Food Supplements - Chapter 14

For more than half a month afterward, Qin Cheng entered a busy harvest season, almost like a real farmer.

Honestly, without the ten-to-one time-flow advantage, her long-unexercised body probably would have worked itself to collapse.

The dragon fruit harvest came first.

After witnessing the apple tree’s entire cycle, Qin Cheng naturally did not dare leave the fruit on the plants for too long. On the very day they swelled and turned red as if being inflated, she harvested more than half and placed them one by one into an emptied delivery box beside the carton of apples.

The decision proved wise.

The dragon fruit followed almost exactly the same pattern as the apples. They became fully red the day after changing color, began showing signs of spoilage on the third day, then vanished overnight on the fourth without leaving the slightest trace.

Fortunately, by then, the vast majority had already been harvested. Only the few Qin Cheng had deliberately left behind for observation disappeared, so she suffered no real loss.

Even so, there were fewer dragon fruits than apples. Each large “tree” produced only around a dozen or twenty fruits.

However, the individual fruits were far larger than the apples. Even the ordinary-sized ones felt heavy in her hands, probably weighing half a kilogram or more. They were noticeably larger than the red-fleshed dragon fruits she had bought from the fruit shop.

And those were merely the average ones.

At least half the fruits were another size larger than ordinary dragon fruit and weighed almost as much as pineapples. Even their skins were deeper and glossier in color. From a distance, they resembled blazing purplish-red gemstones.

Qin Cheng noticed that nearly all these enormous fruits grew on the plants she had personally pollinated, while the relatively normal fruits mostly belonged to the untouched control group.

The discovery left her unsure whether to laugh or cry.

If that was the only difference…

Then she could probably skip the unnecessary labor in the future.

She was not growing them to sell, so size did not matter. If anything, fruit that looked unnaturally huge would be more difficult to give away.

The dragon fruits were certainly tempting, but Qin Cheng’s personal favorites were the large tomatoes and cherry tomatoes that ripened afterward.

The large tomatoes in particular were an old variety she had selected deliberately. Once ripe, their surfaces were slightly uneven rather than perfectly smooth and round like the common supermarket varieties.

However, they had a rich, sweet tomato flavor. Their flesh was especially thick, with a soft, slightly grainy texture that melted pleasantly in the mouth.

It was the taste of childhood.

As for the dwarf cherry tomatoes, each weighed a little over twenty grams. The bright-red, round little fruits looked adorable.

But despite their small size, they burst with juice the moment she bit into them. Their skins were thin, their juice abundant, and their flavor intensely sweet and tart—the perfect opposite of the thick-fleshed large tomatoes.

The other newly planted crops, such as cilantro, potatoes, and ginger, also flourished one after another.

These remained green and productive, allowing her to harvest whatever she needed whenever she wanted. Qin Cheng handed them to her mother in batches and received plenty of praise for their excellent quality.

Everything progressed busily but smoothly.

Even the apple tree remained lush for ten days after the spoiled fruit disappeared, then suddenly covered itself overnight with branches full of green apples once more.

The only thing that continued puzzling Qin Cheng was the handful of blood orange seeds she had planted last.

Based on the apple tree’s growth pattern, they should at least have become full-grown trees by now.

In reality, only one seed had produced a green shoot a few centimeters tall. The others had shown no movement whatsoever.

Was this variety truly that difficult to grow?

Qin Cheng wondered about it but could do nothing. Besides, she was busy and could only continue observing.

Even without blood oranges for the time being, the growing variety of fruit and vegetables was more than enough for the daily needs of both households.

Fruit in particular never became tiresome, even when eaten every day. Qin Cheng began supplying it freely, claiming she had carefully selected and ordered everything online.

Since deliveries frequently arrived during this period, no one became suspicious.

After eating this way for half a month, Qin Cheng noticed while bathing one day that she had gained a little flesh.

She no longer looked frighteningly emaciated.

Her complexion had also lost its abnormal waxy-yellow tone. If she did not still suffer an occasional attack, she could almost forget that she was terminally ill.

The others had changed somewhat as well.

Although the two mothers noticed nothing unusual about the food, their complexions had clearly become rosier and their energy stronger.

The landlady’s booming voice became even more vigorous than before.

Mother Qin’s chronically aching legs had also grown much more agile without her noticing.

The changes in the autistic young woman, who served as the most important comparison subject, were even more obvious.

Much of her timid withdrawal had improved, while her ability to express herself and communicate had progressed significantly.

She still spoke little and softly, and her gaze still tended to avoid others.

But at least when facing the Qin family, she no longer appeared autistic so much as an ordinarily shy and introverted young woman.

Naturally, the person most overjoyed by these changes was her mother.

The landlady had no idea what was truly responsible and simply credited Mother Qin’s cooking as the major cause.

Perhaps she wanted to take advantage of the momentum or consolidate the progress.

Whatever her reasoning, one day she suddenly gathered everyone together to discuss something.

She wanted to invite several old friends over for dinner and create a lively atmosphere.

“It’ll just be a casual home-cooked meal. There won’t be many people.”

As she spoke, the landlady watched her daughter’s reaction and carefully explained in a soothing voice, “Nuonuo, you know them. They’re just the aunties who do square dancing with Mom. They’ve visited before, remember? They’re all very kind to you.”

Although she said this, she was actually somewhat uncertain.

The last time her old friends came, they had been careful with their behavior, but her daughter had quickly hidden in the inner room and probably remembered very little.

Asking her to eat with them this time was almost a test of an autistic person’s boundaries.

Success would naturally be wonderful, but if they accidentally frightened her into withdrawing again…

Under her mother’s anxious gaze and Mother Qin’s affectionate attention, the young woman indeed appeared extremely uneasy.

She stammered for a long time without expressing an opinion.

In the end, Qin Cheng casually peeled and sliced some fruit beside her, pushed it over, and gestured for her to eat.

Only after slowly chewing the fruit did the girl gradually calm down.

Finally, she gave a small nod, as though making an enormous decision.

And so the matter was settled.

There was no need to describe how happily the landlady contacted everyone or how enthusiastically Mother Qin prepared.

Even Qin Cheng herself had no choice but to become busier because of the gathering.

Time passed quickly amid all the work, anticipation, and unease.

Three days later, on Saturday, the lively gathering arrived as scheduled.

The landlady had called it a casual family meal, and it truly was informal.

Every guest brought a dish of her own.

There were substantial offerings such as braised beef and roast duck, as well as more refined dishes requiring additional preparation, including stir-fried shrimp and cumin-roasted ribs.

There were even highly distinctive local dishes such as raw crab in red roe sauce and drunken shrimp, which even Qin Cheng was not especially accustomed to eating.

Before the hosts had done anything, the dining table was already filled with a dazzling assortment of food.

Of course, as the inviting party, the hosts could hardly remain idle.

The landlady and Mother Qin had prepared well in advance and took turns demonstrating their skills in the kitchen.

Besides familiar home-style dishes from previous meals, such as vinegar-dressed jellyfish, steamed cured chicken, and cured pork with garlic shoots, they also made seasonal dishes such as scallops with minced garlic and a large sea bass dressed in scallion oil.

The landlady had personally selected the scallops from the market.

Each was nearly the size of a palm, with snowy-white, springy meat.

A golden sauce of minced garlic, light soy sauce, sea salt, and other seasonings was fried in hot oil, poured over them, then lightly steamed.

The freshness of the scallops and the fragrance of the garlic were concentrated within each small shell.

The taste needed no further description.

Mother Qin handled the large sea bass with scallion oil.

The procedure was not complicated, but it relied greatly on precise control of the cooking time.

She made shallow cuts in the fish, marinated it with cooking wine and a little fine salt to remove the fishy smell, then steamed it over high heat for several minutes.

Once it came out, she arranged it on a plate, topped it with shredded scallion and ginger and a seasoned sauce, then heated sesame oil until smoking and poured it all over the fish.

When the timing and seasoning were handled properly, the method preserved as much of the fish’s freshness and nutrition as possible.

The white flesh was tender, lightly salty, savory, and fragrant, making it suitable for every age.

Yet among the many dishes, the two most popular were both led by potatoes.

One was stir-fried potato slices with spicy napa cabbage and pork belly.

Perhaps because of the popularity of certain television dramas in earlier years, many middle-aged and older women had also developed a fondness for spicy napa cabbage.

With a ready-made packet, almost no additional seasoning was needed.

Large slices of pork belly were fried until golden on both sides, releasing a rich, mouthwatering aroma.

But the true star of the dish was neither of those ingredients.

It was the thin potato slices.

The spicy freshness of the napa cabbage and the rich fragrance of the pork belly were released during stir-frying, then absorbed completely by the golden potatoes.

The potato slices were already thin, crisp, and fragrant from frying. After soaking up the flavors of the other two ingredients and being finished over high heat until the sauce reduced, they became the essence of the entire dish.

They were also the first ingredient to be completely eaten.

That was all right.

Once the spicy potato slices were gone, another soup dish appeared.

The pot was filled with large steaming pieces of beef and pale-yellow chunks of potato, with plenty of chopped green cilantro scattered over the top.

It looked clean and refreshing, yet its fragrance was deep and tempting.

There was nothing flashy about the clear stew either.

Its appeal lay in the original flavors of the ingredients.

A perfectly measured amount of saltiness and savory depth brought out the rich tenderness of the beef, the soft sweetness of the potatoes, and the distinctive freshness of cilantro.

Even those who were already full could not stop themselves from refilling their bowls, wishing their belts could loosen another notch.

When everyone had finally eaten and drunk their fill and appeared ready to surrender, Qin Cheng gave the young woman a subtle look.

The girl then carried out the customary dessert.

The person serving it was unusual, and so was the dessert.

A large plate of neatly arranged red and white fruit was placed on the table.

The young woman’s face turned bright red before she finally forced out a tiny sentence.

“Red… red plum blossoms in falling snow. Please… try some.”

This was the first thing she had said that day.

The moment she finished, she retreated like a frightened deer into the corner farthest from everyone.

Even so, she could not escape their warm attention.

“Ahem! Everyone, be careful. Don’t frighten the child.”

The oldest woman present was the first to rescue her. After speaking, she secretly nudged the landlady and whispered, “…Congratulations.”

That seemingly inexplicable word made the landlady’s eyes immediately redden.

She wiped them, then smiled and invited everyone to eat.

“Come, come, try it. My daughter made this herself. Please don’t laugh at her.”

The young woman had indeed made it personally with the help of the two elders.

The dessert called “Red Plum Blossoms in Falling Snow” was nothing more than chilled tomatoes sprinkled with sugar.

As an after-meal dessert, it seemed almost too simple.

But in another sense, it was extremely precious—not only because of the person who made it, but also because of the ingredients.

The large tomatoes used for the dish were the old variety Qin Cheng had grown.

Setting aside whether they counted as organic, this variety had already become difficult to find in the market because of its limited yield and vulnerability to pests and disease.

Fully ripened examples of this quality were even rarer.

The plump, red, grainy flesh had been cut into wedges, each holding a little pale-green juice.

A layer of fine white sugar was scattered over them, making them resemble red plum blossoms touched by the first snow.

Yet they released a sweet, cool fragrance no plum blossom possessed.

The sugared tomatoes looked delicious even before anyone tasted them.

With the landlady urging everyone enthusiastically, the guests, already full to bursting, still stood and reached for a spoonful.

The fruit was soft, grainy, sweet, refreshing, and touched by the chill of refrigeration.

After swallowing, their overstuffed stomachs did not feel more burdened.

Instead, as the cool sweetness spread, they felt lighter, almost as though the food they had overeaten was being digested.

Nothing made people happier than eating something that seemed to help them digest what they had already eaten.

Their polite participation quickly became genuine inability to stop.

The old friends laughed and took spoonful after spoonful until the entire dessert was divided and eaten clean.

And that was only one dessert.

After the table was cleared and everyone sat together chatting, Qin Cheng found an opportunity to bring out sliced apples and dragon fruit for them to try.

The fruit stored in the small realm was now nearly impossible to finish, so she was eager for everyone to help reduce the supply.

On the other hand, there was also a somewhat experimental purpose.

Opportunities to give fruit to strangers were rare.

There were six guests, all middle-aged or elderly women.

The oldest had completely white hair, while the youngest appeared to be in her early fifties.

Yet every one of them looked energetic.

The landlady had said they were her longtime square-dancing companions, and that seemed believable.

But no matter how healthy and vigorous they appeared, people in this age group usually carried some hidden physical issue.

Completely healthy elderly people existed, but they were genuinely rare.

In fact, their inability to control themselves and the amount they had eaten at this meal was probably partly because of that.

The more hidden health problems a person had, the more easily they seemed attracted to produce grown in the small realm.

“This dragon fruit is excellent! It’s sweeter than the imported kind my son paid so much money for… Mm, delicious! Old Xu, you really know how to shop!”

Sure enough, someone had been thoroughly captivated.

The person eating most enthusiastically was the oldest woman.

Despite her age, she had a bold and hearty personality. She was one of the few guests who drank alcohol for the occasion, and she had brought an entire five kilograms of braised beef, leaving Qin Cheng with a strong impression of her.

As the oldest person there, she should logically have been the most careful about moderation.

Yet now she could not resist eating fruit freely, praising it as she went, unable to stop her hands.

“Oh, all the fruit and vegetables were bought by this little girl. I can’t take the credit, hahaha.”

The landlady spoke while patting Qin Cheng’s shoulder, clearly in an excellent mood.

Among a group of elders, “little girl” Qin nodded and smiled modestly.

Inside, however, she developed a distinctly bad feeling.

Sure enough, over the next several minutes, the conversation began circling around her.

Every concern and question middle-aged women were supposed to direct at a younger woman appeared.

They asked about her career, her age, and her love life.

Qin Cheng had not faced such an interrogation in years and nearly failed to maintain her smile.

She finally made an excuse and escaped to the kitchen.

After lingering there for some time, she returned with more fruit, hoping it would keep the older women’s mouths occupied.

The method was quite effective.

Perhaps because each of them had some minor physical complaint, the women were fond of Qin Cheng’s fruit.

Even while “caring” for the younger generation, they had not forgotten to slip slices into their mouths.

It relieved thirst and produced saliva more effectively than tea.

Now that another fresh batch had arrived, one woman could not resist asking, “Young lady, where did you buy all this fruit? Is the shop far away? I’d like to buy some to take home too. The quality really is better than an ordinary fruit store.”

“Oh, it isn’t from a physical shop. I bought it online.”

Qin Cheng had already prepared for such a question, so she answered calmly.

“I have a friend who wholesales fruit online. They usually sell in bulk, but they give me a special retail price. Other people can’t buy it directly. If you like it, Auntie, you can simply take some from me. There’s no need to be polite.”

“Oh, no, that won’t do! How could old people like us take advantage of a young girl?”

The woman waved her hands repeatedly.

After thinking for a moment, she apparently could not bear to give up and suggested, “How about this? Tell me how much you paid, and I’ll buy it from you at a higher price.”

The proposal immediately received enthusiastic agreement from the other guests.

Qin Cheng refused repeatedly, only to be collectively attacked by everyone.

In the end, even Mother Qin, who had originally been on her side, was persuaded by the landlady.

She argued that continuing to refuse would only make everyone uncomfortable.

Her daughter could simply name a small price as a token gesture and avoid spoiling the elders’ enthusiasm.

And so the casual after-dinner conversation abruptly transformed into a roadside market rush.

Qin Cheng could not bring out too little, but she could not bring out too much either.

In the end, she limited the amount to roughly half a kilogram or a kilogram per person.

The moment she carried it over, everything was snatched up.

Not only the fruit, but even the few large tomatoes left in the kitchen were not spared.

Watching the aunties and older women happily acting as though they had gotten an excellent bargain, Qin Cheng gave a bitter smile.

Only then did she understand why they insisted on paying.

Had it been free, who would have felt comfortable sweeping away everything like this?

Still, there was nothing bad about the arrangement.

It could be considered beneficial to both sides.

After all, setting aside her labor, Qin Cheng’s side had almost no costs whatsoever.

At the time, she did not realize that this small transaction, which left everyone delighted, would soon create new trouble and frustration for her.

And the person who opened the curtain on that trouble was not an outsider.

It was her own mother.

“Chengcheng, I’ve thought it over. I’ve decided I should return this to you.”

That night before bed, Mother Qin solemnly pulled her daughter to sit beside her and pressed a bank card into her hand.

“Your health is weak right now, so you shouldn’t work day and night. But you can still do something less tiring. Why don’t you use this money to start a business or open a small shop?”