Pumpkin Twist
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law each held a garlic pestle and quickly made half a bowl of fine pumpkin puree.
Yang Xiu estimated that it weighed about three kilograms.
Yang Xiu added 6 egg yolks, appropriate amount of baking powder and yeast powder, and mixed it evenly with her hands. She added five bowls of flour, a handful of sugar and a pinch of salt, and then Hu Yufeng took over the kneading of the dough.
She is not good at delicate work, but she is quite capable of doing this kind of heavy work.
Soon, a smooth orange-yellow dough appeared in the basin.
The next step is to cover and ferment.
The temperature has been around 20 degrees these two days, and Yang Xiu estimated it would take three or four hours.
All we can do is wait. But there were a lot of odd jobs to do at home, sweeping here and picking up there, and time passed quickly.
Yang Xiu opened the lid and pinched the dough with two fingers, making it into a dense honeycomb shape. It was done.
Hu Yufeng also estimated the time and came back.
Seeing Yang Xiu was about to start, she hurriedly said, "Let me do it. I'll pinch the dough and you just sit and rub it."
After saying this, he walked a few steps to the door and shouted to the yard: "Grandma, grandma, come and boil the pot..."
After a while, the Qin family's royal pot-maker took his position tremblingly.
Hu Yufeng pulled and Yang Xiu rubbed, and as their fingers flew, beautiful little twists appeared under Yang Xiu's hands.
Before this, Yang Xiu had rolled large hemp flowers that were about 20 centimeters long. Having seen Qin Yu and Qin Shu always sharing one, I had an idea and decided to try frying some small twists.
Rows of small fried dough twists were neatly placed on the chopping board, and Yang Xiu covered them with plastic film for secondary fermentation.
There was a flickering fire in the stove. Hu Yufeng took a quick look and knew that the temperature was right and it was ready for frying.
Hu Yufeng had already done this action of frying hundreds of times, putting, turning, and scooping...
Her movements were as smooth as flowing water. When the old lady smelled the fragrance, the short and plump little twists of dough were ready to be cooked.
Hu Yufeng gave Yang Xiu and the old lady one each and said, "Try it..."
It is still as soft and sweet as ever, with the fresh aroma of pumpkin.
Yang Xiu sipped it carefully, her eyes sparkling: "Yes, it's delicious. Mom, I think we can put this on our stall..."
Hu Yufeng was also savoring it carefully and nodded when she heard it.
I have to admit that young people have quick brains, and that's it.
She couldn't help but give Yang Xiu an admiring look.
When the others came back and tried it, they all said it was good, so the new product, pumpkin twist, was officially decided.
The problem before them turned out to be the pumpkin: not to mention that even their own dog wouldn't eat it, Yang Xiu's mother only brought seven, which was far from enough. Still have to acquire.
Thinking of the state of her own pumpkins, Hu Yufeng gave up the idea of collecting them from the team: "Go to your father-in-law's house and collect a truckload from their team first. If it's not enough, go and collect more."
Pumpkins can easily go bad if not stored properly. It is still more cost-effective to purchase while using.
The Qin family are all action-oriented. This was certain, and the next day Qin Wenli asked Qin Wenzhen to go to his father-in-law's house to pick melons.
Pumpkins are not a rare commodity these days. If you bury melon seeds in corn or potato fields, they will grow like crazy.
So Xu Runling was surprised when she saw her son-in-law coming to her house to buy pumpkins the next day:
"Why would you pay for this? It's such a huge pile, and you can't finish it anyway. Just take it if you want."
"No, that won't work. It's fine for us to eat at home, but this is for business, so it's more appropriate to pay for it. If you want to pay, I'll go buy it from somewhere else." Qin Wenli insisted on paying.
No matter how many people from the Yang family tried to persuade them, it was of no use. It was still Yang Yonglu who took the money and the Qin Wenli brothers loaded the melons into the car.
The Yang family really has a lot of pumpkins. Qin Wenli had originally thought that he would have to visit at least five or six houses to fill up a car, but he didn't expect that the car would be full at his father-in-law's house.
A pound of pumpkin costs 4 cents, and this truckload of pumpkins weighed 620 pounds. Qin Wenli gave his father-in-law 26 yuan, and his father-in-law returned two yuan, saying it was snack money for the children.
After hearing what his father-in-law said, Qin Wenli stopped being stubborn. Everyone was happy and they left.
After Qin Wenli left, Qin Shengtian was assigned a task by Hu Yufeng: to make room for the pumpkins.
Pumpkin is a food that absorbs moisture very easily. If you want to keep it for a longer time, you need to find a cool and ventilated place. Spread them out one by one, don't push or crowd them.
In fact, it would be best to have a vegetable cellar to store it, but unfortunately the Qin family doesn’t have one.
It can only be used as a storage room. Qin Shengtian hung up and stacked up the sundries on the ground, and cleared up half of the ground in half a day.
Qin Shengtian left quickly and came back quickly.
Several people moved the pumpkins into the house one by one, but didn't put them down.
The remaining few can only be placed in the corner and taken as needed.
It would be much easier to pay Qin Wenzhen for the gas.
Qin Wen is a typical example of brothers settling accounts openly. I won't take advantage of you, and you don't want to suffer any loss from me. The villagers think he lacks human touch, but Qin Wenli still likes dealing with him.
There's nothing else to say, it's just too tiring to rack your brains to give people money. Often he would be at a loss for words after just a few tries, and could only ponder hard at night, wishing he could review all he had learned in his life.
*
Now that the pumpkin is in place, we can start working.
Lao Fang and Lao Zhao had urged them several times, and when they heard Qin Wenli talk about the pumpkin twist, they were even more eagerly looking forward to it.
After nine days of rest, Yang Xiu felt that his foot injury had healed greatly. But Hu Yufeng still took on the main duties: kneading dough and frying twisted dough sticks.
Yang Xiu was in charge of sitting beside the chopping board and rubbing...
The first batch of pumpkin twists are on the market.
Hu Yufeng and Yang Xiu were as nervous as when the fried dough twist stall opened for the first time.
Knowing that Qin Wenli brought back the good news that was well received in the afternoon, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.
The women in the family were busy making money, and Qin Wenli worked part-time as a deliveryman in addition to running the tofu stall.
Qin Shengtian took up the work in the fields with great enthusiasm. Before dawn, he and Qin Wenli would plow the autumn fields, herd the sheep after dinner, and rub corn when they came back in the afternoon. They were busy all day long.
Seeing that the adults were busy, Qin Yu took his younger brother to feed the pigs and chickens.
Suddenly, everyone in the family had work to do and the family was thriving.
Chen Xiulian next door was so jealous.
Why is it that other people's lives are getting better and better the more they struggle, while my life is getting worse and worse?
As the old saying goes, being busy can relieve a thousand worries. Hu Yufeng felt that this was very true.
If you are truly immersed in "busyness", you won't have time to gossip or compare with others. For example, now: She couldn't remember Chen Xiulian at all, and even if she saw her, she would just smile and pass it by. Time is precious, and chatting with her for a few casual words would make her feel tired, so why bother?
I couldn't see through it before. Two people with half a bucket of water are still comparing their knowledge to see who is deeper and who is shallower. Why don’t you jump out and look at the big rivers and lakes? It’s funny to think about it again.
It turns out that people still need to learn more and see more of the world.
Hu Yufeng realized that she and Chen Xiulian were no longer on the same ideological level, so when she saw Chen Xiulian again, she smiled even more politely.
Chen Xiulian was puzzled: What bad shit is this old woman up to?
*
What bad thing could she be harboring? She is just an ordinary "advanced element".
Since you are an "advanced element", you can still share the same views with the "backward" ones!
Yes, Hu Yufeng received a certificate of "Advanced Night School Member", which was issued personally by the commune secretary.
It’s the end of August now, and the one-month night school class has come to a successful conclusion.
A group of talented people have emerged from the 14 villages in Shangguan Town through night school classes.
There are people who do something weird without studying seriously.
There are those who learn knitting and then turn it into a knitting competition.
There are even some that have been halfway through and have no students left.
Compare with these. Xiaogou Village's positive learning atmosphere is truly exceptional.
The leadership has decided that positive attitudes should be vigorously promoted and unhealthy tendencies should be resolutely curbed.
It was under such circumstances that Secretary Lao Gou received a call from the commune. Not only was their village designated as an advanced village, but he was also asked to nominate an activist for public commendation by the commune.
Secretary Lao Gou was so happy that his teeth were showing.
Is there any need to choose an activist? It must be his lucky star Hu Yufeng!
Old Hu, Miss Hu, it's all his fault that he was too old and blurry-eyed to see clearly, and almost mistook pearls for fish eyes...
No, you still have to choose. Our party is a democratic party, so we still need to listen to the opinions of the masses and let them see how blind the masses are.
That night, Murakami convened a village meeting to select activists.
Upon hearing the public praise from the commune, every household became very active. This was a public praise, and it would make the whole commune famous.
At the meeting, Secretary Gou first stated the requirements, and then Teacher Wang announced the attendance of each student on the spot.
Secretary Gou: "Everyone has listened to the attendance just announced by Teacher Wang. It is clear at a glance who came and who didn't, who studied and who was just messing around. Because there are too many candidates, our two teachers have selected five outstanding students based on everyone's performance this month. Next, everyone will choose one from these five. I hope that all of our villagers will be fair and select activists who can truly represent our village..."
"Okay..." the crowd below shouted.
"Quiet for a moment, everyone, be quiet... I will announce five outstanding students, they are: Hu Yufeng, Yang Xiu, Li Lanhua, Li Dawu, Liu Ting..."
Following Teacher Wang’s announcement, the audience became noisy.
"Hu Yufeng? We must choose Hu Yufeng. She is the oldest and has a commendable spirit..." Secretary Gou looked at the man with appreciation. Look, his eyes are so bright.
"Da Wu, those four are all women, and Da Wu is the only man. If you don't choose Da Wu, you are not a man..." Secretary Gou frowned. I think you are not a human being!
"Yang Xiu, you chose your wife instead of your mother-in-law. Hu Yufeng still lets her daughter-in-law ride on her head. It would be strange if they don't fight..." Qin Wenli frowned. He is another one who can't stand others doing well!
"I'm different. I choose Liu Ting. She doesn't have a boyfriend yet, so I asked my dad to find me a wife..." Liu Yuzhu glanced at you angrily, not even caring about your ugly appearance...
"No one chooses orchids? I choose orchids..." Chen Xiulian originally sneered at this activist, but when she saw that no one chose the family's daughter-in-law, she suddenly felt rebellious.
"Okay, stop arguing... Come on, raise your hands if you choose Liu Ting..." A few hands were raised here and there. The clerk stood up, counted them, and wrote them down next to Liu Ting's name.
"Raise your hands if you vote for Li Lanhua... Raise your hands if you vote for Hu Yufeng..."
"Wow!" A large group of people came together in an orderly manner. Secretary Gou was excited by the scene before him. As expected, the people in our Xiaogou Village are not blind!
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