Chapter 94: Preparing Food for a Banquet

Jiang Wan’s head ached.

Although there is a window in the stove room, no matter how big the window is, it cannot block the heat directly facing the stove.

As for making oyster sauce, she didn't have any good candidate to replace her at the moment, so she had to do it herself.

There is no way, I have to endure the heat.

Fortunately, there were a lot of particularly thick wood among the prepared firewood. After the fire was lit, they could burn for a while. I could go to the door to get some fresh air and check on the fire from time to time.

It seems I need to buy some more firewood.

I don’t know whether this dynasty has developed coal resources. If so, she would be willing to buy coal directly.

Jiang Wan was cooking oyster sauce in the kitchen while she was daydreaming.

Three pots of soup were boiled together, and each time, about two to three pounds of soup could be boiled. When Jiang Wan thought about how much money she could earn from one pot, she felt that it was worth it no matter how much sweat she shed.

She was boiling oyster sauce inside, while the uncle in the yard was still building a latrine and digging a manure pit.

Everyone was confused. The chimney in the kitchen was always smoking. What kind of meal could take so long to cook?

If the little girl had not been seen sitting at the door for a while occasionally, everyone would have thought something had happened in the kitchen.

Not long after, everyone suddenly saw the old village chief enter the yard, and everyone immediately buried their heads and worked hard, for fear that the old village chief would catch them and think they were not working hard enough.

The old village chief just glanced at the people working, turned around and went into the kitchen.

"What are you cooking? From a distance I can see the smoke coming out of your house all the time."

Jiang Wan wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled awkwardly, "I'm just making the seasoning oyster sauce. I can only deliver it after it's done."

When he heard that they were going to make something so expensive, the old village chief immediately left the kitchen as if he was stepping on charcoal and getting his feet burned.

The recipe for making this kind of thing is a secret and cannot be seen by others.

Jiang Wan understood the old village chief's meaning in an instant, and she felt really touched and wanted to laugh.

"Village Chief, it's alright, please come in."

The old village chief did not go in, but just stated his purpose outside the house.

"Jiang girl, tomorrow is a good day for the school to start. Remember to go early so that you can get a good seat."

"Okay, okay, I'll go early!"

Jiang Wan didn't hear any movement for a while, so she went out and saw that the old village chief was no longer in the yard.

But there was a new person at the door.

She had never seen it before.

This sister has her hair tied up, she is married. Her clothes have many marks of mending but are clean and tidy, and what is rare is that there is no dirt in the crevices of her fingernails.

It gives people a very clean feeling when they meet.

"Who are you looking for?"

Jiang Cao, who was hesitating whether to go in, was so frightened that he almost ran away.

She hasn't thought about it yet!

"Are you here to see my mother?"

Jiang Cao reacted and saw that the person talking to him was just a little girl, and he immediately relaxed.

"Is your mother Doctor Yin? If so, I'd like to see her."

It turns out he came here to see a doctor.

"Then come in and wait for a while. My mother has gone to change the medicine for my uncle and will be back soon."

Jiang Wan brought a chair for her to sit on, but Jiang Cao's face was full of confusion, showing that she didn't want to sit.

Is it possible that you have a mysophobia?

"Girl, can I, can I sit in the stove room?"

"It's very hot in the kitchen, what are you doing sitting in there?"

Jiang Wan didn't want anyone to sit in as she was still boiling oyster sauce in the pot.

"I, I, I..."

Jiang Cao's face was red, and he looked anxious. He would look towards the toilet from time to time.

Jiang Wan couldn't figure out what was going on. After spending a few days getting to know those working uncles, she could tell that they were not bad people. So what was she afraid of?

"Little girl, I'm a little scared. I'm afraid of people."

Jiang Cao was too embarrassed to say that she was afraid of men, she just said that she was afraid of people. Jiang Wan, who lives in an era of information explosion, understood a little.

This sister is afraid of men, that is, she is androphobic.

Ah, this...

Is this a psychological problem? Can my mother cure it?

Jiang Wan felt unsure, but she still asked someone to move to the small stone house.

Blocked by the stone wall, Jiang Cao felt more at ease as she couldn't see the man.

Jiang Wan did not stay outside to accompany them. She returned to the kitchen and quickly put the oyster sauce into jars, and then continued to boil it in pots.

Soon she heard the sound of A'niang coming back. The voices of the two people talking outside became quieter and quieter. They probably went into the stone house. She didn't know if A'niang could cure her fear of men.

Jiang Wan was very curious about this, so when he saw A Niang coming into the kitchen, he couldn't help but ask her about it.

"I'm not here to treat my androphobia, so don't worry about it. Get out of here, I'll light the fire."

Yin Huaixi took a wet handkerchief and smeared it on her daughter's face.

This silly girl, the room is so hot and she doesn’t even know to dip a towel in water and wipe herself to cool down.

"Get out, get out."

Jiang Wan was pushed to the door and wiped her face happily.

"Mother, I won't leave. We'll take turns at the door."

"Just go and do your own thing. Didn't you say you were going to treat your uncle and his family to dinner tonight? Did you forget?"

Jiang Wan's hands froze as she was wiping her face. She really had forgotten about it.

I only think about making money.

It was all over. There was only a little meat, clams and spicy snails in the house. I had to go to the back of my uncle's house to pick vegetables, and the rest I hadn't bought from people in the village.

"Mother, please keep an eye on it. I'll be back soon!"

Jiang Wan threw the handkerchief into the basin, then trotted out the door carrying a small backpack.

The vegetables from her uncle’s house can be picked last, so Jiang Wan decided to go to Lian Yue’s house first to ask his grandmother to buy a chicken.

She couldn't bear to eat the eggs her own chickens were laying, so she decided to buy some from someone else.

She plans to make a delicious coconut chicken in the evening.

Coconut chicken is considered a specialty food of Hainan Island in modern times, and almost everyone will try it when traveling there.

There is a very long coconut grove along the coast here, and people go there to pick coconuts from time to time.

It's free to pick them yourself. If you want one, they'll pick them for you and you can buy one for two or three cents.

However, there are too many coconut trees on the island, and everyone would rather pick them themselves than spend money to buy them, so Jiang Wan is probably an exception.

She couldn't climb up and was afraid of heights, so she could only buy ready-made ones from others.

Jiang Wan missed the taste of hometown food so much that she was determined to buy a chicken to try today.

Lian Yue's grandmother quickly helped her catch a fat chicken. After knowing that it was for her to eat, she was considerate enough to help wipe the chicken's neck.

The old lady thought that a girl from the city probably didn't know how to cook, let alone kill a chicken, so she simply helped her to the end. After killing the chicken, she also taught her a bunch of tricks to pluck the chicken feathers. After teaching her, she didn't let her go and caught Jiang Wan to give her another lecture.

"You must have bought a new knife. Don't use it to chop the chicken. I have an old machete at home. Take it back and use that."

Jiang Wan: “I…”

"By the way, do you have a chopping board at home? Is it thick? Or how about using this wooden block at home to chop?"

Jiang Wan: “I…”

"Oh my! Look at my brain. I can just pluck and chop off the hair for you. You are really getting old and confused!"

“…”

Jiang Wan was enveloped by the old lady's enthusiasm and didn't say a word.

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(We had dinner outside a little late today, please forgive me, my little cuties (〃｀ 3′〃))