Chapter 24: Delivering food. Steamed buns with beans and pork lard.
Qiu Xuan's heart was filled with alarm. Who would be knocking on the door at this hour?
She slowly came to the door with the porcelain bowl in her hand and asked outside, "Who is it?"
When the people outside heard someone in the yard, they seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and shouted, "It's me, Aunt Feng."
Qiu Xuan had no impression of this name, but when she heard the woman crying, she softened her heart and opened the door.
Outside the door, I saw a woman about the same age as my mother, squatting on the ground holding a child.
The child's face was flushed red and he started talking nonsense.
"This..." Qiu Xuan touched the child's forehead and frowned, "Why is he so feverish? We need to see a doctor."
"I've seen that the doctor in our village is useless. Is Erlang at home? Erlang took Huaixue to see a doctor at the foot of the mountain that year. I want to ask Erlang, which doctor treated him." Aunt Feng's tears fell on the child's face, and her heart broke again and again.
The child in my arms is only three or four years old. If the fever doesn't go down, I'm afraid he will become a fool.
Qiu Xuan let someone into the house first. She soaked the cloth in water and put it on the child's forehead when it felt cool.
"Erlang has gone into the mountains, and I don't know when he will be back, but I have a mule cart at home that can take you down the mountain first."
When Aunt Feng heard that Erlang was not there, she almost fainted. She was desperate and wanted to try any possible means to cure her illness. If she could find any hope, she would go over and take a look.
"Aunt Feng, is there anyone in your family who can drive?" Qiu Yun didn't know Aunt Feng, so naturally she didn't know that there was only her and her little granddaughter in Aunt Feng's family now.
Aunt Feng's sons and daughters-in-law have all gone out to do business and are not in the mountains at all.
"No, there is no one at home. What should I do, my little treasure, what should I do? It's all grandma's fault for being useless." Aunt Feng cried breathlessly, and she seemed to have lost all hope.
Just then, there was another sound outside the door. It was Zong Xiao who came back from hunting.
He just saw from afar that the courtyard gate was open, and was afraid that something had happened at home, so he hurriedly quickened his pace to go home. But when he came in, he didn't expect that something really happened.
Qiu Xuan didn't care about anything else and hurried to the backyard to get the mule cart. The longer the child was feverish, the more dangerous it would be, so there was no time to delay.
"I'll take Aunt Feng down the mountain first. We may not be back tonight. You can stay with your mother then." Zong Xiao instructed.
Qiu Xuan looked at Aunt Feng, who was weeping her heart out, and felt that Zong Xiao couldn't handle it alone. "How about I go with you? More people means more help."
"I'm going too!" The little girl Huaixue ran out of the house at some point. She knew Aunt Feng and naturally knew Aunt Feng's granddaughter as well.
Zong Xiao shook his head. "There are only two clinics in town. Don't worry. Just stay home. If I'm not back before evening, don't wait for me."
Zong Xiao went into the house and brought back a mattress and placed it on the cart. With it as a cushion, the child could lie down.
Aunt Feng was so anxious now that she couldn't hold the child steadily. If the child fell off the cart, the situation would only be worse.
"Slow down." Qiu Xuan followed him busily. After sending them away, Qiu Xuan remembered that Zong Xiao left in such a hurry that he didn't even have a bite of food.
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In the evening, the grandmother returned home with a smile on her face.
Today's marriage went so smoothly. Although the family from the next village also asked several times, the Liu family still chose the Zong family.
If nothing else, just because of the sincerity shown by the Zong family today, they are willing to marry their daughter to them.
My grandmother brought the betrothal gifts with her today, not a penny less. She also brought everything needed for the betrothal gift. Even the cakes were bought from the best shop in town, and there were several kinds.
The clan mother drank some wine and on the way back she couldn't help but nag Anji: "Your marriage is also thanks to your second brother. When you get married, don't forget your brother."
Zong Anji understood this logic, and he was always grateful to his second brother.
"Look at the second and third branches, they are your father's brothers. Look at them now... what kind of relatives are they?" Zong Anji's mother narrowed her eyes and repeatedly warned him, "You must remember, when mother is gone, you will only have your second brother left."
Zong Anji's eyes turned red. He nodded and swore, "Mom, I will never be separated from my second brother in this life."
The clan mother: "Okay, okay, just remember it."
As I approached the courtyard, a fragrance wafted from the yard.
The clan mother sniffed and pointed at Qiu Yun's half of the yard and said, "Is your second brother making lard? Why is he doing this so late at night? Is there no lard at home?"
"Then mom, please go over and take a look. I'll bring some lard from home." Zong Anji said.
"Let's go in together."
As soon as the grandmother entered the yard, she saw her precious granddaughter sitting in front of the steps of the kitchen with a small bowl in her hand. She was smacking her lips, and no one knew what she was eating.
"Guai Xue, do you miss grandma?" The grandmother picked her up, held her in her arms and kissed her again and again.
"I do." Huaixue held up her grandmother's face with her little hands stained with lard residue and kissed her.
Zong Anji didn't join them in the fun. He went straight into the kitchen and wanted to say a few words to his second brother.
Unexpectedly, the person standing in the kitchen was not her second brother, but Qiu Xuan.
"Second sister-in-law." Zong Anji called out and asked, "Where is my second brother? Why isn't he in the kitchen today?"
Qiu Xuan was almost done. Seeing them come back, she put down her work and left the house with her fellow clan member An Ji.
"Mother." Qiu Xuan was worried about Zong Xiao, and her expression was not as good as usual. "Aunt Feng brought her granddaughter here today. The child has a burning fever all over her body. She said the symptoms are similar to those of when she was pregnant with Xue."
The clan mother sobered up instantly and asked anxiously, "Then...did your Aunt Feng go to town?"
The grandmother and Aunt Feng had known each other for decades, their relationship like that of sisters. Unexpectedly, when she was out today, Aunt Feng came to her house asking for help.
"Zong Xiao sent them to the town clinic, but I don't think he'll be back tonight." Qiu Xuan had something on her mind, and she didn't hide it. "Mom, I want to go down the mountain tomorrow and bring some food to Zong Xiao."
"Okay. Mother will go with you tomorrow." The clan mother was also worried about Aunt Feng. After all, when Huaixue had a fever, she was extremely anxious and wished that she was the one who got sick.
Seeing this, Zong Anji also said, "Then I'll go too. Let's go down the mountain together tomorrow."
That night, Qiu Xuan did not go to the next yard and slept alone at home.
Maybe it was because she was worried about something, but she slept very restlessly that night and woke up at three quarters past three in the morning.
Qiu Xuan rested for a while on the kang. When she woke up completely, she put on her clothes and went to the kitchen.
Last night she said she would deliver food to Zong Xiao today, and at that time she thought of bringing some pancakes and vegetable wraps, but now she feels that the food is not oily enough.
Zong Xiao went into the mountains to hunt and then went down the mountain to see someone off yesterday, so he must have been too busy to eat. If he were to eat today, he would have to eat something oily.
Thinking of this, Qiu Xuan turned her attention to the lard residue.
This thing was made from boiling lard last evening. I originally wanted to use the lard residue as a pickle, but now I see that it is the best ingredient for steamed buns.
Vermicelli and pork lard buns, so delicious!
It’s a pity that there is no vermicelli in this world now, so Qiu Xuan had to settle for the beans available in the yard.
She washed the beans and cut them into small pieces, then chopped the lard into pieces and put them aside.
She lit a fire and heated the pot, then put a spoonful of lard in the pot. When the oil was hot, she put the beans and lard residue in. When the beans were cooked, she sprinkled a pinch of salt and green onion slices. The stir-fried filling had an oily aroma and tasted much better than simply mixing them together and steaming them.
While the dough was cooling, Qiu Xuan continued to knead the dough. The family had used a lot of rice and flour in the past two days, and now she was using the last bit of flour to steam buns.
Qiu Xuan’s buns are quite big, as big as a fist, and each bun is filled with plenty of fillings, so there is even some fillings left over from the whole pot.
But Qiu Xuan didn't waste it. She heated up the pancakes she had baked yesterday and then wrapped the filling into the pancakes.
The clan mother brought Huaixue over early in the morning and happened to see the buns coming out of the pot.
The steaming buns have thin skin and big fillings, and the juice is almost soaking through.
"Erlang is a lucky guy. These buns are so delicious." The buns were hot. Zongmu and Huaixue shared one, and Qiuxuan and Zong Anji each ate one.
As for the remaining eleven buns, Qiu Xuan didn't leave any of them and put them all into the bamboo basket along with the pancakes.
The four of them locked the gate and went down the mountain before the sun came out.
The town is different from the mountain. Although it is early in the morning, small vendors have already started setting up stalls on the street, and there are also people who go out early to buy food.
Qiu Xuan took a look at what they were selling and felt that the buns she made were the best. She felt a little lucky that she made the buns early in the morning so that at least they would be full of oil and water.
The clan mother knew the location of the clinic, and the four of them went straight to the clinic without delay.
In the clinic, Zong Xiao was wiping the child's forehead. The child had a fever again last night. Fortunately, he was in the clinic and the doctor had someone boil some medicine. After drinking a bowl of it, the fever finally subsided.
Aunt Feng stayed up all night and just fell asleep.
Neither of them slept last night, nor had they eaten. Now Zong Xiao was starving.
He thought that after Aunt Feng woke up, he would go out to buy some food, whatever was available, because he had to fill his stomach. If he had no food, he would not be able to hold on.
Just as he was thinking, someone suddenly called him from behind.
"Zong Xiao."
Zong Xiao thought he had misheard. He turned his head and his eyes met Qiu Yun's.
"Why are you here?" He rubbed his face, smiled and stood up.
Qiu Xuan came over with a bamboo basket and pointed behind her. "Now that you're all here, I'm worried about you. Haven't you eaten yet? I brought some food."
Zong Xiao stood there in a daze, grinning foolishly. He really didn't expect Qiu Yun to come and bring him food so early in the morning, and it was freshly cooked food.
"Try it." Qiu Xuan handed him a steamed bun with beans and pork lard.
Zong Xiao wiped his hands before accepting the bun. Despite the long walk down the mountain, the bun was still warm. He bit into half of it, and the delicious flavor filled his mouth.
This bun is so delicious, even better than the one with egg filling.
The man who was also serving the patient nearby smelled the fragrance and couldn't help but look over here. The big buns were soaked in oil and looked delicious just by looking at them.
The man swallowed his saliva, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Girl, where did you buy those buns?"
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