Chapter 162 Southern Women Are More Than Just Gentle
The roof of the east room of Aunt Lin's house faces the northwest border and is the highest and farthest place in the village.
Every night after she put the children to bed, she would climb the ladder to the roof and look over there.
This is a habit that Aunt Lin developed after she sent her husband off to war, and it has been maintained over the years.
As long as she sees darkness and silence over there, proving that the border is safe, she can go there and have a good night's sleep.
Tonight, there are three people on the roof.
When He Jinglan came, she specifically brought two of her own winter cloaks. She wore one and lent one to Gu Xixi.
This way you don't have to worry about catching a cold even if you sleep outside.
Aunt Lin also put on a thick coat and moved three small stools up.
So the three of them sat in a row on the roof, facing northwest.
Half an hour passed, an hour passed...
He Jinglan could no longer sit still, so she moved her stool and leaned against Gu Xixi, continuing to stare and persist.
Gu Xixi turned her head to look at He Jinglan and couldn't help yawning.
Aunt Lin felt very sorry. "It's been almost two hours and we haven't seen anything. You should go back to sleep first. I'll wait here until dawn."
"How can this be possible!" He Jinglan objected immediately, "We agreed to keep watch together, how can we go back to sleep and let Aunt Lin continue alone?"
Gu Xixi nodded, but her eyes did not move away from the front at all.
Aunt Lin said, "It's okay. The roosters will crow in two hours at most."
He Jinglan turned her head and continued to stare forward, "Let's wait together for the cock to crow and for the day to dawn!"
Aunt Lin smiled helplessly but touchedly, "Okay then, you two stay here and keep an eye on us. I'll go down and get us some hot food."
After a while, He Jinglan twitched her nose, "What a nice smell, so sweet."
Gu Xixi sniffed in the direction of the wind and said with certainty, "It's roasted sweet potatoes, and maybe fried rice."
Aunt Lin acted quickly. After she smelled the fragrance on the roof, she brought up a bowl of hot sugar water and a roasted sweet potato to each person in a short while.
Aunt Lin first gave the two of them a small bowl and said, "The sweet potatoes have just been dug out of the ashes, they are too hot. Drink the sugar water first to warm your body and moisten your mouth."
Gu Xixi looked in the light of the oil lamp at her feet. In the light amber syrup in the bowl, plump, swollen white rice grains were either sinking or floating, and the aroma of roasted grains mixed with sweetness wafted over her face.
Aunt Lin said, "This is fried rice soup, a common snack in my hometown."
He Jinglan had already taken a big sip and nodded repeatedly in surprise, "Mm, it's sweet and warm. Some of the rice grains are crispy, and some may have absorbed the sugar water. They are soft and melt in the mouth. The taste is unique."
"Is this fried rice? Actually, we can just make some hot water to drink. Why are you frying rice for us so late at night?"
Aunt Lin laughed and said, "How can I move so quickly? The rice was already fried."
"Fry a little more at a time, put it in a moisture-proof jar, press the lid tightly, and scoop it into a bowl when you want to eat it, then rinse it with boiled rock sugar water."
He Jinglan smiled and said, "So it's so simple, then maybe I can learn it too."
Aunt Lin said, "Sure, come find me if you want to learn."
Gu Xixi asked, "Is Aunt Lin from the south?"
Aunt Lin smiled and said, "Yes, but I haven't told Boss Gu yet. How did you know?"
Gu Xixi said, "Rice is widely grown in the south, and there are two or three harvests a year."
"Unlike the northwest, most of the rice on the market is shipped from the south. I don't know how much the price will be increased."
“Only people from rice-producing areas can afford to make such a delicate sweet as fried rice syrup.”
Aunt Lin chuckled, "I see."
"But it's still Boss Gu who is well-informed and understands these things."
He Jinglan agreed and said, "In the northwest, people do eat millet and wheat as their main food."
"Just looking at the skillful way Auntie Lin makes noodles, it's hard to imagine she's from the south."
Gu Xixi said, "Coming from the south to the northwest requires not only courage, but also adapting to the climate and diet here. It must have been very difficult at first."
Aunt Lin looked towards the border, her smile carrying a hint of melancholy, but her eyes were sparkling.
"Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night and heard people selling wontons and fried rice soup on the street."
"A bowl of fried rice candy and boiled water only costs one cent. Whenever I hear it late at night, I can't help but buy a bowl to drink."
"After coming to the Northwest, I woke up several times in the middle of the night, still waiting for the hawking sound out of habit."
"I kept waiting, and when I heard the whistling wind outside the house, I realized that I had moved to another place."
He Jinglan's mind moved slightly, and she asked, "Do you regret it?"
"Regret?" Aunt Lin said slyly, "Is there any married woman who hasn't regretted it a few times?"
Gu Xixi and He Jinglan both laughed.
Aunt Lin went on to say, "Don't be afraid of regrets, as long as you can find benefits that are greater than those regrets, looking back on the past days will always be sweet."
He Jinglan seemed to be thinking about something.
Gu Xixi slowly put down the empty bowl and said, "Look, the fire is coming."
He Jinglan and Aunt Lin also saw it, and they all stared at that direction and nodded slowly.
This time, with three pairs of eyes watching, there would be no mistake.
A cluster of fire broke through the darkness and shot straight into the border.
No one spoke for a moment.
Because there will be one cluster, two clusters, three clusters...
Three pairs of eyes gradually widened.
Aunt Lin said in a trembling voice, "Now I am sure that it was the Beili people who launched the rocket!"
"No, we have to tell the sentry in the village immediately."
Ancient rockets were made of flammable materials such as hay and cotton, which were soaked in kerosene and then rolled up and tied to the tip of a feather arrow.
After being ignited, a large strong bow is used to shoot at a long distance to ignite the target. It is often used on the battlefield.
"Wait, why did it stop?" He Jinglan squinted her eyes and said, "It only shot seven or eight times before it stopped. Is it like this during a war? I saw that we were throwing those fireball rocks that night, and we were throwing them almost all night long."
Aunt Lin also became uncertain, "It certainly doesn't look like a war has begun."
Gu Xixi had already stood up and walked to the edge of the roof and looked around.
Her brows suddenly furrowed. "Look where I'm pointing. It's towards the south."
"Is there a faint glow of fire in that slightly higher ground?"
He Jinglan quickly followed and looked over. "It seems to be a little bit. It should have been ignited by the rocket."
Aunt Lin was familiar with the terrain. She exclaimed at a glance, "Boss Gu, that, that place is..."
Gu Xixi looked unhappy and continued, "It's our Pinellia fruit forest."
Aunt Lin had seen many storms and had quickly calmed down.
"No, we have to put out the fire!"
Gu Xixi didn't expect Aunt Lin to have such a big idea. She was stunned and said, "It's too dangerous."
Aunt Lin said resolutely, "The Pinellia grove is our hard-earned livelihood, and it is originally on our own land. Why should we watch them burn it down?"
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