Meanwhile, Pei Yao looked at her cousin's handsome face, which was flushed with anger, and was somewhat puzzled.
Liu Yan, who was standing next to her, came over to help her pull the firewood.
Liu Yan: "Don't mind them. They loved to fool around back in school, and they still do now."
Pei Yao smiled after hearing Liu Yan's words.
With the help of the Liu siblings, they quickly obtained their belongings.
When they got home, Yunniang and the others had already returned. They quickly called Chen Fang forward to take the things that everyone had brought.
Pei Xuan hugged Pei Yao tightly: "Sister, where have you been?"
"Xiao Xuan'er, are you hot?" Pei Yao touched Xiao Xuan'er's forehead, where her hair was sticky with sweat.
"It's not hot."
After putting her things away, Yunniang called the two Liu sisters in to come in and rest for a while and have some water.
Liu Yan waved her hand and said, "No, Auntie, we still have to go home."
After Liu Yan finished speaking, she looked at the grass roots that Pei Yao had dug up and sighed inwardly, thinking that they were so hungry that they had to eat grass roots.
Then, looking at the wild vegetables in his basket, he reluctantly took out half and handed it to Yunniang.
"Auntie, here's some nightshade. It'll make a nice soup with the clams I dug up this morning."
Yunniang saw that she herself didn't have much, yet she gave her a large handful; how could she possibly accept it?
"Xiaoyan, we have enough food, and you don't have much either. You should take it back to your own families."
Liu Yan thought Yunniang was just being polite to her, since her family had gone to dig up dark grass roots and probably didn't recognize wild vegetables.
I'm thinking of taking Yao and the others to pick wild vegetables next time, and introducing them to them, even though I don't know many myself.
Liu Yan: "Auntie, please don't stand on ceremony with us. This is what my grandfather told us when we were in exile. There are still many on the hillside behind us. If you want to eat them, you can just pick them."
Liu Yan's words were true; she had been busy helping the Pei siblings and hadn't picked many.
Pei Yao didn't stand on ceremony with her: "Mother, please accept it."
After saying that, she took two large kudzu roots from her basket and handed them to Liu Yu: "Sister Yan, these are kudzu roots. Don't be fooled by their ugly appearance, they are very delicious when you wash them and steam them in a pot. They have a sweet aftertaste."
Liu Yu looked at the grass root in his hand in disbelief.
"Is this edible?"
"Of course it can. You'll know once you take it home and try it. You can even make soup with it." Pei Yao blinked after saying that.
Liu Yan did have some recollection of this; it seemed her grandfather had mentioned that when they were children, they often dug up the roots of a certain grass to eat, but she had forgotten what the root was called.
This must be it.
The two siblings thanked them and left.
Yunniang then pulled Pei Yao aside and asked, "Yao'er, is it true that these tree roots are edible?"
Pei Yao nodded: "It's true, Mother. You'll see when I cook it for you later."
"Yao girl, where should we put these? Or should we wash them now?"
Chen Fang skipped over the questioning process altogether; her niece is very opinionated, and she said she was certain there wouldn't be any problems.
“We can just move it to the cellar behind the kitchen; it’ll keep for a long time,” Pei Yao said. Pei Yichen then carried it in a basket to the cellar, while Chen Fang went to help her son.
Pei Yao began processing the kudzu vines she had just brought back in the courtyard, while Yunniang used a dry loofah net to wash the kudzu roots she had just taken out of the basket.
But her gaze kept falling on her daughter, wondering what she was doing.
Pei Yao picked out a large, bulging kudzu vine, then tore it open with force. Because she tore it so hard, several fat kudzu worms flew out and landed on Yunniang's skirt...
Yunniang: "......"
Yunniang was stunned for a moment, then let out a scream.
"ah!!!!!!"
"There are insects..."
Startled, Pei Yichen and Chen Fang quickly ran out as well.
Pei Yichen: "Second Aunt, are you alright?"
Chen Fang: "Yunniang, what's wrong?"
Pei Yao: "Mother, are you alright?"
Pei Yao watched as her mother jumped three feet away, frantically slapping the spot where the insect had just fallen, and her lips twitched.
She really didn't do it on purpose, she promises!
Yunniang, still shaken, patted her chest and said, "What a huge bug! It scared me!"
Yunniang, a lady from a respectable family, rarely lost her composure like this. It was simply because the insect was too fat and ugly, and she was terrified of insects.
Chen Fang quickly came over to comfort her: "It's just a bug, Yao'er picked it up."
Yao girl...
Picked it up...
Chen Fang looked at Pei Yao in horror. This girl was really bold. Which woman in the capital didn't scream when she saw an insect? She considered herself to be brave, at least she wasn't afraid. But at most she wouldn't scream when she saw an insect, she wouldn't dare to hold an insect in her hand like Pei Yao was doing.
Pei Yao watched her mother scream, afraid that she might step on the plump kudzu worm.
This stuff is a great source of protein. She used to dislike digging up kudzu roots to eat, but she loves eating these kudzu worms.
Stir-fry it with oil and chili peppers, and the flavor will come out, making you feel intoxicated by the aroma.
Pei Yaoguang's mouth watered just thinking about it.
It's a pity they didn't have any oil, but grilling them on bamboo skewers is also quite good and fragrant.
Let's do it tonight.
"Yao girl, why are you picking up this bug?" Chen Fang didn't ask when she saw the kudzu root, but she couldn't help but ask when she saw the bug.
Pei Yao explained, "These insects grow inside kudzu vines. They eat the fibers inside and grow up very clean. They taste delicious, even better than meat."
Clearly, Pei Yao's words were not convincing, after all, could these white worms taste good?
They couldn't believe it.
After calming down, Yunniang quietly moved the basin she was using to wash the kudzu root away from Pei Yao, distancing herself from her.
Pei Yichen and Pei Xuan, however, seemed quite curious about these insects.
Pei Yichen had never seen an insect growing inside a vine before; it was plump and rather cute.
He helped Pei Yao process the kudzu worms, and soon filled a large bowl with them.
Pei Yao couldn't find any bamboo at home, so she used some thin wooden sticks to string them together and then went to make dinner.
Tonight's main dish is the three kudzu roots that Yunniang just washed.
Pei Yao chopped them into fist-sized pieces and put them in an earthenware pot to cook. If there were a steamer, the texture would be even better after steaming.
Then I washed some clams and cooked a winter melon and clam soup. When it was done, I threw in a handful of wildflower greens that Liu Yan and the others had given me.
Finally, they removed the firewood and used the remaining embers to roast the kudzu worms. As soon as the kudzu worms encountered the heat, they wriggled their white bodies wildly and quickly began to char and smell fragrant. The aroma made Pei Xuan and Pei Yichen swallow their saliva repeatedly. This stuff smelled so good.
The kudzu worms were very tender and were quickly roasted, sizzling with oil and emitting a fragrant aroma. Pei Yao then sprinkled some wild scallion leaves on top, making it even more fragrant.
There were many banana leaves in Liangshui Village, so she asked Pei Yichen to pick a piece to use as a mat on the table to hold kudzu worms, and then they could start eating.
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