Xia Lunong hadn't eaten wontons for a long time. To be honest, the last time he had wontons was before the disaster.
He hummed a tune while filling the wontons and rolled out the dough himself. The wontons he made were half the size of his palm and felt heavy in his hand.
After removing the fat and breast meat from the big bird, he stuffed it into a clay pot, added ginger and simmered it directly on a small clay stove.
It had been simmering for more than two hours at this time, and the whole house was filled with the delicious smell that was like chicken soup but not chicken soup, swirling around the house like clouds.
When Xia Huoqu and Yan Xinian came back, they were immediately attracted by the fragrance.
Yan Xinian came over, looked at the rabbit meat marinated on the chopping board, and smiled, "What delicious food are you making today? It smells so good, like New Year's Day."
Xia Huoqu glanced at him, "You've said this more and more often since we became partners."
Yan Xinian laughed out loud, "Maybe it's just what's in your heart, I can't help but say it."
Xia Lunong waited for them to finish, and said lightly, "I'm going to make something delicious today. Kong Zhi is injured, let's give him some nourishment."
As he spoke, he recounted Kong Zhi's heroic deeds today.
Yan Xinian, who was listening nearby, laughed and said, "It is easier for golden eagles to hunt than us. I've chased rabbits before, but rabbits are fast and slippery, and they would disappear into the bushes in no time."
Xia Huo said, "Animals like rabbits and deer are more agile, and it is indeed difficult for us to catch them."
Xia Lunong was curious, "Brother, do you chase more cattle and sheep?"
"Yes, pigs, cattle, sheep, and sometimes horses. Horses are rare, so we have to see them before we chase them." Xia Huo said, "When we go out, we mainly collect supplies and rarely go hunting directly."
Kong Zhi's particularly good hunting is a special case. Xia Huo recalled the past and told Xia Lunong what the various beasts are good at catching. He also talked about the difficult days everyone had when the base was just built.
Xia Lunong listened to it as if he was listening to a story, with his face full of amazement.
Speaking of using the beast form, Xia Lunong usually used the beast form to save space and facilitate movement. As for hunting, it was already very good that he was not regarded as a prey.
He was a little depressed. From a certain perspective, beasts and beasts really cannot be compared.
Xia Lunong thought so in his heart, but it did not delay his hands from moving quickly. He pressed and pinched, and a big wonton came out in his hand. His brothers wanted to help but couldn't do it.
Yan Xinian was picking green onions nearby, and seeing this, he said, "Xiao Nong has really skillful hands."
"Nothing, just cooked it." Xia Lunong smiled, "I used to be so fast, but not now, my hands are slower now."
Four grown men crowded into the kitchen and worked.
Soon, Xia Lunong began to stir-fry the rabbit meat.
This rabbit was a wild rabbit, very fat and tender, and its smell was a bit stronger than that of domesticated rabbits.
In this case, it was necessary to use strong seasonings to suppress it in order to maximize the aroma of the rabbit meat.
Xia Lunong put the rabbit meat in a pot and stir-fried it to remove moisture and fat, until the whole pot of rabbit meat was slightly browned and the rabbit meat was slightly jumping in the rabbit oil, and then began the second stage of stir-frying.
He took the plate of seasonings next to him, poured in the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, etc., and continued to stir-fry over high heat.
Soon the aroma burst out, sweeping everyone's mind.
Xia Lunong looked at the state of the rabbit meat, poured the green and red peppers on the chopping board into the pot, and continued to stir-fry.
At this time, the browned rabbit meat, green pepper rings, red pepper rings, white garlic cloves, and yellow ginger slices were all in the pot, making the color inside extremely tempting.
Xia Lunong took the wine bottle next to him and poured a little rice wine into it. With a "sizzle", a stronger fragrance rose up and filled the entire kitchen.
At this time, the peppers had been fried until they were slightly wrinkled, and the rabbit meat was also covered with a glossy luster. Xia Lunong poured soy sauce into the pot and simmered it slowly over low heat until the rabbit meat was cooked through.
The bird soup in the clay pot next to it was already cooked. Xia Lunong poured all the chicken oil mushrooms that had been cut in advance into the pot, letting the fragrant mushrooms roll in the boiling soup, releasing their fragrance bit by bit.
The fragrance and water vapor mixed together, forming a unique warm atmosphere in this summer evening.
Soon all the dishes were ready, and everyone moved the battlefield to the table and started eating.
Everyone first reached out for the rabbit meat with chopsticks. Everyone picked up a large piece of fat-covered rabbit meat, took a light bite, first absorbed the meaty smell on it, and then bit off the real rabbit meat.
This rabbit meat comes from wild rabbits, and the fibers are relatively coarse. Even after being stewed for such a long time, it is still very chewy, but the more you chew it
, the more delicious it becomes. Everyone chewed from the left cheek to the right cheek, and they couldn't help but smile when they looked at each other.
The more you chew the rabbit meat, the more delicious it becomes. After eating the rabbit meat, drink a big mouthful of the soup in the bowl first.
The mushroom and bird soup is fresh and sweet, with a slight hot taste. After drinking it into the stomach, it seems that all the fatigue in the stomach is boiled away.
Before the catastrophe, Xia Lunong drank countless soups, from south to north, from roadside stalls to private dishes.
There are many delicious soups, but no soup has ever been so delicious that it penetrates the soul.
He sighed with satisfaction and narrowed his eyes.
He finished the soup and took a bite of the wonton.
The wonton was also very delicious, smooth and juicy, and the fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth. After eating it, he felt a sense of fullness in his stomach, which made him feel satisfied from the bottom of his heart.
Usually, their family would talk while eating, but today everyone just ate without saying a word, as if talking would delay the tasting of delicious food.
Everyone finished the meal quietly and chewed slowly, until everyone's stomach was full.
Delicious food can bring people a sense of happiness, especially in this environment.
When Xia Lunong went to sleep that night, he had a wonderful dream. He couldn't remember what he dreamed about, but he could feel that the content of the dream was bright and he was smiling all the time.
This dream made him feel very energetic when he woke up the next day.
He went to greet his brother early in the morning, "Brother, how did you sleep last night?"
"Very good, no dreams all night, deep sleep, refreshed when I woke up."
"Haha, that's really great, I slept very well last night too, I felt very comfortable when I woke up today."
The two brothers chatted for a while, and Xia Lunong asked: "Brother, I heard from the people in the cafeteria yesterday that the water and power station is almost done, will the electricity be turned on today?"
"Let's test it today. We can't get electricity so quickly here. We'll prepare to turn on the electricity after the test."
Xia Lunong clenched his fist happily, "That's great, we'll be able to use electricity in two days at most, right?"
Although Xia Lunong asked a rhetorical question, his tone was affirmative.
He didn't think there would be any problems with this test. After all, there were so many scientists in their base.
Even if the scientists were not related professionals, there shouldn't be any problems.
Besides, even if there were problems with the scientists, there were so many science and engineering professionals in the base, and they would be able to find the problems even if they just went up and took a look.
Xia Lunong had always been looking forward to the day when the base would have electricity. During the day, he looked at the hydropower station frequently while working, and he couldn't calm down at all.
The children in the base were the most excited. They jumped up and down on the road and watched outside the hydropower station all day.
When the sun was setting in the afternoon, someone shouted, "The power is on!"
Xia Lunong heard the shout and straightened up. She only heard a rumbling sound. It was the sound of the people at the hydropower station releasing water to generate electricity.
The sound was not loud, but many people in the base could be beasts, and their hearing was much stronger than before the disaster. Everyone heard the sound and straightened up and looked towards the hydropower station.
In fact, it was still daytime, and even if there was a power outage, the lights on were nothing compared to the sunlight. At least most people couldn't see anything.
But it was this sentence that the power was on that evoked the memories of countless people.
Everyone stood there in a daze, and for a moment the base was extremely quiet.
"Oh oh oh - the power is on -"
There was a sudden burst of enthusiastic cheers and laughter from the hydropower station.
Xia Lunong soon saw a group of workers running out of the white generator room, pushing and colliding with each other, and running to the open space outside.
They jumped around outside, and their excited voices even drowned out the sound of power generation, coming far outside and reaching the ears of most people in the base.
Everyone looked at them and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
There is a power call at the base!
This means that their base will jump directly from the agricultural era to the electrical era, and their productivity will develop rapidly.
Many things can be done, and many dreams can be realized.
Xia Lunong also smiled at some point.
Perhaps the electricity not only meant that they had electricity, but also that they might have entered another era, an era where everyone could have enough food from now on.
The cheers of the adults gradually attracted the cheers of the children, and everyone was cheering and laughing.
At this time, most adults and children were happy and crazy.
More and more people came out from the mountains and the fields and gathered on the road, especially the children, who were jumping around on the road.
Normally, if they jumped like this, the children would definitely be scolded.
But today, no matter what, the adults were also jumping.
These people looked crazy, attracting more and more people to watch, and everyone was venting and shouting, causing rounds of carnival.
Xia Lunong lowered her head and smiled. When she looked up again, she met the gaze of Kong Zhi. Their presence seemed to add a sense of reality to this dreamlike scene.