"Village chief, what do you want with us?"
"Yeah, all mysterious, what are they up to?"
"Village chief, get to the point! I still have a lot of chores to do at home!"
“.”
I got the formula from Li Sixin the day before yesterday, and spent the whole day yesterday in Hezibao helping to follow up on matters related to the groundbreaking ceremony. In the evening, I watched the news with everyone. By the time I got back to the village, it was already past 8 p.m., which was too late.
So, early this morning, before dawn, at six o'clock, the village chief of Hua'an Village began to select and organize people to try the formula given by Li Sixin.
These twelve people are all recognized as top cooks in the village. No matter what kind of dish it is, the taste of their cooking is always better than that of others.
"I must have something important to say to you all, but you two keep talking non-stop, are you not letting me get anything done?"
The village chief of Hua'an Village first reprimanded everyone a few times, and only after they quieted down did he slowly explain the reason for summoning them.
"Secretary Li from Hezibao has prepared some recipes for making dishes using grapes, six in total. I called you here today so you can take these recipes back and try them out, see if they work, and how they taste."
"The formula was given by Secretary Li!" One of them grasped the key point in the village chief's words, his eyes suddenly lighting up. Excitedly, he lowered his voice and said, "Village chief, this is Boss Xu!"
"It's barely dawn, what are you dreaming about? This has nothing to do with Boss Xu, it's just a plan that Secretary Li came up with for us." The village chief of Hua'an Village decisively denied it.
"Ah, it's not Mr. Xu." Disappointed voices rang out in unison.
"Although it has nothing to do with Boss Xu now," the village chief of Hua'an Village said slowly, using a strategy of first downplaying and then praising, before continuing:
"But Secretary Li said that if the food is delicious enough, he will talk to Boss Xu to see if it can be sold online like fruits and vegetables!"
These words once again stirred up excitement among the crowd.
Secretary Li of Hezibao, not just in the surrounding villages, but even in these remote mountain villages, everyone knows about his deep friendship with Boss Xu from Shanghai.
It's not that Secretary Li can make decisions for Boss Xu, but at least he can put in a good word for them with Boss Xu and help get the food they prepared served to him so he can try it.
"Alright, alright, you two are in charge of making this grape mochi. Try both methods. You're in charge of making the grape cake. You're in charge of juicing the grapes. The two of you are in charge of making the grape jam."
Helan's task was to make grape jam, and she tried using white sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar, and honey to see which had the best flavor.
This task was not difficult for her. Not to mention grape jam, she had made a lot of peach jam, persimmon jam, and hawthorn jam. These sweet jams were a rare treat for the children in the family during the winter.
After receiving the task, she and a group of people went to the orchard to select the plumpest grapes to take home for washing and processing.
There are many different ways to make jam. Some people like to slowly remove the seeds and skins before cooking; others like to wash the jam and start cooking directly, then filter it after cooking; still others like to steam it first and then cook it.
The third method is Helan's favorite and most frequently used way of making jam.
After ten minutes of steaming, the grape skins, pulp, and seeds can be easily separated, allowing for more refined processing of the skins and pulp. After the skins and pulp are separated, the acidity and astringency in the jam can be precisely controlled.
Wash the grapes three times with clean water and remove the stems. Place the grapes on a finely woven bamboo tray, put it in a pot on top of long bamboo chopsticks, cover the pot with a lid, add firewood, and light a fire.
After the firewood was lit, Helan picked up two large pieces of wood and put them into the stove. The first and second steps were then complete, and she finally had time to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"Aunt He, Aunt He, are you home?" A deep voice came from afar, accompanied by the sounds of children humming and laughing.
"I'm busy in the kitchen. Did you need something?"
"Your little rascals went to play in the river and I caught them red-handed. I've brought them back to you. Come out now!"
Hearing this, Helan strode out of the kitchen and looked up in the direction of the sound. She saw her second uncle from the village carrying two mud-covered children towards her. The children seemed quite indignant, wriggling and groaning in protest.
Seeing this, Helan didn't immediately rush forward to take the child. Instead, she turned around and went back into the kitchen. When she came out again, she was holding a long, thin stick.
This was immediately followed by a cacophony of wailing and pleading, interspersed with indistinct phrases like "I'll never do it again," "I'll never play in the water again," and "I won't, I won't!"
After giving the four children a good scolding, Helan, still cursing, picked up a large, dented iron basin and went to the well. He pressed the four mud-covered boys into the basin and washed them thoroughly before sending them back inside, uttering a harsh threat:
"See that stick? If you dare to sneak out to play, it won't just be a beating."
Helan wanted to scold them a few more times, but her nose suddenly twitched as the sweet scent of grapes entered her nasal cavity.
Grapes! My grapes are still cooking in the pot! It's been almost half an hour! Oh no. Oh no.
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