Chapter 84 Exclusive (84) 1st update. …
Tam's home was a little further towards the edge of the desert. The little girl in thick-soled cloth shoes was leading the way at full speed. Shen Qingyue, who was leading Doudou, had a much harder time than her.
"Are you tired?" Tam took the lead for a while, and then quickly ran back with his pigtailed hair swinging, observing that they were a little out of breath.
[Soul-searching question: Are you tired? Why don’t I feel the same? (curious)]
[My boy, you are a local with a healthy body——]
[This little girl is pretty and strong. Not only is she grateful, she is also very caring.]
[Qingqing and Doudou: The Invisible Room is despised (not) anymore]
"This is our first time in the desert. We're not used to walking on sand, so we're a little slow." Shen Qingyue had taken off his sunglasses and was only wearing a hat, but there was still a lot of sweat on his temples and nose.
Doudou was in a similar situation. The cub's short legs ran very fast, but he still couldn't keep up with his big sister. He was panting from exhaustion and his legs were so sore.
"Oh, the sand is soft, it takes a lot of effort to walk." Tam blinked his big eyes, put his hands on his knees and bent over to look at Doudou: "Little brother, are you tired?"
"A little tired!" Doudou's nose was covered with sweat, and his fair and tender face was slightly pink from the heat. The little boy waved his hands and said caringly, "No sweat!"
Tam put the kitten into the bag, revealing two kitten heads, and then reached out to hug Doudou's waist: "Let me hold you!"
"No, no, you are also a child, how can I let you hug me?" Shen Qingyue stretched out his hand to stop him.
Doudou also shook his head and said seriously, "I don't want you to hug me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cub's feet were off the ground and he was picked up by Tam.
"Hiss..." The cameraman let out a shocked breath, then immediately turned the camera around and gave a close-up of the two cubs.
"Brother, can you hold the kitten for me?" Tam turned around and asked Shen Qingyue. There was no sign of effort or strain on his face. Instead, he looked quite relaxed.
Shen Qingyue came back to his senses, nodded, and carefully picked up the bag containing the kitten.
He was still a little worried, so he walked over and asked, "Is it really okay? We can go by ourselves."
"Yeah!" Tam nodded to show that he understood, as if to reassure Shen Qingyue, and said, "I hug lambs and piglets every day at home. Some piglets are heavier than him!"
There was a hint of pride in the little girl's words, and her voice was crisp and soon disappeared into the scorching sand nearby.
[hhh As expected, children always say things that are unexpected]
【Dou Dou: ??? Do you treat me like a little pig?】
[I was wondering why this little girl's posture of holding the bag is so skillful and familiar, hahahaha]
"Then tell me in time if you are tired." Shen Qingyue was a little amused and could only follow Tam holding the kitten.
"Well, we are almost there." Tam raised his chin and pointed to the mud houses in front of him: "That's my home."
"Wow!" Doudou was held by his sister, and his legs were slightly strained, but it was completely negligible. The cub clapped his hands in support, "Four beautiful yellow houses!"
Tam pursed his lips and smiled, his thick eyelashes drooped, and shadows fell on his cheeks like two small fans.
The houses here are almost the same as the ones I saw this morning when I was searching for local customs and culture. They are all bungalows built with loess and bricks, with only some changes in the layout.
Pushing open the small wooden door at the entrance, you will see a spacious courtyard, which is square and surrounded by a half-person-high wall.
Shen Qingyue put down the two little cats that were meowing excitedly as soon as they came in, and Tam also put Doudou on the ground.
"There are lambs!" Doudou's round eyes kept observing the beautiful but somewhat simple house: "And there are pigs!"
[Doudou just heard about the lamb and the pig, so is he particularly sensitive to these two animals? Hahaha]
[This kind of desert home can actually raise animals]
[The peppers and dried corn hanging on the mud wall really made me dream back to my hometown in the countryside overnight]
“Do you want to hug him?” Tam took two steps forward as if he wanted to catch the pig, but after a moment’s hesitation he gave up: “Forget it, you are not familiar with him, I am afraid he will kick you.”
Doudou was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly waved his hands away, his little face full of fear: "Don't let him kick me!"
"Hahaha." Shen Qingyue also laughed unkindly.
"My parents are both selling things at the market and they don't come back until the evening."
Tam took them inside and sat them down at the table in the back room.
The room has a flavor of the early Northwest countryside, with a brick floor and a half-covered blue floral curtain hanging above the low wooden door.
She placed the food Shen Qingyue had given her in the desert on the counter, picked up a vegetable basket from the ground beside her, and said happily: "I'll go cook!"
"I'll help you." Shen Qingyue stood up.
"I, I'll help you too!" How could Doudou be missing at a time like this? The cub had been carried halfway by his sister, and now he was very energetic. He puffed out his chest and expressed his willingness to help diligently.
Tam nodded: "Okay then!"
The kitchen was a simple little mud house located in an open space in the corner of the yard, with a shed and a tarpaulin on top.
The stove inside is very low, and is a primitive large iron pot that needs to be heated.
Tam handed the basket in his hand to Shen Qingyue: "Can you wash the vegetables?"
"OK."
Shen Qingyue took it and found that the basket contained several smooth cacti with their thorns removed, a handful of thin green onions, and some condiments such as onions and chili peppers.
Wash the vegetables thoroughly with water from the kitchen vat and place them neatly aside.
Doudou squatted in front of the stove and blew big puffs of air into the hair dryer as his sister taught him. The "whoosh" sound echoed in the kitchen.
The rice was cooking and the fire was lit. Tam picked up a handful of green onions and thought of Shen Qingyue's mission. He turned to him and said, "This is called sand onion."
"Sandwich? Is it unique to this place?" Shen Qingyue squatted down and observed carefully.
This sand chive is thin and long, emerald green all over, and looks no different from a leek, except that it is narrower and rounder. The tail is more like a leek, and the green becomes more tender and lighter as it goes down.
“Yeah, but it tastes different from green onions.” Tam put it aside and beat eggs into a bowl. “I dug this myself. It tastes better than the ones my parents sell. The same goes for cactus.”
When the little girl said this, there was an unconcealable sense of pride in her tone.
[This really doesn’t seem like the neat way a seven-year-old girl would do her job… When I was seven, I would sometimes act like a spoiled brat and ask my mom to feed me ()]
[Your parents are usually not around, and you will learn everything after living alone for a long time]
[I know about scallions! This scrambled egg is so delicious! But I didn’t know that cactus can be eaten? 】
[I haven’t eaten it… I just know that some cacti grow fruit, which can be eaten]
[I feel like with the help of the little girl, Qingqing's team will win easily.]
[Not necessarily. I just watched the live broadcasts of other groups and they were basically at the market. Gu Xianzhi took Xiao Xun to the hotel to learn from them! ! ]
As we were talking, a plate of green and shiny scallion scrambled eggs came out of the pot. Just as Tam said, it did not have the pungent smell of scallions, but instead smelled like a light chive.
"This is a cactus." Tam wiped his sweat off his forehead, picked up a piece of cactus that was as big as three palms, and showed it to Shen Qingyue: "I'll use it to stir-fry mutton for you to eat."
Peel the cactus and cut it into rectangular strips one-third the size of a finger. Wash off the mucus on the surface with water and then blanch it in a pot.
Wait until the green color becomes darker, then drain the water, put the prepared mutton and spices such as chili and minced garlic into the pot, and finally add the cactus pieces when it is almost cooked.
A delicious dish of fried lamb with cactus is ready.
"It smells so good." Shen Qingyue scooped it out for her and put it aside.
Doudou sniffed the air like a puppy, sniffing the scent of meat: "That's great!"
Tam wiped his hands on the cloth beside him, picked up a piece of meat and fed it to Doudou, with a somewhat shy expression: "Are these two dishes enough for you to complete the task?"
She remembered that Brother Shen had said that only one dish would be enough, but to be on the safe side, she still made one more.
"That's enough." Shen Qingyue picked up the plate and said, "Do you want to put it in the house?"
Tam agreed: "Then when you go back in the afternoon, I will make some more for you to take with you."
Doudou's little mouth was stuffed with meat, bulging. The cub chewed with his eyes squinted, and didn't hear what Xiaosusu and his sister were saying.
"I won't bother you this afternoon. I'll buy some ingredients from you and make them at home. Can you sell me some of these cacti and sand chives?" Shen Qingyue asked.
Tam's big eyes turned around, as if he was thinking about something, and then nodded: "Okay."
It was already past noon when we finished lunch. It was the hottest time of the day. There was no air conditioning in the house. Tam spread a mat on the ground and took Doudou and a few cats to play for a while.
In just a short while, the cub became very familiar with his sister, calling her "sister" sweetly and never stopped.
[Doudou also made good friends in the desert]
[Except for the slightly harsh environment, I still feel quite happy hhh]
[Other families have gone home, but Qingqing hasn't woken up yet]
Shen Qingyue woke up at around two in the afternoon. The weather was very hot, but fortunately the temperature inside the house was bearable. However, he was sweating after sleeping for too long, which made him sleep uneasily, so he simply got up.
Doudou and Tam were lying on the cool mat with their bellies facing up and their chubby limbs spread out, as if they were trying to dissipate the heat in this position and were sleeping soundly.
Just then his cell phone rang. He opened it and saw that it was Gu Xianzhi who had sent him an emoticon of a hamster saying "Good afternoon".
Scrolling further, I found that he had sent me a message as early as the morning, but at that time he was trying to learn how to cook with Tam and was not looking at his phone.
Gu Xianzhi: "Xiaoxun and I just arrived at the Hawa Market here. Will you come?"
"I didn't know what to buy, so I came to the hotel to take a look."
"[Picture]"
The picture shows a wooden dining table with the restaurant’s name on it, which looks quite old.
“A few special dishes were recommended and they looked good.”
"[Picture]"
"We met other guests at the snack stand."
"It's hot, are you okay?"
"I'm getting ready to go back. I heard from the cameraman that you guys were visiting a local girl's home."
"Good afternoon, little hamster.jpg"