Chapter 84 Tea Making I heard that if a man has big hands, it is wonderful
After Lin Xiaopu's interruption, the extremely tense atmosphere between the two of them disappeared, but the atmosphere was still a little subtle.
"Aye, let me tell you something. I'm going to make tea. You too... cough, you just continue making your bamboo lounge chair." Lin Shu slipped away without giving Zhou Ye a chance to speak.
"Ah——" Zhou Ye didn't even have time to finish his greeting.
He looked at Lin Shu several more times, but in the end he didn't ask any more questions. He continued to eat the snacks he had put aside before, and then continued to work after finishing his meal.
There was also a snack on the table, prepared for Lin Dashan.
Lin Xiaopu was supposed to go out and play for a while and then come back to take the snacks to the field. But maybe because he had just bumped into Zhou Ye, who was blushing, he didn't come back for a long time.
Zhou Ye looked towards Lin Shu and asked, "Ah Shu, should I take this snack to the field?"
Lin Shu, who was already busy, glanced at him and said, "No need. Leave Xiao Pu to go and go do your own thing."
Zhou Ye said "oh" and said nothing more.
Lin Shu didn't mention what happened just now, as if it was over, but he couldn't get over it.
His mind was full of the scene of Lin Shu coming over to kiss him, which replayed over and over again. Just thinking about it made his mouth dry. Going to the kitchen to drink a bucket of mountain spring water didn't help. His head was buzzing and he couldn't calm down.
But Lin Shu...why is she so calm?
Lin Shu didn't let go of the incident, but she would forget about everything else when she started working.
When she first returned, she had soaked pine needles and wood ash in water, then went on to process the chicken mushrooms. By now, the pine needles were almost soaked. It would have been better to soak and wash them in flour, but the food couldn't withstand such abuse, so she had to resort to using wood ash instead.
A small bamboo chair was brought to the wooden basin. Lin Shu sat on it, bent over, and scrubbed the pine needles inside, washing away the wood ash that had accumulated. She did this two or three times, not sparing any water. With the bamboo pipe now bringing in water, the mountain spring water was the last thing the family needed.
After cleaning, grab a handful of pine needles, flatten one end, and cut the pine needles into small pieces about the length of a finger joint. After cutting, wash them several times and then put them in a colander to drain the moisture.
Light a small fire on the stove, put small pieces of pine needles in a ceramic pot and stir-fry them over low heat to slowly extract the oil from the pine needles. Turn off the heat when the leaves turn slightly yellow. Take advantage of the good weather over the next two days to put them in a bamboo winnowing basket to dry in the sun. Once they are completely dried, the pine needle tea is ready.
The tea brewed from the pine needle tea processed in this way is light yellow in color. Not only does it look good, it also has a light pine scent and no astringency at all.
Lin Xiaopu came back halfway and said hello to the two of them, "Sister, Brother Aye, I'm going to bring some snacks to Dad, you guys continue with your work!"
After saying this, he picked up the bamboo basket filled with snacks on the table and slipped away.
"Walk slowly and don't bump into anything on the road!" Lin Shu reminded.
Lin Xiaopu replied from a distance, "Don't worry, sister. I'll just go out now and walk slowly on the way, slower than a snail!" He almost said that he would never come back so soon to disturb the two of them.
A little kid with a big brain.
Lin Shu pretended not to understand.
Lin Shu put the pine needles she had fished out into a bamboo dustpan, looked around, and planned to put the dustpan on top of the firewood shed to dry in the sun.
A simple shed was built on the firewood pile, and the bamboo winnowing basket was placed on it to dry the firewood faster. If it was stuck on the bamboo rack for drying clothes, the pine needle tea inside would easily fall out even if the bamboo winnowing basket was only slightly tilted.
However, the roof of the firewood shed was a bit high, and it was obvious that the tall man Zhou Ye had built it. Lin Shu brought a small bamboo chair over and was about to step on it when Zhou Ye came over, took the bamboo round dustpan from her hand, and said to her, "A Shu, let me do it."
Zhou Ye relied on his height and didn't even tiptoe. He just raised his arms higher and the bamboo winnowing basket landed steadily on the roof.
"Aye, thank you." Lin Shu smiled at him, and before Zhou Ye could speak, she added, "Please help me put the kudzu flower tea up there later."
Zhou Ye nodded and wanted to say something else, but Lin Shu had already left.
Zhou Ye watched her walk away, pursed his lips, and went back to his bamboo work in silence.
Lin Shu's action just now had shocked him so much that he couldn't calm down for a long time. But he kept watching Lin Shu, watching her methodically make the pine needle tea. Even though the steps were tedious and boring, she found interest in it and did it patiently and meticulously.
Just watching her busying herself, Zhou Ye felt pleased, and the turbulent emotions in his heart gradually calmed down.
Ah Shu... maybe she is just that kind of person. Even if she has distracting thoughts in her mind, it will not affect what she is doing, so he mistakenly thinks that she doesn't care.
As Zhou Ye watched and thought, his brows softened unconsciously. This time, he devoted himself to the work in his hands and quickly regained his previous feel. He did not withdraw until Lin Shu called him.
"Aye, I'm ready now. Please help me put this big bamboo sieve up there."
We have many bamboo utensils for drying things at home. Small items are dried in the finely woven round bamboo winnowing baskets. For larger items, like kudzu flowers and purslane, a rice-washing basket is sufficient for smaller quantities, while larger quantities are handled with the large bamboo sieves we have at home. Even larger quantities, like the sack of mushrooms Ah Ye picked, require drying on the bamboo mats at home.
"So fast?" Zhou Ye was slightly surprised.
Lin Shu explained, "Kudzu flower tea is a scented tea, unlike pine needle tea, so it's quick to make. It's just a little more troublesome to wash it at the beginning. Not only do you have to wash it several times, but you also have to soak it in salt to remove any insect eggs and impurities hidden inside. But when I soaked the pine needles earlier, I also soaked the kudzu flowers, so I just need to steam the washed kudzu flowers for a short while to fully release their fragrance."
"Look, I've steamed the kudzu flowers and spread them on this bamboo sieve. Put them on the firewood shed with the pine needles to dry for two or three days. Once they're completely dry, they can be put into teapots. By the way, Aye, can you make me a few more teapots tomorrow? They should have lids that fit tightly when closed..."
Zhou Ye took the large bamboo sieve from her hand and put it down while listening to her talk. After hearing the last sentence, he said, "Okay, tell me how to do it later."
Lin Shu immediately laughed and said, "I told you, you turned into a snail man again, can you make it for me in advance?"
A smile also appeared in Zhou Ye's eyes. "I get up early. If it's easy to make, I'll make it for you in advance."
"I'm afraid it won't work this time. Making a teapot with a lid is delicate work. I'm afraid it won't be possible with just a kitchen knife and your axe. We have to go to Grandpa Gao's house to borrow a small knife. But Grandpa Gao does bamboo work every day and uses all kinds of knives. I wonder if he would be willing to lend it to us."
Zhou Ye thought for a moment and replied, "It's OK. Grandpa Gao is usually weaving bamboo strips, so we can avoid using the knife. I'll go borrow it tomorrow."
"Thank you so much. Aye, the tea is ready. I'll go make the chicken mushroom sauce."
Zhou Ye asked hurriedly, "Do you need help?"
"No, just go ahead and do your thing."
Although Lin Shu said so, after she put the diced chicken mushroom paste into the wok, Zhou Ye still came over and took her spatula, "A Shu, let me do it. I'll help you stir it for the first quarter of an hour, and then you can do it later."
After a pause, he added, "If you walk too much, your legs will ache. If you stir the chicken mushrooms too much, your hands will also ache."
When Lin Shu heard this, she quickly pursed the corners of her mouth, trying hard not to let them rise.
But soon she stamped her foot.
I’m so annoyed. Why can’t I help but curl up the corners of my mouth?
Zhou Ye was not honest at all. Why didn't he just work silently this time? He even had to add a reason to help her. Then this sentence hit her heart.
"You were doing your bamboo work without even raising your head before, and you were unwilling to accompany me to the back mountain. Why are you not busy now?" Lin Shu asked jokingly.
Zhou Ye, stirring the diced chicken mushrooms in the pot, explained after hearing this, "I wanted to finish this bamboo recliner quickly so I could make other things later. Ah Shu, didn't you also want to make a bamboo rocking chair? That one would be more complicated and take more time."
Lin Shu stood beside him, tilted her head to look at his face, and said with a smile: "Oh~ Is it to quickly make my bamboo lounge chair?"
Zhou Ye glanced at her distractedly and nodded.
"Ashu, go sit over there, it's hot by the stove."
Lin Shu responded and this time she didn't sit on the bench, but sat on the small bamboo chair made by A Ye.
She moved the small bamboo chair to a position facing Zhou Ye, and watched him work quietly. As she watched, she couldn't help but laugh.
Oh no, she seems to be attracted to Zhou Ye.
Before, she had only had a favorable impression of him, and would occasionally be touched by his warm gestures, but it wasn't enough to make her fall in love. But this time, she was certain she was. After she had kissed him, her heart had been pounding for a long time, and her face had been a little hot, but she had acted well, so she looked so calm.
The rest of your life is long, it would be nice to not only eat, drink and have fun, but also have a relationship, right?
She has taken the initiative today. Even if Aye is a blockhead, he should wake up by now, right?
Lin Shu was distracted, and her eyes unconsciously fell on Zhou Ye's arm, and then followed the arm to the hand holding the wooden shovel.
He glanced at Zhou Ye's, then glanced at his own.
They are really big. They are not the kind of hands with distinct knuckles like bamboos. Zhou Ye's hands are broad and big, with a strong sense of bones and visible blue veins. They look full of power.
For some reason, the obscene words said by her mortal enemy in her previous life suddenly popped up in Lin Shu's mind.
It's wonderful to say that a man has big hands, as one hand can wrap around a slender waist. Also, the straighter a man's nose bridge, the more gifted he is. If the tip of his nose is big, that's even more wonderful, because he has strong execution and desire, and he can be very greedy in that aspect.
She was facing Zhou Ye's profile, and the shape of his nose was particularly clear.
The nose is like a hanging gallbladder, and the nose bridge is particularly straight...
Lin Shu suddenly came back to her senses. "Calm down, quickly calm down!" What on earth was she thinking?
Ahhh, it must be because her life in the countryside has been too comfortable recently that she has the leisure to think about all these things. Unlike her previous life, she was only thinking about how to fill her stomach every day and didn't even bother to look at men.
"Ashu, it should be almost done, come and take a look." Zhou Ye suddenly turned his head to look.
Lin Shu was feeling guilty, and Zhou Ye's voice actually scared her.
Zhou Ye saw her avoiding his gaze and her face flushed, which made her face even more beautiful and her eyes moist. He was stunned.
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