Since his two younger brothers wouldn't wash, Sheng Xiping took off his shirt, bent down, scooped up the water from the basin, and quickly washed his hair.
Zhou Qinglan quickly took Sheng Xiping's clothes aside, shook them out, and hung them on the garden cane, planning to take them to the river to wash them later.
"Qinglan, let's put those clothes aside for now."
"The roof beam will be erected tomorrow, and it'll be covered in dust and dirt again; washing it won't make a difference."
Sheng Xiping had just finished washing her hair and was drying it with a towel.
Seeing Zhou Qinglan enter the room looking for soap, Sheng Xiping guessed that she wanted to wash his clothes, so he quickly said.
"It's better to wash it first, otherwise these clothes are covered in sawdust, how are you going to wear them tomorrow?"
Zhou Qinglan turned around and saw Sheng Xiping shirtless. Her face flushed inexplicably, and she quickly turned her head and said.
"It's okay, just shake it a bit more and it'll be fine."
Don't bother, let's just wait until after we finish the beam tomorrow.
"I still have to mix mud tomorrow morning. I'll mix sawdust and loess together to press down the shed, and then I'll be covered in mud again," Sheng Xiping laughed.
"Alright then," Zhou Qinglan had no choice but to give up.
So they changed the water Sheng Xiping used to wash his hair, mixed a fresh basin of water, and had him wash his body.
Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang also took turns washing their hair and drying themselves, and changing into cleaner clothes.
Tomorrow is the day for raising the roof beam; we need to prepare food.
Sheng Xiping brought back these pheasants and rabbits, which need to be stewed for a certain amount of time, otherwise they won't be tender and mushy, so he has to prepare them in advance.
Fortunately, Sheng Liancheng set up another stove in the yard as Zhang Shuzhen requested, which made things much more convenient.
The pot in the yard is big; we boil roe deer heads, ribs, spine, thighs, and the like. We'll keep the bones to gnaw on tonight, and save the good meat for tomorrow.
The remaining roe deer meat is being soaked in cold water. Tomorrow, we'll slice it and stir-fry it with some green peppers.
Rabbit meat was stewing on the stove in the east room, while pheasant was stewing on the stove in the west room in a six-inch pot borrowed from the neighbor.
After listening to her son's advice, Zhang Shuzhen put in plenty of ingredients when stewing the meat.
This place smells wonderful all over the yard; just a sniff of it makes your mouth water.
The repair shop was quite busy today. Sheng Liancheng didn't have time for his family and didn't get home until 5:30.
Before even entering the courtyard, one could smell the fragrant aroma wafting throughout the Sheng family's yard.
"Good heavens, anyone who didn't know better would think we're celebrating Chinese New Year, like we're slaughtering a pig for the New Year!"
Sheng Liancheng stepped into the courtyard and smiled.
"Hmm, all that's missing is a pig." Zhang Shuzhen, who was scooping bones out of the yard, laughed when she heard this.
"Go wash your hands quickly and tidy up so we can eat later. We don't have a pot to cook dinner, so let's have pancakes instead."
I just chopped some roe deer meat; I'm going to make some meatball soup later.
There are also these roe deer bones and stuff; we'll gnaw on them for dinner tonight.
"Oh my, listening to you say that, anyone who didn't know better would think we're living a very comfortable life, and eating meat is considered a meager meal?"
Sheng Liancheng laughed as soon as he heard this, washing his hands with soap while muttering to himself.
"Only our Xiping could eat like that. Who else could eat like that?"
To be honest, we haven't stopped eating meat at home during this period, and our living standards have improved significantly.
“Isn’t Qinglan still at our house?” Zhang Shuzhen said with a smile.
The new house will be built soon, and the daughter-in-law will be moving in soon. Life is getting better every day. Who wouldn't be happy?
As Zhang Shuzhen spoke, she scooped all the bones that were stewing in the pot into a fairly large basin.
Pour the broth from the braised meat into another bowl, then add some water to the pot and rinse it.
The dirty water was scooped out and poured into the drain in front, and finally the remaining water in the pot was swept out with a brush.
Add fresh water to the pot, throw a few pieces of firewood at the bottom, and heat the water.
When a layer of small bubbles appears at the bottom of the pot, take a handful of the meat filling that has been seasoned with egg white, broth, salt, etc. and beaten until it becomes sticky, and put it in your left hand.
Then, take a spoon in your right hand, squeeze a meatball in your left hand, and scoop it into the water with the spoon.
The water in the pot hasn't boiled yet, so the meatballs won't fall apart when they're put into the water. Just simmer them over low heat until they're tender.
Zhang Shuzhen worked very quickly, and in no time, the pot was full of meatballs of the same size.
Zhou Qinglan held a water ladle filled with cold water.
When Zhang Shuzhen said that some cold water was needed, she quickly poured some in to keep the water in the pot from boiling.
When foam floated up from the side of the pot, Zhou Qinglan used a spoon to skim it off.
With her helping out, Zhang Shuzhen could concentrate on putting the meatballs into the pot.
The two worked together quite well, and soon all the meatballs were in the pot.
Put all the meatballs into the pot and add a little salt to taste.
Once the meatballs are cooked, add some chopped green onions, cilantro, and MSG, then serve.
It's already hot in August, and with rabbit and chicken stewing inside, it's even more unbearably hot.
We decided to have dinner in the yard, where it would be a bit cooler.
A table was set up in the middle of the yard, with a pot of freshly stewed roe deer bones and a pot of steaming meatball soup on it.
The basket contained a thick stack of pancakes, along with scallions, soybean paste, and other ingredients.
The family would sit on small stools or wooden blocks around the table, enjoying their meal together in a harmonious atmosphere.
"Qinglan, let's just have something simple to eat tonight, you eat more."
"You've been working so hard these past few days building the house; you've even lost weight."
Zhang Shuzhen sat next to Zhou Qinglan, urging her to eat more.
"Auntie, if this meal is considered 'just getting by,' then I don't know who else in our forest farm gets to eat such a good meal?"
As Zhou Qinglan visited the Sheng family more often and became more familiar with them, she became less reserved.
Upon hearing Zhang Shuzhen's words, Zhou Qinglan smiled and replied.
"I've gained weight from eating at my aunt's house lately."
"It's good to be chubby. Women should be a little chubby; it looks good."
If you ask me, you should come over and eat from now on. It's just a matter of adding an extra pair of chopsticks. There are many of us in the family, so meals will be more lively.
Zhang Shuzhen looked at the girl beside her and liked her more and more.
Despite being a city girl, Zhou Qinglan is quick-witted, hardworking, and good at communication and interpersonal relationships; she pleases everyone.
While Sheng Liancheng and his son were gnawing on bones, Sheng Xiping was quite pleased to see Zhang Shuzhen and Zhou Qinglan getting along so well.
How wonderful it would be if the whole family could live a peaceful and stable life.
"Mmm, this meat smells delicious, and the meatball soup is even better. Brother, I wish you could go hunting in the mountains every day."
Sheng Xitai mumbled incoherently as he gnawed on roe deer ribs.
For a foodie like him, this kind of life is simply wonderful; he would wish it were like this every day.
"You should just gnaw on the bone instead of making wishes."
"My brother's always so busy, where would he find the time to go hunting in the mountains all the time?"
Sheng Yunfang casually picked up a bone and placed it in front of her younger brother, telling him to gnaw on the bone and talk less.
Sheng Xitai didn't care what his sister said at all. He finished the one in his hand and picked up the next one to continue eating.
"It smells delicious, it's so good!"
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