Chapter 12: Clams in Juice and Clam and Winter Melon Soup
Wen Zhen got up and looked at the seasonings in the kitchen, preparing to make some clams in sauce and clam and winter melon soup.
"You're right about taking a boat. More often than not, there are other forms of transportation, two-wheeled, four-wheeled, and even flying."
"Two wheels? Four wheels? Flying in the sky?" Wen Yongnan's face was full of question marks.
"Two wheels are pedaled, but four wheels are no longer pulled by horses or oxen. Instead, they can run on their own, flying like birds in the sky. People can sit inside and travel far away."
Wen Yong's face was filled with fear: "This world is so scary."
Wen Zhenyi smiled and saw that the fire was already lit, so he prepared to cook.
Wen Yongnan lit the fire on the other stove: "Yi Yi, let me cook."
"Okay, I'll do something else then."
Wen Yongman raised his hand: "I'll help watch the fire."
Wen Zhenyi poured cold water into the pot, put in clams, green onions and ginger, and then prepared other ingredients.
She didn't see any red oil for sale here, so it seemed like she would have to find time to make some herself. But that wasn't a big deal, she could just heat up sesame oil instead, though the taste might be a little worse.
Chop the garlic and chili into small pieces, and chop the green onions and coriander and set aside.
Put garlic, chili, soy sauce, and heated sesame oil in a large bowl, add some boiled water and set aside.
The two brothers stood beside her and watched what she was making carefully.
"Sister, what are you doing?"
"We're going to make a dish of clams in sauce, and then a clam and winter melon soup."
Wen Yongman looked at the things in the pot: "These are just shells, what's so delicious about them?"
"Don't eat too much later."
Wen Yongnan pouted. He had never expected it to be delicious, but since she made it, he decided not to discourage her.
Wen Zhenyi saw through his concerns but did not expose them. He took out the cooked clams and let them cool down. After a while, he put them in a large bowl and sprinkled them with chopped green onions and coriander.
Wash the pot clean and start making clam and winter melon soup.
She had cut the winter melon into thin slices so that it would be easier to cook.
Put the clams that have just been cooked into cold water, add onions, ginger and some cooking wine and blanch them. After the clams open, take them out and set aside.
Wash the pot clean, add clean water, and after the water boils, add winter melon slices and a few freshly bought wolfberries.
After the winter melon becomes soft, pour in the previously blanched clams and cook for half a cup of tea. Remove the floating foam, add salt, sesame oil and chopped green onions and it is ready to serve.
The other two people in the kitchen were already stunned. It looked delicious, green and red, and they could smell the fragrance of winter melon.
Wen Zhenyi poured the cooled clams into a large bowl, added chopped green onions and cilantro, and mixed well: "Now you can eat."
Wen Yongman originally thought that it would not be very delicious, but when he saw the appearance, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.
The meal cooked by Wen Yongnan was ready and he brought the food to the table in the yard.
When Old Man Wen heard what the old lady said about what happened at home, he felt happy and relieved that their child was finally well.
Looking at the two simple dishes on the table and smelling them, I felt my appetite was whetted.
Old Lady Wen and Ma Yinghe packed up their clothes from the past few days and took them to the river to wash them. Wen Chengwen went to the village to collect grass for the pigs, preparing to come back to feed the pigs they had just bought.
Wen Zhenyi brought bowls and chopsticks to the three of them: "Grandpa, try my cooking."
Old Man Wen couldn't hold back any longer. He took the bowl and chopsticks and filled a bowl with soup. It was sweet and fresh, with a hint of freshness. "It's delicious."
Wen Yongnan and Wen Yongman saw their grandfather serve another bowl, and their faces were full of confusion. Is it really that delicious?
I served myself a bowl with half belief and half doubt, and after drinking it, I realized that soup could be so delicious.
Old Man Wen drank two bowls of soup, poured himself a bowl of rice, and couldn't wait to start eating the clams in sauce.
Wen Zhenyi saw the grandfather and his grandson, their chopsticks flying non-stop, eating and sucking at the same time.
Wen Yongman was crying and snotting, but he still didn't seem to want to put down his bowl and chopsticks.
The old man's beard was also covered with a lot of grease, and looked a little sloppy.
Wen Zhenyi took out two handkerchiefs and handed them to them: "Wipe it."
The two of them wiped it roughly and continued to fight, fearing that if they delayed, they would lose everything.
The three of them finished their meal, and Old Lady Wen and the others also came back.
Old Lady Wen took out a purse and asked everyone to sit over: "Let's first calculate how much money we have at home."
Wen Chengwen put the backpack in the yard and took out a purse from his arms and handed it to Old Lady Wen.
The same is true for Old Man Wen and Ma Yinghe.
Wen Zhenyi watched as Old Lady Wen took out a scale and placed it on the table. She first checked Old Man Wen's purse, opened it, and shook out the money inside.
All I saw were two copper coins, which rolled a few times on the table and then lay flat.
Old Lady Wen looked at the two copper coins on the table and asked, "Only two left?"
Old Man Wen was a little afraid to look at her: "There were some left originally, but I bought something for Yi Yi."
Old Lady Wen rolled her eyes at him and asked, "How many pigs did you collect? How much money did you get?"
"I collected five heads. Three of them were worth one liang and two qian, and two were worth eight qian. I'm awesome, right?" Old Man Wen said with some pride.
When Mrs. Wen heard him say that, she frowned: "Eight cents?"
"Yeah, these two pigs look good. I didn't expect them to be so cheap."
This time, Mrs. Wen gave Old Man Wen five taels and five cents to buy pigs. She didn't expect that he could buy five pigs. The price of two pigs was a bit too cheap. Now a pig is not so cheap.
"Chengwen, go to the pigpen and take a look at the pigs your father bought."
Wen Chengwen nodded and walked towards the backyard with the basket on his back.
Wen Zhenyi seemed to have noticed something was wrong: "Grandma, is there something wrong?"
Old Mrs. Wen shook her head slightly and said, "I hope I'm just overthinking it." Then she looked at the money from selling pork.
After deducting the cost, one can make about one or two taels of silver from a pig, and that's if all of them are sold.
Today, Wen Zhenyi made about six cents of silver from the food he sold, not deducting the cost.
Before Mrs. Wen could put away all the money, Wen Chengwen ran out in a panic: "Mom, something's wrong, these pigs don't seem right."
The whole family became nervous and ran towards the pigpen in the backyard.
All I saw were the five pigs I bought, their heads drooping and their excrement so watery that it had no shape at all.
Old Mrs. Wen now feels dizzy. What she feared is really coming true.
Old Man Wen couldn't believe his eyes: "How, how could this happen?"
Mrs. Wen wanted to give him two big slaps in the face: "Look at what you have done."
Old Man Wen is now dumbfounded. He has been a butcher for so many years, but he didn't expect that he would be cheated even at his old age.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
