Xu Lai was speechless, so she simply stopped arguing with him and deposited the money into another card to buy things for Grandma Jiang later.
Grandma has already pickled the dried radishes from last time. The specific method is to put the dried radishes in a basin and rub them until they soften.
Then wash it with clean water and continue to dry it. Since salt was added during the marinating process, it can be eaten directly after drying. Adding some chopped chili peppers will make it even tastier.
Grandma filled a jar to the brim, sealed it, and stored it so it could be taken out to eat with rice during the Chinese New Year.
Some are placed in a bowl, and you can pick up a couple when you want to eat them.
Grandpa came back from the fields and said mysteriously, "Guess what I found in the fields?"
Grandma couldn't help but laugh: "Hurry up and tell us, why are you keeping us in suspense? It's annoying to watch."
Grandpa wasn't angry when he was scolded. He slowly lit a cigarette and said, "I found a large patch of wild onions."
Xu Lai remembered that there was a piece of land near the foot of the mountain where her grandparents rarely planted vegetables. They usually planted sweet potatoes there, which were almost ripe and could be harvested in ten to fifteen days.
Xu Lai's interest was piqued at the mention of wild onions. She slung a basket over her shoulder, took her grandfather's hoe, and went to the field.
Sure enough, there were many wild onions in the field, mostly from other people's fields, whose fields were full of sweet potatoes.
Xu Lai dug up a whole basketful of wild onions. The wild onions smelled very fragrant and tasted better than regular onions. She picked a lot to take home, washed them, and put them in the refrigerator so she wouldn't have to come here so often.
Having been back in the village for so long, this was Xu Lai's first time here. She had brought Xu Yan here to play when they were little, and back then, there were lots of raspberries growing here, so they would come with bags to look for them.
I remember one time, she was with her aunt’s children, Hanhan and her younger brother. The four of them were chatting and laughing all the way up the mountain when they suddenly heard a noise from a tree. Xu Lai looked up and saw a snake.
Completely black, it just fell down like that, luckily landing in the ditch in front of them. Xu Lai was so frightened that she quickly pulled them away and ran.
She didn't dare to go back the way she came, so she took another path up the mountain to get back.
As soon as they reached the back of the house, Xu Yan and his cousin were so frightened that they took off their pants. Xu Lai was also terrified and never dared to go there again.
As she walked, she felt a chill run down her spine. Although she knew it was almost winter and there was no way snakes would be around, she still broke out in a sweat.
When she got home, it took her a while to calm down before she came to her senses. Her grandmother thought something was wrong with her, so she went out for a while and seemed to have lost her soul.
She poured the wild onions into a basin, drew well water to wash them, and found the warm well water in winter to be very comfortable to touch, not cold at all.
In the summer, the well water is especially cool; once you pour it over yourself, you feel refreshed.
She washed the wild onions for half an hour to remove the mud and weeds, and then filled the basin with water twice more to thoroughly clean them.
At noon, she made a pan-fried egg with scallions, and it smelled really good.
There was one last piece of cured pork left at home, which was baked last year. She cut off a piece, blanched it, sliced it, and stir-fried it with scallions.
The dishes at lunch were exceptionally fresh, unlike anything we'd ever made before. Everyone ate to their heart's content, and most of them had two extra bowls of rice, except for Xu Lai.
She has gained three or four pounds recently. Although it's not very noticeable, she feels that her face is a little rounder and her waist is a bit softer.
When Zhao Qingyun came over that evening, he saw her doing yoga. He raised an eyebrow and watched for a while. Xu Lai noticed him, and that's when he straightened up.
"Why did you suddenly start practicing yoga?" He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Xu Lai, panting, said, "I feel like I've gained some weight recently."
Zhao Qingyun held her and weighed her in his arms for a moment, "No, I don't think so. She doesn't seem to have changed."
Xu Lai patted his arm: "Put me down. Of course you don't know, the scale doesn't lie."
Zhao Qingyun pulled the person close and comforted them, saying, "Don't worry, weight is naturally different in winter and summer. It fluctuates by about four to six pounds every year, which is normal."
Xu Lai dodged his kiss, "Don't kiss me, I'm sweating a lot, I need to take a shower."
Zhao Qingyun picked him up and said, "Let me help you."
After a period of good weather, it suddenly started to rain, a fine, persistent drizzle that was particularly biting.
Today is the day of heavy snow, and the calendar even gave a special reminder. Xu Lai went to the market and bought a few pounds of mutton, planning to make a copper hot pot to eat with it.
She went to the field with an umbrella and picked two radishes, some celery, garlic, and cilantro; she had all the necessary seasonings at home.
She also picked garland chrysanthemum, lettuce, and spinach, which can be blanched together and eaten.
Lamb is the most difficult meat to prepare. If it is not prepared properly, it will have a muttony smell and will not taste good.
Soak the mutton in water for half an hour, add a few drops of white vinegar to remove the gamey smell, then wash it clean and blanch it in a pot.
Add scallions, ginger, and garlic, along with plenty of Sichuan peppercorns. Blanch the ingredients, wash them clean, and transfer them to a clay pot. Simmer for two hours, then add white radish and cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaves.
The mutton had been stewing for about three hours. When Zhao Qingyun returned, Xu Lai had just taken the copper pot out and was about to wash it.
He put the car keys in his pocket, took the work from her, and said, "You go watch the fire, I'll do the washing."
Xu Lai entered the kitchen, where Grandma and Grandma Jiang were tending the fire at the stove. In winter, tending the fire was a very busy task.
She also bought a leg of lamb, planning to make a stir-fried lamb dish, and prepared ginger, garlic, millet peppers, and dried chili peppers.
Heat oil in a pan, add lamb and stir-fry until it changes color. Drizzle Shaoxing wine around the edge of the pan, then add ginger, garlic, millet peppers, dried chili peppers, and fermented bean paste. Stir-fry until the lamb is coated with the sauce, then season to taste. Sprinkle with cilantro and it's ready to serve.
Zhao Qingyun washed the copper pot clean, dried it with a cloth, and then went into the kitchen. It was indeed warmer in there.
He brought all the dishes to the table, and Xu Lai poured the mutton and radish from the casserole into the copper pot before they started eating.
Including Zhao Qingyun and Grandma Jiang, there were five people in total. Everyone raised their glasses, clinked them together, and said, "Eat quickly, eat quickly."
Xu Lai also picked out a dipping sauce to eat with the mutton. Actually, it was also very good on its own, especially fresh and sweet, without any muttony smell.
Zhao Qingyun served everyone a bowl of soup before adding the vegetables to cook.
Xu Lai drank again tonight. She always wants to have a drink when everyone is together, since it's more lively with more people.
Zhao Qingyun's glass was also half full. Xu Lai drank his own and didn't want to go to the kitchen to pour more wine, so she watched his glass and poured it into her own glass when he wasn't looking.
Zhao Qingyun took a bite of the stir-fried mutton, and just as she was about to pick up her cup for a sip, she saw that her cup was empty.
Xu Lai looked away, but unexpectedly, he still pressed on, asking, "Did you drink it secretly?"
Xu Lai retorted, "No, maybe you accidentally knocked it over. Oh, just pour some more, and bring some for me too."
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