When they returned to the original cave with the empty cart, the sky was still overcast.
Yesterday, most of the potatoes and radishes had already been taken away, and now only a small portion remained. Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an each took one of the potatoes out of the cellar, while the other was responsible for loading them onto the cart.
Jiang Xi stayed in the cave to tidy up their cooking utensils from the time they had been using.
Bowls, plates, dishes, and a few unused oil lamps—these fragile items were packed separately by Jiang Xi, using the same method as before. She carefully filled them with dried straw, lined them, and then put them into the baskets on her back for the three of them to carry back later.
The rest of the cured meat and such will be picked up during the afternoon trip.
After everything was loaded into the car, another hour or two passed.
The thick clouds gradually dispersed. Such sunshine was rare in winter, intense and brilliant. The ice at the doorway melted in the heat, and the group hurried towards the stone house, their feet sinking into the mud.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, it was nearly noon, and Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an began unloading sweet potatoes.
Jiang Xi took down all the pottery left by the ancestors from the wall shelf in the room, one by one, and stacked them up neatly, regardless of the color or size, and put them under Yan Zheng's bed.
After all the items left by the original inhabitants on the shelves were cleared out, she carefully took out the cooking utensils she had brought back from her basket.
It's not that their pottery is necessarily better than that of the indigenous people. The main reason is that Jiang Xi and Yan Zheng are used to their own pots, pans, steamers, etc. They find their own pots and pans more convenient to use. They can always replace them when they break down.
The wall shelves were filled again with pots, pans, and other utensils.
After finally finishing cleaning up, Jiang Xi looked down and saw a puddle of water on the ground, which had even submerged a basket of sweet potatoes.
Strange, she cleaned everything out of the pot, so where did the water come from?
She walked over and pulled it aside, wondering what was going on, when a drop of water hit her on the head. Jiang Xi looked up.
The roof is leaking. Although there are no obvious holes, it would be abnormal if it didn't leak after so many years of wind and rain.
I took the basin and planned to fill it up when I got back in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, taking advantage of the good weather, the three of them made another trip, this time loading about ten racks of cured pork ribs and dozens of salted fish.
As usual, Xiao Lu pulled the cart, with Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an following on either side to occasionally help push it, or lifting the back of the cart to give Xiao Lu leverage when the road was rough.
Halfway there, Yan Zheng suddenly called out, "The weather is nice today, I'll go take a look at the lake."
With that, he drew his sword, soothed the fawn a couple of times, and then went to the lakeside.
Jiang Xi realized she hadn't eaten fresh duck eggs in a long time, and there were many withered reeds nearby; she wanted to try and find some.
The fish in the river are at their most delicious in winter, but they are usually not easy to catch.
You need to make a hole in the ice. Once the hole is broken, fish in the water will swim over to absorb oxygen. However, this is a matter of luck. Sometimes you can make three holes and not find a single fish.
Today's luck is pretty good. Less than ten minutes after the ice broke, Yan Zheng saw the shadow of the fish. He moved a little away and stared intently.
A few minutes later, with a single stroke and a forceful flick, a plump yellow croaker was firmly embedded in the sword.
With a thrust followed by a flick, Yan Jing'an was amazed by the swordsmanship.
A short while later, Jiang Xi returned, carrying six wild duck eggs in her arms, supported by a cloak.
With a good harvest and fresh food to eat in the evening, everyone had some joy on their faces.
Upon arriving at the stone house, Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an found a sturdy wooden stick, secured it to the roof beams on both sides, and then hung the cured pork ribs and salted fish on it.
Jiang Xi remembered the leaky roof and hadn't told Yan Zheng yet, so she finished speaking. Then Yan Jing'an rode the cart onto the roof.
First, use dry grass to brush away the snow on the roof, revealing the roof structure. Although the house is made of stone and yellow mud, the roof is made of actual clay tiles.
A large section of the roof tiles were broken, and weeds grew on top of them. Over the years, it was impossible for the roof not to leak.
Yan Jing'an pulled out the grass, cleared away the soil, pried off a large number of broken tiles, and then came down from the roof.
They went to the blacksmith's shop, took a few relatively intact tiles from the roof of the blacksmith's kitchen, and then came back to install them on the roof of their house.
He has some martial arts skills, so going up and down the roof is not a problem for him.
But it was still quite high after all. Jiang Xi stood at the base of the wall, watching intently, not daring to look away for a second, for fear that he might fall again.
"Alright." Yan Jing'an clapped his hands and turned around.
He continued, "If we're going to live in a brick house from now on, the roof will also need to be repaired."
Turning around, he saw Jiang Xi standing below, staring intently at him with a worried expression on her face, and he couldn't help but want to tease her.
He slowly stood up, then slowly lifted his leg, making Jiang Xi's heart leap into her throat.
Suddenly, he lost his balance on his left foot, his body trembled slightly, and he pretended to try to regain his balance with both hands, as if he was about to fall.
This startled Jiang Xi, who quickly spread her arms and said anxiously, "Calm down, calm down."
Jiang Xi felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
Unexpectedly, Yan Jing'an waved his hands twice, straightened his leaning body, brushed the stray hairs off his forehead, and looked at Jiang Xi with a smug grin.
Jiang Xi suddenly realized. She had been fooled by this kid.
Yan Jing'an, who was on the roof, couldn't help but laugh out loud, and said fearlessly, "It's not my fault, you're just too easy to fool."
Jiang Xi gritted her teeth: "Lie to me? How childish of you."
It scared her so much that she felt like she was about to have a heart attack.
On second thought, I, Jiang Xi, am not so easily bullied.
She suddenly smiled and said, "I'm glad you're alright. Come down, I don't blame you."
These words were spoken with both consideration and ease, and then she turned and went back into the house.
Now it was Yan Jing'an's turn to be dumbfounded. When did Jiang Xi's temper become so good?
So he got bored, grabbed the rope on his grappling hook, stepped on the wall for leverage, and slid down.
He had just come down, and before he could even reel in the rope, Yan Jing'an was struck on the head.
Jiang Xi appeared out of nowhere and gave him a sharp rap on the head from behind.
As Jiang Xi worked, she kept talking: "I'll teach you to scare me, I'll teach you to lie to me."
Yan Jing'an was the one whose expression changed now.
There's no other reason than the pain.
As he dodged, he kept saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I'll never do it again."
The little deer standing by the door thought they were talking about something happy, and it raised its head and cried out.
Anyone who didn't know better would think she was just clapping along. With someone playing music, Jiang Xi felt much more comfortable.
As Yan Jing'an hid, he thought to himself, "What do you know about a deer? Why are you meddling in this?"
After a few minutes of commotion, the revenge attempt finally ended with Yan Jing'an begging for mercy.
**
For dinner, Jiang Xi first made a dish of scrambled eggs with black-skinned chicken mushrooms, which he had specially saved to dry in the summer.
Unlike other mushrooms that require long cooking times after drying, this type of mushroom only needs to be soaked and blanched once before it can be stir-fried or used in quick soups.
The black chicken mushroom prepared in this way has a fresh, fragrant, and crisp taste that is just as good as fresh ones, and even crisper and has a stronger mushroom flavor.
The large yellow croaker we caught today was cooked by Yan Zheng. He used a fresh cooking method, braising it directly on a traditional earthen stove.
After the fish was cooked, the group moved wooden blocks around the earthen stove. There were still some embers in the stove, so the fish in the pot kept bubbling.
After a long day, no one cared about getting dirty. Everyone took off their down jackets, and one person sat by the stove holding a bowl in their hand.
The large yellow croaker in winter is naturally delicious, with thick, juicy flesh and a fresh, delicious flavor. Add half a star anise and a handful of peppercorns for aroma, then simmer it in a sauce with some animal fat.
After the first bite, Jiang Xi felt like she didn't even need her teeth; it was so delicious that she wanted to swallow the soup as well.
After we'd eaten most of the fish, we used the remaining broth to cook some sweet potatoes and wood ear mushrooms. The meal was so satisfying that it not only tantalized our taste buds but also kept us from feeling cold.
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