Chapter 89: Sugar Rice, Braised Pork, and First Smell of Tiger Bones

Mingdai and Zhou Sinian bought some roasted sweet potatoes under the stage and each held one.

The sweet potatoes at this time were not very delicious. They were not as sweet as the tobacco potatoes that Mingdai had in her previous life. They were mainly floury, so they were a bit choking when roasted.

But it feels very warm in my hand.

Zhou Sinian also invented a new way of eating sweet potatoes, which is to spread a block of frozen hard honey on the boiling sweet potatoes. This way, the sweet potatoes will have the sweet taste of honey.

Looking at the rare bustling market, Mingdai and Zhou Sinian were full of black beards.

It was almost noon and the market was about to end. It was a rare free shopping day and everyone bought a lot of things and sold a lot as well.

Mingdai also saw the educated youth. Most of the new educated youth were buying things, while the old educated youth were also selling some vegetables they grew.

Only Liu Yan sold some of the new food.

Mingdai thought she was simply sick. This was next year's food supply. What was she going to eat after selling it?

The market was over, and Aunt Huang and Sister Huang's family members followed them to Liujiawan. The distance to the mountain was far, so they couldn't go back today and had to stay at the team leader's house.

Mingdai followed them and listened to Xu Fengxian telling some interesting stories about the mountains. Although it was funny, she could also tell that the situation in the mountains was much more difficult than at the foot of the mountain.

Captain Liu was carrying his mother-in-law on his back, panting heavily as he walked, causing Zhou Sinian to keep looking at him, obviously with disgust.

Grandma Huang was wearing a yellow headscarf that her daughter-in-law had just given her. She was very happy to be carried on the back of her son-in-law. She even asked, "Are we going to have rice for lunch? Do you want to add sugar?"

Captain Liu answered loudly: "Eat! Eat rice! You must add sugar. I'll give you two spoonfuls of sugar!"

Grandma Huang happily touched his sheepskin hat and said, "Good son-in-law, hurry up and go home!"

It instantly amused everyone.

After returning to the village, she refused Aunt Huang's attempt to take her home for dinner, and went back with Zhou Sinian, taking the things she bought.

The people at the educated youth center also took advantage of this rare opportunity to do some shopping. They bought half a bag of pears and persimmons, and a lot of dried mountain products, intending to send some to their families in the city.

There is a shortage of supplies in the city right now. Many families cannot buy food even if they have money, and they have to rely on their relatives in the countryside for support.

Fang Rou bought a lot of dry goods. Since most of what she bought was delivered to her by others, she probably bought a lot of them as gifts.

What Ming and Dai bought wasn’t too out of place.

When they returned home, the house was warm and the kang was still burning. The leeks on it had grown very tall and could be eaten soon.

She was packing up the things she bought today. Zhou Sinian followed her closely, touching his stomach and shouting that he was hungry and wanted to eat rice.

Mingdai believed everything she heard. Thinking that it had been a long time since she had cooked rice cooked over firewood in a big pot, she agreed.

She washed the rice and asked Zhou Sinian to wash the pot. After it was cooked, she took out a piece of pork belly.

How can you eat rice without having braised pork?

Zhou Sinian also recalled the taste of the braised pork. He stood beside the chopping board with a fire stick in his hand, watching her cut the meat into mahjong-sized pieces. He asked with some concern, "Is this little enough?"

Ming Dai rolled her eyes and said, "Brother, this is two catties of meat! Two catties!"

"It's delicious. I'll add another portion of stir-fried mushrooms and vegetables."

Zhou Sinian curled his lips: He doesn't want to eat vegetables.

But since he had no say, he just went back to make a fire.

During the meal, Mingdai served Zhou Sinian two bowls of rice, one of which had two spoonfuls of sugar added to it.

Rice mixed with sugar opened the door to a new world for Zhou Sinian, and he still felt unsatisfied after finishing a bowl.

Ming Dai pushed over another bowl of braised pork soup: "Finish this bowl and get a new one."

He put it down reluctantly, picked up another bowl, and ate it with satisfaction, taking a mouthful of rice and a piece of meat.

Mingdai also picked up a piece. It was bright red and chewy. The first bite filled her mouth with fragrance.

Calculating the amount of meat left in the warehouse, Mingdai felt that the pig-raising plan must be put on the agenda!

If you feel tired of eating, eat some mushrooms and vegetables to relieve the greasy feeling.

The mushrooms were freshly picked from the space’s small woods, and the pakchoi were grown by her. They tasted crispy and sweet, and they offset the greasiness of the braised pork very well.

Finally, pair it with the rice soup scooped out when the rice is stewed. It’s so comfortable!

(Rice soup is simply the essence, much better than ordinary rice soup. The author was able to drink it occasionally when he was a child.)

After eating, Mingdai pried out the dried pork crust from the remaining fire in the pot and gave each of them a piece, dipping them in the remaining braised pork sauce and chewing them with a crunchy sound.

The pure aroma of rice paired with rich gravy is a delicacy that you can no longer taste after the popularization of electric rice cookers.

After feeling satisfied, Mingdai continued to pack up the things she brought back today, while Zhou Sinian washed the pots and dishes and cleaned the kitchen.

In the afternoon, the two of them continued to work in the space. During this time, the fertilizer contributed by the lamb was almost fermented and could be used to fertilize the land.

Zhou Sinian was still a little resistant to the fact that the delicious cucumbers and tomatoes were watered by his father, but he obeyed and dug out the fertilizer from the fermentation tank.

After Mingdai sprinkled lime water as a disinfectant, she began to apply fertilizer to the field.

Top dressing is very simple, just bury some fertilizer at a certain distance in the ground.

In one afternoon, the two men finished their work and the fermentation tank was empty, waiting for the lambs to continue.

To reward herself, Mingdai planned to make mutton offal soup again in the evening.

Just as it was getting dark, Aunt Huang and Sister Huang came again, pulling half a cart of things, half a bag of persimmons and half a bag of pears, as well as a small basket of apples and a small basket of hawthorns.

Xu Fengxian also came over and looked at the courtyard curiously.

"Brick and tile houses are great. They block out more wind than our stone houses."

She felt a little envious, thinking that she would probably never be able to live in a brick and tile house in her lifetime.

Mingdai quickly called a few people into the house, and fetched hot water and took a bowl.

After entering, Xu Fengxian was stunned again by Mingdai's vegetable basket on the kang.

"You educated youth are amazing! You can still grow vegetables in winter!"

Huang took the bowl from Ming Dai and said, "They are not good educated youth, but Xiao Ming is good. She is the only one who can grow vegetables in winter."

Xu Fengxian looked at the green chives with envy: "We have to stay in the cave in winter and have nothing to eat. It's better for you down in the mountains."

Ming Dai smiled and said, "I'll cut some for Auntie later. The chives are ready to eat, perfect for making dumplings. The garlic sprouts can also be cut, they are very tender for scrambled eggs."

Xu Fengxian looked at Aunt Huang with a smile: "That depends on whether your aunt is willing to give us eggs to eat."

Auntie Huang laughed out loud: "Xiao Ming, the educated youth, must cut more for me. I must feed my sister-in-law enough at once, so that she won't go home and say that I didn't give her food!"

The four of them laughed and sat on the kang drinking fried noodles.

Xu Fengxian drank the sweet fried noodles and thought about what her sister-in-law said. This educated youth Xiao Ming was really a good person.

She had a mission when she came down the mountain this time. After hearing that Mingdai knew medical skills, she thought of coming over to ask.

She looked at Ming Dai and asked tentatively: "Xiao Ming, is there anyone in your family who practices medicine?"

Ming Dai was stunned, then shook her head: "I am the only one practicing medicine in my family now."

Hearing this, Xu Fengxian felt a little regretful: "Is that so."

Ming Dai asked, "Auntie, what's the matter?"

Xu Fengxian sighed and said directly: "I just want to ask if anyone in your family collects tiger bones."

Ming Dai's eyes lit up: "Tiger bones? Auntie, do you have any at home?"

Xu Fengxian nodded: "It's not my home, it's my mother's home. My mother's home is in Yuxia Mountain, not far from Daqing Mountain. The hunting team in their village killed a tiger last year. They sold all the other parts, but kept a tiger bone, and now they want to sell it.

We asked the commune there, but they said they wouldn’t accept it. We also went to the local commune this afternoon to ask, but they didn’t want it either.

In the county, we mountain people rarely go out, and we are afraid of being cheated, so we dare not go, so we have been unable to find a buyer, and thought of asking you. "

When Mingdai heard the word tiger bone, there were only two words in her eyes: want.

This thing was harder to deal with than ginseng in my previous life!

Her grandfather has told her since she was a child that he regretted not getting a pair to keep for use earlier, and now she has picked it up!