Chapter 144 Cherry and Mulberry Wine
All food items are kept off the ground; except for rice and noodles, everything else is placed on shelves.
After cleaning the kitchen, I called over a few dogs, closed the back door, and started cleaning the back room.
The back room now only contains some dried vegetables. Organize the dried vegetables to the highest shelf, and clean up the rest of the room, keeping it free of any clutter.
Rats can only get into a house through the back or front door. If the back room is messy, it's easier for rats to hide there.
After tidying up the back room, they began inspecting the west wing.
I always made sure to keep the door to the west wing where the grain was stored closed, so the chances of it having rats were slim.
There was a lot of grain stored in this west wing, and it was impossible to move and check it all. I picked a few places to move the rice bags and check, and there were indeed no traces of mice.
However, I still put mousetraps in a few corners, just in case.
Finally, we arrived at the basement. The basement lid is usually very tightly closed, so the chances of mice getting in are very small.
After a thorough search, no mice were found, but mousetraps were still placed in several corners.
The dogs can no longer set foot in the areas where mousetraps have been laid; we can't let them get hurt.
I did nothing all day except look for mice, and I was exhausted by evening.
Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) preparing to fall asleep, I was planning to get a new kitten; the house can't function without a cat.
After all that fuss over the past few days, the cherries on the mountain have ripened.
I get up very early in the morning, put the chicks on the mountain, and then take two small baskets to pick cherries and mulberries.
I brought home two small baskets full of mulberries and cherries, washed them, grabbed a handful, and popped them into my mouth.
Whether it's mulberries or cherries, a mouthful of them is incredibly satisfying.
It was already getting a bit hot around noon, so I put the mulberries in a large juice glass and mashed them with a spoon.
Take the previously frozen mint sugar ice cubes out of the freezer, add some water, and gently stir with a spoon a few times.
A beautifully presented mulberry and mint iced drink is ready.
The bottom layer is purplish-red mulberries, gradually turning into transparent water as you move upwards.
In the middle are several transparent ice cubes, garnished with some bright green mint leaves. No matter which shopping mall you put this fruit tea in, it could probably sell for 20 yuan.
Take a sip, the iced drink is very cool, with a light sweetness and the refreshing taste of mint. At the bottom, there are mulberry pieces that you can chew, which is very refreshing.
After downing a large glass of iced drink, I was already half full, but I still wanted to make another cherry drink.
The same method was used, except that mulberries were replaced with cherries. Cherries are more sour and taste more refreshing, so consider it a substitute for iced lemon tea.
It's quite sunny at midday now, I should put up a sunshade for the animals.
After the sun sets in the afternoon, they take the sunshade cloths they scavenged from the furniture store and start laying out sunshades for all kinds of livestock.
Pig pens and rabbit pens are very simple. Just cover half of the open area with a shade cloth and nail the corners to the wall.
Covering half of the room reduces the amount of heat entering, while leaving the other half open allows for air circulation, preventing the room from becoming too stuffy.
Finally, a small sunshade should be built inside the enclosure for the free-range chickens. When the sun is too strong, the chicks can hide under the sunshade and come out to roam and eat when they are cool.
Both pigsties and rabbit pens have roofs, which provide excellent shade. A covered shed should also be built inside the enclosure.
Choose a suitable area within the fence, dig nine holes in the ground, and bury nine pillars to reinforce it.
First, install several crossbeams in the middle of the nine pillars, then place the wooden planks on the pillars, and nail the planks to the pillars with a nail gun.
Nail the shade cloth to three sides of the awning, leaving one side empty, and the awning is done.
The top is made of solid wood, which can effectively block direct sunlight. The three sides are covered with breathable sunshade cloth, which not only blocks the sun from shining directly from the side, but also allows cool breezes to blow in.
From now on, we'll feed and water the chickens under the shed, where they can also cool off while drinking water.
Looking at the spacious sunshade in front of me, I was extremely satisfied.
Two buckets of cool well water were brought over, poured into a basin, and carried under the sunshade. The chicks and ducks ran over happily and stood under the sunshade to drink the water.
After drinking enough water, they began to look around at the new building inside the fence, their eyes filled with curiosity.
I always felt that I was very suited to raising livestock and pets. The animals I raised were all quite obedient and lived well according to my wishes.
Cherries and mulberries don't stay on the tree for very long after they ripen. These past few days, the cherries and mulberries have been fully ripe, and we can't eat them all. We'll pick the rest, process them, and preserve them.
Now, when picking cherries and mulberries, you can't use small baskets anymore; you have to carry buckets directly to pick them.
I got up early in the morning and started picking cherries until the sun was blazing and my cheeks were swollen and hot. I picked a whole bucket full of cherries.
Carrying cherries home, I drew a basin of cool water from the well, scooped up a handful and splashed it on my face—it felt wonderful!
My mom taught me from a young age that I shouldn't wash my face with ice water when it's very hot, but even now I can't resist the refreshing feeling of washing my face directly with ice water.
When it's time to disobey, you shouldn't obey.
Pour half of the cherries from one bucket into another, fill both buckets with well water, and begin washing them.
Once the well water is poured into the bucket, any cherry leaves that are accidentally knocked down while picking cherries will float to the top, saving you the trouble of picking them slowly.
Wash the cherries, fill two sealed bags, and freeze them in the refrigerator. When you want to eat them, just take them out and enjoy the frozen cherries.
The fruit wine I made last year was delicious and had many uses.
Besides drinking it myself, I can also give it away as a gift to others. I plan to make more this year.
Spread the remaining cherries out slightly to dry, allowing the surface of the washed cherries to air dry.
Prepare several larger jars than last year, scald them with boiling water to sterilize them, and let the inside of the jars dry.
Boil the well water and let it cool before use.
Pour the cherries into four large jars, add rock sugar to each jar, and pour in twice the amount of cooled boiled water as cherries.
Finally, pour three ounces of liquor into each bucket, seal the lids tightly, and wait for fermentation.
After fermentation, shake the barrel occasionally and open the lid to release the gas. The cherry wine is then ready.
The processing method for mulberries is roughly the same as that for cherries.
Wash the mulberries thoroughly, and put some of them into a sealed bag and freeze them in the refrigerator.
After the remaining water has dried, put it in a large bucket and crush it with a clean rolling pin.
Add rock sugar, cooled boiled water, and white wine, then tighten the lid to ferment.
After fermenting for a while, shake the barrel together with the cherry wine to make a sweet and delicious fruit wine.
After picking these two large buckets of mulberries and cherries, there were still some left on the tree, which seemed like a waste, so I picked them anyway.
Following the same methods used to make grape jam and watermelon jam, cherries and mulberries were mixed with white sugar and heated in a pot.
In the end, six large jars of sweet jam were made.
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