"It's a bit like a sweet bun. You wrap the filling inside, roll it into a small round ball, and then boil it in hot water until cooked. I think that's how it works?"
As Xue Fu spoke, she gradually lost confidence and began to doubt herself.
The process was so brief that it seemed there wasn't much difference between saying it and not saying it at all.
Xue Fu pursed her lips into a thin line, regretting for the first time why she hadn't gone into the kitchen more often to observe how her father cooked when she was in modern times.
"Is that all?" Gu Chong looked very calm, as if this minimalist recipe was a piece of cake for him.
"Hmm... I think so."
Now it was student Gu Chong's turn to ask his mentor a question.
"Afu, what about the filling? How is the filling made? Is it just a matter of wrapping peanuts inside?"
Gu Chong paused, then continued, "The peanuts the supply and marketing cooperative sells now are roasted peanuts, right? They're roasted nuts, and they're salty. Are the glutinous rice balls you eat salty?"
Xue Fu shook her head: "It's sweet. I originally wanted to buy sesame seeds, but they didn't have any. So I only have roasted peanuts."
Gu Chong quickly came up with a solution: "I'll shell the peanuts first, boil them in hot water to reduce the saltiness. Then I'll grind them together with brown sugar. Let's try this first and see if it works?"
Xue Fu: "Of course!"
Gu Chong is a little genius!
However, we won't be able to have lunch today.
It's already past 11 o'clock. If we go to make glutinous rice balls, I don't know when we'll be able to eat them in the afternoon.
"How about I stir-fry some meat for lunch, like cabbage and pork stir-fry?"
Gu Chong had drafted a new menu. He said, "Afu, how about we have our local customs for lunch first? We'll have glutinous rice balls for dinner and have your customs for dinner."
How could Xue Fu possibly say no? She nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Okay, okay!"
We follow both customs, without showing any favoritism!
She deftly sat down in front of the stove and took on her task of tending the fire: "I'll tend the fire!"
Gu Chong saw her flushed, excited face, smiled silently, and then went to prepare the meal.
The meat was the last bit left over from the commune's distribution before the New Year.
After receiving the meat, Gu Chong took the time to marinate the meat that he couldn't finish eating in the past few days, afraid that it would spoil.
The cured meat was a bit salty, so Gu Chong boiled it in hot water for a while to dissipate the saltiness before putting it on the cutting board and cutting it into small pieces.
The cabbages were grown by them in their backyard plot. They didn't grow many, just a small patch, enough for their daily needs.
Just then, Gu Chong went and chopped a large round cabbage. He washed it clean with water, and when he cut it with a knife, the cabbage burst open from the middle, making a crisp sound.
The spatula scooped a piece of lard from the lard jar and put it into the already heated iron pot, where it sizzled and melted.
After the oil had completely melted, Gu Chongchang waited a little while until it was fully heated before pouring the cabbage into the pot.
Water droplets on the cabbage leaves went into the pot, making a series of splattering sounds. Xue Fu, sitting behind the stove, couldn't help but shrink back along with the sound, afraid that the hot oil would indiscriminately splash onto her.
Seeing the cabbage leaves turn yellow, Gu Chong poured the sliced meat into the pot. The aroma of the meat wafted throughout the kitchen with the hot oil, becoming more and more fragrant as it was stir-fried.
Xue Fu inhaled the aroma of the dish several times, becoming hungrier with each whiff.
She could almost taste the wonderful flavor of the dish on her tongue.
Gu Chong's craftsmanship is top-notch.
Just as the dish was cooked and poured onto a plate, Gu Fei's cheerful and carefree voice drifted in from outside the door.
"Sister! I'm back! Are you in the kitchen?"
The sound of light footsteps approached, followed by Gu Fei's surprised shout—he had seen his brother!
"Brother, why are you back! Don't you have to practice driving the tractor today?"
Xue Fu wasn't the only one happy that Gu Chong went to learn how to drive a tractor; Gu Fei was also overjoyed.
How awesome it would be to have an older brother who can drive a tractor someday!
As the younger brother, he can just touch that tractor whenever he wants, right? Maybe he can even ask his older brother to let him into the driver's seat for a look around, how impressive would that be!
Gu Fei, the younger brother, was very confident. He was so sure that his older brother would be able to study well and be selected by the captain's commune!
Gu Chong: "You can rest for half a day today."
He glanced at his younger brother, then looked down and saw his brother's dirty, unwashed black paws.
Gu Chong stared at him, his eyebrows furrowing: "Xiao Fei, go wash your hands. Also, wash your face."
Gu Fei was quite obedient: "Okay, brother."
Xue Fu then added two more torches to the stove, and the fire blazed fiercely, quickly reheating the breakfast.
The three of them sat in the courtyard, enjoying the bright sunlight, and started eating lunch!
After the meal, Gu Fei, a primary school student who was going to start school the next day, was still very reluctant to leave his last day of free time. After finishing his meal, he threw down his rice bowl and ran out the door like a free little bird.
Xue Fu was a little full, so she sat on a bench to rest for a while to digest her food before going to the fishpond to feed the fish and study.
"When are we making glutinous rice balls this afternoon?" She turned her head to look at Gu Chong, who was sitting next to her, half-closing his eyes and taking a nap. "How about I come back at 4:30? Then we can make them together. I think an hour should be enough? Or an hour and a half. Anyway, we should be able to have dinner around 6 o'clock."
Xue Fu hummed in agreement, touched her chin, and said, "If it fails, we'll just improvise and grab something casual for dinner?"
Gu Chong opened his eyes and smiled slightly: "Okay, I'll do whatever you say."
Xue Fu clapped her hands: "Then let's do it this way!"
After resting for a while, Xue Fu went to the fishpond.
Gu Chong walked with her for a while and escorted her to the entrance of the fishpond.
He said he was going to find Zhou Zhi and would be back at four o'clock.
"good."
Xue Fu nodded, not asking him why he went to see Zhou Zhi.
They have their own little secrets with each other, but she wasn't that curious.
Gu Chong will definitely tell her what he wants to say.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, she filled a fist with fish food and fed the fish fry in each pond.
The rest of the time, Xue Fu studied diligently.
Her method of studying history and current affairs was somewhat foolish—it was rote memorization. She wasn't very familiar with the current college entrance examination format and didn't know what kind of questions would be asked.
She thought, "I think I should be able to memorize it all, right?"
At the beginning, her skills were unfamiliar, and her memorization efficiency was a bit low.
Based on her current memory speed, Xue Fu felt that it might be difficult to finish memorizing this book this month.
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