet, soft flavor with a hint of fresh grass. After savoring it for a moment, you realize it's the taste you remember.

"Mmm, delicious!"

"Big brother, eat more, I've picked a lot."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyue immediately handed over all the needles in her hand.

"You eat it! I'll just have a taste! I still have work to do."

As he spoke, Zhao Shi'an took a few more, peeled them, and started eating.

"Brother, try some Imperata cylindrica root, it's so sweet!"

Seeing that his elder brother was only eating the cogon grass needles, Zhao Xiaole handed over the cogon grass root in his hand.

"Okay! I'll try it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi'an smiled and said that the little girl in front of him was his second uncle's daughter. She was three years old this year, one year younger than his younger sister. She was wearing clothes that had been altered from an old cotton-padded jacket, and her little face was dirty and sallow.

He patted his little cousin's head and then took a few plump, white cogon grass roots and stuffed them into his mouth.

It's crunchy and juicy, and much sweeter than cogon grass needles; it's a bit like a budget version of sugarcane.

Imperata cylindrica root is the root of Imperata cylindrica, which is entirely white and segmented, much like houttuynia cordata. However, the taste is completely different. Many northerners are curious about houttuynia cordata, perhaps because of this white moonlight of Imperata cylindrica root.

"How is it? Is it sweet?"

Seeing his older brother eat Imperata cylindrica root, Zhao Xiaole asked nervously.

"sweet!"

"I told you it was sweet, didn't I?"

Seeing that he had received affirmation, Zhao Xiaole was very happy.

"Okay, let's go to the fields!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he took one of their hands in his.

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole, holding their older brother's hand with one hand and carrying cogon grass roots and cogon grass needles with the other, skipped and hopped all the way.

"Boss, what brings you here? Didn't your Uncle Tian tell you?"

When Liu Guiying saw her eldest son come to the field, she thought that Lao Tian hadn't told the child.

"Mom, Auntie! I told you I'd come over to check on things since I'm free at home. Where are my uncle and my grandpa?"

Zhao Shi'an released the two little girls, greeted them, explained the situation, and then asked about the whereabouts of his father and uncle.

"The land has been planted, so we're not busy anymore. Your uncle and your father went to the train station to find work."

I had your Uncle Tian tell you because I didn't want to delay your studies.

Your aunt and I sometimes dig for vegetables in the river. We eat the lamb trotters ourselves, and we can sell the shepherd's purse for a little money.

"I'll dig with you!"

Zhao Shi'an immediately offered to help, as shepherd's purse is a well-known wild vegetable with a wide appeal, and if you dig up a lot, you can sell it as a vegetable.

Noodle dishes have a small audience; they're mostly eaten by oneself.

"No need, we've dug enough. We've filled a basket, it's time to go home."

Liu Guiying waved her hand and pointed to a basket of wild vegetables on the ground.

"Dig some more... Hey, these chives are growing quite well!"

Zhao Shi'an was about to suggest digging a little longer when he saw a patch of lush green chives. He quickly walked over, squatted down, looked at the vigorous growth of the chives, plucked a piece, popped it into his mouth, and tasted it. After savoring it, he said:

"This flavor is a bit too strong!"

He reached out and plucked some chives from the ground, casually picking a few and putting them into his spatial storage.

My family has a total of 2.2 acres of vegetable garden, and we planted 0.2 acres of chives. Chives are perennial plants, and if you take good care of them, they can be harvested for seven or eight years.

"The first batch of chives is always like this! Lots of people want a piece, and those who come to steal vegetables love to pinch them. Luckily, our mutual aid group members take turns watching over them! Otherwise, they'd all be gone before we could even harvest them!"

Liu Guiying smiled.

"That's right! Shi'an, we're counting on these two acres of chives to make money this spring! The first crop of chives is as expensive as meat; if they get picked clean, we'll lose a lot of money."

Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Sun Cuilan nodded in agreement.

"In Beijing, there's a saying about the first cut of chives and toon sprouts. After eating radishes and cabbages all winter, who wouldn't want a change of pace?"

Zhao Shi'an understood his mother's and aunt's complaints.

The problem of vegetable theft has persisted even in modern times, let alone in this era. All farmers can do is watch out and chase away anyone who tries to pick their vegetables.

Fortunately, with rich experience, each household planted chives together for easy management. Chives are not picky about the soil but only about the fertilizer. As long as the fertilizer is in place, they grow very vigorously and a new crop will sprout up a few days after they are harvested.

Chives can be harvested three or four times a year. The first harvest is the most expensive, even more so than meat. Members of the mutual aid society take turns looking after the vegetables, focusing on the first harvest of chives. The second and third harvests are basically ignored.

There's a saying in Beijing about the "Four Delicacies": cucumbers with blossoms on top, lotus roots after flowering, first-cut chives, and toon sprouts.

Speaking of the four delicacies, Zhao Shi'an thought that in about ten days, it would be time to eat toon sprouts. When he had some free time, he would go to the old course of the Yongding River and get a few toon trees to plant in his space. After harvesting, he would put them in the static area and sell them at the market when he had enough. Toon sprouts were more expensive and could fetch a lot of money. It was also easy to explain to others, and the risk was almost zero.

"Even when changing flavors, you can't just cut off the chives! We wouldn't even cut them off ourselves!"

"It's only the 19th today, there are still about ten days before it can be harvested. Pinching it now would be harming someone!"

"Who says otherwise? We're counting on making money from the first batch of chives!"

"Exactly, he's a complete scoundrel..."

"Yeah! It's fine normally, but it's really inhuman to pinch me now."

Looking at his angry mother, aunt, and the people watching over the vegetables, Zhao Shi'an understood perfectly. The first batch of chives had the lowest yield, was the most tender, had the strongest flavor, and was the best-tasting, which is why the most people came to pick them.

People who pick vegetables call it "picking greens," and it has become a tradition, even recorded in local chronicles.

"There's no other way! It's getting late, Auntie, Boss, let's go! Auntie, I'll take your place in a couple of days!"

Liu Guiying said goodbye to the person watching the dishes.

"Let's go back! Watch the road!"

"Okay, I'm leaving!"

As Liu Guiying spoke, she picked up her basket and headed home. Zhao Shi'an snatched the baskets from his mother and aunt and hurried home.

The straight-line distance from home to the vegetable garden is about two miles. The vegetable garden is located at the south gate of the Temple of Heaven, and the home is located west of the Goldfish Pond. The closest point to the vegetable garden is the north gate of the Temple of Heaven.

Walking to the Temple of Heaven is the shortest route, but it requires an entrance fee. Most vegetable farmers walk to the South Gate, head east, and circle around the east wall of the Temple of Heaven to go home.

The Temple of Heaven has four gates. The famous Tianqiao Bridge is located outside the West Gate of the Temple of Heaven!

The south gate leads to a continuous stretch of vegetable fields, the north gate leads to Longxu Ditch, and the east gate leads to a mass grave, said to contain tens of thousands of graves that stretch as far as the eye can see, overgrown with weeds taller than a person!

Now, Longxugou has been renovated and all the graves in the mass burial ground have been relocated. The entire area around the Temple of Heaven is now full of vitality!