The sheep sold to the restaurant this time were quite heavy. Zhao Luochuan specifically asked the shopkeeper to ask for a sheep's hind leg. The hind leg was fat, and Zhao Luochuan weighed it with his hand and estimated that it weighed about five or six pounds.
Beef and mutton are very filling, and in addition to mutton, Zhu Cuilan and Zhao Fangchu also washed the snails they caught from the river and put them into the pot.
Yang Donghu also wanted to lend a hand, but Zhu Cuilan was reluctant, saying that the water was cold at night and it would be bad for him to catch a cold after drinking ginger tea and then touching cold water. So she asked him to sit aside and rest.
The smell of barbecue can be smelled by someone sitting on the side and watching, turning it over from time to time. Zhao He felt that Zhao Luochuan was young and inexperienced, so he took over the job of watching the fire and sent him to wash the snails with Zhu Cuilan.
Snails are delicious but a bit troublesome to prepare. Many shells are covered with moss and need to be carefully washed clean, which is very time-consuming.
Yang Donghu felt relaxed with his hands idle and couldn't sit still. Zhao Luochuan gave him a pair of small scissors and asked him to cut off the tips of the snails' butts. This way, the snails would not only taste better but also be easier to eat. You could just suck them out with your mouth, and you wouldn't have to look for silver needles everywhere to pick them out before eating.
Zhu Cuilan planted the vegetables in her garden earlier than Yang Donghu's, and the earliest batch of vegetables had already come out. Zhu Cuilan picked some fresh vegetables from the garden and stir-fried and stewed them with pork.
Their family definitely couldn't finish so many dishes, so Zhao He asked Zhao Fangyu to call Yang Anjin's family over for a drink. Since the last time the two families met in the town, they had never eaten at the same table again.
Zhao He had always wanted to drink and play finger-guessing games with Yang Chaoren, but he never had the time. Now that his family had finally gathered together, this opportunity was a rare one.
Zhao Fangyu was so happy that he didn't even need Zhao He to urge him a second time. He just raised his legs and ran as fast as he could.
However, he arrived late and it was already past dinner time. Before Zhao Fangyu arrived, Zhang Lanzhen's family had already left the table and washed the pots.
Yang Anjin's eyes hurt from the embroidery on his clothes and handkerchief. Today was Yang Anchen's ten-day holiday. Seeing that Yang Anjin was feeling bored in the house all day, after dinner he found someone to entertain him in the yard and also to wake up his tired and sore eyelids.
Everyone else had something to do, but they didn't, so Yang Anchen coaxed Yang Anjin to play the brain-intensive leaf game.
He read a lot and had a sharp mind, and his predictions based on the cards were always accurate. The two of them bet on the town's ginger honey water, and after a few rounds, Yang Anjin had already lost several bowls.
Originally, he was just trying to have fun to keep people company, but he didn't expect that he would make the other person angry. Yang Anjin lost more than he won, so he started to cheat. Yang Anchen refused to give in and kept asking him to accept the loss.
When Zhao Fangyu entered the room, the two brothers were arguing. Zhang Lanzhen was annoyed by the disturbance and came over to judge the case for them. The quarrel stopped for a while after each of them had a word.
Zhao Fangyu's voice scared everyone in the room. After he explained the reason, Zhang Lanzhen pointed to the stove in the kitchen with a watermark on it and said that they had already finished their meal.
Their family originally did not want to cause more trouble for the Zhao family, and said that they had already eaten and did not want to go. Coincidentally, Yang Chaoren was at home today. When he heard that Zhao He was waiting to drink with him, he picked up a jar of rice wine and went out with Zhao Fangyu without saying a word.
The head of the household had given the order to leave, and Zhang Lanzhen did not refuse any more. She thought it would be nice to talk to Zhu Cuilan somewhere, so she closed the courtyard door and the family walked towards the Zhao family as the sun set.
Yang Anchen and Zhao Fangyu had a drink together once, and their relationship became much closer. There was no barrier between them when they talked, and he could even devote his attention to answering Yang Chaoren's questions from time to time.
Yang Anjin and Zhang Lanzhen did not interrupt and walked ahead on their own. He had always been quiet in front of Zhao Fangyu, but just now he was throwing a tantrum and refusing to fulfill the bet. He didn't know how many times his lover had seen him. Now he just felt ashamed. He refused to look up and look at Zhao Fangyu since he entered the door.
Here, Zhao He was still looking forward to the arrival of his father-in-law. He had to throw out the dirt left over from cleaning up the snails in the yard as soon as possible. This stuff had a fishy smell, and if it was left overnight, it would attract flies tomorrow.
Zhao Luochuan took a dustpan and swept the yard clean. In the kitchen, Zhu Cuilan poured the washed eggplants into the pot, covered it with a lid, and asked Yang Donghu, who was burning the fire in front of the stove, to make the fire burn brighter.
The lamb leg was roasted with wood instead of charcoal, and pine needles were added to cover the fire.
Pine needles are all fresh leaves. They produce moisture when burned and emit thick white smoke when placed on the fire. You can't roast things quickly. If the fire is too big, the outer layer will easily burn. You have to simmer slowly over a low fire to cook the inside thoroughly.
Slow work produces fine work. It was not until the last ray of light in the sky disappeared that the Yang family members finally arrived. Once the greetings in the yard faded, the atmosphere suddenly became lively.
Zhu Cuilan heard the noise and came out from the stove to greet the guests. She took Zhang Lanzhen's hand affectionately and started calling her "sister-in-law".
It was the first time for both of them to respond to their in-laws, and their attitudes were very cordial. Not to mention that the Zhao family sent gifts to the Yang family every few days, Zhang Lanzhen was already extremely satisfied with Zhao Fangyu alone.
Yang Anjin called her aunt and listened to Zhu Cuilan's praise with a shy face. Then she asked where Yang Donghu was and turned to look for him in the kitchen.
As soon as Yang Chaoren entered the room, he began to tell Zhao He how hard it was to get his rice wine. Zhao He, not to be outdone, took out his own treasured wine. The two of them sniffed carefully at the wine jars to see which one was older and had a more mellow taste.
Zhao Luochuan had met Yang Anchen once during the Chinese New Year. At that time, the two families had no relationship. Now things are different. He is already Zhao Fangyu's brother-in-law, and Zhao Luochuan still knows how to entertain guests.
The kitchen was full of young men, so Zhao Luochuan didn't feel comfortable going in to look for her husband. Zhao He stopped working after hearing the wine, and there was no one watching the meat on the fire, so the three young men took over the job on their own initiative.
"Dong Lake, Fangchu."
Zhao Fangchu was a crowd pleaser. He had been surrounding Yang Donghu to help him light the fire, but when he saw Yang Anjin coming over, he pulled the three of them together to talk in private.
"Come and sit down."
Yang Anjin didn't come to ask about Zhao Fangchu's matter before, but now seeing that he still looked carefree and joking, it was clear that he had long forgotten about that bad thing.
This is a good thing. You don’t have to keep it in your heart and torture yourself every day.
He handed the embroidered purse to the two of them. The last time Zhao Fangyu went to the Yang family to explain, Yang Anjin wanted him to bring it back with him, but Zhao Fangyu and Yang Anchen had drunk a few more glasses of wine and were walking unsteadily.
Yang Anjin didn't dare let him take it with him, what if he lost it on the way.
It would be nice to be able to hand it over to them personally today.
Yang Donghu compared his embroidery with Yang Anjin's. There were only three people in the room and they were very close, so he was not afraid of being laughed at by the other two.
“No wonder people say shop around before you buy.”
Yang Anjin's craftsmanship is good. Yang Donghu watched for a while and then hung the purse around his waist.
Zhu Cuilan had seen the purse around Zhao Luochuan's waist several times, and every time she looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. However, even without her saying anything, Yang Donghu could guess that she was probably worried about the material used to make the purse.
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