Chapter 17 Steamed Buns, Fruit-Wrapped Steamed Buns, Deer Leg, Keeping the Promise...
"Brother, why don't we go up the mountain and take a look?"
Neil followed quietly behind Ray the whole time, not interrupting the adults' conversation. Only after Carey left did he ask him a question, puzzled.
"We shouldn't disturb their current lives."
“Neil, what do you think of these goblins?”
Neil thought for a moment and then answered seriously.
"They stole the birds from the village, they're thieves! But they helped the village build a tunnel without taking a single copper coin. I don't know if they're good people or bad people."
Neil frowned, looking troubled.
"If someone who has done a lot of bad things suddenly does a good thing, would you say he is a good person or a bad person?"
"They're bad guys!"
"If someone who has done many good deeds suddenly does something bad, is he a good person or a bad person?"
"This... I don't know either. Brother, do you think he's a good person or a bad person?"
Neil looked intently at Ray, wanting him to tell him the answer.
Instead of answering Neil directly, Ray's gaze drifted toward the barren mountains.
"Whether it's good or bad, just do what you believe is right and have the courage to bear the consequences."
Neil repeated what Ray had said, his expression thoughtful.
Hagrid stayed for a short while before saying goodbye to Simon and leaving. He first escorted the two brothers and their belongings home before driving the oxcart back to his own house.
After cleaning the small jars and pottery in the yard, Lai returned to the house to rest.
"Brother, why did you buy so many earthenware jars?"
Neil was a little confused about his brother's behavior, since there were still a few old pottery jars in the house.
"The autumn harvest is coming soon, and we won't be able to eat all the vegetables after they're ripe. I'm going to make the extra vegetables into pickles and kimchi and store them in earthenware jars. That way, we'll have vegetables to eat in the winter."
"Isn't it dried vegetables?"
"No, we'll also dry some dried vegetables, but not too many."
Hearing Ray's answer, Neil became somewhat excited.
My brother always makes a lot of delicious food; you can't go wrong by listening to him.
"Brother, I'll help you with that!"
"good."
"Shall we go pick the vegetables now?"
"No need, it will be in a while."
"So what are we going to do next?"
The wheat is almost ripe, and the school has given us a long holiday. Neil has been staying home lately helping Rye with the chores.
It's getting late; there's less than an hour until dinner. There's still some meat at home, so Lai decided to steam some buns for dinner.
"Go pick a cabbage and a cucumber."
"good."
Lai added warm water and a little sugar to the dough. After it became flocculent, she pinched off a piece of the old dough, added more water, and mixed it all together. Once kneaded, she placed it in a bowl, covered it tightly, and put it in a warm place to ferment.
There is no yeast here; usually, a piece of old dough is stored and added when kneading the dough.
Neil had already washed the vegetables and cut them into strips as Rye had instructed.
Lai found some dried wood ear mushrooms, grabbed a handful, and soaked them in hot water in a bowl. He also cracked three bird eggs and scrambled them. He planned to make steamed buns with pork and cabbage filling and cucumber, bird egg, and wood ear mushroom filling.
After the filling was prepared, the dough had not yet risen properly.
Ray tidied the table and went to the garden to weed the newly sprouted radishes. Neil was feeding the birds; Ray hadn't had to worry about the family's red wildebeest since he went on vacation.
After two hours of fermentation, the dough finally developed a honeycomb-like structure.
While rolling out the dough, Lai taught Neil how to make pretty pleats. The two of them wrapped them quickly, and soon both steamers were full.
Boiling water bubbled and steam rose from the steamer. Lai placed the steamer basket on the pot and waited until the basket was filled with steam before covering it with the lid.
"Make another soup."
As Lai muttered to himself, he went to the field and picked two more fresh cucumbers, washed and sliced them, and made a cucumber and egg drop soup.
The soup was served, and the steamed buns were ready.
After washing their hands, the two began to eat. Because the dough had been fermenting for a long time, dinner was a bit late, and both Lai and Neil were getting hungry.
"Brother! Are you home?"
Halfway through the meal, Lamb carried a still-bleeding deer leg into the house.
"You haven't finished eating yet? I should have come later."
Life was tough for everyone in the small mountain village, so people would tacitly avoid visiting each other's homes during mealtimes.
"Come sit down, what's wrong?"
Ray put down his chopsticks and began to call Lamb.
"Rice hunted a young male deer today, and Dad asked me to bring you a deer leg to eat. Where should I put it?"
Ray found a large basin, and Lamb put the deer leg in it.
"Come wash your hands here."
"Okay."
Ray added another set of chopsticks and a bowl for Lamb. Lamb wanted to refuse, but Ray pressed him into the chair.
"What is this? It smells really good."
Lamb picked up a bun, smelled it, and asked.
"Brother made steamed buns, some with meat filling, and some with wood ear mushroom and quail egg filling, come and try them!"
Neil enthusiastically pitched the new food that Rye had made to Lamb.
"good."
Lamb took a bite and ate half of it.
The soft texture, combined with the fragrant meat filling, surprised Lamb.
After finishing a bun in a few bites, Lamb tried another filling that Neil had strongly recommended.
Although it lacks the aroma of minced meat, the combination of quail eggs and cucumbers offers a unique refreshing taste, and the crunchy texture of the wood ear mushrooms adds to the overall unique flavor.
"This is delicious too!"
"Eat more if you like it. I steamed a lot."
Lai then put a few more hot meat buns on Lamb's plate; meat buns are best eaten while they're hot.
Lamb ate two more pieces and then wisely put down his chopsticks, refusing to eat any more no matter how much Ray tried to persuade him. Ray and Neil quickly finished their dinner and cleaned up the dishes.
Lamb wasn't a guest, so there was no need to be so formal. Ray chatted with him while wiping the table.
"Brother, when are we going hunting? You've been promising me for ages."
Neil glanced at Lamb furtively and curled his lips into a smug smile.
My brother has already taken me hunting! Hehe~ As expected, my brother still likes me the most!
Lai thought about it and realized that there might be some truth to it.
"Tomorrow."
"real!?"
Lamb jumped off the chair in excitement.
He had gone hunting with his father and two older brothers before, but his father and second brother thought he was a nuisance because he was always jumping around, and his eldest brother only let him carry things.
It's so boring.
"It's a promise, no going back on your word!"
"No change. Come find me tomorrow after breakfast, bringing your things."
"good!"
Having settled things, Lamb happily went home. Ray noticed Neil looking at him expectantly.
"You want to go too?"
Neil nodded firmly.
"I'll take you along."
"oh!"
Neil jumped up excitedly as well.
The cubs born this spring have grown up, and there's plenty of prey in the forest. Various wild fruits are also ripening; it's time to go up the mountain to pick them.
Lai plans to take them a little further afield tomorrow, but not too deep. They can hunt wild birds and long-toothed beasts, practice their archery, and treat it as an autumn outing for the kids.
In the morning, Lai used the leftover steamed buns from last night to make a plate of pan-fried buns, and fearing it wouldn't be enough, she also cooked a small pot of oatmeal porridge.
Neil came downstairs with dark circles under his eyes, looking excited but his eyes betrayed his exhaustion. He seemed to have been too excited to sleep.
Lai pretended not to see it and didn't ask any further questions.
Lamb arrived shortly after breakfast.
He had a leather bag slung across his shoulder, bulging with many things. On his back were a bow and a full quiver of arrows, and a dagger was tucked into his waistband.
It's so exaggerated, you'd think he was going to hunt some kind of large animal.
Neil's appearance was no less striking than Lamb's; he carried a small hoe and a sickle in a basket on his back, and a small knife was also tucked into his waistband.
Seeing the two fully armed, Lei suddenly felt that he had planned today's itinerary too simply.
After packing their things, the three of them went out and followed the village road into the woods.
It was only early autumn, and the plants in the forest were still lush, their leaves a deep green with a hint of yellowing. We continued on, passing along the edge of the villagers' daily activities, until we reached a point where there was no path, but we didn't stop.
Once you get this far, you'll need to use a stick and a sickle to clear a path. Use the stick to knock down the grass and bushes to avoid snakes. The weeds are too tall, so you'll need to cut them with the sickle.
Ray led Neil and Lamb to the location where he had previously discovered the fruit tree, following the markings.
This was an apple tree, and the apples on it were ripe, emitting an enticing fragrance. As soon as the three of them arrived, many birds took flight from the tree, and squirrels quickly darted to other trees.
Carrying apples on the road was too heavy, so Ray taught them to set a trap next to the apple tree, and then come back to pick apples on the way back, while also checking if any prey had fallen into the trap.
The three continued on their way, but caught nothing along the way. Even if they did, the noise they made scared them away. This couldn't go on.
Ray had the two men set a trap in a different location. They found a secluded corner, where the three hid, scattering herbs to repel mosquitoes around them, and placing bait nearby.
After a while, there was no sound of grass being cut, and sure enough, a rustling sound came from the grass. Ray made a shushing gesture, and Neil covered his mouth tightly, not daring to breathe.
After a long while, a small, snow-white animal ran to the bait, carefully surveyed its surroundings, and then ate the bait with peace of mind.
Ray gestured for Lamb to nock an arrow.
Lamb carefully drew back his bow and aimed at the small beast. The bow was fully drawn, his arm muscles tensed, and the arrow was ready to be released.
"put."
An arrow shot out. It grazed its fur and embedded itself in the tree trunk behind it. The little beast was terrified and fled for its life, disappearing in a flash.
"Oh, what a pity."
Lamb was somewhat disappointed.
"It's okay, there will be plenty of opportunities."
Lai went to pull the arrows stuck in the tree; the arrowheads were made of metal, and good things shouldn't be wasted.
You don't know until you pull it out, and what you find is astonishing – the arrowhead isn't moving at all! Good heavens, Lamb shot the arrow at least fifteen centimeters into the tree trunk; that must have taken a tremendous amount of strength!
Despite trying her best, it wouldn't budge. In desperation, she secretly used some magic to finally remove it.
Hunting is a grueling process; sometimes even experienced hunters can spend an entire day in the mountains without catching their desired prey.
The purpose of this hunt wasn't to see how much they caught, but rather to train the two children's skills and patience. Ray wasn't in a hurry and accompanied Lamb and Neil on their hunt around the neighborhood.
Gradually, Lamb mastered the technique and successfully shot down a wild bird.
Lamb's confidence began to swell, and he turned his attention to larger prey. Of course, he was destined to fail.
A note from the author:
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