Chapter 52 Chapter 52-Two-in-one soft and sweet steamed buns...
The insect was still small. Lin Duoer exclaimed, "Sister, take this back and feed it to the chickens."
Lin Chuntao frowned, then said, "Then bring something to hold it."
After hearing what was said, Lin Duoer ran to the edge of the field and found some larger leaves to wrap the insects.
After searching for a long time, she found four bugs. Lin Chuntao felt a little numb watching the bugs wriggling.
"You should either send that bug back to feed the chickens or just kill it. It gives me goosebumps just looking at it."
Lin Duoer chuckled and said, "I'll send it back to feed the chickens." After saying that, she ran away.
Lin Chuntao was not in a hurry to dig wild vegetables. She looked in the two plots of land and then went to the back mountain to have a look. She saw almost no seedlings eaten by insects in the sandy land in the back mountain; she found a few in the two plots of land by the river.
Lin Chunxing asked from the side, "Sister, do you want to sprinkle some wood ash water?"
"It's okay to sprinkle a little, but you have to get up early and sprinkle it."
Lin Chunxing said, "Then I'll bring Chunhe and the others over to do it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Lin Chuntao responded, "Let's cut grass for the pigs. Cut some and then go home."
There was only a sickle, so Lin Chunxing went to cut the vegetables. Lin Chuntao looked for wild vegetables in a meadow by the river, dug some up randomly, and accumulated more than a hundred points.
Lin Chunxing looked at the jumble of wild vegetables in Lin Chuntao's small bamboo basket. There was a riot of them all, and she hadn't sorted the old and tender vegetables, just cramming them in there. Last time, after days of digging wild vegetables, there wasn't much tender left, so Lin Chuntao didn't cook them and just gave them all to the piglets. The piglets were picky eaters, too, and wouldn't eat the old ones, so it was just a waste.
The doctor told Lin Chuntao to have a good rest. They could get pig feed and there were also vegetables to eat, so there was no need to go through the trouble of digging wild vegetables.
After listening to Lin Chunxing's words, Lin Chuntao looked at the wild vegetables in the bamboo basket and said, "I'll just dig some. I can't just lie down all the time when I'm resting. I need to move around."
"Besides, this wild vegetable is very useful, you will know it later."
Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe couldn't figure out what use it would be in the future no matter how hard they tried.
The sisters came up from the river and crossed the arch bridge in the village, and happened to meet Aunt Guizhi who was going to the river to wash clothes.
"Aunt, are you going to wash clothes?"
Aunt Guizhi responded, looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"
Lin Chuntao replied: "It's fine now, there's no problem."
"That's fine. Take some rest recently." She looked at the small bamboo basket in Lin Chuntao's hand. There was another pile of wild vegetables. Gui Zhixiang smiled and said, "I see that the bamboo leaves you planted are almost ready to be picked and eaten. Why are you still digging wild vegetables?"
"I dig it up to feed the pigs. I only have a sickle. Chun Xing cuts grass for the pigs and I have nothing to do, so I dig everywhere with a hoe."
When she said that, Aunt Guizhi believed it a little.
"If it's too old, it won't taste good. I still have a lot of vegetables in my field. Just pick whatever you want to eat."
Lin Chuntao thanked her with a smile, and Aunt Guizhi waved her hand.
"You're so polite, haven't you eaten yet?"
"Go back and cook. I'll go wash two pieces of clothes first. While the sun is shining, I can wash them and dry them in the sun."
Lin Chuntao responded and took them home.
After everyone left, Aunt Guizhi turned around and called out, "Chuntao, the peppers are starting to turn red. Go check them out in a few days and pick the ones that are red first."
Lin Chuntao stopped and responded loudly. They watched Aunt Guizhi leave in a hurry before they moved.
Before I got home, I saw Lin Duoer and Pei Ying coming down.
"Brother-in-law is back so early today?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I guess the butcher shop is doing good business and the meat is selling fast."
After approaching, Lin Chuntao looked at Pei Ying and asked, "Why are you here so early today?"
Pei Ying smiled and said, "Shopkeeper He found another wealthy customer who wanted meat. They bought half of the meat. Later, there was not enough to sell, but there were no more pigs to kill, so they came back."
"So that's how it is."
As they spoke, Pei Ying reached out to take the small bamboo basket in her hand. After Lin Chuntao gave it to him, he looked at Lin Chunxing and said, "Put the basket on the ground and I'll carry it."
Lin Chunxing hurriedly said, "It's not heavy. We're almost home. I'll carry it and go open the door first."
After saying that, he didn't forget to pull Lin Chunhe and Lin Duoer away. Lin Chuntao laughed, "Slow down, don't fall."
Lin Chunxing ignored her and left quickly with her two sisters.
When we got home, Lin Chunxing and the others were already squatting down to wash their hands.
Lin Chuntao threw the wild vegetables to the piglet and then turned around to wash her hands.
Pei Ying went into the house and took out the wooden barrel. Inside was a piece of pig fat and a piece of pork belly with ribs.
Lin Chuntao was a little surprised, "Why did you buy so much?"
Pei Ying replied, "The pig's fat is very good, so I'll just keep it and boil some more at once to save myself from having to buy it frequently."
"That's true. Then just buy some oil. Why did you bring a piece of pork belly?"
"I was craving the potato stew you made earlier, so I bought it."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's do it tonight."
Pei Ying nodded. Lin Chunxing looked at the half bucket of snow-white lard and the rib meat with fat and lean parts. She looked up at Pei Ying, then at Lin Chuntao, pursed her lips and smiled as she went into the house.
After entering the house, she found nothing to do, so she went to take a look at the dough that Lin Chuntao had kneaded before leaving.
She was shocked as soon as she lifted the straw cover. She clearly remembered that the dough was half the size of a pumpkin before she went out. How did it become half a clay basin?
"Sister! Come in and take a look."
Her shouting was incoherent. "What's wrong?" Lin Chuntao asked as she walked into the house.
When I came in, I saw Lin Chunxing holding a straw cover and pointing at the clay basin, saying in surprise: "The dough has grown!"
Lin Chunhe, Lin Duoer and Pei Ying followed in later. The two sisters also opened their mouths wide. Pei Ying calmed down a little because she didn't know how big the dough Lin Chuntao had kneaded before.
"Are you making steamed buns from fermented dough?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, and Pei Ying said, "Then it should be fermented."
"It must be ready." Lin Chuntao said as she told Lin Chunxing and the others to light a fire and wash the steamer. She took a bowl and scooped out some dry flour, preparing to knead the dough to make steamed buns.
Pei Ying said, "Let me rub it."
Lin Chuntao had no objection. Kneading dough also requires strength. If the dough is kneaded well, the steamed buns made will be more delicate.
When Pei Ying came back from washing her hands, Lin Chuntao had already stirred the dough in the clay basin with chopsticks, deflated it, and sprinkled some dry flour into it.
Pei Ying came in, took away the clay basin, and put it on the table to knead it.
He had strong hands and in a short while he had kneaded the dough until it was shiny and smooth.
Lin Chuntao looked at it and thought it was okay, so she took over to shape the dough.
The steamer had only one layer, and one pot could only steam six. After steaming one pot first, Lin Chuntao continued to make the dumplings, putting them aside and steaming them slowly.
After steaming for a quarter of an hour, hot steam was wafting out from the lid of the steamer, bringing with it a rich wheat aroma. The sisters all took a deep breath at the same time.
"Sister, it smells so good."
“It tastes better than rice.”
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'll eat two more later."
Listening to their conversation, a breeze blew by, and the wheat aroma of steamed buns brushed his cheeks. His nose twitched slightly, and he turned back to look at Lin Chuntao.
Why does this steamed bun feel more delicious than any he has eaten before?
Soon Lin Chuntao also smelled it. Not long after the steamer was cooked, she took a colander and quickly took it out.
The snow-white, smooth buns were as big as bowls. The sisters swallowed unconsciously. After picking up the buns, Lin Chuntao called out, "Chun Xing, scoop a ladle of water and pour it into the pot."
Lin Chunxing hurriedly got up to scoop water, and she also quickly took the dough from the basin and put it into the steamer.
"Take it and eat it. It's delicious now that it's freshly steamed."
Lin Chuntao said this and ran to wash her hands. When she came back to work after washing, Lin Chunxing just took out the chopsticks.
The steamed buns are hot when held in your hands, and you can eat them by skewering them with a pair of chopsticks.
Lin Chuntao took the first bite. Although there was no sugar, it had a strong wheat flavor and there was a hint of sweetness in her mouth after swallowing.
Lin Duoer gently poked the steamed bun with her finger, and a shallow pit appeared on the surface, like a dimple.
None of the sisters had ever eaten steamed buns made of pure white flour. They only felt that they were soft, fragrant, and a little sweet.
Pei Ying had eaten steamed buns before. There used to be a steamed bun shop next to the butcher shop. The ones with stuffing were okay, but the ones without stuffing had a sour taste, which he didn't like very much.
But look at the one steamed by Lin Chuntao, it is as white as snow, with a smooth skin, and looks very appetizing.
He reached out and tore off a piece. The bun was soft and smooth inside, and after chewing it, there was no trace of sourness. He was a little unsure and tore off another piece and put it into his mouth.
It really doesn't taste sour.
He looked at Lin Chuntao with some surprise.
Lin Chuntao was enjoying her meal when she felt Pei Ying's gaze. She looked up at him, and before they could say anything, they heard their sisters chattering beside them, saying how delicious it was and that they wanted to eat three or four...
After eating a steamed bun, Lin Chuntao went to deal with the remaining dough.
After asking the sisters what they wanted to eat, they all shook their heads. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's have steamed buns for lunch?"
They just nodded. Lin Chuntao smiled and saw that there were still two cucumbers. She washed them, smashed them, and marinated them with some salt, oil and chili peppers.
After waiting for two more pots to be steamed, Lin Chuntao ate another one. The cold cucumber was also refreshing.
Lunch was solved in this way. It was hot in the afternoon, and one had to rest at home. Lin Chuntao thought of cutting the lard and boiling it out now.
Knowing that she was going to make oil residue, the sisters were visibly excited.
They helped to scoop water from the basin and prepare the chopping board, and competed to help Lin Chuntao.
The water in the bucket was used up, so Pei Ying went to fetch two more buckets of water. Lin Chuntao moved the table out and stood in front of it to prepare to cut the lard.
The lard is very white, and Pei Ying and his team have cleaned it very well, leaving nothing contaminated, so it can be cut and used to make oil directly.
Watching her start cutting, Pei Ying said, "The pig kidneys haven't been removed yet. Go find some and cut them off first."
Lin Chuntao raised her eyebrows slightly, "Why did you leave the pork kidneys behind as well?"
Pei Ying said, "Shopkeeper He asked her to bring this to you, saying thank you for bringing her some chicken mushrooms. There are also two pig hearts and two pig kidneys."
Pork kidneys, something that is not particularly delicious but can make children happy.
After hearing that there were pig kidneys, the usually steady Lin Chunhe's face was filled with joy.
"Sister! Shall we have fried pork kidneys for dinner?"
"Just fry it if you want to eat it." said Lin Chuntao.
"Then we'll have pork kidneys and meat tonight, right?" Lin Duo'er looked up, a little shocked. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Yes."
Pei Ying rolled up his sleeves and went to wash his hands.
"Let me cut it, you go take a rest."
Lin Chuntao looked at him, determined to put the doctor's words into practice to the end.
"It's not tiring to cut the oil. I'll do it so I don't have to get my hands dirty."
"I've already washed my hands." He said as he took the knife from her hand. Lin Chuntao didn't argue anymore. She went back to get a hemp rope, made a hole in the two pig hearts, strung them together with the rope, and applied a little salt on them. They could be kept for a few days without going bad. She would fry them and eat them the next day or the day after tomorrow.
Pig heart is not as strong as pig liver, and it is still delicious when stir-fried.
After preparing the pig heart, Pei Ying had already cut out a lot of oil. Lin Chuntao went to wash the pot and brought it over. The iron pot was not small, and the cut lard was poured into it to form a shallow pot.
Pei Ying asked, "Do you want to split it into two pots?"
Lin Chuntao gently waved her hand: "No, we can finish it in one pot."
This pig should be about 200 pounds, and this is all the fat. Lin Chuntao thought about how her grandmother used to slaughter pigs. They would use a big iron pot to boil half a pot of lard, and the pure meat would weigh 300 to 400 pounds.
Lin Chuntao glanced at the door where the piglet was locked, and thought that if the piglet could weigh three or four hundred pounds by the New Year, they wouldn't have to buy much oil and meat next year.
Lin Chuntao still used the water boiling method, waiting for the water to boil. The soup in the pot became thick and white, and continued to boil until the color became transparent. The water vapor inside was boiled away and turned into clear oil. This time there was a lot of oil residue. Lin Chuntao did not boil it very dry. When it started to turn yellow, she turned off the heat and fished out all the oil residue.
The sun was blazing outside, and there was no wind at all.
"It's so hot in this sun, the oil is hard to cool down. Let's bring it inside to cool down."
Pei Ying nodded, took some straw to wrap the handle of the pot, and carried the pot into the house.
In the sweltering summer, the cicadas chirped incessantly. Lin Chuntao said, "If you want to eat the oil residue, make some for yourself. I'm a little sleepy, so I'm going to take a nap."
"Well, sister, we're going into the mountains to collect firewood. Do you want to come?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Let's see. If I wake up, I'll go with you. If I'm not awake, you guys go."
After she slept for a while, Lin Chunxing and the others left.
Pei Ying continued to make mud bricks.
I don’t know if it’s because of the medicine she took recently, but Lin Chuntao slept very deeply. It was already afternoon when she woke up.
*
Lin Miaomiao and her siblings have been waiting since morning until now, and finally waited for Yang Huai and Yang Cunzheng to come back.
Before anyone came up, Lin Miaomiao ran to greet them.
"Uncle!" She called out to Yang Muramasa only after he came up to her. "Third Grandpa."
The old man looked at her and nodded.
"Uncle, is it done?"
Yang Huai nodded, "It's done, and there's good news. A group of outsiders will be moving in tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and then we can choose one to marry."
Hearing this, Lin Miaomiao breathed a sigh of relief, and she looked at Yang Huai and the old man with a happy face.
"Very good!"
Although they were adopted, the three siblings still lived and ate at home.
The matter was resolved, and Lin Miaomiao came back with her younger brothers, all jumping for joy.
Seeing her joy, the villagers asked curiously, "Miaomiao, what good thing happened? Why are you so happy?"
Lin Miaomiao looked at the person who asked the question and felt proud.
"The three of us siblings have found our place, so we're happy."
The woman who asked the question raised an eyebrow in surprise. What was she planning? She looked at the direction they were coming from, which was their grandmother's house. The woman smiled and asked, "Are you moving to your grandmother's house?"
Lin Miaomiao raised her chin slightly and left without answering the woman.
The woman snorted in disapproval, "If you didn't know better, you'd think she'd been taken away by some wealthy family to be a daughter!"
By the evening, the news spread throughout the village that Lin Miaomiao was going to her grandmother's house.
Lin Cunzheng and Sun also heard it and came to ask about it. Lin Miaomiao told them the truth.
"My third grandfather said that a group of outsiders will arrive in a few days. Then I can choose one to marry and get a share of the land."
Sun nodded. "That's good. So, are you going to live at home or at your grandmother's house for the time being?"
"We live at home, but we still go to grandma's house during the day."
Sun said, "Well, be careful on your way back and forth."
After the old couple left, Lin Cunzheng sighed, "Miaomiao's side is now dealt with, and only Jialang is left. Jialang is still young, so it's not realistic for him to get married."
Sun frowned slightly. She looked at Lin Cunzheng and asked, "Among the outsiders here, there should be wives, right? Go and see if there are any women with daughters. Ask them if they have arranged a marriage for their daughters. They can get married in four or five years. If they do, the adults and children can come live here and we can take care of them together."
Lin Cunzheng looked at Sun and said, "It's mainly about dividing the land. The land will be divided according to the marriage certificate."
Sun said, "Then let's sign the marriage certificate first, and then have a wedding banquet when the child grows up."
Lin Cunzheng sighed softly, and Sun said, "Given Jialang and his situation, it would be a good idea to arrange a marriage while there is still an opportunity like this. If there is no such suitable one in a few years, you should keep an eye on them when you go to pick them up."
Listening to Sun's nagging, Lin Cunzheng nodded.
The old couple took a walk and stopped by to visit Lin Chuntao and the others. As soon as they entered the door, they saw mud bricks all over the floor, some of which were still damp, while others had already dried.
Pei Ying and Lin Chuntao were cleaning the yard. Seeing the old couple come in, Lin Chuntao greeted them with a smile.
The old lady laughed and said, "What are you going to build with these mud bricks?"
Lin Chuntao replied, "Pei Ying said he wanted to build a stove and use these bricks to build a chimney."
"Oh, you young people are really smart. We just made a clay cylinder and connected it to make do."
Listening to the old lady's words, Pei Ying smiled.
"The main thing is that we don't know how to make that cylindrical one, otherwise a round one would be better."
As they were talking, Lin Chuntao went into the house and brought out two stools for the old couple to sit on. She went to get some water, and Sun said hurriedly, "Don't bother, Chuntao. We're not thirsty."
After spending some time with her, Lin Chuntao had a better understanding of the old lady's temperament. She put down her bowl, took out two radishes, and peeled one for the old couple.
Lin Chuntao sat and chatted with them. The old lady looked at Pei Ying and asked, "Has Xiao Pei ever built a stove before?"
"No, Grandma, I just watched them pass by."
The old lady smiled and said, "When you build the wall, go and call your uncle to help you."
Pei Ying didn't refuse and agreed with a smile. Lin Chuntao said, "I guess we'll build it tomorrow afternoon. Are uncle and the others busy lately?"
The old lady said, "It's not busy. The fields are almost ready, so you can rest for a few days. He and your uncle Changhua have been looking for wood to make a plow. They've been wandering around in the mountains all day. I don't know what kind of wood they're looking for. When you need to build a stove, call him."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Is your plow broken?"
"No, everyone only has one plow. They saw you planting corn a few days ago, and they thought it was going fast, so they're going to get another plow. There are more people in your family, so when the time comes, several people can plow together, and spring planting will go faster."
At this point, Sun suddenly said, "If we're planting potatoes and sweet potatoes, it wouldn't be a good idea to plant them this way, right?"
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly. "Potatoes and sweet potatoes need to be planted deeper, so we can only plant them while plowing. But with more people, using two plows together will make the plowing faster."
The old couple sat and chatted for a while and then left without mentioning anything about Lin Miaomiao and Lin Jialang.
After leaving their courtyard, Sun and Lin Cun were talking about Lin Chuntian needing to take medicine.
"I just smelled the strong smell of medicine in the yard. This child is really..."
Lincunzheng said: "The hardship will soon end and happiness will come. I think this little Pei is not bad."
Sun smiled and nodded. "He seems quite diligent. I often see him fetching water. The women in the village are talking about it."
After seeing the old couple off, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying piled up the dried mud bricks and placed them in the corner of the wall.
After the two of them finished their work, Lin Chunxing and the others had not returned yet, so Lin Chuntao went to soak some rice, and then took out two pig kidneys to prepare them.
Pei Ying asked her, "Want to make dinner?"
"Wait a minute, I'll cut out the pork kidneys to remove the fishy smell, and then stir-fry them later."
Pei Ying nodded and turned to wash his hands.
Lin Chuntao washed the pork kidneys, placed them on a cutting board, and cut them in half. There was a layer of white stuff inside, which she cleaned off completely. Then, she deftly cut the kidneys into pieces and placed them in a bowl. She rinsed them twice with cold water, then went back to the house, fetched some fresh ginger, shredded it, and placed it in the bowl. She also added a little flour, kneaded it evenly, and covered it with a large bowl.
Her movements were very skillful, and she didn't look like someone who was doing it for the first time.
Pei Ying knew that the person who cooked in the old Lin family was not Lin Chuntao, so she didn't have many opportunities to enter the kitchen. But after the family separated, she seemed to have learned how to make a lot of delicious food without any instruction.
If she said that many of the dishes were just accidental successes, then the steamed buns were totally unacceptable.
No store selling steamed buns could make steamed buns that were sour-free, but Lin Chuntao did it.
He stood by the table and watched Lin Chuntao clean the table.
Lin Chunxing and the others hadn't returned yet, so he asked her softly, "Madam, have you ever eaten steamed buns before?"
Lin Chuntao's expression froze when she heard this, and she slowly raised her eyes to look at him, but her expression was calm.
"No." Lin Chuntao answered him decisively. Their eyes met, and Lin Chuntao asked, "You should have eaten it, right?"
Pei Ying nodded slightly, then Lin Chuntao asked him, "Is it different from what I made today?"
"The steamed buns sold outside are a bit sour. You can buy one to try tomorrow. The steamed buns sold outside are not as fluffy and soft as the ones I make. If someone else eats them by accident, I might have to ask you for the recipe."
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao pursed her lips and smiled. The person in front of her obviously wanted to remind her, but he said something with another meaning.
"Okay, I understand. I'll think about the recipe in a couple of days. Once I can create a stable recipe, I'll start selling the steamed bun recipe."
She answered frankly, and Pei Ying also smiled slowly.
After she wiped the table clean, she asked Pei Ying to go into the house to take out the piece of pork, separate the meat from the ribs, and then chop the ribs into small pieces.
Pei Ying listened to her and did as she said.
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