Xia Tian saw Mrs. Yao leave, so he went in, found a bucket and a shoulder pole, and prepared to fetch two buckets of water.
Following the directions given by Mrs. Yao, we found the place without much effort. It was the middle of the afternoon and there were not many people around.
The well is under a large thatched shed. The sun can't shine in, so it's quite cool.
There is a wooden wheel rack on top of the well. I saw it on TV this summer. It is used for drawing water.
The well mouth is made of bluestone, and there is a wooden cover on top of the well mouth. It is probably to prevent objects from falling in and polluting the water source. The cover can also prevent children playing around from falling in.
In the summer, I opened the cover of the well and looked into it. The water was so clear that I could clearly see my reflection.
Hang the wooden barrel on the rope hook, hold the wheel handle with both hands in summer, slowly lower it into the well to fill it with water, then turn the wheel in the opposite direction to lift the bucket up. The wooden barrel is a bit heavy, but fortunately the original owner has been working all year round and has a lot of strength.
After both buckets were full, Xia Tian carried them back home. The distance was not far, but he had to rest twice along the way before he got home.
He went into the house and poured the water into the tank, then sat on a stool and rested for a while before regaining his strength.
Too tired.
Xia Tian thought that when she had money in the future, she must dig a well in the yard, otherwise she would be exhausted to death sooner or later if she had to fetch water every day.
After drinking a bowl of water, I was almost done with rest.
Remembering that I still had clothes to wash, I went to the river to wash them.
There is never a moment of peace in the life of a farmer.
The river to the east of Liujia Village is not very wide, only about ten meters wide, and should be the same river as the one in Xiajiazhuang.
It’s just that Liujia Village is downstream of Xiajiazhuang, and the villagers usually use the water from this river to irrigate the fields and wash clothes.
The river water is now clearer, and the willow trees by the river have sprouted, looking lush and green.
In the summer, I found a shady place where there happened to be a clean, relatively flat big stone. I guess the villagers often wash clothes here.
Xia Tian walked over, put down the basin, took out the clothes, soaked them in the river, put them on the stone, and started beating them with a mallet.
People here wash clothes by soaking them in soapberry water and then beating them with a mallet.
Soapberry is the fruit of the soapberry tree. When washing clothes, use a stone or other hard object to smash it open. Soak it in a basin of water and it will produce foam like laundry detergent, which can help wash clothes more cleanly.
Xia Tian couldn't find any soapberries at home just now, so he could only use a mallet to hammer them. Fortunately, Shen Nian didn't do much work, so his clothes were relatively clean.
After washing and hanging the clothes, it's time to cook dinner depending on the weather.
I happened to buy some cabbage today, so I decided to make some dumplings with cabbage and egg filling. It’s a pity there was no meat, otherwise the sauerkraut and meat filling would be delicious!
Get started right away. In summer, knead the dough and let it rest, then prepare the filling.
Cut a head of Chinese cabbage into pieces, put it in a bowl, sprinkle some salt on it and set it aside to let the water drain.
In summer, light the fire and fry the eggs.
The cabbage was almost drained, so Xiatian took another basin, squeezed the water out of the cabbage, poured in the crushed eggs, added seasonings, and mixed the stuffing.
I rolled out the dough and made the dumplings. By the time everything was ready and I started to cook the dumplings, it was getting dark.
The table that was moved out during the day was still in the yard. Xia Tian moved the table to the kitchen, brought out the dumplings and put them on the table before calling Chen Nian to come out for dinner.
After Chen Nian came out and sat down, Xia Tian prepared some dipping sauce with soy sauce and vinegar. She asked Chen Nian if he liked spicy food, and added some chopped chili peppers from Sister Yao's house.
Seeing that Shen Nian was eating well, Xia Tian also picked up a dumpling, took a bite and savored it carefully and said, "The one with cabbage and egg filling is still not very tasty. It would taste better if it had meat."
Xia Tian didn't care whether Shen Nian was listening or not, "Brother Shen, how is it? Does it taste okay? I'm a very good cook, but unfortunately the ingredients are limited, which affects my performance. Otherwise, I would make delicious food for you every day, and then you would have another worry!"
Xia Tian started laughing as he was talking about this. He imagined what a fat Shen Nian would look like and was so happy that he couldn't help laughing.
Shen Nian glanced at Xia Tian and didn’t respond.
Xia Tian laughed enough before he continued with a grin, "That's because I've gained weight and it's so troublesome to lose weight!"
After hearing this, Shen Nian paused with his chopsticks and continued eating.
Xia Tian couldn't stop grinning.
Chen Nian calmly finished all the dumplings amid Xia Tian’s laughter, and also drank a bowl of dumpling soup that Xia Tian had poured, euphemistically calling it “original soup, original food”.
After dinner, Shen Nian did not go into the house, but sat in the yard to digest the food.
In the summer, after washing the dishes, I would boil a large pot of water for washing up later.
I'm also thinking about going up the mountain tomorrow, but I don't know how long it will take to go up and down the mountain.
She needs to prepare some dry food to take with her tomorrow. Besides, if she goes up the mountain and doesn't make it back in time to make lunch, she also needs to prepare lunch for Shen Nian.
Xia Tian took a larger wooden basin, scooped out two bowls of white flour, thought for a while, and added a bowl of corn flour. These days, farmers rarely have the opportunity to eat pure white flour, and even pure corn flour is rare.
After the crops are harvested and taxes are paid, people will basically replace fine grains with coarse grains. One reason is that there are many people in the family and fine grains are too little to eat. The other reason is that the grain yield is low, and replacing them with coarse grains can make them feel fuller and eat for longer.
If people saw her eating steamed buns every day, it would not only cause trouble but also make people pay attention to her. She had to keep a low profile in front of outsiders.
Farmers all follow the principle of "eating liquid food when idle and eating dry food when busy". Right after the spring planting, it is the slack season, especially during the period of lean season. If someone eats dry food every day, it will definitely attract everyone's attention.
Too much attention is definitely not a good thing.
Knead the dough, let it rest overnight, and you can steam buns directly tomorrow morning.
After mixing the hot water, the two washed up and went back to their rooms to rest.
After a busy day today, Xiatian fell asleep almost as soon as she touched the pillow! Even the coughing in the next room didn't bother her at all.
The next day, Xiatian got up early. He slept all night without even having a dream, so he felt refreshed.
Xia Tian heard that there was no movement in Chen Nian's room, so he went to the kitchen to steam buns while humming a song.
Breakfast was ready, and Shen Nian got up. After getting some water and washing up, he told Shen Nian to eat breakfast quickly.
"Brother Shen, Sister Yao and I are going to the mountains to pick up some firewood today. If we can't get back in time at noon, you can light a fire in the stove to heat it up. I have prepared the meal and it is warm in the pot for you." Xia Tian reminded him while eating.
“Yeah.” Shen Nian nodded.
"Brother Shen, make sure to heat up the food. The weather isn't too hot right now, and eating cold food will make your stomach uncomfortable. Also, if you have nothing to do, go out and get some fresh air. Don't stay cooped up in the house all the time. It's not good for your health."
Also, put your clothes aside and wash them when I come back." Chen Nian ate silently while listening to Xia Tian's nagging, but he didn't find it nagging at all.
Perhaps this simple and peaceful life would be nice, if he could live...
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