"These lotus seeds are so hard." Xiaoxue peeled off a lotus seed, pinching it, but couldn't move it at all.
"This is the shell of the lotus seed, the seed is inside." Erniang used a branch to nudge the lotus root over, then picked it up and set it aside.
The lotus root grew nicely, white as snow, about the thickness of two wrists, with a sharp bud at one end as if ready to sprout and continue growing.
The section with the bud, along with the adjacent section, was broken off by Erniang and placed separately; once stored properly, it could be planted directly next spring.
Of course, that's assuming there is water.
The family still had some lotus seeds, which Jiang Hu asked Master Zhang to help find, along with the method for planting lotus roots and notes on what to watch out for.
Xiaoxue placed the seeds into a small bamboo basket: "Mom, the shell is so hard, how do we get the seed out without smashing it?"
