Li Yan's hands never stopped.
"No, we can't waste these eggs."
The people who came over wrapped the dumplings inside. They'd go to the kitchen to check on the pots, steaming the dumplings until they were cooked, then taking them outside; once they were frozen solid, they'd put them back inside. They went back and forth like this, and towards the end, when only a little bit was left, the two of them simply stood on the floor to wrap them.
"Jian Zhiqing, how are you going to sleep tonight?"
With a simple pat of the hot pan, wow! It's hot enough to cook an egg.
She couldn't tell anyone that she didn't sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed), and pointed to the little boy at the end of the kang.
"That place can't be this hot. I'll make do there for the night, it'll be fine by midnight."
Lin Zhaodi's gaze was fixed on the long wooden troughs and the sparse greenery.
Several bricks were placed under the trough, along the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), and along the inner wall of the kang. Wooden strips were also placed on top of them, so there was no need to worry that the heat from below would affect the heat from above.
"What are you growing in this trough? Chives?"
I admire her simplicity; that's what someone with life experience looks like.
Leeks, celery, cucumbers, scallions, and persimmons.
Oh, and there are garlic sprouts too. I was thinking of putting them in water, but I couldn't find anything suitable, so I just planted them in the soil.
The two of them had already run to the end of the kang (a heated brick bed).
It hadn't been planted for very long, and the plants weren't very big, but in this desolate winter, seeing such a touch of green was indescribable.
Lin Zhaodi was already itching to make a move.
"Jian Zhiqing, do you still have any seeds? Could you spare some for me? We'll try them when we get back."
I simply stacked the basins on the kang (heated brick bed) and swept it.
"I still have some left, I'll give it to you in a bit."
Li Yan thought for a moment
"In those empty rooms of ours, weren't there a few broken basins?"
Lin Zhaodi was no longer sure.
"I think I've seen it before. I'll go look for it when I get back."
But with this weather, isn't it frozen solid outside? Can the soil still be dug up?
"Let Chen, the educated youth, go dig. It's time to test the men."
Simple and easy to laugh
"Is everything arranged?"
"Alright, alright, this is all food we've eaten ourselves, how can we not put in the effort?"
Soon, all the steamed dishes were taken out, and now the last batch is being steamed.
Simply go outside and store the frozen items; the low temperature makes them freeze quickly.
They picked up the frozen, rock-hard lid and slammed it to the ground, causing the frozen bean buns on it to jump up one by one, or in clusters, and scatter in all directions.
They put them all in a big vat first, saying they were going to mail them. They just got back, and besides, they just mailed the meat, so they don't plan to go anytime soon.
When I came inside, the food in the pot was almost ready.
"I won't stand on ceremony with you two. I'm not planning to freeze this batch of steamed buns. I'll deliver some to the village chief and my third grandfather's house on my way. I'll keep some for tomorrow morning, and take the rest over. It's our first time making these, and it's also our first winter as educated youth. Everyone should try them. I won't add any other dishes."
Li Yan felt a little uncomfortable. She had actually thought that way just now, but she quickly came to her senses and realized that her idea was too despicable. Who knew that this educated youth would actually be so generous as to offer it to everyone? She felt a little embarrassed and realized that she had been a bit petty.
As soon as the two halves of the wooden pot lid were lifted, steam wafted out, carrying the fresh aroma of grains. The girls all took a deep breath.
"It smells so good!"
Simply dip your chopsticks in water and break the bean buns apart piece by piece, then use a spatula to lift them out and place them on the tea tray. The bean buns are placed on smooth corn leaves, so there's no worry about them sticking to the tea tray.
There weren't many tableware items on display; after looking around, I only found two tea trays. I kept about ten for myself the next morning, and used a small covered tray to hold the rest.
"Hurry up, we can't get cold, can we?"
"It's alright, it's alright. Cold bean buns are chewy and taste even better. Besides, it's only this far away, they won't get completely cold."
“Then I’ll put out the fire and we’ll leave. Let’s get there as soon as possible, before Cheng Zhiqing and the others have already started firing.”
Lin Zhaodi peeked at the sky; it was getting late.
"No, if we're not around, Tan Zhiqing would rather not eat than be alone with Chen Zhiqing."
Chen, the educated youth, also wanted to avoid suspicion, so he went out to collect firewood right after breakfast.
Li Yan also remained silent.
"Yes, this time, she was actually quite traumatized."
She actually has a pretty good personality; she's not the kind of person who causes trouble, is annoying, or gossipy.
Some people are truly harmful.
"Yes, rumors can kill people."
Seeing that the two were in low spirits, Jian quickly found a few large baskets and put the items into them.
"You guys take this big one back. I'll deliver it while it's still warm, and then I'll come over."
"Okay, you go first, I'll close the door for you."
As the sun set and the sky grew darker,
It looks like it's going to snow.
"Let it snow, let it snow. If it snows heavily, next year will be a good year. We can't have a drought."
Li Yan and Lin Zhaodi carried their things into the educated youth compound, walked a short distance, and went to Uncle Liu's house first.
At this time of day, most families would have finished their two meals, and his family was no exception. The children were playing in the yard when they saw Jian Dan enter and greeted him cheerfully.
"Sister Jane, you're here!"
Simple and smiling.
"Tiger, Little Flower, have you eaten?"
The old lady came out when she heard the noise.
"Little Jian, the educated youth, is here! Come in and warm up."
Simply hand over the basket,
"Third Grandma, I won't go inside. This is something I made myself; I brought it here for you to try."
Then he raised the other basket in his hand.
"I still have to deliver something to the village chief's house, so I won't stay here. I'll come back to play another day when I'm free."
After saying that, he nimbly went out the door.
The basket was covered, so you couldn't see what was inside. The two children were close by; their noses were very sensitive. They sniffed a few times, then took a deep breath.
"Grandma, it's sweet and smells so good."
The courtyard walls weren't high, and I had been speaking quietly earlier. The old lady glanced around, picked up her basket, and led the child into the house.
As soon as the lid was lifted, the aroma of coarse grains wafted out, still warm. The golden-yellow bean buns, about the size of ping-pong balls, were packed tightly together on the tea tray, glistening as if they would burst at the slightest touch.
Several swallowing sounds immediately echoed in the room.
Tiger was older and had seen it before. But when Xiao Hua was old enough to remember things, the family was not well-off, and the child didn't know what it was; she just smelled its sweet aroma.
"Grandma, what's this? Is it tasty?"
Old Master Liu came in from the backyard, also sniffling.
"Oh dear, what's wrong with me? Why do I smell steamed buns?"
Old woman, I think it's going to snow today. Next year will definitely be a good year.
Let's plant some sticky corn and sticky sorghum, and then we can buy some rice and make some steamed buns for the New Year.
Oh dear, it's been so many years since I've had this.
The old woman, carrying her basket, gave him a disapproving look.
"You old geezer, you have a dog's nose!"
"hey-hey,"
The old man laughed.
"I'm not only a dog's nose, I'm also a glutton."
Wait, something's not right, this tastes...
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