Finally, in the thicket of Ruanmeng, they found a small wild chili pepper, green and red, only the size of a little finger.
When she arrived in town yesterday, she specifically asked the pharmacy clerk and learned that the islanders do not eat spicy food and there is no such thing as chili peppers.
But in her past life, she had a comrade-in-arms who was from Hainan. He mentioned that when he was a child in Danzhou, he picked a kind of short wild chili pepper that tasted just as good as a small red chili pepper.
So, Ruan Mengcai decided to give it a try, and to her surprise, she actually found it!
"Little sister, what else are you looking for?"
Ruan Zheng also discovered that his younger sister was looking for some plants with a specific purpose in mind.
"Find ginger and garlic!"
Ruan Zheng nodded, guessing the purpose of Ruan Meng's dream.
Ginger and garlic were common seasonings in the old government offices, used to enhance the flavor of food.
Ruan Zheng then asked, "Will they be here?"
Ruan Meng said uncertainly, "There wasn't enough time yesterday, and the dried ginger and garlic slices from the herbal medicine shop will affect the taste of the dishes."
"Let's look for it first. If you don't believe me, we'll go into town and buy it tomorrow."
As darkness fell, Ruan Meng worried that if poisonous snakes appeared, they might be difficult to spot in the dim light, so she decided to go down the mountain with her third brother first.
After putting down the basket, I found that my second brother had already chopped a pot of oyster meat, and my sister-in-law was stewing it.
The second brother was swinging a hammer to grind oyster shells into powder, while the eldest brother was putting the ground oyster shell powder into a jar.
Previously piled up at the entrance, the Sichuan peppercorns and litsea cubeba harvested have been separated into individual berries and stored in different jars.
Even the branches and leaves parted to one side, the older brother explained gently:
"I was afraid you might find the branches and leaves useful, so I didn't throw them away."
Ruan Meng nodded, "Yes, we can start a fire!"
Upon hearing this, the second and third brothers showed expressions of "I knew it."
Ruan Meng and Lao San put down their baskets, explained their purpose to their sister-in-law, received an advance of one string of cash, and then went to the village chief's house.
The village chief's house had candles lit, and sure enough, a young man was weaving a bamboo basket by the candlelight.
Just as the third brother said, he looked very honest, even a little timid.
Ruan Zheng introduced himself and asked his sister to explain their needs. When the second son of the Feng family heard that it was the Ruan family who had borrowed the wheelbarrow and that they had eaten the steamed buns the family had given them yesterday, his expression softened considerably.
"Brother Feng, I need a few tightly woven jars, like the kind for holding insects, the kind that the insects can't crawl out of, with lids. Can you weave them to this size?"
Ruan Meng gestured as she spoke.
Brother Feng moved slowly, listened carefully to Ruan Meng's explanation, and only nodded slowly before replying:
"Sure. How many do you want?"
Ruan Meng thought for a moment, "Let's start with five!"
Thinking that they might need some of these for storing herbs in the future, they compared sizes and said, "I'll take five of these!"
"Five of each size, ten in total. Brother Feng, how much does it cost?"
Feng Xi slowly raised her head. "No rush. Once it's better, you can see if it's what you want before you pay."
"It's knitted at home, so it's cheaper than in the city. Don't worry."
Ruan Meng also developed a liking for the second son of the Feng family, feeling that he was as honest as the village chief.
They didn't linger long, leaving two hundred coins as a deposit. "This is a deposit, Second Brother, please don't refuse."
"We trust my second brother's skills. We'll deduct the amount when we pay after it's done."
Feng Xi stood up, perhaps because he had never met such a straightforward person before, and felt a little awkward and flattered.
Ruan Meng and her third brother said goodbye with smiles.
Back at the stone house, we found that the wild millet peppers that Chai had planted had already been picked by the eldest brother, and the branches and leaves were still piled up separately to one side.
The oysters I dug up this afternoon have already been stewed by my sister-in-law and sealed in a small porcelain jar.
My sister-in-law cooked some rice porridge. She also steamed oysters using the same method she used at noon, prepared a sauce, and poured it over them. The family had a simple dinner together.
After reporting the expenses to her sister-in-law, Ruan Meng returned the remaining eight hundred copper coins to her sister-in-law first.
"After going to the beach tomorrow, I'm going into town. There are still some things I haven't bought yet, like bottles and jars. I'll also pick up some food while I'm at it and check out the prices in town."
Ruan Mengdao said, and the third brother chimed in, "I'll go with you!"
Ruan Yi wanted to speak, but seemed hesitant, worried that he might cause trouble.
Ruan Meng took the initiative to speak up, "Second Brother, why don't you come along too? You can help with the sales; it's hard to carry so many things."
Ruan Yi was indeed very happy.
“My elder brother and sister-in-law are at home. After all, we have food at home now, so we are not afraid of anything else. If someone were to mix something into our food, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
The eldest sister-in-law immediately became serious, and the eldest brother also looked earnest.
Although they felt that the villagers of Fengjia Village were all nice, they lived close to Wanjia Village, and they all had a bad impression of the village chief of Wanjia Village.
If, like last time, a wild boar or a venomous snake suddenly runs into the house, all the hard work will be in vain.
"Brother, sister-in-law, if anything happens, run to the village chief's house. Don't worry about anything else!"
"Since I can do it, and I can earn even more in the future, nothing is more important than you all!"
Upon hearing this, the elder sister-in-law's eyes reddened slightly.
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