Chapter 35 - The Farm in Irttat
Chapter 35: Visitor from the Royal Capital 01
When Lucita first arrived here, the luo flower tree in the backyard had just emerged from the lingering chill of a harsh winter. Sparse patches of new green were the only signs of life.
Now, with late spring approaching, strings of snow-white luo flowers hung full on the branches. Fallen petals carpeted the ground. Stepping on them felt soft underfoot, releasing a faint rustle and a burst of sweet fragrance.
Beekeepers had already begun brewing luo flower honey, which would appear on the shelves of Aurora's grain store from time to time. This honey had a special pure sweetness. Every year at this time, every household would stock up on two jars. Frugal families would save it until winter, opening it when heavy snow blocked the roads, finishing out the year in sweetness.
Luo flowers themselves were also a rare ingredient, appearing on dining tables only during this brief half-month flowering period. People cherished them greatly. Aurora's grain store purchased luo flowers. Families with luo trees at home or nearby would often pick several baskets to consign at the grain store.
The luo flower tree at Lucita’s house was already very old. It was said to have been planted when Grandma Sandy was a child.
Lucita had recently set her sights on this old luo tree.
Lucita couldn't brew honey, but luo flowers had diverse ways of being eaten. Nature's precious gifts were rare delicacies no matter how prepared.
For example, luo flower cake, luo flower cookies, luo flower... dumplings?
Lucita scratched her head.
She possessed certain strange pieces of knowledge that seemed almost instinctive, things no one in Irttat appeared to know.
Was that... her past?
Violet had already climbed the tree. Elves living in forests were expert tree climbers.
After rustling among the branches for a while, petals covering her hair, she poked her head down: "Lucy, which branch?"
Armchair general Lucita commanded from below: "Left side—ah no, your left hand side. Right, right, right—that branch in your hand! It looks fresher."
"No problem!" Violet changed position. With a grunt, she pressed down with both hands. Crack. A thick branch full of flowers broke off and fell to the ground with a rustle, bringing down a shower of flowers.
After breaking off several luo flower branches like this, Violet clapped her hands and jumped down: "What are you planning to make?"
Lucita smiled mysteriously: "Dumplings."
"What?" An unfamiliar term. Violet didn't catch it at first.
Lucita had already sat down cross-legged and began picking luo flowers into a small basket, smiling mysteriously: "It's a food you've never eaten before."
In the end, the two picked two full baskets of cloud-like luo flowers. The remaining luo tree leaves weren't wasted either, being picked to feed the little sheep.
When Lucita prepared the dumplings, she set aside portions for neighbors and used a full five pounds of mutton.
The seasoned meat filling filled an entire basin. Lucita added sufficient spiced water and beat it all into the meat filling. Only when the meat filling absorbed the water fully, lightly jiggling as if full of elasticity, was the beaten meat filling tender enough.
Finally, she poured the luo flowers in. Petals and meat mixed together and beaten, then wrapped in thin dough skins.
The blossoms added a light sweetness and refreshing taste to the meat.
This was her first time making dumplings after becoming Lucita, but her hands seemed to have muscle memory, getting more skilled with each wrap. The dumplings wrapped later were all beautiful ingot shapes.
Violet helped as well, though her style was more experimental. One moment she wrapped squares, the next triangles. Soon one corner of the table filled with crooked, oddly shaped dumplings.
After a while, she seemed somewhat guilty and stopped wrapping, observing Lucita's technique from the side.
Lucita glanced sideways at her: "These ones you wrapped, we'll cook them separately and eat them ourselves. Let's not give them to others."
Violet: "Hehe, hehe."
Round dumplings went into the boiling water pot. After the water boiled, adding cold water three times, they almost all floated to the surface, looking even plumper.
Lucita first cooked the ones for home consumption, pouring all of Violet's oddly-shaped ones into the pot together. After coming out of the pot, they looked even uglier.
Fortunately, the dumplings' appearance didn't affect their taste.
Lucita had rolled the skins thin. The cooked dumplings were translucent, showing the pink color of the filling inside.
One bite released a burst of savory juice. The meat filling was rich and oily, surprisingly tender with a bit of chewiness. The luo flowers' pure sweetness blended within, neutralizing the greasiness of pure meat filling and greatly whetting one's appetite.
Violet ate while gasping: "So hot... so delicious!"
A plate of hot dumplings later, Lucita's stomach also had a long-missed soothing feeling.
Afterward, Lucita boiled the remaining beautiful dumplings, rinsed them several times with cold water to prevent sticking, arranged them on ceramic plates, and sent several plates to neighbors like Javena, Garcia, and Irene.
When she went to Lily’s tavern, however, she found the door closed.
In broad daylight the tavern was tightly shut. A notice hung on the door: the owner would not return for at least five days.
Lucita found this strange. Later, while delivering dumplings to Durani’s house, she casually asked: "Where did Lily go? Why is the tavern closed?"
"Ah, I heard she went out to sea with Sylvette." Durani said: "As a child she was always clamoring to go to sea. She was a fisherwoman for so many years, personally taught Sylvette. Don't know why, but a few years ago she suddenly wanted to open a tavern. Now I don't know what got into her again, she’s gone back to the sea again. Who knows what she’s thinking."
Lucita understood. Not only had Lily resolved her mental block to the sea, this master-student pair had probably also resolved their previous misunderstanding.
She showed an agreeing smile: "Who knows!"
Durani's house had made luo flower cookies. She wrapped a stack in paper for her to take.
After that, Lucita delivered a round of dumplings and successively received dried luo flower tea, luo flower cake, a small bottle of pickled luo flower sauce, and such.
This was a season belonging to luo flowers. Residents sending each other homemade luo flower products seemed to have become a habit, and Lucita fit in without any discord.
When she returned home, she saw the message feather box in the living room flickering.
Five paper slips, all full of compliments, then inquiring about the dumpling-making method.
Lucita burped and sprawled on the sofa happily basking in the sun.
The next morning, the courtyard gate was knocked.
Lucita was watering vegetables. Violet had just put on her straw hat and hadn't yet gone out when she was blocked at the door by two little girls.
It was little singer Linnea and child king Jessica.
Jessica: "Sister Violet, are you done picking your luo flowers? Do you need help?"
Linnea: "Are you making dumplings again today?"
Violet's lip twitched: "We don't need you two to help. Next time we will make dumplings and send them to you."
Linnea: "But my home is very far away..."
Jessica shot her a look that clearly said you’re hopeless, then said to Violet: "Sister, the luo flower blooming period is just these few days. If you don't hurry and pick them, won't they wither soon?"
Violet glanced at Lucita and said helplessly in a loud voice: "But sister has to go herd sheep now. If the little sheep don't have grass to eat, they'll also go hungry."
Lucita laughed with a "pfft."
Three pairs of eyes looked over. Lucita leisurely finished watering the vegetable plot at hand, stood up and said: "Can you climb trees?"
Jessica's eyes lit up: "Yes!"
"Today let's feed the little sheep the picked tree leaves. Linnea will be responsible for picking leaves for the little sheep. Jessica will trim branches in the tree. We'll eat dumplings again today." Lucita arranged everything. "Violet, can you take them to pick some luo flowers? I'll go to Teresa's bakery to buy some sweets to come back and properly host our little guests."
Violet readily agreed.
When Lucita returned carrying donuts and muffins, the three were busy in full swing under the luo tree. Jessica was small and couldn't break thick branches, so she took brass scissors to cut thin branches.
She scrambled through the tree with flowers and leaves tangled in her hair. Violet and Linnea under the tree also had clothes full of luo flowers.
Linnea saw Lucita first. Her eyes lit up and she called out: "Sister Lucita is back!"
Jessica swished down from the tree.
Lucita helped clean the branches on the ground. Leaving the yard full of broken branches and leaves without sweeping, she led several people to the kitchen.
Besides dumplings, she also opened yesterday's luo flower sauce, took out the flaky luo flower cookies to arrange on the dining table, and drizzled a spoonful of honey. Muffins and donuts were also placed in small baskets and set on the dining table. This meal was especially sweet.
After that, Linnea and Jessica often came over to play.
Who knows how these two girls got together. Jessica looked about ten years old. Linnea's appearance already looked thirteen or fourteen. No matter how you calculated, Linnea was older, yet the little merfolk was like a tagalong listening to Jessica's words.
Life in the deep sea was probably too simple. Linnea had grown up without learning much cunning. She charged through life straightforwardly, a fearless but slightly foolish older sister.
In comparison, Jessica was much cleverer—even too clever. Within the circle of children in town, she was the leader. Big and small children all obeyed her.
Probably having discovered Lucita's culinary skills, the two girls often stayed until mealtime to mooch a meal before leaving.
Of course, they didn't mooch for free, often bringing some odds and ends of food or flowers and plants.
Linnea sometimes brought a bag of fish.
Merfolk ate fish but didn't bother categorizing fish. Linnea only knew "this kind of fish is delicious," "this kind of fish has little meat". She didn't distinguish between varieties. Sea bass, sardines, salmon, and so on, she brought them all over in one go.
Sometimes they followed Violet to the grassland to play, picking a few magical herbs to bring back. Lucita planted them all in her small medicine garden.
Also fruits.
Early summer offered few wild fruits: mulberries, raspberries, and mock strawberries. Lucita baked them into steaming fruit pies that the four of them shared together.
By early April, with early summer arriving and Lucita's medicine garden showing sparse green for the first time, Amala came to visit with Linnea.
"I want to board this child at your house."
Lucita: ???
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