An hour later, Ye Wenxue, who had failed to burn charcoal again, climbed out of the cave and looked at Dazhuang, who had injured his hand instead of breaking bamboo.
The harsh reality proves that nothing can be accomplished overnight.
After washing her hands, Ye Wenxue glanced at the hawthorns piled up in the kitchen and decided to make a candied hawthorn to calm herself down and alleviate the blow of her second failed attempt at charcoal burning.
—It can't be said to be a complete failure, but the charcoal produced too much smoke, which was too suffocating and didn't meet Ye Wenxue's standards.
"Come and get to work," Ye Wenxue said, pouring the hawthorns into a winnowing basket and carrying it under the eaves to greet the children who had nothing to do. "Prune the hawthorns, remove the tops and bottoms, cut off any damaged parts, and then remove the pits. Soak them in salt water. Mother will keep a small portion to make candied hawthorns, and the rest will be made into hawthorn jam to store for later."
Taking advantage of Dazhuang's listless state, Shuangshuang picked up the short knife, washed it, and then squatted down next to the winnowing basket on a small stool. She picked up a hawthorn and imitated Ye Wenxue's way of processing it: "The hawthorn is too sour. Will it taste good as candied hawthorn or hawthorn jam?"
Siwang wiped a hawthorn to taste it, and his face immediately scrunched up like the pleats of a steamed bun: "Mom's cooking must be delicious."
Ye Wenxue was sweating profusely from Si Wang's praise. It was only because these kids hadn't eaten anything good that they thought her cooking was delicious.
However, this also aroused Ye Wenxue's competitive spirit. She refused to believe that if she could learn to kill, she couldn't learn to cook!
After examining the wound for Dazhuang, Sanyuan immediately complained, "Mom, Big Brother hurt his hand while fooling around!"
My father has said it several times: a scholar must not hurt his hands; he makes a living entirely by his hands and eyes.
For example, copying books, or writing poems.
Ye Wenxue deftly processed the hawthorn with a kitchen knife, making two cuts at each end, skillfully scooping out the pit, and tossing it into a wooden basin beside her: "How did you get hurt?"
Sanyuan dragged his older brother over: "He said he wanted to make bamboo umbrellas, but he accidentally cut his hand and almost lost a piece of skin."
Although Sanyuan had been learning from Su Jiu for more than a month, he was still only at the stage of recognizing characters and herbs. He couldn't even treat minor illnesses like high fever. He was worried because Dazhuang had given him a hard time.
Ye Wenxue looked at Dazhuang, who had a stern face, and understood why he was being difficult. She chuckled, "You're complaining about something that's being given to you for free?"
Da Zhuang remained silent.
He wasn't disgusted, he was just a little... worried, afraid that his mother would be taken away.
Ye Wenxue wasn't very good at child psychology counseling, so she could only ask Dazhuang to do the work to keep him from overthinking: "Go and bring out the first two batches of chili peppers we harvested. After Mom finishes making candied hawthorns and hawthorn sauce, she'll remove the seeds from the chili peppers and make chili oil to store."
She glanced at Dazhuang's injured hand and added reassuringly, "Don't touch it directly with your hands. After touching the chili peppers, don't touch your face or eyes, it will hurt."
Dazhuang wasn't thinking about the chili peppers. He gave a perfunctory reply and let Sanyuan clumsily bandage him to stop the bleeding before going to the cellar.
Ye Wenxue trusted Dazhuang quite a bit. After giving him instructions, she took the three children, who were neither too young nor too old, to continue processing the hawthorns.
"Mom, how come you're slicing so fast?" Shuangshuang tried to imitate Ye Wenxue's movements, but she couldn't keep up with the speed, and she was a little discouraged.
"There are techniques involved..." Ye Wenxue took the opportunity to explain knife skills to the children, "You have to be steady, fast, and accurate with your hands, and you have to seize the right moment to strike with one blow."
Both looked up in confusion; it didn't sound like knife technique to them.
Ye Wenxue demonstrated for her several times, and in the blink of an eye, the pit and scraped parts of the hawthorn were removed.
Shuangshuang and Siwang stared at each other for a moment, and then Siwang decided to give up.
They continued learning slowly, progressing from unfamiliarity to proficiency and then to faster learning...
There was only half a basket of hawthorns in total, which was quickly cleaned up.
Ye Wenxue carried the wooden basin to the kitchen, washed the hawthorns several times with clean water, and then sprinkled some salt into the basin to soak them.
While the hawthorns were soaking, she used her knowledge to filter the slightly bitter brown sugar she had bought again. After letting it settle for a while, the brown sugar turned into fine salt-like white sugar.
—When she was trained to be a killing machine, Ye Wenxue learned all kinds of knowledge, but she just lacked practical experience and was clumsy.
Ye Wenxue's confidence soared after her first attempt at making white sugar was a complete success. She drained the water from the hawthorns, skewered them horizontally with bamboo sticks, and set them aside.
After heating the pot, add cold water and a suitable amount of white sugar to make a slightly yellow syrup. Roll the hawthorns in the syrup, then use a spoon to scoop up more syrup and pour it over them. The result is a reddish-yellow color that is exceptionally tempting.
Siwang, who had been peeking through the doorway, couldn't resist any longer. He excitedly ran into the kitchen, stood on tiptoe by the stove, drooling as he stared longingly at the stringy hawthorns, wishing he could lick them all up.
Ye Wenxue only made five skewers of candied hawthorns, and Yuanyuan's teeth hadn't fully grown in yet, so she couldn't bite them.
Yu Guang noticed that Si Wang was getting restless, so Ye Wenxue tapped Si Wang on the head: "Be careful, it's hot. Eat it later."
Siwang nodded steadily, his eyes fixed on the stringy candied hawthorn, it was unclear whether he had actually heard a word.
Ye Wenxue placed the candied hawthorns on the table, washed the pot, and then started making hawthorn jam.
Hawthorns spoil quickly, so making them into hawthorn jam makes them easier to store. When it gets cold and it's hard to get them out of the valley, and the vegetables are mostly eaten, you can use the hawthorn jam.
While Ye Wenxue was busy, Siwang stubbornly lay on the table staring at the candied hawthorns.
He had never eaten candied hawthorn before and didn't know what it tasted like, but he knew it was delicious because his mother used so much sugar! Sweet!
Siwang waited patiently for the time it takes to eat a bowl of rice until the syrup on the candied hawthorn gradually solidified, then he quickly began to work.
"One for Mom, one for Big Brother... and one for me! Hehe." Siwang picked up the smallest candied hawthorn skewer, eagerly licked it, and his eyes lit up instantly.
Take another bite of a hawthorn, and the outer syrup is broken, leaving a sweet and cloying taste in your mouth. Continue biting in, and the sourness of the hawthorn balances the excessive sweetness.
Siwang couldn't resist taking another bite: "Mmm! Big brother, second sister, third brother!"
He said everything his mother cooked was delicious!
Shuangshuang was holding a short knife, practicing the technique her mother had just taught her, when she heard Siwang calling her. Thinking something had happened, she rushed into the kitchen and was immediately dumbfounded: "Is it delicious?"
Siwang stuffed a hawthorn into each of his cheeks and nodded like a hamster.
Ye Wenxue stirred the hawthorn sauce in the pot, glanced back, and said, "As long as it tastes good. Siwang, after you finish eating, go check the cellar. Your older brother took so long to get two bags of chili peppers."
"Hmm!"
They both bit into a hawthorn, chewed it quickly, and resisted the urge to eat another one: "Mom, I'll go call her. I can also help my older brother."
After saying that, Shuangshuang turned and went to the cellar before Siwang could react.
"Gah!"
Not long after, the goose, stomping its feet and honking loudly, ran from the cellar into the kitchen and plunged headfirst into the pool right under Ye Wenxue's nose.
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