Chapter 67: Digging the Vole's Nest Again, Happy Cabbage and Meat Sauce Soup
Mingdai and the others got up very early, and the salted egg yolk in the distance had just peeked out.
Zhou Sinian looked at the rising sun, then at Mingdai's backpack. He had been thinking about the salted duck eggs inside all night.
Inspired by the salted duck eggs, Zhou Sinian worked with great passion.
After leaving the shed area, he grabbed Mingdai and started running towards the top of the mountain.
Liu Guoqiang and Huang Saozi were startled and hurried after him, but unfortunately they could only see the back of the man and he soon disappeared on the mountain path.
The two looked at each other breathlessly and kept running!
By the time the two men ran to the ground, Zhou Sinian had already dug a hole and was hitting the vole.
Mingdai waited for him to finish smashing the dirt and told him to go directly to the next hole. She and Mrs. Huang cleaned up the dead voles and dug out the rat holes.
Zhou Sinian was extremely sharp in this regard and was almost always accurate in finding the field mouse. No field mouse could escape his eyes. They would either die under his iron shovel or be nailed to death by the bayonet he shot out quickly.
Ming, Dai and the other two were only responsible for digging the hole.
While working, Mingdai heard the sound of other people coming. She turned her head and found that they were people from Shangwan Village. The one leading them with a bruised face and nose was Pan Xiazi.
A group of them stood not far below the mountain and peeked in, but did not dare to come over. Mingdai ignored them and continued working.
Pan Xiazi looked at the people busying themselves, especially Mingdai and the other two who took out half a sack of food in a short time, and his eyes became greedy.
"Captain! Let's go too!"
The person next to him was really anxious and started to urge him.
Pan Xiazi looked at the man swinging a shovel vigorously on the hillside, then touched his face which was still in pain, and thought for a while: "Let's go directly to the lower cave! There are more field mice there!"
So a group of people ran away in a hurry.
Mingdai watched them leave without paying any attention and continued digging holes. The voles here are really greedy. Each hole contains at least ten kilograms of food!
Especially soybeans. Maybe this place is close to wasteland, and most of the wasteland is planted with soybeans.
After searching all the hillside, Zhou Sinian gave up and went to look for Mingdai with a sullen face.
Mrs. Huang and Liu Guoqiang looked at him with a ferocious look, shrinking their necks and not daring to make a sound.
Mingdai clapped her hands calmly, took her backpack, poured out water, washed his hands first, then took out a rolled-up roll from the backpack and handed it to him.
Zhou Sinian took it and his face looked much better. He still looked at the backpack and didn't leave. Mingdai took out another salted duck egg and said, "You can only eat one. It's too salty. Eat it with the cake."
Zhou Sinian nodded obediently, took the cake wrapped in oil paper and sat on a wooden stake nearby. He tapped the salted duck egg lightly on his forehead, rolled it again, and deftly peeled off the duck egg shell with his fingers, revealing the snow-white egg white. He took a light bite and the red fat came out. He smiled with satisfaction.
Ming Dai called the other two over: "Sister-in-law, Accountant Liu, come, let's eat something and take a rest."
Mrs. Huang and Accountant Liu shook their heads at the same time and swallowed their saliva as they looked at the white flour cake in Mingdai's hand.
Ming Dai broke the cake into three pieces and said, "Come on, let's share it."
After Mingdai's repeated invitation, the two of them sat down, washed their hands, and each of them took a palm-sized roll and ate it in small bites.
The chili fish stuffed in the pancake is made with green chilies, which are not spicy but very fragrant. Combined with the fried fish, the more you chew it, the more fragrant it becomes.
Mrs. Huang once again felt that it was the right decision for her to repair the reservoir this time!
Accountant Liu felt very sympathetic towards Mingdai. He thought that it was these delicious foods that could keep the madman contented. He wondered if the retirement allowance of Mingdai's father was enough for her.
Zhou Sinian did not have such worries. He ate one and naturally asked Mingdai for the second one. After he finished both rolls, he poured himself hot water from the kettle and drank it. He went to work without being told.
The four of them worked for another two hours, searching most of the mountain. They found nearly 40 rat holes and collected more than 150 voles, filling two sacks with food.
Looking at the sun, it’s time to go back and cook.
Zhou Sinian was still the one walking quickly in front, carrying a sack and a large basket on his back. Mingdai followed closely behind with her basket. Huang Saozi and Liu Guoqiang walked at the end, carrying sacks filled with dead field mice.
This time they went around the back of the shed area, so the workers on the construction site did not see them.
The people in Liujiawan are still a little sad, wondering if they can still eat meat today.
When they arrived at the shed, Zhou Sinian put the food away, and then he and Mingdai carried the cabbages to the river to wash them.
Mrs. Huang and Liu Guoqiang were preparing stewed rice at home and boiling water. Mingdai gave her a bag of dried ginger to cook together.
Today is colder than yesterday, and the river water is even more freezing. Mingdai helped cut the cabbage roots and Zhou Sinian washed them.
After washing a large basket of cabbages, both of their hands turned into carrots.
Back in the shed, Mingdai asked Zhou Sinian to tear off the cabbage leaves and cut the cabbage into strips, while she chopped up the small pot of vole meat that was left over from last night and made it into meat sauce.
After the dry rice was cooked, Mingdai started cooking.
She first used the cabbage to stir-fry a quick dish, cabbage with vinegar and added peppercorns and dried chilies. It was fragrant and crispy, and the smell made one's appetite whet.
Scoop out the vegetables and add hot water to boil directly without washing the pot. Pour the shredded cabbage leaves in and simmer them for a while. Then grab two handfuls of the mixed grain noodles provided by the commune and stir them. The soup becomes thick.
Finally, open the pot and add the freshly chopped meat, stir it, and a pot of cabbage and meat soup is ready.
After work, everyone rushed here.
Mingdai and the others poured two large basins of hot water in advance. Everyone rubbed the mud off their hands and then put the hands into the hot water to rub them, and they felt refreshed.
It was still a portion of ginger tea per person, but this time the amount was much less.
Everyone was puzzled, and Mrs. Huang explained that there was cabbage and pork soup today, and everyone became excited.
We lined up and each person was given a bowl of hot soup. Although we couldn't see the meat, the oil in the soup and the diced meat that accidentally touched our lips and teeth would cause exclamations of surprise.
"I ate some meat! It's as big as my pinky fingernail!"
"I ate it too! It was as big as my thumb nail!"
Good-natured laughter rang out in the shanty town of Liujiawan, forming a contrast with the gloomy atmosphere in other villages.
After drinking the soup, there is dry rice and pickled cabbage.
Many people looked at Ming Dai squatting by the stove eating with curiosity: "You said, they are all cabbage, why is it that Xiao Ming's fried cabbage is so delicious, but my wife's is like pig food?!"
The auntie at the side joked: "You are such a good guy, Liu Dacheng. When I go back and tell Guixiang, I'll see if she doesn't pluck your ears off."
The man turned around quickly and said: "I didn't say anything, you heard it wrong!"
Everyone started laughing again.
Mrs. Huang was smiling happily as she looked at the half bag of field mice. After she finished searching the remaining half of the mountain in the afternoon, she would freeze all the field mice to see if she could save one or two and bring them back for Tiedan and Goudan to taste.
The two kids will definitely like it!