Chapter 14: Catching loaches, touching snails, and eating Guanyin tofu...
Lin Shu frowned when she heard this. Fortunately, the family was separated. She didn't want to deal with these extremely bad relatives.
However, Xiao Pu's words did clear up a mystery for her. She had previously wondered how the heroine, the Marquis's premature child, could be indistinguishable from the full-term original owner after being swapped. Now she understood. Her mother was starving, and even though she gave birth to Lin Shu at full term, the child was still frail and skinny, looking almost like a premature baby. The Marquis's wife had said that the original owner's physique was the result of years of nurturing with precious medicinal herbs when she was young. Wasn't she just like Xiao Pu, born with a weak constitution?
If the original owner had not been taken away by mistake, she might not have survived until now in the Lin family.
Lin Shu rubbed Lin Xiaopu's little head and said, "The hard times are over. Our family will get better and better in the future."
"Yes!" Lin Xiaopu nodded heavily.
She also felt that her life was getting better and better after leaving that big family. She no longer had to look at her grandma and aunt-in-law as if they were looking at a jinx, nor did she have to listen to Lin Duoliang scolding her to her face as a money-loser.
Because they were going to the fields to catch snails, they both changed into straw sandals. Lin Shu's five toes, exposed outside the sandals, were white and round. Lin Xiaopu glanced at them several times along the way and couldn't help but whispered, "Sister, your feet are so white. Why don't you go to the fields for a while? Just stand on the ridge and wait for me. I'll go to the fields to catch snails and loaches."
Lin Shu smiled and said, "Of course it's white if you don't get any sun exposure. Wait until I get some sun exposure and I'll be the same color as you."
As she spoke, she looked up and saw, as expected, traces of Polygonum hydropiper by a ditch. This thing grew in patches. Its leaves resembled willow leaves, and its flowering period was very long. Clusters of small pink flowers had already covered the branches.
"Sister, you even recognize this? This is koji grass. There's a lot of it by the fields and by the water, but we pull it out of the fields like weeds. It's especially abundant by the streams and rivers. Every summer, after work is done, every household in Tianshui Village picks koji grass and takes it home to make koji. They then brew a large jar of fermented glutinous rice, which they save for celebrations. A large jar of fermented glutinous rice, if eaten sparingly, can last until the beginning of the next year!"
Speaking of fermented glutinous rice, Lin Xiaopu licked his lips.
Glutinous rice is expensive, so people in Tianshui Village only use glutinous rice when making fermented glutinous rice in the summer and eating rice cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moreover, they can only afford it when the times have been good in recent years.
"I really want the New Year to come soon." Only during the New Year can we eat as much as we want.
Lin Shu couldn't help laughing, "Why wait for the New Year? Sister told you that you can still enjoy delicious food even if it's not the New Year."
"Actually, this wine yeast grass you mentioned has many aliases. One is spicy Polygonum, one is water pepper, and another is drunken fish grass. It can spice up earthworms and leeches, remove fishy smells in cooking, and even make fish drunk and catch them!"
"Ah? It has so many uses? Sister, how can this grass be used to catch fish?"
Lin Shu hooked her nose and said with a smile: "It's too late today, I will teach you tomorrow."
Lin Xiaopu blinked and started looking forward to tomorrow!
"Sister, how do you know so much? Is this all written in a book?"
"Of course not. The Marquis's Mansion has all kinds of books. I don't like anything else but studying flowers and plants. The wild grasses and flowers on our back hill are all treasures. I'll tell you about them one by one later."
Lin Xiaopu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Lin Shu pulled a few handfuls of Polygonum hydropiper and smashed them with a nearby stone to extract the juice. The smell was okay, but when she applied it on her legs, her entire calves felt burning.
"Sister, it's so hot!"
"It has to be spicy so the leeches in the fields won't dare to suck it up."
The two men rolled up their trouser legs and smeared some watercress juice on them before going into the fields.
Although every household has a field and there is no shortage of loaches and snails in everyone's field, there are also some stingy people who do not allow others to catch loaches in their fields for fear that they will damage the rice in the fields. So the two of them went to their own paddy fields. The five acres of land allocated to Lin Dashan were not in one place, and this separate acre of paddy field was not far away.
It was already dusk, and the farmers working in the fields were carrying their hoes and walking back one after another. After a busy day, they were going back to have dinner and rest, but the two people in the fields were having fun.
There are a lot of snails in the fields, and you can find a lot of them just by touching them. Catching loaches requires a little more effort.
After Lin Shu found a loach hole, she approached it carefully to avoid disturbing the loaches inside. When she was close enough, she gently touched the entrance of the loach hole with her hand.
After confirming that there was a loach in it, Lin Shu suddenly reached out, grabbed the loach's head quickly and accurately, and then threw it into the bucket.
Lin Xiaopu was not willing to be outdone and also caught a loach. However, he didn't hold it firmly, and the slippery loach fell into the field and immediately burrowed into the mud.
Lin Xiaopu wiped the mud that splashed on his face, and his little face puffed up with anger, which made Lin Shu laugh.
A quarter of an hour later, there were five or six loaches and a thin layer of snails in the bucket, and at this time, only the last ray of sunset glow remained.
"Dad should be back soon, let's go home~"
The two washed their feet with water from the ditch beside the field, put on straw sandals and went home. On the way back, Lin Shu pulled a handful of duck-foot mugwort that she had seen when she came.
Although hot pepper can remove fishy smell, it relies on the spicy taste of its stems and leaves. It is more suitable for stewing fish and turtles. For snails and loaches with strong earthy smell, duck foot mugwort should be used. Therefore, this wild vegetable has another name, called loach vegetable.
It's a shame I didn't see any wild perilla, otherwise adding some would have been even better. The unique fragrance of perilla will completely mask the earthy smell of any living thing in the water, making it especially delicious when stewed. This perilla can also be used to make perilla drink, a favorite beverage among the nobles in the capital.
Lin Xiaopu was no longer surprised to see her casually picking up a handful of weeds by the ditch. After all, no matter what kind of weeds they were, they would be of great use in her sister's mouth.
When the two of them returned, it was almost dark.
"Mother, Father hasn't come back yet?"
"Based on past experience, it should be soon," He Guixiang replied with a smile. Lin Shu rinsed the loaches and snails in the bucket with water, then replaced it with clean water and sprinkled a handful of salt. This was the fastest way to get the loaches and snails to spit out mud and other impurities.
In fact, it is better to keep the loaches and snails freshly caught in clean water for a few days before cooking. Keeping them in clean water for a few days will help them expel impurities from their bodies, and the taste will be much better. If you use mountain spring water to keep them, it will be even better.
Unfortunately, there are only two wooden barrels at home, and they are used frequently and cannot be occupied.
It would be much more convenient if you have a fish pond at home.
Once Lin Shu had this thought, she couldn't stop it.
In front of the house is the stream water that the villagers use for drinking. This water can only be diverted but not moved. However, behind the house there is a spring water flowing from the mountain. The flow of the spring water is not small. It flows down from the back mountain, and the trickles merge into one stream. After flowing for a hundred feet, it flows into the ditch beside the field.
Lin Shu couldn't help but think of the mountain spring water.
But there's no rush. Digging a large pond takes a lot of work, and right now is the busy season. The only hard workers in the family are my father and Zhou Ye. I'll talk to them when they're less busy. I'll make a few more delicious meals for them then. Once they're well fed and full, we can discuss everything.
"Sister! Sister! The stinky bitch juice in the clay pot has turned into a large piece of green tofu!" Lin Xiaopu suddenly shouted in surprise.
Upon hearing this, He Guixiang also leaned over to take a look, with the same surprised expression.
Lin Shu washed her hands, took out a kitchen knife with a smile, cut off most of the meat, and put it on a plate.
After the juice of Guanyin Chai solidifies, it turns into translucent blocks of jelly that are as green as jade. It is smooth and tender like jelly. It has a strong fragrance, is slippery and cool, and is extremely refreshing. It is an excellent delicacy for cooling down in summer.
It tastes good without adding anything, just sprinkle some salt on it. If you like something stronger, you can pour some chili oil, minced garlic, chopped green onions, and a little vinegar and light soy sauce on it. It's a pity that the Dayan Dynasty had not yet introduced chili peppers.
It’s also good to make it sweet, add some sugar, sprinkle some preserved fruits, and if you have milk, you can make it into a sweet drink similar to milk tea.
Lin Shu took a thin bamboo stick and drew grids on the jade block. The whole big block immediately broke into small cubes. She sprinkled a small spoonful of salt, added some chopped wild onions and minced garlic, and the jelly that was as green and juicy as jade was ready.
"This snack is called Guanyin Tofu. Auntie and Xiao Pu, quickly grab your chopsticks and try it!"
There was no need for Lin Shu to remind him, Lin Xiaopu had already taken all the spoons and chopsticks.
As soon as she took a bite, her eyes widened in surprise. "It's so smooth, tender, and icy cold. It's so delicious!"
He Guixiang didn't say anything, but she had already eaten two pieces.
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