Chapter 185 Extravagant Hope
"I see. Auntie is right. I will definitely be more involved in every step of their growth in the future."
Zhao Yi was not unmoved when he heard this; in fact, he was not a stubborn person. Once reminded by others, he would quickly realize his shortcomings and immediately begin to correct his wrong practices.
"As long as you don't mind my nagging too much, then you don't have to rush back today, right?"
Seeing that her nephews and nieces always looked tired every time they came to visit, and often didn't even have time to enjoy a hot meal, Chunhua, as an elder, couldn't help but ask.
Hearing this, the other party shook his head at first to indicate that there was nothing particularly urgent waiting to be dealt with, but then nodded as if to indicate that he had made up his mind to change the status quo. "Actually, according to the original plan, I am not in a hurry to return, but now after listening to your advice, I suddenly feel that I should go home as soon as possible to spend a good time with my family. So I'll say goodbye here! But I believe we will have a chance to meet again soon!"
As soon as he finished speaking, before others could react, he turned around and prepared to pick up the basket beside him and start his return journey.
Seeing this, Chunhua suddenly became anxious and at a loss: "How can you leave so soon? Since you are already here, you should at least sit down and have lunch with us before considering leaving."
As he said this, he hurriedly reached out and grabbed the corner of the clothes of the man who was about to leave, trying to hold back this figure who was always in a hurry.
"Since you understand that your past actions were wrong, you should work hard to make up for it from now on. Please save this meal for me and enjoy it next time you come."
"Okay, okay, it's okay if you don't want to eat. Please wait a moment, there are some things I want you to take home for me."
Seeing that she could not persuade the guests to stay and share a meal, Zhao Chunhua seemed helpless. She had to pretend to go inside to get something, but in fact she moved out two bags of vermicelli that she had prepared long ago from the storage room.
"I made these myself. I'll give you one copy, and please pass the other one to your uncle's family."
Although the dried vermicelli looks a lot, it is actually very light.
"Remember to bring your children along to play next time if you have a chance, don't leave them bored at home all the time."
I stuffed the two gifts into the bamboo basket that Zhao Yimo was carrying, and picked out a few extra pumpkin cookies for him to take with him as snacks on the road.
While expressing his gratitude, the latter did not forget to wave goodbye to his little nephew.
At this time, sleepiness began to envelop the baby. He looked up at his elders and made a reluctant farewell gesture.
"Well, it's time for Little Stone to rest, please slow down."
Zhao Chunhua stroked the child's back to comfort him.
Only after making sure that the child was asleep did she start to clean the freshly picked tomatoes.
After cleaning, Zhao Chunhua carefully laid the previously plucked Polygonum stems and leaves one by one on the bottom of the bucket, striving to make each piece fit perfectly without leaving any gaps.
Then, she selected some cleaned fresh fruits, arranged them neatly one by one on the straw mat, and then covered the fruits with a layer of carefully selected plant materials.
Finally, she slowly pours in boiled water that has been pre-cooled to the appropriate temperature, making sure the water level is just right. She then carefully seals the barrel lid and places it in a cool and ventilated place for a few days to make delicious pickled fruit.
While Xiao Shitou was falling asleep, Zhao Chunhua quietly got up and took out the Polygonum multiflorum flowers that she had prepared in advance from her pocket.
She rubbed the petals repeatedly with her hands until they turned into a fine and uniform powder.
Then, according to the ratio that has been memorized, evenly mix 100 grams of fine Polygonum multiflorum petal powder into 500 grams of rice flour, and slowly add clean water while stirring continuously until all the ingredients are completely blended and gradually solidify into a whole.
After completing the preliminary preparation of materials, Zhao Chunhua demonstrated her admirable skillful hands and skillfully kneaded the small dough that had just been formed.
In a short while, she skillfully divided it into several small spherical objects of uniform size and beautiful appearance.
Then, these delicate and small works were spread out one by one on a bed of dry straw.
If conditions permit, lightly sprinkle a layer of ancient koji powder used in traditional fermentation on the surface of each ball, which can greatly increase the success rate of later fermentation.
However, even if such special ingredients are missing, there is no need to worry too much. Next, you only need to use the remaining straw to gently cover the quietly lying balls, and wait for two or three days for the natural fermentation process to fully proceed. After you observe that a layer of cute white fluff has quietly grown on the surface, you can take it out and continue with the next step of drying.
After finishing a series of tedious but exciting preparations, in order to replenish herself a little energy, Zhao Chunhua took the trouble to prepare a bowl of pickled pepper, minced pork and sweet potato noodles for herself.
This is not just a simple and casual dinner - in addition to the attractive color and delicate taste of the sweet potato noodles, Zhao Chunhua also garnished the plate with a few fresh coriander leaves and shredded green onions; in addition, a few peanuts that were specially fried a while ago were added to increase the flavor layer; of course, the indispensable thing is to drizzle a few drops of carefully prepared vinegar and sesame oil, and instantly the whole room is filled with irresistible and tempting aroma, which is simply mouth-watering!
Just as Zhao Chunhua was immersed in enjoying this delicious meal, a slight but clear sound came from beside her - Xiao Shitou woke up again, breaking her wish to take a rest.
Well, it seems that it is a luxury to want to steal a moment of peace.
Therefore, Zhao Chunhua could only patiently comfort the crying child, feed him the right amount of milk or give him appropriate complementary food; after the little guy was full and satisfied, she began to play various simple games with him, doing her best to make the baby happy.
It was not until night fell and Xiao Shitou fell asleep sweetly again that Zhao Chunhua was able to temporarily put aside all trivial matters and close the door to rest.
In fact, many times people can only truly understand the hard work and happiness involved in raising children after they have personally experienced the difficulties involved.
Even for a child like Xiao Shitou who is relatively easy to take care of, who rarely cries and has good sleeping and resting habits, it still requires a lot of effort.
For example, when preparing complementary foods for children, one has to consider issues such as nutritional balance, choice of ingredients, and whether they are easy to digest. One also has to wash the children's clothes by hand - in this era even diapers have to be washed by hand.
Hand washing diapers is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also requires frequent drying and disinfection to ensure cleanliness and hygiene.
In addition, there is the need to coax the child to sleep, make different styles of clothes and shoes for him according to the change of seasons, and make toys with various materials found around, etc. There are endless tasks.
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