The chili pepper leaves had been pickled fresh, and they had already started to turn a dark, brownish-green. The taro leaves, which were dried before being pickled, had turned completely dark brown.
The Purslane stems were already a reddish-brown, so only the color of their leaves had changed.
He tasted a bit of each. They were slightly sour, but the dominant flavor was still saltiness.
'I need to pickle these for at least another day or two before they're ready. The flavor isn't strong enough yet.'
After checking all the pickled vegetables, he finally started to process the sweet potatoes.
There was no need to peel them. He just cut off any pitted spots or areas that looked difficult to clean, then sliced them, cut them into strips, and finally diced them before pouring them into the tree stump he had hollowed out yesterday.
For a mallet, he had sawed off a forked piece of wood. The fork served as a natural handle, allowing it to be used as both a hammer and a mallet.
THUD.
