Shen Xiaosi smelled the aroma and ran over to ask for some porridge.
Qin Xiaozhou looked at the pitiful child, thought for a moment, went into the house and took out twenty copper coins for Lu Yan, "Go to the village chief's house to buy eggs, buy as many as you can, and use this money to buy them."
Yesterday, it was also her fault for not remembering Xiao Si, that skinny little monkey.
Wang Lan felt bad about spending money, "We have so much rice, flour, and meat at home, why do we still need to buy eggs?"
A child who is almost one year old is at the age when they start teething and can eat some complementary foods.
Qin Xiaozhou: "Give Xiao Si stewed eggs."
An hour later, Xiao Si and Lu Yan were able to eat the fragrant steamed egg custard. Lu Yan was flattered and her eyes were moist as she held the bowl. "Sister-in-law, why is there still some for me? I'm all grown up now. I can eat wild vegetable buns. I don't need steamed egg custard."
Lu Yan bought fifteen eggs, enough for Xiao Si to eat for several days. Qin Xiaozhou and Zhao Fen were peeling bamboo shoots in the yard. "You're still a child. You need to eat eggs to grow tall and strong."
The Lu family members felt both happy and sad. Xiao Yan had also suffered a lot in the past two years. The little girl was dark-skinned and thin, like a monkey. Wang Lan secretly turned her head to wipe away her tears. She never thought that her granddaughter and grandson would have to rely on their granddaughter-in-law to eat eggs. Her eldest grandson was married off, and the whole family was worried. But then God opened his eyes and sent someone who was good to the younger generation. The ancestors blessed them.
Light a fire in a large pot, put in the peeled bamboo shoots and cook until soft. Take them out, slice them, and spread them out on a winnowing basket to dry in the yard. After drying for two or three days, store them away. When you run out of bamboo shoots, take them out, soak them, and then stir-fry them.
After finishing all that, it was still early. Qin Xiaozhou remembered that when she was digging for bamboo shoots the day before yesterday, she saw a lot of withered wild yam vines in the woods on the north side of the hill. She picked up her hoe and carried her bamboo basket, "Xiaoyan, let's go dig up some good stuff."
On the north side of the hill, there were several jujube trees and other trees, with thick layers of dead branches and decaying leaves at their base. The sun rarely shines here, and it is especially cold in winter. Qin Xiaozhou followed the withered vines and found a wild yam. The withered vines were thick and had dried flowers on them from last year. The leaves of this plant were heart-shaped, and the flowers were about the size of a thumb, like a small version of a starfruit, but with only three petals, growing in clusters. Sure enough, under the dead leaves, there was very fertile soil. He then dug it up with a hoe.
There was a wild yam, about the thickness of a forearm, buried in the soil. Qin Xiaozhou was delighted. "Little Swallow, come on, pull it out."
Lu Yan grew a little bolder and ran over, "Sister-in-law, you're really big."
"Quickly pull it out, we'll steam some to eat when we get home tonight."
The two returned less than two hours later. Wang Lan looked at the basket full of wild yams and said, "There are so many. I'll go to the river to wash a couple and soak them to get rid of the sourness under the skin."
Lu Yan wanted to go too, but Wang Lan stopped her, saying, "Don't go, you'll get itchy hands from handling wild yams."
Lu Yan could only stay and tend the fire, while Qin Xiaozhou cooked. There were no wild vegetables to eat tonight, so they could only have a plate of bamboo shoots and the leftover meat broth from yesterday. Lu Yu kneaded and rolled out the dough, then put it into the meat broth. Qin Xiaozhou picked two scallions from the corner of the fence, chopped them up, and sprinkled them on the surface of the soup.
At noon, the Lu brothers brought back a large bamboo rat. Shen Xiaosi babbled and clamored to play with it. The bamboo rat was still alive, and its sharp teeth could bite through an adult's finger bones, let alone a small child. Zhao Fen quickly picked him up and took him away.
Lu Yunfeng killed the bamboo rat with a kitchen knife, lit a fire in the yard to singe off its fur, and burned its plump white body until it swelled up. He then gutted it, took out its internal organs, and since bamboo rat internal organs are a good thing, he put them in a bottle and soaked them in wine. In winter, he could take them out to wipe his scratches from splitting bamboo. He hung the bamboo rat meat up for now and cooked it tomorrow.
Fresh bamboo rat meat doesn't taste very good. It needs to be air-dried for a day or two to remove the moisture before being stir-fried with dried chili peppers for the best flavor.
For lunch, they ate meat soup noodles. Half a pot was simmering in the large iron pot. The whole Lu family sat around and ate heartily. Wang Lan gave a leftover steamed bun to Qin Xiaozhou, saying, "Granddaughter-in-law, you eat this."
Qin Xiaozhou shook her head, "Leftover steamed buns are choking, I won't eat them."
Wang Lan wasn't angry. If she didn't eat it, she could save it for her eldest grandson. It was a white flour and brown sugar steamed bun, which would still be excellent even after being left overnight. "Dayun, you eat it."
Lu Yunfeng handed it to Zhao Fen, saying, "Mother isn't feeling well, give it to her."
After lunch, the morning mist dissipated, revealing a clear, blue sky. Qin Xiaozhou suggested going to the orchard, and Lu Yunxing volunteered to take her. The two climbed the hillside facing east. The fruit trees had only been planted three or four years ago, and the drought of the past two years had made them thin and small, only as tall as a person. They hadn't even sprouted yet and were bare. No wonder no one wanted to buy them; who would want them?
Qin Xiaozhou grabbed a handful of soil, half of which was gravel. The land was barren, and even wild grass couldn't grow well.
Lu Yunxing scratched the back of his head and explained embarrassedly, "This land was originally wasteland. My grandfather bought it to plant fruit trees because he thought it was a waste. When it was sold, it included Qingzhugou, totaling 78 mu of land. It was half given away and half bought, and it cost 55 taels of silver. Later, because this place is close to Xishan, and there are wild animals in Xishan, such as wolves and wild boars, the villagers were unwilling to come to the west. So the bamboo forest has grown bigger and bigger, and now it has reached the foothills connecting to Xishan. It all belongs to our family."
It's clear that Lu Ji wanted to turn this wasteland into a treasure trove. After all, he had carefully cleared this large area of wasteland, removing grass and shrubs and even digging up the soil before planting fruit trees. Unfortunately, a drought followed, and no one from the Lu family has taken good care of it in the past two years, so it looks very desolate now.
After looking around, Qin Xiaozhou had already made up her mind. If the land was barren, she would improve it. She also needed to think more about how to solve the drought problem. There was a stream in Qingzhugou, but that little bit of water was not enough. It would be best if the weather was favorable this year, which would save her a lot of trouble.
It was cold at night, so the family warmed themselves by the fire in the drafty kitchen. Wang Lan used clean, worn-out clothes to paste the soles of shoes layer by layer, while Zhao Fen sewed the uppers. Qin Xiaozhou taught Lu Yan arithmetic.
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