After finding a small crab, Zhou Chenyu learned from experience, slowed down her pace, and sharpened her eyes to make sure she didn't miss any corner.
She and Baoyu picked crabs all the way up from Jishuitan to the spring at the end of the valley. The small crabs in their bamboo baskets weighed several pounds, enough for their family to eat meat for several days.
Zhou Chenyu had been looking down for a long time. He straightened his back and looked at the light. His old eyes were starting to go blurry.
"Oh my god, I can't go on anymore. I need to sit down and rest for a while before I go on."
Before Baoyu could answer, she found a nearby rock and lay there motionless.
Enjoying the beautiful scenery of mountains and clear waters, and listening to the crisp and melodious birdsong and babbling brooks all around, I really want to lie down and have a good sleep with the sky as my blanket and the earth as my bed.
As if he had taken a stimulant, Zhou Baoyu carried her to the shore again.
She yelled, "Zhou Baoyu, what are you doing?"
"Sister, there are so many fruits here." Zhou Baoyu burrowed into the bushes, staring at the red fruits growing by the stream. He lifted his clothes and stuffed all the big ones into his clothes.
He ransacked the area and returned like a bouncy wild monkey, saying, "Sister, have some fruit to quench your thirst."
What kind of fruit?
"Let me see." Zhou Chenyu propped herself up and took a handful. The fruit was only the size of a thumb, with a reddish color, and looked somewhat like a strawberry.
She remembered eating this fruit when she went back to her hometown to pay respects to her ancestors as a child. The adults called it snake fruit. Because the fruit has sharp thorns on its stem, greedy children could easily prick their hands, so the adults would lie to them and say that snakes liked to crawl around nearby, and that children shouldn't go to pick it up by themselves.
Zhou Chenyu popped a few into her mouth. Although the raspberries weren't as juicy and fleshy as strawberries, they brought back some childhood memories.
They quenched their thirst with wild strawberries, drank a few mouthfuls of sweet spring water, and after resting, they picked up their baskets and walked back to the pool.
The winnowing basket containing earthworms had been soaking in the water for several hours. The two men each lifted one side and worked together to lift the basket out of the water.
Water gushed out of the small hole, and by the time it was carried to the shore, only a few drops remained.
As Zhou Chenyu lifted the handle of the winnowing basket, she could already feel the live shrimp jumping and bouncing inside. She couldn't wait to lift the lid, and there were densely packed river shrimp at the bottom of the basket, weighing about two pounds.
These river shrimp are not as big as those bought from farms; they are all small shrimp. After catching them and drying them, they can be used to enhance the flavor of stir-fries or porridge.
The siblings carried bamboo baskets full of crabs and shrimp down the mountain. As they passed the vegetable garden behind the house, the black soil was covered with lush green vegetables and fruits, and vines of bean sprouts and fruits were winding around the bamboo railings, which was a delightful sight.
Wild vegetables are finally not their only vegetable option.
Zhou Baoyu pushed open the courtyard gate and put a basket of shrimp and crabs into a basin to soak. There were some bamboo strips and bamboo shavings scattered around the courtyard, but Li Xiuju was nowhere to be seen.
He shouted, "Mother, we're back!"
Li Xiuju came out of the thatched hut where the chickens were kept, holding an egg in her hand. She smiled happily and said, "Look, your hen has laid an egg. From now on, if we want to eat eggs, we'll have them at home. We won't need to buy them from others anymore."
"Let me see." Zhou Chenyu had watched those chicks grow up. She took the egg from Li Xiuju; the shell was still warm and had a little blood on it.
These are eggs laid by free-range chickens she raised with rice bran and wild vegetables. Everyone says that free-range eggs are fragrant and nutritious, but I wonder how they taste different.
Li Xiuju rolled up her sleeves and scooped the shrimp and crabs from the basin, busy as a bee. "We have eggs and crabs here. Our family hasn't had a good meal in a long time. How about we cook a loofah and egg soup and a crab stew tonight?"
Upon hearing about the lavish menu for tonight, Zhou Chenyu's eyes lit up, as if she had come to life. "Great! Great!"
After saying that, Li Xiuju cleaned the yard, went to the village well to fetch two buckets of water, and began to process the crabs.
How can a crab stew be complete without chicken feet?
Zhou Chenyu said something inappropriate, and Li Xiuju immediately understood. She then asked Baoyu to go to the village butcher to buy half a pound of fresh chicken feet and, while he was at it, to cut a loofah.
As dusk fell, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of every household, and the sounds of woks and spatulas clattering filled the air.
Li Xiuju cleaned the crabs, put a wok over high heat, poured in two large spoonfuls of lard, heated it to 70% hot, and scooped the crab shells and crab meat from the bowl into the wok in batches, frying them until golden brown before taking them out.
Next, stir-fry the prepared ginger, scallions, garlic, and chili until fragrant. Add the chicken feet with the nails removed, along with enough liquor and water to cover the ingredients. Simmer over low heat for about an hour until the broth thickens. Then add the crispy fried crab and finally garnish with chopped scallions.
After cooking the crab stew, I also made a loofah and egg soup.
Peel the hard skin off the ridges of the loofah, cut it into small pieces, stir-fry it with a little lard, add enough water, and bring it to a boil. Then pour in the beaten egg mixture, and once the egg flowers have formed, it's ready to serve.
The weather is hot, and people's appetites are not as good as before. They need a bowl of soup to whet their appetites.
Zhou Chenyu held the loofah and egg soup that Li Xiuju had prepared, took a sip from the rim of the bowl, and found the egg drop soup to be smooth and tender, the soup refreshing, and finally chewed on the soft and sweet loofah flesh, which immediately whetted his appetite.
She had barely finished one sip when Baoyu had already filled another bowl. "Mother, this soup is really delicious."
"If it tastes good, that's good." The children enjoyed the food, and Li Xiuju smiled happily. Forgetting about eating herself, she first picked out two plump and bouncy chicken feet and fried crab and put them into their bowls. "Don't just drink the soup. It's been a long time since I made this crab stew. You should try it."
When it comes to food, Zhou Chenyu never disappoints or wrongs her stomach.
"Okay, I'll eat now."
Zhou Chenyu picked up the crispy golden crab. There wasn't much meat, but it was all about the crab flavor, which was different from chicken or duck. It was very fragrant and had a crunchy texture.
She usually dislikes gnawing on those bouncy, plump chicken feet, finding them too troublesome to eat. But today, after nearly an hour of simmering, the meat was so tender that it easily separated from the bone with a gentle bite. The broth, infused with the chicken and crab meat, was incredibly fragrant and delicious. Poured over white rice or noodles and mixed together, it was enough to make you want to eat two bowls.
As the sun set, they finished their meal and put down their chopsticks. Unlike usual, when they were rushed to wash the dishes and go to bed, they all sat quietly, watching the fiery red sunset slowly sink into the mountains.
Li Xiuju was in a good mood and hummed a couple of lines of a folk song. Suddenly, she thought of something: "The radishes and green beans in the garden are almost ready. If we only eat them fresh, we'll probably have more than we can eat when they get old. Don't do anything tomorrow. Go to the market and buy some coarse salt. I'll pickle them all and soak them in a jar. They'll be ready to eat in about ten days."
Summer is almost here, and a bowl of white porridge with sour and spicy pickled cowpeas and dried radish is an indispensable dish on the table.
That would be great!
Since Qingming Festival, Zhou Chenyu hasn't been out of town. She's been staying in the small village and on the hilltop every day. It's time to go to the city. "Okay, let's go tomorrow."
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