Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 441 Wood Ear Mushroom Soup

Old Wang stood up, patted the mud off his knees, and began assigning tasks to everyone.

The young and strong man went to chop the hardwood for the door hinges, preferably elm or locust wood, as they are sturdy and durable.

Another one went to drill holes in the door frame.

Old Wang led the rest of the men to erect pillars and crossbeams. The four men had clear divisions of labor and worked together at a steady pace, as if they had done this kind of work countless times before.

The open space quickly became lively with the hissing of sawing wood, the clanging of hammers hitting nails, and the clattering of chisels cutting wood.

Lan Yue propped up a waterproof tarpaulin on a tree next to the open space, laid a moisture-proof mat underneath, and moved the iron pot, wood ear mushrooms, and seasonings over, effectively moving the temporary kitchen next to the construction site.

As she tidied up, she would occasionally glance up at the men working, silently calculating in her mind that at this rate, she could really move in by tomorrow morning.

When Xu Xiaoyan walked over from another direction, the four pillars had already been erected and the crossbeams had been put up.

Old Wang was standing between two pillars, turning sideways to check the verticality of the door frame, one hand holding the door frame and the other squinting.

Lan Yue peeked out from under the tarpaulin and called out to her, "Xiao Yan! The door problem is solved! They made a manual door, the kind with hinges on both the top and bottom, since there were no hinges!"

Xu Xiaoyan nodded to her, then turned her gaze to the iron pot that had been put back on the table.

She bent down, untied the bag of dried mushrooms, scooped out a large handful, flipped them a couple of times in her palm, and turned to Lan Yue, saying, "Let's start a fire. They'll take care of the door, but we'll take care of the food."

Under the waterproof tarpaulin, two people squatted facing each other, with the borrowed black iron pot in the middle placed on a few stacked stones, its bottom suspended in the air.

Lan Yue pulled out a few damp firewood stalks, placed them on her lap, and used a knife to shave them into thin strips one by one.

The firewood was soaked by rain, and its surface was wet. After peeling off the outer bark, the dry wood inside was revealed. It was light yellow in color and had a unique pine fragrance.

She gathered the shavings and thin strips of wood together and piled them on the ground under the pot.

He reached out from the edge of the tarpaulin and caught a few drops of rainwater that slid off the eaves, carefully dripping them onto the pile of sawdust.

The goal isn't to wet it, but to humidify the surrounding air so that the fire isn't too dry and could ignite things that shouldn't be ignited.

Xu Xiaoyan took out a lighter from the side pocket of her backpack. She brought the lighter close to the pile of wood chips, flicked it with her thumb, and a spark jumped, landed on the wood chips, flickered, and went out.

She flicked it again, and this time the sparks were bigger. One of them landed on the thinnest part of the sawdust, and a wisp of extremely thin white smoke rose from the edge of the sawdust.

Then a small, orange-red flame suddenly popped out, barely the size of a fingernail, trembling precariously in the pile of sawdust.

The two of them held their breath, their eyes fixed on the faint flame. Neither dared to move or even breathe.

Xu Xiaoyan turned her body slightly to the side, using her shoulder and back to block the draft that was seeping in from the edge of the waterproof cloth.

The flames gradually stabilized under the cover of her body, growing from the height of a fingernail to the height of a finger, and changing from orange-red to golden yellow, while the wood chips underneath crackled and popped as they burned.

Lan Yue then carefully handed over the thin wooden stick that had been stretched out for so long, placed it over the flames, and waited for one end of the stick to catch fire before stuffing it deeper into the pile of firewood.

The fire gradually grew larger, and the orange-red light shone on the faces of the two people, making the small space under the waterproof tarpaulin warm and cozy.

Blue Moon began adding firewood to the bottom of the pot, leaving enough space between each piece to allow air to circulate.

Flames licked the bottom of the pot, and the bottom of the black iron pot was quickly heated red. Water droplets that fell on it made a "sizzling" sound and instantly evaporated into a wisp of white steam.

Xu Xiaoyan leaned out from the edge of the tarpaulin and brought in the bucket that had been collecting rainwater for most of the day.

This bucket was also rented by Blue Moon from the trading point. It was made of tinplate and had a small dent at the bottom, but it didn't leak.

She steadied the bucket with both hands and slowly poured the rainwater into the pot. The water jet hit the bottom of the pot with a long "whoosh."

A few drops of water splashed up and landed on the edge of the fire, accompanied by a few more rapid hissing sounds.

The water in the pot gradually increased, overflowing from the bottom to the sides, and then rising to halfway up the pot.

Lan Yue put handfuls of the washed fresh wood ear mushrooms into the pot.

The moment the wood ear mushrooms were submerged in the water, the originally transparent rainwater turned into a light tea color, carrying a unique, not-too-strong but very long-lasting aroma of fungi, which permeated the waterproof cloth.

Lan Yue freed one hand and pulled a small plastic bag, about the size of her palm, from the inside pocket of her coat.

The bag was tied with a thin hemp rope, the ends of which she had knotted several times, and it took some effort to untie them.

She bit one end, and with a deft tug of her fingers, the rope loosened, the bag opened, revealing a small half-bag of white salt inside.

The salt grains weren't very fine, and some had clumped together, but they shimmered under the light like shattered crystals.

"There's still so much salt left," Lan Yue said, showing the bag to Xu Xiaoyan with a hint of pride in her voice. "It's the salt I replaced last time. If we use it sparingly, it'll last us a while."

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at the bag of salt, her lips curved slightly, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she turned around and rummaged through the bottom compartment of her backpack for a while, actually taking out a packet of Thirteen Spices from her spatial storage.

Lan Yue's eyes widened in surprise, and she almost dropped the bag of salt in her hand: "This is—"

Xu Xiaoyan spread the bag out in her palm. Pictures of various spices, such as star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel, were printed on the packaging.

Xu Xiaoyan explained, "I put it in my backpack before leaving Linchuan Base, and I haven't been able to bear using it."

The two looked at each other and then laughed at the same time.

"Salt and Thirteen Spices," Lan Yue sprinkled the salt evenly into the soup. "This pot of wood ear mushroom soup is bound to taste amazing."

Xu Xiaoyan tore the bag of Thirteen Spices even wider, letting the brown powder sprinkle into the pot little by little.

The moment the spices are added to the water, their rich aroma is instantly released.

The rich aroma of star anise mixed with cinnamon, and the subtle spiciness of Sichuan peppercorns and fennel, spread out layer by layer in that small, damp space under the waterproof cloth.

Lan Yue took the wooden stick that she had been whittling for a long time but hadn't used and stirred it in the pot.

The wood ear mushrooms floated up and down with the water flow, and the soup changed from light tea to dark brown, becoming thicker and no longer as bland as it was at the beginning.

She pulled the stick out, and there were a few pieces of wood ear fungus and a drop of soup stuck to the end of the stick. She caught it with her hand and licked the drop of soup.

"How was it?" Xu Xiaoyan looked at her, her eyes filled with seriousness.

Lan Yue clicked her tongue, her eyes lit up, and then she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "It's alright."

Xu Xiaoyan reached out and patted her on the shoulder lightly, but with a smile.

Lan Yue couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, then nodded vigorously, with a hint of proud certainty, "It tastes very good."