Chapter 147: Keeping Night Watch
Wen Wan didn't think too much about the meaning behind her words, and replied with a smile: "I felt groggy and wanted to sleep yesterday, but I felt much better when I woke up today. I didn't sneeze as often, and my stomach felt empty."
People in the mountains don't have so many particularities. Lu Mingjiang would occasionally interject when they were talking: "If you like this, I'll cook it tomorrow. I got a lot of green ears of corn. It's the only time you can eat them. After that, you won't be able to eat them even if you want."
However, the next day, Zhang Hongying had no time to cook in the house. The rain had really stopped. The sun and the dark clouds were fighting a desperate battle in the sky, and finally won and crawled out. The chilly weather suddenly became warm, absorbing the moisture on the ground bit by bit. The heat was accompanied by moisture, which made people very uncomfortable.
As soon as Lu Donglin got out of school in the afternoon, he hurriedly called her to run back. After being exposed to the sun for a long time, the road was indeed much easier to walk on, but Wen Wan didn't walk very fast. When she got home, Lu Donglin had already run away, and his book bag was left on the doorpost at the entrance of the main hall.
She methodically opened the door, entered the house, put down her homework, and then carried the pig grass to the pigs in the pigpen. The cast iron knife for chopping pig grass was heavy, and it was not impossible to lift it, but she found it very difficult to chop it, and she could not do it as smoothly as Lu Chun'e.
So, if you can save time, do it. Anyway, whether the pig is chopped or not, you have to chew and swallow it bite by bite.
The two pigs stopped making noises and the yard became quiet.
Wen Wan poured herself a tub of hot water and began her daily routine of correcting homework.
After five o'clock, Lu Dongping and Lu Chun'e had not returned yet. I don't know if something delayed them.
Wen Wan took a look and went back to the house to continue working. When the work was finished, she took the basket and went to take a look in the private plot.
At the end of September, the private plot was experiencing a period of famine. The peppers were red, some green, and the remaining cucumbers were all oddly shaped, with few straight ones to be found. She picked and chose for a long time but couldn't find many decent ones, so she picked some sweet potato leaves and took them home.
She still had green sticks, but she didn't know how to grind the grain, so she could only scoop out the previously ground grains to cook.
She found it boring to keep making porridge with mixed flour pancakes. The team only had these few kinds of food, and she had already learned how to make them, having learned from others how much grain to put in and how much water to add. She followed their instructions step by step.
But if she wants to do something different, she doesn't seem to be very good at it.
After returning home, she went into the house and rummaged through the drawers and cupboards, pulling out some wild mushrooms and bamboo shoots that had been dried in the hot weather, and quickly soaked them in boiling water. When the porridge in the pot was almost cooked, she poured the chopped mushrooms, cucumbers, and sweet potato leaves into the pot.
It's similar to vegetable porridge, but with more ingredients mixed in. The fresh fragrance of cucumber is mixed with the taste of mushrooms and ground ear. She added some salt and took a bite. Hmm, it's quite delicious.
Lu Donglin's voice rang out from outside: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, come quickly, there are good things."
Before Wen Wan left the room, she heard Zhang Hongying scolding her: "Why are you making such a fuss? You can't keep things to yourself. You want to let everyone in the production team know."
Wen Wan went out and called Zhang Hongying, "Mom, you're back!" After saying that, she looked at Lu Chun'e who was with Zhang Hongying and asked in confusion, "Huh? Chun'e, when did you come back? Did you go straight to the fields after you came back? Your brother hasn't come back yet!"
Lu Chun'e said, "They came back from school at noon. My brother came back even earlier than me. He said he wanted to harvest while the sun was still shining. Our school only had classes for the whole morning before we were dismissed."
As he spoke, he put down the basket on his body and the basket in his hand. Both baskets were filled with pig grass. Wen Wan glanced at them curiously and asked Lu Donglin: "I heard you shouting that there was something good as soon as I entered the yard. Where is the good thing?"
Lu Donglin chuckled and pulled away the grass from the bamboo basket he was carrying. "Look, isn't this something good? The chestnuts are so crispy. If our school doesn't have a busy holiday, I'll go get some tomorrow. This stuff is sweet and soft, and very delicious."
Wen Wan had never seen chestnuts before. The green, thorny bumps looked difficult to pick. She really didn't understand how this thing could be associated with the sweet and soft food in Lu Donglin's mouth.
Lu Chun'e put down the basket she was carrying and said, "Sister-in-law, you've never seen chestnuts, have you? You have to pile them up there for a few days. When they're all cracked, the chestnuts inside will come out. After they come out, cut a slit in them and stir-fry them in a pan. They'll taste sweet." As she spoke, she rummaged through her basket and said, "Sister-in-law, look at this. You've definitely never seen it before. This is called August melon. It's super, super delicious. My brother found it in the woods specifically and brought it back for you to try. And there's also this hairy kiwi fruit, but it needs to be covered for a few days before you can eat it."
Wen Wan looked at this and that curiously. She was really ignorant. Not only had she never seen these things, she had also never heard of them.
The wax gourds Lu Chun'e mentioned come in two colors: purple and green, which roughly represents the difference between ripe and unripe. Wen Wan poked one with her hand and asked, "Are the green ones unripe? If they're unripe, won't they be inedible?"
"It's okay. The purple ones are ripe and you can eat them now. The green ones are not ripe, just like the hairy monkeys. They can be eaten after a few days." Then he stood up and said, "I'll carry them to the house for you!"
"Why bring it inside? Put it in the living room so everyone can eat it!"
Zhang Hongying sat on the doorstep and took a breath. "Your father and I don't really care about eating that stuff. Chun'e and Donglin have loved running around the mountains since they were little. They know exactly where the trees and fruits are. Dongping picked this for you. I want you to try something new. You can keep it for yourself."
Then, Wen Wan was not polite: "I'll do it myself, Chun'e, you take a rest, catch your breath and wait for Dad and Dongping to come back so that we can have dinner."
Lu Donglin scooped up some water and rubbed his face. When he heard her words, he said, "Sister-in-law, what delicious food did you cook? I smelled the fragrance as soon as I entered the kitchen."
Wen Wan carried the basket and walked towards her room, saying as she walked, "What good thing can I cook with my cooking skills? Barley porridge!"
As he said that, he walked into the house, opened the cabinet on the left side of the desk, put the things in the basket into it, emptied the basket and left the house. Lu Dongping and Lu Mingjiang also came back after carrying the last batch of corn.
Lu Dongping smiled at Wen Wan, then squatted by the eaves, washing his hands while asking her, "Hasn't the elementary school said they're going to have a holiday yet?"
Wen Wan shook her head: "No, I heard that the busy holiday is connected to October. Why are you guys off so early?"
Lu Dongping stood up, grabbed a towel, wiped his hands, and said, "Rules are dead, but people are alive. At this time of year, everything depends on the weather. Right now, nothing is more important than harvesting the grain. We've been busy for half a year. Only when the grain is harvested, dried, paid, and the remaining grain is safely stored in the warehouse can it be considered complete."
Wenwan nodded, but that wasn't the case.
"If you are all released, our school will probably only be able to handle the next two days." After all, production is really a top priority. Not only students, but teachers also have to get involved.
Lu Chun'e had already scooped out the rice and placed the bowls in a row on the stove.
Lu Dongping rarely stayed at home to have dinner with Wen Wan, but went next door with his bowl.
Lu Donglin leaned against the pillar, holding the bowl without even noticing the heat, and slurped the rice into his mouth: "Sister-in-law, I didn't know that corn porridge could be cooked like this, and it could be so delicious."
Zhang Hongying smacked her lips. "How can it not be delicious with so much stuff in it? Lu Donglin, can you please swallow your food before you talk? Is someone trying to snatch it from you? What's wrong with you?"
Wen Wan ate her meal slowly, pausing her chopsticks as she said, "I'd like to make something else, but I don't know how! I saw the sky was clear, and thought it was time for people to go to work, so I wanted to make something delicious. I thought about it for a long time and couldn't figure out what to make, so I just boiled it in a pot and put some lard in it, which can be considered as a supplement for nutrition."
Nutrition? What the hell?
Zhang Hongying didn't understand. She only knew lard was a good thing, something she usually wouldn't use in cooking, at most just smearing it on the bottom of the pan to prevent it from sticking. After all, a pig is only so big, and there's not much fat, so that's all that's produced. But the rice definitely had more than just a hint of fat in it.
She knew it was delicious, but her heart ached even though her mouth tasted sweet.
It's still early for the twelfth lunar month. How can Huo Huo, who is so extravagant, survive until then?
Lu Mingjiang also hummed: "It's really delicious, and it saves trouble. It saves me from having to prepare the meal."
Zhang Hongying: ——One by one.
Lu Dongping went to the next room and came back with an empty bowl a short while later. He scooped a second bowl and sat down next to Wen Wan. While eating, he said to Lu Mingjiang, "I've discussed it with my uncle. I'll go to the wheat field tonight and wait for him to discuss with Liu Zhaoxing and the others how to manage the field this year."
Lu Mingjiang muttered, "What happened last year, what happened this year? What a mess." Without waiting for anyone else to speak, he added, "Alright, go ahead. Dress warmly at night. I figured the thief would steal the food in the second half of the night, when people are most sleepy. You'd better get some sleep in the first half."
Wen Wan was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean? We still have to go to the wheat field to keep watch?"
Zhang Hongying rubbed her nose and said, "Isn't it? It's like this every year when we harvest the crops. We also have to take turns to watch over the wheat harvest. Last time, when we harvested the spring corn, we were lazy and lost a lot. When Lu Changgui's family was here, they always said that anything lost in the team was theirs. After all, they are the laziest, poorest and most fond of taking advantage of others. But Lu Changgui is dead, and we don't know which bastard did it. If they are caught, they will be put up for punishment."
Wen Wan opened her mouth for a long time before saying, "But I think that the thieves know that everyone is on guard, so they shouldn't come again, right?"
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