Chapter 67: Greenhouse Vegetables
People in the military have strong tastes, so Song Liyun first cooked acorn tofu with hot sauce, which has become a must-have on the family's dinner table recently.
First, fry the spicy sauce with animal oil. When the oil becomes bright in color, add ginger and garlic to cook out the aroma, then add the chicken bone soup and boil it.
Cut the acorn tofu into pieces and simmer slowly in the soup for a few minutes, then add salt and vinegar to season and thicken, simmer over high heat until the sauce thickens, and finally garnish with chopped green onions.
After eating acorns for so long, Song Liyun has become very proficient in eating them.
Every day, as soon as the braised acorn tofu is served, it is always eaten up the fastest.
The Wu Dynasty's cuisine was mainly based on stewing and roasting. Another dish prepared by Song Liyun was acorn noodles and a large plate of chicken, which even omitted the staple food.
This was also to fulfill Song Dekui's wish. Song Zhenping went to the town to buy the chicken specifically.
Cut a two-pound chicken into small pieces, blanch it with ginger slices to remove the fishy smell, then stir-fry the ingredients to make soup and add the meat and potatoes to simmer.
When the meat soup is thick, the potatoes inside will also absorb the flavor of the chicken.
Finally, place the cooked acorn noodles on the bottom of the plate, and then cover the noodles with the chicken and broth.
When you finally eat it, the chicken is tasty, the potatoes are soft and glutinous, the noodles are chewy, and all kinds of fresh aromas have been mixed together, and the taste in your mouth is so rich and colorful.
The two distinguished guests who visited us were equally colorful.
Song Liyun discovered that Zhou Xiaoqi and Lin Xiaoqi were both taciturn people.
I don't know how he became close friends with Song Dekui, who is so familiar with everyone.
When they arrived at Baolinju, they did not wander around. They just looked at the front yard and then sat quietly, chatting with Song Dekui in a casual manner. They were especially polite to Song Zhenping.
There was no fire in the room, and sweat was pouring down the foreheads of both of them.
In Song Liyun's eyes, the scene looked weird no matter how she looked at it, and she didn't know what she was afraid of.
It was not until dinner time, when Song Liyun took a bite of acorn tofu, that she saw the backs of the two people who had been reserved straighten instantly.
After trying Dapanji again, I picked up my chopsticks as fast as the wind, without any hesitation as before.
Song Dekui was fighting for food with others while complaining, "Xiaoyun, I've been living here for a few days, and you haven't made this dish yet? If I had known it was so delicious, I would have bought two for you to cook."
A few days ago, Song Dekui lived in Baolinju. In order to save money for Song Liyun, he did not allow her to buy chicken or duck, and only ate roasted acorn tofu.
But I didn't expect to miss this delicious food.
After dinner, Zhou Xiaoqi and Lin Xiaoqi told the truth.
They were actually very afraid of Laibao Linju, after all, it was a famous haunted house.
But Song Dekui couldn't help but come into the camp these two days and kept telling them that Song Liyun's acorn tofu was delicious and asked them to try it too.
At the garrison, they had heard that the acorn tofu served at Xue Zhuang's wedding banquet was excellent, and they were tired of the multi-grain cakes and millet porridge in the camp, so they took the risk and came here.
I didn’t expect to eat such delicious roast chicken noodles.
Naturally, he promised to take better care of the Song family in the future.
The same night the migrant workers received their wages, they were transported out of Suijin Town by carts from the garrison.
Song Dekui sat in the front of the carriage carrying a large package, and repeatedly assured Song Liyun that he would not reveal the whereabouts of the three siblings when he returned.
If Song Liyun still had this concern a day ago, she is no longer worried now.
Now he is a creditor of Suijinwei and a military household of the garrison.
With Captain Luo's promise and the right of asylum in exchange for silver, she was no longer afraid of anything.
In fact, Song Liyun thought that it would be more perfect if the positions were reversed.
He took out 1,800 taels of silver from Captain Luo's pocket. For the sake of the silver, the garrison might have to arrange a few guards for Baolinju.
Song Liyun sincerely invited Song Dekui to come to Suijin Town again if he had the chance so that she could entertain him.
Song Dekui agreed repeatedly. He was so excited about the dish of chicken that he would probably never forget it for the rest of his life.
Although Song Liyun had already told him the recipe, he still felt regretful that he couldn't eat the most authentic dish.
It would not be easy for him to come to Suijin Town in the future. According to the law, he needed a travel permit if he left his home more than fifty miles away.
Xiaoshi Village is more than two hundred miles away from here.
As soon as the migrant workers left, Suijin Town suddenly became quiet.
During the day, you can occasionally hear the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs, and people coming and going in a hurry.
At night, the gates of the courtyards are closed everywhere, and no one is seen. There is even no curfew.
All I could hear was the strange whistling sound of the night wind blowing through the broken walls.
Perhaps this is the true face of this small village.
Fortunately, there is a guard post here.
The sound of the bugle calls during morning and evening drills can be heard from afar, adding some liveliness to Suijin Town.
Ten days passed in a flash, and darkness enveloped Suijin Town. It was dead silent, with no moonlight and not a single light to be seen.
The kang in Baolinju was already heated, and it was warm. Xiao An, wearing only a small jacket, sat on the kang and peeled acorns.
Song Zhenping walked into the room with a dusty head, grabbed a cloth and wiped it clean before going to the kang.
He said to Song Liyun, who was rummaging through a pile of clothes, "The fire in the vegetable shed is already well lit, and the wind is howling. I'm afraid it's going to snow tomorrow!"
It is winter now, and there have been strong winds and cold weather for several days, with the temperature plummeting to zero degrees.
Song Liyun smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of the snow. Look, I have a new coat to wear."
Today she asked the seamstress in town to alter three sets of clothes. In this way, the three brothers and sisters each had two sets of coats. In addition, they had firewood and food, so they didn't have to worry about the whole winter.
Hearing that it was going to snow, Xiao An looked up at her sister with pleading eyes.
Song Liyun touched his head and said, "Don't worry, I know. I'll tell you in a moment."
"What did you say?" Song Zhenping wiped off the mud on his body, sat next to Xiao An and started peeling acorns.
Now, my family is never idle. As long as their hands are free, they must peel acorns.
Song Liyun smiled and said, "Brother, have you made sure the straw curtains in the vegetable shed are secure? Don't let the wind blow them away overnight."
"It's all done this time, Yun'er, do you think this can succeed? Can we eat vegetables in winter?" Song Zhenping still didn't believe it.
When cleaning up the dust some time ago, Song Liyun discovered that there was a floor stove for heating under the main house in the backyard of the Ji family, and it was connected to two fire walls.
With just a little repair, it could provide heating for an area of 100 square meters, which made her very happy.
Anyway, I have so many acorn shells and leaves and branches at home that I can’t burn them all. I was just worrying about what to do with them. Now I have a chance to use it.
Song Liyun filled the stove with acorn shells.
After trying to generate heat a few times, they immediately piled up soil on the land of several houses.
By using a fire wall and building a straw shed to block the wind, you can easily create a greenhouse in the backyard where you can grow vegetables in the soil.
Song Zhenping had experience in farming, and he understood as soon as Song Liyun explained it.
Anyway, the ten acres of land by the river cannot be cultivated now, and he is bored, so it is just right for him to have some land at home to tend to.
Without Song Liyun's further instructions, Song Zhenping went to the town to find Boss Mu to exchange some vegetable seeds. Now he seals the fire door every day, controls the temperature, and waits for the seeds to germinate.
Xiao An became more and more anxious when he heard his brothers and sisters talking about farming without mentioning his affairs. He pulled Song Liyun's sleeve and started shaking it.
Song Zhenping was stunned. What did Xiao An mean?
In the past, Xiao An never asked for anything on his own initiative.
Song Liyun knew that Xiao An was feeling sorry for Hei Jin.
(End of this chapter)
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