"I processed six baskets of sweet potatoes today, and my arms are so sore I can barely lift them," Xu Han complained as she saw Lu Chuan return.
"Are you tired? I'll do it with you tomorrow!" Lu Chuan said, rubbing Xu Han's arms as he saw her tiredness.
"It's alright, it's just that chopping sweet potatoes is tiring. The knife is too heavy, and my arm hurts from lifting it. Chopping trees isn't easy for you either, it's much more tiring than what I'm doing. I'll take my time and do it myself. You should focus on the more important things first."
"It's nothing important. If your arm hurts, don't do it tomorrow. I'll do it when I'm free."
"It's alright, it's not that tiring. You can go and do your work without worry! I'll rest when I get tired. It's only the first day, that's why my arm hurts. It'll be fine tomorrow," Xu Han said.
Knowing Xu Han's personality, Lu Chuan stopped trying to persuade her.
He added, "We'll cut down trees for another day tomorrow, that should be enough. It hasn't rained for several days, and the weather looks gloomy. I wonder if it will rain tonight."
Xu Han looked up at the sky, which was indeed overcast. "It might rain! Look over there, the clouds are thick."
After saying that, she turned and went into the room, lay down on the recliner and started to rest. "I'm so tired! I don't want to move, and I don't want to cook."
When Lu Chuan came in, he saw Xu Han lying there motionless. He didn't disturb her, but turned around and went into the kitchen to boil water for her bath.
After heating the bathwater, he carried it to the bathroom before going to the main room to call Xu Han.
"I just boiled the bath water, you should take a bath first! Otherwise you won't be able to lift your arm tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll go get my clothes. We won't cook dinner! We'll just eat what's in the space."
"I'm fine with either, they're all the same."
Hearing Lu Chuan say that, Xu Han turned around and went to her room to get her clothes and take a shower.
After taking a shower, the two took out food from their spatial storage and began to eat.
Sure enough, it started raining heavily outside in the middle of the night. Luckily, I had already put everything in the yard away before going to bed, in case it rained during the night.
When Lu Chuan woke up the next day, it was still raining outside, and he hadn't gotten up yet!
So Xu Han turned over, hugged Lu Chuan, and went back to sleep.
When I woke up again, the spot next to me had gotten cold, so Lu Chuan must have gotten up a while ago.
Xu Han got dressed and went out of the room. The rain outside had stopped.
Then I saw seven or eight baskets of sweet potatoes that had already been washed, placed under the eaves.
However, Lu Chuan was nowhere to be seen; he must have gone to the river to wash sweet potatoes.
After finishing breakfast, Xu Han took a wooden basin, added hot water, and began to sit under the eaves to wash sweet potatoes.
It's drizzling outside! I can't wash outside, so I'll just wash under the eaves. It's okay if it gets wet, I can just mop it up.
Just as he poured the sweet potatoes into the wooden basin, Lu Chuan came in again carrying a shoulder pole.
"Have you had breakfast?" Xu Han asked.
"I've already eaten. Have you eaten the breakfast in the pot?"
"I've already eaten."
"Then I'll go wash two more baskets. By the time you're done washing them, I can come back and start chopping sweet potatoes."
"Okay, go ahead! I'll wash these sweet potatoes again."
After saying that, the two went back to doing their own things.
When Lu Chuan returned after washing the tenth basket, Xu Han had already washed two baskets of sweet potatoes, so Lu Chuan took over the task of chopping the sweet potatoes.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and it was no longer safe to stay outside. Fortunately, people could stay under the eaves, but rainwater would still seep in, so Xu Han used a wooden board to block it.
After washing all the sweet potatoes, the two of them moved into the main room and started chopping them.
It has to be said that Lu Chuan has an advantage over Xu Han when it comes to chopping sweet potatoes. He is stronger and can chop them up with one stroke. In no time, he has chopped up a whole bowl of sweet potatoes.
Xu Han was much slower than Lu Chuan, mainly because her arm was still sore from chopping yesterday! She couldn't speed up.
The two of them spent the whole day washing and chopping sweet potatoes, and it rained all day long.
The next day, it was still raining, and Lu Chuan couldn't go out to cut down trees, so he continued chopping sweet potatoes.
The rain gradually stopped after noon, but the ground was too wet to cut down trees.
So Xu Han led the corn out, tied it in the yard, and started grinding it.
Lu Chuan continued chopping sweet potatoes; these past two days he's become a tool for chopping sweet potatoes.
Xu Han then began grinding sweet potatoes into a paste and filtering them. The sweet potato starch she made the day before yesterday had also been washed and made into powder.
The starch can be scraped out and put into gauze to drain the water. Because it is too heavy, Xu Han can't hang it up, so she needs Lu Chuan's help again.
After Lu Chuan hung the starch on, Xu Han began to pound the starch into a funnel shape to facilitate water control.
Place a wooden basin under the starch clumps to catch the dripping water.
After grinding the sweet potato pulp, Xu Han repeated the previous steps and began filtering the sweet potato residue.
Another day passed, and on the third day, Lu Chuan continued to cut down trees, while Xu Han stayed at home to continue grinding sweet potato starch.
On the fourth day, Lu Chuan went to cut down trees again. He wanted to cut down as many trees as possible these next few days, and also to stock up on firewood for heating the kang (a heated brick bed) and for cooking in the winter. He needed to prepare plenty of firewood as well.
Xu Han, on the other hand, stayed home to process the sweet potato starch she had made over the past few days, drying what needed to be dried and washing what needed to be washed.
I won't make sweet potato pulp today. I've been doing it for several days already, and all the sweet potatoes in the corridor have been used up, turning into clumps of starch.
Take out a winnowing basket, put the lumps of starch into the basket, remove the impurities at the bottom, and use a knife to cut them into thin slices that crumble easily when pinched.
Make sure to slice it thinly, otherwise it won't dry properly and will easily turn sour, which won't taste good.
After drying the starch lumps, I went to pound the newly formed starch lumps from the past two days.
Another day has passed in a blur of activity.
In the evening, Lu Chuan returned, and Xu Han was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
"You're back. How about we make some sweet potato stew with sweet potato starch today?" Xu Han asked.
"Okay, I haven't eaten yet!" Then Lu Chuan came in and sat down next to the stove, ready to help start the fire.
First, pour the sweet potato starch into an appropriate amount of water and let it start to dissolve. Continue stirring until there are no lumps.
Heat oil in a wok, then pour in the sweet potato starch water while the wok is still hot. Spread it out evenly, and the sweet potato starch water will solidify and set when heated.
Once set, flip it over and fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove and let cool.
Once cooled, the sweet potato fritters will no longer stick, and then they can be cut into appropriately sized pieces.
Heat oil in a separate pot, add minced scallions, ginger, and garlic, then pour in the prepared sweet potato stew, add green and red peppers and appropriate seasonings, and it's ready to serve.
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