Then, Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu also took tools and sat around the basin containing the snails, helping to remove the sharp points of the snails.
When there was only a little left, Li Xiuju tapped her head. "Look at my memory! I'm so forgetful. I was so focused on these snails that I forgot to pick up some perilla leaves."
“I know where it is, I’ll go.”
Zhou Chenyu volunteered, remembering that she had seen wild perilla when she was digging for earthworms last time.
Perilla is not a common vegetable, but it is a great seasoning and an indispensable part of the dining table. It can be used in stir-fries such as snails, clams, or chicken.
This kind of thing, which can be found everywhere in the countryside, can sell for 1.5 yuan in supermarkets, and sometimes even more than 2 yuan.
It's a pity this isn't a city, otherwise she could make a living selling vegetables.
They already have land and a vegetable garden, why would they need to work?
As darkness fell, Zhou Chenyu took the old, rusty shovel and basket from home and went to the place he had been before. However, the weeds had been cleared to level the ground, and the perilla leaves were buried under the haystacks. After several days of rain, the leaves had all rotted.
"Why did you have to clean it up right when I needed it? How am I supposed to explain this to everyone?" Zhou Chenyu was having a headache when she suddenly heard someone call out from behind her, "Sister Chenyu."
Who called her?
Zhou Chenyu turned around and saw a girl in orange standing there. This girl was Zhou Wanqiu, who had followed Chen Cuiping behind that day with a timid expression.
She is Chen Cuiping's daughter. Is the daughter of an enemy friend or foe?
Before Zhou Chenyu could figure out how to talk to her, Zhou Wanqiu took out a purple leaf from the basket and said blankly, "Sister Chenyu, are you looking for this?"
The other party expressed sincere and friendly kindness, and Zhou Chenyu smiled and said, "Yes, I remember there were many here, but they were all swept away. Where did you pick up those in your hand?"
“There,” the girl answered without hesitation, pointing to the lawn next to someone else’s vegetable garden. “I just came back from there, there are still many there.”
"Really? I'll go take a look, thanks."
After Zhou Chenyu finished speaking, someone passed by. Zhou Wanqiu lowered her eyes and, treating them like strangers, left without saying anything more.
Looking at her cautious behavior, Zhou Chenyu wondered if Chen Cuiping forbade her to associate with them in private, so she was afraid of being seen.
What do the grudges and conflicts between adults have to do with children?
Zhou Chenyu picked up her tools and walked to the spot Zhou Wanqiu had just designated.
The area is covered with dense green wild grasses and vegetables, with purple perilla leaves growing in the middle, their lush foliage making them particularly prominent and easy to spot.
Zhou Chenyu only wanted the tender buds of the perilla leaves. She twisted off the newly grown tender leaves with her bare hands, picking them like tea leaves. In a short while, she filled the bamboo basket.
She shook her shopping basket, feeling a pang of regret for the money she had spent on perilla leaves and flowers in the past.
The money was spent like water.
After picking the perilla leaves, Zhou Chenyu went all out and dug up two perilla plants that were growing well.
Back home, she put down a basket of perilla leaves and took the freshly dug perilla leaves, roots and all, to the vegetable garden. The seeds they had pulled up had already sprouted tender leaves, and several rows of vegetable patches were full of tender green seedlings. She estimated that they would be ready to harvest and eat in another month.
Zhou Chenyu found a corner in the vegetable garden, dug two large holes, buried the roots of the perilla in them, covered them with soil, and then brought a bucket of water from home to wet the soil on the ground.
Since she grows perilla in her own vegetable garden, she no longer needs to go outside to dig for wild vegetables.
"It should survive, right?" Zhou Chenyu admired his masterpiece for a while, then picked up the shovel and went home.
Zhou Baoyu sat on a small stool washing vegetables, while Li Xiuju set up an iron pot to stir-fry snails.
After eating that small bowl of wontons at noon, Zhou Chenyu was starving. She sneaked into the kitchen like a rabbit, and Li Xiuju was amused by her, "There's a lot of smoke in here, what are you doing in here?"
Zhou Chenyu picked out two pieces of firewood and put them into the stove. The firewood was dry and coated with rosin. It crackled and popped when it caught fire. "It's nothing. I was just killing time anyway, so I came to watch the fire."
Li Xiuju saw through her thoughts, "It'll be ready soon."
The cold water in the pot quickly boiled. Li Xiuju poured the whole basin of snails into it and cooked them for a while. Foam appeared on the surface of the water. She used a spatula to scoop up a few snails, and their mouths had mostly opened.
Li Xiuju took a rag, picked up the iron pot, and poured all the snails into a winnowing basket to drain the water.
Next, wash the pot again and heat it up. Add a spoonful of lard and melt it. Pour in the chopped garlic and chili flakes and stir-fry until fragrant and spicy. Add the cooked snails, pour in the sauce, and season with perilla leaves and ginger salt, which have a unique aroma. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat until the snails shrink into the broth and absorb it. A bite of fragrant and spicy juicy snails is ready.
Just like before, Baoyu moved the table to the front of the courtyard, and Li Xiuju placed the steaming snails on the table, saying, "Dinner's ready, dinner's ready."
Zhou Baoyu sat down, took out three thin, sharpened bamboo skewers, and said with a grin, "Here, one for each of you. Use them carefully, because once they're gone, there won't be any left. This is the only one."
"Give it to me!" Zhou Chenyu couldn't wait for him to ramble on and snatched it away.
"Hey, hey, sister, are you just going to snatch it like that?!" Baoyu reached out but was slapped back, so he could only pretend to glare at her.
Li Xiuju smiled and said, "Don't fight over it, there's plenty. The three of us definitely can't finish it."
Zhou Chenyu picked up a snail, inserted a skewer into the shell, and followed the direction of the shell to pick out a piece of plump, tender, and bouncy snail meat. She took a bite; it was delicious and chewy, with the fresh sauce overflowing in her mouth, mixed with the flavor of perilla, fragrant, spicy, and a little salty.
Because the snails were freshly cooked and still hot, combined with the spiciness of the chili peppers, Zhou Chenyu only ate a few before her lips became red and swollen.
Li Xiuju heard her gasp, "We shouldn't have put so much chili in."
"It's a bit spicy, I'm sweating." Zhou Chenyu inhaled, looked at Baoyu, whose lips were swollen like sausages, "Hahaha, Baoyu, you, hahahahaha."
Li Xiuju glanced at it too, and laughed so hard she almost fell over.
Zhou Baoyu was still clueless, blinking blankly: "What's wrong with me?"
"It's nothing, you eat yours." Li Xiuju laughed until her stomach hurt, then turned and went into the kitchen.
Zhou Chenyu suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "We just think you look very cute eating snails."
Is he handsome?
Zhou Baoyu's face fell. He couldn't believe a word his sister said; she was definitely just making fun of him.
"Come on, the sweet potato porridge is cold and it's burning your mouth. This is just right."
Li Xiuju scooped out a few bowls of sweet potato porridge, and Zhou Chenyu took a big gulp. The porridge was refreshing and relieved the spiciness, and the sweet potatoes were sweet but not greasy. It went really well with the spicy snails.
At night, Zhou Chenyu lay in bed after a satisfying meal, listening to the natural sounds outside. There were no distractions from work groups, no anxieties about saving money to buy a house, and no fears of losing her job due to advancing age.
This kind of life, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, is actually quite blissful.
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