As the pear blossoms bloom in the Qingming Festival, travelers venture out of the city in search of spring.
The pear blossoms in Luoshui County seemed to have bloomed overnight. Whether in the villages or on the hillsides, they were covered in a vast expanse of white, densely layered and very beautiful.
Lu's mother carefully took out a large plate of pollen from under the bed, put it into small porcelain bottles, one bottle of pollen for each person, and a pollinator, and said calmly, "Don't spill it, we're going to pollinate the pear blossoms today."
Lu Yanzhao's college was on holiday. In Luoshui County, when the pear blossoms were in full bloom, students would be given a few days off to go home and help out.
"I love pollinating pear blossoms the most. I feel like I've done something great. When the pears ripen in the fall, they taste so sweet!" Lu Xiaomei exclaimed, almost spilling the pollen from the bottle. She quickly covered it up in fright.
Gu Nanjiao glanced at the feather duster-shaped pollinator, then lowered her head and thought for a moment. It seemed that the original owner of this body had never pollinated pear blossoms before, so she didn't know what this feather duster was for.
Lu Yanzhao glanced at Gu Nanjiao, stepped forward and said, "This feather duster pollinator is for dipping in pollen. After dipping it, you can apply it to the pear blossom's stamen. That's how you successfully pollinate it."
Gu Nanjiao nodded as if she understood, so that's how it's used.
The Lu family doesn't have many pear trees, only a dozen or so, which is pitifully few compared to other families in the village.
The four people spent half a day applying pollen to all the pear blossoms four times.
Gu Nanjiao felt that this method of pollination was a bit hasty. She noticed that her neighbors pollinated each flower stamen one by one, very carefully.
"Is this okay? Are you sure the pollination was successful?"
Lu Yanzhao smiled and said, "We've always done it this way, and the pears turn out big and sweet."
Gu Nanjiao admired it. Using a feather duster as a pollinator, one touch could pollinate a cluster. Although it was simple and crude, it saved time and effort.
"Who came up with this idea?"
Lu Xiaomei leaned closer and said, "Who else could it be but my incredibly smart brother?"
"Extremely intelligent! Extremely intelligent..." Gu Nanjiao couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing the words "extremely intelligent." Her eyes darted to the top of Lu Yanzhao's head, imagining him without any hair. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to laugh. Finally, she couldn't help but squat down on the ground, laughing so hard she almost collapsed.
Lu Xiaomei was confused. She didn't understand what her sister-in-law was laughing at, or what the point of the joke was.
Lu Yanzhao's face turned cold. He knew Gu Nanjiao was laughing at him. Was praising him for being smart really that funny? Was it worth her laughing like that?
...
Lu Yanzhao went out in the afternoon, saying he had something to do. Gu Nanjiao didn't ask what it was, since it wasn't something she could worry about anyway.
Tomorrow is the annual pear blossom festival in Luoshui County.
Lu's mother wanted to take this opportunity to sell some snacks to make money, but she didn't know what to sell. Selling pig offal? Now that the weather is hot, fewer people are eating meat. Besides, the Pear Blossom Festival is a major festival, attended mainly by young people. Selling pig offal would be a bit...
Thinking about the food that young people like, Gu Nanjiao suggested, "Why don't we make some rolled noodles to sell? When young people get hot and tired from shopping, they can grab a serving and eat it on their own. How satisfying would that be?"
"What is a rolled pasta sheet?"
"It's a kind of cold skin noodle made from flour, filled with bean sprouts, cucumber shreds, crushed peanuts, chili oil, and then drizzled with some sesame paste. Wow, it's simply delicious!" Gu Nanjiao said, lost in memories, really missing the cold skin noodles from her hometown.
Making the wrappers is easy and simple, and the cost is low. You don't have to worry about not being able to sell them; you can just take them home and mix them up yourself.
Lu's mother was a woman of action and also very meticulous. She frowned and said, "But where can we find cucumbers this season? Can we use other vegetables instead?"
Gu Nanjiao nodded: "Mother is very thoughtful. How about using shredded potatoes instead?"
The two got right to work. Lu's mother brought a bag of flour from the kitchen and handed it to Gu Nanjiao: "Is this enough flour?"
"That's enough, Mom. I'll wash the dough and make cold noodles. Go to the street and buy some bean sprouts and fry some peanuts."
"good!"
Next, Gu Nanjiao started washing her face. She put the kneaded dough in a basin of clean water and rubbed it repeatedly, just like washing clothes. After washing her face seven or eight times, the water began to become clear, and the gluten in her hands clumped together.
There is a large basin of washed flour paste water. Filter it once, let it stand for two hours, pour off the yellow water on top, and leave some flour paste at the bottom.
Lu's mother returned with the groceries, and the batter had been settling for about the right amount of time, so she started a fire.
First, brush a layer of oil on the steaming tray, then scoop a spoonful of batter and spread it thinly over the entire tray. Once the water boils, place the tray in the steamer, cover it, and steam over high heat for about one minute before removing it from the steamer.
After cooking, soak the ingredients in cold water for a while, then take them out, brush them with oil, and then cook the next one.
Gu Nanjiao worked quickly, and in less than half an hour, she had made a whole stack of dough wrappers.
Next, we'll make the seasonings.
Lu Xiaomei was in charge of peeling the garlic. After peeling, she chopped the garlic and prepared to make some garlic water.
Gu Nanjiao made her own chili oil, and Lu's mother made some dipping sauce as instructed.
When Lu Yanzhao returned, Gu Nanjiao and Lu's mother had already made most of the preparations.
What are you guys doing?
"Curled pasta!"
Lu's mother was very excited: "I'm planning to set up a stall to sell them at the Pear Blossom Festival?"
"Sell this?" Lu Yanzhao frowned. He still had no clue what was so interesting about it.
Gu Nanjiao gave him a disdainful look: "What do you know? You'll find out when you make it."
Lu Yanzhao remained silent upon hearing this. He knew that Gu Nanjiao always had ideas for strange and delicious foods. He figured it was best to just keep quiet and wait for the food to arrive.
Gu Nanjiao made two kinds of noodles: cold noodles and rolled noodles. Lu Yanzhao picked one up and ate it. The noodles were chewy and refreshing, fragrant but not spicy. They were so delicious.
Seeing her son eating so heartily, Lu's mother said irritably, "I don't know where you've been. We've finished cooking, so come and eat."
Lu Yanzhao was only focused on eating, and he didn't hear a word his mother said.
Lu Xiaomei put down the garlic in her hand and tugged at her brother: "You don't do any work, but you're enjoying your food." She was a little unhappy. In the past, when she made delicious food, she was always the first to try it. But her brother had taken the lead.
The next day, before dawn, the Lu family got up. They had heard that there were many stalls at the Pear Blossom Festival, and no stall fees were charged, so there were many people who wanted to do business. They had to get up early to reserve a spot.
Lu Yanzhao borrowed an oxcart from the village chief, and the group headed to the county town.
They thought they had arrived early enough, but others had arrived even earlier. After circling around several times, they still couldn't find a suitable spot and had to park in a rather secluded place.
The pear blossom festival was indeed a lively affair, with not only opera performances but also various acrobatic shows.
However, Gu Nanjiao didn't have time to look at it; she was busy today.
Gu Nanjiao and the others set up the shed, stacked the dough sheets, and put out various seasonings.
Many people gathered around out of curiosity.
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