Those who came to exchange duck eggs arrived early. When Zhu Cuilan arrived, just one person passed by Old Lady Ju's door. They were all acquaintances. After Zhu Cuilan greeted them, they entered Old Lady Ju's house.
Old Lady Ju has a kind face and always looks cheerful to everyone. People of her age in the village say that she has a good temper and never gets angry with anyone.
There was always a handful of candy wrapped in rice paper in her pocket, and she would take it out and give it to any children she met on the road.
"It's Cuilan, come quickly."
Old Mrs. Ju came out of the house tremblingly to greet Zhu Cuilan, and led her into the house with a smile.
The jar containing duck eggs was too heavy, even Zhu Cuilan couldn't move it, so she could only go into the house to pick them out.
Jars were piled in a corner, each as tall as a person's calf. Old Lady Ju pointed to a few of them and said to Zhu Cuilan, "These are the ones I pickled myself. The others were left here by others and haven't been picked up yet. You can pick from here."
"Why."
Zhu Cuilan squatted down and untied the oilcloth sealing the jar. As soon as she opened it, she was first greeted by a strong aroma of wine, followed by the smell of yellow mud wrapped in the eggshell.
Grandma Ju's duck eggs are all big, and after washing they have green shells and thin skins. Zhu Cuilan put the eggs she brought into Grandma Ju's basket, and then picked out a dozen duck eggs and put them in the basket.
There were not enough eggs, and Zhu Cuilan added another ten cents.
Old Lady Ju walked slowly to the kitchen and came out with two goose eggs in her arms. She walked over to Zhu Cuilan and said softly, "Cuilan, these are freshly laid by the goose this morning. Have some, have some."
In the old lady's duck pen, there were two big white geese, stretching their necks and screaming towards the sky. The big white geese were so fierce that they scared the ducks and made them shrink to the other side.
Zhu Cuilan took it and said with a smile, "This goose egg is really big."
As she spoke, she took out ten cents from her cloth bag and put them on the table as money to buy goose eggs.
Two goose eggs cost less than ten cents, but Zhu Cuilan was too lazy to worry about the extra one or two cents, so she just rounded it up.
Old Lady Ju was so anxious that she kept waving her hands: "I don't want your money."
"I know, I know," Zhu Cuilan tied the purse and put it back in her arms: "You are old, I can't take your things for free."
Old Mrs. Ju wanted to refuse, but Zhu Cuilan forcefully stuffed the money into her arms.
They had to go to town later, so Zhu Cuilan hurried back to wake up those who were still sleeping at home. Without wasting any more time, she put the goose eggs in a basket and went out.
After reaching the back of the house, Zhu Cuilan suddenly remembered that she had something else to say, so she turned back and said, "Grandma Ju, your legs and feet are not good, so don't go looking for reed leaves. I will pack them up and bring them to you in the evening."
Old Mrs. Ju smiled and nodded, then walked Zhu Cuilan to the back of the house.
As the sun came out, the fog dissipated for the most part. When Zhu Cuilan passed by Aunt Zhang's house, the kids in her yard were making a fuss, wondering who had stolen whose things.
Smoke from every household rose high. When Zhu Cuilan hurried back, she saw thick smoke coming out from the eaves of the kitchen.
Zhu Cuilan walked into the kitchen and saw Yang Donghu standing in front of the pot, frying vegetables with a spatula.
Zhao Fangchu added more fuel to the fire and turned to look at Zhu Cuilan: "Mom, where have you been?"
Zhu Cuilan went into the kitchen and put the basket on the chopping board: "I'm going to exchange it for salted duck eggs."
She looked into the pot and asked, "What are you cooking?"
"Braised eggplant in sauce, and fried pumpkin tips. There's rice soup and salty pancakes boiling in a big pot."
They are all fresh seasonal vegetables from the fields. They are very delicious just by adding salt and stir-frying them. The eggplants braised in sauce are bright red in color, soft and tasty, and the smell makes people's appetite grow.
Zhu Cuilan smiled and tilted the basket halfway, showing the contents to the two of them. "I just happened to bring back two goose eggs. I'll wash them and boil them in the pot. You can each take one."
There was still some feces on the fresh goose eggs. Zhu Cuilan used wheat straw to wipe off the dirt and then took water to clean the skin.
There are three people in the family, so we can't just cook two for them. Yang Donghu took the duck eggs and said, "How about steaming some egg custard and we can eat it together."
Zhu Cuilan scooped water into the basin and nodded: "Okay."
Before they finished their meal, Aunt Zhang brought Tianniu to find Zhu Cuilan, urging her to eat quickly.
There were a lot of people coming and going in the town, and Aunt Zhang originally didn't want to bring a little burden with her, fearing that she would be squeezed by others. But Tianniu was the most clingy and kept holding her grandmother's hand and refused to let go. Aunt Zhang felt soft-hearted towards her granddaughter and had no choice but to bring her along.
Tianniu had already eaten at home, but when she saw the bowl of golden and fragrant egg custard on the table, she couldn't help swallowing her saliva. Yang Donghu scooped up a piece with a spoon and fed it to Tianniu.
The sweet girl was lovable and she even knew to say thank you to her brother before eating, and she successfully got a few more bites.
The sun was high in the sky, and if they didn't go to the town market soon, it would be over soon. Aunt Zhang carried Tianniu on the cart, and she and Zhu Cuilan pushed the cart to the town, one on each side.
The Zhao family's cart was pulled to the mountain by Zhao Luochuan and Zhao Fangyu, and this time it was Aunt Zhang's cart that was pushed to the town.
Yang Donghu cleaned up the kitchen, then carried his backpack and went to the river with Zhao Fangchu.
Walking up the mountain along the river behind the house, the reeds at the foot of the mountain are the most dense and have the largest leaves.
However, this place is not hidden, and everyone in the village has almost picked all the fruits. Yang Donghu walked around and only found two handfuls with broad leaves.
This amount is definitely not enough to make rice dumplings. If there are reeds in one place, a large area will be formed around it. Yang Donghu and Zhao Fangchu thought about it briefly, then went up the mountain to look for them slowly.
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