Chapter 38 Preparations before going to the hot springs
The snow finally stopped with the late arrival of spring. After the sun showed its face yesterday, it was seduced by this pure beauty of the world and came out again today with a blushing face. Today's warm sunshine shines gently on the earth, caressing the mountains, rivers and trees like a lover.
Yi Ke stood on the top of the cliff, greedily sniffing the fresh air after the snow, and bathing in the warmth of the sun. The bright sunshine added infinite vitality to the lonely forest.
The leafless treetops, covered by snowflakes, occasionally show a bit of green, ah! The trees are coming back to life once again.
The crooked-necked pine tree on the top of the cave seemed to have become thinner. A faint, thin smoke emanated from the entrance of Water Cave No. 1 under the bamboo forest. The quiet and beautiful snow scene attracts people to linger.
"Bride, what are you looking at? So absorbed in it?" Li Youcai, Chen Shengli, Du Qingcang and Hu Haohan went home carrying their backpacks which were filled with big bowls of meat and vegetables. Adults and children alike were all grinning from ear to ear. They were very satisfied with the banquet as they had food and drinks to eat and something to take away. They all went home happily.
"Look at the snow scene! Uncle, aunt, brother, sister, little brother, little sister, please walk slowly!"
"Okay, okay, let Ziyi bring you to our house next time."
"OK."
"Sister Yike, you must remember to come and play!"
"Yes. Sister Yike, come to my house and I will take you to catch rabbits." Chen Yue'er said with a giggle.
"Okay, I'll definitely go next time."
"And there's my house. Sister Yike, don't forget to come to my house." Hu Fangfang said anxiously, fearing that Yike would agree to someone else and not go to her house.
"Sister Yike, come to my house, my sister and I will treat you to some chestnuts." Hu Lili also spoke for her sister.
"Okay, then you must remember not to finish eating." Yike said jokingly.
"No, we will definitely keep it. You have to come early."
"Okay. I'll go when your brother Ziyi is free."
…
The children were so enthusiastic that they kept inviting Yike to play in their cave, but at the same time they were reluctant to let Yike leave. After they finally left, Ziyi couldn't wait to hold Yike's hand and rubbed her cold hands. He gathered his arms into his warm leather sleeves and pulled Yi Ke towards the cave.
"It's cold outside. Don't stand for too long next time." Ziyi said as he walked.
"I can walk by myself. Don't pull me. There's someone here." Yike was shy.
"Haha, our Ziyi now knows how to care for others." Li Haoran next to him teased.
She was so embarrassed that she tried to twist Ziyi's arm in her sleeve, but failed because his muscles were too strong. After returning to the cave, Ziyi patted Yike's head and said, "Be good, talk to your aunt at home and make some dry food for the journey tomorrow. Uncle Hao and I will set some traps nearby and see if there are any animals we can kill and eat. I will take you to a good place tomorrow."
"If you find any good places, please tell me in advance," Yi Ke's interest was aroused.
"We can go to the hot springs, but the journey is quite far. It would take a week if it's not snowing, and even longer if it's snowing. But now we have skis, so we can get there in three days at most. Uncle Hao and Auntie are living in the cave now, and the chickens, ducks, and rabbits are all taken care of, so we can go and have fun for a few days without any worries."
Ziyi's words were like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, causing huge waves.
I was stunned by the explosion and it took me a long time to come back to my senses. He grabbed Ziyi's hand and said, "Hot spring! Really? There really is a hot spring, how is that possible? The temperature here is so low, it doesn't look like there is a hot spring at all? Are you kidding me?" Yike fell into self-doubt.
"Really? How could I lie to you? If you don't believe me, ask Uncle Hao and Auntie. They all know." Ziyi answered seriously.
"It's true. I've been there too. But the other mountain people don't know about it, and you shouldn't tell them in the future, because there are so many ferocious beasts around the hot springs, and it's too dangerous. If Ziyi hadn't said that you are good at fighting, I wouldn't agree with Ziyi taking you there." Li Haoran's words made Yike believe Ziyi.
Seeing Ziyi's uncomfortable expression that said "How could you not believe me?", Yike hurriedly explained, "Brother Ziyi, I just think it's too unbelievable, really! I don't not believe you!"
"Well! Don't doubt me in the future." Ziyi had a frown on his face, looking unhappy.
"I don't doubt it anymore, really! I will definitely believe what you say from now on, please believe me." Yi Ke hurriedly comforted him.
"Ziyi, let's go and check if there are any animals in the trap. If not, let's go deep into the woods to check." Li Haoran slowly came to the rescue.
"Okay, I'll be there right away." Ziyi said, turning around and leaving. Before leaving, he said, "Be good at home and don't go out. It's cold outside."
I was really convinced. Why didn't I realize before that he was such a nagging man?
After Ziyi and Li Haoran left, Yike and Zhang Yuling prepared dry food for the hot spring trip tomorrow at home.
The first thing to make is the mushroom pancake. The most abundant thing in the mountains is mushrooms. Crush the dried mushrooms, chop the pork, and if there is not much sugar, do not add sugar. Add a little salt, a little chili powder, and flour to mix and knead into a smooth dough. After kneading, divide it into several small balls. Flatten each ball into a round cake shape, put it in a hot pan, fry on low heat until both sides are golden brown, and the fragrant mushroom cake is ready.
After the mushroom pancakes are done, continue frying the peanuts.
I poured the peanuts I bought into two large bowls, washed them, soaked them in water, and then drained the water. Uncle Hao and his aunt said that after soaking, the peanuts would be moist from the inside out, and would not easily burn when fried.
Zhang Yuling asked Yi Ke to light the fire and stir-fry the peanuts on low heat at first. When the peanuts were 80% cooked, she poured a small spoonful of rice wine into the peanuts. Zhang Yuling said that adding rice wine would make the peanuts crisper and more delicious. After adding rice wine, continue to stir-fry the peanuts over low heat. When the skin of the peanuts cracks, turn off the heat. Zhang Yuling puts the peanuts in a large bowl, and finally adds a little salt and sugar to the peanuts and stirs well. Salt and sugar are both the most precious things. Zhang Yuling felt the pain in her heart as she added the sugar, which made people laugh secretly.
But when I think about my original body, which doesn’t even know what the soup tastes like, I can’t laugh anymore.
Zhang Yuling really loved Ziyi like her own son. She prepared so many biscuits and peanuts for him. She was afraid that there wouldn't be enough to eat after going to the hot spring, so she went to the No. 2 water cave and cut a large piece of fresh pork to make spicy jerky.
Zhang Yuling's cooking skills are really great. The spicy pork jerky is spicy and delicious. I put the thin jerky between my teeth and chewed it bit by bit. I almost couldn't stop eating it. The aroma is so tempting.
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