Chapter 92 - Two-in-One Exploding Yuanbao Dumplings
Lin Duo'er washed her face and was pulled over to sit down by Lin Chuntao. The crispy pork was quick to make. The Yuanbao cake she wanted was actually just a dough ball made by mixing flour, eggs, and some minced meat, then scooping it out and frying it in oil.
It wasn't difficult to make. Lin Chuntao went to get the meat, washed it, and prepared to cut it up.
Lin Chunxing said, "Sister, let me wash it, you prepare the noodles."
"Alright."
Lin Chuntao gave her the meat and took the earthenware pot to make noodles.
Lin Chunxing took the meat, placed it in an earthenware pot, and carried it out. Lin Duo'er stood at the door, pouting as she met Lin Chunxing's gaze. Lin Chunxing whispered, "Pretending to be wronged to fool your older sister? You're finished!"
Just as Lin Duo'er was about to retaliate, she saw Lin Chuntao, who was clearly scooping flour behind their backs, suddenly turn her head. Lin Duo'er was startled and lost all composure.
But Lin Chuntao pretended not to see it.
"Duo'er, how many of those Yuanbao cakes do you want to eat?"
Lin Duo'er ignored Lin Chunxing and quickly went to Lin Chuntao's side.
"Can you make a big bowl? I can eat it tomorrow too."
Lin Chuntao sighed, "Sure, as long as you can eat it." With that, she scooped out a full bowl of flour and poured it into the earthenware pot.
She scooped out the flour and called Lin Duo'er to get the eggs.
"Take six."
With so many eggs mixed into the noodles, it must taste delicious. Lin Duo'er felt light as a feather as she walked with the eggs in her hands.
Lin Chuntao took the egg from her hand and cracked it with one hand very quickly.
Lin Duo'er stared wide-eyed at Lin Chuntao's expression.
Lin Chuntao saw her expression, but remained calm and pretended not to notice.
"Duo'er, are you still upset?"
Lin Duo'er was about to ask Lin Chuntao how she cracked an egg with one hand when she heard Lin Chuntao's question faintly above her head.
Lin Duo'er swallowed hard. Lin Chuntao finished beating the eggs and started stirring them in the earthenware pot with chopsticks, but her eyes were looking at her.
Lin Duo'er felt guilty when she met Lin Chuntao's gaze.
Lin Chuntao asked, "When I jumped into the lake last time, weren't you sad at all?" Lin Duo'er thought of that day, and her face turned pale. How could she not be sad? Lin Chuntao was brought back alive. She was so scared that she cried. Her second and third sisters were also terrified.
"I bet you were really sad and scared back then."
Lin Chuntao's voice was gentle, and Lin Duo'er slowly lowered her head. Lin Chuntao continued, "If you had fallen in, and we didn't even know you went to play by the lake, and by the time we found you, you were already dead, do you think your second and third sisters and I would be very sad?"
“Duo’er, our sadness is secondary. We might gradually become numb to sadness for a year, two years, five years, or ten years, but your life will be over. Look, our family is going to build a new house, Second Sister’s stall business is doing very well, and Sister’s sauce will also be sold. We will make a lot of money in the future and live a good life. If something happens to you, you won’t be able to live that life.”
"Cherish your life, you only have one life."
Lin Duo'er lowered her head, her feet rubbing the ground lightly, unsure of where to place them.
"Sister, I know I was wrong. I will never go to the lake to play in the water again."
Lin Chuntao patted her head and asked softly, "What you said, I can believe you, right?"
Lin Duo'er looked up at her and nodded solemnly.
"Yes, I definitely won't go."
Lin Chuntao smiled, picked up the basin, and walked outside, asking as she went, "Has the minced meat been chopped yet?"
Pei Ying replied, "It'll be ready soon."
As he spoke, he glanced back at Lin Duo'er, who followed behind Lin Chuntao like a little tail. Her obedient appearance suggested that she genuinely knew she had done wrong.
Lin Chuntao had only cracked the eggs into the dough and stirred them; she hadn't added water or kneaded the dough yet. Now, she scooped some water in and stirred it while waiting for Pei Ying to chop the meat filling. Lin Chuntao poured a little wine into the meat filling, added some pepper, mixed it well, and let it sit for a while before pouring it into the kneaded dough.
Lin Chuntao added some salt and stirred it well. She checked the rice in the steamer and saw that it was almost cooked. She then asked Lin Duo'er to bring the pot and put it on the stove.
Pei Ying cut the meat into strips for making crispy pork; his knife skills were excellent. Lin Chunxing was washing scallions and ginger, which would be used for marinating later.
On the stove, the oil in the wok was already hot. Lin Chuntao took a ladle, scooped some oil in, and it quickly set and changed color in the hot oil, falling off the ladle. She then moved on to the next one.
In no time, many golden ingots floated to the surface of the oil.
Lin Chuntao didn't really like this stuff; she'd had enough of it. Every year before the Lunar New Year, she would fry a whole pot of it and keep it on hand. She would roast it over a fire, steam it and dip it in sauce, boil it in meat broth, boil it in chicken broth, or even use it to cook vegetables.
As Grandma got older, this stuff became very soft and fragrant when cooked in soup, and she loved to eat it. Lin Chuntao ended up eating a lot of it too.
When they're freshly fried, the outer layer is crispy, while the inside is soft and chewy. They're so addictive that kids love them.
They looked like they were almost done frying, and the aroma filled the entire yard.
Lin Chunhe sniffed and leaned closer. "Sister, what did you put in it? It smells so good!"
Lin Chuntao said, "I added some eggs and pepper."
Lin Duo'er added, "They also put meat in it."
Lin Chunhe smiled upon hearing this, "No wonder it smells so good."
Every household fries this on New Year's Day. In the past, when the Tian family fries it, Lin Jialang and his cousins would eat it with greasy mouths, while the women could only watch from the sidelines, always thinking how delicious it was! They wished they could have one.
But now, compared to what Lin Chuntao fried, it suddenly seems so-so. Lin Chuntao's is much tastier. Others can't get to eat it, but if they want to eat it, their older sister will make it for them.
Lin Chuntao asked them to bring a large bowl. She put raw dough into the bowl to fry, and then scooped out the dough when it was golden brown.
"Go get chopsticks and pick up your food."
Lin Chunhe quickly went inside to get it. It smells best when it's piping hot. She picked one up and gave the chopsticks to Lin Duo'er. Lin Duo'er looked at Pei Ying and then at Lin Chunxing.
Pei Ying said, "You guys eat first, I'll eat after I finish cutting the meat."
Lin Chunxing was still angry and was about to get chopsticks herself when she saw Lin Duo'er quickly poke one and walk towards Lin Chunxing, saying, "Second sister, here you go."
Lin Chunxing glanced at her, not wanting to argue with her, but still angry.
"I'll use it myself."
Lin Duo'er pursed her lips and apologized to her: "Second sister, I was wrong. I shouldn't have talked back to you and not taken your words seriously. You already scolded me. I'm sorry."
Lin Chunxing snorted softly. They had all heard what Lin Chuntao had said outside, so they didn't argue with her anymore and reached out to take it.
Lin Chunxing took it, and then she went back to pick up another one and fed it to Lin Chuntao.
Lin Chuntao said, "You guys eat first, I'll eat later."
After receiving the message, the three sisters started eating.
My family used to fry these with cornmeal, but Lin Chuntao used wheat flour. The fried ones are whiter inside and taste even better than the cornmeal ones. Plus, there's meat inside and a little salt, so they're very salty. You want to eat one after another, just like fried crispy pork, it's very addictive.
Watching them eat so much, Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "We're going to fry crispy pork later, aren't you going to save some room for that?"
Lin Chunxing felt that she didn't need to cook anymore; this was enough to fill her up.
Lin Duo'er smiled foolishly.
Pei Ying cut the meat into strips and, following Lin Chuntao's method from yesterday, pounded the meat strips with the back of a knife before putting them into a bowl. She then added scallions and ginger, along with a small amount of wine and Sichuan peppercorns, and mixed them well to remove any unpleasant smell.
"The meat is marinated."
Lin Chuntao turned around and smiled, "Wash your hands and come have one."
Pei Ying's hands were greasy, so Lin Chunhe helped him scoop some water into the earthenware basin. After he washed his hands, he came over and picked up a piece, which smelled really delicious.
Pei Ying tasted one, then quietly ate another. He vaguely recalled that since arriving here, his appetite seemed to have gradually increased. He had initially wondered if he would be able to get used to the food in Guangling and Yizhou, which were so far apart.
The tastes are indeed very different. People here love to eat Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers, and they also love sour flavors, but overall it's not particularly spicy. Besides, Lin Chuntao's cooking skills are so good that even if it's a little spicy, he just can't stop eating it.
Zhang Dayong is right. He has lived here for half a year and can't live without chili peppers. They are right. Now he feels something is wrong if there are no chili peppers in some dishes.
Lin Chuntao has a wide variety of tastes; she seems to eat and cook all kinds of dishes. Whether they are heavily seasoned or lightly seasoned, they all become delicious after passing through her hands.
After eating two, he asked Lin Chuntao, "Are there any other ways to eat this dough?"
Hearing her question, Lin Chuntao laughed, and Lin Chunxing next to her said, "After frying them, you can roast them over a fire, steam them, or cook them with vegetables."
Lin Chuntao smiled as she listened to Lin Chunxing's words, "Yes, all of Chunxing's methods of cooking are fine. You can also cook it with chicken soup or meat soup, which will make it even more fragrant."
“Then we can fry more to eat in the future,” Pei Ying said.
Lin Chuntao asked, "Is it delicious?"
Pei Ying smiled at her, "How could my wife's cooking not be delicious?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chunxing raised an eyebrow and gestured slightly to Lin Chunhe and the other two sisters. The three sisters then went to sit down at the table over there, leaving Pei Ying standing by the stove. He held food in one hand and took a spoon from Lin Chuntao with the other, saying, "I'll scoop some frying food. You can rest for a while."
Lin Chuntao handed him the spoon and stood aside scooping out the fried food.
I didn't make much of this, but it turned into a lot after frying.
Seeing that they were almost done frying, Lin Chuntao said, "You do it, I'll go pick out the dough for the crispy pork."
"Okay, go ahead."
The dough for the crispy pork needs to contain starch. They still had some left from yesterday's exchange, so Lin Chuntao scooped it up and mixed it together. The colors were similar, so they all thought it was just pure flour.
Lin Chuntao was very skilled at preparing this dish and finished it in no time. She checked the meat and found that a lot of blood had been drawn out during the marinating process. She poured off the blood and then took out the ginger, added an egg and Sichuan peppercorns, stirred and mixed it well.
After Pei Ying finished frying the dumplings, Lin Chuntao prepared to fry the crispy pork directly, but the oil temperature was a bit high, so she removed some firewood from the stove and waited for the oil temperature to drop.
She didn't pour the meat into the noodles yet; she only slowly poured it in and mixed it in when the oil temperature dropped.
After eating too many dough balls, people's desire for delicious food diminishes once they are full. When the fried pork was being made, they stopped standing in front of the stove and watching.
They came over, took a look, and then left... leaving Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao to do it alone.
Lin Chuntao chuckled.
"Could you cut up the loofah I washed last night, and wash a cabbage for me?"
After frying the crispy pork, Lin Chuntao stir-fried some loofah and eggs, and also made a crispy pork and cabbage soup. That's how dinner was served.
They had just finished eating when Aunt Guizhi and the others returned, and Meng Yun came along with them.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I don't have anything to do this afternoon, you can come over later."
Meng Yun said, "I think you should steam these beans today, my wife. I'll help you finish them before we go back."
She insisted, and Lin Chuntao thought that she was probably afraid that if she said "go back" to her, she would be unhappy inside, so she had no choice but to give up.
When Aunt Guizhi and the others came back, they brought her four new winnowing baskets. Knowing she would need them, they washed them for her and put them on the rack to dry.
There were still many fried dough balls left on the stove. Lin Chuntao brought them over and offered one to each person to try, but no one wanted any.
Aunt Guizhi laughed and said, "I just ate a full meal and can't eat anymore."
Lin Chuntao didn't insist, and said with a smile, "Then we'll have lunch later."
With many things to do, everyone picked up their own things and started working. Lin Chuntao and the others continued steaming beans.
Pei Ying went and got some stones to raise the two millstones a bit higher, making them a little more convenient to use.
The steamer can steam more food each time, and it's also much faster.
They finished around 3 PM and breathed a long sigh of relief. Lin Chuntao slumped into a chair to rest.
Lin Jiahui wouldn't be back until after 5 PM. After resting for a while, Meng Yun asked Lin Chuntao if there was anything else she needed to do. Lin Chuntao said, "Go back and rest for a while. You've worked hard today."
Meng Yun smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam Lin. It's nothing."
After Meng Yun left, Lin Chuntao waited for the last batch of beans to be steamed. Once they had cooled down, she added flour and started mixing the beans. After that, she covered them with gauze, marked them, and that was the end of processing the two hundred jin of beans.
This time I need to make at least 700 catties of soybean paste. I'll soak another 250 catties tonight, and then soak them again tomorrow. I'll make it over three days.
Aunt Guizhi and the others couldn't help her either, since those beans also needed to be picked out before they could be washed and soaked.
After finishing this, Lin Chuntao thought that next time she would find two people to do it together.
After sitting for a while, Lin Chuntao called to Sun Shi to take her to see the cedar trees. Sun Shi smiled and said, "I'll go with you later after I'm done with my work."
Lin Chuntao said, "We need to rest after a long day. Let's go see it now."
Sun had no choice but to get up and accompany her. It was said to be the back mountain, but it wasn't far, and there were rows of fir trees in a large area.
Sun said, "The people on this side of the ravine are all from our village, and the people on that side are from the next village."
Lin Chuntao asked, "Did each family get a share of these cedar trees?" This was actually what she wanted to know most. If they had been divided up, that was fine; but if they hadn't, and she used a lot to build her house, some families in the village might be unhappy, which wouldn't be good.
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun looked at her and said, "There was probably a division. Your ancestors divided it once. Our branch got the upper part, which grew very well. Stone stakes were driven into the land when it was divided."
As she spoke, Mrs. Sun led her down to see. The stone pillar wasn't large, but it served as a clear dividing line.
Lin Chuntao said, "If I were to cut them down, I might need several trees, and I'm afraid my uncles and cousins would have objections."
Thinking of Li Honghua and the others, if the old man was making a coffin, and someone was building a new house, and they cut down one or two trees, the other families wouldn't dare to have any objections. But if Lin Chuntao and the others wanted to cut down several trees, it was hard to guarantee that they wouldn't be unhappy. After thinking for a moment, Sun said, "I'll go back tonight and talk to your great-grandfather about whether to invite each family to sit down and ask them or something else."
Lin Chuntao had no objections. She was building a house and didn't want any disputes or arguments. It was best to discuss some things in advance.
"How many trees are there in total in this branch?"
Sun said, "Your great-grandfather came to count them at the end of last year, and it seems there are more than 160 trees of all sizes."
Lin Chuntao nodded, then said, "If we're going to invite our uncles and aunts, should we invite Lin Miaomiao and Lin Jialang as well?"
Sun said, "Yes, we'll invite everyone together then."
After she finished speaking, Madam Sun asked, "Our fir trees are big. I overheard you talking to that couple the other day, and they estimated that it would take cutting down four or five trees to make a living."
Lin Chuntao said, "I'm not very confident about this. I feel that four or five trees wouldn't be enough. As for the roof beams, I haven't decided whether to use fir or pine."
"It's better to use cedar trees; just cut down a slightly smaller one."
Lin Chuntao looked at the cedar tree that she could barely wrap her arms around, and said, "It feels like such a waste to cut down the smaller ones."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "We are also a little reluctant to cut it down, but our ancestors planted this tree for future generations. After cutting it down, we can transplant some smaller ones and plant them well, so that we can still use them in the future."
"Well, then I'll trouble Grandma and Grandpa tonight to ask my uncles."
Sun said, "I'll call them over after dinner, and you can all come too."
Lin Chuntao and Sun also took a walk in the cedar forest. In fact, many of the trees were quite large, and even the smaller ones required at least three adult hands to encircle them.
After returning from viewing the cedar trees, Sun and the others continued picking beans. Lin Chuntao weighed out 250 jin of soybeans, washed them, and soaked them.
When Lin Jiahui returned, Meng Yun came with him.
After finishing their work, it was time for dinner. Everyone prepared to go home for dinner, and Lin Chuntao took out the money and counted out the day's earnings for them.
Sun told Lin Chuntao and the others to come over after dinner. On her way back, she also told Lin Miaomiao and Lin Jialang to come over after dinner.
Lin Miaomiao looked at Madam Sun and asked, "Grandma, is something the matter?"
Sun didn't hide anything and said directly, "Chuntao and the others are planning to build a house and need to cut down cedar trees. Those cedar trees belong to our whole family, so let's all sit down and discuss it."
Upon hearing that it was about Lin Chuntao, Lin Miaomiao gave a faint "oh".
Upon returning home, Sun immediately told Old Man Lin about Lin Chuntao's concerns. Lin Cunzheng said, "If she's thinking things through, then go and call the second, third, and fourth sons over after dinner."
Chen Dongniang has already steamed the rice and is preparing to stir-fry a few dishes so that we can have dinner.
While he was cooking, Old Man Lin went to the three houses to explain the situation. The families were all preparing to eat and said to Lin Cunzheng, "Uncle, we'll come over after we finish eating."
After Lin Cunzheng left, the people from these families looked at each other with different expressions.
Wang was still upset because she hadn't been able to discuss Lin Chunxing's matter with him last time.
Lin Qingqing's third aunt guessed what Wang was thinking, but no one had revealed her conversation with Lin Chuntao that day, so Lin Qingqing's third aunt didn't know either. At this moment, Lin Qingqing's third aunt raised her eyelids and then laughed and said, "Oh my, Chuntao and the others are quite capable. They have saved enough money to build a house so quickly! Once this house is built, people who want to propose marriage will probably be knocking down the door."
Madam Wang frowned slightly, then said, "Whether it's impressive or not, one still needs to be sensible and know one's place."
Hearing this, Aunt Lin was secretly delighted. It seemed like she had met with a rebuff.
"What are you saying, Second Sister-in-law? Isn't Chunxing a nice person?"
Wang said, "Chunxing is not bad, but she has an unreasonable older sister who says that she wants to marry into a family where both parents are dead. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"
Aunt Lin thought that Wang had run into a snag, but she didn't expect that Lin Chuntao had erected a stone stake, blocking people's way, and saying such unpleasant things.
"Oh dear, who said that? Chun Tao? That's really too much! It's a wedding celebration, and she's cursing people's parents!"
Aunt Lin San was unaware of the conversation between Wang Shi and Lin Chuntao that day, but Lin Changhua did.
Wang's nephew had told her long ago that it wasn't appropriate and that she shouldn't get involved in these things, but she wouldn't listen and insisted on doing so.
Lin Chuntao refused without even seeing the person. If Wang had brought the person over to her, she probably would have said something even harsher.
Lin Changhua said it wasn't appropriate, and Wang Shi even said to him that her own family was better than others', and that a few orphaned girls were not respectable.
They're lucky to find a family that doesn't look down on them, yet they act all high and mighty.
Lin Changhua, after hearing what she said, didn't bother to care anymore.
Later, after being turned away by Lin Chuntao, she came back and grumbled and cursed all night long. To this day, she still can't swallow her anger.
Seeing that his sister-in-law was about to egg him on again, Lin Changhua said indifferently, "What's the big deal? When people say they're looking for someone without parents, they don't mean they'll make the other person's parents die after they've chosen them. There's a difference."
"I've also heard that those who have no parents do so because they want their sons to marry into the family. But what mothers with parents would want their sons to marry into the family? I don't think there's anything wrong with what they're saying; it's not misleading or harmful."
Lin Jiaye, oblivious to the tension, chuckled and echoed his second uncle, "That's right, that's right. We can introduce them to families like that in the future."
"And I heard that Sister Chuntao is not going to let Chunxing get married yet, and it will have to wait at least four or five years."
Wang clenched her teeth in anger and glared fiercely at Lin Changhua.
The old lady glanced at the various thoughts on everyone's mind in the courtyard and said calmly, "Let's eat. After we finish eating, let's go over and hear what they have to say."
After a pause, the old lady added, "When it comes to marriage and weddings, if a girl wants to get married, you can't expect to receive a pair of wedding shoes if you act as a matchmaker. If she doesn't want to get married, and you insist on going to cause trouble, that's just making things difficult for her."
After the old lady finished speaking, the table fell silent, and everyone ate their meal in silence.
Wang was furious.
The neighbors, Li Honghua and her friends, weren't much better off. As soon as Lin Cunzheng left, they said, "In the past, we could just cut down trees ourselves, so why did we have to call them over to discuss it?"
Li Honghua said, "You didn't go to the site allocation, but she got almost all of that land. If she builds houses on that land, she'll definitely have to cut down a lot of trees, and it's not something that can be solved by just one or two."
Hearing Li Honghua's words, everyone felt a little uneasy. That large piece of land, if used to build a big courtyard, would become the most impressive place in the village.
If it were someone else's house that built it, it wouldn't be so upsetting, but it's a few helpless girls who feel like ants at your feet have become kings and are now dominating you, which is really unpleasant.
Because they had to go discuss the matter of cutting down trees, Lin Chuntao and the others had to postpone their plan to fry chicken and mushroom oil, and would fry it when they returned later.
The straw that had been covering the mushrooms in the morning hadn't been removed yet. Now that no one was home, Lin Chunxing went to remove the straw and swallowed hard as she looked at the plump and delicious mushroom caps.
"Sis, let's cook something!"
Lin Chuntao: "Sure, how about we make stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and pork?"
Lin Chunhe chimed in from the side, "Okay, okay, let's have stir-fried chicken with mushrooms and pork for dinner tonight."
Lin Chuntao took a sieve and went over, picked out what she estimated to be more than two pounds of food and handed it to them. "Quickly wash and stir-fry it. We still have to go to Grandma's house. We need to cut down a lot of trees to build our house. That cedar forest belongs to several families. If we cut down too many trees, other families will have objections. Let's go and ask them in advance. If they are not happy, then we can divide it up and separate what belongs to us."
The younger sisters nodded, and Lin Chunxing said, "This seems like a bit too much, let's wash a little less."
That's what she said, but she washed only a little bit and brought back three flowers.
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