How to Find the Treasure: Visit Pesticide-Free Guava Orchard
Time of the Treasure Hunt: 13:30-15:00, Dec. 10, 2014.
Treasure Hunt Location: Guava orchard near school
Interviewee: Owner of the Orchard, Mr. Zhe-Zong Xiao
Teammates: Yi-Sheng, Yi-Jia, An-Lun, Yun-Zhen, Yu-Jie
Diary Recorders: Yi-Sheng, Yi-Jia, An-Lun
Photographers: Yun-Zhen, Yu-Jie

　　Today, we went to visit a guava farm. The owner used to grow rice in the past, but he told us that since Shetou Township is famous for guava and the fruit is more profitable than rice, he changed to grow guava trees. Then, he shared stories he experienced in the beginning of this new business. He said, for example, that he didn’t know how to grow the trees in the first year, so everything was terrible and the weeds were taller than him. Lukily, things got better when he put weed mats on the ground later on. But he was criticized by the senior farmers, for they didn’t think that was necessary. Another year came the unexpected hails, and there were only 40 % of the fruits could be picked. Then there were typhoons and floods coming one after another, and guava trees’ roots were rotten after being soaked in the water for 3-5 days.... From Mr. Xiao’s talk, we realized that it is never easy to grow guava trees.
　　Meanwhile, Mr. Xiao also told us common guava tree pests and diseases, such as bactrocera dorsalis, tortricids, aphids, black heart, and so on. Tortricids would twist the leaves and eat every part of the leaf but vein. And bactrocera dorsalis would lay eggs in the fruit, and the fruit would be eaten up when the crawlers come out. Black heart is the most damaging one, which would blacken the flesh and the fruits would eventually decay.
　　That is why the fruits were bagged with white bags called Shuguo Dai (舒果袋), which allow the fruits to grow and prevent pests and diseases at the same time. But after being bagged, the fruits only receive all the nutrients from the roots. Mr. Xiao also told us that if the leaves are large and shiny, the tree is healthy.
　　Later, he kindly showed us how to distinguish the fruit is ripe for picking. Mr. Xiao said, “Ripe fruits are grass green in summer and white green in winter. The trees blossom in March and April, followed by fruit development in June. Just in this period, the trees have to be pruned so that they won’t grow too tall to pick. The florescence is in July and August, and if the fruits develop well, the picking season ends in January next year.”
　　In the end of our visit, the owner let us enjoy picking fruits. Everybody went back to school happily with beautiful guavas in hand.
Once getting to our classroom, everyone took out the freshly picked fruits. The fragrance suddenly came out after one bite, which urged us, the guava lovers, to have another bite.
　　The next day, the teacher gave us two Fragrant Guava. One was yellow-skinned, while the other was green-skinned. After tasting both of them, we thought that Pearl Guava was more crispy and firmer, and Fragrant Guava, though the skin was a bit bitter, had unique, strong fragrance with sweet and soft flesh.
　　Growing guava trees takes much effort and labor, indeed; but with careful cultivation, the fruit brings happiness to people.

How to Find the Treasure: Make pickled guavas ourselves
Time of the Treasure Hunt: 8:30-9:30, Jan. 23, 2015.
Treasure Hunt Location: School’s Conference Room
Interviewee: Instructor Li-Hua Lin
Teammates: Yi-Sheng, Yi-Jia, An-Lun, Yun-Zhen, Yu-Jie
Diary recorders: Yi-Sheng, Yi-Jia, An-Lun
Photographers: Yun-Zhen, Yu-Jie

　　Today, our teacher invited instructor Li-Hua Lin to demonstrate to the whole sixth grade students how to make pickled guavas. She said that the key is to destroy guava’s outside skin so that it will be pickled well.
　　So we put guavas and proper amount of salt into one nylon bag, and shook it up and down quickly. At least two people were involved in this step---one grabbed the top of the bag while the other the bottom. They had to hold it tightly, or the bag would slip away.
　　After a minute’s shaking, the bag turned green, which meant the skins were scratched away. When we opened the bag, we were surprised to see the fruits had changed from green to white. Next step was to season these guavas. We soaked them in drinking water and washed the salt away, and finally put some plum powder in. Finished!
　　After the work was done, the instructor gave us some pieces of pickled guava to taste. Everybody was enjoying the fruits, but we had to wait for someone to take photos before having them. Even though, we were all glad to learn how to make pickled guavas. It was a precious lesson, indeed.