Chapter 100 Going Up the Mountain
Perhaps sensing the children's desire to play, the weather was sunny and breezy on the weekend.
The temperature was cold in the morning and evening, so Lu Mingyue put a light jacket on the two children.
"Come on, kids, let's go catch grasshoppers."
Lu Mingyue carried a basket; the late-ripening chestnut tree at the foot of the mountain had recently come to ripen.
The shorter fruits had already been picked by others, so she carried a bamboo pole, preparing to climb the tree and knock down the chestnuts from the higher ones.
Late-ripening chestnuts are soft, sweet, and fragrant, and can be used to make steamed chestnut cakes or roasted chestnuts.
The oven at home has just been put into use, so it's time to make some fragrant roasted chestnuts.
"Niu Niu, we're going to catch grasshoppers at the foot of the mountain, do you want to come?"
Leilei was worried about his friend, so he ran to Niuniu's house to ask.
The two are about the same age. After seeing Leilei go to school, Niuniu also wants to go to school.
Zheng Xiuhua never expected that her son, who was so mischievous, would one day voluntarily apply to go to school, so she immediately agreed.
Niu Niu and Lei Lei sit at adjacent desks at school. Niu Niu is envious of the grasshoppers Xiao Man gave to Lei Lei and is begging his mother at home to let him go find grasshoppers.
Zheng Xiuhua had a terrible headache.
Just then, Leilei arrived, and it was like grasping at a straw.
"Come on, come on, I'll go with you all. Stop nagging me at home."
At that age when even dogs dislike him, his language system was fully developed after he started school, and he became very talkative.
She never knew her son could talk so much.
On the way, Zheng Xiuhua and Lu Mingyue complained, "It's all thanks to Leilei for calling us together, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to handle him."
Niu Niu is as stubborn as his name suggests; when he gets stubborn, he's like a bull, and you can't pull him back.
“My family is the same,” Lu Mingyue said with a helpless smile.
The grasshopper that Leilei brought back from school has heroically sacrificed itself and been fed to the chickens at home.
Three children were chatting ahead.
Yao Yao: "Brother, Mom said that Big Flower and the others love to eat bugs. Let's find more to take back later."
Mom said that chicks that eat worms will grow up to be plump and white, and Yao Yao's mouth watered at the thought of the juicy chicken legs.
"Don't worry, I brought the net that Dad made. We'll definitely fill the bamboo cage."
Leilei held the net in his hand with full confidence.
Upon arriving at the destination, Lu Mingyue unloaded the basket from her back and looked up at the chestnut tree in front of her.
"This tree is really big."
It was much larger than the chestnut trees they had found on the mountain before, with lush branches and leaves, thick roots, and a clear view of the abundant fruit at the top.
"That's right, if we had come sooner, we might have found even more."
Zheng Xiuhua also sighed.
The two agreed that one of them would climb the tree while the other waited below to pick up the items.
"Children, don't run too far. Just catch some bugs around here. After we finish picking chestnuts, we'll go back and cook something delicious."
Lu Mingyue instructed the three children, and upon hearing that there was something delicious to eat, the three children immediately agreed.
"good!"
Lu Mingyue climbed up first, while Zheng Xiuhua watched from below.
"Be careful, bright moon."
Lu Mingyue used both her hands and feet to climb upwards, saying, "Don't worry."
The chestnut tree was short and sturdy, and she found a suitable spot step by step.
Zheng Xiuhua handed her the bamboo pole, and Lu Mingyue took it and began to crack chestnuts.
With a few "whoosh" sounds, the ripe chestnuts fell to the ground.
The three children, drawn by the sight from a short distance away, watched in astonishment.
Leilei, with his sharp eyes, spotted some chestnuts rolling nearby and immediately said, "Let's hurry and catch some grasshoppers so we can pick up chestnuts later."
Lu Mingyue's arms were sore from hitting the ground.
"Mingyue, that's about enough. Let's finish these for now."
"Okay, I'll rest for a bit before going downstairs."
She rubbed her aching back, thinking to herself that picking chestnuts was really hard work, and she estimated that her arms and back would be sore tonight.
After resting for about fifteen minutes, most of the fatigue in her body dissipated. Lu Mingyue sat up, leaning against the tree trunk, and looked down.
Zheng Xiuhua was sitting on the grassy slope talking to the children. Three little figures surrounded her, holding bamboo cages filled with grasshoppers, chattering and showing off something.
She laughed and called out, "I'm coming down!"
After saying that, she grabbed the branch with one hand and slowly moved down the tree step by step, following the knots she had stepped on earlier.
Once her feet were firmly on the ground, Zheng Xiuhua immediately went over to help her up: "Have you rested enough? It was really worrying to see you climb so high."
Lu Mingyue patted the dust off her hands, looked at the half-full basket of chestnuts, and smiled, "That's enough, that's enough. These are just right for stir-frying. Come on, let's take the children home, or we'll miss making dinner."
Upon arriving home, Lu Mingyue immediately took a refreshing shower, changed into clean clothes, and felt instantly refreshed.
On the other side, the children had already poured the grasshoppers from the glass jars next to the chicken coop.
Several chickens immediately surrounded them, pecking happily. Leilei and Yaoyao squatted to the side, watching the chickens fight for food, and occasionally burst into laughter.
"Mommy, Dahua is eating so well!" Yao Yao called out as she turned around, her little face covered in dirt, but her smile was exceptionally bright.
Lu Mingyue smiled and agreed, then turned and went into the kitchen.
The rice that had been sitting on the stove before she left home in the morning was still warm. She cracked a few eggs and stirred them, then poured hot oil into the pan. The golden egg mixture instantly bubbled up. She then added the rice and stir-fried it, sprinkled on some chopped green onions, and the fragrant egg fried rice was ready.
On the dining table, glistening rice coated in egg yolk, accompanied by crisp pickled cucumbers from a jar, was eaten by the children who wolfed down their food. Even Lu Mingyue ate an extra bowl of rice.
After resting for a while after the meal, Lu Mingyue brought out the chestnuts she had picked that morning. Just as she was about to peel them, Zheng Xiuhua pushed the door open and came in.
"Mingyue, let me lend a hand. More people will make it faster."
The two sat at a table in the courtyard, one using scissors to cut open the chestnut shells, the other patiently peeling out the golden flesh.
The children also came over to help. Although they were slow at peeling and often crushed the fruit, they learned to do it quite well.
Lu Mingyue poured some of the peeled chestnuts into an iron pot, sprinkled them with white sugar, and slowly stir-fried them to make roasted chestnuts.
The other part is mashed into a paste, mixed with flour and honey, and kneaded into a dough to prepare for steaming chestnut cake.
Holding half a peeled chestnut kernel in her hand, Zheng Xiuhua looked at the sugar jar, flour bag, and small porcelain bottle of honey on the stone table and couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder the chestnut cake and roasted chestnuts sold by the supply and marketing cooperative smell so good, it turns out they put in so many things."
She pointed to the sugar jar with her finger, her tone tinged with emotion: "Look at this sugar. At the supply and marketing cooperative, you need coupons to exchange for it; they usually don't keep much of it."
The flour was refined white flour, unlike the coarse grain flour we usually ate at home. And the honey was a rare commodity; we had to ask someone to buy it from the countryside.
Lu Mingyue was mixing honey into the chestnut puree when she heard this and replied with a smile, "That's right, none of these ingredients are cheap, so it's reasonable that people sell their pastries at high prices."
She kneaded the mixed chestnut paste into a ball, saying, "Making it ourselves uses more ingredients, but it's cleaner and more authentic, and the children can eat it with peace of mind."
Zheng Xiuhua nodded and reached out to help place the kneaded dough into the mold: "Homemade is always more reliable. No matter how good the ones sold outside are, they can't compare to this home-cooked taste."
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