After stir-frying the cured pork and all the side dishes until softened, she added water and simmered it for a few minutes before adding the chopped root potatoes.
Once it's cooked, it doesn't need much seasoning, just a little salt and a pinch of pepper, and it should taste pretty good.
He moved the pot of porridge to the back of the stove and called Du Ling to light the fire.
Seeing that it was almost time, she stir-fried another plate of shepherd's purse with eggs. With more people, the ingredients would be consumed quickly. In addition, wild duck eggs are not very big to begin with. The amount of shepherd's purse and duck eggs for the four of them would need to be ten duck eggs.
She also prepared a separate cold dish of bracken root. At first, Jiang Xi didn't know there was bracken root here; she had only mentioned it when chatting with Du Ling, and the little girl remembered it.
In the afternoon, the two of them were spinning thread when they disappeared halfway through. When they returned, their baskets were half full of bracken.
Jiang Xi had no idea where she found it. She took out what she needed to eat in the next two days and left the rest out to dry.
Whenever you're craving a treat, braised pork with dried bracken is a must-try.
As Jiang Xi cooked, she looked out the window. It was getting dark, and Yan Zheng still hadn't returned.
Even worse, the brilliant sunset that had just been stretching across the sky had vanished without a trace, replaced by heavy clouds and mist.
A breeze quietly picked up in the woods, rustling the leaves. Jiang Xi looked a little worried: "The wind is picking up."
The windows rattled loudly in the wind. Yan Jing'an, who was tidying up his things, threw them down and climbed onto the bed to close the windows.
Looking at the sky outside, I cursed inwardly.
Without even bothering to tidy up, they hurriedly went into the yard.
Before I even stepped out of the house, a flash of light appeared in the sky, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.
Du Ling and Jiang Xi, who were cooking, were startled. Realizing that it might rain, Jiang Xi handed the spatula to Du Ling: "You flip it."
Before he finished speaking, the sound of pattering rain could be heard outside.
Fortunately, it was just a light rain. She ran into the yard, collecting the dried goods as she went, and called out to Yan Jing'an, "It's raining, Yan Jing'an, come and move things."
Before he finished speaking, Yan Jing'an had already come out. Without even rolling up his sleeves, he and Jiang Xi went to pack things up in the main house.
They were drying a variety of things, including wild vegetables, herbs, root vegetables, and some dried fruit.
Fortunately, the raindrops weren't very heavy at first, and Yan Jing'an was strong enough to quickly gather the loads in a few piles.
Jiang Xi took a towel from the wall and dried the ends of her hair. She glanced at the sky outside and frowned slightly.
Yan Jing'an asked, "Where is my older brother?"
"He said he would come to see you after lunch, and if nothing unexpected happens, he also wants to go to the lakeside."
Yan Jing'an nodded, glanced around, and took down the straw hat and awning from the wall.
He put on his hat and said to her, "I'm going to find him. You all wait at home."
Before Jiang Xi could finish her instructions, he had already rushed into the rain.
After drying her hair, she suddenly remembered the dishes in the kitchen.
Fortunately, Du Ling was very obedient. When Jiang Xi told her to flip the dishes, she kept flipping them without stopping.
Jiang Xi saw that although the duck eggs in the pot were broken, fortunately they hadn't burned.
She took it: "Great, I'll do it."
Yan Jing'an walked along the mountain hollow towards the field ridge, and soon the drizzle turned into raindrops the size of beans.
The heavy rain shrouded the entire mountain in a hazy mist, and a figure emerged from the woods.
The familiar silhouette confirmed it was Yan Zheng. He was carrying a bucket in his hand and a sword on his right shoulder.
Seeing that Yan Jing'an didn't have a free hand to greet her, she could only silently walk in his direction.
Spring rain comes and goes quickly, and soon it stopped. Yan Jing'an unloaded the two pheasants he was carrying on his sword as a shoulder pole.
On the way back, they remained silent for a moment.
Yan Jing'an coughed twice: "Big brother, I'm planning to move to the new house tomorrow."
Yan Zheng glanced at him and hummed in agreement, then said, "I'll go find some firewood that makes a rustling sound tomorrow."
Yan Jing'an said nonchalantly, "No need, we can just pack the things and go. There's no need to make it so complicated."
Yan Zheng replied in a deep voice, "It's no trouble. The proper ceremony must be performed."
The two returned to the courtyard, where Jiang Xi was looking out the door. Upon seeing them return, she immediately ran over to greet them like a bird, her whole being beaming with joy.
She wanted to hug Yan Zheng, but felt a little embarrassed when she saw Yan Jing'an there. When she saw the bucket Yan Zheng was carrying, she ran over and asked, "Are those fish? How many are there?"
Yan Zheng said, "Three, not too big, just right for raising."
Jiang Xi smiled and said, "Okay, you guys go change your clothes first, I'll go get the rice."
When Yan Zheng and Yan Jing'an came out after changing into dry clothes, the food was already on the table: root and yam porridge, roasted root and yam, shepherd's purse stir-fried with eggs, and cold bracken salad.
Yan Jing'an and Du Ling had never eaten this kind of dish before. Yan Jing'an took a bite but it didn't suit his taste. Perhaps because he was in a bad mood, he didn't enjoy eating anything. He only picked up one chopstick and then stopped eating, focusing on drinking the porridge and finishing the food that Yan Zheng had left for him at noon.
Du Ling found the crisp, tender, and smooth texture of the bracken to be quite novel. Seeing that she was enjoying her meal, Jiang Xi kept putting more bracken into her bowl.
The porridge was well-received, and Jiang Xi even drank two bowls, which was quite unusual for her.
After the meal, Yan Zheng carried a bucket to the pond behind the kitchen.
One rainstorm revealed the flaws of the pond they had built. It was fine when it wasn't raining, but after it rained, all the mountain spring water and rainwater flowed into the ditch and then through the pond.
If it were just spring water, it wouldn't be so bad, but it's mixed with rainwater. The fallen leaves and weeds in the woods seem to have finally found an outlet, and the ditches are full of dead leaves, which have blocked the sluice gate of the pond. Now, half of the yard is flooded.
Because I don't come here often, I never noticed it.
There was no other way; the pile of fallen leaves here had always been a problem. Yan Zheng called Yan Jing'an out, and Jiang Xi and Du Ling, carrying torches, were responsible for clearing the fallen leaves from the ditch.
To make things easier, they all went barefoot, wrapped themselves in thick banana leaves, and finally finished packing in the dark before dawn.
But what about next time? We can't keep flooding and cleaning it up every time.
It was getting late, and Jiang Xi couldn't figure out an answer, so she decided to go to sleep first.
Having stayed up all night, Jiang Xi naturally didn't get up the next day, and Yan Zheng didn't wake her either.
It was already broad daylight outside when she rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened the window.
Yan Zheng must have just finished his morning exercise; he was chopping wood with his back bare. Jiang Xi was the only woman in the yard, but he didn't seem to care.
Jiang Xi rested her chin on her hand and leaned against the window for a while, admiring the picture of the handsome man chopping wood. She had to admit that his physique was really good, as if he had been sculpted with a ruler. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his muscles were taut and well-defined when he exerted force.
It made her think of yesterday morning without her realizing it.
It wasn't until she heard Yan Jing'an opening the door next door that Jiang Xi snapped out of her daze, quickly patted her hot face, and started changing her clothes and getting out of bed.
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