The ground fruits had finally ripened, and before Duan Yan officially harvested them, he planned to prepare a feast of ground-fruit dishes so the family could have the first taste.
With everyone confined to the town all day and chores piling up like ox hair, it had become a rare pleasure in these troubled times for the whole family to gather and enjoy a proper meal together.
The last time they had held a beef feast, everyone had eaten with great satisfaction and still brought it up from time to time. Now that they heard Duan Yan was going to cook again, they were all delighted. They set aside their work and decided to come early to help prepare the dishes.
That afternoon, after noon had passed, everyone gathered at the estate in Yan'er Village.
“Commissioner Qin hasn’t come?”
Song Wushen had arrived in a sedan chair with Grandfather Song. The two of them were the last to arrive.
Early that morning, Song Fengsui had returned to town. Taking advantage of the cool weather, he first went to fetch Mu Linghui. He had originally intended to bring Grandfather Song as well, but the old man still had lessons at the private school that morning, so it was decided that he and his father would come together in the afternoon after Song Wushen had finished handling some official business.
As for Song Xuemu, he was in charge of the water-conservancy work. Like Duan Yan, he had spent most of the past few months in the countryside, so getting to the estate from the village was much quicker for him than coming from town.
Old Man Duan had been waiting in the yard since early morning, repeatedly looking toward the road. The moment he spotted the carriage, he hurried out to meet it at the main road leading into the village, then escorted Father Song and Grandfather Song home.
When Duan Yan saw that only Grandfather Song and his father-in-law had arrived, with no one else following, he joked, “Could it be that Commissioner Qin is offended because I didn’t personally invite him?”
“How could he possibly not come?” Song Wushen replied. “It’s just that the yamen can’t easily spare everyone, and he couldn’t come over early to enjoy himself. He’ll bring his husband along after he gets off work.”
As it happened, there had been an amusing incident the previous day. Song Xuemu had returned to the yamen, dealt with the paperwork, and mentioned the feast at the estate to Song Wushen, specifically reminding him not to forget.
Tax Officer Qin had sharp ears. The moment he heard something about food and a feast, he came sniffing around. The family had been planning to ask whether he would come, but before they could even open their mouths, he had already invited himself, saying that the braised beef Duan Yan had given him last time still lingered deliciously in his memory. This time, no matter what, he was coming to collect his “belly tax.”
Duan Yan found it amusing. How could a man who loved food and drink so much possibly stay away?
Song Fengsui was dressed in a dark-blue short jacket, with his sleeves and trouser legs tied up. He looked neat and ready for work.
Holding a small hoe, he called out, “Master Duan will be the head chef. As for everyone else, you’ll all follow Little Master Song into the fields and dig up today’s main ingredient!”
Everyone burst out laughing.
When Duan Yan had first bought the seeds for the ground fruits, he had not made a great show of it. He had planted them in the spring just like any ordinary crop. Only after they had successfully grown did he tell the family about them.
Naturally, everyone was curious. At Song Fengsui’s shout, they all followed him into the fields.
Duan Yan prepared some other side dishes, caught a few chickens and ducks, and fished several fish from the pond. Since they were eating in Yan’er Village, he also called Third Son Qian over and took the opportunity to ask him for some fresh pork and mutton.
By the time everyone returned, the meat and vegetables were more or less ready.
They had not been gone long. Each person dug up a few plants, and before the novelty had even worn off, they had filled an entire basket with sturdy ground fruits.
Even the Song family, who had seen plenty in their time, had never encountered such a crop. The fruits looked unusual, but their appearance was actually rather good.
The most impressive thing was the yield. Each plant produced several fruits beneath it. They were solid and heavy, and two or three of the larger ones would be enough to fill a person’s stomach for a meal.
Everyone was amazed and delighted. They examined the plants in the field for quite some time. Song Fengsui warned them not to eat the fruits raw, and since everyone was curious about their flavor, they did not linger. They hurriedly carried the freshly dug ground fruits back home.
After washing away the sand and scraping off their thin skins, Duan Yan cut some into fine shreds and soaked them in water to remove the starch. He then stir-fried them quickly over high heat and finished the dish with a splash of vinegar. The result was a crisp, tangy, appetizing side dish.
He chopped the duck into pieces and cut the fresh ribs apart. He fried each kind of meat until fragrant, added the seasonings, and simmered them. Once the meat was tender, he added small ground fruits and cooked everything together. The savory meat juices seeped into the fruits, giving them a soft, floury texture and a rich flavor so reminiscent of meat that they almost tasted like it themselves.
He also diced some ground fruits and simmered them with cured pork belly and fresh beans to make rice; fried strips of ground fruit until golden; steamed some whole; and mashed eggs into a thick puree to go with them…
At first, only the Song family had stayed in the kitchen to watch Duan Yan cook. Later, every person who came to eat added another spectator to the crowd gathered in the back kitchen to watch the novelty.
Those drab gray ground fruits could be shredded, sliced, chopped, steamed, boiled, stir-fried, deep-fried, or braised. They could be turned into dish after dish without repeating themselves, leaving everyone dazzled.
“How can you make so many dishes out of them?”
Third Son Qian stared as basins, plates, bowls, and dishes were continually carried to the table. Before long, more than half the table was covered, yet the stove was still producing dish after dish.
“Is this truly your first year growing ground fruits? Watching you work with them, I’d think you were closer to those things than you are to your own relatives.”
Duan Yan had just finished a seasonal dish of summer eggplant, cucumber, ground fruit, and beans braised together. As he lifted the pot from the stove, he said, “Once you’ve tasted something and figured out its texture and character, you can naturally pair it with different meats and ingredients according to its nature. There’s no need to know it as well as a relative.”
Third Son Qian gave a derisive snort. He had finally caught the young man with a chance to brag.
He took the large earthen basin of seasonal stew from Duan Yan. The aroma was so rich it nearly knocked him off his feet, and every dish truly had its own distinctive fragrance.
He did not believe Duan Yan’s claim that it was so simple. The lad must have dug up the ground fruits when they were still no bigger than a finger and studied all the ways they could be cooked. That cheeky boy had probably done it to curry favor with his father-in-law.
But when he looked at the tableful of food, he decided not to argue. Calling out, “Coming through!” he carefully carried the freshly cooked dish over.
His own father had no appetite for such things today. Old Man Duan had personally invited him to come eat ground fruits, yet the old man had stubbornly refused. The two elderly men were always at daggers drawn, but today he had certainly missed out.
“Little treasure, does the puree Uncle Duan made smell good?”
When Third Son Qian came over, he had brought Ji He and the child along as well. Old Man Qian had refused to come and did not want Ji He and the child coming either. Third Son Qian had snorted and said that he had contributed more than ten catties of fresh meat and two large racks of pork ribs. If he came alone, how could he possibly eat enough to get his money’s worth? No matter what, he was bringing Ji He along. This had made Old Man Qian so angry that his whiskers practically blew upward.
Children could not bear hunger for long. After smelling the aromas of meat and vegetables in the kitchen, the child stared longingly at the food and quietly told Ji He that he was hungry.
Song Fengsui first brought him some mild ground-fruit soup and a golden, puffed-up strip of fried ground fruit.
The little one from the Qian family was somewhat shy around strangers. He normally would not let unfamiliar people hold him, much less feed him. Yet he was especially fond of Song Fengsui. He let Song Fengsui lead him by the hand and carry him, and he even opened his mouth wide to accept whatever the young man fed him.
Ji He found it remarkable and asked why the child was so fond of Little Uncle Song.
The little boy shyly replied, “Little Uncle is handsome.”
His words made everyone laugh.
By the time Tax Officer Qin arrived from town with Mr. Bai, the sun had already begun to tilt westward.
The moment he stepped into the estate, he caught the fragrance of supper. He was still being polite enough to bring Old Man Duan two boxes of tea, but then he slipped into the back kitchen, openly declaring that having a thick skin had its advantages—look at him, getting to mooch such delicious food.
That evening, three tables were set up at the estate. There were only two or three households, but every family member had come, making the occasion surprisingly lively.
Everyone at the tables was arguing over which dish tasted best.
Each person had a different opinion. Some said the shredded ground-fruit was crisp and refreshing, perfect for relieving greasiness and stimulating the appetite in summer. Others thought the braised roast duck was delicious, having absorbed all the rich flavor of the sauce.
“The best part is that they’re all ordinary home-cooked dishes, yet they taste so good. Ground-fruit is naturally mild. It can take center stage on its own, but it also works as a supporting ingredient—there isn’t a meat or vegetable it doesn’t blend well with.”
Everyone launched into a spirited discussion about ground-fruit. They drank a little weak wine and ate for quite some time, yet when the tables were cleared, plenty of food remained. It wasn’t that the dishes lacked flavor. Ground-fruit was simply so filling that there was only so much anyone could fit in their stomach before they were completely stuffed~
Song Fengsui’s belly had rounded out a little from the meal. He was picky about food. The first time he had tasted ground-fruit in the prefectural city, he had found the earthy smell rather strong. But this batch had come from their own fields and had been thoroughly “trained” by Duan Yan, so it tasted wonderful.
That night, after seeing Grandfather Song, Father Song, Mother Song, and the Qin family off to the main road outside the village, he walked home under the moonlight with Duan Yan. Even then, he still felt overly full. Only after taking a digestive pill did he finally feel comfortable again.
Since the drought began that year, everyone had carried a burden of worry in their hearts, fretting over the harvest. After hearing Duan Yan say that ground-fruit could be planted in both spring and autumn, the ground-fruit feast allowed them to enjoy a rare night of sound sleep.
Two days later, the village grew lively once again.
It was time to harvest the ground-fruit at the estate, and the way they harvested it was a novelty. They had built a stove right beside the fields: at one end, the ground-fruit was dug up, and at the other, it was boiled immediately.
The villagers found it fascinating and all came running to watch.
Duan Yan scooped up the boiled ground-fruit and distributed it among the village households for them to taste. Villagers loved nothing more than free food, so they crowded around him and begged for their share.
Once boiled soft, the skins came off with the slightest pinch, revealing tender flesh with a mild flavor that was exceedingly easy to eat.
“It’s all soft and wonderfully starchy! Doesn’t taste strange at all!”
The farmers who had managed to get a taste first all nodded enthusiastically. Those who received boiled ground-fruit traded it with those who had gotten roasted ones. No matter how it was prepared, it tasted good.
“My, what a wonder. It’s rare enough to find a crop that produces so much, but one that tastes good too? How come no one ever planted it before?”
“A few mouthfuls fill you up as much as a bowl of coarse rice. And this crop produces so many fruits even in a drought—how can it be so easy to grow and yield so much?”
Those who treasured food refused even to throw away the skins, eating them along with the flesh. When they saw how just a few swings of a hoe could unearth a dozen or twenty round ground-fruits lying in the soil like nuggets of gold, the farmers’ eyes turned red with envy and longing.
One tenant farmer misjudged his aim. His hoe struck with a sharp crack, damaging two of the ground-fruits. The farmers watching nearby all bared their teeth in sympathetic pain.
“Careful there! What a waste to damage them—they’re all good flesh!”
By then, several cleverer villagers had already exchanged looks and begun whispering.
“You go. Go ask him.”
“I don’t dare. Let Big Ox go.”
“If we don’t ask, we’ll all starve to death in this drought!”
They pushed one another back and forth, but in the end someone was shoved forward to Duan Yan.
The man who had been pushed to the front glanced behind him several times. Seeing pairs of eyes blinking encouragement at him, he nervously rubbed his hands together.
He turned back to Duan Yan and stammered, “Lord Duan, Old Hu was saying a few days ago that your ground-fruit had yielded a bumper harvest, and that, as a reward for his great service, you were going to give him seeds to plant. Is that really true?”
“It is.”
Duan Yan looked at the nervous man who had come to speak to him.
“What is it?”
“My lord, could you show us some mercy and give us some seeds to try planting as well?”
The man lowered his head and pleaded. As soon as he said this, several others crowded forward and chimed in.
“The sky’s dry and the earth’s parched, my lord. We all want some ground-fruit seeds to plant!”
“Just name the price. We’ll borrow money or pool our resources to buy them.”
“Even if you collect an extra tax after autumn, that’s fine! We only ask that you give us another way to survive this drought.”
The villagers begged all at once, their eyes filled with utter sincerity.
Duan Yan raised a hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
“If I had no intention of letting everyone try planting it, I wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble today. These are difficult years of drought, and this ground-fruit is meant especially for times of famine. We all live here together. Whether it is defense or water conservancy, we can work together. Crops and food are the lifeblood of the people—how could anyone have the right to keep such a thing for themselves?”
“Every household can plant this ground-fruit, and every household must plant it!”
The field fell silent for a moment. Then an earth-shaking cheer erupted!
……
The village’s water-conservation works were completed before the autumn harvest. Several large waterwheels had been set up to slowly lift the river’s already diminished flow into the fields, allowing most of the village’s paddy fields to be irrigated.
They had not been able to use them that year, but now that construction was complete, they would certainly come in handy the following year.
As soon as the waterworks were finished, the busy autumn harvest began.
The sun blazed overhead. This year’s autumn harvest was far from promising. Everyone had expected it, but when they actually gathered the rice they had tended for more than half a year and saw field after field of empty husks, the sight still left a bitter taste in their hearts.
Fortunately, they had the ground-fruit to console them. The farmers managed to regain some of their spirits and hurried to bring in the crops. Racing against the season, they worked under the direction of the tenants from the Duan estate, selecting land, loosening the soil, and building ridges, learning how to plant this autumn crop of ground-fruit.
In Rock Town, all the repairs and construction scheduled for the year had been completed. The major projects had all come to an end with the arrival of late autumn. Apart from the work in the fields, things had become unusually quiet compared with before.
The labor-intensive tasks had temporarily drawn to a close, but matters that kept people from feeling at ease began arriving one after another.
First, the county sent word once again urging them to pay their land and property taxes. Then the militia guard force caught two bandits scouting around the town, while several petty thieves of unknown origin escaped after coming to gather information.
That was not all. The people from Chishan Town also came demanding salt, their attitude openly hostile……
The fighting outside continued fiercely, with no sign of stopping. The minor drought that year and the resulting decline in the harvest had undoubtedly pushed the situation into even greater hardship.
In these small settlements, people were on edge everywhere, and unrest was brewing beneath the surface. With insufficient food, people were being driven toward the path of plunder.
Duan Yan led the militia into the mountains. Bundle after bundle of bamboo was hauled to the workshop, where the green bamboo was heated and hardened into arrows. As many weapons as possible were stockpiled.
The yamen had not been idle either. First, they came up with a plan to deal with the county. Several carts of grain were deliberately sent out through the pass, and halfway there, they staged a bandit attack. The carts then hurried back to town, after which they sent a message to the county, weeping and pleading for the county authorities to take charge.
The ruse was rather crude, but at least it gave them an explanation, and they could maintain appearances. If they openly defied the county and the county magistrate became angry enough to send troops to attack, then even with cannon shells to protect them, they would still suffer considerable losses.
Fortunately, with the Song family holding the fort and coming up with one idea after another, they managed to muddle through the county authorities’ demands.
By mid-September, the summer heat had only just dispersed when several days of rain came in succession. The temperature dropped as abruptly as a bamboo stalk chopped in two—crack!—and after the rain, it never rose again.
By the end of the month, snow was already drifting down!
Everyone said the weather this year was truly bizarre—scorching heat followed by bitter cold, as though it meant to torment people to death. The news also served as a warning to hurry and gather the autumn crop from the fields.
The weather around Yan Town was not especially suited to planting an autumn crop of field produce. The harvest was clearly smaller than the batch Duan Yan had planted in spring, but compared with the other crops, it was already excellent. This one harvest had made up for the farmers’ poor yields elsewhere that year, ensuring they would not lack food through the winter.
They had no time to celebrate. A fast horse entered the town, and a heart-stopping piece of news drifted in with the snowflakes.
“The county has taken troops to attack Chishan Town!”
Everyone in the yamen was startled when they heard this. “We knew a battle was unavoidable sooner or later, but we never expected it to come so quickly!”
“The county has issued several orders demanding that Chishan send in iron. The Chishan Commandant ignored every one of them, and the county has long been displeased.
“I heard that when the county pressed them for grain this time, the Chishan Commandant directly challenged them, saying that if the county still cared even a little for the people of the region, it should provide them with some of the salt they lacked. Otherwise, the county should not blame the local authorities if they could not supply grain and iron.”
The man who had gone to investigate reported, “When the county received word, they flew into a rage. They used this as an excuse to bring troops over, claiming they were personally coming to collect grain. But the man who came was a general, and the troops under him were heavily armed. It hardly looked like a mere grain-collection mission.”
Song Xuemu shook his head repeatedly. “What a crude soldier! Even if everyone privately understands that this is the truth, how could he disregard appearances so completely? If the county doesn’t deal with him, how will it command anyone’s respect?”
Duan Yan pressed him for details. “What is the situation now?”
“At first, Chishan refused even to open its gates. The county immediately resorted to force and began fighting at the pass, killing its way toward the town. Chishan still wouldn’t open the town gates, so the two sides are battling outside them!”
Although the battle was not taking place in Yan Town, it still made everyone there furious.
Once the county dealt with Chishan, it would surely detour this way and collect supplies from them. At best, they would have to avoid a direct clash, which would still cost them grain. And that was only if the county won. If the county struggled against Chishan, it would certainly come to their town to borrow troops and manpower.
Ever since trouble had begun, the county had not offered them the slightest assistance. Under such circumstances, Yan Town had no intention of giving them anything—not grain, and certainly not men.
After discussing it among themselves, they finally decided that if the county came to requisition troops, they would simply keep the gates shut and refuse to go, claiming that they feared the fighting and that the town was full of old and weak men incapable of helping the county. As for grain, if the county came to collect it after the battle, they would still scrape together a little to send them away. After all, they could say they had already suffered a bandit raid and could not spare much. Even saying they could not provide two cartloads of grain would be perfectly plausible.
In short, they would play the quail and keep their heads down to preserve their own safety.
Yan Town remained tense for some time. Yet who would have thought the county would prove so utterly useless? They fought for most of the day, and by the time darkness was approaching, they still had not managed to break into the town.
Everyone had expected them to come to Yan Town to requisition troops. Instead, the county forces showed no backbone at all. They turned around, dragging their battered and defeated soldiers with them, and fled.
Seeing this, Chishan Town’s morale soared. They threw open the gates and pursued them all the way out. With galloping horses and broad sabers, they cut down the county soldiers one after another. Even those who surrendered and begged for mercy were shown no quarter.
The Chishan Commandant had never been a merciful man. Chishan had already been short of salt beforehand, and after nearly a year, the yamen’s stores had long since been exhausted. The men had therefore sent local militia into the common people’s homes to plunder supplies, making sure the soldiers in the city were the first to receive the best food and goods.
When households refused to hand over their provisions, quite a few people were beaten to death.
With blood covering his face and body, the Chishan Commandant, drunk on slaughter, threw back his head and laughed triumphantly.
“Hahahaha! Those county chicks are nothing but useless weaklings!”
“And they actually dreamed of taking things from me? Once I’ve gathered my troops, I’ll go to the county myself and drag that old county magistrate out to kill him!”
“My lord is mighty! Our lord is mighty!”
Heavy snow fell from the sky once more, covering the bloodstains scattered across the ground. Duan Yan, who had been hiding in the shadows to observe the situation, waited until the people of Chishan had returned to their town before heading back himself.
The county’s incompetence had exceeded their predictions, while Chishan’s arrogance had likewise surpassed their imagination.
That soldier truly did possess some ability. After witnessing this battle, they finally understood why Chishan dared to openly tear with the county. Calling the man a reckless brute was not wrong, but he clearly had some real capital behind his boldness.
When the news reached the county, everyone in the yamen felt heavy-hearted. Judging by Chishan’s ambitions, it seemed they intended to seize Kang County. Before that, however, they would undoubtedly first bring the surrounding powers under their control.
It seemed they would have to turn their eyes toward Yan Town next.
This battle was unavoidable.
