As the day was long and the nights short, the sun was scorching hot at around 3 o'clock, and the green rush grass soon became wilted under the sun on the cement ground outside.
Song Youde stood up and walked around twice, then couldn't help but sigh and shook his head: "You guys don't know anything now!"
As he said this, he went to his seventh cousin's stove, took a shovel and scooped up two handfuls of wood ash, and sprinkled it evenly on the rush.
"You have to do this first to absorb water and remove insects before you can dry it thoroughly. Then you will have less worries after you have made the straw mats."
Song Tan didn't feel embarrassed at all: "I have never woven a straw mat, how would I know? Grandpa, as long as you can do it! From now on, the straw mats at home will depend on you!"
Song Youde raised his lips proudly again:
"That's right. There's an old saying: An old man in the family is like a treasure. Do you think it's made up?"
Song Tan: ... I just praised you a few words, why are you still so proud? You, as an old man, say this, just like Wang Po!
Looking at the golden tobacco that Grandpa had cut in half, she couldn't help but feel moved: "Grandpa, cut another two pounds and I'll give it to my friend."
Song Youde was a little reluctant: "What friend? Can't you just see him off?"
Two pounds of shredded tobacco requires nearly three pounds of dry tobacco leaves, and the tobacco stems are really heavy.
Song Tan thought of his savior—why didn’t his friends place orders recently
"This friend introduced me to a big client. Each time he places an order, it's nearly 100,000. Do you think we can deliver it?"
All right.
Song Youde sat back on the bench and picked up the kitchen knife again: "Bring me another bundle of tobacco leaves."
…
Here, Uncle Seven is still thinking about the menu for the evening—
There were so many people and the weather was hot, so he was worried.
"Tan Tan, the eggplants in the field look pretty good. How about having a simple meal tonight? Make an eggplant bun and a bowl of Tremella soup? Or if that's not enough, a bowl of cold noodles?"
Eggplant bun?!
Song Tan couldn't hold back his saliva immediately.
When the seventh cousin saw her look, he laughed:
"Okay, we'll have this for dinner. Go pick a few more eggplants from the fields, and pick a couple of green onions. Pick some red peppers for me, and I'll make some sauce for the cold noodles."
There were many people at home, so Song Tan said he was going to order a few eggplant buns, but in fact he went with a basket and came back with half a basket of eggplants. Two handfuls of green onions were placed next to it, looking particularly fresh and juicy.
Uncle Seven called Qiao Qiao again: "Actually, purple eggplant is best for eggplant buns, but our purple eggplants are not ripe yet, so green eggplants are almost the same."
"Sometimes, cooking requires using what is available. We choose ingredients when we can, and when we can't, we have to be flexible."
Qiao Qiao listened obediently: "I know, use whatever you have."
"Okay," said the seventh cousin, who was now used to his sharp words. He was a little addicted to teaching such a smart apprentice, and now he was even more impolite in giving orders:
"First pick the green onions and cut them into chopped green onions."
Why does he need to choose
Aunt Lianhua and the old lady couldn't wait to take the green onions over, and quickly pinched the heads and cleaned them up.
After practicing for a period of time, although Qiao Qiao's speed in cutting vegetables is still a little slow, he can now cut the vegetables in a consistent and even size.
Chopped green onions are just basic skills.
The seventh cousin was even distractedly teaching him: "Cut the eggplant into thick round slices. We can eat them at home. Just cut them horizontally like this. Both big and small ones can be eaten."
Compared with other dishes, eggplant steamed bun really does not require any technical skills at all.
Beat some eggs, add some salt, water, flour, and chopped green onions, mix well, stir into a thick paste, then dip the eggplant pieces in the paste and fry them slowly over low heat...
Before long, the unique aroma of eggplant spread over the courtyard.
Qiao Qiao blanched the Tremella fuciformis and was asked a new question: "Let me ask you, why do you need to blanch all the ingredients in Tremella fuciformis soup first?"
Qiao Qiao remembers it very clearly.
He exclaimed, "Because if you don't blanch them first, they'll be a little sour when you cook them!"
“When should wolfberries be added?”
"You have to wait until the Tremella soup is almost cooked before adding it, otherwise it will become sour and the nutrients in it will be destroyed."
"Um."
The seventh cousin was satisfied: "Good boy!"
Qiao Qiao became more and more passionate.
Now that the sun is setting, Song Youde finally cut out four pounds of tobacco and carefully divided it into two portions with a scale, refusing to add even an ounce more.
Then he put his hands behind his back, walked around the pot twice, and collected the rush that had not been dried thoroughly.
He finally had some free time and said, "Do more. I'll call Xiao Zhu over and ask her to take the tobacco back tonight."
He was making his own arrangements, and at the moment he felt particularly melancholy: When will the guests come to his house
His Moutai doesn't taste good when he has no one to accompany him. Mainly because he can't show it off, he doesn't even want to open the bottle.
But he couldn't bear to let anyone come on weekdays, so he was particularly anxious at this moment.
Secretary Xiao Zhu is now not at all shy. When a phone call comes, she won't even try to refuse and quickly walks over.
As soon as she entered the yard, she smelled the indescribable salty fragrance, with a fried appeal that made her stomach rumble.
Looking at Qiao Qiao serving the Tremella soup one by one and letting it cool, she still showed her regret without showing it:
"It would be so refreshing if this were drunk iced!"
"That won't do." Old lady Wang Lifen smiled and said, "Girls, you can't always eat cold food. It's not summer yet. Eating more warm food will do you good."
All right.
Secretary Zhu also accepted it without any problem, and even sighed: "Old people know how to take care of their bodies. Young people like us are hungry and full, eating either spicy food or greasy and cold food... After a long time, our stomachs are damaged."
When Song Youde heard this, he immediately shouted loudly:
"Look, I told you to stop being so formal! Come over directly for dinner next time, but you're still embarrassed and pretending to be nice!"
Song Tan and Zhang Yanping looked at each other and sighed helplessly.
Secretary Zhu smiled and said, "You are so caring for me, old man. Have you drunk the wine I brought last time? I have nothing to do tonight. How about I drink with you?"
"If it suits your taste, I'll bring it to you next time."
Ah, young.
This is serious.
Song Youde was immediately surprised and ecstatic: "You can drink?"
"Yes." Secretary Zhu was particularly generous: "I learned to drink when I was a teenager. I won't drink too much, just a small drink!"
“Okay, okay, okay!”
Song Youde had already hurried into the house to rummage through his hidden Maotai liquor.
Meanwhile, Secretary Zhu smiled amiably at Song Tan: "The atmosphere in our home is really good."
Song Tan remained silent.
She thought to herself: Finally I've seen someone who's better at climbing the pole than I am.
On this side, Song Youde not only took out the Maotai, but also took out the bag of tobacco:
"Come and have a little blessing. I cut it specially for you this afternoon. You can send it back to your family later. They will definitely like it!"
Secretary Xiao Zhu took it with a smile and said, "Okay, if I have any good cigarettes at home, I will bring them over for you to try."