I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 23: Cluster Fig Jelly – Every Bite Releases a Satisfying CRUNCH

After hauling all those fruits back down the mountain, the question became: how to use them up?

Jiang Tingyun thought for a while and decided to turn half into jam and the other half into jelly.

Cluster figs were quite sweet, but their sweetness was clean and refreshing, with a hint of violet-like fragrance. Cooking them with rock sugar into a jam wouldn’t make it cloying. The jam would be great for desserts or drinks.

The fruit was packed with tiny seeds, similar to the seeds used to make traditional jelly. If you rubbed them in water, the liquid would slowly set into a jelly. But compared to regular jelly, this one had a natural fruity aroma and tasted even better.

Since summer had arrived, she thought she could add some drinks and desserts to the menu. *Heh heh, these fruits were foraged from the mountain—zero cost! Thank you, Mother Nature!*

She eagerly made a batch of cluster fig jelly. The result was delightfully refreshing and sweet. Pei Jingmo devoured five bowls—at least that made up for his effort in carrying all those fruits back.

Zhu Lili also thought it was excellent. She took several photos of the jelly from different angles, carefully edited them, and posted them in the WeChat group for promotion.

**【Qionghua Restaurant Xiao Zhu: [photo]]**

**【Qionghua Restaurant Xiao Zhu: New item – Cluster Fig Jelly. Available for the next week. Refreshingly sweet. Come give it a try!】**

**【Diligence Gets Rich: That looks so good! But what’s a cluster fig?】**

Zhu Lili quickly found a fresh fruit, broke it open, and took a photo of the dripping honey inside.

**【Qionghua Restaurant Xiao Zhu: [photo] Think of it as a wild, big fig—freshly picked from the mountain. Even sweeter than regular figs.]**

**【Diligence Gets Rich: I used to eat these as a kid! So nostalgic. Boss, are you selling the fruits themselves?】**

Jiang Tingyun smiled to herself. *Diligence Gets Rich* was the screen name of Qi Cong’s mother—the same woman who’d wanted to buy wild raspberries before, and now she wanted to buy wild cluster figs. She always wanted to buy Jiang Tingyun’s raw ingredients.

**【Qionghua Restaurant Chef Jiang: Yes! Come quick if you want some. Freshly picked. :)]**

**【Diligence Gets Rich: I’ll come for dinner.]**

**【Wanzi Loves Junjun: I’ll come after class.]**

**【Sweetie’s Mom: I’ll bring my husband and kids on the weekend.]**

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Ever since Li Wanzi had eaten at Qionghua Restaurant once, she couldn’t stop thinking about the food.

Her roommate Fangfang was even worse—after eating just a single free *jiangdou* pork bun, she talked about it all night, praising that bun as if it were the best thing in the world.

The next day, still craving more, they took over an hour’s bus ride right after class to get to Fenghuang Mountain. But they arrived too late—Qionghua Restaurant had already sold out and closed.

Luckily, there were still some ugly *jiangdou* buns left. They bought all of them. Back in the dorm, the other two roommates tried them and went crazy. Those buns were just too fragrant. Everyone started talking about going to Qionghua Restaurant.

Today, when they saw the announcement of the new jelly, the four of them rushed straight to Fenghuang Mountain as soon as class ended.

The other two roommates had never been to Qionghua Restaurant before. They were surprised by how pretty it looked, surrounded by colorful flowers. They couldn’t resist taking several photos.

When they walked into the restaurant, Li Wanzi noticed there weren’t many customers. She breathed a sigh of relief—at least today’s food wouldn’t sell out before they arrived.

As she approached the entrance, she saw that the chalkboard was full of dish names. She’d been here twice before and knew the owner’s style—always stingy with the menu, just a few lines. Why so many dishes today?

“What’s going on? Why are there so many dishes on the board today? Did the boss have a change of heart?”

When they got closer, the four of them were speechless.

The menu read: Cold Tomatoes, Steamed Eggplant, Mixed Vegetable Stir-fry (Potato, Pepper, Eggplant), Dry-Fried Long Beans, Stir-fried Water Spinach, Smashed Cucumber, Loofah Soup, *Qingcai* Soup… a whole list of over a dozen dishes, not a single one with meat. The prices were listed behind each dish, significantly higher than market rate.

Fangfang cried out, “Boss, is your restaurant vegetarian?”

Li Wanzi was dumbfounded. “Boss, you had meat dishes like tomato brisket last time! What’s going on?”

Jiang Tingyun scratched her head sheepishly. “Sorry, I was so busy making jam and jelly today that I forgot to go buy meat at the market.”

For the past few days, she’d been busy picking fruits and making jelly, and she’d completely forgotten to stock up. There hadn’t been much meat or eggs left anyway, and the disciples had eaten it all for lunch.

That evening, too lazy to go buy more, she looked at the abundance of vegetables in her garden and decided on an all-vegetarian meal.

“………”

Li Wanzi put a hand to her forehead. *No wonder the restaurant was nearly empty today, even though it was packed last time.* She now truly believed that this owner really didn’t want to run a proper business.

Jiang Tingyun quickly tried to make up for it. “But all these vegetables are from our own garden. We have everything. Order whatever you like—we’ll pick them fresh and cook them right away. I promise they’re delicious.”

The four roommates looked at each other. The *jiangdou* pork buns were great, but these vegetables were so expensive! Had they traveled all the way from the city just to eat a few vegetarian dishes?

Fangfang whispered, “Why don’t we just try the jelly here, and then go to the farmhouse restaurant next door for some real meat? I want meat…”

The others nodded in agreement.

Li Wanzi looked up and said, “Boss, can we just order the jelly and not any other dishes? We really just want to try this cluster fig jelly.”

Jiang Tingyun smiled and nodded. “Of course. Just sit down. I promise you’ll have as much jelly as you want today.”

Soon, Uncle Liu brought out four bowls of jelly.

Li Wanzi couldn’t help looking around, but she didn’t see that blond-haired guy from last time. She felt a little disappointed.

“Wow, that looks so good,” Fangfang said. She had no interest in handsome guys—she was immediately drawn to the cluster fig jelly.

The jelly had a translucent amber glow. On top were the usual toppings: crushed hawthorn, raisins, chopped nuts, and so on. But instead of brown sugar syrup, it was drizzled with a purplish-red jam that even contained large chunks of fruit.

*What fruit is that? Is it the cluster fig?* Curious, Fangfang scooped up a spoonful of the jam and put it in her mouth.

In an instant, she was conquered by the clean, sweet flavor. Compared to brown sugar syrup, this jam had a unique fruity fragrance, perfectly sweet without being cloying. And there seemed to be lots of seeds inside—each bite released a satisfying CRUNCH, giving a wonderful texture.

The other two girls didn’t rush to eat; they first took several photos from different angles before finally picking up their spoons.

The jelly and jam came together perfectly. The jelly was springy and smooth, the jam fragrant and sweet. Combined with the sweet-and-sour crushed hawthorn and raisins, one bowl on a hot summer day was incredibly cooling and refreshing.

What really elevated it was the contrast of the crunchy seeds and chopped nuts against the soft jelly. Spoonful after spoonful—they couldn’t stop.

Fangfang sighed with satisfaction. “This jam is amazing! So unique.”

“Compared to traditional jelly with brown sugar syrup, this flavor suits me much better,” Li Wanzi agreed, nodding.

The other two girls’ eyes lit up. They’d already been won over by the *jiangdou* buns, but they hadn’t expected a seemingly simple bowl of jelly to be this delicious.

They couldn’t resist posting photos of Qionghua Restaurant and the jelly on their social media.

Soon, they received many replies.

**[Damn! Those flowers are so pretty. Where are you guys eating?]**

**[No wonder your whole dorm disappeared after class. You went out for good food without inviting me. So heartless.]**

**[That jelly looks amazing. Get me some!]**

**[Get me some +1]**

Their phones kept pinging with notifications. Everyone was asking them to be delivery angels and bring back some jelly.

Seeing how much they enjoyed the jelly and how many they were taking to go, Jiang Tingyun was very pleased. She hadn’t expected the jelly to be this popular.

Generously, she took a jar of homemade cluster fig jam from the fridge and handed it over. “Since you bought so much, here’s a jar of my homemade cluster fig jam. You can eat it as is, make tea with it, or spread it on bread.”

The girls all cheered. “Boss, you’re so generous!!”