Chapter 212 Tasting
Mrs. Zhou smiled and glanced at Gu Xixi, saying, "The village chief is right. I have found a treasure."
"But please allow me to keep it a secret for a while, Village Chief. If it works, I will ask Old Zhou to send you and Aunt Qian home tomorrow."
Old Qian took a look at the basket that Zhou Dasao was carrying. Although he was very curious about what was in it, he couldn't shamelessly keep asking since the young daughter-in-law and the girl had private things to say.
So he smiled and said, "Then I'll go first, you two can talk."
The clouds in the sky had turned lead black, and Gu Xixi and Zhou Dasao quickened their pace.
As soon as the two of them stepped into the gate of the yard, raindrops as big as beans began to fall.
Gu Xixi shouted "Run", ran to the eaves, looked back, and the ground was already wet.
The rain was pouring down heavily and quickly, and a white misty curtain appeared in sight. Locals call this kind of rain "white rain", which can only be seen in summer.
Mrs. Zhou checked the basket in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, we ran fast, otherwise the basket would be soaked in an instant, and we wouldn't be able to eat the pickled vegetables."
Gu Xixi withdrew her gaze from the heavy rain and asked, "Pickled vegetables?"
Judging from the time, the Zhou family’s pickled vegetables should be ready.
A corner of the door curtain of the main room was lifted, revealing Qing'er's cute little face.
"Aunt Xixi, it's raining heavily and it's hot, humid and stuffy. Why don't you welcome the guests into the house to talk?"
Gu Xixi laughed, "You clever fellow, was it He Jinglan who told you to say this?"
"I think she has good hearing. When she heard there were pickles to eat, she was worried that I wouldn't take her with me, so she got anxious."
Qing'er's eyes widened in surprise, "How did Aunt Xixi know that?"
He Jinglan's laughter came from the room, "I knew this girl would be sold to me in a blink of an eye."
Gu Xixi raised the curtain and invited Mrs. Zhou to come in first, then she followed into the room and said, "You can't blame Qing'er for this. How could the words you taught her sound like something Qing'er would say?"
Except for the old doctor and An Qinghe, everyone else is here.
It was the first time for Mrs. Zhou to enter Gu Xixi's house. She didn't know Mrs. Meng and had never spoken to He Jinglan. She felt restrained all over.
Aunt Zhang enthusiastically pulled her to sit on the kang, and introduced them to the opposite side, "This is Madam Meng, and this is her daughter, Qing'er. Usually, Xixi goes to the county town to do business, and she is often taken care of by Madam Meng."
Mrs. Meng smiled and greeted Mrs. Zhou, saying, "You are too polite, it is Xixi who has taken good care of us mother and daughter."
Mrs. Zhou looked at the lovely little girl and finally found something to say.
"What a beautiful girl doll. It makes people happy just by looking at her."
Qing'er looked at Mrs. Zhou curiously, but kept glancing at the basket in her arms.
Mrs. Zhou was much more relaxed and asked with a smile, "Auntie has made some pickled vegetables. Can you help her try the taste?"
Qing'er turned her head to look at the stone.
Shitou encouraged her, "You can eat whatever you want here, you don't have to look at others."
Qing Er then nodded to Mrs. Zhou and said, "Thank you, Auntie."
The little girl looked well-behaved and had a soft voice. Mrs. Zhou's heart melted and she said, "You're welcome."
"You helped Auntie taste the food, so Auntie should thank you."
There are four small jars in the basket, all made of coarse pottery, the size of a palm, usually used to store things like oil and salt.
Mrs. Zhou put the jars on the table one by one and said, "This is my first time making this. Please help me taste it and see if there is anything wrong."
Aunt Zhang asked curiously, "Making pickles at this time of year?"
Mrs. Zhou looked at Gu Xixi with a smile and nodded. "Yes."
Locals usually make pickles around the beginning of winter, using cabbage or mustard greens that have grown old in autumn.
Put it in a large vat in the yard as one of the winter storage vegetables and eat it until late spring of next year.
This was the first time Aunt Zhang heard of someone making pickled vegetables in the middle of summer.
This definitely won’t last long. Aren’t you afraid it will go bad if you can’t finish it?
Taking advantage of this gap, Gu Xixi whispered to He Jinglan, "Where is An Qinghe?"
The whole family agreed not to leave the village for the time being.
During the day, the old doctor either visits villagers' homes for medical treatment or fiddles with his medicine in the backyard. It is normal for him not to be here.
But where can Anqinghe go now?
He Jinglan teased, "Why did you ask him first when you came back? They say good girls are afraid of clinging men, can't it be..."
"Go!" Gu Xixi pinched He Jinglan from behind, "I think you are just idle."
He Jinglan then returned to his composure, "He was taken to the backyard by the old doctor to help prepare the medicinal materials."
"Don't worry, I have someone keeping a close eye on him and will never let him run around alone."
Everyone in the northwest knows that the Hu people come here to do business and that Hu merchants are rich.
An Qinghe's appearance is obviously that of a foreigner.
He was alone here, and was definitely a prime target for criminals.
Now the road to Yunling County is temporarily closed. Since An Qinghe is stranded here temporarily, Gu Xixi must ensure his safety.
As soon as the pickled vegetable jars were placed on the table, the aroma wafted into everyone’s nose.
The sour, garlicky and spicy aroma mixed with the unique fragrance of vegetables makes people swallow their saliva.
Mrs. Zhou introduced them one by one, "This jar is freshly pickled sour beans, raw."
"But Xixi wrote that it tastes better when fried."
"I tried making two kinds. This one has sansho pepper and chopped garlic, and this one has minced ginger and boiled young beans in salt water."
"This jar is pickled coriander, which can be eaten directly."
Shitou had already brought the chopsticks, and everyone gathered around the table on the kang to taste the food.
"Hmm!" Aunt Zhang nodded continuously. "It's delicious. I just knew that beans and coriander can also be pickled?"
Madam Meng savored the taste carefully for a moment and praised, "The pickled beans are sour, fragrant and crispy, and after being fried, they have more layers and an oily aroma. It is an excellent side dish, good with rice or porridge."
He Jinglan had already picked up a few pieces of food with chopsticks and gave Mrs. Zhou a thumbs up.
Everyone gave rave reviews, and Mrs. Zhou was very happy, but she lacked confidence, fearing that everyone was just saying things to save her reputation.
She just stared at Qing'er, Shitou and Gu Xixi, waiting for their reactions.
Qing'er tasted them all, smacked her lips, and raised her head, "Auntie, it's delicious!"
Mrs. Zhou asked nervously, "Which one is better?"
Qing Er answered without hesitation, "They are all delicious."
Shitou raised his chopsticks and said, "Except for the coriander, I think they are all delicious."
Gu Xixi helped to add, "It's not that my sister-in-law's cooking is not delicious, it's that this child just can't eat coriander."
"Yes, yes, yes." Shi Tou grinned and nodded.
Gu Xixi received Mrs. Zhou's expectant gaze and continued, "I like coriander the most. Coriander itself is crisp, mixed with the spicy garlic flavor, and the acidity is just right. It is very appetizing and relieves the heat when eaten cold."
"Of course, sour beans are good too. The ones you made taste better than I expected."
Mrs. Zhou felt relieved when she received Gu Xixi's affirmation.
When she was picking up pickled vegetables at home, she of course tasted them first. Although she found them unexpectedly delicious, she didn't dare to believe that this thing could be sold on the market before getting Gu Xixi's personal approval.
When Mrs. Meng heard that Mrs. Zhou was going to sell pickled vegetables, she also became interested.
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