The weather was great that day, with the sun shining brightly. Although the temperature was still close to zero degrees Celsius, it did not deter Xu Lai from his desire to dig for horseshoes.
That plot of land was cultivated by my third uncle. Every year he would dig up water chestnuts and sell them in the market, and this year was no exception.
So, they're getting ready to dig today. Last night, when Grandma was playing over there, my third uncle specifically told her to tell her that if she wanted some, she could just take a bucket and go get it herself.
Xu Lai wore a pair of rubber boots, but when she got to the field, she found that the ground was dry, and it was actually harder for her to walk in the boots.
But she was too lazy to go back and change, so she just went downstairs wearing it.
Third Uncle took a rake, stuck it into the soil, then propped it against the rear wheel and pried it up, turning over the horse hooves.
They also call it arrowhead here. Xu Lai likes to eat it raw, but it's also good for making soup.
She collected about half a bucketful, and her third uncle's grandchildren also came to collect. Xu Lai had hardly seen them all year round except for the Chinese New Year, so they were not very familiar with each other now.
They are both in high school, one is a freshman and the other is a senior. They came back from the city because the school was on holiday for New Year's Day.
They kept picking up horse hooves without saying a word. Third Uncle urged, "After studying for so long, you can't even greet people? This is your cousin, don't you recognize her?"
Just as Xu Lai was about to speak, her cousin suddenly said, "I know, Sister Xu Lai, all my classmates have seen your videos, and they all like you."
Xu Lai smiled and said, "Really? Did you tell them I'm your cousin?"
Xu Man shook her head. "Why should I say it? Even if they know about our relationship, it won't do me any good. It will only increase my troubles and make me face all sorts of questions from everyone."
Xu Lai nodded: "That's true. Manman's ideas are very good. We just need to focus on living our own lives well."
Xu Lai was about to go back, but the two children still needed to help out. Uncle San's farm area wasn't large, so they didn't hire any workers and relied solely on their own labor.
She picked up the bucket and left, saying, "Come visit sometime, I'll cook you something delicious."
Back home, Xu Lai poured the horseshoes into a basin and carefully scrubbed off the mud on their surface.
She took some and put them in a pot to steam. She had heard that steamed water chestnuts were delicious. They usually peeled and ate them raw, and she had rarely eaten cooked water chestnuts before.
She got up early this morning and went to the market to buy two pounds of prawns, fifteen yuan worth of lean meat, and two stacks of dumpling wrappers. She plans to make dumplings for lunch.
Mince the lean meat with a meat grinder, remove the shrimp veins, peel them, and then chop them into shrimp paste, which is then mixed with the minced pork.
Next comes the key ingredient for these dumplings: water chestnuts. She peeled seven or eight, chopped them up, added them to the filling, then added the soaked scallion and ginger water, and stirred until it became sticky.
Once the filling is ready, you can start wrapping. She points her phone at her hand and says, "Last time, some fans said they didn't know how to wrap dumplings, so today I'll take a close-up and teach everyone."
"First, put the dumpling wrappers together, then tuck this side of the wrapper in, and do the same on the other side. Then pinch it closed with your thumb and forefinger. If you're worried about it coming undone, apply a ring of water to the edge before wrapping." Xu Lai said as she finished wrapping one.
She watched TV while making dumplings, and it took her about an hour to make two large plates of dumplings.
The four of them couldn't eat that much, so she filled a plate with half of it and took it to her third uncle's house. "These are the dumplings I just made. I made more than two hundred. I brought them here for you to try."
Third Uncle wasn't home, so Xu Man answered the phone. Seeing that she looked a bit lost, Xu Lai said, "Don't bother serving me tea or water. I'm just bringing some dumplings and I'll be right back."
Xu Man bit her lip and said, "Okay then."
Xu Lai didn't see Xu Bin, so she asked, "Where's your brother? I haven't seen him."
Xu Man shook her head: "I don't know where he went. Maybe he went to see Brother Xu Shen."
Xu Lai stayed for a while and then went back. Since eating dumplings for lunch would make her hungry, she simply cooked two dishes and would cook dumplings for dinner.
The first one is steamed minced meat with water chestnuts. Chop the water chestnuts and mix them with minced meat, then steam them. This makes the broth especially sweet.
She also stir-fried beef with cilantro, and then we could eat.
Grandpa and Grandma had never eaten steamed water chestnuts with meat patties before, and they thought it was just ordinary meat patty soup. But after taking a bite, they realized that the taste was different.
Upon learning that water chestnuts were in the dish, the two were somewhat incredulous. "Water chestnuts are usually a fruit, how come they're being added to a dish?"
Xu Lai just smiled and didn't say anything. After her grandparents took another bite, she said, "How is it? It tastes alright, right?"
"It is somewhat delicious," Grandpa said.
Xu Lai was amused by her grandfather and said, "Yes, I'll do it again next time."
At dinner time, Zhao Qingyun thought she would be eating last again, but to her surprise, there was no food on the table. When she went to the kitchen, she found that Xu Lai was cooking dumplings.
When she saw him return, she smiled and said, "You're back! I was calculating the time, and I figured you'd be home by then, so I started boiling water to cook dumplings."
Zhao Qingyun leaned against the doorframe. "Why did you suddenly decide to eat dumplings?"
Xu Lai stirred the dumplings to prevent them from sticking to the pot, saying, "Eat if you want, is that not allowed?"
Once the first pot of dumplings was cooked, Xu Lai served it out and had Zhao Qingyun take it over while she continued cooking the second pot.
After he put it on the table, he came back, took the spatula from her, and said, "You go eat first, I'll cook these."
Xu Lai didn't move at first, and Zhao Qingyun thought she wanted to stay with him, so he urged, "Go ahead, are you worried that I won't cook it well?"
Xu Lai took a bowl, poured in some soy sauce, added a tiny bit of vinegar, and waited with the bowl in hand.
“I just want to eat this pot, is that not allowed?” she said.
Zhao Qingyun: Well, all that emotion for nothing.
When the last plate of dumplings was ready, the two of them brought it to the table and found that their grandparents hadn't eaten and had been waiting for them.
As soon as Xu Lai sat down, she heard her grandfather ask, "Why isn't this remote working? I can't press the buttons."
When she looked at the battery, she found it was dead. Xu Lai rummaged through a drawer under the TV cabinet, found a new battery, installed it, and switched her grandfather to CCTV.
"So that's why you two old folks are watching family dramas. Turns out the remote control won't turn on," Xu Lai thought, finding it quite amusing.
A little while later, the weather forecast came from the TV. Grandpa's hearing wasn't good as he got older, so the TV was turned up really loud. Sometimes Zhao Qingyun, who was next door, could still hear some of it.
It was pitch black outside, but the living room lights were on, and the sound of the television and occasional voices filled the air, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
After finishing her meal, Xu Lai took a sugarcane and put it on her grill to roast. Once the outside was golden brown, she picked it up and ate it.
She threw the orange peel she had finished eating into the clay pot of roasted milk, which really surprised Zhao Qingyun, who could hardly believe her eyes.
When Xu Lai tried to feed him milk tea, he backed away, saying, "I don't think I'm thirsty, so I don't need the milk tea."
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