Back home, Liu's mother planned to make the chopped chili sauce with Xuemei. Chopped chili sauce made after the Beginning of Autumn is best preserved. A few days ago, Liu's mother had already washed and dried several baskets of red peppers. If the chili sauce isn't dried out, it will spoil more easily.
"Xuemei, I'm going to dig a pound of garlic and a pound of ginger from the vegetable garden. Light the fire first and remember to fill the big iron pot with water." Mother Liu picked up the basket and said to Xuemei.
After Liu's mother finished digging the garlic, she had Xuemei break the garlic and wash it with the ginger before placing it in a dustpan to dry. Meanwhile, Liu's mother began sterilizing the cans she'd bought and the empty ones she had at home in a large iron pot. After sterilizing all twelve cans, she placed them upside down on the table to dry.
Next, Liu's mother brought a large wooden basin, placed a cutting board inside, and sat on a low stool, chopping chilies with a knife. After chopping about ten pounds of chilies, Liu's mother also minced the garlic and ginger that had just been drying. When everything was done, Liu's mother added more than a pound of salt to the basin, added some white wine, and sprinkled some sugar on top. Then, Liu's mother used a dry spatula to stir everything in the basin evenly.
"Xuemei, take some chopsticks and taste it. Is it salty?" Liu's mother said to Xuemei who was sitting next to her and watching.
Xuemei picked up some and put it in her mouth to taste, and said, "Mom, I think it's okay. The peppers are strong enough this year. Mom, you try it too." Xuemei picked up some with chopsticks and fed it to Liu's mother.
"Yes, it's not bad. Okay, go put the remaining two baskets of red peppers in the yard to dry. They can still be dried now. You can use the rest to make dried peppers."
After Liu's mother finished speaking, she began to use a wooden spoon to put the chopped chilies into cans. A can can hold about 600 grams of chopped chilies, but it should not be filled to the brim. There should be about 2 centimeters of space at the mouth of the can before the lid is closed. So Liu's mother usually puts about half a pound into each can.
After packing, Liu's mother took some candles and placed them in a bowl of kerosene, boiling them until they dissolved into a liquid. Then, using a small wooden spoon, she dripped the candle liquid onto the contact area between the lids and the cans (the cans were placed upside down on the table). After cooling, a semi-amber wax seal easily formed on the lids, preventing the chopped chilies from spoiling. Finally, Liu's mother placed the cans in a basket and placed it in a cool, dark place at home. After a week, they were ready to eat.
"Xuemei, there are some chopped chili peppers left here. You can give them to your grandparents and let them taste what we make." Mother Liu said to Xuemei.
"Mom, okay, I'll go." Xuemei looked at Liu's mother's hands, which were red from the chili peppers, and said with concern. "Mom, does your hand hurt? It's all red. Remember to apply some white vinegar."
"Okay, I'll pick up the things and apply it. It's okay today, just a little painful. By the way, wait a minute, I just forgot. Go get some fish and tofu for your grandparents to replenish their body." Mother Liu took out a small basket, cut about half a pound of fish and half a pound of tofu into it, and handed it to Xuemei.
"Mom, Grandpa's foot hasn't healed yet? How long will it take?"
"Not yet? As the old saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. Do you think your grandfather will be able to walk by the New Year?"
Grandpa's house was about two miles away from Xuemei's, near the threshing ground. When Xuemei arrived at Grandpa's house, Grandpa was weaving baskets in the yard.
"Grandpa, why are you still weaving baskets? Your foot hasn't healed yet, so you should be careful." Xuemei said after seeing it.
"It's not good to lie down every day. Today, I asked your second uncle to carry me out and put me on the rattan chair to weave something to pass the time and make my body feel better. I'm paying attention, it's okay. What are you doing here? Looking for your eldest brother. Your eldest brother is reading in the room." Grandpa Liu replied.
Xuemei pointed to the basket in her hand and said, "No, Mom made some chopped chili peppers today and asked me to bring them over for you to try. There's also some fish and tofu Mom exchanged at the market today, and she also asked me to bring them over to you and Grandma to nourish you. Where's Grandma? I'll give the things to Grandma and then go find Big Brother. I haven't seen Big Brother in a few days."
"The chopped chili peppers your mother makes are delicious." Your grandmother is in the kitchen.
After handing the phone to her grandmother, Xuemei ran to her eldest brother's room and started knocking on the door deliberately.
"Xuemei, just push the door open and come in! The door inside is not locked." A young man's voice came from inside the room.
Xuemei pushed the door open and went in. "Brother, how did you know it was mine?"
"I saw it from the window, little idiot," Liu Mingzheng said as he opened his desk drawer, took out two candies, and handed them to Xuemei. "Go home and share them with Qingya and the others."
Xuemei took the candy and handed Liu Mingzheng the two hawthorns wrapped in oil paper in her pocket. Besides her own siblings, Xuemei loved this cousin the most. Whenever Xuemei and Qingya were bullied, it was their eldest brother, Liu Mingzheng, who would take their second brother, Liu Mingwen, to vent their anger. When her eldest brother didn't go to junior high school in the county town, Xuemei would follow him to school and back every day.
"Brother, these are the candied haws I bought at the market. I saved them especially for you and second brother. By the way, second brother, isn't he always with you? Second uncle has four children. The eldest and the second are always together at home, while the third likes to take his sister out to play and doesn't come home until dark."
"My mother heard that my grandma was not feeling well, so she took my father and others to her house. They should be back soon. I stayed at home to help grandpa go to the toilet and finish my homework at the same time." Liu Mingzheng put the candied haws in the drawer, intending to wait for his younger brothers and sisters to come back and eat them together.
"By the way, brother, I want to ask you if the county town is fun?" Xuemei looked at Liu Mingzheng with sparkling eyes.
"Well, the county town is much bigger than the commune. It has a cinema, a department store, a photo studio... But I have never been there. I heard about it from my classmates. You should study hard, and you will know when you pass the junior high school entrance exam and come to the county town to study." Liu Mingzheng replied.
"Brother, I will study hard." Xuemei promised.
…
When Xuemei returned home, her father and siblings had already returned, and Liu's mother was in the kitchen cooking fish and tofu soup. In the evening, Xuemei and her family drank the fish and tofu soup with corn cakes, feeling very happy.
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