After Bai Xiaoyue finished talking about her younger brother, she went back to find Yan Ci. As soon as she entered the room, she launched into a tirade of scolding:
"Yan Ci, you're always so low-key. Do you want to go listen to what everyone is saying about you?"
Seeing Bai Xiaoyue's dark face, Yan Ci quickly tried to appease her:
"I know, I know, don't be angry. It was all to save Wen'an. Just this once, I'll keep a low profile from now on, okay?"
Hearing him say that, Bai Xiaoyue chuckled:
"Still trying to act all timid? You have a tail, don't you!"
Yan Ci smiled and said, "Yes, do you want to see it?"
Bai Xiaoyue met Yan Ci's eyes, which held a hint of mockery.
Bai Xiaoyue suddenly realized what was happening and pointed at Yan Ci: "You scoundrel!"
Yan Ci teased his wife for a bit, then leisurely went out to get the pork.
Bai Xiaoyue touched her blushing face, inwardly cursing Yan Ci as a rogue.
The two wild boars were quite large, and each person in the production team could get a pound of pork. Those who went hunting would get an extra two pounds.
Yan Ci brought back four catties of meat and a pig's trotter. Adding to the five catties he bought last time, he had a total of nine catties of meat and three pig's trotters.
From the moment the young couple got married, Mr. and Mrs. Bai absolutely refused to come here for meals, preferring to cook at home themselves.
There are only three people in my family now, so this stuff will last a long time.
Thinking of her poor cousin Ding Xiuhua, Bai Xiaoyue took two catties of wild boar meat and ten catties of cornmeal and asked her mother to take them to her cousin for the New Year.
It started snowing, and everyone stayed home to hibernate. With nothing much to do, Bai Xiaoyue began creating her stories.
She mainly wanted to write about Uncle Bai and Ye Jianhua, a group of village cadres who did practical things for the people. She hadn't written in a long time, so she was writing very slowly.
That day, Bai Xiaoyue was deep in thought when her eldest cousin's wife came to visit with her child.
Bai Xiaoyue asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, why did you come out? Aren't you afraid of falling?"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "Wenli brought me here to chat with you."
Bai Xiaoyue: "How could you bear to come out in such cold weather?"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "Oh dear, things are in chaos at home, so I came here to hide away."
Bai Xiaoyue immediately perked up: "Sister-in-law, what happened?"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "My sister-in-law, Bai Xiaomei, has started dating someone. My mother-in-law approves, but my father-in-law doesn't."
Bai Xiaoyue felt it was worth listening to what her aunt's family was going to say:
"Sister-in-law, tell me your story, just to pass the time."
The eldest sister-in-law said, "This man's name is Lin Hua. He is a worker at the steel factory. His father is a leader at the steel factory, his mother doesn't work, and he has a younger sister."
Bai Xiaoyue: "It sounds great, why doesn't Uncle agree?"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "My father-in-law said this person is glib, has an unclear gaze, and is unreliable."
My mother-in-law saw that they were city workers and their family was well-off.
Bai Xiaoyue: "What does Xiaomei think?"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "She won't listen to any advice now. She's determined to marry Lin Hua and become a city person."
Bai Xiaoyue: "What about you? Do you support it or oppose it?"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "I'm not qualified to interfere in this matter, but I think it will most likely work out."
With Xiaomei's unyielding attitude and her mother-in-law's difficult nature, her father-in-law will definitely give in in the end.
Your aunt will soon realize that climbing into such a prestigious family isn't so easy.
Thinking about the good show to come, Bai Xiaoyue was in a good mood and ate an extra bowl of rice for dinner.
Next, Bai Xiaoyue became completely absorbed in writing, burying herself in her work every day, while Yan Ci took care of everything at home.
She didn't put down her pen until the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.
That day, Bai's mother was busy steaming sticky rice cakes. Bai Xiaoyue found it very strange. She had never seen such things before, as she had eaten communal meals a few years ago.
She followed closely behind, watching Bai's mother busy herself.
To make sticky rice dumplings, you first need to cook red bean paste, then grind glutinous rice and millet, and finally wrap the red bean paste in rice flour dough and steam it over high heat for 20 minutes.
The cooked sticky rice cakes were a tempting golden color. Bai Xiaoyue took two, ate one herself, and gave one to Chang Le.
The sticky rice dumplings are chewy, sweet, and very delicious.
She said to her mother, "Mom, these steamed buns are delicious, make me more."
Chang Le nodded vigorously beside him:
"Grandma, it's delicious, it's delicious."
Seeing how greedy the mother and daughter looked, Bai's mother laughed and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll make it for you."
Bai Xiaoyue ran back and asked Yan Ci to give her mother a bag of millet and sugar. She prepared a large vat at home, intending to stock up on sticky rice cakes to eat slowly.
She found two pheasants in the jar, but didn't say anything.
He only asked Yan Ci after Yan Ci returned:
"You've gone up the mountain again. Didn't we tell you not to go up the mountain? Why didn't you listen?"
Seeing Bai Xiaoyue's worry, Yan Ci quickly said:
“I didn’t go up the mountain; Yan Xiaosong brought it to me.”
Bai Xiaoyue breathed a sigh of relief and asked, puzzled:
“Aunt Yan is in poor health. Why would he send it over instead of keeping it for himself?”
Yan Ci: "He said he kept some as a special thank you, and seeing his sincerity, I kept it."
Bai Xiaoyue didn't say anything more after hearing this, but she was wondering which kind of mushroom would be best for stewing pheasant.
On such a cold day, being able to eat authentic chicken stew with mushrooms would be a wonderful feeling.
If you want to eat, you have to eat it; otherwise, what's the point of living?
Bai Xiaoyue went to her mother to get mushrooms for stewing chicken, and her mother gave her a small bag of hazel mushrooms, saying that hazel mushrooms are the most fragrant when stewed with wild chicken.
With only two days left until the Lunar New Year, Bai Xiaoyue planned to stew it and eat it on New Year's Eve.
Mr. Bai, Ms. Bai, and Wen'an are going to their uncle's house to spend the New Year with their grandmother.
There were only two adults and one child in the family, so Bai Xiaoyue didn't prepare too many dishes.
Chicken stew with mushrooms, braised pork belly, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and radish stew with pig's trotters.
On New Year's Eve, she soaked the mushrooms early in the morning and asked Yan Ci to chop the pheasant into small pieces and soak them in cold water to remove the blood.
In the afternoon, the family of three got busy in the kitchen. Yan Ci tended the fire while helping Chang Le pick vegetables and wash dishes.
Bai Xiaoyue first blanched the chicken pieces, then heated the pan with cold oil, added the chicken pieces and stir-fried for a few minutes. She added a few slices of ginger and a little soy sauce, then added water—enough to cover the chicken pieces.
Because the pheasant meat is quite old, stew it for an hour first, then add hazel mushrooms and scallion segments and stew for another hour before seasoning and serving.
The chicken and mushrooms meld together during stewing, creating a rich and delicious aroma that makes you want to eat it right away.
Bai Xiaoyue picked up a chicken leg for the little glutton, and Chang Le ate it with a beaming smile.
While preparing the dishes, she also cooked a pot of rice and a plate of dumplings.
This New Year's Eve dinner combined the best of both North and South China. After the dishes were served, Yan Ci took out a bottle of wine, which was a beautiful bright red.
He poured himself a glass and then poured one for Bai Xiaoyue.
Bai Xiaoyue picked up the wine glass and smelled it. The aroma of fruit was rich. She took a small sip and found it sweet and sour, and couldn't help but drink a big mouthful.
She asked Yan Ci, "Why is there hawthorn wine? When did you buy it?"
Yan Ci, seeing that Bai Xiaoyue liked to drink, replied in a rather pleasant mood:
"I bought it a while ago, thinking that drinking alcohol during the Chinese New Year would have a good meaning. This one isn't very strong, so you can have a little too."
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