Chapter 20: Dried Pumpkin
This was not Wen Zhongshan’s first time going up Baogu Mountain with Ying Kongtu, but it was his first time seeing the saker falcon family.
Perhaps because Ying Kongtu had fed them for several days, the whole saker falcon family had recovered their energy. Not only had the feathers of the mother and father falcons become smooth and glossy again, even the young saker falcons had grown quite a few feathers.
Ying Kongtu found a spot a little farther away from the falcon nest and turned on the loudspeaker.
“Ka-ka-ka!”
Ying Kongtu’s voice came from the loudspeaker.
Wen Zhongshan looked at Ying Kongtu.
Ying Kongtu kept a straight face, looking aloof and cold. Yet from the loudspeaker came his slightly hoarse, high-pitched “ka-ka-ka,” complete with little turns in the sound. A faint smile appeared on Wen Zhongshan’s face.
Ying Kongtu shot him a sideways glance. Wen Zhongshan immediately restrained his smile and became serious together with him.
Hearing the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar call, the male saker falcon flew to a branch above their heads. “Ka-ka-ka.”
Ying Kongtu did not respond and continued playing the recording.
The male saker falcon flew back and forth on the branch, somewhat uneasy, especially since Wen Zhongshan was below as well.
Only after quite a while did it suddenly fly down and snatch away the meat from the branch.
It flew far too quickly. Even with Wen Zhongshan’s eyesight, he could barely see it clearly.
If an ordinary person had come, they would probably only feel a gust of wind sweep past, and the meat on the tree would disappear.
“The saker falcon flies so fast!” Wen Zhongshan turned to look at Ying Kongtu.
“Online sources say its top speed can reach more than three hundred kilometers per hour.”
“That’s about as fast as a high-speed train.” Wen Zhongshan smiled. “No wonder you wouldn’t let Dart come.”
At the saker falcon’s speed, if Dart got beaten up by it, that foolish cat would not even be able to find the culprit.
Ying Kongtu also smiled. “If Dart tried to snatch meat from the saker falcon, it would easily get beaten.”
They stood in place for a while. After the saker falcon had carried off all the meat, Ying Kongtu turned off the loudspeaker and took Wen Zhongshan to the vegetable garden on Wuchuan Mountain.
“The pumpkins have ripened recently. We’ll harvest them today,” Ying Kongtu said to Wen Zhongshan.
Wen Zhongshan did not mind. “I’ll harvest them with you.”
When they reached the place, Wen Zhongshan saw from afar that pumpkin vines had climbed over nearly half the hillside.
Golden pumpkins dotted the dense green leaves here and there, dazzling to the eye.
Ying Kongtu introduced, “There were quite a few pumpkin seedlings this year. I planted five in total. I didn’t allow the pigs to come over, so none of the pumpkins were ruined.”
He had used a tiny bit of divine power here to keep out the domestic pigs and wild animals. That was why the pumpkins had grown so well.
Wen Zhongshan said, “Five pumpkin plants can actually grow this many leaves?”
“I buried a bit more pig manure. Naturally, they grew well.” Ying Kongtu handed Wen Zhongshan a knife. “First pick the pumpkins, then clean up the pumpkin vines.”
The two searched through the dense green leaves for the golden-yellow pumpkins.
The pumpkins Ying Kongtu had planted were an old variety of round pumpkin. Now they were fully ripe, even the pumpkin stems had lignified, and the skins had become very hard.
Beneath the hard orange-yellow skin was golden, fragrant, sweet pumpkin flesh.
Ying Kongtu picked the pumpkins one by one and carried them to a lower clearing.
These pumpkins had all grown quite large. Each one weighed at least seven or eight jin and felt heavy in the arms.
They piled the pumpkins together, and soon the pumpkins formed a small mountain.
“They should all be here.”
“Forty-two. The harvest counts as pretty good?”
“Actually, there were more. I ate a few midway.”
“They’re a little hard to move. Should we borrow a small cart and bring it up?”
“No need. We can just roll them down along the mountain. Old pumpkins are sturdy.”
After the two finished counting the pumpkins, Ying Kongtu cut the pumpkin vines, pulled them up, and placed them to the side to dry.
After drying in the sun for a few days, these pumpkin vines could be dragged back and used as firewood.
Since Wen Zhongshan was there today, Ying Kongtu had him stand guard at the foot of the mountain while he stayed halfway up and began rolling pumpkins.
The fully ripened old pumpkins rolled down the slope, reaching the foot of the mountain in a few dozen seconds.
Wen Zhongshan then gathered the pumpkins that had rolled down one by one at the foot of the mountain and placed them on the small three-wheeled vehicle.
There were also some pumpkins that did not roll properly and stopped halfway down the mountain.
Ying Kongtu followed the slope where the pumpkins were rolling as he went down. Whenever he saw one, he picked it up and rolled it again.
And so, beneath the evening sun, the hillside was filled with round, golden pumpkins rolling down, like stars rolling across the mountain.
By the time Ying Kongtu reached the foot of the mountain, Wen Zhongshan had already loaded all the pumpkins into the vehicle bed.
The golden pumpkins piled together looked extremely delicious.
“Come on, let’s go home.” Ying Kongtu sat in the driver’s seat and called for Wen Zhongshan to sit beside him.
Wen Zhongshan did not mind sitting on the small farm tricycle either. He only turned his head to look at the vehicle bed. “Can you finish eating this many pumpkins?”
“Not a big problem. I’ll give you some, then give some to Xing Chang and the others. We’ll eat the rest slowly. This kind of old pumpkin can be stored for several months without issue.”
The two transported the pumpkins back to Ying Kongtu’s home.
His storage room was already being used to preserve acorns, so the pumpkins could only be placed beneath the eaves.
So many pumpkins piled together still formed a small mountain.
Ying Kongtu looked at the pile of pumpkins with a full sense of accomplishment and asked, “Dinner together tonight? We’ll eat steamed pork ribs with pumpkin and rice flour?”
“All right. I’ll go buy pork ribs. Baby back ribs, right?”
“Not bad. Now you already know how to choose ingredients. Yes, baby back ribs. Go to the third pork stall in the vegetable market first and ask whether they still have black-pig baby back ribs. If not, ask the other meat stalls.”
The two divided the work.
After Wen Zhongshan went out, Ying Kongtu chose an old pumpkin from the pumpkin pile, washed it clean with well water, and cut it open.
The old pumpkin was very firm. When he cut it open with force, a clean, sweet fragrance drifted out.
What surprised Ying Kongtu most was that this old pumpkin was densely packed with pumpkin seeds, every one of them large and full.
Just this one old pumpkin yielded a small plateful of pumpkin seeds.
He spread the pumpkin seeds out and carefully selected them one by one, picking out the best quality, fullest, and most vigorous pumpkin seeds.
These pumpkin seeds would become next year’s pumpkin seeds.
Ying Kongtu selected a small handful of pumpkin seeds.
He looked at them and felt they were not quite enough, so he chose two more of the best pumpkins from the pile, cut them open as well, and scooped out the pumpkin seeds inside.
He selected through these pumpkin seeds too and finally picked out a small bowl of pumpkin seeds.
The newly selected pumpkin seeds were heavy; as soon as they were placed into well water, they sank to the bottom.
He carefully washed these pumpkin seeds clean, then placed them in a bamboo basket and hung them beneath the eaves to dry in the shade.
When Wen Zhongshan returned with the vegetables, he smelled the clean, sweet fragrance of pumpkin filling the entire courtyard the moment he stepped inside.
“Kongtu?” Wen Zhongshan called. “What are you doing?”
“Drying pumpkin seeds. I’m saving some pumpkin seeds as seed stock.”
Wen Zhongshan poked his head through the window and looked into the kitchen. “You cut all these pumpkins? Are you going to save some to feed the pigs?”
“That won’t be necessary. It would be too wasteful. If we can’t finish them, I’ll make some dried pumpkin later.”
Mice had their paths, cats had their paths, and Dart probably had its own information channels in the county.
Not long after they returned, Dart came back too.
Tonight, two people and one cat were eating. Ying Kongtu made pumpkin shoots with minced garlic, steamed pork ribs with pumpkin and rice flour, and loofah, mushroom, and chicken soup.
For the two dishes with meat, he separately served versions without seasoning and let them cool for Dart to eat.
Dart ate at the side with purring sounds, sounding extremely satisfied.
Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan were also very satisfied.
Especially the old pumpkin—after being steamed over water, it was floury, fragrant, and sweet, full of the pumpkin’s natural sweetness, while also thoroughly absorbing the meat flavor. Its taste was outstanding.
When buying vegetables outside, it was already very hard to find old pumpkins this floury and this sweet.
And so, that night’s dishes were once again efficiently cleared by the two.
After dinner, the two tidied up a little, then sat in the courtyard chatting and digesting.
The evening breeze was just right. Dart circled to their feet, sniffed each of them for a while, then jumped into Ying Kongtu’s arms.
Ying Kongtu held Dart and stroked its smooth fur from time to time.
After resting, Ying Kongtu went into the kitchen to stir-fry the pumpkin seeds. Wen Zhongshan followed behind him and came in to help tend the fire.
The pumpkin seeds had already been washed clean and drained.
Ying Kongtu stir-fried them very simply. He washed the wok clean, added some spiced salt, and kept stir-frying. Once they were cooked, he directly plated them.
The freshly stir-fried pumpkin seeds were large and full, with the unique nutty fragrance of pumpkin seeds.
With a cup of tea and a handful of pumpkin seeds, one could probably eat for a long time.
As for the remaining pumpkin flesh, Ying Kongtu placed it in a steamer to steam.
After it was cooked, he would mix in glutinous rice flour, chili powder, and other seasonings, then dry it in the sun.
Ying Kongtu skillfully arranged the pumpkin flesh, covered the pot, and turned to see Wen Zhongshan’s expression. He explained, “In the past, everyone was used to making their own snacks. I would make some every year too.”
“Were there many kinds of snacks in the past?”
“Quite a few. Pickled bamboo shoots and smoked plums in spring, dried fish and preserved peaches in summer, dried eggplant and dried chilies in autumn, then roasted sweet potatoes, taro, and yams in winter… Especially in households with children, they would prepare some to some extent.”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “I used to have several snack baskets too, filled with all kinds of snacks. When I went up the mountain, I’d grab a handful, and patrolling the mountain wouldn’t be boring.”
Wen Zhongshan thought for a moment. “I don’t think I ate many snacks.”
“Hm?”
“When I was first born, it was a chaotic era. Later, I joined the army and was busy with all kinds of matters. Someone took care of my daily life, and I didn’t pay much attention.”
Wen Zhongshan roughly knew that Ying Kongtu had likely seen through his identity, so he no longer concealed it.
For non-humans like them, as long as they spent time together for long enough, they could basically tell.
Ying Kongtu counted back in time. “Then you worked for many years? Are you on vacation now?”
“No. I don’t want to work anymore, so I retired.” Wen Zhongshan sat before the stove and was silent for a moment. “Sometimes I feel a little lost. My condition is rather dangerous, and I’m not suited for work.”
Ying Kongtu nodded in understanding. “Life is too long. Occasionally losing one’s way happens. Perhaps after some time, it will get better again.”
“I hope so.”
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan’s faintly lost eyes and did not offer too much persuasion.
Two days later, Ying Kongtu made a rare visit to Wen Zhongshan’s home.
Wen Zhongshan lived at the foot of the mountain in a detached house with a courtyard.
His home was decorated very simply, but several large floor-to-ceiling windows and textured furniture made it look very beautiful.
Ying Kongtu glanced around his home and handed the basket in his hand to Wen Zhongshan. “For you.”
Wen Zhongshan: “?”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “This is the snack basket I mentioned before. Inside, I put dried pumpkin and pumpkin seeds wrapped in oiled paper. Just keep it somewhere dry at home.”
Ying Kongtu looked into his eyes with a smile and asked, “You can drive away snakes, ants, mice, and insects, right?”
Wen Zhongshan froze for a moment, then nodded. “Of course.”
Just as a mountain god’s home would never have rats, ants, snakes, or insects, he could also refuse visits from such creatures to his own home.
Ying Kongtu said gently, “Drive them away, then you can keep these snacks and eat them slowly.”
