Chapter 228 New Crop of Mung Beans
Jiang Jianhua was teaching Aunt Zhang how to make fish balls in the kitchen. The snow-white fish paste rolled into round little balls at his fingertips and then jumped into the boiling water pot with a "plop".
"Look, you have to use a little more pressure on your thumb and forearm," she said, holding Aunt Zhang's hand as she demonstrated, "so that the meatballs you squeeze out won't be flat."
Aunt Zhang studied diligently, beads of sweat oozing from her forehead. "This is much more delicate than kneading dough. No wonder your fish balls are so chewy."
Nian An was wearing a newly made tiger bellyband and circling in front of the kitchen door.
The golden tiger pattern on the red cloth sparkled in the morning light, and the peacock blue star-shaped scraps of cloth looked like a starry sky.
"Tiger, awwww," he raised his little hands and imitated the roar of a tiger, and the silver longevity lock made the tassels of his bellyband jingle.
Song Yushuang was cutting winter melon. Seeing this, she wiped her hands on her apron and smiled: "Come and let grandma see, our Nian'an has become a majestic little tiger."
Fu Yuanshan was carrying a hoe and preparing to go to the field. When he passed by the kitchen, Nian An hugged his legs.
"Uncle, car," the little guy raised his red face, with dried pumpkin crumbs on his knuckles.
Fu Yuanshan bent down and pinched his tiger-head hat: "The small wooden cart is ready. It's placed at the door of the woodshed. I'll take you to the threshing ground to play in the afternoon."
Nian An immediately let go of his hand and ran towards the woodshed, with the tiger tail tassels on his bellyband swinging behind him.
When Xiaolan walked in with a new bamboo basket on her back, she ran into Nian'an pushing a small wooden cart around in the yard.
There were red ropes tied to the bamboo ears of the rabbit basket, which swayed gently with Xiaolan's footsteps.
"Nian'an, look what I brought." She took out a cloth bag from the basket, which contained freshly steamed corn cakes. "My mother said that if you soak them in wild jujube soup, they'll be very sweet."
Nian An stopped the cart immediately and reached out to grab the corn cake. The small wooden cart slid to the side of the stone table, causing the bowl of fish ball soup to shake slightly.
Fu Yucheng was squatting by the well, washing wild vegetables. Hearing the noise, he looked up and smiled: "Run slower, don't spill the soup."
He stood up and looked into the bamboo basket. The rabbit's eyes were vividly woven with black bamboo silk. "Xiao Lan, do you like this basket? If you think the ears are too pointy, I can trim them."
Xiaolan quickly shook her head: "That's right, my mother said it's better looking than the ones I bought in town."
She placed the corn cake on the stone table, and the words "Xiao Lan" on the bottom of the bamboo basket were particularly clear in the sunlight.
When the midday sun climbed to the top of the locust tree, Jiang Jianhua and Aunt Zhang had already fried a full plate of fish balls.
The golden balls were rolled with sesame seeds, and the aroma made Nian An circle around the stove.
Song Yushuang scooped some into the white porcelain bowl and said, "Let it cool down before eating. Don't burn your mouth."
Aunt Zhang looked at the fruits of her labor, her eyes wrinkled with a smile. "I'll make some for my grandson when I get home, so he can experience my cooking skills."
Fu Yuanshan came back from the field with a bundle of plump ears of wheat on his shoulders.
"This is early-ripening new wheat," he said, placing the wheat ears next to the millstone. "Grind some flour this afternoon and make wheat cakes for the children."
Nian'an dropped the fish balls and ran over. He grabbed the wheat ears with his little hands, rubbed out the green wheat grains, stuffed one into his mouth, and immediately frowned and spit it out.
Everyone was amused by what they saw. Fu Yuanshan smiled and rubbed his hair: "Silly boy, this needs to be ground into flour before it can be eaten."
Jiang Jianhua took advantage of the good weather, spread out the reed mats in the threshing ground, and poured the wild dates on them to dry.
Xiaolan squatted beside to help pick up the date pits. The bamboo basket was placed aside, and it was already filled with half a basket of dried pumpkin.
"Second aunt, do you think these wild dates will be sweeter if they are wrinkled in the sun?" Xiaolan asked, holding up a wilted date.
Jiang Jianhua paused as he was turning over the dates and said, "Yes, just like mulberries become sweeter when dried, the sun will lock the sweetness inside."
In the evening, the aroma of fresh wheat pancakes filled the kitchen. Fu Yucheng baked these pancakes with fresh wheat flour. They were golden brown on both sides, with pumpkin crumbs in the middle. They were so sweet that Nian An ate two in one go.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to snatch it from you," Yun Tangyin handed him the wild jujube soup, "Drink the soup slowly, or you'll choke."
Nian An held the bowl and drank the soup. There were some biscuit crumbs on the tiger's bellyband, which looked like adding a circle of whiskers to the tiger.
When Aunt Zhang said goodbye, Jiang Jianhua put some fish balls and wheat cakes into her bamboo basket.
"Take these home and try them," she said, smiling as she handed over the basket. "Have you memorized the fish ball recipe? If you forget, come back and ask me."
Aunt Zhang kept thanking him as she carried the basket. "I've got it down on paper."
She walked to the door and turned back, "I'll bring some newly harvested mung beans tomorrow so we can make mung bean cakes."
When the moonlight climbed up the fence, Fu Yuanshan was repairing a small wooden cart for Nian An.
He dripped some rapeseed oil into the wheel axle, and the car pushed more smoothly.
"I'll take you to the river tomorrow," he said, wiping the oil off his hands. "Ask your second uncle to make you a small fishing net. Then catch some small fish and raise them in the water tank in the yard."
Nian An leaned on the handlebars, half a wheat cake in his mouth, and replied vaguely: "Fish, raise it."
Jiang Jianhua sat under the lamp and sewed tiger-head boots for Nian An. The tiger stripes on the boots matched the patterns on the bellyband perfectly.
Song Yushuang sat beside him, sewing shoe soles, and reminded him from time to time: "Embroider the tiger's tail a little more curved, so it looks more alive."
The leaves of the locust trees outside the window rustled. Fu Yucheng and Fu Yuanshan were packing up farm tools in the yard, and occasionally a few whispered conversations could be heard.
Nian An was lying on the small bed holding a tiger doll. The light of the silver longevity lock flowed gently in the moonlight, like a gentle river, wrapped in the smell of fireworks in the yard, and slowly flowed into the deeper night.
As soon as the sky was getting light, Nian An was awakened by the singing of birds outside the window.
He sat up holding the tiger doll, touched the tiger-head bellyband on his belly with his little hand, suddenly remembered something, and ran to the kitchen barefoot.
Jiang Jianhua was adding firewood to the stove. The flames crackled at the bottom of the pot where freshly harvested mung beans were cooking.
"Little ancestor, why did you run out without shoes?" She quickly put down the tongs and carried Nian'an to the small stool in front of the stove. "The mung beans that Aunt Zhang sent have just been put into the pot. When they are cooked into mung bean paste, I will make mung bean cakes for you."
Nian An pointed at the small wooden cart next to the stove and muttered "cart, fish".
Fu Yucheng came in from outside carrying a fishing net on his back. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I'll take you to the river now. The fishing net is already made."
He unfolded the fishing net for Nian An to see. The mesh was fine and the edges were decorated with red ropes. "I made this small net especially for you. It's perfect for catching small fish."
Nian An immediately slid down from the bench and pulled Fu Yucheng out, his tiger-head boots making a "dong dong" sound on the ground.
Song Yushuang sat under the eaves peeling mung beans. The emerald green beans piled up like a small hill in the bamboo basket.
Yun Tangyin came over with a sieve to help: "Look how plump these mung beans are. Aunt Zhang said these are the first crop of new beans this year."
Song Yushuang picked out a shriveled bean: "We have to pick out all these empty shells, otherwise the mung bean paste won't be smooth."
She glanced at the small wooden cart in the yard and said, "Put Nian'an's tiger doll on the cart later and let him push it around so he doesn't have to worry about catching fish all the time."
When Xiaolan walked in with the rabbit basket on her back, she ran into Fu Yucheng and Nian An walking towards the river.
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