I Own a Garden with One Hundred Herbs

Chapter 6: Homemade Sweet Bamboo Juice

“I also picked some mushrooms. I’ll make chicken soup with mushrooms tonight.”

The soup was more nourishing than braised meat and suitable for patients. Bai Caoshi now fully took care of Zhe Yu’s condition.

Bai Xiaoshu volunteered, “I’ll boil water and shed its fur.”

When they reached home, Bai Caoshi poured something out of the basket on her back. The first thing everyone saw was the wolf cub.

Madam Bai Li was shocked, “Cao’er, this, this, this…”

Bai Caoshi lied through one’s teeth. “This is a little wolfdog. I was thinking of letting it guard the house when I’m not at home to relieve your boredom.”

Madam Bai Li patted her chest. Was she sure that this was to relieve her boredom and not shock?

“After some training, you can guard the house,” said Zhe Yu calmly.

Shi Cao hugged the little wolf cub and raised its front claws for it to act cute. The little wolf howled.

“Then, I’ll leave the task of training to you… husband. Oh, right, I’ve given it a nickname, Fu Bao, but it doesn’t seem very domineering. It doesn’t match its identity. Husband, give it an official name.” As she spoke, she winked at Zhe Yu. With the male protagonist’s vision, she believed that he would have definitely recognized the wolf cub.

Zhe Yu pondered for a moment. “How about Fei Lu?”

“Warhorses galloped as fast as the wind, the voice of arrow shooting as fast as thunder .” This was a classic line from Xin Qijue’s “Formation Breaker”. It was also a poem that Bai Caoshi liked very much. Lu Ben was Liu Bei’s warhorse. Thinking of the name of the wolf cub, “Fei1 Lu”, it was simply domineering. “Okay, okay, I like it.”

Zhe Yu took another deep look at Bai Caoshi. The poem that the little girl had blurted out was not inferior to that of modern Confucian scholars. What kind of hidden skills did she have?

Bai Caoshi then turned the small basket upside down. “Sell this wild rabbit at the market tomorrow. Eat half of the mushrooms and sell the other half.” The rest were bamboo tubes.

“Sister, you can’t start a fire with this bamboo. It’s too wet.” Bai Xiaoshu couldn’t figure out why his sister gathered bamboo tubes.

Bai Caoshi’s eyes lit up. She treasured these very much. “They will make a good drink… a drink, I guarantee all of you will enjoy.”

Zhe Yu noticed that there were bloodstains and blisters on her slender hands.

**

The family got busy and excited about the mushroom chicken soup.

Only Bai Caoshi zoned out. Oh, no, she was making bamboo juice. She segmented the bamboo tube into pieces about 30 centimeters long, cut the two ends, split it open, and set it up. In the middle, she roasted it with a gentle fire. Gradually, liquid flowed out from the two ends, and the courtyard emitted a fresh sweetness. The liquid was held in a clay bowl. It filled exactly four small bowls. Two bowls were more, and two bowls were less.

Zhe Yu watched the entire process, unable to intervene. Bai Caoshi treated him with much respect.

The clay bowl at home was not enough. There was not enough for chicken soup after filling it with bamboo juice.

“Well, let’s drink the bamboo juice first, then the chicken soup.” As she spoke, she handed the bowl with the most juice to her mother and Zhe Yu. Bai Caoshi and Bai Xiaoshu drank less.

“Sister, can this be drunk?” Bai Xiaoshu was not sure. He had eaten bamboo shoots but had never drunk bamboo juice.

“Why would I lie to you? You’ll know when you try.” She demonstrated and took small sips, looking especially satisfied.

Zhe Yu thought of the vinegar-soaked ginger in the morning. There was nothing strange about the fresh bamboo juice now. Holding the clay bowl, he wanted to share some of his share with Bai Caoshi, but he felt that it was too intimate and inappropriate, so he drank it himself. The juice in the bamboo tube was greenish-yellow, with the fragrance of bamboo and a slightly sweet taste. Even Zhe Yu, who had tasted countless precious wines, felt that it was excellent.

“How is it? How is it?” Bai Caoshi asked expectantly.

“Delicious.” Zhe Yu drank it all.