Chapter Twenty: Persimmon Preserves

"Mother, I only went to that place to try my luck. I didn't expect to actually find anything. If I had known there were wild vegetables there, I definitely would have called you to come along and dig them up!"

"Forget it, Mother. She wasn't entirely wrong; where else would one find wild vegetables in the dead of winter? People have even stripped the tree bark to grind into flour just to have something to eat nearby. It was just her good luck." Wang Dazhi ate a persimmon, his mood improving slightly. He didn't want to push Wu Yueying to the brink of death.

"If you pull a stunt like this again, don't bother coming back." The old woman of the Wang family glared at her. "Stop putting on an act and get up to make dinner. Dazhi's health is poor; he can't go hungry..."

The mother and her two children entered their room.

Wu Yueying, however, hugged her daughter and wept.

How ridiculous.

When they were beating her half to death, they didn't look like people in poor health.

In this household, when would she ever see the light of day?

...

Zhao Zheng was still unaware of what had happened at the Wang household.

His two daughters-in-law were busy tending the fire and cooking, while he rested on the earthen kang with his legs crossed. It wasn't that he was lazy; his daughters-in-law simply wouldn't allow him to lift a finger.

Zhao Zheng decided to busy himself with the persimmons.

Persimmons stored in the system warehouse could be kept fresh indefinitely, though it required a fee. Moreover, these persimmons were too ripe for drying and would easily invite envy. Therefore, making them into canned persimmons was the safest and most delicious option.

No sooner said than done.

Zhao Zheng took out the majority of the persimmons, leaving the rest for Zhao Di and Xiao E to snack on. He washed the selected ones, removed the stems, peeled them, and took out the pits. He spent a few coins in the system mall to buy a large ceramic jar with an aluminum lid to hold them, which would prevent the two women from questioning the origin of the container.

When Zhang Xiao E brought the meal out, she saw her father-in-law working away. "Father, what are you doing?"

"Canned persimmons. Have you ever tasted them?"

"No." Zhang Xiao E had barely eaten fresh persimmons, let alone canned ones. "How do you make this?"

Zhao Zheng explained the steps to her, and Zhang Xiao E hurried to call Yang Zhao Di over.

Upon learning that their father-in-law wanted to make canned persimmons, Yang Zhao Di said, "Father, please go eat. Xiao E and I will handle the rest."

"No rush. Let's eat first and deal with it later."

Zhao Zheng smiled, looking at the meal on the low table. "Oh, shepherd's purse egg pancakes and boiled dandelions. Quite a feast!"

These few wild vegetables, once blanched, were barely enough for one meal. Yang Zhao Di hadn't intended to pickle them, thinking it better to let her father-in-law enjoy them fresh. There was also a large bowl of rice, more than the two women combined.

"Zhao Di, there's no need to save everything for me. You two need to eat your fill as well. I will take care of the food situation," Zhao Zheng said.

"That won't do. You are the head of the household and have to do the heavy lifting. Only when you are full can Xiao E and I have someone to rely on!" Yang Zhao Di said earnestly. "Besides, Xiao E and I haven't done any heavy labor; this is enough for us to be full."

Zhang Xiao E nodded. "Other families only eat once a day, and it's always vegetable pancakes or rice bran gruel. Unlike us, eating white rice for all three meals—we're stuffed!"

Zhao Zheng chuckled. "You little girls, you have an answer for everything. I can't win against you, can I?"

The two women smiled shyly and said in unison, "That's just what's in our hearts."

"Come up and eat before it gets cold," Zhao Zheng said. He could clearly feel that the two women were much more lively than before, no longer cowering as they once did.

The two women hurried onto the kang. Sitting on the warm surface, all their fatigue and cold vanished.

Eating the rice with the shepherd's purse egg pancakes and fresh dandelions—while not a gourmet meal in Zhao Zheng's eyes—was at least palatable. To the two women, even in a good year, this would have been an extravagant feast.

After they were full, Zhao Zheng scraped a bowl of scorched rice from the bottom of the pot, giving the non-burnt parts to the two women and keeping the crispy bits for himself.

The two were very diligent, washing the remaining persimmons and putting them into the ceramic jar.

"Father, I remember we didn't have this many good persimmons!" Zhang Xiao E asked, confused.

"I actually picked over twenty pounds from the tree. The ones on top were rotten, but the ones below were good. If I hadn't said that, word would get out and the villagers would be green with envy," Zhao Zheng explained.

Yang Zhao Di gasped. "Father is truly lucky. Plenty of people went to Wild Dog Ridge, yet only you found these persimmons."

Zhang Xiao E was excited. "Wow, we can eat for a long time! If we can't finish them, we can sell them for money or trade for grain!" She became more motivated as she spoke.

Soon, the two women layered the persimmons and sugar in the jar, covered it, and boiled the jar in water to disinfect and seal it. In less than half an hour, the canned persimmons were ready. Zhao Zheng immediately inverted the jar, which would allow them to be stored for over three months.

Just then, Zheng Chunmei arrived as expected.

Zhang Xiao E hurriedly hid the jar, afraid someone would discover it.

Yang Zhao Di didn't even waste the persimmon peels, deciding to dry them in the shade and grind them into powder, as the skins still held a hint of sweetness. There was no help for it; the poor were like this, utilizing everything they could to the absolute limit.

Zhao Zheng let her be. In the past, he would have scoffed, but after experiencing the feeling of hunger, he could empathize and understand.

"Uncle Zhao, I heard you and Sister-in-law Wang found wild vegetables at Wild Dog Ridge today?" Zheng Chunmei said with a smile as soon as she entered. "It's the dead of winter; seeing anything green is truly rare."

"Just good luck," Zhao Zheng laughed it off.

Zheng Chunmei took off her straw sandals and prepared to climb onto the kang. Seeing the looks from Yang Zhao Di and the other, she hurriedly added, "I washed my feet before I came! They're clean!"

"That's more like it," Zhang Xiao E said, keeping a straight face.

Zhao Zheng lay on the kang. "Chunmei, give my head and neck an extra long massage today."

"Yes, sir!"

Zheng Chunmei climbed onto the kang, the warmth instantly driving away the chill. Compared to the wooden boards at her home that felt like an ice cellar, this was paradise. For some reason, she had been thinking about the Zhao family's earthen kang all day, even feeling a sense of anticipation. She missed the scorched rice, the warm kang, and the comfort of this place.

Especially when she caught sight of the leftover scorched rice on the low table, she became excited. Kneeling beside Zhao Zheng, she massaged his shoulders and neck, whispering, "Uncle Zhao, that scorched rice..."

"If you massage well, it's yours!" Zhao Zheng said.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhao!"

Zheng Chunmei was overjoyed and massaged even harder. However, she suddenly felt something was off. Why was Uncle Zhao's hand resting on her... leg?

It must be unintentional, right? Uncle Zhao was an elder; what bad intentions could he have?

For some reason, she felt a bit guilty and glanced at Yang Zhao Di and Zhang Xiao E behind her. Seeing they weren't paying attention, she let out a sigh of relief and didn't dare to move Zhao Zheng's hand away. What if Uncle Zhao got angry?