The air after the rain is damp, cool, and refreshing, without the stuffiness and irritability of midday.
However, the roads in the village are still as difficult to travel as ever.
Rural children don't care about such things. As soon as the rain stopped, those mischievous boys came out and splashed around in the puddles. That was their fun.
Upon seeing Jian Xin, some of the children who had played together called out to her from afar.
"Xin Xin, come and play! Look how much fun it is!"
It's true that children's needs are very simple. They don't need food, drink, or toys; they just need to splash in puddles to make them happy for half a day.
"Haha, come play, Xin Xin!"
Jian Xin was eager to try, but only for three seconds. Seeing her clean clothes and the little boots she had just put on, and then squeezing the precious book in her pocket, she decisively shook her head.
"No, no, it's all muddy and too dirty."
The children looked at each other, all puzzled.
"Don't we play like this every day?"
"There's mud today, so we're not playing. Our clothes will get dirty and we'll have to wash them."
After passing them, Jian Xin turned around and walked straight into the village, followed by a small dog wagging its tail.
The children were left scratching their heads for a little while, then they jumped even more energetically.
"Haha, this is so much fun."
"That bubble over there is huge!"
"Hurry up, let's see who grabs it first!"
......
After sending the children away, I quickly packed away the dry food and, taking advantage of the available fire, steamed a few pumpkins. They had been stored in the cellar all winter and were well preserved, without freezing or rotting at all. As the weather was getting warmer, I decided to steam them all. They're a decent meal to keep me full when I'm really busy, and they're presentable enough to eat.
The child hasn't come back yet, so I'm just wandering around looking for work.
She could manage on dry rations, but she didn't want her child to have to do the same. However, this was a crucial time for the entire village, and she couldn't really go too far.
It's fine if it happens twice or three times, but if it happens too often, you can't guarantee that people won't say something sarcastic behind your back.
Her home was far from the village, and although she didn't care what others said, there was really no need to give people something to talk about when the situation was unclear.
If it's inconvenient to come back and cook, then I'll make something that can be eaten with dry rations. After all, it's just lunchtime, so time is tight.
Whether it's early in the morning or late at night, as long as I can get home, a hot meal is no problem.
After circling the cellar and then going inside the base space twice, he brought out a large piece of beef. He grabbed the ready-made ingredients and promptly braised it. This stuff is convenient; it tastes good even when it's cold, and it loses its flavor when it's cold. Unless you lean over to look closely, you won't know what it is.
While the meat was braising, I used another pot to make a bowl of meat sauce and a bowl of egg sauce.
Springtime work begins with tilling the land and soaking the fields. It might not be so hectic yet, but then comes the hectic work of fertilizing and sowing. Once work starts, it's a whole year long, with almost no free time.
Do more of these convenient things, so that when things get really busy, you and your child won't have to be so busy.
At times like these, the advantage of not having neighbors nearby becomes apparent; with such a strong flavor as braised meat, there's no need to worry about anyone coming to your door.
However, it's clear that today's calculations were flawed.
The braised meat had just come out of the pot, and she was collecting the braising liquid into a bowl, thinking of reserving half of it to braise some vegetables or something. Didn't people in later generations say that everything could be braised? She wanted to try it too.
Anyway, we have almost every kind of dish at home, so it's nice to change things up. All the food was prepared, and a stove was set up when there was a knock at the door, followed by Lin Dongfang's loud voice.
"Easy, easy!"
It also included the sound of Mingzhu.
"Keep your voice down, what are you shouting for?"
He paused briefly, then his gaze fell upon the steaming meat and raw vegetables on the stove.
Eating meat is fine, I'm not afraid of them finding out, but it's still not scary.
He immediately put away most of the braised beef, pushed the fire further inside, and got up to open the door.
Goodness, I thought the couple had come by smell, since the two houses aren't that far apart, and such a strong smell couldn't have escaped their notice.
And indeed, that was the case.
But Lin Dongfang was still carrying a large piece of meat.
"Come in quickly," Jian Dan joked, "what do you mean by this? Are you here to bring me meat?"
Once we got to know each other better, we spoke much more casually.
Lin Dongfang laughed heartily.
"Yes, I brought you meat. Why did you make it smell so good?"
Mingzhu, holding her arm, also smiled.
"You said you weren't a good cook, and we believed you! Turns out, you fooled us all."
"I wish this were all my own skill, but alas, it's not that I'm good at cooking, it's that the seasoning packets are too powerful."
Seeing the suspicion in their expressions, she understood; at this point, convenient items like seasoning packets were probably scarce.
"Don't believe me? Come and try it, I'll show you."
As soon as you open the door and enter the house, the fragrance becomes even stronger.
The three of them didn't go inside. Instead, taking advantage of the rising steam from the stove, they quickly cut a few pieces with chopsticks and a knife and put them in a bowl.
"Here, want to try some?"
These are all secret recipes from the base. Not to mention them, even simple people would love them.
After taking one bite, Mingzhu immediately squinted her eyes.
"This smells amazing! It seems even better than the braised meat from that famous old brand in Beijing, doesn't it?"
Lin Dongfang was also pondering this, and upon hearing this, he nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"This really is true, the taste is authentic, and it seems to be made with richer ingredients. This flavor is amazing."
"Hey, what are these dishes of yours?"
Several bowls were placed on the stove, containing common Chinese cabbage, small potatoes, boiled eggs, and a bunch of bright green cilantro. There were many things that could be braised, such as chicken feet, chicken wings, duck feet, duck intestines, pig ears, pig trotters, and lotus root slices, all of which were available in the simple base space.
However, this beef is already quite conspicuous. I didn't intend to prepare such a complete set so that I could still eat it secretly. If I prepared too much, and someone found out, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
Cabbage and potatoes are staples in every household, but they're not plentiful this season.
Not to mention, at this time, eggs were a rare commodity in this village, and the rich and precious braising broth made it a real luxury.
"Do you want to scald the pot?"
That was all Lin Dongfang could think of, although he couldn't understand why they would put the pot on the stove right after braising the meat.
"I still have some of the mutton from last time, I'll go back and get it for you."
As she was about to leave, Jian Dan quickly called out to her,
"No, wait a minute. This soup can not only be used to braise meat, but also to braise these other kinds of vegetables. It tastes especially good. I was thinking of cooking these in a bit, so they will be cooked and flavorful by the time the kids come back."
"You, you, you,"
Lin Dongfang swallowed, but his gaze was no different from that of someone looking at a spendthrift.
"You're going to use this broth to braise these vegetables?"
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