After Xie Zhuo and the others left, Xu Yan emptied all the bayberries from his basket. Hearing from Xie Zhuo that Liu Mancang and Zhao Jisheng had also each carried a basket home, he didn't deliver any more to their families.
She set aside some of the rest for her two children, and then picked out some more, put them in clean bowls, and gave them to the families who came to help on her wedding day.
Li Aihua's family received the most gifts.
Li Aihua laughed so hard her eyes almost disappeared. She cleared out the bowl, washed it, filled it with some pickles, and then handed the bowl to Xu Yan.
As Xu Yan was about to leave, he picked out another piece of cured meat, carefully wrapped it in oil paper, and stuffed it into Xu Yan's hand.
“My sister-in-law’s family doesn’t have anything good,” Li Aihua said. “This cured meat was brought by my family. It tastes good. My third brother is a good cook, so he’s sure to make it delicious.”
Xu Yan wanted to decline.
Li Aihua's family lived a mediocre life. A couple of years ago, she had a very unpleasant falling out with her parents-in-law and eventually separated from them to live on their own. Although she only had one child, Xiao Shuanzi, she still gave her parents-in-law a lot of money every year, so she didn't save much money.
“Take it,” Li Aihua saw through her meaning, “I’ve eaten at your house for free so many times, and now that I’m finally giving you something nice, you’re not taking it.”
"If you don't take it, I'm going to get angry," Li Aihua said, giving her a playful glare.
“Okay, I’ll take it,” Xu Yan smiled. “My sister-in-law gave it to me, how could I not take it?”
“That’s more like it,” Li Aihua said. “When you have time, I’ll teach you how to make shoes. You can’t go through winter without cotton shoes; the leather shoes you buy aren’t warm enough.”
"Then I'll thank you in advance, sister-in-law," Xu Yan said with a smile.
"Don't mention it," Li Aihua said.
After leaving Li Aihua's house, Xu Yan went home, put the cured meat back in the kitchen cabinet, and continued picking out bayberries.
Put the pretty, high-quality ones together, and pick out the overripe and rotten ones and put them on the other side.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao didn't go out to play in the afternoon. After finishing the writing assignment Xu Yan gave them, they ran to the kitchen to watch Xu Yan pick out bayberries.
"Third Aunt, this is pretty," Da Bao picked out a beautifully colored bayberry from the pile and handed it to Xu Yan.
"Thank you for helping me choose," Xu Yan said with a smile, taking the bayberries from his hand.
When Xiao Bao saw his older brother being praised, he also started picking things out.
It was half an hour later when all the bayberries were picked out. Da Bao and Xiao Bao were still a little reluctant to leave, laughing as they looked at their little hands, which were stained red.
"Alright, stop grinning like an idiot," Xu Yan pinched each of their cheeks. "Now go get the rock candy."
Xiao Bao immediately ran to the cabinet by the window in the kitchen to find rock sugar, and also took out three cookies, handing the first one to Xu Yan.
Her big eyes blinked and blinked, as if to say, "Third Aunt, you eat first. After you eat, you won't care about me and my brother anymore, right?"
Xu Yan was amused by his little trick. "You!"
Then he reached out and took the rock candy and the biscuits.
Xiao Bao immediately gave a cute smile and then handed another piece to Da Bao.
While the two little ones were laughing and playing together eating cookies, Xu Yan estimated by hand that there were about five or six pounds of bayberries, put them in a basin of water, and soaked them with some salt.
Then, temporarily put the rest aside. Xie Zhuo was quite clever; he knew to pick some leaves and place them under the bayberries while picking them, so that the bayberries would spoil more slowly.
The three of them waited in the kitchen for half an hour. During that time, Xu Yan told Da Bao and Xiao Bao a new story.
“Third Aunt, the Calabash Brothers are amazing,” Da Bao said. “Don’t they have a third uncle? If they did, they could have rescued Grandpa on the very first day.”
Xiao Bao nodded earnestly beside him, "Third Uncle is amazing."
Seeing that it was almost time, Xu Yan began washing the bayberries in the basin. Hearing their conversation, he asked, "Is Third Uncle that amazing?"
“Third Uncle is the most amazing person,” Da Bao and Xiao Bao said in unison.
Xu Yan nodded with a smile.
He sighed inwardly, realizing that Xie Zhuo had indeed raised the two children very well.
He's the one the two little ones miss the most.
“Third Auntie is good too,” Da Bao thought for a moment and said, “She buys new shoes and food for me and Xiao Bao, tells us stories, teaches us to write, and she didn’t send us away.”
Xu Yan was taken aback. After a long while, she half-squatted down, looked into their eyes, and said, "No one will send you away. You two are our family's little treasures."
After saying that, he kissed each of the two children on the cheek.
“We know,” Da Bao and Xiao Bao giggled. “Our third uncle said that our four darlings will always be together.”
"Four?" Xu Yan asked, puzzled.
"My third uncle said that my third aunt is also a treasure in the family," Xiao Bao said, "she's the most important treasure in our family."
Her sweet, childlike voice is so soft and endearing that it almost melts your heart.
Xu Yan pinched their little faces again, then removed the pits from the washed bayberries in the basin and put them into another clean basin.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao were still tending the fire. When they saw that the bayberries in the pot had turned into a paste, Xu Yan added some yellow rock sugar.
She learned how to make this bayberry jam from her college roommate.
There was a local girl in the dormitory at the time. Her mother was passionate about making all kinds of delicious food, and she would always bring something back from home every week.
I've had all sorts of jams.
According to her, it's very simple. Just wash the bayberries, remove the pits, crush them, put them in a pot with rock sugar, and cook them. First, use high heat to bring them to a boil, then simmer over low heat until they thicken into a sauce.
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