Chapter 36 Preserved Meat and Lettuce Porridge and Vegetable Growing
I didn't dare linger too long. After my hands and feet had warmed up a bit, I put on two layers of gloves and went out to continue building.
I'm much more skilled now than when I first started, and the whole setup was completed in another half hour.
On the way back from the path that was built at the end, you can get a good view of the entire snow tunnel.
The snow-covered path is completely dark, requiring a flashlight to illuminate it and even then, one must use a flashlight to see the road.
The walls on the left and right sides are made of snow, which I smoothed out with a shovel.
The roof is covered with plastic sheeting and wooden planks; the plastic sheeting covers the entire surface, preventing snow from seeping down.
The planks were laid out one at a time, spaced 10 centimeters apart, instead of covering the entire area, because I didn't have many planks.
However, since the snow provides good support, it doesn't matter if there are some gaps in the middle of the planks.
If the passage is working properly by tomorrow morning, then the construction will be considered successful.
Because of the strenuous physical labor at night, and because my hands and feet were cold, I went back to my room, took a hot shower, and then soaked my feet in hot water.
Then I lay down in my warm bed and prepared to fall asleep.
The wind was howling loudly outside.
I nestled in my warm blankets, listening to the wind, and knowing that I would have sheltered passageways under the snow when I went out, I felt incredibly peaceful.
He soon drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up the next morning, it was still snowing heavily, and the snow had already covered more than half of the window.
The room was very dark, so we had to turn on the lights.
At this time, the outdoor temperature reached -45 degrees Celsius, while the indoor temperature was 21 degrees Celsius.
I must say, the insulation materials and the quality of the doors and windows in this house are really good.
The low outdoor temperature did not affect the indoor temperature.
I quickly started by lighting the kang (heated brick bed), the stove in the east room, and the stove in the livestock shed.
Once the fire was lit, I dressed very conservatively and went out to check the passageway.
The passageway was dark under the snow, so we still had to use flashlights for illumination.
I walked all the way to the west wing and the place where the firewood was piled up. The path was clear and unobstructed, with no snow on the ground and the snow walls on both sides were very solid.
I am very excited and proud. What an architectural genius! He built such a wonderful snow tunnel without any formal training.
I felt much more at ease when I got home.
Now, even if it snows for ten days and ten nights, or a hundred days and a hundred nights, I won't be afraid.
With firewood to burn and meat to eat, what is there to be afraid of?
Seeing that the passageway was safe, I finally felt at ease and prepared to make myself breakfast.
On a snowy day, it's good to eat something warm, so I'm going to make myself some porridge.
After rinsing the rice thoroughly, add plenty of water to a clay pot and place it directly into the east room on the stove.
Then I went to feed the chickens and dogs. When I came back after feeding them, the rice in the clay pot had already boiled.
At this point, go to the kitchen, slice some cured pork and sausage, and throw them into the clay pot to cook together.
I leaned back on the sofa, waiting for the rice to cook while browsing Tieba and Weibo.
Power outages have occurred in many areas, roads are blocked, and many people are trapped in their cars and freezing to death on the roadside.
People are complaining that they are freezing and there is no food left.
Some people shouted for help, saying that robbers had broken into their homes and taken away their last food, and begged the police to save them.
At this time, the police force probably didn't have time to deal with these minor matters; everyone was focused on repairing the power lines and maintaining social order.
I sighed deeply. This was only the beginning; things would only get more chaotic and more tragedies would occur.
Sumi became my only online friend, and she told me about the gossip around us.
Which unscrupulous husband keeps his mistress warm at home while locking his wife outside to freeze to death?
Which wicked mother-in-law forced her daughter-in-law to go out and find food? The daughter-in-law never came back.
As we chatted, the aroma of rice grew stronger and stronger, wafting into my nose.
I quickly went to the kitchen, washed a handful of lettuce leaves, chopped them into small pieces, and threw them into the clay pot to stir.
Then, place a heat-insulating mat on the kang table and bring the casserole to the table.
I scooped a bowl of porridge with a ladle. The silvery-white rice porridge was filled with deep red cured meat and sausage, and bright green lettuce was also mixed in. It looked very appealing.
I scooped up a spoonful of rice porridge, gently blew on it to cool it, and put it in my mouth.
The soft, sticky rice grains have a rich aroma of rice and melt in your mouth.
The chewy, savory cured pork and the slightly sweet, wine-scented sausage have a strong presence in the mouth, becoming more fragrant the more you chew, satisfying the taste buds.
Crisp lettuce is perfect for cutting through the richness.
I ate almost three big bowls of this soft, savory, and not-too-greasy porridge with cured meat and vegetables.
There was a little bit left, so I poured it into the dog bowl so the two little guys could have a taste.
The main thing is that they need to get used to eating my leftovers; puppies aren't born to eat for free.
The two little ones smelled the delicious aroma of cured meat and rushed over to grab a bite.
With a series of grunts, it quickly finished a small bowl of porridge with its little mouth.
After drinking the porridge, I broke out in a thin layer of sweat, and all my pores opened up, making me feel incredibly relaxed and comfortable.
It's time to prepare these dishes of mine.
Since a lot of vegetables were frozen in the back room, I wasn't in a hurry to grow a lot of fresh vegetables.
Instead, I want to try different planting methods to grow some fruits and other vegetables that I don't have before.
Since we still have the internet, I don't need to bother looking up books anymore; I can just search for planting methods and precautions for various vegetables on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
In fact, most vegetable planting methods are similar: add some water to loose, nutrient-rich soil to keep it moist.
Then sprinkle a thin layer of seeds, followed by a layer of soil, and wait for the seeds to germinate.
Following this method, a pot of various vegetables was prepared: chives, bok choy, cilantro, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers.
There were two bowls of various fruits: grapes, strawberries, watermelon, and cantaloupe.
Leave the rest of the pots empty for now, and continue planting when you've decided what you want to plant. Otherwise, if you plant too many, it will be a waste if you can't finish them all.
Install a row of fill lights above the vegetable basin and turn them on when the lighting is insufficient.
It didn't take long to grow these things, and after washing my hands, I felt a little bored.
I walked around the house, preparing to process some potatoes.
First, peel and wash the potatoes, then cut them into chunks and slices.
Then, place plastic sheets on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) and put the potato chunks and slices on them to dry.
Once it's completely dry, you can store it away and use it to stew meat or chicken. It will be very chewy and delicious when you eat it.
I processed a total of 10 jin (5 catties), which was just enough to cover half of the heated brick bed. I'll process the next batch after this batch has dried.
After finishing these tasks, I felt a bit hungry again.
I felt I'd had enough exercise for the day, so I didn't feel like cooking anymore. Instead, I went for a stroll in the basement, just like I was going grocery shopping.
I was carrying a small bag and browsing the shelves in the basement, pretending I was shopping in a large supermarket.
The temperature in the basement isn't too cold right now. It feels like it would be nice to spend the coldest period underground, as we wouldn't even need to light a fire.
However, staying in damp underground environments for extended periods is bad for your health.
In the end, I got a braised egg, a sausage, a box of hot and sour noodles, and a small bottle of canned fruit.
Back in the east room, I picked up the kettle that was already boiling water on the stove and made hot and sour noodles.
Eating a steaming bowl of hot and sour noodles, a bite of braised egg, and a bite of sausage is simply wonderful.
I finished the last mouthful of hot and sour rice noodle soup, and my stomach was just full.
Now, I'm using my other stomach to eat canned yellow peaches, which are kept in the basement and are quite cold.
It's just what I needed to soothe my mouth, which was a little numb from the spiciness.
Chew the cool yellow peach a few times in your mouth and swallow it directly. The coolness travels from your throat to your stomach, relieving all the heat from the hot and sour noodles.
After eating, I lay on the smooth, heated kang bed, the slightly hot steam warming my back.
I feel that this heated kang bed must be very helpful for menstrual cramps.
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