Chapter 24 Spicy and Sour Poached Eggs
Giving them the cakes meant that if anyone else in Taiping Town saw them, they would know their whereabouts. For safety reasons, the four decided to leave Taiping Town that very night. The danger of traveling through the night was less than the danger of being discovered by strangers in the town at night.
After packing up the supplies, the four of them came out of the Jiguang warehouse with four full cargo boxes. After passing through Jiguang Street, they turned onto the familiar Yingbin Road they had come from. Zhao Xuan pedaled the tricycle hard, and the heavy cargo boxes made her have to stand up to pedal when going uphill.
When she arrived at the large sign that read "Welcome to Taiping Town!", she suddenly turned around for no reason and saw a figure standing blankly on the roof of a distant building, with the setting sun behind him, watching them leave.
It was that madwoman. She didn't have the pancake in her hand; perhaps she ate it, or perhaps she put it somewhere else.
Perhaps she really didn't eat the pancake, but saved it for her two babies, whose fate was unknown, because Zhao Xuan saw her take out a handful of wild grass from her pocket and put it in her mouth, looking extremely hungry.
The weather was still scorching hot. The madwoman stood on the scorching rooftop, her disheveled hair dancing wildly in the breeze. Zhao Xuan knew she was watching him and his group, but he said nothing. He pushed off with his feet and left the place again with his family and friends.
When winter comes, that person may not survive. As civilization gradually fades away, there will be less and less left for her to live on.
The four of them remained silent the entire way, not because they were in a bad mood, but because the excessive load had left them too exhausted to speak.
What used to be an easy downhill ride became increasingly dangerous. Even with the brakes applied, the weight of the cargo bed couldn't hold the bike back, and it would continue to lurch forward uncontrollably. Going uphill was even more difficult; one person had to ride in front while the other pushed from behind to barely manage to get the bike up the hill.
Working through the night doing physical labor made Zhao Xuan's heart pound. He felt that if he wasn't careful, he would close his eyes and collapse to the ground. But they dared not stop. If they did, huge mosquitoes with spotted legs would swarm in and suck them dry in an instant.
Zhao Xuan lit four moxa sticks, giving one to each person. She stuck her own stick on the handlebars to repel mosquitoes. Even so, some persistent mosquitoes still bit her bare arms and ankles, leaving large welts. They even bit her eyelid. At first, it didn't itch, but when she scratched it, it immediately swelled up, and she couldn't even open her eyelid.
She wanted to cry, but when she glanced at Lu An, who was struggling to keep up, she realized that it was all because she had recklessly added so many supplies that the situation had become so serious. Lu An, as the victim, hadn't said anything, so why should she feel aggrieved?
The four of them hurried forward like oxen, finally arriving at the pavilion in the tea mountain in the morning. After a short rest, they took a four-hour nap in the pavilion and finally returned home late that night.
460, which hadn't left the yard for the past few days, was sleeping on its big sofa. When Zhao Xuan and the others were still far away, it opened its eyes warily, first showing its teeth and fangs as if it was ready to fight the people who came, then suddenly retracted its teeth, flicked its tongue, crawled out of the dog hole, and sprinted towards its owner.
Exhausted, Lu An saw something dark crashing into him. Before he could even feel scared, he was hit squarely in the chest, his ribs nearly breaking apart.
Zhao Xuan reacted quickly and grabbed 460's head, which was about to come at him.
I opened the large iron gate to the yard and turned on the light. The small house looked like an orange that had lost its pulp. The light shining from inside instantly filled the hollow orange peel, making it feel safe and warm.
460 circled around the two mountain-like tricycles, wagging its tail wildly.
Lu An began unloading the goods. Zhao Xuan, worried about the pigs and chickens at home, grabbed a flashlight and decided to check next door first. In the kitchen next door, where pig feed was cooked, traces of the dog's work were still faintly visible. The boy had worked meticulously; after cooking the feed, he had thoroughly cleaned the pot and completely turned off the fire. He had collected the extra pig feed in a bamboo basket and hung it on a hook suspended from a beam by a rope. This way, the feed could be ventilated and wouldn't spoil too quickly. Even the firewood was neatly arranged. A dozen or so chickens had already retreated into the chicken coop, and four half-grown pigs were nestled in the haystack, grunting softly. Both the chicken coop and pigpen were spotless; the water was clean, and even the pig manure had been shoveled away. Zhao Xuan couldn't imagine how that half-grown boy could lift such a heavy iron shovel to do all this work.
Looks like I'll have to treat the dog to some popsicles next time I see him.
Back home, Lu An had already unloaded everything in the living room. He had started a fire in the kitchen, and there was water in a pot. He was squatting in the living room, assembling a storage cabinet.
Zhao Xuan carried the quilts and clothes to the room on the second floor one by one. She had reserved a special room for daily necessities, where she had neatly categorized all her items. The quilts and clothes she had collected needed to be sunned for a few days before being put into dust bags, so they could be left unstored for the time being. Other items such as umbrellas, basins, and plastic gloves could be put in the daily necessities area. She also found the key to the house in Taiping Town where their supplies were hidden. She found a small drawer in the daily necessities area where small miscellaneous items were stored and put the key together with things like nail clippers and ear picks.
When Zhao Xuan finished tidying up and came downstairs, Lu An had already installed the shelf, which was leaning against the wall where the perpetual calendar was hanging. The shelf was an ordinary supermarket shelf, a white stainless steel aluminum alloy frame. It hadn't broken even after so many years of no maintenance, and it was still shiny and new after being wiped with a cloth.
Lu An placed the several beautiful glass jars on the shelf. Now, in addition to the dining table and chairs and a perpetual calendar, there is another shelf in the living room, making it feel more and more like a home.
Glass airtight jars can be used for pickling vegetables, or for storing items that need to be accessed frequently, such as tea leaves and various dried bamboo shoots and mushrooms.
While directing Lu An to put the ceiling paper and engine into the room on the second floor that was used to enlarge the parts, Zhao Xuan scooped up hot water, and the two of them quickly took a shower.
Zhao Xuan's whole body ached. She was so tired that she couldn't even lift her eyelids. She felt that as soon as she closed her eyes, it was already broad daylight when she opened them again.
She was woken up by the heat.
The nights in the village were indeed cool, requiring a thin blanket to fall asleep, but the days were still hot and dry, with the temperature rising as the sun climbed higher. Zhu Mie was burning hot from Zhao Xuan's sleeping position. She sat up, slightly dazed, before realizing that it was already noon.
Jumping out of bed, Zhao Xuan slipped on her slippers and ran to the window overlooking the yard. "Lu An—" she called out at the top of her lungs, but there was no response. The winnowing basket and rake in the yard were gone; he must have gone to gather pig feed.
The water vat was full, the rice was cooking on the stove, and four fresh eggs sat on the counter, probably laid by the hens in the last few days and collected by Lu An this morning. Zhao Xuan didn't go out to look for Lu An; the rice was cooked, and she figured Lu An would be home soon.
After washing up, Zhao Xuan took four eggs, lit another stove, and prepared to cook.
Perhaps because she had been so hungry in the previous five years, Zhao Xuan no longer had the mindset that "you get tired of eating the same thing if you eat it too much." When she went to Taiping Town, she ate dried plum vegetable pancakes and boiled eggs, and today she planned to fry eggs. Eggs are a nutritious and convenient food, and they taste good whether fried, steamed, or baked.
He picked a small bunch of scallions and red peppers from the vegetable garden. The vegetables looked a bit wilted because they hadn't been watered for the past few days, so Zhao Xuan picked out the ones that were still edible. He chopped the scallions into sections and the red peppers into cubes. He first fried four soft-boiled eggs in a large spoonful of lard, sprinkled in the pepper cubes, then poured in two spoonfuls of soy sauce, a spoonful of vinegar, and half a bowl of water, letting the charcoal fire simmer the eggs for a while.
Vinegar, like sugar and wine, has a long shelf life. As long as it doesn't taste bad, it's generally safe to eat. Zhao Xuan likes to eat things that are both sour and spicy, which are especially appetizing in hot weather. If you want to be more particular, you can add a little bit of sugar, which will make the soup taste even fresher.
When Lu An returned, Zhao Xuan had just served two large bowls of rice. He sprinkled a handful of green onions on each bowl of rice, then topped each bowl with two poached eggs that had soaked up the broth. He poured the remaining sauce over the eggs, and that was it.
The scallions cook instantly when poached in a hot egg, so you don't have to worry about the food getting cold quickly in this hot weather.
Meals for two are always simple: a pot of soup, two bowls of noodles, and a dish with both meat and vegetables. Any one of these is enough for a meal for the two of them. It doesn't require much thought or effort to cook, and Zhao Xuan really enjoys this kind of life.
A pot of tea was brewed, and two heavy bowls of spicy and sour fried egg rice were served.
Lu An soaked a towel, wiping the sweat from his brow while staring longingly at the food: "How are you so amazing? This egg looks delicious. How can you make such a simple dish taste so good?"
Although Lu An was handsome, he possessed a kind of naiveté that emanated from within. Zhao Xuan had labeled Lu An as a "silly beauty" since childhood, a label that was only forcibly removed when he scored over 600 points on the college entrance exam. But even after all these years, Lu An still gave Zhao Xuan the feeling that he was a very sincere person, so his words made Zhao Xuan grin.
Poached eggs taste best when the edges are golden brown. Mash the still-runny yolk of the egg with a spoon and mix it into the rice. The rice is mixed with half crispy and half soft egg, coated with a sauce of green onions and red peppers. Scoop up a full spoonful and put it all in your mouth!
A large bowl of rice can be eaten in about seven or eight spoonfuls.
Since the beginning of summer, Zhao Xuan has developed a liking for strong-flavored foods. Whether it's cold salad or pickled, she enjoys anything salty, spicy, sour, or hot. Her appetite has increased significantly, but the heavy farm work hasn't made her gain weight; instead, she's become even more radiant.
During the meal, Zhao Xuan asked Lu An where he had gone so early in the morning. Lu An said that he had originally planned to go and collect pig feed in the morning. They had only returned home late last night, so he hadn't gotten up very early. However, he ran into the dog by the pond at the entrance of the village, who had already collected two large baskets of feed.
The little child couldn't carry two baskets at once, so he had to make two trips. 460, who had gotten up sometime earlier, had already arrived at the pond. It and the dog were already familiar with each other, and the dog was wagging its tail and following behind him.
Lu An told the boy that he no longer needed to help feed the pigs and told him to go home quickly. However, the boy was quite responsible and carefully instructed Lu An on some precautions for feeding the pigs and chickens, as if he had forgotten that Lu An spent much more time feeding these livestock than he did.
Lu An smiled and agreed, and even invited the dog to come to his house to play more often in the future, and that he could treat him to popsicles.
The dog got a little excited when it heard there would be popsicles, and shyly said yes.
Lu An took the water hyacinths the dog had caught home, cooked them, mixed them with bran, and fed them to the pigs. He also scattered a lot of broken rice for the chickens. Afterward, he went to check on the fields and, finding everything alright, returned home.
The two seemed to have been drained of their energy on the journey back, and their muscles were still sore all over. So, it wasn't until the sun was setting in the evening that they watered the dying vegetable garden together.
The weather is scorching hot, so the vegetable garden needs to be watered once a day. Zhao Xuan said that it hasn't rained for a while now, which is good news for them—their rice will be ripe soon.
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