Chen Nong chose a spot and dug for a long time without finding anything, so Chen Kai couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure it's here?"
As Chen Nong dug, he said, "I'm sure, this is it. But I'm not sure if what you're looking for is here. I remember picking that thing before. If it's not in this hole, we'll go find another one."
Chen Kai looked at him speechlessly; he shouldn't have had such expectations.
Chen Nong dug for a long time and finally found the straw that was wrapped in the box.
Chen Nong said happily, "We finally dug it up. I was worried that the contents would be wet, so I wrapped it with a lot of straw."
Just as Chen Kai was about to leave, Chen Nong stopped him, saying, "Uncle, don't come over yet. There are bugs in this straw. Come over later."
Chen Nong first poked at the straw with his hoe, and sure enough, many small insects crawled out. Chen Nong peeled back the layers of straw covering the wooden box, finally revealing the small wooden box. Inside the small wooden box were several clumps of things wrapped in straw.
Seeing that the box was already open, Chen Kai came closer. After looking at the contents of the box, he smiled and said, "Chen Nong, you really hid this stuff very well."
Chen Nong smiled smugly; he had put a lot of thought into moisture and corrosion prevention.
Chen Kai casually unwrapped a clump of straw, inside which was a bamboo tube. He opened the tube and found that it contained Sichuan peppercorns. He excitedly asked, "Farmer Chen, where did you pick these?"
Besides being a condiment, Sichuan peppercorns also have significant medicinal value. The fruit, leaves, and rhizomes of Sichuan peppercorns can all be used in medicine. Sichuan peppercorns have the effects of warming the middle jiao (spleen and stomach), dispelling cold, removing dampness, relieving pain, killing parasites, and detoxifying fish poisoning.
Chen Nong shook his head blankly and said, "I don't remember."
Chen Kai asked, "Farmer Chen, was this picked from the mountain near our village?"
Chen Nong said, "I'm not sure about that either. When I go to my great-uncle's house and my aunt's house, I also go to the nearby mountains to play and collect some things along the way."
Chen Kai was a little disappointed, but since the Sichuan peppercorns had appeared, he was sure he could find them.
Chen Kai opened a few more bamboo tubes and found another tube of Sichuan peppercorns. Two bamboo tubes of Sichuan peppercorns would be enough to last for a while.
It wasn't until they opened the last bamboo tube that Chen Kai discovered the dogwood. Luckily, there was a bamboo tube; otherwise, what would they have dug up?
Holding the bamboo tube containing Sichuan peppercorns and dogwood, Chen Kai said with a smile, "Alright, Chen Nong, I only need these two. Put the rest in the box and bury it back!"
Seeing that his uncle had found what he wanted, Chen Nong buried the rest back.
When Chen Kai got home, he couldn't find anyone to prepare the ingredients, and even Da Ya and the others weren't there.
Seeing Chen Kai looking for someone, Chen Lao Er smiled and said, "Little brother, they've all gone to buy grain. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Chen Kai shook his head and said, "It's nothing, Second Brother, you go ahead with your work." Was it really necessary for everyone to go with him to buy grain? He'd rather wait for his mother and the others to return.
After a while, Old Man Chen and the others returned. As soon as Chen Lao Si came back, he picked up Chen Kai and said, "Little brother, guess what your fourth brother brought back for you today?"
Chen Kai thought for a moment and said, "Is it a book, Fourth Brother?"
Old Chen patted Chen Kai's head and said, "Little brother is so smart!"
Chen Laosi took out a few books from his pocket and said, "I originally wanted to buy you books, but I didn't have enough money after buying things, so I borrowed a few miscellaneous books. Didn't you say you wanted to read miscellaneous books last time?"
Chen Kai glanced at them and saw they were several travelogues, so he said with a smile, "Thank you, Fourth Brother! These books are much more interesting."
Chen Laosi put Chen Kai down, handed him the book, and went to help move the grain.
Chen Kai put the book in his room and then went to find Zhou Shi.
Chen Kai pulled Zhou Shi into the kitchen, pointed to the bamboo tube containing peppercorns and dogwood, and said, "Mother, I want to use these two things to make something to eat."
Zhou picked up the bamboo tube, looked at what was inside, and asked, "My dear son, is this really edible? I've never heard of it before."
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Yes, it's edible. The book says so, and it's very delicious. Mom, please help me render the oil."
Upon hearing that it was something her precious son had seen in a book, Mrs. Zhou immediately agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll get it right away."
Chen Kai said, "Mom, this is Sichuan peppercorns. First, take half a bowl out, wash it, pick out the peppercorn seeds, then soak it in water for half an hour, and then take it out and drain the water."
"Next, crush the Sichuan peppercorns, heat oil in a wok, and once the oil is hot, pour in the crushed Sichuan peppercorns and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent them from burning due to uneven heating. Once the Sichuan peppercorns have become slightly dry and crispy, turn off the heat and let them cool."
"Once the peppercorn oil has cooled, it can be used after filtering out the residue. It can be stored for a long time in a ceramic jar."
Actually, it's better to use fresh Sichuan peppercorns to make Sichuan peppercorn oil, but we have to make do with what we have now.
Chen Kai continued, "Mother, just wash the dogwood with clean water and drain it, then fry it in lard. Use half a pound of dogwood with five pounds of lard to make a very fragrant chili oil."
Zhou frowned and said, "My good son, you need so much lard!"
Chen Kai said, "Yes! We can eat these for a while longer."
When Zhou started making Sichuan peppercorn oil and chili oil, the smell in the kitchen was too pungent, so Chen Kai went out.
Before long, the chili oil was ready, and it was time to start making the food.
Once the smell in the kitchen had dissipated, Chen Kai returned to the kitchen and started directing his mother to make noodles; he wanted to eat noodles with chili oil.
Xiao Bao's mouth watered at the aroma of the chili oil, and he couldn't resist grabbing a bowl and spoon to scoop some out to eat. Chen Kai saw this and quickly stopped him, saying, "Xiao Bao, you can't eat chili oil directly. Like ginger, it's used as a condiment. In fact, chili oil is even spicier than ginger."
"Oh!" The baby nodded. Oh, so it can't be eaten. But it smells so good, I really want to eat it.
After the noodles were cooked, Chen Kai couldn't wait to ask his mother to serve him a bowl. He rinsed the noodles with cold water, added a little chili oil, and started eating.
When Zhou heard that her dear son said the chili oil tasted very spicy, she added a little bit of chili oil to Chen Kai's food.
Seeing his uncle eating with great relish, Chen Nong swallowed hard and asked, "Uncle, is it delicious?"
Xiao Bao couldn't resist the temptation and scooped some from his uncle's bowl to eat. As he ate, he said, "It's so delicious! It's spicy, but also very fragrant, and there's a flavor I can't quite describe."
Chen Kai took a bite of noodles and said, "It's delicious, you should eat some too."
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