How to eat pineapple buns on the immigration ship

Chapter 274 A Bite of China (Part 3)
Compared to bamboo shoots, the subsequent ham production process didn't frustrate modern people as much, since ham only seems to require salt and pig thighs, and what they lack now is only edible castrated pigs.

However, this was the first time they had ever seen salt made from well water. In modern times, salt is primarily a condiment produced in large quantities using material conversion technology, and it mainly exists on the surface of some planets and in the oceans of the Fourth Fleet. Both modern people and researchers in historical institutes believe that ancient people extracted edible salt from the ocean. Therefore, everyone was astonished when they saw the people living in the mountains drawing brine from a well.

In comparison, the subsequent ham-making process seems somewhat monotonous. After all, for modern people, knowing where ancient people obtained salt is a much more appealing topic.

Even so, viewers in the live stream couldn't help but swallow hard when they saw the blood sausage.

During the interview, Kagawa glanced at the comments section and, sure enough, when he saw the cows, horses, and mules licking the salt in the soil, comments like "I want to eat this," "It looks delicious," and "This soil seems pretty good" appeared on the screen. Their indiscriminate hunger was reminiscent of how people in the 21st century first watched the first episode of "A Bite of China."

The stir-fried lettuce with ham and the hand-pulled ham fried rice that followed were so oily that Kagawa's mouth watered just looking at them.

"Hiss..." Ouyang Yating, sitting next to Xiangchuan, couldn't help but hug the bucket of fries in her hands, her mouth watering. "Xiangchuan, do you think we should try making ham next semester?"

Kagawa turned and glanced at her, then at Aino and Ryoko sitting next to them. The two weren't much better off; their eyes were practically gleaming with hunger. Look how hungry these children are!

However, she didn't intend to object. After all, by the second semester, the castrated pigs for the various production escort ships would probably be ready for slaughter. Without strong-flavored seasonings like soy sauce and oyster sauce, the only option for making processed foods would be ham and sausages.

If I can't make cured meat, I can make some ham instead, it'll just take a bit more time.

Kagawa couldn't help but sigh at the thought that the delicious ham in the video would take at least three years to make.

"Kagawa, you said that in the past, people only needed the pig's four legs to make ham, so what did they do with the pig's torso? Did they just throw it away?"

Aino stared at the video screen, asking somewhat absentmindedly.

This ingenious question instantly freed Kagawa from her worries about making ham, and she looked at Eno with the same expression she had for someone who was an idiot.

"Using pigs to make ham doesn't mean that other parts of the pig can't be stir-fried and eaten normally. The way we used to eat pigs is how people used to process the parts that weren't used to make ham."

Perhaps it was because Kagawa's gaze was too sharp, but everyone in the live broadcast room, young and old, who were distracted by Kagawa's words, coughed a couple of times unnaturally.

That makes sense. People in ancient times didn't even waste pig bones, offal, or fat, so why would they waste such a large pig carcass?

Aino realized that he had asked a pointless question, so he hummed a couple of times and then started silently stuffing fries and potato wedges into his mouth, trying to cover up his earlier lapse in composure.

Kagawa, who had been tormented by Aino's math tutoring for months, was thinking of pressing her advantage and saying a few more words to him, but then the video screen changed, and her attention was drawn to it.

Forget it, I'll remember this. If this guy looks at me like I'm an idiot again, Kagawa won't mind bringing it up and having a good talk about it when castrated pork comes to market.
-
The broadcast of "A Bite of China" will not be stopped because of these little incidents in the live broadcast room.

Just as Kagawa and Aino were quietly discussing making ham, the ham-related content came to an end, and then the scene showed a lake and wooden boats.

What kind of ingredients are they looking for this time?

The people in the live broadcast room and the viewers watching the live broadcast stared intently at the screen.

At first, the narration and camera work didn't directly explain what the workers in the scene were looking for, and the plants they were looking for were all withered aquatic plants, which left the audience and Xiangxue and others puzzled: Is there anything they can pick here? Could it be... that these withered leaves are edible?!

Kagawa: Fresh lotus leaves, if dried, can indeed be used to make tea... Then the scene showed mud and withered lotus pods, which was hard for the viewers who had just been drooling over the delicious and tempting ham to accept.

Is this... really edible? What do you eat? Mud?

The answer was quickly revealed. When the workers in the video dug lotus roots covered in mud out of the silt, the comments section exploded again.

What is this thing?! Huh?!

【No... this... is this edible?】

People in ancient times were really not picky!

……

Not only the viewers in the live chat, but also Xiangxue and others in the live broadcast room couldn't help but look at Xiangchuan repeatedly, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't.

Kagawa could easily guess what they were thinking. She twitched her lips but didn't explain further.

The appearance of sliced ​​lotus root in the next scene immediately elicited a chorus of "Ah?!" from both inside and outside the live stream.

The stark contrast between the pristine white lotus root slices and nodes and their previously unappetizing appearance, covered in mud, caused the viewers in the live stream to forget about their snacks and drinks.

Except for Kagawa. She stared at the lotus root sandwich in the picture, swallowing hard. Back home, lotus root sandwiches weren't very popular; she only occasionally saw a few old women selling them at the market after she started working. The crisp texture of the lotus root, the freshness of the meat, combined with the crispy fried batter…

Kagawa stuffed several fries into his mouth.

"Kagawa, this lotus root..."

Ouyang Yating couldn't help but ask about lotus roots, but then the scene shifted to the lotus root diggers having dinner together. The dim lighting contrasted sharply with the lights above the workers' heads. The workers' bowls contained the same white rice that modern people had just eaten not long ago. The narration and the workers' own accounts of their hard work and exhaustion made everyone in the live stream, including Ouyang Yating, feel a tightness in their chests.

The scene then shifts to workers smiling as they hold lotus roots in the fields, which deeply moved them.

Sitting next to him, Liang Gong stared intently at the screen, touching his chest. The emotions that had just surged within him left him feeling deeply moved. What kind of feeling was this?
Many viewers in the live stream probably felt the same way. They couldn't express their emotions and could only continue watching in silence. As a result, the number of comments in the live stream decreased significantly.

However, no one mentioned the mud clinging to the lotus root anymore.

Looking at the lotus root soup in the picture, Kagawa recalled the winters of her childhood. When she and her sister braved the damp and cold rain to rush home, what they looked forward to most was being able to drink a bowl of lotus root and pork rib soup in the evening. What she and her sister loved to do most was to poke holes in the lotus root pieces with chopsticks. Later, the family bought those large lotus roots that were less likely to be stringy. When they went home for the New Year, their nephews and nieces would often poke holes in the lotus root slices with chopsticks. Every time their older siblings scolded the children, their mother would not forget to tell them about the three siblings' embarrassing history. The nephews and nieces would see their elders' embarrassed appearance and chuckle under the table.

"Xiangchuan, can we still eat these lotus roots now?" Ouyang Yating took a deep breath, composed herself, and finally asked.

"There are still lotus roots. After the lotus flowers in the pond in the park wither in autumn, you can dig up the lotus roots underneath," Kagawa said, taking a sip of fruit milk.

However, we can no longer see the lakes filled with withered lotus leaves and pods, the wooden boats crisscrossing the lotus fields, or the figures shuttling through them.