I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 56: Chestnuts and Chicken Are Like Bosom Friends

Although the mountain had been leased by her grandfather, during mushroom season and chestnut harvest time, it was inevitable that people would sneak in to pick.

Luckily, they hadn't gone too far—only the ones on the ground were taken. Jiang Tingyun wasn't trying to make money off these chestnuts anyway, so she didn't say much more.

Seeing that there were still plenty of spiny husks hanging on the trees, she tucked her sickle into her belt.

"Old Zhi, I'm going to climb up and knock some down. Stay back. Getting hit on the head by one of these chestnut husks is no joke."

With that, she climbed the chestnut tree hand over foot, nimble as could be.

Cao Zhizhi stared in shock at her smooth movements.

She hadn't seen Jiang Tingyun in half a year. What was going on? She acted like entering the mountain was like going back to her own hometown. Her physical fitness was terrifyingly good.

What did this prove? It proved that you shouldn't work—especially night shifts.

Not working really did wonders for your health.

Cao Zhizhi supported her lower back, already sore from picking acorns for half the day, and shed a tear for her office-worker self.

When she had moved far enough away, the chestnut tree began to shake back and forth.

Soon, many chestnut husks fell to the ground.

Seeing that a good amount had already fallen, Jiang Tingyun climbed back down and pulled two pairs of thick work gloves out of her basket.

"Wear these to pick them up, otherwise the spines will prick you."

Cao Zhizhi nodded admiringly. "You came so prepared."

Jiang Tingyun laughed too. "All learned from painful experience!"

They quickly filled their baskets. At first, Jiang Tingyun used bamboo tongs to extract the chestnuts from the husks one by one.

Then she got tired of the hassle and pulled out a snake bag. "Toss them in with the husks. We'll open them slowly back at the yard."

When they had picked up almost everything on the ground and the sun was getting high, the two completed their mission and headed down the mountain, completely satisfied.

Jiang Tingyun walked briskly, her back basket full and a huge snake bag in her hand.

Cao Zhizhi, with empty hands and only some acorns in her own basket, was still panting like an ox.

"Wait... when I win the ten-million lottery prize, I'm quitting too... These night shifts have made me so weak..."

Jiang Tingyun suppressed a grin. "To win the lottery, you'd actually have to buy a ticket first."

"Hmph, I'll buy one when I get back," Cao Zhizhi pouted.

Then she pointed helplessly at her own haggard, grayish face. "This is called 'before quitting.'"

Then she pointed at Jiang Tingyun, who was bursting with energy and rosy-cheeked. "And this is called 'after quitting.'"

Jiang Tingyun couldn't help laughing at her friend's antics. But she didn't know how to explain the mysterious changes that had happened to her.

She just smiled and said, "If you're tired, stop talking. Watch your step!"

On the way back, they took a shortcut and saw a shaded grove with many shrubs. Their dark branches were covered with small red fruits.

"What are those?" Cao Zhizhi perked up again.

Jiang Tingyun hadn't seen them either. She ran over for a closer look.

**[Dogwood fruit: Magnoliopsida order, Cornaceae. Sour and astringent taste, edible. Nourishes the liver and kidneys.]**

The fruit seemed good for the body. Jiang Tingyun's interest was piqued.

"These look like dogwood fruit. Let's pick some to take home." She pulled several plastic bags out of her pocket and handed them to Cao Zhizhi.

Cao Zhizhi took the bags and marveled, "Are you Doraemon? How do you have so many things on you?"

"When you go into the mountains, you have to be fully prepared. Thank nature for its bounty!" Jiang Tingyun swiftly began picking the fruits.

Cao Zhizhi popped a dogwood fruit into her mouth.

"A bit sour, astringent, just a little sweet." She shook her head. The taste was pretty ordinary.

Jiang Tingyun laughed. "The ripe ones are a bit sweeter, but they're not for eating raw. After drying, they can be steeped in tea or liquor. They're good for the liver and kidneys."

"Good for the kidneys?" Cao Zhizhi's eyes lit up. She picked furiously and instructed, "This stuff suits me. When you dry it, save me some."

"Huh? ...Oh."

...

By the time they returned to the yard, it was already well past noon. Uncle Liu had left them some noodles.

After a quick meal and a short rest, Jiang Tingyun went down to the fields. There was always endless work to do.

When she finished and came back out, she saw Uncle Liu drying the dogwood fruit, planning to use it for brewing liquor.

Jin Feifan had made some kind of chestnut-cracking tool. He and Cao Zhizhi were working together, cracking chestnuts at lightning speed.

The chestnut-cracking tool was surprisingly clever. With a gentle push, the shell and the thin inner skin both came off completely clean.

Zhu Lili was enthusiastically filming the chestnut-opening video, muttering "satisfying, satisfying, so satisfying" under her breath.

Pei Jingmo, as usual, was here one moment and gone the next—impossible to find.

Jiang Tingyun looked around and realized there was nothing left for her to do.

She decided to go into town to buy some groceries and cook a big feast tonight. She had to let her old friend taste her cooking.

With fresh chestnuts on hand, chestnuts and chicken were like bosom friends. Today's main dish would be braised chicken with chestnuts.

She also saw some very fresh pork leg bones at the market, with plenty of meat on them. She bought a lot—perfect for a nourishing soup, delicious and economical.

Back at Qionghua Eatery, Jiang Tingyun first blanched the pork leg bones, then put them in a large pot to simmer.

After a moment's thought, she added some goji berries, red dates, and tangerine peel to nourish her friend, who kept groaning about her sore back.

She took out some chestnuts—already shelled and peeled. She carefully sorted through them. All were plump and golden, none spoiled.

She steamed the chestnuts first. Chestnuts take a long time to cook; they had to be thoroughly steamed to ensure they would finish at the same time as the chicken.

While the chestnuts were steaming, Jiang Tingyun started chopping the chicken.

Back when she had little strength, she used to worry about knife skills and choose different knives.

Now that she was stronger, she found that raw power simplified everything. With an old-style kitchen knife, she could cut through bones and joints to portion any meat with ease.

With all the ingredients prepped, Jiang Tingyun heated oil in a wok and pan-fried the steamed chestnuts again to bring out their fragrance.

After removing the chestnuts, she started another wok, made caramel with oil and rock sugar, then added the freshly cut chicken pieces. She gave the wok a gentle toss to coat the chicken evenly in the caramel.

As the chicken skin and meat tightened, Jiang Tingyun quickly added ginger, garlic, light soy sauce, and other seasonings, stir-frying again to mix well.

Finally, she added hot water and the prepared chestnuts, let it simmer on low heat for twenty minutes, then adjusted the seasoning just before serving. The fragrant braised chicken, imbued with the aroma of autumn chestnuts, was ready.

While this dish was still simmering, Jiang Tingyun grabbed an old pumpkin from the corner of the wall to make salted egg yolk pumpkin.