Chapter 45 Lower Pond
As dusk settled, the sound of the gong struck by the village chief under the old locust tree pierced through the twilight.
The news spread by word of mouth and soon reached Zhang Liuyi's ears, who was having dinner in the Xiong family's courtyard.
At that time, she was sitting around a heated kang table with the Xiong family. On the table were steaming hot multigrain pancakes, a pot of stewed radishes until soft, and slices of pork liver that she had specially brought and prepared for her to sell at her stall the next day.
"Touching lotus roots?"
Zhang Xiaoyi paused, her hand still holding the food she was picking up: "Tomorrow afternoon? What... what about that stall? The pig liver is already sliced, and the rice for the porridge is soaked..."
She looked at Xiong Zixiang, her eyes filled with a hint of hesitation.
She felt it was a waste to stop selling this newly launched product category even for just one day.
Xiong Zixiang put down his chopsticks and gently placed his broad palm on the back of her slightly cool hand, his voice steady.
"Don't rush, it's late autumn, things will keep. Just blanch the pig liver in well water, and soak the rice too. The village chief has done a lot for the village over the years, and organizing everyone to go down to the pond to collect lotus roots is also to provide food for each family during the winter. Shall we go do this chore?"
Zhang Yili thought about it and agreed. The village chief worked hard all year round, and the village's affairs were also their own affairs. As for the stall... it's fine to stop for a day, it won't matter.
She nodded: "Okay, let's go. We'll do as you say. The stall will be closed for a day."
After the meal, Zhang Yi cleaned up the dishes and then went to Zhang's house to discuss the matter with Li Xiulan.
Before even entering the house, they heard Li Xiulan talking to Zhang Liuji inside: "...Did you hear that? Tomorrow we're going to harvest lotus roots. Find those two big baskets at home and clean them. Also, get Nan'er a small basket so he can come along and see for himself."
Zhang Liuyi pushed the door open and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you also planning to take Nan'er along?"
"Go! Why wouldn't you go?"
Li Xiulan laughed and said, "It's only this once a year that it's so lively. Nan'er is all grown up now, so it's good to bring him along to join in the fun. Besides, many hands make light work, and even if he manages to touch a small lotus root with his little paws, it'll be good."
Zhang Liuli looked at Xiao Nan'er, who was being amused by Zhang Liuji, and then at Zhang Dashan, who was sitting to the side sharpening his wood-chopping knife, preparing to show off his skills the next day. Suddenly, the image of three generations of the Zhang family standing in the mud of the lotus pond, struggling to find lotus roots, flashed into his mind.
The thought of that scene is enough to make anyone chuckle.
She couldn't help but smile: "That's great! With three generations of men in our family working together, the biggest lotus root in the pond tomorrow will definitely be one of ours."
The next afternoon, as the sun began to set, the lotus pond at the east end of the village had long since lost its lotus flowers and leaves, leaving only large patches of withered yellow stems and blackened lotus pods that had not yet been picked.
The lotus pond was already bustling with activity, a lively scene indeed.
Almost half of the village came out, the men wearing the most worn-out trousers, some even rolling up their trouser legs to the highest point, their bare lower bodies revealing their dark and muscular thighs, as they warmed up by the pond.
They slapped each other and shouted encouragement to themselves.
Most of the women also rolled up their trouser legs, revealing their muscular calves.
The children, like a flock of frolicking ducks, chased and played in the shallow water by the pond, splashing mud and water everywhere, completely oblivious to the chill.
The men were the first to rush into the icy pond water. The chill of the water instantly shot from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads. Even the strongest men couldn't help but gasp.
But soon, the chill was dispelled by the boiling.
They called out to each other, wading through the water towards the depths of the lotus pond.
The women and children remained on the relatively shallow banks of the pond.
Zhang Yili rolled up his trousers, revealing his fair and muscular calves, and tentatively stepped into the muddy water.
The icy touch made her shiver, and her toes instinctively curled up.
Li Xiulan, standing next to her, also shivered and grimaced.
Little Nan was held in her arms and carefully placed into the shallow water. As soon as her little feet touched the water, she cried out "Wah!" and shrank into her mother's arms.
"Nan'er, look, everyone's in the water!" Li Xiulan quickly coaxed, pointing to the children around her who were also getting used to the water temperature.
Little Nan'er sobbed, looking around with teary eyes. When she saw that many of her friends were indeed there, her crying gradually subsided, but her little hands were still tightly gripping her mother's trouser leg.
Zhang Liuyi took a deep breath, bent down, and dipped his hands into the muddy water.
As she carefully felt around, she suddenly touched a thick, hard object with obvious nodules; it was clearly a lotus root.
Instead of pulling it out immediately, she carefully followed the direction of the lotus root head and probed downwards, feeling the direction of the lotus root segments.
Little by little, she cleared away the mud around the lotus root until she felt the whole root loosen in the mud. Then she adjusted her posture, clasped her hands together, used her waist and abdomen to lift it up sharply.
A thick, plump lotus root with three connected sections emerged from the water.
The black mud could not conceal its full shape and heavy weight.
Zhang Liuyi happily held up his spoils: "Sister-in-law, look!"
"Wow, what a big lotus root!" Li Xiulan exclaimed.
Zhang Yili gestured to show that the length of the lotus root was only slightly shorter than that of Xiao Nan'er beside him.
"Nan'er, look! Isn't the lotus root your aunt dug up big?"
Little Nan'er was sticking her little bottom out, her little hands groping around in the muddy water, when she turned around and exclaimed, "Big! Auntie is so great!"
Not wanting to be outdone, he also touched a small piece of lotus root and excitedly shouted, "Lotus root, I have lotus root too!"
He imitated his aunt, gripping the lotus root with his little hands and pulling it upwards with all his might.
But he was weak, and the lotus root was buried quite deep.
The little guy strained with all his might, his face turning bright red.
"Crack!"
The lotus root broke in two with a snap!
They only managed to pull up a short section, and because they used too much force, Xiao Nan'er landed hard on her bottom in the mud.
Mud splattered everywhere, covering his face and body with black mud, and even Zhang Yi, who was nearby, was not spared, with mud spots appearing on his trousers and clothes.
"Oh dear, Nan'er!"
Zhang Liuyi pretended to put on a stern face and pointed to her clothes, "Look at your aunt's clothes."
Little Nan sat in the muddy water, stunned for a moment. Looking at the pitiful broken lotus root in her hand, and then at the large mud spots on her aunt, she probably felt a little embarrassed and a little wronged. Her little mouth twitched, as if she was about to cry.
Zhang Liuyi wasn't really angry; looking at his muddy little monkey face, he couldn't help but laugh.
She took two steps forward, scooped Xiao Nan'er out of the mud, and held her in her arms.
Anyway, these clothes are no good, so what if Xiao Nan'er is covered in mud? She reached out and tickled his armpit: "You little rascal, see how your auntie deals with you!"
"Giggle... Auntie... I was wrong! It tickles!" Little Nan'er squirmed and writhed as she was tickled, then burst into laughter through her tears.
Zhang Liuyi wasn't about to give up. He casually scooped up a small clump of wet mud from the side and gently smeared it on Xiao Nan'er's face: "If you splashed your auntie, I'll paint your face with mud too!"
"Ah, Auntie, you big bad girl!" Little Nan'er screamed, and stretched out her muddy little hands to wipe Zhang Xiaoli's face.
The aunt and niece immediately started splashing around in the shallow water, mud flying everywhere.
The women around, who were engrossed in picking lotus roots, couldn't help but burst into laughter upon seeing this scene.
"Oh dear, look at these two, aunt and niece, rolling around in the mud."
"Nan'er, rub your aunt hard and avenge yourself!"
A joyful atmosphere permeated the pond, and even the water seemed to warm up a bit.
As the sun set, the lotus pond, which had been bustling all afternoon, gradually quieted down.
People came ashore one after another, carrying their heavy harvest.
Every household's baskets and carrying baskets were piled high with lotus roots covered in fresh pond mud.
Zhang Liuyi's family had a very fruitful harvest. The men found many thick, old lotus roots in the deeper waters, while the women and children also made some gains in the shallows.
While counting his spoils, Xiong Zixiang mysteriously pulled out a small earthenware jar from under his basket, inside which were several lively, slippery loaches.
"I caught these while gathering lotus roots. Here's a little treat for you. My wife worked hard gathering lotus roots today." Xiong Zixiang pulled Xiaoyi close to warm his hands.
"Wow, this is good stuff!" Li Xiulan's eyes lit up, but then she shook her head: "But you can't eat it now. Its stomach is full of sand and mud. It needs to be kept for a few days to vomit it all out."
When everyone returned to the Zhang family's courtyard, a sweet and alluring fragrance already filled the air.
Although Aunt Wang had difficulty walking and didn't go down to the pond, she had already soaked the snow-white glutinous rice, cut the lean and fatty meat into small cubes, and mixed it with chopped green onions, minced ginger, and soy sauce.
At this moment, she was sitting on a small stool at the entrance of the Zhang family's kitchen, watching them return.
"You're back? You must be exhausted! Go wash up and rest! Leave the rest to this old woman!"
Aunt Wang greeted everyone with a smile, her hands never stopping.
She picked up a thick section of lotus root, cut it along the joint, scraped the surface clean with a grater, and then carefully stuffed the mixed glutinous rice and meat filling into the lotus root holes with chopsticks, filling them completely and tightly.
Then, place the stuffed lotus root sections into the steamer and arrange them layer by layer.
“Auntie, you…” Zhang looked at her with a warm feeling in her heart.
"Hey, I can't do the heavy lifting in the water, but I have to do something! Stuffing lotus root with glutinous rice takes a lot of time, so I'll do it! You've all worked hard today, go and rest in the main room for a while, I'll cook something for you later!"
Inside the stove, firewood crackled and popped, while steam from the steamer carried the rich aromas of rice, meat, and lotus root.
The wisps of smoke rose gently, filling the entire courtyard.
Zhang Yili replaced the water in the earthenware pot with clean water and placed it in a shady place to let the loaches expel the sand.
When the moon rises above the willow branches, the steamer is opened.
Amidst the steaming heat, one by one, the translucent glutinous rice lotus roots were picked out and placed on the cutting board.
Aunt Wang deftly sliced the lotus root into thick slices.
In the center of the lotus root slices, the glutinous rice had soaked up the sauce and meat gravy, turning a reddish-brown and glossy. It was decorated with bits of meat and bright green scallions, while the edges of the lotus root slices were dyed an enticing pink by the sauce.
"Come on, the food is ready, eat it while it's hot." Aunt Wang divided the sliced lotus root into several bowls.
The family sat around the table, not caring that it was hot, and eagerly took a bite.
The outer layer of lotus root starch is sweet and glutinous, while the inner glutinous rice and meat filling is savory, fragrant, and soft. The deliciousness of the meat juice and the fragrance of the lotus root blend perfectly.
Little Nan'er's mouth was glistening with oil as she ate, her little hands gripping the lotus root slices and munching happily.
"It smells so good! My sister-in-law's cooking is really good!" Zhang Dashan chewed contentedly, praising indistinctly.
"Mother! How come I didn't know you could do this!" Zhang Liuji gave a thumbs up.
Aunt Wang couldn't stop smiling.
"Your mouth is all greasy from eating so much, so naturally your mouth has become greasy and glib?" she teased her son.
He then reassured everyone, "Eat as much as you like. The lotus root is most fragrant when it's freshly dug out and steamed with the smell of pond mud still on it."
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