The wooden basin was about 80% full. Yuan Doudou lifted the basin with all her might, poured the snails into a basket to drain the water, and then carried the basket home.
"DouDou, you're so capable! You're back from work so early in the morning. If you don't get rich, who will?" Old Wang, the widower in the village, went out for a stroll early in the morning and couldn't help but praise Yuan DouDou when he saw her carrying a heavy basket.
"Uncle Wang, you flatter me. I've just been busy doing nothing," she said modestly, adding that even if she were rich, she should remain humble.
Old Wang left with a smile. "That little girl is quite composed; she's a real talent."
When Yuan Doudou arrived home, Anji also woke up, got dressed, and played with building blocks in the yard.
"Mother, you're finally back!" Anji looked up and saw his mother, overjoyed.
Yuan Doudou quickly put down the basket and wooden basin, looked down and saw that her clothes were dirty and wet, and she didn't want to bump into Anji.
She could only smile and say, "Anji, you play for a while, Mommy is going to take a bath and then cook for you."
“Okay, Mother.” Angie obediently sat back down and continued building his castle.
Yuan Doudou smiled with satisfaction.
In the kitchen, the water in the pot was just right for taking a bath. Yuan Doudou used a ladle to scoop the water out of the pot and pour it into a basin.
He carried the bathtub into the inner room, washed off the mud and grime, and changed into clean clothes.
After tidying up her hair and makeup, Yuan Doudou carried the dirty water out and poured it into the vegetable garden. It would be perfect for watering the plants. There was a small plot of land that was empty, and she had been thinking about what seeds to plant there for the past few days.
"Mommy, I want to eat egg pancakes, is that okay?" Angie asked, looking up at his mother who was busy in the kitchen after building his castle.
Yuan Doudou readily agreed. She still admired this kind of child who could just say what she wanted to eat without the adults having to worry about what to eat.
In the kitchen, Yuan Doudou took a clean bowl, scooped out a small bowl of flour, put it in, poured in a little water, sprinkled in chopped green onions and some salt, and stirred it clockwise with chopsticks. It was still too thick, so she added some more water until it became a smooth paste. When you picked it up with chopsticks, the paste should form a teardrop shape.
Heat the pan, pour in the batter, and spread it out in circles with a spatula. This time, she didn't add oil first to prevent the batter from sticking to the pan.
Soon, three egg pancakes were made, but only one had an egg on it, which was left for Anji to eat.
After the porridge was cooked, Yuan Doudou stir-fried some pickled mustard greens and ate it with an egg pancake; it tasted even better that way.
"It smells so good, Mom! You're amazing!" Angie looked at the glistening egg pancakes, his mouth watering.
Yuan Doudou tested it and, finding it wasn't so hot anymore, handed the egg pancake to Anji, saying with a smile, "It's not hot anymore, eat it while it's hot."
Angie took the egg pancake, glanced at the ones on the plate, then at his own, and noticed the difference.
“Mommy, I can’t finish such a big piece. Can I share half with you?” Angie said earnestly.
Yuan Doudou asked in confusion, "Anji, last time you couldn't even finish one piece, how come you can finish it this time? Hurry up and eat."
Angie hesitated for a moment, then picked up the egg pancake, got off the table, walked to her mother, and held the pancake to her mouth.
"Mother, you eat first, then I'll eat."
Anji held up a palm-sized egg pancake in his chubby little hands, his watery eyes staring unblinkingly at his mother.
Yuan Doudou was melted by his sincere appearance, and a maternal love welled up in her heart. She thought to herself that she was an older woman who was unmarried and childless. Since coming here to become Anji's mother, she had made countless psychological adjustments. Sometimes she really felt that she was not worthy of being someone's mother.
But now, looking at Angie's innocent face and loving eyes, she felt a surge of emotion within her, a willingness to give everything for Angie.
"Okay, Mommy will eat." She could tell that the little guy couldn't bear to eat his egg pancake alone because he had discovered that it contained an egg.
"Anji, actually, your mother has a secret she hasn't told you."
"What secret?"
Yuan Doudou paused for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "My mother was born in the Year of the Rooster and doesn't like to eat eggs."
Anji didn't understand at first. "Rooster?" Did they mean the Chinese zodiac?
"Really? People born in the Year of the Rooster don't like to eat eggs?" He thought for a moment, realizing he'd never seen his mother eat eggs. "Then do people born in the Year of the Pig not like to eat pork?"
Yuan Doudou was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied with a smile, "Not everyone has this problem."
It was getting late, so after breakfast, Yuan Doudou went inside to get busy. She took out the snails that she had previously soaked in water to remove sand, cleaned them, and cut off their tails with scissors to make them easier to flavor.
Heat oil in a wok, add scallions, ginger, and garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the snails and stir-fry. Add spices and continue stir-frying.
"What's that smell?" Outside the An family's courtyard, passersby stopped in their tracks upon smelling the aroma.
"I can't quite describe it, but it smells wonderful." Nobody has ever made a product that smells this good.
After Yuan Doudou finished stir-frying the spicy snails, she suddenly remembered what to put in the container later.
There are many bamboos on the mountain, which can be cut down to make bamboo tubes, just enough to hold them, but she has limited energy.
Just as she was worrying, she heard someone outside calling out, "Selling bamboo baskets and bamboo tubes!"
Yeah, why not just buy what's ready-made?
She pushed open the door and saw the bamboo tube seller walking towards the east end of the village.
"Master, please wait a moment, I want to buy bamboo tubes."
The seller was from the next village. His family had always been in the bamboo business, and almost every household in the surrounding villages bought their daily necessities made of bamboo from his family.
"Miss, what do you want to buy?" Zhao Defa glanced at Yuan Doudou. She was such a pretty girl. He had never noticed such a beautiful girl when he passed by here before.
Yuan Doudou glanced around and saw that the small cart was full of a wide variety of goods. It must be said that the Zhao family's craftsmanship was indeed exquisite. There were even bamboo-woven cats and dogs that were so lifelike that they were a sight to behold.
"Master, I want a bamboo tube to hold food." Yuan Doudou looked around but couldn't find one, so she simply told him directly.
Zhao Defa moved the top layer of things away, revealing the space below, which was filled with bamboo tubes.
There are some small taverns around here, and they also buy bamboo tubes to make bamboo rice.
"How much is one?" Yuan Doudou asked, seeing that he had quite a few in stock, which should be enough for her.
Zhao Defa was a very honest man. He usually sold bamboo tubes for five coins each. Seeing that this young girl was already capable of handling things on her own, he guessed that there was no one in her family who could take charge, and that she was a pitiful person.
"Three coins each."
Is it really that expensive? This is the first time Yuan Doudou has inquired about the price of this stuff. If she buys it at this price, the packaging fee will be too high, so the price of a bucket of snails will naturally be high.
She was worried that it wouldn't sell well.
"Master, I bought a lot, could you give me a discount, or can I exchange something for you?" She still had a lot of stock at home.
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