During the Lunar New Year here, the vegetables they usually eat are garlic sprouts, green onions, spinach, cilantro, potatoes, radishes, and cabbage.
Garlic sprouts, spinach, and cilantro are quite frost-resistant, but they grow slowly in winter.
Grandma can make tofu. They have a stone mill at home, so when there's no meat to eat, they eat eggs and tofu to improve their meals.
This year's Spring Festival meal consisted of oil residue and tofu, served with dumplings and buns made from cabbage and radishes.
Stir-fry the meat and oil together after buying it. It will solidify into milky white, creamy lumps. When you want to eat it, just scoop out a little bit. This way, you get both meat and oil, and it will last you a long time.
Fish head stewed in fish soup, fish meat braised or fried, chicken fat in four chickens, chicken fat and chicken pieces stewed with lard will also solidify into chunks, just like lard meat. When stir-frying, scoop a spoonful in and you'll taste chicken.
Xiao Jiu had never seen this way of eating before, so she found it very novel. She said that there was meat in every meal, but the really delicious food was the dumplings and buns made with pork cracklings. After life became difficult, the family's food standards gradually decreased. This year, she said that she bought a lot of meat for the Spring Festival, but she didn't actually eat her fill.
When cooking, how can you guarantee that everyone gets a piece of meat? Adults always give way to children, and siblings always give way to each other. This kind of thing happens every day, and finally the old lady couldn't stand it anymore.
"Why should we give way? You eat today, he can eat tomorrow. Everyone gets some. No fighting or grabbing. Whoever gets it, it's theirs."
Although Xiaojiu only ate six small fish balls on the first day of the Lunar New Year, she still had steamed egg custard to eat every day, so she didn't feel any regret at all.
Now that there are more people in the family, Grandma raises ten hens, six ducks, and four geese, and only the females, all of which lay eggs.
Oh, right, we also need to add a sheep. For this sheep, we specially prepared a whole house full of peanut vines, sweet potato vines, and corn stalks so that it can have food even in winter.
On ordinary days, the leaves that are picked from vegetables are chopped up and mixed with wheat bran, corn husks, sorghum husks, etc., to feed the chickens and ducks.
There won't be any leftovers at home. The number of people and the number of bowls of rice eaten each day are all measured in bowls. Moreover, with more food prepared, the amount of rice for each person can be accurately controlled.
The old lady wouldn't even wash the pot with water after cooking. If she cooked vegetables for lunch, she would definitely eat noodles for dinner, so as not to waste a single drop of oil.
Even if the old lady hadn't told her, the eldest sister, who was the most thrifty, would have done the same thing, because she had done it the same way when she was with the Tang family.
Now, not only is Grandma satisfied with my eldest sister, but my mother, father, and even my usually stern grandfather all praise her highly.
Even her mother jokingly said, "It would be great if Cuihua could marry Tao Zui in the future. Look how capable she is!"
Of course, Mother said it to Father secretly. It was just a casual remark, but Father didn't expect that after hearing it, he would think about it very seriously.
"You know what, Cuihua is perfect to be the eldest sister-in-law. As the saying goes, 'A woman three years older than her husband is a golden brick,' and their ages are quite suitable."
Xiao Jiu couldn't help but roll her eyes. The big boss said, "Women hold up half the sky." Is this still living in the old society's arranged marriages?
Although she really wanted her eldest sister to become her sister-in-law, to be honest, the two of them were not a good match at all. At least she felt that if Tao Zui hadn't been born into a wealthy family, he would have had a bright future. He was good at studying, smart, filial to his elders, and kind to his younger siblings. He was also extremely respectful to Cuihua and her two siblings. He was a good brother, but he might not be a suitable husband for Cuihua.
Xiao Jiu thought these words were offensive, but fortunately the couple didn't dwell on them. After all, their son was still young, and who could predict the future?
Even if they thought Cuihua was nice, having such a future in-law was still a headache. So after Tao Changyi finished speaking, the couple fell silent and then changed the subject. Xiaojiu breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she didn't want anyone in her family to have an arranged marriage; that was the worst thing ever.
The best white mugwort is harvested in the first month of the lunar calendar. It has a stronger medicinal flavor and smells delicious. This is Xiaojiu's favorite wild vegetable, bar none.
Grandma clearly liked this dish too. Since there wasn't much to do at home anyway, my eldest sister would tie her to her back and carry her along with her younger siblings to dig for wild vegetables. Artemisia argyi liked to grow in riverbanks, on mountains, in the woods around the town, in the nooks and crannies of ditches, and even further away in the riverbanks. They went to all of those places, but they didn't go up the mountain because it was too far away.
Don't be fooled by their numbers; they can only gather a very small amount to take home. People these days crave everything. What you like to eat, others like to eat too. And since it's winter and nobody has anything to do, groups of people go out to dig for wild vegetables every day.
The sisters all wore hats and scarves, covering themselves up completely, and didn't walk together to avoid being seen as a target. So, over the course of ten days to two weeks, no one noticed them.
The rainfall this year has been decent, but the weather has been quite cold, so the mugwort hasn't grown very big. Even so, it's enough for them to have one meal a day.
Choosing the right ingredients is harder than digging them out; it takes so much effort and eyesight. After rinsing them clean, mix them with flour—white flour or corn flour will do, as long as it's flour—add oil and flour, shake to separate them, steam for fifteen minutes, and once they're separated, plate them. When you're drinking soup, just put them in your bowl, and it's incredibly delicious.
This method saves on seasonings. If you want it to taste even better, you can stir-fry it in a pan with chili and garlic. The flavor will be so good that even meat might not taste as good.
When they wouldn't give it to me, Xiao Jiu stood in the tray, baring its teeth and claws, and mumbled indistinctly, "Sssss, I want some!"
Grandma didn't dare give her any vegetables, so she took some crumbs from the bottom of the bowl, which contained mostly noodles, and gave them to her to eat from the enamel bowl.
Although it was just scraps of food, Xiao Jiu ate it with great relish, grabbing it bite by bite with her little hands. Even her grandfather was amused by her impatient little face.
See? When resources are scarce, even a little bit of food can make people feel happy.
Xiao Jiu is so easily satisfied, or perhaps she has a warehouse as a trump card, so she doesn't worry about going hungry at all.
As her strength increased, she was now able to frequently take out chicken and duck eggs. Moreover, whenever she touched the rice jar, she would also pour rice and millet into it. The number of chicken eggs was not significant, since it was not impossible for a hen to lay two eggs a day. However, the amount of rice and millet was limited, so the cook often doubted herself when she saw the rice that appeared out of nowhere.
They never sell eggs because there are many people and children in the family who need nutrition, so Grandma saves them up to eat slowly.
I give my child one to two eggs a day, that's a fixed amount. The rest are either fried or boiled and given to the children.
The duck eggs are all pickled, making them perfect for breakfast. Goose eggs are sold only occasionally because they fetch a good price.
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