Chapter Thirteen: The Sugar Cane Headed Turtle

  About one mu of bamboo shoots were cut down with the help of Tian Shui's parents and Song Hu.

  Tian Shui watched Song Hu being so fierce, and was delighted to relax, sitting on a pile of bamboo shoots with his butt, pulling out a bamboo shoot, and leisurely gnawing on it. Until the bamboo shoots were all cut down, he went over to help tie them up.

  Song Wen tied up the sugarcane stalks and together with Song Hu they pulled them onto a small truck, just about to leave when he was suddenly grabbed by someone.

  "What's wrong?" Song Wen asked strangely. Everything is ready, aren't you waiting for someone to invite you to dinner?

  "Why rush? There's good stuff."

  As he spoke, Song Hu glanced down at the sugarcane field.

  The two of them have been together since they were young, and Song Wen doesn't know what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve; all he wants is to get some sugar cane insects to eat.

  "In the 'Old County Annals' it is recorded: 'Cane insects, born in the roots of sugarcane, are also known as sugarcane borers. They resemble honeybees but have no wings or stingers. When stir-fried, they are extremely fragrant. Children with smallpox who eat them can benefit from increased milk production.'"

  The local people also call it sugarcane-headed turtle, which is produced in the head of bamboo and sugarcane. It looks like a bee but is nearly twice as large. It has six feet, with the front two feet resembling those of an ant, flat and powerful, capable of digging soil and burrowing holes. Its wings are very small, specializing in eating the roots of bamboo and sugarcane, making it a pest in the sugarcane fields. The county annals say that the sugarcane insect has no wings, but actually it does, they are just very small and can't be seen if not looked at carefully.

  Actually, Song Wen thought that the sugarcane head turtle and the unexcavated cicada were very similar, but didn't know if they were the same variety.

  In the autumn and winter, after cutting down the sugarcane, the old sugarcane heads must be dug up. The sugarcane turtles then curl up in the soil among the sugarcane roots, motionless. At most, one sugarcane head can yield two or three hundred sugarcane turtles. Any sugarcane with many sugarcane turtles in the soil will inevitably turn yellow and wither, showing that the sugarcane turtles rely on absorbing nutrients from the sugarcane roots to grow.

  The cane head turtle has two ways of eating: one is deep-fried and the other is dried into jerky.

  When eating sugarcane head turtles, they must be washed clean because the sugarcane head turtles are dug out from the sugarcane heads and have some fine sand on their bodies. First, put the sugarcane head turtles into a basin filled with warm water. At this time, the originally curled up and motionless sugarcane head turtles will crawl in the warm water, and the fine sand on their bodies will slowly fall off. Soak for a while, then rinse with water several times, dry after cleaning, and it can be used.

  Heat the pot with oil, put the dried sugar cane head turtle into the oil pot and slowly fry it over low heat. As soon as the sugar cane head turtle enters the hot oil pot, it immediately expands to twice its original size, looking more appetizing. After frying until golden yellow, pick it up, sprinkle a small amount of salt powder or pepper salt, and stir-fry evenly. The taste is crispy, sweet, and slightly contains a hint of bamboo sugar juice flavor, truly indescribably wonderful.

  In the past, someone used to sell fried sugar cane head turtles, priced in units of ten. This thing is not only liked by adults, but also loved by children, and it is said that eating it can eliminate accumulation and prevent acne. Therefore, every time the sugar cane head turtle was produced, the village became a market, with people buying fried and raw ones, making it very lively.

  Some people think that sugarcane weevil is the same as the earthworm in traditional Chinese medicine, but it's not. The earthworm is actually called mountain ground beetle locally and is toxic, completely different species.

  Sugar cane head turtles can be eaten fried and also dried in the sun.

  Just put the washed sugar head turtle into a steamer and steam it over low heat until it's cooked, then dry it in the sun. After that, use your hands to gently rub it, and the turtle's feet, head, and wings will automatically fall off, leaving only the body and belly of the sugar head turtle, which is about twice as big as a black bean. The fat inside has solidified and can be stored. When eating, stir-fry it with oil or add some seasonings to make it even more fragrant. It's a hundred times better than raw fried sugar head turtles and is a famous dish at banquets and a great accompaniment to wine. Some people praise it saying: "Drinking with sugar head turtles, you'll never get tired of eating them, and you won't get drunk after finishing the cup."

  In the past, all officials who came to Nanzhou would have a taste of this rare and delicious flavor. When they left office, they had to buy some to take back to their hometown or to present to relatives and friends in the capital as a tribute to their superiors.

  It is said that there was a county official who had left office for many years and still wanted to eat sugar cane head turtle, but forgot its name. When writing a letter to his old friend in Nanzhou asking him to buy it, he said: "Buy that thing that 'looks like a bee, has an ugly shape, and tastes extremely fragrant'". This was passed down as a delightful story.

  Having been away for many years, Song Wen hadn't eaten a sugarcane-headed turtle in a long time. Recalling his childhood memories, he couldn't help but crave it, so he and Song Hu took the hoes from the ground and started digging in the sugarcane field. Who knew that after digging for half a day, they only found about twenty or thirty sugarcane-headed turtles, which made them feel quite disappointed.

  Tian Shui, who was sitting on the bundled bamboo shoots next to him, looked at them for half a day before slowly saying, "Don't dig anymore. These new varieties of bamboo shoots aren't easy to get infested with insects. With this effort, you might as well go catch fish. The day before yesterday, I saw Xiao Bing catch a yellow croaker and sell it for over 300 yuan."

  Song Hu listened and immediately stopped digging with his hoe, asking: "When did this happen? How come I don't know?"

  Yesterday.

  "How expensive! How can it be sold for so much money?"

  "It's about this big, I heard it weighs two or three catties." Tian Shui said, comparing the size with his fingers.

  Two fingers thick wild yellow eel are not many now, Song Hu's eyes lit up and his heart moved, asking: "Where did you catch it? This kid is so lucky, I'll go find some another day."

  "It was in the village's small stream that he caught it with a fishing hook, and who knows where his good luck came from."

  Tian Shui said angrily. He had fished in that stream countless times, but not only had he never caught a yellow eel, he hadn't even caught a water snake.

  At this time, a truck came down the mountain. He looked at it and quickly stood up, saying to Song Hu: "No more talk, the car is here. Are you free tomorrow? If you are, come over and help me cook brown sugar."

  "What's the big deal, just go buy some."

  Song Hu is the kind of guy who would rather not use his fists if he can help it.

  "Is that a flavor? Our family's sugarcane is fertilized with mushroom soil and pig manure, it's naturally grown and non-toxic food. The red sugar cooked from it is so sweet it can be cloying. Can the ones sold outside compare to that?" Tian Shui said disdainfully.

  Song Huo rolled his eyes and said, "Stop bragging, hurry up and carry the sugarcane away. Tomorrow I'll get Ah Wen to go with me."

  "Alright, come over tomorrow and I'll give you a few pounds of brown sugar for free."

  After finishing, Tian Shui and his parents carried the bamboo stalks onto the car. Ah Wen looked on and hurriedly came forward to help. He couldn't just stand by and watch as the whole family struggled to carry the bamboo, especially since he had already taken some of their sugarcane tips for himself.

  After a while, a large pile of bamboo shoots was carried onto the truck and Tian Shui also had to return with the truck. Seeing Song Hu and others still digging for bamboo insects, he asked them to dig well and then take their hoes back to his own home.

  Song Hu and Song Wen dug for a while longer, until noon, when they had only dug up over a hundred, and were exhausted like a small dog. Originally, the two wanted to dig some more, but unfortunately, Song Hu's wife and Song Wen's mother both called them to come back home for lunch, so the two had no choice but to give up.

  Song Hu helped Song Wen send the sugarcane back home, but because his wife was urging him to eat dinner, he hastily drove away after unloading the sugarcane, leaving behind the sugarcane worms, saying they would come over to eat in the evening.

  Chen Xiuhui knew that Song Wen had gone to cut the sorghum, and she knew he definitely hadn't cooked dinner. She wasn't reassured by her husband's cooking skills, so she rode a bike over to help cook, bringing her daughter-in-law and grandson along to play.

  Xi Xi was overjoyed when she came to this side, shouting and cheering, and when she saw the little dog, she cheered and chased after it, running east and west, playing with the chicks and ducks one moment, hugging the little dog the next, and then running off to squat in the cowshed and chat with the pregnant water buffalo.

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