Chapter 236: Get Some Old Pumpkin
The iron pot in the kitchen was sizzling as Jiang Jianhua poured rapeseed oil into the pot, intending to fry the freshly picked water chestnuts into candied fruit.
"These water chestnuts need to be boiled thoroughly first," she scooped them out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon. "Then peel them, cut them into cubes, and stir-fry them with sugar. They can be stored until winter."
Song Yushuang sat in front of the stove, adding firewood. The flames illuminated the corn tortilla dough in her hand, making it glow yellow. "I'll make some more pancakes and send some to Zhou Desheng's house later. They'll go great with his pickles."
Nian'an squatted at the stove door watching the fire, adding fine firewood into the stove with his little hands, and the tassels of his tiger-patterned bellyband almost caught sparks.
"Little ancestor, stay away," Fu Yuanshan quickly carried him away, "the flames will burn holes in your clothes if they lick them."
Nian An, however, pointed at the diced water chestnuts in the pot and kept shouting, "They're sweet. I want some."
Jiang Jianhua smiled and stuffed a piece of raw water chestnut into his mouth: "It's a good filling first, and you can eat as much as you want when it's fried."
Xiaolan hung the woven water chestnut wicker basket on the fence. The basket was filled with freshly picked wild chrysanthemums, which were as bright yellow as a handful of gold.
"Do you think this basket can hold osmanthus flowers?" She pulled the red rope of the wicker basket and shook it. The water chestnut shells in the bamboo rabbit basket had piled up into a small mountain.
Yun Tangyin was filling a jar with dried sweet potatoes. When she heard this, she turned around and smiled, "Make a bigger one. When the locust flowers bloom, you can fill a whole basket."
When Zhou Desheng brought the corn stalks, Fu Yucheng was weaving a bamboo fence in the yard.
"Freshly broken tender corn," he placed the corn on the stone table, its green husk still wet with dew. "My sister-in-law asked me to bring it to you. She said cooking it would quench your thirst better than eating water chestnuts."
Jiang Jianhua quickly brought out the freshly fried preserved water chestnuts from the kitchen: "Try this quickly, it's so sweet it'll stick to your teeth."
Fu Yuanshan added clean water to the pot and put the tender corn in to cook.
"This corn needs to be cooked until it blooms," he said, pressing the corn with the lid of the pot, "otherwise the kernels inside will be hard and hard to chew."
Nian An lay on the edge of the pot and stared at it. The silver longevity lock hung on the lid, swaying gently with the steam.
"Wait another quarter of an hour," Fu Yucheng touched his head, "and then I'll pick the one with the fullest grains for you."
Xiaolan squatted beside Zhou Desheng and learned how to weave corn leaf ropes. She tied a knot of the emerald green leaves in her hands.
"My mother said this rope can be used to tie up firewood," she said, twisting the braided rope into a loop. "It's stronger than the hemp rope you buy, and it won't irritate your hands."
Zhou Desheng helped her tie the rope tightly: "Bring some back to your mother later, let her see our Xiaolan's craftsmanship."
The candied water chestnuts in the kitchen were half dried. Jiang Jianhua put them into jars. A layer of white icing formed on the water chestnut cubes.
"This jar needs to be kept in a cool place," she said, tying the lid of the jar tightly with red cloth. "Take it out next spring and eat it with corn porridge. It's delicious."
Song Yushuang put the corn cakes into the bamboo basket. The sesame seeds on the cakes gleamed in the sun. "Desheng, bring two for your boy. They're fresh out of the pan, still warm."
The evening glow dyed the corn stalks orange-red. Fu Yucheng tied the stalks into small bundles and piled them in the corner of the yard to use as firewood.
"This pole burns the brightest," he said, tying the pole with straw rope. "In winter, sweet potatoes can be cooked in half an hour."
Nian An ran over holding a half-eaten corn. The corn kernels were stuck to his tiger-striped bellyband, looking like some yellow gems.
"Eat slowly," Jiang Jianhua wiped the corner of his mouth, "Don't rub the corn silk on your face, it will prick you."
When Zhou Desheng was about to leave, Fu Yuanshan put a jar of preserved water chestnuts into his bamboo basket.
"Let my sister-in-law try it," he patted the bottom of the jar, "it's more appetizing than candied hawthorns."
Zhou Desheng couldn't refuse, so he handed over his pickled cucumbers: "This is pickled according to your recipe. It's very sour and crispy. It's best eaten with porridge."
Yun Tangyin took it with a smile: "I'm going to make corn porridge tomorrow, and I need something sour."
As the moonlight climbed up to the top of the locust tree, Jiang Jianhua was sewing a small water chestnut-shaped purse for Nian'an.
"Put some dried water chestnut powder in it," she said, embroidering water chestnut patterns with green thread. "Put it in your pocket in the winter and it can be used as a sachet."
Xiaolan sat beside her and helped her thread the needle, still holding the unfinished corn leaf rope in her hand: "My mother said that water chestnut flour can be used to make jelly, which is good for cooling off in the summer."
Fu Yucheng and Fu Yuanshan sat in the yard smoking, the light from their pipes illuminating the pile of corn in the corner.
"Let's pick pumpkins tomorrow," Fu Yucheng said, tapping off his cigarette ash. "The old ones will be used to make pumpkin pie, and the young ones will be fried."
Fu Yuanshan nodded: "I will weave a pumpkin basket specifically for tender pumpkins to prevent the skin from being scratched."
The lingering aroma of corn tortillas wafted from the kitchen, mixed with the sweetness of candied water chestnuts, as if wrapping the autumn night in a layer of sugar.
Nian An was lying on the small bed, holding a water chestnut purse and half a corn cake in his hand.
He mumbled vaguely, his eyelids gradually drooping.
Jiang Jianhua covered him with a thin quilt and saw that Xiaolan had secretly put a woven grasshopper in the water chestnut wicker basket beside the pillow. The grasshopper was so green that it looked like it had just jumped out of the grass.
The reed catkins outside the window were rustling in the wind. The night in the locust tree courtyard was quiet. Only the clay pots in the kitchen were whispering, talking about the sweetness of these ordinary days.
Just like the jar of slowly absorbing the flavor of preserved water chestnuts, the longer it is stored, the more you can taste the warmth between neighbors, and it becomes the most mellow flavor over the years.
As soon as dawn broke, Nian An was awakened by the smell of tortillas on the windowsill.
He sat up holding the water chestnut purse, rubbing his little hands on the green lines of the purse. Suddenly he remembered something and ran barefoot into the yard.
Fu Yuanshan was putting pumpkins into a bamboo basket. The orange-yellow pumpkin skins shone in the morning light. "Little ancestor, why aren't you wearing shoes again? Be careful not to get your feet cold from the dew."
The aroma of pumpkin porridge wafted through the kitchen. Jiang Jianhua cut the pickled cucumbers Zhou Desheng had given him into thin strips and sprinkled them into the porridge.
"It's so refreshing when eaten this way," she stirred with a wooden spoon. "It's sour and crunchy, and it's perfect with tortillas."
Song Yushuang sat in front of the stove kneading dough, planning to make some pumpkin flower rolls: "I've risen the dough in a bowl. I'll mix the pumpkin puree in it later. The steamed flower rolls will be sweet and soft."
Fu Yucheng carried a hoe to pick pumpkins. The vines climbed far into the ground, and the round pumpkins were hidden among the leaves, like gold ingots scattered all over the ground.
"This old pumpkin needs to be cut with scissors," he said, holding the scissors to cut the vine. "Pulling it with your hands will break the vine and affect the fruiting next year."
Nian An followed behind, holding a small basket and picking small pumpkins, but he kept dropping the tender pumpkin stems, which made Fu Yucheng laugh: "Little ancestor, this is picking pumpkins, not pulling radishes, you have to be careful."
Xiaolan came with a rabbit basket on her back to deliver freshly dried pumpkin seeds. The seeds in the basket were plump and round, shining white in the morning light.
"My mother said that roasting melon seeds is the best way to enjoy them in winter," she said, placing the basket on the stone table, the bamboo rabbit ears tied with a new green string. "Look at this pumpkin basket I made. It can hold three small pumpkins."
Yun Tangyin was filling a jar with preserved water chestnuts. Upon hearing this, she picked up the basket and examined it carefully. "The bottom of this basket is woven very firmly. I'll use it when I pick pumpkins later."
Jiang Jianhua put the pumpkin rolls into the steamer and covered the opening with a cloth.
"You have to steam it for a quarter of an hour," she added firewood to the stove, "so that the steamed buns will rise and become fluffy and not undercooked."
Aunt Zhang came by with a basket filled with freshly made pumpkin jam. "I came here just because of the aroma. These steamed buns look so soft and fluffy. Miss Jianhua, can you teach me how to make them?"
Jiang Jianhua stuffed a piece of freshly steamed pumpkin cake into her hand: "Try the sweetness first. You need to put more pumpkin puree so that you don't need to add extra sugar."
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