Chapter 80: Peanut Shell Charcoal
Yesterday, she had used too much water. Before preparing to stir-fry the bamboo shoot tea, Huai Yu specially went to the pond to fetch two buckets of water.
Now, the heavy rain had stopped for quite some time, and the water in the pond had cleared up again. Although it couldn’t compare to the fresh mountain streams, it wasn’t bad.
As for the small fish, little mudfish, and shrimp she had put in…
There wasn’t a trace of them anywhere.
No worries. Huai Yu was confident. Next time, she would go to the mountain to set up a fish trap again!
She went to check on the chickens. The pen was surrounded, and now they were basking in the warm sun, their yellow feathers fluffy and round, chirping joyfully…
They were full of life!
Now, the biggest problem was the drinking water filtration.
The water she had brought back had to be first purified with water purification tablets, then filtered slowly with a towel, boiled, and finally purified using her abilities…
The most troublesome part was filtering with the towel. It didn’t absorb water quickly, and there wasn’t much water, plus it was a makeshift setup, so she had to stand by each time while filtering.
After thinking for a bit, Huai Yu laid out the bamboo shoots to dry, then pulled out the peanut shells she had dried earlier.
She lit the stove. She didn’t know exactly how to make charcoal, so she decided to do it the simple way: just burn it in the pot until it turned into charcoal.
The peanut shells didn’t need much attention in the pot, so she went to find the quilt she hadn’t sewn yet. She pulled out two large handfuls of cotton from the tear.
Although the quilt had to be sacrificed… well, never mind!
Water! Water was the most important thing!
If this experiment worked, the quilt would be dedicated to filtering materials from now on.
She washed the cotton clean, then took it outside to dry, and then decisively cut open the large mineral water bottle she had swapped for earlier.
At that time, she would layer the cotton and crushed peanut shell charcoal powder, then another layer of cotton…
She would try this first!
The peanut shells emitted a burnt smell. Little Tian (the mouse) had somehow poked its head out, spinning around the pot and calling out, looking at Huai Yu as if it felt sympathy for her.
Eating peanut shells… This human’s life was getting worse by the day!
After getting to know Kuang Biao, Huai Yu now thought of Little Tian as quite cute. She didn’t even notice its sympathy and, in a good mood, handed it a few soybeans: “Here! Take them, don’t be polite!”
She then remembered something: “Come on! Let’s take a stroll through the bamboo forest. Don’t hurt yourself by running into bamboo rats!”
“Chirp chirp chirp!” Little Tian protested: “I’m a field mouse!”
“I know, I know!” Huai Yu dismissed it nonchalantly: “Bamboo and field mouse, abbreviated as bamboo rat… Hmm, this name sounds much tastier.”
She closed the door and said, “Let’s go, meet the new neighbors.”
Outside, the sun was warm, but as they rounded the back of the house and neared the bamboo forest, they instantly felt the cool breeze.
Huai Yu pointed to Little Tian and was about to speak when she realized the little guy looked even smaller holding the soybeans. So she picked up a leaf and pinched its tail—
Little Tian: ?!!!
It dropped the soybeans!
It flailed helplessly in mid-air, then managed to spin around twice before reluctantly becoming still.
Huai Yu raised her arm: “Kuang Biao, let me introduce you to my friend. This is field mouse Little Tian. If it comes to the bamboo forest to find food, don’t hurt it.”
The bamboo forest rustled as if answering.
It seemed like Kuang Biao was truly exhausted.
Huai Yu raised her arm and, after a moment of eye contact with Little Tian, spoke: “You… I guess there’s nothing much to introduce about you, right? You can’t hurt it.”
Her words were somewhat insulting to mice, as Little Tian could dig tunnels anywhere if it was pushed too far!
However…
The presence of the bamboo forest was quite strong, and Little Tian shivered twice, too scared to speak.
Soon, Huai Yu let it go: “Alright, introduction done! If you’re bored, feel free to wander around. If you find something tasty, let me know!”
She then remembered that yesterday’s meat-catching plan hadn’t worked out… Sigh!
She had encountered Kuang Biao on her first trip to the mountains. What would she meet the next time? Would she really have to rely on her chickens and bamboo shoots for meat in the future?
…
She went to check on the vegetable garden, where the newly planted yam, soybeans, chili peppers, and cowpeas were all doing well. The first batch of soybeans had sprouted small buds—
Everything looked good.
Especially the sweet potato seedlings. When they were first planted, they were drooping, nearly dead. Now, they had all perked up, with leaves standing tall, clearly surviving!
Huai Yu was very happy!
She crouched down, carefully took a look at the rose corridor, and cautiously used a little bit of wood-based ability…
Wow!
The sweet potato seedlings visibly became more vigorous and robust!
Though there was no movement in the rose corridor, the wind blew, and many petals floated in the air.
Huai Yu decided to leave while things were going well, standing up and leaving the vegetable garden.
Once Kuang Biao recovered in two days, she’d think of a way to cut bamboo poles and make a fence.
Without a fence, it didn’t feel as safe.
Finally, she went to check the potatoes she had been incubating in the bag. They were in good condition, and the skin had started to turn slightly green in some areas, indicating that the sprouting would happen soon.
At this moment, the two handfuls of peanut shells in the large pot had lost their burnt smell. Instead, they were black, so dark they seemed to shine.
Peanut shell charcoal, done!
Huai Yu quickly took it out, wrapped it in paper, and pounded it with a brick until it turned into small pieces and powder. Then she brought in the fluffy cotton she had dried earlier.
A large mineral water bottle had been cut open at the bottom. Now, the bottle’s mouth was inverted and placed on top of the bucket.
She first placed a thick layer of cotton at the bottom, then added the peanut shell charcoal, followed by another layer of cotton on top.
And just like that, the simple impurity filter was ready!
Excited, Huai Yu crouched by the bucket and slowly poured the pond water into it.
The bucket was large enough to pour in all the water at once, allowing it to filter slowly without having to keep adding water while waiting.
After a while, the originally yellow and slightly murky water slowly filtered through the bottle and came out clear…
Clear!
She was so happy, letting out a big sigh: “I’m really a genius!”
But wait!
If she could filter water, didn’t that mean her knowledge was broader than that of a sturdy farmer woman?
Hmm—what if she was actually a sturdy farmer woman who dropped out of school and was married off to a deep mountain?!!
Huai Yu furrowed her brows and, while scrubbing the pot, tried hard to recall—
She was afraid that one day, after she had worked hard to build a 600-acre farm, a messy, unkempt man would suddenly show up with kids and cry, claiming to be a family…
Ugh, no! No way!
She firmly shook her head, swearing never to accept her past! Whatever that past may have been!
She only wanted now!
