As soon as the two children left, the kitchen suddenly became quiet. The pots on the stove were busy, and Ningxia was busy too. She poured the hot water from the thermos into two small basins, one for soaking dried bamboo shoots and the other for soaking dried mushrooms.
There were also some cabbages in the bathroom. Ningxia didn't hesitate and pulled out most of them, filling up half a small basin.
She took it to the yard to wash it and took the opportunity to see the progress of Li Gang and the others.
I saw two people taking turns digging, and Xiaojie was helping out on the side. The hole as big as the refrigerator door was already level with their waist.
Ningxia washed and arranged the cabbages in his hands one by one before going in to cut the meat.
She cut a large piece of lamb neck and butt meat with rich fat into thin slices and placed them separately. She cut two small bowls and stopped when she thought it was enough to eat.
She also had an idea for the remaining mutton. She would take out another ten pounds or so and make mutton dumplings, keeping half for herself and giving the other half to Li Gang and the others. The weather wouldn't deteriorate anytime soon.
The squad leader had told her in advance that she had to take about 100 kilograms back to pay the stationing tax when she left, and she would be responsible for handling the rest.
Speaking of the stationing tax, Lei Lao Hu said that it was because Chocobo was now focusing all its attention on transportation reconstruction.
There was a shortage of personnel everywhere. The coalition forces in the barracks had even cut back on training, with all of them dispatched on missions. However, fixed tasks like sentry posts and mountain patrols required personnel.
It makes no sense for other coalition forces to go out and do manual labor while the coalition forces at outposts and patrolling the mountains take the ammunition issued by their superiors and sit idle all day guarding the rich forests.
The state government simply introduced a new tax policy. Except for those participating in construction tasks, all coalition forces going out on military missions were required to hand over 20 kilograms of meat per person per month. Any period less than one month would be calculated as one month.
The higher-ups are busy reorganizing land transportation, and all kinds of resources are in short supply. For these scarce parts, the stationing taxes collected from some coalition forces can fill the gaps left by the coalition forces going out to build coalition forces.
If you can't even catch 20 kilograms of wild game all over the mountains and plains, that's fine, just pack up and retire.
Even Liu Ximu, with average skills and without a gun, could barely gain 20 kilograms of weight in a month. This was even more so for the coalition forces, who were in excellent physical condition and equipped with all kinds of equipment.
Ningxia was both happy and worried about the reorganization of transportation. According to Lei Lao Hu, the road should be open to the entrance of their post before the arrival of the severe cold month.
Once the road is cleared, it will certainly be convenient for them to go out, but it will also be convenient for people from outside to go to the forest area. Will the forest area with abundant resources still be a deserted place to live? Ningxia does not think so.
There was no point in thinking too much, so Ningxia took out about ten pounds of half-fat and half-lean meat from the pile and put it aside. He smeared a thin layer of salt on the rest and hung it on the beam in the stairwell. It was well ventilated and dry here, so it would be no problem to keep it there for a few more days.
Only after finishing all these did she have time to check on the pot of stewed lamb shanks and bones.
As soon as the lid of the pot was opened, a faint smell of mutton mixed with the aroma of meat wafted out. Ningxia really likes the smell.
The soup had already turned slightly yellow, with a thin layer of oil floating on it. Ningxia poured out the soup, checked the timer, and prepared to mix the soup base.
I heated up the oil in the pan again, using the mutton fat I had boiled earlier. It had a strong, yet fragrant smell.
Ningxia puts the prepared peppercorns, dried chili segments and star anise into the pot and fry them slowly over low heat. The aroma of the seasonings soon mixes with the mutton smell of mutton fat.
For those who like it, the fragrance is intoxicating.
But seeing that none of them had any aversion to mutton, Ningxia felt very confident in its cooking.
Once the seasonings were fried until golden brown, Ningxia scooped them out one by one, scooped out a small basin of mutton soup from the pot, and poured it into the oil pan with a sizzling sound.
The stove fire became strong again, and after a while the soup base began to gurgle. The color was no longer clear and yellowish, but slightly turbid.
Ningxia didn't add anything else, just threw in a few spoonfuls of salt.
"Lin Yi! Is the fire outside lit?" Ning Xia shouted loudly without raising her head.
Lin Yi rushed in upon hearing the sound, "Sister Xia Xia has given birth."
"Then you can take the dishes out."
Lin Yiying is good.
There was no room for more than ten people to eat in the kitchen, so Ningxia simply lit a fire in the yard and ate around the earthen stove. The autumn weather was clear and the kitchen was spacious and cool enough.
The brother and sister passed the dishes out one by one.
Ningxia then realized that Mu Yuanqing and his wife had arrived at some point and were helping to carry soil out of the yard wearing gloves.
"Don't be busy, let's eat first. What about sunny days?"
Mu Yuanqing took off his gloves and said, "I was sleeping on the sofa in your house. I went to the kitchen and saw you busy, so I didn't disturb you."
"I asked you to come and eat, and you're helping out. Come on! Wash your hands and eat."
Everyone shook off the dust on their bodies, cleaned themselves up, and gathered around the stove.
Ningxia handed out bowls of rice, and everyone tacitly began to eat the vegetables and meat. In a short while, two pots of meat were one-third gone.
"Ningxia makes a great chili sauce."
Old Liao swallowed the delicious wild mushrooms in his mouth and said, "Ningxia is good at everything."
"I can't remember how long it's been since I last had hot pot. It smells delicious!"
The stove was steaming hot. Ningxia specially made a bowl of mutton and bamboo shoots for Sangsang and handed it to her. Sangsang sat aside and ate her own food. It was obvious that she liked the taste of the mutton very well.
Liu Ximu was also digging into his rice, completely relaxed. Mu Yuanqing stood beside him, occasionally chatting with Ningxia. This kind of lively and relaxing atmosphere had been away from him for a long time.
At first he didn't agree to come to District 1 and be Ningxia's neighbor. When they formed a hunting team, he knew very well what a ruthless girl this was.
Xiaoqing couldn't stand any more blows, he was afraid. He just wanted to take Xiaoqing and the child to a deserted place to live in seclusion. After all, he had been alone for so many years, he was not afraid of loneliness.
But Xiaoqing said that she didn't want to live in fear in a place where the system collapsed, and she wanted to go to a place where there were people who cared about her.
So they came on Chocobo, but they didn't expect that after meeting Ningxia, Xiaoqing changed her mind and wanted to be her neighbor. He could never refuse her, so he agreed.
Liu Ximu looked up at the noisy faces around him. He could have endured the loneliness...
"What are you thinking about?" Mu Yuanqing stretched out his hand and nudged him. "Ningxia asked if you could help with preparing the herbs?"
Liu Ximu turned his head and met Ningxia's clear eyes. Ningxia smiled and said, "Brother Mu, if you need help, just let me know. It's a good opportunity for me to learn the skills from you."
Liu Ximu stammered, "I'll take care of this batch of herbs myself. You should finish your family matters first." Then, afraid that the other party would think she was rejecting her, she added, "Come and learn when you have some free time."
Ningxia agreed promptly.
"This life is priceless. I would be willing to dig a vegetable cellar every day." Old Liao sighed after drinking the last sip of soup.
Li Gang handed the bowl in his hand to Xiao Jie to clean up, "That's all you can do."
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