Chapter 60 Sour Peach
On her way back to Old Zhao's house, Fan Xiaoxiao was in a great mood. As she walked, she hummed a strange little tune.
"Sister, what exactly are you and the young master of the Ji family plotting? You're being so secretive."
Aunt Wang, standing to the side, nodded in agreement with Madam Fan's words: "Yes, girl, I went to ask that old man, but he always stammered and couldn't give a coherent answer. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Fan Xiaoxiao winked playfully at the two of them and said with a smile, "It's a secret~ Okay, don't ask anymore, you'll find out when the time comes! Let's hurry home and open the bar!"
Mentioning the wine, Madam Fan frowned again. She remembered that her father didn't seem to know how to make wine. Where did her younger sister learn this skill from? Or was it her first time trying it? Thinking of this, Madam Fan glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao walking excitedly ahead, opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say what was on her mind.
After returning home, Fan Xiaoxiao soaked all the glutinous rice. Then she washed the jars that she was going to use to store the wine, rinsed them with boiling water twice, and then placed them upside down on the stove to air dry.
While waiting for the glutinous rice to soak, Fan Xiaoxiao found some clean gauze and a steamer, and rinsed them with water in the same way she sterilized the jar.
"Girl, what are you cooking these things for?"
Fan Xiaoxiao kept working, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and answered Aunt Wang's question without turning her head: "This is just to clean the jar."
After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao shook out the things in her hands, picked up the soaked glutinous rice, and went into the kitchen.
Madam Fan followed her into the kitchen. She tightened her sleeves and said to Fan Xiaoxiao, "I'll help you."
"Okay, sis, you can start the fire."
After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao started boiling water in a pot and placed a steamer basket on top. She poured all the soaked glutinous rice into the steamer basket. Then she poked a few holes in the glutinous rice to allow the heat to escape.
Seeing Fan Xiaoxiao close the steamer, Madam Fan asked curiously, "Sister, weren't you going to make wine? Why are you steaming glutinous rice again?"
"Ah, this. This is a necessary step in making wine. The wine we're making is brewed directly from glutinous rice! Oh, right, sis, could you keep an eye on the fire for me while I go check if we can harvest the rice noodles we dried the other day!"
"Okay!"
After hearing Madam Fan's reply, Fan Xiaoxiao left the kitchen with a sense of relief. Madam Fan watched Fan Xiaoxiao's skipping figure, then looked at the steamer on the stove, her doubts churning like a jar about to overflow.
"Mother! Little Bao will help you start the fire!"
Xiao Bao's call pulled Fan Shi back to reality. She shook her head, thinking to herself that she was really bewitched, actually seeing a strange feeling in her own sister.
Ms. Fan forced herself to stop thinking about that matter and smiled slightly at Xiao Bao.
"Okay, let's start the fire together."
Before long, the unique aroma of glutinous rice wafted from the kitchen. Fan Xiaoxiao put away the last bundle of vermicelli and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Just then, she bumped into Xiaobao, who came out on his short legs to call her.
"Auntie! Dinner's ready!"
"Hey! Coming right away."
Fan Xiaoxiao responded, then washed her hands and went into the kitchen.
"Sis, this sticky rice needs to cool down a bit. Let's make dinner while we have this time."
Madam Fan glanced at the sky outside and, seeing that it was indeed getting late, nodded. The two quickly made some steamed buns, and by the time they put them in the steamer, the glutinous rice had just cooled down.
Fan Xiaoxiao tested the temperature of the glutinous rice, and after confirming that the center of the rice was about the same temperature as her body, she added the yeast and cooled boiled water in sequence, stirred it well, and then simply put it into a jar and sealed it. All that was left was to let time do its work.
After they finished doing all that, it gradually got dark. Uncle Wang and Old Zhao also returned home.
Aunt Wang carried steamed buns and bowls and chopsticks into the courtyard. When she saw the two of them return, she hurriedly greeted them, "You're back! Go put your things away, dinner's ready."
"Hey, you're here. Oh, by the way, girl, this is for you. The guy next door gave it to us when we were packing up. He saw that Xiaobao was listless this morning, so he said it was to whet Xiaobao's appetite."
Fan Xiaoxiao looked down at what Uncle Wang handed her. She saw two green fruits with leaves still attached. After recognizing the fruits, her eyes lit up – these were unripe mangoes!
She hurriedly stepped forward and took the two raw mangoes from Uncle Wang's hands, her mouth watering uncontrollably. She had eaten plenty of these when she traveled to Yunnan in modern times; they were very appetizing, and perfect for this kind of hot summer weather when everyone had little appetite.
Madam Fan seemed to have heard what Uncle Wang said, and she walked over with a smile: "This looks novel, let's cut it open and everyone can have a taste! Besides, Xiao Bao can't eat that much."
Uncle Wang glanced at Xiao Bao, who was nodding beside him, and then at the two fruits: "Well... let's cut them open then."
"Okay! I'll go cut it!"
After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao took the mangoes and ran into the kitchen, where she peeled and cut the two mangoes into strips.
While processing the two raw mangoes, the unique aroma of raw mangoes kept stimulating Fan Xiaoxiao's taste buds. She swallowed and, when she was cutting the last piece, couldn't resist secretly tasting a small mango strip.
The moment the mango strip entered her mouth, a strong sour taste filled her entire mouth, causing her to drool uncontrollably. The sourness made Fan Xiaoxiao's features scrunch up. She smacked her lips and muttered to herself:
Wow! It's so sour! You can't eat this on its own.
After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao turned her gaze and saw the dried chili peppers by the window.
A little while later, she came out again carrying two bowls of mango strips.
"Come on! Everyone, try this."
Old Zhao looked at the bowl of mango strips in front of him, which was covered with chili flakes and sugar granules, and raised his eyebrows, saying, "Hey! This is the first time I've ever seen sour peaches made like this!"
Fan Xiaoxiao was taken aback when she heard the name, then smiled and said, "So this is called a sour peach. I just ate a small piece, and it certainly lives up to its name. So I just randomly added some chili and sugar! You should all try it; I just tasted it, and it's delicious!"
"Is that so!"
Uncle Wang picked up his chopsticks and, quite obligingly, took a piece of pickled raw mango and put it in his mouth.
"Mmm! Delicious! These sour peaches are both sour and spicy! They're so crisp and refreshing! Appetizing! Delicious!"
Seeing Uncle Wang's reaction, everyone quickly picked up their chopsticks. Fan Xiaoxiao was in a great mood seeing everyone enjoying the meal, and even ate half an extra steamed bun.
After the meal, Aunt Wang and Madam Fan washed the dishes in the kitchen, while Uncle Wang invited Fan Xiaoxiao to sit in the courtyard to cool off.
Fan Xiaoxiao looked at Uncle Wang's solemn expression and knew that he must have something to say to her.
"Uncle, what's wrong?"
Looking at Fan Shi and Wang Da Niang busy in the kitchen, Uncle Wang let out a long sigh before he could even speak: "Girl, haven't you told them we're leaving in a few days yet?"
Fan Xiaoxiao followed Uncle Wang's gaze to the kitchen, but didn't speak. Uncle Wang shook his palm-leaf fan, took a sip of coarse tea, and continued:
"We received news from the docks today that the merchant ships are expected to dock in about two days."
Hearing this, Fan Xiaoxiao paused, her hand already poised to serve tea. She smiled, took another sip, and gazed at the bright moon in the night sky, her voice somewhat ethereal: "Really? Then we'll probably hear from the Ji family soon."
(End of this chapter)
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