Chapter 131: My Uncle is Like a Woman (Page 1/2)
After dinner, Xiao Ya quickly cleaned up the dishes, and then took Liao Sijie to start pruning the lychees that Huo Qingci brought back.
At the same time, Lin Man had just finished feeding her son and changing his diaper. She gently placed him on the comfortable bed and asked Huo Qinghuan to help look after the child.
Then, Lin Man took out two exquisite corers from the space she carried with her, kept one for herself, and handed the other to her mother-in-law Xiao Ya.
Liao Sijie held a pair of scissors and cut off the extra branches on the litchi, and threw the cut litchi directly into the winnowing basket beside her.
Xiao Ya looked at the core removal artifact in her hand and asked in confusion, "Manman, what are you giving me this for?"
Lin Man smiled and replied, "Mom, this is for removing the cores from lychees!"
Xiao Ya was a little surprised: "Shouldn't they be dried together with the shell?"
Lin Man patiently explained: “Yes, some of the lychees will be dried with the shells, but for the other part we will remove the shells.
Because lychee flesh dries out more easily when directly sun-dried, it can be preserved for a longer period of time.”
Lin Man demonstrated to Xiao Ya in detail how to use the corer to remove the lychee core. She added, "This tool can not only be used to remove the cores of lychees and longans, but it can even easily remove shrimp threads."
Hearing this, Xiao Ya asked curiously: "Where did you buy such a useful thing?"
Lin Man's eyes flickered slightly, and she replied thoughtfully, "Hmm... I'm not too sure. It seems Qingci bought this last year."
Xiao Ya didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she stood up and walked to the kitchen. She brought back a clean basin and said, "Put the pitted lychee flesh in this basin later."
"Mom, you can use the dried lychee flesh to make chicken soup with some white fungus, lotus seeds, and red dates. You can also use it to make sweet soup. Mom, take these dried lychee flesh home and enjoy them slowly."
"Eat slowly."
"Mom, lychees are not expensive here. We can dry them again."
The supply and marketing cooperative here sells fresh lychees for only 1.2 cents per pound. It is normal to buy lychees for a few cents per pound in the countryside. You can buy hundreds of pounds for a dozen yuan, especially when lychees are produced in large quantities.
It took three people two hours to prepare the pile of fresh lychees. Two baskets of lychees with shells were dried, and three baskets of fresh lychee flesh were dried.
Just after drying the lychees, Huo Qingci got off work in the evening and brought back two large bags of longans.
Xiao Ya said unhappily, "You see I'm leaving, so find something for me to do!"
"Mom, I bought some lychees and longans and dried them for you to take back."
"Some time ago, we dried salted fish, then dried papaya shreds, and then dried lychees and longans. Your grandfather and I each have two hands, so how could we carry so much?"
Lin Man carried a large woven bag in one hand and a handcart came over. She said, "Mom, you don't have to worry about not being able to take so many things back. Put them all in the woven bag and then use the handcart to pull them on the car. It's very convenient."
Huo Qingci said, "Mom, I'll take you from Haikou to Xuwen by boat, and then I'll come back after I send you on the train."
"Okay, you've already made all the arrangements, what else can I say? Please send back the thick clothes your grandfather and I have next time."
"Okay, I'll send you some food for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I'll also send you the thick clothes you and grandpa wore last year."
Knowing that her grandfather and grandmother would pass away in a week, Lin Man had been making dried abalone, dried shrimp and various dried fruits in her own space these days.
The day before departure, Lin Man got up early, washed up, and went straight to the kitchen.
She looked at the big salted fish hanging on the bamboo poles, and finally selected three dried mackerels and two large red dried fish with attractive colors. She carefully wrapped them with newspaper and gently placed them at the bottom of the woven bag.
(This chapter is not yet finished, please click on the next page to continue reading) Chapter 131: My Uncle is Like a Woman (Page 2/2)
Then, she took out bags of razor clam meat, cockle meat, oyster meat, dried hairtail, skinned beef, dried shrimp and dried abalone that had already been packaged from the cabinet, and placed them on top of the woven bag in order.
These dried seafood exude a rich salty aroma that makes people salivate.
Dried seafood is placed at the bottom of the woven bag, and various dried vegetables and fruits are placed on top.
She prepared shredded papaya, dried beans, dried eggplant, cucumber strips...
The dried fruits included dried mango, dried pineapple, banana chips, dried longan, and dried lychee. Each weighed several kilograms, filling the entire woven bag.
Xiao Ya looked at the woven bag full of food in front of her and couldn't help laughing. She shook her head and said:
"Manman, you brought us so many delicious foods. If we didn't have this cart, we really wouldn't be able to carry them all back! I estimate this bag must weigh over a hundred pounds!"
Hearing her mother's words, Lin Man smiled brightly and answered confidently: "Don't worry, Mom! This cart is very convenient and it doesn't feel heavy at all when you pull it. If you don't believe me, try it?" As she said that, she handed the cart to Xiao Ya.
Xiao Ya pulled it with her hand. "This simple trolley has two large wheels. Even if you put the luggage straps on it and pull it up, it won't be heavy. It's really convenient, but if you give it to me, what will you do when you come back later?"
"Mom, we'll just buy another one when the time comes."
"I'm going back, and I'm going to make you work hard, taking care of the kids and cooking for Qingci."
"Mom, it won't be too tiring to have Xiaojie to help me."
"You have to thank Xiao Jie very much. Make her a set of clothes for the New Year."
Lin Man nodded and said, "Yes, I will make her two sets of clothes for summer and winter."
The next day, Grandpa and Grandma were leaving. Huo Qingci was going to take them by car from Haikou to Xuwen by boat. Huo Qinghuan wanted to go with them.
Xiao Ya said, "You'll waste a lot of money on transportation and boat tickets if you go there. You'd better stay home and help your sister-in-law take care of the children."
Huo Qinghuan hugged Xiao Ya tightly and refused to let go, looking at her with red eyes, "Mom~!"
"Huanhuan, be obedient."
Seeing his grandson reluctant to leave, Huo Li's eyes turned red. He said to Huo Qinghuan, "How about you come back to Beijing with us?"
Huo Qinghuan let go of Xiao Ya and shook his head. "I'll stay here to raise my nephew and then come back with my brother and sister-in-law. Grandpa, Mom, you two can go now. I won't see you off."
After finishing his words, Huo Qinghuan quickly turned around and ran towards the backyard.
Lin Man held Huo Yining in her arms and waved goodbye to her mother-in-law and the others with a smile. At this time, Huo Yining began to mumble:
How could my uncle be acting like a sissy, running off to the backyard to cry? If he really couldn't bear to leave Grandma and Grandpa, he should just go home with them.
Lin Man looked down at her adorable son, whose eyes were rolling around. She couldn't help but reach out and gently pinch the tip of his nose. She asked softly, "Little brat, what are you mumbling about?"
Huo Yining opened his mouth in surprise and started to babble again, "Oh, it turns out my mother can understand me. She is amazing. She even understands baby language!"
Hehehe, Mom, stop staring at me. I know I'm handsome, but you should go and coax your brother-in-law!
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