Chapter 137 Pickled Duck Eggs
Li Lele came just after Jiang Xinbai finished her meal. She put down the cloth bag in her hand and came over with a smile, "Sister Xiaobai, I brought all the materials you need."
"Really? Let me see, bay leaves, peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, how come they are all spices for stewing meat?" Jiang Xinbai looked at the things in the cloth bag curiously.
"This is not for stewing meat. We use it to boil water, and then soak the duck eggs in it. It will be ready in a month or so. It is as fragrant as those pickled in yellow mud. This is how we have always pickled them at home." Li Lele is quite good at pickling salted duck eggs.
"Okay then, we'll pay for the spices..."
"Hey, Sister Xiaobai, why do you want to spend money on just these spices? We picked them from the mountain. If you want, you can go to the mountain to pick them around July or August this year. We'll go together then!" Every year, Li Lele would go up the mountain to pick these spices, dry them, and store them for use throughout the year.
"Sure, Lele, you are such a treasure, you can find anything." Jiang Xinbai really likes getting along with Li Lele. He always feels that she knows a lot and is so interesting.
"Hehe, I just don't go to work and like to run to the mountains. I didn't dare to do it alone before, so I always had to drag Xiang Ming along. Now that I have you guys, Sister Xiaobai, I can run more." Li Lele was also fortunate to have met such a compatible friend like Jiang Xinbai, who made him energetic no matter what he did.
At this time, Jiang Xinlan pushed the door open and asked with a smile: "What are you talking about? You look so happy. I heard your laughter just when I got to the door."
"Second sister, you're here. Lele and I were just talking about spices. Lele said that he would take us to the mountains to pick spices in July or August this year. Second sister, let's go with us then!" More people mean more companions!
"Okay, let's go together! We missed the time this year, otherwise we could go dig spring bamboo shoots and dry them." Speaking of this, Jiang Xinlan felt a little regretful. There were too many things to do, and she had to go to work, so she actually forgot about digging bamboo shoots.
"Oh, yes, we really didn't think about it this year, but we have no place to dig, and the villagers will definitely not let us go." The people in the village all belong to the entire team, and they are married women, so they will definitely not be allowed to dig.
Li Lele's eyes lit up, "I do know there is a bamboo forest somewhere, but I don't know if there are bamboo shoots." Since she doesn't like eating bamboo shoots very much, she didn't pay much attention to it.
Jiang Xinbai's eyes lit up when he heard this. He suddenly hugged Li Lele and said with a smile: "Lele, you are really a living map. You know everything. It's great to have you."
Li Lele blushed as Jiang Xinbai hugged her. "Sister Xiaobai, it's not as exaggerated as you say. I just have a lot of free time, so I just ran around."
"That's because you have the ability to run around and become famous." Jiang Xinbai felt that this was also a kind of ability.
"Okay, Xiaobai, look at what happened to Lele, his face is all red. Didn't we say we wanted to pickle the duck? Let's start!" After Jiang Xinlan finished speaking, she closed the gate of the yard. If the duck eggs all over the ground were seen by someone, there would be no explanation.
"Sister Xiaobai, how many duck eggs are you going to pickle?" Li Lele was going to pickle all eighty or so duck eggs, then give thirty to her mother, and keep the rest at home to eat slowly.
"Well, our family divided eighty-six of them. Let's keep sixteen for Xiaobao and pickle the rest! Second sister, what about you?"
"I'll leave sixteen for Xiaobao too!"
"Then boil some water first, Sister Xiaobai, and go to your kitchen. We'll pickle it in the backyard!"
"Okay, I'll make a fire for you." The pear leaves that had been cut down some time ago had just been dried, so they could be used as firewood.
Li Lele first poured two pots full of water, then put in spices, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns, and most importantly, salt.
"Just wait for the water to boil and cool down. Now let's wash the eggs and dry them!"
Jiang Xinbai stuffed a piece of firewood into the stove and left it alone. She brought three basins over and said, "Here, one for each of you, wash your own."
"Hiss, it's too cold, Xiaobai, boil some hot water and add it in." Jiang Xinlan shivered violently as soon as she put her hand into the water.
Jiang Xinbai was also afraid of the cold, so he brought a kettle of hot water and added a little to each basin, so that the water was just warm.
At this time, Li Lele suddenly said, "Well, have you ever thought about whether some of these duck eggs can be hatched?"
"Ah?" Jiang Xinbai and the other person were dumbfounded when they heard what Li Lele said. They had never thought about this.
"What should we do then? If they can be hatched, can we not pickle the duck eggs?"
"Well, I heard from my mother that we should use a kerosene lamp to shine through the eggs one by one in the room. If there is something like a blowhole on the side of the big head, then ducks can be hatched. Sister Xiaobai, do you have a flashlight at home? Let's take the duck eggs into the room and shine them one by one."
Jiang Xinbai thought about it and replied, "Alright, let's go to the utility room. It's dark there."
So the three of them carried the duck eggs and grunted as they walked to the utility room. It took them about an hour to finally identify all the duck eggs. They also found about thirty duck eggs that could be hatched and put them aside.
Li Lele thought for a moment and suggested, "Sister Xiaobai, Sister Xiaolan, if you don't want these hatchable ones, give them to me. I'll take them back to my mother's house and let my mother raise them."
"Huh? Can so many ducks be raised in the countryside?" Jiang Xinbai was curious. Isn't it said that each family can only raise two chickens and ducks at most?
"Hey, my mom and the others have a solution."
Jiang Xinbai didn't ask any more questions after hearing what she said. He glanced at his second sister and asked, "Why don't you just give it to Lele? Why bother changing it, right?"
"Well, I'll do as you say. If Lele hadn't taken us to the reed marsh, we wouldn't have been able to pick up so many duck eggs for free."
"Ah, how can this be possible? There are thirty duck eggs, how can you give them to me for free!" Li Lele was a little reluctant. She couldn't take advantage of Sister Xiaobai and the others!
"Hey, look at what you said. Whether these 30 duck eggs can be hatched is another matter. Just take them! At worst, when the ducklings grow up and lay eggs, you can give us a few more, right?"
Li Lele thought about it and agreed, that was fine, so she happily accepted the suggestion.
"Okay, the water in the pot should be cool now, let's start pickling the duck eggs!"
"Well, you said we do it."
"Why don't we pickle them all together and divide them up when they're done." Jiang Xinbai thought that since they were all going to be kept at her house, they might as well pickle them together, saving the trouble of finding another bucket to put them in.
"Sure, just remember the number." After all, they all lived together. It would be inappropriate to take them home and eat them all by yourself. If you give them away for free, you will feel bad. It is best to leave them with Jiang Xinbai. You can take a few when you want to eat.
Under Li Lele's command, Jiang Xinbai and his team put all the duck eggs into a small vat, then poured the cooled water into it until it covered the duck eggs. They then sprinkled half a pound of white wine on the top and covered it with a bamboo lid.
"Okay, just leave it here in the utility room. It will be ready in about a month. Sister Xiaobai, I'm going home first!" Li Lele clapped his hands, turned around and went home.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com