"The shop is under renovation and will be finished soon," Jiang Hua replied.
Jiang Jingyi looked at Jiang Hua with a sorrowful expression. Why? Why didn't his stepmother tell him?
"Miss Jiang, will this cause you any trouble?" Lu Dayong asked.
"No, she'll just be helping with the dishes in the kitchen. I'll make other arrangements for her in front of the shop," Jiang Hua explained.
"In that case, Honghua, you'd better thank Miss Jiang properly," Lu Dayong said to Honghua.
Before they came, the villagers were worried about safflower. What if they let her go out to set up a stall again and run into her aunt again? They couldn't keep following her around forever.
"Sister Jiang, when will your shop open?" Honghua asked.
"It'll be done soon. You can come to my house to help out in the next few days, and I'll pay you for your work," Jiang Hua said.
"Is it okay?" Honghua asked uncertainly.
"Okay, but when you come tomorrow, remember to bring your jar of pickled bamboo shoots," Jiang Hua said, then, remembering she couldn't carry such a large jar, added:
"It's alright, I'll go pick it up tomorrow."
“No need, Miss Jiang, I’ll bring it over for you when I go to work in town tomorrow,” Lu Dayong said.
"Are you also running a stall at the town market?" Jiang Hua asked casually.
“How could that be!” Lu Dayong scratched his head: “I work as a porter at the dock, and all the men in our village work as porters there.”
"How much is the daily wage?" Jiang Hua asked curiously.
"Ten coins, that's quite a lot," Lu Dayong said. "If you break something but damage the goods, your wages will be deducted."
Ten coins—just like Zhou Bapi, a shrewd man who exploits his family. This kind of thing exists in every era, only in a different form.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lu Dayong left with Honghua.
"Stepmother, when did you buy the shop?" Jiang Jingyi asked Jiang Hua.
"Don't worry, the day we sold the ginseng a few days ago, I saved the money Jiang Xingzhou left for you; I didn't spend it," Jiang Hua said.
“Stepmother, that’s not what I meant.” Jiang Jingyi’s eyes reddened instantly upon hearing Jiang Hua’s words as he looked at her.
"Alright, you're so old, why are you still crying?" Jiang Hua said, patting his hair.
"I'm saving that money for when you go to school."
“Then, stepmother, you can’t say those things anymore,” Jiang Jingyi said, sniffing.
"Okay," Jiang Hua agreed with a smile.
“When the teachers from Shifang Academy come down to recruit students, I will study hard and pass the exam, then I won’t need to pay any money,” Jiang Jingyi said.
He heard that this year, the dean of Shifang Academy would select one of the most outstanding students to be his last disciple, and the selected student would be exempt from all tuition fees.
"It's alright, just do your best. Your stepmother has money to send you to school," Jiang Hua comforted her.
"Let's go, while it's still early, let's catch some river crabs and sell them tomorrow," Jiang Hua said, putting down the basket and taking out two buckets.
"Okay." Jiang Jingyi nodded.
He took the bucket of water from her hands and let him do it. This child lacked a sense of security and would get stuck on the slightest thing.
Jiang Hua and Jiang Jingyi returned to the riverbank from yesterday. Jiang Jingyi put down the bucket and saw that his stepmother had already skillfully taken off her shoes and socks, rolled up her skirt, and gone into the river.
You can find river crabs hiding under the stones at the bottom of the river by flipping them over; you can catch them every time you flip them over.
Seeing this, Jiang Jing also followed Jiang Hua's method, carefully turning over stones to look for river crabs. At first, he was a little hesitant, afraid of being caught, but after observing how she handled the crabs, he imitated her and started catching them.
Half an hour later, they had a full harvest of river crabs.
"That's enough," Jiang Hua said to Jiang Jingyi, who was still in the river, after getting ashore.
The two returned home carrying two full buckets of river crabs. Jiang Jingyi then pestered Jiang Hua to cook something delicious for him with the crabs, saying that he had never eaten them before.
"Okay," Jiang Hua agreed.
"Come over here and watch the fire. Heat some water for a bath; your clothes are all wet," Jiang Hua said to him.
He then took out a large wooden basin and poured the river crabs from the bucket into it. Since no one was eating them, each of the river crabs was plump and large.
I picked out some more to cook tonight, and kept the rest in a wooden basin to take to Mingyue Tower tomorrow.
After cleaning the river crabs one by one, Jiang Hua went to the kitchen to get some side dishes to wash in the yard.
I plan to use these river crabs to make a steamed river crab dish and a spicy river crab dish, and finally stir-fry a small green vegetable dish.
“Stepmother, the water is hot now,” Jiang Jingyi said as he came out.
"Okay, you go take a shower first, I'll make dinner," Jiang Hua replied.
Jiang Jingyi nodded obediently.
After he went to take a shower, Jiang Hua quickly started cooking rice and began preparing the side dishes for the spicy crab while the rice was cooking.
I took out fresh Sichuan peppercorns, as well as broad bean paste, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and dried chili peppers from the space. They were also readily available in the kitchen.
Cut the cleaned river crabs in half and set them aside. Then cut the dried chili peppers and scallions into sections, and slice the garlic and ginger.
Next, heat the wok, add soybean oil, then add fermented bean paste, scallions, ginger slices, garlic, and dried chili peppers and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the river crabs.
Stir-fry the river crabs in the pot evenly, add cooking wine, soy sauce, and a little sugar to enhance the flavor. Finally, pour in a bowl of water, cover the pot and simmer for a while. After reducing the sauce over high heat, remove the river crabs.
A fresh, fragrant, and spicy river crab dish is ready, and the kitchen is now filled with the aroma of spicy river crab.
After making the spicy river crabs, Jiang Hua quickly stir-fried some greens, and finally steamed the larger river crabs in a bowl, sprinkling them with a little cooking wine.
Jiang Hua placed ginger slices on the belly of each crab, covered the pot, and began steaming. While the crabs were steaming, she prepared a vinegar dipping sauce.
At dinner, Jiang Jingyi looked at the full pot of spicy and steamed river crabs. He had smelled the aroma while taking a shower.
"Stepmother, how are we going to eat this?" Jiang Jingyi asked impatiently.
Jiang Hua picked up a steamed crab and demonstrated how to eat it, and did the same for the spicy crab.
Jiang Jingyi nodded and began to imitate him in a very serious manner. Because of these two bowls of crabs, the meal lasted for almost an hour.
After breakfast the next day, Jiang Hua poured the river crabs from the wooden basin into a wooden bucket and then pawned them with something else.
They had told Uncle Fu in advance that they would be chartering an oxcart to go to town today.
"Stepmother, hasn't Honghua arrived yet?" Jiang Jingyi asked.
"Wait a little longer," Jiang Hua said as she lifted the two buckets of river crabs onto the oxcart.
Then I went to the kitchen and took out the seasonings for making spicy river crabs; I prepared quite a lot.
"Sister Jiang, I'm here."
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