Sanya put down the bamboo basket, then ran over with the basket containing the grass jelly, excitedly shouting, "Uncle, Uncle, let's go make something to eat now!"
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Okay, Sanya, go wash these grasses clean first, remember to only use the leaves."
Sanya happily went to the river to wash the grass jelly.
Seeing that his parents were both at home, Chen Kai asked in confusion, "Mom, weren't you going to dig up some ground frost from someone else's house? Why are you still at home?"
Zhou laughed and said, "I sent those children to the village to spread the word, telling them to dig up the frost from their own fields, and we'll buy it."
Old Man Chen chuckled and said, "My good son, your mother traded dyeing a piece of clothing for two buckets of frost. Everyone in the village went home to dig it up themselves, and once they've dug it up, they'll bring it to our house."
Chen Kai thought helplessly, his mother was really good. She used inexpensive dyes to dye other people's clothes in exchange for frost on their floors. Maybe in the future, his mother would sell the byproducts she made back to the villagers, and the villagers would be grateful to their family.
Chen Kai said helplessly, "Mother, has the ice in the backyard melted yet? Reheat the melted water, evaporate the water, put it in a wooden bucket to cool, and after a while, the saltpeter will reappear, and we can continue making ice."
Upon hearing Chen Kai's words, Zhou immediately said happily, "My good son, I'll go boil water right now. These saltpeter stones are really good things; they can be reused. That way, our family will have an endless supply of ice in the future."
Chen Kai asked in a coquettish tone, "Mom, I saw a delicious dish in a book that requires a little rice porridge. Mom, can you help me make it?"
Zhou patted Chen Kai's head tenderly and said, "Okay, Mom will cook some for you to drink in a little while, and you can have the rest." Children should drink more rice porridge, but their family had never had much money before and had never given Chen Kai rice porridge.
Chen Kai pulled Zhou Shi towards the kitchen, saying as they walked, "Mother, let's make rice porridge now!"
“Okay!” Zhou picked up Chen Kai and said.
When Sanya returned, she happily said, "Uncle, I'm all washed up. Let's start cooking!"
Chen Kai laughed and said, "Er Ya, go find a basin and rub these herbs together. After rubbing them together, add some water and rub them again." Er Ya had come over earlier, curious to know what her uncle was going to cook, but she was unexpectedly pulled into helping.
After Zhou boiled the water, Chen Kai had Er Ya scoop some water to filter out the wood ash.
After the rice porridge was cooked, Chen Kai said, "Mom, ladle out the rice porridge, add a little water, and boil a pot of water!"
Zhou scooped out a bowl of rice porridge with a spoon, placed it aside, and said, "My dear son, drink the rice porridge when it gets cold!"
Chen Kai smiled and agreed.
To make jelly, the first step is to cut the jelly grass, wash it clean, pick its leaves, and then vigorously rub the leaves until they become a paste. After rubbing them repeatedly, the leaves will become quite unsightly. Then, put them in a basin of clean water and continue rubbing them.
Next, use a clean piece of gauze to pour the paste-like water through it, filtering out the residue and leaving only the liquid. This is where wood ash water comes in – the ash from burning rice straw. Filter this ash with boiling water to obtain alkaline water, i.e., wood ash water. Pour an appropriate amount of rice water into the previously prepared clean jelly water and boil it together. Then, pour it out and let it sit for one or two hours to obtain delicious jelly.
When Chen Kai saw that Er Ya had rubbed it enough, he asked her to find a cloth to filter it.
After Zhou boiled the water, Chen Kai said, "Mother, add the juice from these herbs and the wood ash water. After the water boils, add a little rice water."
Under Chen Kai's watchful eye, Zhou reluctantly added a little rice porridge.
After the jelly soup was cooked, Er Ya excitedly asked, "Uncle, Uncle, can we eat it now?"
Chen Kai shook his head and said, "We have to wait for it to cool down and solidify before eating it."
Sanya said disappointedly, "Uncle, do we have to wait that long?"
Chen Kai laughed and said, "I also know another way to make it. Er Ya, San Ya, go find some dried of this grass and bring it back. Your uncle will make you another dish."
"Once we've made another dish, this one should be ready to eat."
Mesona chinensis can also be made into jelly. The method is quite special: boil dried mesona chinensis in water, then mix the juice with rice flour and continue to boil for a while. After cooling, you get a black gelatinous substance. Add sugar or honey and eat it. It is very refreshing and cooling.
Er Ya and San Ya grabbed their sickles and bamboo baskets and ran off to cut grass for jelly. Chen Kai called out, "You two go wash yourselves off at the river while you're at it."
Not long after, the two of them returned. Chen Kai saw that they were covered in sweat, so he told them to sit down and rest for a while.
Chen Kai said, "Mother, put these herbs into a pot, add some water, and boil them."
While his mother wasn't looking, Chen Kai asked Sanya to scoop out a bowl of rice porridge, with a little extra rice. Zhou Shi didn't think much of it; she had cooked quite a bit of rice porridge, and it wouldn't hurt to give her granddaughter a little.
Chen Kai asked Er Ya to find something to turn the rice water into rice paste. Chen Kai whispered, "Er Ya, I'll show you the gestures later. Just pour the rice paste into the pot."
Er Ya said hesitantly, "Uncle, isn't this a bad idea?"
Chen Kai said, "It's okay. Don't you want to eat something delicious? Mother will only scold you. If Mother hits you, just say that I told you to do it and let her hit your uncle."
Er Ya frowned and said, "Alright then!"
Seeing that the jelly noodles were almost cooked, Chen Kai took a wooden basin and said, "Mom, put the grass scraps in here!"
Zhou took the wooden basin and placed it on the stove. As she scooped out the scraps, she said, "Thank you, my good son!"
Taking advantage of Zhou's inattention, Chen Kai gestured to Er Ya to quickly pour the rice paste.
When Zhou saw this, she angrily scolded them, saying, "Next time, you mustn't waste food like this!" Zhou also knew that Er Ya certainly didn't have that kind of guts; it must have been her precious son's idea.
Chen Kai tugged at Zhou Shi's sleeve and said coquettishly, "I know, Mother! After it cools down, we'll try it. If you think it's delicious, we can take it out to sell for money."
Zhou reluctantly agreed, "Fine, if it can be sold for money, I definitely won't bother you anymore."
Chen Kai thought to himself, he knew that once he mentioned it could be used to make money, his mother wouldn't stop him.
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