Chapter 245
In late April, the Zhuang people hold their annual March 3rd Festival. Since it is a unique ethnic festival and has not yet been included in the legal holidays, there is no holiday on this day.
But our Zhuang compatriots try to ask for leave as much as possible because they have several mountains to climb!
In fact, it is not just the Zhuang people who celebrate March 3rd. It is also an important traditional festival for some of the indigenous ethnic groups in Guangxi Province, such as the Yao, Miao, Dong, Mulao, and Maonan.
On this day, people will offer sacrifices and pray, prepare delicious food, visit relatives and friends, express feelings through songs, engage in entertainment and competitions, etc.
Su Yuanzheng also asked for two days of leave for his daughter. The store will be closed for two days, and the Su family will have to go back to the village to celebrate the festival. It’s really embarrassing. The Zhuang people really love to celebrate festivals.
Tomorrow is March 3rd. When it came to the last class in the afternoon, Su Miao couldn't sit still anymore. His heart was already flying away, so he said goodbye to the head teacher and ran home.
When they arrived at the bus station, there were crowds of passengers returning home. Fortunately, the conductor of the bus back to Ning County knew Su Yuanzheng and managed to cut in line and arrange a seat for them.
The cargo area under the shuttle bus was filled with things that everyone wanted to take home, mostly sugar cakes, snacks and pork, because chicken, duck and vegetables were not in short supply in their hometown, and they wanted to bring some rare things in the village.
Fortunately, there was no traffic jam at the moment, and after an hour's wandering, I arrived at the Sujia Village bus stop.
I called my second uncle before coming back. Now he and Brother Xiang are waiting here to pick them up on their tricycles!
"Come on! Get in the car! They're already cooking at home, so we'll be ready for dinner when we get home."
Several people sat on the tricycle and headed towards the village. Su Yu replaced his father from the bicycle seat. Could he still let his old father carry him so hard?
When passing by the small shop at the entrance of the village, Su Hui waved inside: "Brother! We are back!"
Second Uncle's eldest son, Su Dezhi, came out and said with a smile, "You guys go back first! I'll come after I close the door!"
Su Miao asked, "Is Brother Zhi in charge of the store now?"
The second uncle replied, "Usually, whoever is free comes to visit. Your sister-in-law and second aunt went out to cook, so they sent him over."
What Su Miao said at the party during the Chinese New Year was quickly put into action by his second uncle and aunt.
They spent a thousand dollars to buy the entire store. Although the goods inside had been moved out by Wei's relatives and there were few left, the telephone lines were still in place.
You have to know that the Wei family spent a lot of money to install this telephone line, and the money from selling this small house was also included in it. They only need to replenish some goods to reopen the business, which is very cost-effective.
After returning home and having dinner, Su Miao was assigned to the job of watching the fire. This was the most leisurely job because there were still a lot of other things to prepare. Those were technical and physical jobs that had nothing to do with Su Miao, the treasure of the family.
Su Miao watched the fire while watching his second uncle and father making glutinous rice cakes. They put the steamed glutinous rice into the stone mortar and pounded it with a large wooden pestle.
This is a laborious job that also tests the degree of tacit understanding and coordination. If the rhythm and accuracy are not right, the two may end up fighting.
However, they have been glutinous rice cake making partners for decades. They chat and laugh while pounding the rice cake, and can even turn the rice cake over in the middle with tacit understanding.
The beaten glutinous rice cake is very tough. Dip your hands in some water, rub it, and press it, and it will become a pancake-shaped piece. The surface is sticky with oil, and it will not stick even if you put it in a flat winnowing basket.
It can be fried, deep-fried, or dipped in sugar. Sister Hui took a piece and dipped it in sugar with Su Miao. The unique aroma of glutinous rice and the soft and chewy texture made it taste sweet on the tip of the tongue.
However, eating half of it is enough, because they have just had a full meal, and eating such a solid glutinous rice product will easily cause indigestion.
Su Miao was looking at a large pot that had been burnt black on the outside. It was the old employee who cooked rice dumplings in his second uncle's house.
They have so many kinds of rice dumplings here, including cold rice dumplings, triangular rice dumplings, large meat rice dumplings, etc. Each type of rice dumpling requires a different cooking time. If you make each one yourself, the workload will be too much.
So many times, several families work together to make dumplings, cooking them in different pots according to their types, and then dividing them up after they are cooked. Every time when it comes to making dumplings before the festival, there is a big pot in front of each courtyard, and it is very lively.
This year, my second uncle's family did not cooperate with relatives because those who were able to work had returned and there was enough manpower. My second aunt said to make more and let them take it back to Nancheng to eat slowly.
This big meat rice dumpling is what Su Miao is most looking forward to. A layer of soaked glutinous rice is spread in the washed rice dumpling leaves, and soaked peeled mung beans are spread in the middle. A piece of marinated pork belly is placed inside, and then it is covered with mung beans and glutinous rice and wrapped using traditional methods.
Those who are skilled like my second aunt can wrap one in one minute, while those who are never tired of learning like Su Miao can only wrap one in ten minutes but the rice will leak out.
So Su Miao should just quietly watch over the stove and not get involved in any manual work.
After a while, Su Miao pushed the long firewood in a little bit to ensure that there was always fire at the bottom of the pot, and was still thinking about the way the rice dumplings would look when they came out of the pot and into his mouth.
Each zongzi weighs two kilograms and is shaped like a small pillow. After the zongzi is cooked, the zongzi leaves are opened and the outer layer of glutinous rice has become soft and rotten, and the soft and sticky rice has the fresh fragrance of the zongzi leaves.
Further inside are sweet and soft mung beans, and in the center is fatty but not greasy pork belly. During the long cooking process, the lard seeps out, making the mung beans and glutinous rice also infused with the tempting meaty aroma.
The rice dumplings are delicious right out of the pot. After cooling down, they are cut into slices and fried in oil to create a different flavor. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, which makes Su Miao unable to stop eating them every time.
The only drawback is the heat, just like the heat from the fried food I ate last time.
Su Miao subconsciously raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth as she thought about it, causing Hui Jie, who was soaking colored glutinous rice nearby, to laugh out loud: "Are you drooling now? It still has to cook for several hours, just wait!"
I watched Sister Hui making rice soaking water of different colors. This is water boiled or soaked with several different plants. Soaking glutinous rice in it for one night will dye it with color and the special aroma of the plants.
When you steam it tomorrow morning, you will get colorful five-color glutinous rice. They usually make it in five colors: red, yellow, purple, black and white.
Su Miao said, "Sister Hui, I like sweet glutinous rice. After it's steamed tomorrow, please help me mix a bowl of sweet rice."
"Sure! I'll also make salty mung bean glutinous rice. Do you like it?"
Su Miao shook her head. "I don't like that. It makes my throat choke. I prefer this kind of sticky and chewy food."
Sister Hui couldn't help but laugh and said, "You like salty rice dumplings made with mung beans and glutinous rice, but you don't like salty glutinous rice made with mung beans and glutinous rice. How strange! How strange! What a fickle child!"
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