Chapter 153 Two-in-one (Update) Pancake Dipping Sauce + Couple's Night Talk +...
After Old Man Liao left, Lin Shu held the wide-mouthed pottery jar that Old Man Liao had helped her carry, and smiled so much that her eyes became slits.
The people in the yard were also happy. How could they not be happy about making money!
This isn't just a matter of a few copper coins, it's thousands of copper coins!
"Ashu, I have nothing to do, so I'll go to the mountains and pick a basket of chicken mushrooms." Zhou Ye said.
It was still early and he could walk fast. If he was just picking chicken mushrooms, it should still be early after a round trip.
Lin Shu thought for a moment and said, "Aye, I'll go with you."
Although I picked a lot of chicken mushrooms yesterday, the leftovers are now drying in the yard. However, soaking them after sun-drying is mostly suitable for making soup, not chicken mushroom sauce. The taste will be much worse. The best approach is to pick fresh chicken mushrooms and process them on the spot to make the sauce.
"No need. I'll go alone and be back quickly. You still have to make saltpeter, and Aunt Lin will be busy soon and won't be able to take care of you." Zhou Ye certainly wanted to be alone with Ah Shu, but if he took Ah Shu with him, things would be much slower, and he might not even be able to have dinner when he got back. It didn't matter if he went alone, but he didn't want Ah Shu to go hungry.
Lin Shu thought this made sense. She quickly went inside and filled a bamboo cup with mung bean soup for Zhou Ye. "Drink it on the way. Don't get thirsty. Also, be careful on the road."
They had just picked a full basket of chicken mushrooms yesterday, so if they wanted to pick more today, they would have to move to a different location, perhaps even further in. The deeper you go into the mountains, the greater the danger.
As Zhou Ye lowered his head to carry the basket on his back, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, "Don't worry, Shu. I'm familiar with the mountains. I'm just picking mushrooms."
Not long after Zhou Ye left, Lin Shu's eyes would always subconsciously look somewhere.
The man who was working silently with his head buried in the corner of the yard disappeared. Unlike before, she could see A Ye as soon as she looked up.
Lin Shu felt a little empty in her heart.
It's strange, she wasn't like this before.
Maybe I'm too idle, and I tend to get distracted while making saltpeter?
"Oh, by the way, mother, aren't we going to cook duck tomorrow? We must eat the duck before going to the market. There's no rush."
He Guixiang explained with a smile, "There's no rush. The market is busier at the end of the month, so in the past, when the weather was nice, we'd avoid going when it was crowded. Of course, if you want to go to the market to sell your own fruits, vegetables, and pickles, you have to go early in the morning, even earlier than the previous two markets."
Lin Zhaodi also laughed immediately, "Look at my memory! I forgot that your family was going to the market, and I even asked Ah Shu to teach me how to make this duck."
Lin Shu: "Come on, come on, we have to eat this duck meat before we leave. Tomorrow morning, Xiao Pu and I will go to the back mountain to pick some taro stems, which are what the villagers call wild taro. The stems will be stewed with the duck, and it will be delicious!"
Lin Zhaodi was slightly surprised. "There's a new food? The wild taro stems are edible too? Ah Shu, don't go. I'll go. There are plenty of wild taro in other places, not just the back mountain. I'll go pick them tomorrow morning. Ah Shu, how many do you want?"
Lin Shu replied, "The more the better. The leftovers can be pickled and made into delicious sour sauce, or dried and made into dried taro!"
"Okay, you teach me how to do it tomorrow, and I'll learn from you!" Lin Zhaodi said happily.
Ah Shu has taught her many dishes these days. After she has cooked them a few times, she can now cook them by herself. When they move to the new house, she will cook them in different ways for Sanlang!
"Ashu, I think the brine in this clay pot is almost ready?" Lin Zhaodi asked.
"It seems to be finishing soon, a little shorter than I expected. This means there's more saltpeter in it, so we can get more saltpeter."
After boiling for about half an hour, the brine in the clay pot became as thick as porridge. Lin Shu turned off the fire, filled a wooden basin with cold water, and then soaked the entire clay pot in the cold water.
More and more crystals precipitated from the ceramic pot, and the walls of the pot were also covered with white crystals.
More than she thought!
Lin Shu happily fished out the precipitated saltpeter crystals and spread them out to dry. Those on the wall of the pot were already dry, so she could just scrape them off and store them.
"How magical!" After Lin Xiaopu came back from outside, he squatted aside to watch Lin Shu boil saltpeter. Seeing the crystals in the ceramic pot, his expression was full of surprise.
"Sister, can you make ice cubes with this?"
"Yes, but the amount is still a little small. Ask Wang Yingen and the others to help me collect some soil, and I will make another pot.
Lin Xiaopu held his head high and said, "Okay, sister, now they all listen to me, including Wang Yingen. I'll go and pass on the message."
Lin Shu was about to say there was no rush, but Lin Xiaopu had already slipped away like a little rabbit.
She couldn't help but shake her head and laugh.
The saltpeter crystals produced in this pot can fill almost a bowl, which is definitely not enough. It needs to be boiled two or three more times.
However, saltpeter can be recycled when making ice later, so it is just a little troublesome the first time.
Zhou Ye returned just before dinner. He carried a basket full of Acanthopanax fasciata mushrooms and some bright red radishes wrapped in taro leaves. "Xiao Pu, take this to your sister as a snack."
Lin Xiaopu happily took it and washed it, and sighed in his heart.
Although Brother Aye often brought her wild fruits, he would forget when he was busy. But now? He would bring her a bunch of wild flowers every morning, and this time, he didn't forget to pick these wild fruits while he was busy picking mushrooms.
Humph, so, this sister is still different from the wife. Brother Aye cares about her much more than he does about his sister.
But Lin Xiaopu was not jealous at all, she felt that this was as it should be, because in her opinion, sister also ranked before brother Aye.
Put the chicken mushrooms in the backpack aside for now and deal with them after dinner.
Today's dinner is porridge and flatbread, but there are two small bowls of chicken mushroom sauce on the table.
Liu Erzhuang took a look at the sauce, sniffed, and was pleasantly surprised.
This sauce looks like it is fried in oil. It looks delicious and smells even better.
Sister Lin Shu is so generous that she actually gave them such delicious food!
There is a small spoon in the sauce bowl. Whoever wants to eat it can use the spoon to scoop a spoonful.
Lin Dashan scooped a spoonful first with a grin, smeared it roughly on the middle of the pancake a few times, then rolled it up and stuffed it into his mouth, eating until his cheeks bulged.
Liu Erzhuang and his friends were not polite either. They followed suit and scooped some sauce onto the pancakes.
"Mmm, it smells so good, this sauce is so delicious!"
In front of Zhou Ye was a small bowl of chicken mushroom sauce that Lin Shu had served out. He didn't say anything, but ate several pancakes in a row. He scooped out the chicken mushroom sauce in front of him and ate it all. When there was a little bit left, he used the pancake to spread it on it, wiping off all the oil and water in it without wasting anything.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Lin Zhaodi mentioned that they were going to cook duck meat for breakfast tomorrow. Except for Old Man Liao who was well-informed and knew about it in advance, the young men Liu Erzhuang and Wang Changshun were all stunned.
They were busy working all day and didn't know that Zhou Ye and Lin Xiaopu had hunted wild ducks. They had collected all the wild duck feathers in the yard and cleaned up all the dirt, so they didn't smell any duck.
Upon learning that Zhou Ye and Lin Xiaopu had hunted three wild ducks, Liu Erzhuang exclaimed, "Uncle Lin, Brother Aye is fine, but Xiaopu can actually hunt wild ducks too! He's incredibly capable!"
Old man Liao also sighed, "Dashan, you are so lucky! In the past, little Pu was considered a sickly girl and a debt collector by the villagers, but now, not long ago, she's been able to hunt wild ducks and bring them home. This girl is really capable and is better than those naughty kids in the village!"
The other people at the table also praised him highly, causing Lin Dashan to smile non-stop, thinking that Xiao Pu was just a blind cat that had caught a dead mouse.
Lin Xiaopu pouted. She was really talented! But she was still very happy. Everyone praised her! After being surprised, Liu Erzhuang rubbed his hands together excitedly and asked, "Aunt Lin, are we really having duck for breakfast tomorrow?"
Lin Zhaodi said, "How can I still coax you? The ducks have been gutted. We'll stew them tomorrow morning, and stir-fry the duck offal and duck blood! Tomorrow is the month-end market. In the past, you would have gone to the market. I feel bad asking you to stay and work. Ah Ye and Xiao Pu just happened to hunt three wild ducks, so I asked Ah Shu to buy one for you. I'll give you some meat tomorrow!"
Liu Erzhuang and the others were all delighted when they heard this. They had originally been thinking about whether to stop for a day tomorrow, but now that the duck meat was available, they definitely couldn't miss it, so they continued working tomorrow!
Lin Dashan frowned when he heard Lin Zhaodi's last sentence, and immediately waved his hand, "Sister-in-law, why are you being so polite? No need to pay. Cook all three and we can eat together!" As he said that, he scolded He Guixiang, "Damn it, how can you take money from sister-in-law? It's just a wild duck. Anyway, Aye and Xiaopu hunted it, so it didn't cost anything."
When he first learned that Xiao Pu and A Ye had hunted wild ducks, he was also extremely shocked, but after the shock he was so proud!
Look, this is the son-in-law that Lin Dashan chose, and this is the sickly daughter that everyone looked down upon! Who will still look down on Lin Dashan in the future?
Lin Dashan was particularly generous when he was proud. He thought that since Aye and Xiaopu could hunt three wild ducks today, they would be able to hunt more in the future.
It’s just a wild duck, why would it cost so much? Let’s eat and drink together, there’s nothing more joyful than anything else!
He Guixiang sighed inwardly but did not refute him in public.
Is this just a wild duck? The boss didn't think about it. If you give someone a wild duck for free today, will other families find out about it tomorrow and try to take advantage of you?
Lin Zhaodi, however, was clear-headed and quickly explained, "Second Brother Lin, Zhao San and I have already taken advantage of you by using your stove to cook this time. Even brothers should settle accounts clearly. We must pay you what you deserve and not be careless!"
Zhao Laosan also quickly followed up with a few words. He and Lin Zhaodi both disliked taking advantage of others.
Lin Dashan finally gave up, and his grinning mouth never closed.
After dinner, Zhou Ye and Lin Shu cooked chicken mushroom sauce in the yard. The chicken mushroom sauce could not be finished in a short time, so He Guixiang left the oil lamp to them.
But after lying in bed, He Guixiang thought about dinner and felt depressed, and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Hearing the whispers of Aye and Ashu coming from outside the yard, He Guixiang couldn't help but pinch Lin Dashan.
Lin Dashan hissed, "A Xiang, what are you doing?"
"I think you've been living too comfortably lately, and your old illness has come back again!" He Guixiang said unhappily.
"No, what did I do to you?"
"The chicken mushroom sauce was made by Ah Shu, and the wild duck was hunted by Ah Ye and Xiao Pu. Could you please stop being so generous and giving favors to others?"
Lin Dashan treated it as a small matter and said nonchalantly, "What do you mean by 'others'? How can Ah Ye be called someone else? He's my son-in-law! Ah Shu and Xiao Pu are others? They're my daughters! It's just a little food, can you not be so stingy?"
He Guixiang knew it was a trivial matter, but she was still furious. Thinking of the most difficult days in the past, her eyes slightly reddened in the darkness. "Lin Dashan, have you forgotten what kind of life we lived in the past? When we were short of food, who was generous enough to treat us to wine and meat? When we couldn't raise enough money for Xiao Pu's medicine, how many people were generous enough to lend us money?"
Lin Dashan could tell her tone was off, and he choked up a bit. Although he didn't think it was necessary, he still tried to comfort her with his familiarity, "I was wrong. It's okay to be wrong."
He Guixiang knew that he was a stubborn person who didn't know he was wrong, but she took this opportunity to clarify something. "Let me ask you, if someone asked you to borrow money right now, would you lend it or not?"
Lin Dashan hesitated and said, "Why are you asking this? Zhao Laosan didn't ask me to borrow money. Was it Lin Zhaodi who asked you to borrow money? Didn't you say they could lend it if they wanted? Last time you even asked me how much you wanted to borrow?"
"I'm not talking about Mr. Zhao and his wife. I'm asking about others. For example, your eldest brother's family."
Lin Dashan's expression suddenly changed. "Why are you bringing up their family for no reason? They've been allocated a few acres of land, and we only have a few acres. Is it your turn, big brother, to ask me for a loan?"
"If they say they're short of money, but then say you're well off lately, flattering you to the point of being dizzy, would you lend them the money or not?"
Lin Dashan said coldly, "Why would you borrow it? They don't care who comes and just beat them out with a broom."
"Okay, I've got it. You better remember what you said to me right now, and don't forget it when you're soft-hearted. I'm not afraid to tell you, Lin Dashan, that it's useless for you to agree to someone else's money. The money is under my control. If I don't let you go, no one can borrow the money!"
"Oh, what's wrong with you today? Why did you think of this for no reason?" Lin Dashan came over with a smile.
He Guixiang slapped his hand away and said, "You shameless old man, Ah Shu and Ah Ye are still in the courtyard."
"Hey, I'm in a good mood today, but I have so much energy that I don't know where to use it. Let me do it for a bit, and then we can be quiet..."
The small village that was bustling during the day became quiet after nightfall. In the courtyard, Zhou Ye helped Lin Shu make chicken mushroom sauce, while Lin Shu sat aside fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan, sometimes fanning herself, sometimes helping Zhou Ye, and occasionally saying a few words.
Only half of the chicken mushrooms were processed, just enough to make a pot of soup. The remaining chicken mushrooms, along with the soil on the stems, were not shaken off and spread out in a ventilated place in the yard. I will make another pot of soup early tomorrow morning.
Lin Shu looked at the sweat on Zhou Ye's forehead, her cheeks slightly hot, not knowing what she was thinking about.
After cooking the chicken mushrooms, it was already dark and she couldn't see the road clearly. Was it okay to ask A Ye to carry her there?
"Ashu, are you sleepy? If you are, go back to your room and sleep." Zhou Ye looked back at her.
Lin Shu shook her head and said, "I'm not sleepy." It's almost nine o'clock now?
"Aye, I'm going to take a bath in the river. When the chicken mushrooms are ready, I want you to carry me there."
Zhou Ye paused his movements and then nodded.
Suddenly, his ears moved and he heard some noise coming from Uncle Lin and Aunt He's room. Although it was very low, he had good hearing and heard it without paying attention.
His expression suddenly became strange.
Zhou Ye couldn't help but look at Lin Shu and saw that she looked normal and didn't seem to hear the noise.
"Ashu, talk to me." Zhou Ye suddenly said.
Lin Shu looked bewildered. "Ah? Isn't that what we're talking about? What do you want me to say?" She paused slightly, then suddenly chuckled. "No, Ah Ye, don't you want to hear me say something nice?"
Zhou Ye hummed and admitted it.
"You're so shameless! You weren't like this before, Anye-nii."
The sound of "Brother Aye" made Zhou Ye feel numb inside.
He knew Ah Shu was deliberately trying to seduce him again. But this wasn't a good place. He couldn't possibly do anything to Ah Shu here.
No matter how Lin Shu teased him, Zhou Ye endured it until the chicken mushrooms in the pot were cooked and served. The two of them took their change of clothes, and he carried Lin Shu to the river. As soon as he put her down, he pressed her in his arms and kissed her fiercely.
As if to punish her for all the teasing he had just done, the mad wolf wrapped her tightly, sucked her fiercely, licked her hard, entwined his big tongue around her, and filled her honeyed little mouth completely.
Only when the person in his arms sobbed and pushed him away did he let her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ashu, I'll take a shower first tonight. You, you wait for me for a moment." His breathing was turbid.
…
When Lin Shu came back and lay on the bed, her mouth was red and a little swollen.
Recalling the scene she accidentally saw, Lin Shu's face turned slightly red.
After Aye kissed her, he hurried to the river. There were some places where she couldn't hide at all. It was scary.
A Ye is so stupid, doesn't he know to ask her for help?
The two have been in a relationship for several days, but Aye only knows how to kiss. Isn't that too naive?
Wait a little longer, and then she will give him some other sweet treats.
As Lin Shu was thinking, she gently pulled the thin blanket over her face, covering her rosy cheeks completely. Only her bright eyes were left, swaying a secret and happy smile in the night.
~
The next morning, Lin Zhaodi came with two large bundles of taro stalks.
Lin Shu was slightly surprised, "Aunt Lin, why did you pick so many taro stems?!"
Lin Zhaodi explained briskly, "Your Uncle Zhao and I picked these together. There are plenty of wild taro in the mountains, and no one's picking them, so we picked these two large bundles in no time at all. Ah Shu, you watch over and dry the extra ones for storage."
When Lin Shu heard this, she knew that she had picked so many on purpose.
"Ah Shu, let's prepare breakfast early so you can go to the market early after eating."
"Okay!"
While Lin Zhaodi was busy, Lin Shu also started working.
They peeled off the taro stems one by one. Lin Xiaopu and He Guixiang helped, and by the time the rice in the pot was just right, they had already torn off a whole bundle.
"Sister, do you have to do so many? Isn't that too much?" Lin Xiaopu asked.
Lin Shu smiled and said, "If you think it's too much now, you will think it's not enough when we eat later."
The taro stem itself has no taste, but it absorbs oil and juice very well. When stewed with duck meat for a while, the taro stem will absorb the juice from the duck meat and it will be even more delicious than the duck meat!
Not only braised duck, goose, chicken, and fish, but also taro stems can be braised together. The taro stems that have absorbed the soup are like the meaty aroma inside. Once you take a bite, you will not be able to stop eating!
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