After making the zongzi, He Yuhan packed a bowl and asked Han Yi to deliver it to the Gao family so that they could try something new.
Those in the village who could afford it would make some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), which created some of the Dragon Boat Festival atmosphere.
Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) can't be eaten as a meal; we need to cook something else for dinner. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and He Yuhan is preparing a lavish family feast tonight. Let's all have a good time together.
Today, the Gao family made some tofu and sent some to the Han family.
The tofu made from homemade soy milk is very tender. He Yuhan plans to make a braised tofu dish and a fried tofu dish. She also prepared a pot of rice porridge in advance.
Fried tofu is fried in oil until golden brown, and its enticing aroma fills the yard.
In the courtyard stood a low dining table, resembling a kang table, around which everyone sat on stools and small benches. Han Yi first placed the tofu his wife had fried earlier in the center of the table.
The children weren't allowed to eat much zongzi because they're hard to digest, but the fried tofu was fine. Wen Jinyu put a few pieces in each child's bowl, and they ate it all without stopping.
Han Xiao and Liu Zhongyi sat together, took out wine bottles, and prepared to have a couple of drinks.
Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and Gu Qishen is allowed to drink less alcohol, while Han Yixian drinks some with him.
Gu Qishen picked up a piece of fried tofu, nodded, and said, "It's really delicious. I didn't expect fried tofu to be so good."
Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fried tofu has always been a popular dish.
Braised tofu is also delicious; He Yuhan's skills can turn the most ordinary ingredients into delicious dishes.
There was still some cured pork at home, so He Yuhan made a dish of cured pork stir-fried with garlic sprouts, a dish of wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with eggs, a cold wild vegetable salad, and a boiled radish.
After the fried tofu, give the children some green vegetables and rice porridge. That should make sure they are full.
Today we have not only fried tofu, but also fried small salted fish. The arrival of these small salted fish makes the meal even more sumptuous.
The small salted fish were small fish that Han Yixian and Gu Qishen caught in the stream and pickled. He Yuhan knew that her father-in-law liked to eat this, so she fried some.
He Yuhan fried the small salted fish in oil until they were salty, fragrant, and crispy, even the fish bones were fried until crispy.
This is a great dish to accompany drinks. Han Xiao poured himself and Liu Zhongyi two cups of wine and said with a smile, "Tonight's dinner is quite sumptuous. This small salted fish is excellent, perfect as a snack with drinks. I've been craving one."
Liu Zhongyi picked up a small salted fish, took a bite, and nodded, saying, "Indeed, it's meat, even tastier than fried tofu."
Gu Qishen also picked up a piece; it smelled delicious and tasted even better. It was crispy and crunchy, and you could even eat the fish bones.
Seeing that the two elders liked it, he said, "Uncle Han, if you like it, Yi Xian and I can go and catch some small fish whenever we have some free time."
Living in the countryside for a while reveals its hidden treasures; the food is even more abundant than in the county town. Here, you can grow your own vegetables, hunt and fish. In the city, everything requires ration coupons, the quantities are limited, and nothing is as fresh as in the countryside.
Han Xiao took a sip of his drink and said, "So, do you regret staying in the countryside?"
Gu Qishen sighed, "How could I regret living such a carefree life? I'm no worse at farm work than Yixian is now. The work points I earn are enough to support Huayang and me."
Besides, I still have savings and money to spend. But there are few places to spend money in the countryside, so even if I wanted to, there's nowhere to spend it.
"You can hunt pheasants and rabbits in the mountains; these are hard to find in the city, but Yi Xian and Yu Han can get them with ease."
He turned to Han Yixian and said, "Yixian, teach me archery. Once I've mastered it, I'll shoot some game back so I won't just be carrying baskets when we go into the mountains with you guys and be of no use to anything else."
Wen Jinyu, holding her grandson, laughed and said, "Then you'd better practice hard, archery is not easy. But I never thought Yuhan's archery skills would be so good, almost as good as Yixian's."
He Yuhan brought a bowl of rice porridge to the table and said, "Brother Gu, if you want to learn archery, you'll have to ask Brother Yi to get you a target. You also need to keep an eye on the children and not let them play around, so they don't get hurt."
Han Yi first brought out two steamed buns that had been heated up. The adults wouldn't be full just from eating zongzi, and they wanted to save some for the children. They also needed to eat some steamed buns.
He Yuhan's steamed buns, made with two kinds of dough, were slightly yellow, soft, and had a sweet aroma. Gu Qishen especially loved them; he could eat several of them even if he didn't eat any vegetables.
Recently, He Yuhan has been making steamed buns frequently, partly because she thinks about Gu Qishen's stomach, as steamed buns are easier to digest.
Dinner was plentiful, and both adults and children felt it was special and especially delicious. Even the youngest, Xiaoxugan, reached out his hand towards the table, trying to grab some food, drawn by the aroma.
Wen Jinyu served her grandson some tender braised tofu, and the child clapped his hands with joy as he finally got to eat something delicious.
Han Xiao clapped his hands happily as he looked at his grandson and laughed, "This little guy knows how to eat good food now."
Wen Jinyu wiped her grandson's mouth and said, "Don't underestimate him just because he's little. He knows how to appreciate flavors. The food smelled so good today, and he kept pointing this way and saying he wanted to eat. He means he wants to eat something delicious."
He's almost a year old now and can eat quite a lot. This little guy is going to be a foodie; he'll be walking soon, and then we won't be able to stop him!
Han Xiao saw his grandson staring intently at his wine cup, so he picked up a clean chopstick, dipped the tip of the chopstick into the wine cup, and then held the tip of the chopstick to his grandson's lips.
Xiao Xu glanced at his grandfather, then at the chopstick tip, and sniffed it mischievously. He then turned to look at his father, who was watching him without any expression. He turned forward and carefully stuck out his tongue to lick the chopstick tip, then spat out saliva, probably because it was too spicy for him.
The little guy's appearance made everyone burst into laughter.
Seeing that her grandson was about to cry, Wen Jinyu quickly fed him a spoonful of braised tofu. Little Xu, enjoying the delicious food, stopped crying and held it back.
Wen Jinyu wiped her grandson's mouth, rolled her eyes at her old man, and said, "My grandson is really amazing, he didn't even cry. This grandpa is so unreliable, bullying a child."
Han Xiao laughed and said, "I just let him try it because I saw he was curious."
He Yuhan smiled and said, "Children are curious about everything and want to try everything themselves."
Wen Jinyu rolled her eyes at Han Xiao and said, "You can't let kids try drinking alcohol."
He Yuhan knew her mother-in-law felt sorry for her grandson, so she said, "It's just a little bit, not even a drop, it's okay."
He Yuhan quickly finished her meal and then took the child from her arms. "Mom, I'll watch him. You can eat in peace. I'm done eating."
Wen Jinyu said, "I've almost finished eating. You don't need to worry about this anymore. Why don't you go and feed the baby?"
Although the little one ate the delicious food with relish, he didn't forget the staple food he had been eating before. Now that he was in his mother's arms, he started to snuggle into He Yuhan's embrace.
He Yuhan could tell at a glance that the little one wanted to nurse, so she carried the baby back to the bedroom.
Everyone enjoyed the Dragon Boat Festival family feast today.
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