When Gao Mingcheng returned home from the mountain with a full harvest, Zhang Chengyuan had already left, and Gao Zhuang also brought Xiao Xuxu over.
Perhaps because he had just arrived, the tall and strong man had not left yet and was helping many bees wash the kudzu root paste.
These kudzu root pastes were all ground by Zhang Chengyuan before. After grinding, they needed to be stirred with water, and then washed and filtered.
Because there are a lot of kudzu roots, it is not convenient to filter them by wrapping them with a piece of cloth. Therefore, Gao Mingcheng specially asked many artists to make a bag with white cotton cloth. When filtering, one person holds the bag open, and another person pours the residue and water into the bag. Under the bag, there is a basin to collect the filtered water.
Wash it several times like this to wash out all the starch in the kudzu paste, and you're done.
Next, the kudzu root residue can be put aside, and then wait for the mixture in the basin to settle. At that time, the starch will sink and the water will rise. The next day, pour out the turbid water on top, and then pour in clean well water to wash, and then settle. This requires two or three times. The more times you wash it, the whiter the kudzu powder will be.
This process is not complicated, it is just troublesome. It takes several days to make kudzu powder.
The Pueraria root ground in the morning has been washed once and is now undergoing a second washing and sedimentation, while the Pueraria root ground in the afternoon is still undergoing the first washing to powder.
Gao Mingcheng put down what he was holding, walked over to watch them work, and nodded repeatedly to show his approval.
"Brother Mingcheng, the kudzu root you dug is much bigger than the ones dug by others in the village! I saw that the largest ones dug by others were only five or six kilograms, and many were only one or two kilograms."
When Gao Zhuang saw the fresh kudzu roots piled on the ground, he couldn't help but praise him. His brother Ming Cheng was really amazing. No matter what he did, he was better than others!
Gao Mingcheng smiled and said, "What's the point of digging one or two kilograms? If it's too young, it won't produce powder! Black Tiger and Elf just got two pheasants. You can take one back and stew it for Grandma to nourish her body."
When Gao Zhuang heard Gao Mingcheng ask him to take a pheasant back, he wanted to refuse. He had just taken a rabbit in the morning, so he didn't feel comfortable asking for a pheasant. But Gao Mingcheng said it was for his grandmother's health, so he couldn't refuse.
Gao Mingcheng saw what he was thinking, smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Just take it if I tell you to. Our two families shouldn't be polite, or it will become awkward."
"Yeah." Gao Zhuang immediately responded with a smile.
After washing the kudzu powder, it needs time to settle, and many beauties have to go to the kitchen to cook.
The rice is already cooked and the vegetables are ready, all you need to do is stir-fry them.
Gao Mingcheng invited Gao Zhuang to have dinner at his home, but this time Gao Zhuang refused. He held up the pheasant given by Gao Mingcheng and said with a smile, "No, my family has prepared my meal. Besides, I have to go back and get this chicken."
Okay, so Gao Mingcheng watched Gao Zhuang leave.
It was completely dark outside. Before he had walked far, his tall and strong figure fell into darkness, as if he had been swallowed by a monster in the dark.
Gao Mingcheng washed his face and hands, picked up Xiao Xuxu who was playing with bamboo dolls, and walked towards the kitchen. The lights in the kitchen were on, and the orange-yellow light exuded a warm feeling of human life.
Xuanyunmei had already started the fire. When she saw Gao Mingcheng coming in, she immediately said, "You light the fire. Turn it up high so I can cook the vegetables quickly."
"Okay." Gao Mingcheng agreed and took Xiao Xuxu to sit next to the stove. When they sat there, the firelight from the stove shone on their bodies, bringing waves of warmth.
Outside the house, the mountain breeze was chilly and was blowing wildly between the sky and the earth. The fallen leaves on the ground were also blown up by the cold wind, making rustling sounds.
Under the action of the flames, the cleaned large iron pot was burned dry, and then Xuanmei poured some tea oil into it.
This is raw tea oil. When cooking, you need to boil the oil for a while longer to remove the raw taste, otherwise the cooked dishes will have a smell.
Many experienced chefs stir the tea oil in the pot with a spatula. They can tell when it is cooked based on the oil temperature and the smoke coming out.
With a sizzling sound, the vegetables were poured into the hot oil and then stir-fried quickly.
The first dish is stir-fried pork with chili peppers. There are definitely no fresh chili peppers available at the moment, so we use dried chili peppers from the autumn and a handful of dried black beans. The aroma is so fragrant that it can be smelled outside the house.
Gao Mingcheng felt his appetite increase just by smelling the aroma.
Next, Xuanmei made fried dried fish with chili peppers and fried gourd with wind-blown meat. The gourd is dried. In summer and autumn, as long as you plant a few gourd seedlings, you can produce a lot of fruits. You can't eat them all at home, so you can cut them into slices and dry them and save them for winter. This stir-fry without chili peppers is also suitable for children to eat.
In addition to eating gourds, Xiao Xuxu also had a steamed egg and a portion of cabbage sprouts, so everyone's taste was catered for.
Being a mother has this super power. The dishes she cooks will satisfy the entire family.
Because the fire was strong, the vegetables cooked quickly and had already been washed and cut in advance, so in just ten minutes or so, several dishes were served on the table.
The steamed egg is steamed with rice. Before taking it out, use a spoon to scoop some lard into it. It will be greasy and golden, and it will increase your appetite just by looking at it.
"It's time to eat." Xuanyuemei called out and brought over the bowl and chopsticks.
Gao Mingcheng's stomach had been growling with hunger for a long time. As he picked up some food, he said, "When I was digging kudzu roots today, I also dug up some winter bamboo shoots. Tomorrow you can peel the bamboo shoots and use them to stir-fry the pork with rice!"
"That's great! I haven't eaten winter bamboo shoots for a long time!" Many of Mei's eyes lit up instantly. Winter bamboo shoots are crispy and tender, and they are delicious even if they are stir-fried.
"Then we'll have a treat tomorrow! By the way, Gao Zhuang just said that my grandmother will make Castanopsis tofu tomorrow. When it's ready, she'll give us some extra."
To make Castanopsis tofu, you need to soak the Castanopsis nuts in advance to remove the bitterness. I guess my grandmother soaked the Castanopsis nuts as soon as she came back so that she could make it the next day.
Gao Mingcheng felt warm in his heart, thinking that his grandmother was thinking about him and was afraid that he would not have enough bitter chestnut tofu to eat in the county.
It feels good to be remembered and cared for by others.
At this time, Xuanyuemei seemed to remember something, and after a sound of "oh", she said: "I heard that my sister-in-law might give birth in these few days! Mingcheng, since we live in the village, if we catch up, we have to send a gift."
After hearing this, Gao Mingcheng subconsciously recalled his memories of his previous life, but he could only remember roughly about other people's affairs. Gao Mingpeng's daughter was indeed born in winter, but he could no longer remember the exact month and day.
Yes! Although Huang Su'e's belly was pointed and everyone said she was pregnant with a son, she gave birth to a daughter.
Of course, Huang Su'e gave birth to a son as her first child and a daughter as her second, which made up a good word, which is actually not bad. It does not affect Huang Su'e's status in the hearts of Gao Yuanjian and his wife at all.
While eating, Gao Mingcheng said, "It's up to you. Just prepare it according to the customs of the village."
When Xuanmei heard this, she understood what was going on.
They separated as soon as they got married, and their relationship with the eldest brother was limited, so naturally the gifts they gave would not be very big.
At this moment, what Mei didn't know was that while she was gossiping about others in the first half of the night, Huang Su'e went into labor in the second half of the night. Because it was her second child, she gave birth to the baby smoothly not long after the labor.
At 5:30 in the morning, the sound of a baby crying was heard, indicating that she had come into the world.
Luo Xiaohua was holding her newborn granddaughter, feeling a little excited. Although she thought Huang Su'e was giving birth to a grandson, she didn't dislike her granddaughter!
After all, she already has two grandsons, but no granddaughter yet!
People prefer boys to girls, but the first granddaughter will always be treated differently.
Huang Su'e was a little disappointed when she learned that it was a daughter after giving birth. It was Luo Xiaohua who comforted her and said that a boy and a girl were perfect. Huang Su'e had given birth to a grandson for her, and now she had a granddaughter, so she was very happy.
When Gao Yuanjian and Gao Mingpeng learned that the baby was a girl, they did not have too many emotional fluctuations. As long as the first baby was a son, it didn't matter whether the second baby was a boy or a girl.
Gao Mingpeng lit a cigarette and smoked half of it before saying, "Dad, we are implementing family planning now. The people in the brigade have already told me that after Su'e gives birth, as soon as her health improves, she will be taken to the health center for sterilization. I can't give anyone a reason to blame me because I'm the accountant of the village committee."
Gao Yuanjian was also smoking. Surrounded by smoke, he said in a deep voice, "Then go get sterilized. You have a son and a daughter anyway, which is good enough."
Gao Mingpeng nodded. He was a pretty good accountant. Except for the fact that he had to go door to door to collect money, his status in the village had indeed risen. Especially those who wanted to work for him, all of them flattered him. If he got a job, he would take whoever he asked to do it.
Another thing is that he is smart and capable. After getting familiar with the village committee, he was able to get some benefits more or less. In order to have a greater say in the future division of land, Gao Mingpeng had to continue to be an accountant.
Although the land was only distributed in 1983, some people have grown old, some have married out, and some have married and had grandchildren. It’s still okay now, but in a few years, I’m afraid there will be a lot of conflicts in the village because of the land issue.
At that time, the land will definitely have to be redistributed.
I have to say that Gao Mingpeng is actually a man with great vision.
Gao Mingpeng discussed these ideas with Gao Yuanjian, who also worked in the village committee and agreed with them.
Gao Yuanjian said: "The fields are the roots of farmers. If you work in the village committee and the fields are redistributed, our family will definitely not suffer any loss."
When the land was divided for the first time, Gao Yuanjian was working in the village committee, so their family's land was not bad.
When Gao Yuanjian thought about the second time the land was divided, it was his son who worked in the village committee, he felt at ease and a little proud.
Among his children, he likes the eldest son the most. In fact, the eldest son is the one he feels most at ease with.
Thinking of his children, the second child was subconsciously ignored by him, so he spoke directly: "The third child's wife is also pregnant. It seems that she is already pregnant. Your mother said that she will give birth in the spring of next year. We don't know whether it is a boy or a girl. As for the fourth child's wife... they have been married for so long, and there is no news at all!"
"At the beginning, your mother chose the eldest daughter of the Zhang family for Mingli, saying that she would be easy to bear children. I think your mother was wrong."
During the time that Zhang Jinling lived at home, there was chaos at home, so Gao Yuanjian did not have a good impression of Zhang Jinling.
He felt that it was Zhang Jinling's fault that things turned out like that. Otherwise, how could their family be so well off without Zhang Jinling?
Because of this prejudice, Gao Yuanjian dislikes Zhang Jinling. Last time when he went to the county to attend a wedding, he didn't pay much attention to Zhang Jinling.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with a father-in-law being distant from his daughter-in-law.
Gao Mingpeng could tell from his father's tone that he was dissatisfied with the fourth son's wife, but he didn't say anything. After smoking a cigarette, he looked at the gradually brightening sky and suddenly said, "The second son happens to be living in the village and said he wanted to make kudzu powder. My daughter is born, I'll go over and tell him when it's daybreak."
"Then let's boil the eggs now. Your mother has saved the eggs a long time ago. After they are boiled and made into red eggs, you can take the red eggs to report the news." Gao Yuanjian said.
After a child is born, it is a local custom to take red eggs to visit close relatives to announce the news.
In some places, when holding a full-month banquet, the host will boil red eggs and give them to the guests present.
However, Gaojia Village does not like to hold full-month banquets, and only people from particularly wealthy families will spend money on them.
Luo Xiaohua was taking care of the baby and the mother in the room, while Gao Yuanjian went to light the fire to boil eggs and make porridge. As for Gao Mingpeng's eldest son, he was now with Gao Mingpeng and was under his care.
At about nine o'clock in the morning, Gao Mingpeng came to Niuweiling with two red eggs.
Gao Mingpeng seldom came here, but he had heard a lot about Gao Mingcheng from the villagers. It could be said that Gao Mingcheng was the most promising young man in Gaojia Village. In the face of Gao Mingcheng's achievements, the engineering team he set up seemed to be overshadowed.
In addition to his own achievements, Gao Mingcheng brought the third son Gao Mingwan to work as a driver and the fourth son Gao Mingli to work as a worker in the county. This is also a topic that the villagers often talk about. In their words, they all think that Gao Mingcheng is capable.
When Gao Mingpeng heard these words, he sometimes felt a little dazed.
When he was young, he hated his younger brother very much because people often deliberately told him that Gao Mingcheng had done something inappropriate again, or that Gao Mingcheng had fought with others again, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
But now, people often praise Gao Mingcheng's achievements in front of him.
This gap sometimes made Gao Mingpeng feel dazed and he wondered if he had heard it wrong.
Of course, he knew he hadn't heard it wrong, because the second one was really different!
Walking into the yard of Gao Mingcheng's house, Gao Mingpeng saw Gao Mingcheng grinding Pueraria root. His movements were fast and steady. He did not slow down until only a little bit was left, and his speed was still as fast, but he did not cut his fingers.
Gao Mingpeng looked at it for several minutes and even forgot why he came.
It was only when Gao Mingcheng finished grinding a root of kudzu root and looked up at him that he finally realized what was going on. (End of this chapter)
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