First try of making Zongzi
After sitting for a while, Qin Wenli stood up and said goodbye. Hu Deyang did not try to keep him, but only told him to be careful on the road.
Several people walked back together. Passing by the clothesline in the yard full of clothes, Hu Yufang couldn't help but take a few more glances and asked in confusion, "What do you use to wash your clothes? Does your uncle have any washing powder?"
Xizi spoke quickly and replied, "It's ours. My uncle's house doesn't have this thing. Even the washing basin is ours..."
Hu Yufang felt a pang of heartache when she heard this. She turned around and looked at the full rope of clothes. She couldn't help but calculate the amount in her mind, and her heart ached even more instantly.
Xizi was completely unaware and was still jumping on her mother-in-law's heart that was about to break: "Oh, mom, you don't know how dirty my uncle is. My sister-in-law rubbed and rubbed, and even sprinkled detergent several times, but the stain couldn't be washed off..."
Hu Yufang’s mind was filled with the thought “he peed several times”. Wow, once was enough, but he peed several times. She couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart was broken! ! !
Qin Wenli looked at his aunt's painful expression, and thinking about her behavior, he immediately understood, and said with a smile: "It's also because I didn't have time to buy it today. My mother told me to go to the market tomorrow to buy a bag of washing powder for my uncle and your family... A good cook cannot cook without rice. Without washing powder, it's difficult for my uncle to wear dirty clothes all the time..."
When Hu Yufang heard that Qin Wenli wanted to buy it, she felt a little better. It's just a little bit. The main reason is that these young wives work too wastefully. They have to sprinkle detergent several times when washing clothes. Who can bear this? ! !
*
When they arrived at Xizi's house, Qin Wenli politely declined the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's offer to come in and sit for a while, and hurriedly drove home.
Hu Yufeng, who was wandering back and forth in front of the door, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him return safely: "Is your uncle home?"
"Yes, my aunt and I carried it over there. My uncle was lying in the room when we got there..."
Hu Yufeng's expression softened upon hearing this, and she nodded, "That's good. If he continues to fool around, we'll just ignore him..."
Qin Wenli hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Mom, can you buy a washing basin and washing powder for my uncle at the market tomorrow? Otherwise, he won't be able to wash his clothes..."
Hu Yufeng was stunned when she heard this, and nodded after thinking for a moment: "Really, if you didn't mention it, I wouldn't have remembered it. Okay, don't worry about the money, I'll pay for it myself..."
"Just leave the palace. This is our own business, and we can't let you go out on your own..." Qin Wenli disagreed.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'll buy it for you. I'll also buy some for your aunt on the way. I've used up half a bag of hers today. She must be so upset!" Hu Yufeng waved her hand and did not allow any refusal.
Qin Wenli smiled, but didn't say anything that made his aunt almost heartbroken.
*
As soon as May begins, not only do the vegetables grow wildly, but the seedlings in the fields also change every day, especially the two wheat fields in front of my house. You can really watch the wheat seedlings change from lush green to yellow-green and then to golden yellow. When a gust of wind blows, the heavy ears of wheat tilt their heads and sway with the wind, which makes people feel particularly happy.
Yang Xiu was washing the yellow sticky rice when she saw her mother-in-law come in with a bunch of reed leaves. Seeing her looking over, she smiled and said, "I saw that the reed leaves grew well this year, so I picked some. Didn't Yuyu and the others want to eat the rice dumplings on TV? Why don't we try wrapping them with reed leaves?"
"Okay, Mom... you didn't run into my aunt when you were picking them, did you?" Yang Xiu said hesitantly.
Why do you ask? Because the reed pit where the reeds grow is right between Lao Qin's house and Lao Wang's house, and is the lowest end of the old disputed apricot tree trench. Let me put it this way, not only the Xingshu Trench, but also the hundred-meter-long trench including the Weizikeng is not only a boundary, but also a source of disaster! ! !
Anyway, there were many disputes among the separated families.
People in Xiaogou Village mainly use reeds to weave mats. In the past, when Aunt Wang told others that Weizikeng belonged to their family, her two older brothers scolded her: Bullshit, this wild thing has been growing there since you were born, the land has not even been divided, and you say it is yours? Then there is a big quarrel every year when it is used.
Nowadays, there are fewer people making mats, and the Wang family doesn't care much about it. It has been peaceful for many years, but young people like Qin Wenli still never touch it.
Hu Yufeng knew what Yang Xiu was thinking from her expression, so she said disdainfully: "If she hasn't met me yet, what's there to be afraid of even if she does? Let alone picking a few leaves, what can she do to me if I just dig a few reeds? You kids just need to be careful. It's okay, just use it without worry..."
Yang Xiu thought about it and decided to let it go and prepare the ingredients to make rice dumplings.
*
Almost no one in Xiaogou Village makes rice dumplings. During the Dragon Boat Festival, people cook a pot of sticky rice, let it dry, and scoop it into bowls and plates. If possible, pour honey or syrup on it. If not, just add red or white sugar juice. It will be a bowl of sweet and soft sticky rice.
So when Yang Xiu heard about making rice dumplings, his first reaction was to look for a recipe. Maybe books are good things. Look, the recipe clearly marks the ingredients and the amounts used. Yang Xiu only needs to follow the instructions step by step.
Hu Yufeng doesn't like cooking, but she is still interested in this kind of strange thing, and she is helping with great interest.
The book says to soak the glutinous rice first, but the conditions are limited and I only have soaked yellow rice at home. It was said that there were candied dates in it, but Lao Qin’s family didn’t have any, but they had dried red dates. So Hu Yufeng rummaged through the boxes and cabinets looking for red dates. Now that they had red dates, could she add some peanuts? So Hu Yufeng went to look for peanuts again...
Anyway, the final filling is slightly similar to the one in the book, which can only be said to have nothing to do with it. But it’s not a big problem, as long as it’s edible!
So I boiled the rice dumplings leaves, found hemp ropes, and made the dumplings.
Yang Xiu was surrounded by a group of people. A pair of black eyes stared at her, and she felt inexplicably nervous. I quickly read the instructions in the book carefully again, then picked up two leaves, folded them into a cone in the palm of my hand, put yellow glutinous rice, red dates and peanuts inside, pressed them tightly, then folded the leaves over to cover them. At this step, it seemed like I had mastered it without any instruction, and I easily wrapped them into small dumplings with four corners, then tied them with a hemp rope, and it was done! ! !
Everyone saw Yang Xiu's fingers flying and a delicate little rice dumpling was made. Immediately, Hu Yufeng and Qin Qian were the first to rush to try it.
Yang Xiu smiled and gave two pieces to each person, and gave them instructions. This thing seemed easy to make by Yang Xiu, but when I tried it myself I found that it was not the case. Especially when it came to the folding stage, Hu Yufeng had trouble even making one corner, let alone the four corners:
"Forget it, forget it. Xiu'er, you pack it. I can't do it..." Hu Yufeng was the first to give up.
Soon after, Qin Qian and Qin Yu surrendered one after another. Only Li Lanhua and Qin Fang wrapped them seriously. Especially Li Lanhua's, it looked more delicate than Yang Xiu's.
"Sister-in-law, it's OK. This one you made looks good..."
"That's right. Look at all the edges and corners. They can all be sold..."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Li Lanhua's heart was moved.
*
The few people who came to join in the fun lost interest after watching for a while, and only Li Lanhua and Qin Fang were left in the room helping Yang Xiu wrap.
"Xiu'er, are you making rice dumplings to sell at the stall?" Li Lanhua asked tentatively.
"No, Second Aunt saw the two children clamoring for food, so she said to pack it for herself..."
"Are you going to sell rice dumplings at your stall in the future?" Li Lanhua asked again.
"No, Mahua and I are both too busy, so why bring zongzi? Besides, zongzi is eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, and no one buys it at other times!" Yang Xiu said with a smile. She had already noticed what was said, and seeing that Li Lanhua was hesitant to speak, she simply spoke:
"Sister-in-law, do you want to make some to sell?"
Li Lanhua nodded uneasily when Yang Xiu spoke, and quickly added: "I learned it all from you. If you want to sell it, I definitely won't snatch it from you..."
"What's the point of snatching it up? It's not a complicated craft. It's just that no one here can make it. Sister-in-law, if you want to sell it, make it tonight. We're going to the market tomorrow, so let's go and try it together..."
Yang Xiu was telling the truth. Zongzi was just for information dissemination and for fun. Our own fried dough twist business is stable. What we need most now is to proceed steadily and continuously innovate, rather than trying to get involved in anything new.
On the contrary, Li Lanhua is an honest and decent person, but also a pitiful person. Although Qin Wenzhen had many connections outside, all the money was in his hands, so Li Lanhua had to ask for money even when she wanted to buy needles and thread.
If you can help her, it will be a good deed.
Seeing Yang Xiu's frankness and seriousness, Li Lanhua felt more and more guilty. She looked at Yang Xiu and said, "This... I just suddenly thought of it... Can I do it? How about you sell it and I'll make it for us, just like the fried dough twists we made before?"
"Sister-in-law, don't underestimate yourself. There's nothing wrong with this. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Just let Fangfang or Qianqian accompany you on the first day. Tomorrow is Sunday. Once you get started, you'll see. It won't be a big deal..."
Qin Fang was listening quietly at the side. At this moment, she looked up and said softly, "Mom, since my second aunt said so, I'll accompany you to try tomorrow..." Then she turned around and thanked Yang Xiu sincerely, "Second aunt, thank you. I was embarrassed to use your cooking skills, and you encouraged my mom..."
"Why thank me? The recipe is from a book, and you can make money with your skills and sweat. Besides, your mother helped me during my most difficult years. We are a family helping each other. Don't say such things in the future." Yang Xiu felt a little emotional when thinking of the past.
"Hmm..." Qin Fang responded softly.
*
There is strength in numbers. In just twenty minutes, the three of them had wrapped more than forty dumplings. Li Lanhua and her daughter went back first to prepare for the next day's goods, while Yang Xiu cooked the dumplings according to the instructions in the book.
It's only eleven o'clock now. As the book says, after boiling, simmer on low heat for four to five hours. Seeing this step, a thought flashed through Yang Xiu’s mind: Fortunately, his family does not plan to sell rice dumplings. Not to mention that you have to get up in the middle of the night to wrap and cook it, and you won’t be able to make fried dough twists the next day. Even for the four to five hours of cooking, there is no room for a pot at home!
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the rice dumplings were finally ready to be served after being soaked and boiled. As soon as you lift the lid of the pot, the faint fragrance of rice dumplings leaves wafts into your nose, followed by the aroma of glutinous rice and the sweet fragrance of red dates. It just smells good!
The whole family, young and old, gathered around in an instant, and no one cared about the heat, and each grabbed one.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
