Chapter 39 Hot Mutton Soup

When they were almost home, Xia Juanjuan suddenly remembered that there was no electricity or induction cookers in that era, and she had not bought a coal stove yet. How could she eat hot pot?

She had already asked at the supply and marketing cooperative, and learned that a coal stove costs fifteen yuan, and the coal has to be bought separately. Therefore, only extremely wealthy families in the countryside would buy it, and most people still burn firewood to survive the winter.

But fifteen yuan is not expensive for her. As for coal, there is enough in the space, so there is no need to worry about running out of fuel.

When I get the tickets in a few days, I will buy it back.

I'll have to put up with the hot pot thing and wait until I buy a coal stove before I can enjoy it around the stove.

I'll make mutton soup tonight and drink it to warm me up.

Xia Juanjuan put the prepared ingredients back into the space, leaving only a large white radish, and went in.

Just then, three little boys came in with two other children, carrying small bamboo baskets on their backs.

Xia Juanjuan recognized that the other two children were the two daughters of Zhou Qiuhe's family. The five-year-old was named Li Huanhuan and the three-year-old was named Li Yingying.

Because Li Yingying is of similar age to Beibei, the two of them held hands and swayed around, looking very close.

Seeing Xia Juanjuan, Xiaowu and Beibei ran over happily, looking up and shouting, "Mom! We went to collect firewood, and we collected a lot!"

Because of Li Wen's awkward personality, he didn't have the courage to call Xia Juanjuan "Mom", but his face was flushed, and he felt a little proud and embarrassed because he had done the job.

Li Huanhuan and Li Yingying both bowed politely to Xia Juanjuan and called out in a childish voice, "Fourth Aunt."

Li Huanhuan said, "Auntie Si, my mother said that all the firewood my sister and I collected today should be given to you. Thank you for the cloth and cotton you gave me."

As he said this, he obediently poured the firewood that he and his sister had collected from the baskets on their backs onto the stove in the kitchen.

Xia Juanjuan did not refuse and smiled and said, "Then go back and thank your mother for me."

As he spoke, he took out a few fruit candies and distributed them to the little ones.

The kids all looked very happy while eating. Li Huanhuan took his sister Li Yingying home happily.

Here, Xia Juanjuan started to prepare mutton soup.

First, soak the mutton, offal and large bones in water for a while to bring out the blood. Then put the mutton, bones and offal together in cold water, boil them, skim off the impurities and discard.

Then boil a pot of water, add lamb bones, a little cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, scallions, ginger slices, cinnamon, star anise, licorice, tangerine peel, angelica, fennel and other spice bags, and also add ginseng slices.

Boil until the mutton soup turns white, then add the mutton and offal, add the white radish cut into large pieces, and simmer slowly over medium heat.

Of course, it was Xiaowen who was in charge of lighting the fire. Xiaowu and Beibei would come over from time to time to take over from their brother. They were very sensible and did not delay Xia Juanjuan's cooking.

While the soup was boiling, Xia Juanjuan quickly mixed some flour, added chopped green onions and a little oil and salt, made it into a pancake shape, and then fried it in another pan with oil.

After boiling for about an hour, turn off the heat, remove the mutton and offal, rinse with cold water, and cut into thin slices.

Then add mutton fat to the back pot and stir-fry until melted, then stir-fry scallions, ginger and garlic, add thinly sliced ​​mutton, stir-fry for a few times, then scoop in mutton soup and the soft and glutinous white radish, bring to a boil, and finally serve in a bowl with chopped scallions. A bowl of radish and mutton soup with a meaty aroma is ready.

Xia Juanjuan likes spicy food, so she took out a full spoonful of chili sauce and scooped herself a spoonful. The red chili oil floated on the milky white mutton soup, and there was an overwhelming amount of mutton, liver, heart, lungs, etc. It looked very appetite-stimulating!

A family of four sat at the table, holding a freshly fried white flour pancake in one hand and a large bowl of mutton soup in the other, eating the meat and drinking the soup in big mouthfuls, their mouths all greasy!

After drinking a bowl of mutton soup, my whole body felt warm and I didn’t feel cold at all even though the temperature outside was 7 or 8 degrees.

This time, Xia Juanjuan cooked nearly three pounds of mutton from a thigh bone, but she couldn't finish it all at once, so she put the remaining mutton soup and mutton back into the space.

Only then did he wash the hands and faces of the three little ones and let them go to bed early.

She waited until they fell asleep before entering the space. She first took a nice hot spring bath, and then picked up a novel and read it with relish.

In those days, even in the city there were many places without electricity, let alone in the countryside. Even candles were unaffordable. Every family found an iron can, made a fire wick, poured some kerosene into it, and lit it so that the flame was only as big as a bean, and used it for lighting.

Therefore, at night, there is nothing to do except sleeping.

Radios are more common in cities and are rare in the countryside, not to mention televisions.

There is electricity, game consoles, television and other things in Xia Juanjuan's space.

But after all, it is a time travel, so advanced things like the Internet cannot be connected. You can only play games downloaded locally or watch TV series and movies.

Fortunately, Xia Juanjuan has stocked up on literary novels, professional books on science, various Chinese, American, Korean, Japanese, British dramas, and other popular books and film and television materials on various subjects and professions. She comes in to read novels and the like in the evening, and her life is not so boring.

After reading the novel for a while, she left the room and went to sleep under the quilt.

At this time, in another village about 20 miles away from Qingshui Village, there was Wangjia Village.

During the day, the old woman, who had exchanged two jade bracelets with Xia Juanjuan for some other things, returned home. It was already dark, and there was no light in her thatched hut. Taking advantage of the darkness, she carried a bowl of soup and two steamed buns and walked towards a cowshed not far from her home.

The cows in the cowshed were still eating dry grass, and the cowshed gave off a bad smell.

The old woman walked inside, knelt down beside a pile of hay, and called softly, "Miss...Miss..."

The person who was called woke up weakly. She was a woman in her forties or fifties. Although her face was pale and haggard, it was not difficult to tell that she must have been a great beauty when she was young.

Her name is Shen Wanxue. Recently, because of her family background, she was demoted and sent to a rural cowshed to feed cattle.

The old woman handed the bowl and two steamed buns to Shen Wanxue, and said tearfully, "Miss, this is the flour and some ginseng and angelica medicine I bought with your two jade bracelets. Drink it while it's hot."

Shen Wanxue shook her head weakly and said, "Auntie Yao, please don't call me Miss anymore. If someone hears it, you will be in trouble too. I'm afraid I can't survive this. Give it to your sons and grandsons."

Mother Yao said immediately, "Then... I will still call you Wanjie'er as I used to call you by your nickname in the mansion. Don't say discouraging words! My son and grandson have already benefited from it and have eaten the mixed-flour steamed buns! These are all for Wanjie'er! This ginseng and angelica are life-saving medicine. You will get better soon after drinking it! By the way, there is also this cotton jacket. Although it is not thick, you can put it inside your clothes to keep warm..."

Having said that, he put them on for Shen Wanxue without saying anything.

Shen Wanxue had no choice but to take the medicine and drink it, then eat the steamed bun. Her complexion really improved a lot.

She couldn't help but ask, "Mother Yao, have you found the Li family I asked you to look for in the surrounding villages?"

Mother Yao sighed and said, "Alas... I have asked all the villages within a radius of thirty miles. There are many families with the surname Li, but the number of children in the families does not match. I am afraid it is not the family... I even asked a family with the surname Li in Qingshui Village, but the number of children is not correct. I am afraid it is not the family that the young master fostered back then..."