Chapter 77 Harvest from the Mountain
"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Niu Niu stood on tiptoe and reached out to reach the bottom string of flowers.
Zheng Xiuhua took out a pair of scissors and carefully cut off a few bunches of grapes, putting them into the basket: "Be careful not to break the grape skins."
Lu Mingyue first demonstrated to the children: "Watch carefully, use scissors to cut the grape above the stem, don't pull hard, so the grape won't fall off."
Leilei imitated her skillfully, carefully cutting out a small string of pieces, and proudly holding it up: "Mom, look what I cut!"
The children were using small tailor's scissors. Before they used them, Lu Mingyue specifically told them to be careful and that they could only use them under adult supervision.
Yao Yao wasn't tall enough, but she was particularly fond of the biggest and purplest bunch. She stood on tiptoe for a long time but still couldn't reach it, and her little face turned red with anxiety.
Zheng Xiuhua smiled and picked her up, saying, "Come on, let Auntie cut this string for you."
With a "snip," the scissors fell into the basket, and Yao Yao clapped her hands happily: "Great! This bunch is definitely the sweetest!"
In no time, the basket was full.
Everyone sat down to rest under the grape trellis. Lu Mingyue peeled a glistening grape and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour juice immediately burst on her tongue.
The children's faces were covered in purple juice as they ate, looking like two mischievous little kittens.
Looking at them, Zheng Xiuhua couldn't help but take out a handkerchief to wipe their faces: "You guys eat faster than you pick them."
Lu Mingyue smiled and shook her head: "It's a rare occasion for them to come, so let them eat their fill."
The wild grapes they found were quite plentiful; several people filled their baskets.
The group, laden with their spoils, chatted and laughed as they descended the mountain.
When they reached a steep slope, Niu Niu slipped and almost fell.
Fortunately, Lu Mingyue reacted quickly and grabbed him.
"Walk slowly, the soil here is loose," Lu Mingyue cautioned.
Niu Niu was so frightened that he quickly grabbed his mother's hand tightly and dared not look around anymore.
Lu Mingyue slowed her pace and walked between the two children, reminding them to watch where they were going as she went.
After turning a corner, they found a persimmon tree by the roadside covered with hawthorns, which looked like little red lanterns hanging on the branches.
Leilei tilted his head back, his eyes wide open: "Mommy, hawthorns! Lots of hawthorns!"
"It really is a wild hawthorn. As expected of someone so young, he has sharp eyes."
Since we've come across it, we certainly can't let it go.
Wild hawthorns can be picked, sliced and dried, or made into candied hawthorn balls, both are delicious.
After rearranging the basket to make room, Zheng Xiuhua climbed the tree without saying a word.
"Be careful!" Lu Mingyue stood under the tree, looking up and giving her a warning.
"Don't worry!" Zheng Xiuhua moved nimbly, like a nimble monkey, and quickly climbed to the branch full of persimmons.
She held onto a tree branch with one hand and picked hawthorns with the other, making sure to pick the biggest and reddest ones to throw down.
"Catch!" A bunch of hawthorns fell from the sky, and Leilei caught them nimbly, shouting excitedly, "This is huge!"
Yao Yao was responsible for gently placing the hawthorns she received into the basket, and she even imitated her mother by sorting the hawthorns, putting the red ones on one side and the purple ones on the other.
Before long, the basket under the tree was more than half full.
Zheng Xiuhua climbed down from the tree, dusted off her hands, and said with satisfaction, "A good harvest! We can make hawthorn cake tonight."
Looking at the basket full of her catch, Lu Mingyue smiled and said, "It seems today's trip was truly worthwhile."
They continued down the mountain, and just as they reached the foot, they saw Huo Zheng walking up the mountain to meet them.
Seeing them return safely, he breathed a sigh of relief and took the basket from Lu Mingyue's hand: "You've had quite a haul!"
"Of course!" Leilei proudly held up the bunch of grapes he had cut. "I picked these!"
Huo Zheng smiled and gave a thumbs up: "Awesome!"
After coming down from the mountain, the two children were so exhausted that they collapsed onto the sofa, too weak to even speak.
Huo Zheng came back from outside carrying two large lunch boxes. As soon as they entered the door, they smelled the delicious aroma of food.
He smiled and urged, "Go wash your hands quickly. The cafeteria made a lot of delicious food today. If you don't eat soon, the food will get cold."
The children perked up immediately upon hearing there was something delicious to eat and dashed off to wash their hands.
At the dinner table, Huo Zheng opened his lunchbox, which contained braised pork, steamed fish, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a fragrant tomato and egg soup.
The braised pork belly is a bright red color, rich but not greasy; the steamed fish is white and tender, garnished with emerald green scallions; the tomato and egg soup is sweet and sour, appetizing, and steaming hot.
"Wow! The cafeteria food is so plentiful today!" Lei Lei's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to pick up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, squinting his eyes in satisfaction.
Yao Yao prefers steamed fish, carefully picking out the bones and eating it with great relish.
Watching the children wolf down their food, Lu Mingyue smiled and reminded them, "Eat slowly, don't choke."
As Huo Zheng served food to the children, he said, "You must have had a hard day climbing the mountain. Eat more to replenish your energy."
She then put some food on Lu Mingyue's plate, saying, "You worked the hardest leading them up the mountain, so eat more."
Lu Mingyue's lips curled into a wide smile.
Before long, the two lunchboxes were empty. The children patted their round bellies, leaned back in their chairs contentedly, and had happy smiles on their faces.
After lunch, Lu Mingyue first gave the two children a bath.
The bathroom was steamy, and the children were having a great time playing in the water, splashing water everywhere.
After washing them, she wrapped them up tightly in towels, dried their hair, and coaxed them back to their room for a nap.
Seeing that the two little ones quickly fell asleep, Lu Mingyue also held them and slept for a while.
When I woke up again, it was already quite late.
Lu Mingyue quietly closed the door and went to the kitchen.
She tied on an apron, poured the hawthorns she had picked into a basin, and began to get busy.
She cleaned all the hawthorn berries, then poured an appropriate amount of white sugar and a little water into a pot and simmered it over low heat until it became a thick syrup.
Sugar is expensive now, and this is all the sugar we have in our house.
Once the syrup turned amber, she quickly poured in the hawthorn berries and gently stirred them to coat each hawthorn berry evenly with the sugar coating.
Her movements were skillful and gentle, as if she were dressing each ruby in a shimmering coat.
Then, she poured the sugar-coated hawthorns into a bamboo sieve, letting the excess sugar drip off and allowing the sugar coating to solidify slowly.
Once the temperature dropped slightly, she rubbed the hawthorns into small, round balls with her hands, then rolled them in a layer of fine white sugar to make them look even more translucent.
Lu Mingyue was busy coating hawthorn balls with sugar when she suddenly heard the courtyard gate being gently pushed open.
"Is Mingyue home?" Zheng Xiuhua's voice came through the phone.
Lu Mingyue looked up and saw Zheng Xiuhua walking in carrying a white porcelain plate with several crystal-clear hawthorn cakes neatly arranged on it.
The cake has an enticing amber color and is decorated with a few red dates in the middle, making it look exquisite and delicious.
"You're so fast!" Lu Mingyue exclaimed in surprise as she took the plate. "Did you just make it?"
Zheng Xiuhua smiled smugly: "My husband likes to eat this, so I made a little extra and thought I'd send you a few pieces to try."
Lu Mingyue scooped a little with a small spoon and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour taste was just right, and the texture was delicate. She couldn't help but praise, "It tastes really good! It's even better than what the supply and marketing cooperative sells."
Zheng Xiuhua looked at the hawthorn balls on the table and her eyes lit up: "Your hawthorn balls are beautifully made. Why don't we try them together?"
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