Chapter 52
◎Acorns in the Mountains 2◎
The ground acorn paste had a strange smell, like rotten tree bark, stale tea from the night before, and sour wild fruits all soaked in raw water. The smell was thick with the fishy scent of plants, mixed with the sourness seeping from the seed coat, much like the smell of rotting leaves in the forest before a heavy rain, with a hint of the choking astringency of lime, drilling straight into the nasal passages.
And on the surface, there was a layer of dark brown, gurgling foam. When tasted, it was sour and astringent, even more bitter than overcooked traditional Chinese medicine. It didn’t look like something that could be eaten at all.
After working from morning to night, first chiseling the acorn shells, then grinding the acorn paste, Su Juesheng’s hands trembled even when he lifted his chopsticks. “Tangtang, tell me honestly, are you messing with me?”
“I’m not. And this is only the first wash. Maybe it will be better after a few more changes of water.” Although she said that, Tangtang was not sure in her heart.
“Ugh… this smells worse than a slop bucket. It doesn’t look like something that can be eaten at all.”
Just then, Su Huimin returned from his studies in the city. Su Juesheng couldn’t help but ask his dad for a judgment. “Dad, do you think acorns can be eaten?”
“Acorns?” Su Huimin thought of the large vat he had seen in the courtyard just now. “Tangtang, how did you think of grinding acorns into paste?”
“I saw it in a book. The book says that acorns can be used as a substitute for grain in years of famine. Take the seeds and change the water, soak them fifteen times, wash away the astringent taste, steam them until they are very cooked, and they can be eaten to satisfy hunger.” As she spoke, Tangtang took out the Jiuhuang Bencao from the wooden box in the corner.
Su Huimin had no impression of this book. He had bought many old books from a black book stall in his early years, but he hadn’t read many of them. They were all pressed at the bottom of the wooden box. “Hearing Tangtang’s words, I do remember hearing something a few years ago. In some places in the south, there are oak trees. In years of disaster, the local people would grind these acorns into powder to make thin cakes to satisfy their hunger. Although the taste is average, it is indeed a life-saving food substitute.”
Hearing Su Huimin’s words, the brother and sister’s expressions became excited. “That means these acorns can indeed be eaten. We’ll see tomorrow if we can really make them into grain!”
…
It had rained all night, and everything was wet. Tangtang carefully avoided the puddles on the ground. The cloudy yellow paste from yesterday was now less yellow, and a layer of powdery substance could be vaguely seen settling at the bottom. Tangtang poured out the water on top and added fresh water again.
Then the second soak, the third soak…
Tangtang ran back and forth several times, drawing water from the well to soak the acorn powder. By the seventh time, the water was still a little cloudy and faintly yellow. Her hands, holding the handle of the windlass, were red and stinging.
Su Juesheng came over and sniffed. He suddenly said, “It seems less bitter? And the smell is not as bad as it was at the beginning.”
Hearing him say this, Tangtang also leaned closer and scooped up a handful of the acorn water to taste. Her eyes lit up. “It seems that soaking it in water is useful!”
The brother and sister were both energized. They took turns drawing water. By the fifteenth time, the water no longer had any bitter or astringent taste.
Yesterday, when they were grinding the acorn paste, Tangtang had already used cheesecloth to filter out some of the shell impurities. The layer of powder that had settled at the bottom was fine and white, and it looked a bit like the texture of white flour.
“Tangtang, can this be eaten?” Su Juesheng dug at the powder at the bottom with a wooden spoon.
A look of joy appeared on her face. “It should be edible! This is probably the starch extracted from the acorns. But how do you eat this… I have an idea.”
Since the main component of lotus root starch was starch, this starch extracted from acorns could probably be eaten like lotus root starch.
Tangtang went into the house and took two clean coarse porcelain bowls. She scooped a spoonful of acorn powder into each, and then poured in boiling water while stirring. The boiling water hit the wall of the bowl and a white mist rose. The acorn powder instantly coagulated into a translucent paste when it met the heat. After repeated stirring, it slowly became thick.
Tangtang scooped up a spoonful of the acorn paste to taste. The freshly made acorn paste had a dense and fine texture at first. Unlike lotus root starch, which had a natural sweetness, it had a bitter and astringent taste unique to the mountains, but it was still acceptable. When chewed, a slight grainy texture could be felt, like unpolished brown rice that had not been completely ground.
“Tangtang, this thing can really be eaten!” Juesheng said excitedly. Although it was not very delicious, he still ate the whole bowl of acorn paste. “I usually have to drink two bowls of congee, but after this one bowl of acorn paste, I feel eighty percent full. This acorn paste is really filling!”
Tangtang also finished a bowl of acorn paste.
The yield of this acorn powder was quite high. Tangtang estimated that they had probably ground about ten catties of acorns, and the starch at the bottom of the vat was probably about three catties, with a yield of about 30%.
In the evening, Yu Juanfang cooked this acorn powder. The texture was completely different from the paste they had eaten in the afternoon. It tasted like tofu, with a refreshing, soft, and tender texture. Although it was a little bitter and astringent, it was not to the point of being unacceptable. And she had only used one catty of starch to make six or seven catties of acorn tofu, which was more than the yield of making tofu from soybeans. This was already enough for a family of five for a day in normal times.
Yu Juanfang was also very excited. The two children had been fiddling with it, and she hadn’t paid much attention. She hadn’t expected them to actually make this acorn tofu.
If this acorn tofu could be promoted, then many people would not have to starve to death.
…
Around seven in the evening, after everyone had finished dinner, the brigade leader, Su Baocai, called everyone to the primary school’s playground for a meeting.
Perhaps because everyone had been tightening their belts during this period, the adults and children could only drink two bowls of wild vegetable thin soup every day. Everyone was listless and had no energy.
The loss was already irreversible. Su Baocai had called everyone here mainly to arrange the subsequent farming issues. “Everyone, move forward! In this fake grain seed incident, all the villages have suffered serious losses. The commune’s meaning is that our Yuhuai Village production brigade only planted half of the fake grain seeds, and the loss is relatively light, so relief grain will not be prioritized for our production team.”
The meeting was to talk about this! Someone below was dissatisfied. “So we were wrong for not planting all the wheat fields with that fake grain seed? Didn’t we pay the public grain? How much is left for us after paying the public grain?”
“Quiet, quiet.”
“Although relief grain will not be prioritized for our production brigade, we have also suffered serious losses in the fake grain seed incident. The commune has specially allocated us twenty catties of sweet potato seedlings. Xianmiao, you take two people to the commune tomorrow morning to bring them back.” Su Baocai handed this matter over to the deputy team leader, Feng Xianmiao.
The crowd was not very interested in these twenty catties of sweet potato seedlings. It would be better to give each person two catties of sweet potatoes.
After talking about the sweet potato seedlings, Su Baocai talked about the main business of this meeting, arranging the subsequent work, such as manually pulling out the wheat seedlings in the fields, turning the soil, composting, disinfecting, weeding, and preparing for drought resistance. Wheat could not be planted in succession. The irrigated land at the east end of the village would be planted with sweet potatoes, the sloping land at the west end of the village would be planted with soybeans, and the rest would be used to grow some cabbage seedlings, which could be harvested before the frost.
“Does anyone have anything else to say? If not, the meeting is dismissed!”
“Uncle Baocai, I have something to say.” Tangtang raised her hand in the crowd, her voice clear, sweet, and soft. “Everyone’s grain is tight now. You’ve tightened your belts one after another. You probably only had two bowls of thin soup before you rushed to the meeting. After this meeting, everyone must be hungry. My mom has made a late-night snack for everyone. Uncles and aunties, you can have a taste!”
As soon as Tangtang said this, the whole scene exploded. In these times, how tight was every family’s grain? Yet, someone was taking the initiative to take out their own family’s grain for everyone to eat?
Although everyone was indeed hungry, they were too embarrassed to eat other people’s grain. After all, in these times, grain was life.
Seeing that no one was taking it, Tangtang explained, “This is made from acorns picked from the mountains. It’s free! Our family didn’t contribute anything except for some seasonings. Everyone, don’t be embarrassed!”
Everyone’s gaze fell on the wooden basin in Tangtang’s hand. Inside was a large basin of something that looked like gray tofu, cut into pieces, with soy sauce and some chopped wild onions added.
“Acorns? Isn’t that the bitter and astringent hard-shelled fruit? Can that thing… be eaten?” Someone was skeptical.
Tangtang brought the basin of acorn tofu to Su Baocai. “Uncle Baocai, you can have a piece first.”
Su Baocai picked up a piece. “Tangtang, what is this?”
“Uncle Baocai, this is acorn tofu,” Tangtang explained.
“Acorns?” Su Baocai was puzzled. He couldn’t imagine how the bitter and astringent wild fruit from the mountains had turned into the tofu-like thing in Tangtang’s hand. But he still put the acorn tofu in his hand into his mouth.
Seeing that Su Baocai had eaten it, the others also followed suit and put the acorn tofu in their hands into their mouths. How should I put it? It had a bitter and astringent taste, but it didn’t affect much. And this tofu had a particularly tough texture. You had to use a little force with your teeth to bite it off. The more you chewed, the more you could feel the stickiness of the starch. Mixed with the unground acorn particles, it made a sandy sound in the mouth, a bit like chewing uncooked brown rice.
Someone had only had a thin soup that couldn’t be thinner at night, and their stomach was already rumbling. After swallowing this piece of acorn tofu, they didn’t know if it was a psychological effect, but the feeling of hunger had eased a lot. It seemed that this thing could be filling!
Someone who had eaten one piece wanted a second. Tangtang was not stingy and gave as much as she had to everyone. In an instant, a large group of villagers crowded over, wanting to taste what this acorn tofu was like.
“It’s grain, this is grain!”
“Delicious, really delicious.” Someone’s eyes turned red. They hadn’t had anything dry to eat at home for a long time.
“Girl, you just said that this is made from acorns picked from the mountains?”
Su Juesheng placed a basket of acorns in front of everyone. “It’s this acorn picked from the mountains.”
Tangtang explained the method of making acorn tofu to everyone. “The acorns picked from the mountains, after smashing the hard outer shell with a stone mortar, are taken home and ground into an acorn paste. After filtering it through cheesecloth and soaking it overnight, the water is changed the next day. After washing it fifteen times, the acorn powder that settles at the bottom is the acorn powder. This powder can not only be used to make acorn tofu, but also to make cornbread buns, thin pancakes, and acorn paste. Ten catties of acorns can be ground into three catties of acorn powder, and one catty of acorn powder can make six or seven catties of acorn tofu!”
“Is it this thing?” he asked, pointing to the acorns in Su Juesheng’s hand.
“Yes!”
“Speaking of which, I saw Tangtang and Juesheng, the two children, fiddling with something at the stone mortar at the village entrance a couple of days ago. Were they fiddling with this acorn at that time?”
Now, although the meeting was not yet over, the people in the crowd could no longer sit still!
Tangtang had already explained the complete method of making acorn tofu. These acorns were free. Even if it was not successful, it would only take a little time and effort. If it was successful… the family would not have to live on thin soup and tighten their belts every day!
“Don’t go up the mountain at night, it’s dangerous!” Su Baocai stopped everyone. “If you want to go up the mountain, go tomorrow morning!”
Su Baocai said that they could only go up the mountain tomorrow. Three or four in the morning was also tomorrow. So, before it was light, people began to go up the mountain with bamboo baskets to pick acorns. The oak trees on Dagu Mountain were everywhere, and the acorns were piled up all over the mountain year after year. Whoever wanted to pick them could go and pick them. After picking them, they would use a stone mortar to crush the outer shells, grind them into a paste, and then soak them in water. Basically, following the method Tangtang had said, they could all make acorn powder!
It could be used to make cornbread buns, thin pancakes, and acorn paste. Although it was not very delicious and had a bitter and astringent taste, it was indeed filling! And it tasted much better than any grass roots or tree bark. This made everyone extremely excited!
…
Su Juesheng and Tangtang found the Zhu family according to their impression from last time.
When Tangtang knocked on the door, the Zhu family was cooking a wild vegetable paste. There were only a few bean flakes in the pot, and most of it was green wild vegetables and thin soup.
“Benefactors, it’s the two benefactors. Come in and sit!”
Su Juesheng untied the acorns tied to the bicycle seat. “Old man, do you have this kind of acorn in the mountains here?”
Old man Zhu carefully identified it. “Yes, there are many of these hard-shelled wild fruits in the mountains, but this thing is not easy to peel when you bite it, and it’s bitter and astringent. Everyone is more willing to dig wild grass and tree roots. Not many people are willing to pick these acorns.”
A smile appeared on Tangtang’s face. She took out a few cornbread buns steamed from acorn flour from a sack last night. “You can have a taste of this!”
“This… I can’t accept this…”
“Eat it, old man, just eat it!” Tangtang insisted on stuffing the cornbread buns into his hand and then stuffed an acorn flour cornbread bun into the hands of Zhu Qing, Maomao, and the old woman.
These cornbread buns were steamed by Yu Juanfang. A little salt and shredded potatoes were also added. They were a bit hard in the hand, heavier than the usual corn cornbread buns. They had a very tough texture and a grainy feel of unground brown rice.
How long had it been since the old man’s family had eaten dry rations? Although it was just a small cornbread bun, he ate it with tears in his eyes. “Delicious, really delicious.”
The old man’s teenage grandson, Zhu Qing, was in his growing years. He was tall and thin, like a thin bamboo pole. He had already swallowed an acorn flour cornbread bun. Looking at the cornbread bun in Tangtang’s hand, he swallowed his saliva with some embarrassment.
“Brother Zhu Qing, you can have another one.” Tangtang estimated that he was a little older than her.
The instinct of hunger overcame his shyness. Zhu Qing’s throat rolled violently as he swallowed. He took the cornbread bun from Tangtang and stuffed it into his mouth with red eyes.
“The cornbread bun you’re eating is made from acorns picked from the mountains.”
“What? Made from acorns?” Old man Zhu’s eyes widened. He swallowed the cornbread bun in his mouth. “Is it the wild fruit from our mountains?”
Tangtang nodded. “Mhm, after picking them, the acorn shells are crushed, ground into a paste, and then soaked in water several times. The acorn starch that settles at the bottom is the acorn starch. No grain is added at all!”
“Look, it’s this acorn. This is the powder ground from acorns. If there are families in your village who have run out of grain, they can go up the mountain to pick these acorns and grind them into powder to make cornbread buns, thin pancakes, and acorn paste. Ten catties of acorns can be ground into three catties of acorn powder, and one catty of acorn powder can make six or seven catties of acorn tofu.” Tangtang handed the acorns picked from the mountains and the dried acorn powder to old man Zhu.
The color of this acorn powder was darker than that of ordinary corn starch and wheat flour, and there were also some fine acorn particles in it.
Old man Zhu’s lips trembled. His eyes turned red. After a long while, he said with a sob, “Miss Tangtang, I’ll go and call all the families in our village who have run out of grain right now. Can you tell everyone again how this acorn powder is made?”
“Of course!”
The full name of this small village was Doupozi Village. It was not as big as other villages with a large population. There were about twenty households, and it could only be considered a small production team, under the jurisdiction of another production brigade outside the mountain. The whole village was very poor, and the people were dressed in rags, barely able to cover their shame. Everyone’s face was sallow, and their eyes were sunken.
At this moment, almost the whole village had gathered at the village entrance to listen to Tangtang explain how to make acorn flour.
Tangtang stood on a large stone slab as instructed by the village chief, held a loudspeaker in her hand, and explained in detail how to crush the outer shells of the picked acorns, grind them into a paste, and let them settle. She showed everyone the acorns and acorn flour that she and Juesheng had brought. Of the dozen or so cornbread buns they had brought, seven or eight were given to the old Zhu family, and for the remaining few, she let everyone break off a piece to taste.
“It’s grain, it’s really grain!”
“Delicious, really delicious. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had such delicious dry rations.”
Tangtang was still distributing the cornbread buns when she saw an old woman with a headscarf suddenly walk straight towards her. Tangtang and her brother Juesheng next to her exchanged a glance, not understanding her intention, their expressions puzzled.
“Old woman, do you have any questions?”
The next second, the old woman knelt down in front of Tangtang. “Living Bodhisattva, a living Bodhisattva! Heaven has finally opened its eyes and is not willing to see our whole village starve to death, so it sent a living Bodhisattva to save us!”
This village was isolated all year round. Hearing Grandma Chen’s words, the others all felt that it made a lot of sense and knelt down one after another to kowtow to Tangtang and the others.
“Hey! This is not acceptable, not acceptable at all…” Seeing this, Tangtang quickly and clumsily helped Grandma Chen up. “I really can’t accept such a great honor. If you don’t get up, I’ll have to kneel down to everyone…”
In the end, it was the production team leader who called everyone up. “Get up! This is a new society. We don’t do that kneeling thing!”
“It is written in the Jiuhuang Bencao that acorns can be used as a substitute for grain in years of famine. Take the seeds and change the water, soak them fifteen times, wash away the astringent taste, steam them until they are very cooked, and they can be eaten to satisfy hunger.” A ray of sunlight shone on her through the branches and leaves of the old poplar tree. Seeing the blank and confused expressions on the villagers’ faces, a smile appeared on Tangtang’s face. “These are all things I’ve seen in books. After we get through this famine, if your family can afford it, send your children to school to continue their studies. Our lives will get better and better!”
…
After explaining the method of making acorn flour, Tangtang gave the remaining acorns and acorn flour to the old Zhu family.
Coming back from Doupozi Village, Tangtang and Su Juesheng’s steps were much lighter. At least many people would not starve to death due to lack of grain.
From a distance, the brother and sister saw Zhang Axiu pacing in front of their house. Tangtang ran forward. “Sister Axiu.”
Zhang Axiu didn’t bring her child this time. “Tangtang, the people in our village heard that your village can turn the acorns in the mountains into grain. They want to invite you and Juesheng to come over and explain to everyone how this acorn flour is made. Are you willing?”
Tangtang’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded excitedly. “Willing, of course I’m willing!”
The next morning, Tangtang and Su Juesheng went to Xiashan Village to explain the method of making acorn flour to the villagers.
And so, the news spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Even the people in the nearby villages knew that acorns could be made into dry rations, and they all came to the Yuhuai Village production brigade to learn.
The matter of the acorn flour first circulated in a few villages. Later, for some reason, it spread to the commune, and even the county was shaken. Later, even the provincial newspaper specially wrote a news article about it. Tangtang and her brother were stunned when they saw their names in the newspaper.
At the commendation conference in the county, the county leaders specially awarded Tangtang and Su Juesheng, the brother and sister, with certificates of merit, prize money, and prizes. To their surprise, besides the fountain pens and rulers, there was also a precious bicycle coupon among the prizes.
This made Tangtang’s family overjoyed. Su Huimin specially went to the county and exchanged the precious bicycle coupon for a brand new Forever brand 28-inch bicycle.
The new bicycle was very impressive. When it was placed in the main hall, even the whole courtyard shone. The Forever brand logo was shiny and bright. The paint was even and smooth, without any bubbles or drips. The leather seat was glossy, and even the chain was bright, with no stains on it. It was fast and flexible to pedal, and it was not tiring to go uphill.
At the end of June, Su Juexiao graduated from Yuanlin County High School. But fate once again favored their family. Because of his excellent grades in school, always ranking first in the grade in every exam, Tangtang’s second brother, Su Juexiao, was recruited by the propaganda department of the mining area. From then on, he became a public official and no longer had to scrape a living from the land.
When the news came, Tangtang’s family was overjoyed. They specially had a lavish meal at the largest canteen in the county town and sent Su Juexiao off to the mining area with great fanfare.
Unfortunately, their cousin Wani was not recruited. After graduating from Yuanlin County High School, she received a high school diploma and returned to Yuhuai Village to start her farming career.
In July, although Tangtang had taken a lot of leave in May and June, she still got into Yuanlin County High School with the first-place score in the entire commune and became a high school student. Her third brother, Su Juesheng, ranked fifteenth in the entire commune, which was also a very good result.
Yu Juanfang happily made a large table of delicious food to reward the two children.
This year was 1973, and Tangtang was fifteen years old.