AgWorld Chapter 365 - 362: Trivial Matters
Chapter 365 - 362: Trivial Matters
Lin Guoliang dropped off the water vats on Yucai Road and left in a hurry.
Lin Lan washed the jars one by one, scalded them with boiling water, and set them out in the courtyard to dry.
In the afternoon, Lin Lan, Qiaohui, and Tong Xinglan loaded the collected duck eggs into a handcart and pulled them back to Yucai Road.
Zhigang couldn’t use his hand, so he couldn’t help at the slaughterhouse. Since neither Brother Yong nor Shuiqing knew how to butcher a pig, Old Li had no choice but to go to the slaughterhouse and do it himself.
The next day, Mr. Gu and his family came to the bakery again. They had bought pig trotters, eggs, and some herbal remedies for bruises and sprains, and they insisted that Lin Lan accept them.
Lin Lan had no choice but to take the items, and in return, she gave them some pastries.
In just a few days, the shop had collected several hundred duck eggs, and Lin Lan had also ordered a large batch of fresh zongzi leaves.
After closing the shop that day, Brother Yong helped pull the duck eggs back to Yucai Road.
Lin Lan had him carry the duck eggs to the small paved area by the well in the backyard. After setting them down, Brother Yong left, pulling the handcart behind him.
The backyard of the small Western-style house had a small paved area, with two brick-and-tile rooms built against the surrounding wall. One of the rooms had a stove built against its wall.
When she needed to steam, boil, or deep-fry food, Lin Lan would come to the backyard to use the wood-fired stove. The large iron wok was convenient, and the food cooked in it tasted better.
Little Douzi stared in surprise at the duck eggs in the large baskets. "Mama, why did you buy so many duck eggs?"
Lin Lan smiled. "To make salted duck eggs for zongzi. Did you forget the egg yolk zongzi we ate last year?"
Little Douzi shook his head. "I didn’t forget! The egg yolk zongzi, the salted pork zongzi, the red bean and salted pork zongzi, and the chestnut and salted pork zongzi were all delicious."
Lin Lan hadn’t expected him to remember all that. She gave him a kiss. "My son has such a good memory." She thought, ’Heaven must really be making it up to me, giving me a child like Little Douzi. He’s so sensible and devoted, he’s never once given me a headache.’
Back in Lexing, he would help feed the chickens and collect eggs. After coming here, he helped the old man water the flowers and pull weeds. He was so sensible it made your heart ache.
"Hee hee!" Praised by his mom, Little Douzi grinned so widely his eyes crinkled shut, revealing his tiny, rice-like teeth.
The three of them—Lin Lan and the two girls—brought the wooden basins and buckets from the house out into the courtyard. Lin Lan said to Little Douzi, who was squatting in front of the baskets, "Go get a few small stools. Your mama and aunties are going to wash the duck eggs."
"Okay!" Little Douzi agreed and ran off. A moment later, he and Old Li returned to the backyard, each carrying two small stools.
Seeing Old Li, Lin Lan smiled and said, "Dad, Xiangyang said your cured pork is delicious. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, could you help me cure a jar of salted pork? I want to make salted pork zongzi."
Old Li nodded cheerfully. "Alright. Just tell me how many zongzi you plan to make, and I’ll cure the pork in advance." He glanced at the large baskets of duck eggs, thinking it would take at least two or three hours to get them all clean. "You all start washing. I’ll go make dinner."
"Okay. I brought back some stem lettuce, yu choy, and a few pieces of rose-hearted radish from Lexing. There’s meat and other vegetables in the fridge, so just make whatever you feel like."
Old Li left with Little Douzi, and Lin Lan started washing the duck eggs with Qiaohui and Tong Xinglan.
Some of the duck eggs were already quite clean and only needed a gentle scrub. Others were filthy, caked with bits of grass and droppings, and had to be soaked and scrubbed with a cotton cloth to get them clean.
Tong Xinglan worked with her head down for a while, then sighed. "Sigh... I never dreamed there’d come a day when I’d get sick of washing duck eggs."
Lin Lan glanced at her with a smile. "You’re just a teenage girl. There are still plenty of things you’ve never imagined!"
Tong Xinglan stuck out her tongue and turned to look at Lin Lan. "Cousin, I think you’re so strange! You always call us teenage girls, as if you’re so much older than us."
Qiaohui nodded with a laugh. "Exactly. You’re only five or six years older than us, but you talk like an old woman."
Lin Lan sighed. "Your big sister is old at heart, you know!" ’My two lives add up to a full sixty years. How could I not be old?!’
Tong Xinglan laughed. "Everyone else tries to act younger, but you insist on calling yourself old."
The group chatted and laughed as they worked. Before they had finished washing the eggs, Little Douzi came to call them for dinner.
Wiping her hands, Tong Xinglan asked, "Douzi, what delicious food did Grandpa make?"
Little Douzi held up four fingers. "Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes: stir-fried yu choy, sliced pork with stem lettuce, and shredded radish salad. He also made a big bowl of pea shoot and meatball soup." He then looked at the two girls with a grin. "My grandpa is a really good cook."
"We know!" Tong Xinglan and Qiaohui lifted Little Douzi between them, shouting, "Time for a sedan chair ride!" and ran laughing toward the front courtyard.
Lin Lan followed the three of them to the kitchen with a smile. Old Li was watching them cheerfully. "The food is all on the table. Go sit down outside. I’ll be right there as soon as I finish mixing the dipping sauce."
"Okay!" The group sat down at the table, and Lin Lan opened the rice cooker and began to scoop out the rice.
Qiaohui handed over a white porcelain bowl with a floral pattern. "Cousin, I heard from Sister He Li that the rice cookers are selling really well."
Lin Lan nodded. "Mhm. Rice cookers are convenient, but rice made on a wood-fired stove still smells better." ’In the future, manufacturers would even use "makes rice that tastes like it was cooked over a wood fire" as a marketing gimmick for their rice cookers.’
Little Douzi looked at Lin Lan. "Mama, you haven’t made fried rice crusts for me in a long time. I love rice crusts!"
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "I’ll make some for you tomorrow."
After dinner, the group continued their battle with the duck eggs. Old Li and Little Douzi also grabbed towels to help wipe the freshly washed eggs dry.
Tong Xinglan and Qiaohui placed the dried eggs on winnowing baskets to let the shells air-dry completely. Several large baskets were soon filled with eggs.
It was dark by the time they finally finished washing all the duck eggs and had them drying in the courtyard.
"Dad, you and Douzi go on to bed. We’ll head in after we get the eggs into the brining jars," Lin Lan said to Old Li.
Old Li nodded. "Are Qiaohui and Xinglan staying here tonight?"
"Mhm. It’s dark, so I wouldn’t feel at ease if they went back. They’re staying here."
"I’ll lock the courtyard gate then." Old Li took Little Douzi’s hand and headed toward the front courtyard.
Qiaohui drew water from the well and poured it into the large wok. Lin Lan added a generous amount of salt, a pinch of star anise, a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns, and a piece of cassia bark. They brought the mixture to a boil, then ladled it into a bucket to cool before adding some baijiu.
They moved the sun-dried jars into the small room next to the kitchen and lined them up against the wall. Tong Xinglan and Qiaohui carefully packed the air-dried duck eggs into the jars, stopping when they were about half a foot from the rim. The eggs they had bought over the past few days filled four large jars.
The two of them lifted the bucket and poured the cooled brine into the jars until all the eggs were completely submerged.
Lin Lan brought out four bamboo steaming racks and handed them to Qiaohui. "Place these on top of the eggs, then put a plate on top of each one to weigh it down." Once the bamboo racks were in place, they wouldn’t have to worry about the eggs floating to the surface, which would ensure they were brined evenly.
"Mhm!" Qiaohui set the racks in place and clapped her hands. "Done."
Lin Lan covered the mouths of the jars, glanced at the time—it was already midnight—and smiled. "You must be hungry after working so late."
Tong Xinglan rubbed her stomach. "A little!"
"There are some small wontons in the fridge. I’ll cook them for you." Lin Lan turned off the light, and the three of them went back to the house. After cooking and eating the wontons, they went upstairs to wash up and go to bed.