At first, when people heard it was snake meat, they were hesitant to eat it, but after it was cooked, everyone ate it with relish.
Wang Lin teased Li Si, "Who was it that said they wouldn't eat snake meat for dinner and would only eat dry biscuits? How come they're eating so heartily now?"
Li Si wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and said, "I said it, I said it. I just couldn't resist because you guys were eating so deliciously."
Who would have thought snake meat would be so delicious? The meat is so tender and fresh, the taste is really good.
Zhu Chunfeng chimed in, "This snake looks terrifying when it's alive, but after removing the skin and processing it, it looks alright. The cooked snake meat looks just like fish, and it's not scary anymore."
Grandma Ma also said, "Yes, yes, yes, once it's cooked, it's not much different from other meats. As long as you don't think of it as snake meat, it tastes pretty good."
The girls who were initially hesitant to eat it started picking up some rice after everyone said it was delicious. After taking a bite, they stopped talking and just kept eating.
This wasn't the first time Xu Han had eaten snake meat. As long as the snake meat was properly prepared, she felt no guilt whatsoever when eating it, and in fact, she enjoyed it immensely.
Ze'er and Mu'er weren't afraid at all; the two little foodies didn't care about anything else and ate with great relish.
As for the Taoist priest, Grandpa Zhao, and Lu Chuan, they weren't afraid at all and all enjoyed eating.
After dinner, Xu Han called out to Dan Niang and the three girls, telling them they didn't need to work in the fields tomorrow and that they could start making mooncakes with her.
Upon hearing this, the four men quickly nodded and replied, "Yes, Madam, we will come tomorrow."
Xu Han then turned to Zhou Shi and said, "This morning, I pulled up some of the vegetables in the garden, but there are still many left. Tomorrow morning, you should tidy up the garden first and have Zhu Qiang and the others turn the soil over so that we can plant the vegetables in the afternoon."
"Alright, Madam, we'll get it done first thing tomorrow morning. With more people, it'll be done faster, and we can get it done by morning."
Zhu Qiang chimed in, "Don't worry, Madam. All the potatoes in the field have been harvested today. I'll bring some manure tomorrow morning. The vegetable garden isn't very big, so I can turn the soil over by noon and plant the vegetables in the afternoon."
"Alright, I'll leave this to you. You can handle it yourselves!"
After giving their instructions, the rest of the group returned to the valley.
That night, Xu Han lay on the bed and asked Lu Chuan to give her a massage.
Lu Chuan complained, "Look at you, you don't even know how to enjoy your good fortune. There are so many people in the fields, what difference does one more make? Now look what's happened, let's see how you get up tomorrow."
It had been a long time since she had done any physical labor. In the morning, she pulled up the vegetable trellis, and in the afternoon, she went to dig potatoes. She spent the whole day working, and as a result, she overexerted herself and knocked Xu Han down.
Xu Han retorted softly, "I used to work every day without any problems. I've only had a short break, and who knew I'd be exhausted after just one day of work."
My whole body aches, especially my thighs, they're stiff. Could you please massage them for me?
After Xu Han finished speaking, she turned over and lay directly on the bed, letting Lu Chuan massage her.
Although Lu Chuan was sharp-tongued, he ultimately cared deeply for his wife, and kept chattering away while giving her a massage.
Xu Han knew she was in the wrong, so she didn't argue and let Lu Chuan keep talking. In the end, Lu Chuan stopped talking when he saw that Xu Han was silent. Perhaps she was too tired from working during the day, because Xu Han fell asleep while he was massaging her.
Lu Chuan glanced at his wife, who was already fast asleep, sighed, silently covered Xu Han with a blanket, and then lay down to sleep himself.
The next morning, when Xu Han woke up, she still felt sore all over, and even more so than the day before because she had rested overnight.
But thinking about starting to make mooncakes today, I struggled to get up.
When Xu Han came out, Dan Niang was already waiting in the courtyard with several girls.
When Xu Han came out, the four of them stood up. Dan Niang said, "Madam, we don't know how to make the mooncakes you mentioned, so we haven't started preparing anything yet!"
Xu Han waved her hand and said, "It's very simple. Chunmei, go and clean the oven first. Chunchan, go and get some salted duck eggs and crack out the yolks."
"Qi Yu, go prepare some flour. Dan Niang, go outside and fetch some firewood. I'm going to have breakfast first, and then we'll start cooking."
Because she makes mooncakes every year, Xu Han is now very familiar with the steps involved in making them.
With so many people helping her, the speed increased significantly. Xu Han directed everyone to do different things, and they made a lot of mooncakes in just one morning.
In the afternoon, everyone continued making mooncakes while baking them.
Everyone spent the whole day making a huge batch of mooncakes, enough for several meals.
At dinner, Xu Han brought out some freshly baked mooncakes and offered them to everyone to try.
Xu Han said, "I made a lot of different flavors of mooncakes today. I took out a little of each. You've just eaten, so you can't eat much right now."
Chunchan, go and cut the mooncakes into four pieces so everyone can taste each flavor and see which one tastes best.
Chun Chan responded and took the mooncake to the kitchen. When she came out again, the mooncake had already been cut.
Everyone took a small piece and started eating.
Qi Yu said, "I think the chestnuts are tastier; they're glutinous, sweet, and especially delicious."
Zhu Chuntian said, "The salted egg yolk one is still the best. This is my first time eating this kind of mooncake. It's so fragrant and delicious."
Zhu Chunfeng, standing to the side, chimed in, "This is the first time I've ever eaten this kind of mooncake! Where have you ever eaten such good stuff before? Let alone you, this is the first time I've ever eaten a mooncake either."
Zhu Qiang said, "Don't even mention you, even your old man is eating this for the first time."
Everyone found the conversation between the father and his two sons quite amusing, and the courtyard was filled with laughter.
Dan Niang took a bite of the mooncake and said, "This is the first time I've ever eaten a mooncake like this. The mooncakes I've eaten before are all very hard and I can't even bite into them. I've never seen a mooncake like this before."
Xu Han pointed to the snow skin mooncake and said, "Try this one too. This one isn't baked, so the taste and texture are different."
Upon hearing this, everyone took a piece, and after eating it, they sighed with admiration once again.
The Taoist priest, Grandpa Zhao, Lu Chuan, and the children were already used to Xu Han's mooncakes. As soon as the mooncakes were served, they all reached for their favorite flavors.
He didn't join in the discussion, just kept eating the mooncake in his hand.
After everyone finished eating, Xu Han said, "Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I hereby announce that everyone will have a day off tomorrow. You should all take a good rest and will not have to work tomorrow."
This afternoon, we'll celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival over in the valley and have a light meal together.
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