Gourd plants have separate male and female flowers. Li Xiang took a look and saw they were about a fifty-fifty split. They probably wouldn't bear fruit until September or October. A wall covered in little gourds would be a beautiful sight.
Young gourds could be stir-fried and eaten. Their texture was similar to that of a bottle gourd—crisp, sweet, and tasty—though some could have a bitter taste.
The bitterness likely came from cucurbitacin, which is somewhat toxic. You could tell if one was edible by touching it to your tongue while cutting it. A mild bitterness was fine and posed no threat, but it was best to avoid eating any that were excessively bitter.
Although it was the rainy season in Sichuan Province, with continuous overcast and wet weather, it didn't rain every day. On one overcast day, Li Xiang drove his SUV to an educational outreach event organized by the county's political consultative conference.
