After lunch and a short rest, Li Yuemei pulled the pork belly from the well and prepared it for marinating. She planned to make a few large rice dumplings for home, so she cut a few long strips and cut the rest into chunks. Once the pieces were cut, she placed them in a bowl, added soy sauce, salt, sugar, and tsaoko powder, and mixed them thoroughly. Li Yuemei then placed the pork belly in the courtyard, covered it with a dustpan, and marinated it for at least three to four hours, ready for Yan Ge'er's return.

There are no chestnuts at home, and it is not the season for chestnuts, so we can only make meat dumplings and red bean paste dumplings.

Fortunately, people here like to eat meat dumplings, but they rarely eat red bean paste dumplings. I don’t know if I can sell them if I make them.

In the afternoon, Li Yuemei made bean curd sheets at home, while Zhao Qiming went up the mountain to chop firewood. Cooking rice dumplings requires a lot of firewood, and the firewood at home might not be enough, so it’s always a good idea to prepare more.

Now the bean curd skin business has gradually slowed down, with only about two baskets sold every day. Lin Yan is thinking about looking for cooperation with other restaurants, but it is not convenient for him now, and the business of the shop is also okay, so he put it aside for the time being.

*

"Mom, we're back." Lin Yan pushed open the door and saw that there was no one in the yard, so he shouted loudly.

Li Yuemei was making yuba in the tofu shop. When she heard the voice, she quickly replied, "Hey, I'm here."

Lin Yan looked over and said, "Then you go do your thing. I'll go make the dumplings."

"I'm almost done with this pot. I'll come and help you later."

Lin Yan asked Zhao Shiyun to move the mung beans, glutinous rice, bamboo leaves, bean paste, and pork belly to the yard, took a small stool, sat down, and started wrapping them.

"After sitting for half an hour, get up and move around. Don't stretch your stomach." Zhao Shiyun reminded.

"Okay, go to the room and get the red and white cotton threads for me."

Lin Yan took three pieces of zongzi leaves and placed them side by side. He first put two spoonfuls of glutinous rice and spread it evenly on the bottom, then put a layer of mung beans on it. He used chopsticks to pick up a piece of marinated pork belly, and then put an appropriate amount of mung beans on it. Finally, he added two spoonfuls of glutinous rice to cover the filling.

Fold the bottom of the zongzi leaf, turn it over after folding one end, and arrange the glutinous rice at the end to prevent it from leaking out. Then fold the zongzi leaf up, pat it a few times after it is shaped to ensure that the glutinous rice does not leak out, and finally tie the zongzi tightly with the zongzi string.

A rice dumpling is ready. Lin Yan makes the one for the family first. He looks at the basin and sees about ten strips of pork belly. The pork belly comes in one long strip when bought, so it can be cut into about six small strips. Divide it into three equal parts first, then cut it thinly horizontally, otherwise it will be difficult to cook if it is too thick.

Lin Yan was quick and quickly finished making ten large rice dumplings. He then started making triangular rice dumplings, which were easier to make.

Stack two pieces of zongzi leaves together to form a funnel shape, first put in a layer of glutinous rice and a little mung beans, then put in a piece of marinated pork belly, and cover with another layer of mung beans and glutinous rice. Pinch the corners of the zongzi with your fingers to make it tightly bonded, and finally tie the zongzi with a rope.

The same goes for red bean paste rice dumplings, except that the pork belly is replaced with bean paste, and mung beans are omitted. Mung beans are only added when making meat rice dumplings.

Li Yuemei finished her work quickly and hurried over to help wrap. The shop closed early today and Yu Ge'er did not come back with them. He had already greeted Lin Yan in the morning and there was no need to wait for him.

The two of them were very quick and skillful, and soon they had wrapped most of the food. Lin Yan stood up and stretched himself a bit, then heard Zhao Shiyun ask from the kitchen, "Brother Yan, what do you want to eat today? I'll make it."

Li Yuemei just remembered that she had saved a piece of pork belly, and quickly told Zhao Shiyun, "There is a piece of pork belly in the kitchen, it has been cut up, let's eat that tonight."

"Let's stew some beans. The beans in the vegetable garden should be edible. Brother Shi Yun, pick some when you go to water the fields."

"become."

By May, many vegetables were ripe in the garden: tomatoes, beans, water spinach, cucumbers, eggplants, garlic sprouts, broad beans, and more. The Zhao family only used one acre of land to grow vegetables, planting a little of everything to ensure they had vegetables to eat year-round.

When Yu Ge'er came back, Lin Yan and the others had already wrapped the rice dumplings. The big meat dumplings were large and uniform in size, and the triangular dumplings were wrapped with two kinds of cotton threads, the meat dumplings were white and the red bean paste dumplings were red. They were now piled up in a basin, crowded together.

"Wow! They're all done." Yu Ge'er came over and poked them one by one with his fingers.

"Start cooking once the rice is ready." Lin Yan said with a smile.

He was in good spirits now, so he got up and went to the kitchen to prepare cooking.

"Didn't you say I should do it?" Zhao Shiyun was sitting in the kitchen picking beans and didn't let him do it.

"I'll help you pick the beans. I can always do that." Lin Yan said helplessly.

Zhao Shiyun helped him get a stool. Lin Yan picked up a string of beans, pinched off the stems at both ends, removed the tendons on both sides, and dropped it into the basket. Once all the beans were picked, Zhao Shiyun washed the beans and cut them into small pieces. He also chopped the green onions, shredded the ginger, and minced the garlic.

Add an appropriate amount of water to the pot, put in the bean segments after the water boils, blanch for a few minutes until the color of the beans becomes darker, then remove and drain.

Heat a wok with cold oil. Place the sliced ​​pork belly in the wok and stir-fry over low heat until the pork belly releases oil and turns lightly golden brown. Add chopped green onion, shredded ginger, minced garlic, and dried chili peppers. Once fragrant, add soy sauce and stir-fry evenly, allowing the pork belly to fully absorb the flavors.

"Here." Lin Yan handed the blanched beans to Zhao Shiyun. Zhao Shiyun poured them into the pot and continued to stir-fry for a while to fully mix the beans and pork belly so that the beans could absorb the aroma of the meat.

Add an appropriate amount of water, enough to cover the beans and pork belly, add sugar and salt, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for more than a quarter of an hour.

Stew until the beans are cooked through and the soup is thick, then you can serve.

"It smells so good~" Lin Yan praised.

As Zhao Shiyun was serving the dishes, he said, "Now, I need to cook more dishes to practice my skills so that I won't be unable to cook well when you need me in the future."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you from now on." Lin Yan smiled slightly and patted his belly.