The river gurgled, and there were continuous dark clouds above. A few green leaves set off the flowers, and a cool breeze gently brushed their faces. It was a cloudy day.
Seeing such weather, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also happy. Finally, they didn't have to endure the sun to exercise. The two went to the courtyard to throw sandbags. The real sandbags were covered with a layer of linen outside and filled with sand inside. They were slightly bigger than a quail egg, and were just right for their small hands to hold.
Xiao Hong stood on the side, staring at the sandbags flying around in the air. She was afraid that the two little ancestors would throw the sandbags to each other's face.
While they were happily playing, a servant carrying a basket came over and gently put the basket on the ground. He said to Wang Juan: "Little girl, according to your instructions, I bought the things you want. I went around the surrounding area and bought these."
"Well, okay, you do what you need to do. Oh, go to Xiao Bao's storeroom and get two big bones. Pick the meat and take it back. When you go back, you can make soup for your child."
Wang Juan took the sandbags and stopped. She said to the servant. Naturally, the reward was from Zhang Xiaobao's storeroom.
After the servant thanked her and left, Zhang Xiaobao ran to the side of the basket and tiptoed to look at it.
"What is this? It looks familiar. "Zhang Xiaobao asked.
"Of course, it looks familiar. It's saltpeter, not very pure saltpeter. I specifically asked someone to buy it." Wang Juan explained.
"Saltpeter?" When Zhang Xiaobao heard the name, he began to look around.
"What are you looking at? It's saltpeter. "
"I'm looking at charcoal and sulfur." Zhang Xiaobao said.
Wang Juan rolled her eyes at Zhang Xiaobao. She also came over to look at the saltpeter, "What are you thinking? I didn't say I'm going to make fire. "
"You can't buy so many cures, right?" Zhang Xiaobao was still looking for two other things.
"Stupid, Erniu's family has already prepared the hotpot and sent it to the courtyard. I want to drink some soup and eat two slices of tender meat. I want to use saltpeter to make ice. I want to freeze the mutton and use a plane to cut it into slices. I want to roll the slices one by one. It's thinner than the slices and more convenient to eat."
Wang Juan said as she reached into the basket and took out a small piece of saltpeter. She held it in her hand and looked at it. She nodded and felt that it was not bad.
"Oh, we can eat hotpot now. It's a cloudy day, so we can sleep after eating. That's what I call comfortable. I don't expect big slices of meat, but some foam will do."
When Zhang Xiaobao heard that there was hotpot, he naturally wanted to freeze the mutton. He ordered Xiao Hong to get two basins, one big and one small, and filled them with water. He put the saltpeter in the big basin and continued to throw sandbags to Wang Juan.
When the water in the small basin also turned to ice, he ordered someone to bring fresh mutton to freeze. Naturally, someone also prepared other food. He found a new plane and prepared charcoal. He also ordered someone to go to Erniu's house and get a can of water that was used to soak mountain chili. The rest of the food was waiting for the mutton to be frozen and hard to be shaved.
Wang Juan was also not idle. She ordered someone to make chicken and pig bone soup. She also got some dried seafood. This thing was cheap. She first used warm water to heat it and then used it as the base of the hotpot.
They waited for a long time. When it was almost noon, the mutton was finally ready. As for the beef, it was not easy to kill and could easily cause trouble, so they could not eat it for the time being.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who were sweating from playing, took a bath and then accompanied Zhang Xiaobao's family to sit at the table. Although they were sitting, they were actually being held in someone's arms.
The hot pot was placed in the middle of the table. The hot pot was filled with red-hot coals. The inner ring of the pot was a hollow lid, and a chimney was placed on top of the lid. When the bubbling sound came from the inside, the water would boil. After removing the chimney and lifting the lid, the food would be ready to eat.
Fermented bean curd, stinky tofu, chives, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings were placed in small plates and placed there. Whoever wanted to eat could take it.
Zhang Xiaobao's parents, grandfather, and grandmother sat in a circle according to the rules. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were held in Xiao Hong's arms.
The adults knew that this hotpot was specially made for them by Xiao Hong. Smelling the soup and the seafood in the pot, they felt that it was not bad, but they were not sure how it tasted.
"Mother, eat, I'll cook a piece of mutton for you." Zhang Xiaobao saw that everyone was sitting there and watching, so he could only use his chopsticks to pick up a piece of mutton with great difficulty. He put it into the pot and gently shook it.
Xiao Hong was afraid that the boiling soup would splash on the little gongzi. She wanted to reach out to block it, but she could not free her hands, so she could only pull it back.
"Don't pull, it's easy to burn. Okay." Zhang Xiaobao reminded her, and then moved twice. He took out the discolored meat and put it on his mother's plate.
Zhang Wong Clan's eyes immediately turned red. She opened her mouth and ate the meat. It was gone with a click. She did not even taste anything and praised, "It's delicious. My family's Bao Lang's food is good. Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, and husband, all eat."
Then everyone started to work. According to their eating habits, they made two sets of seasonings. One set was for the mountain pepper seedling water.
Zhang Xiaobao, Wang Juan, and Xiao Hong watched from the side. They all swallowed their saliva. Xiao Hong could not eat together, and Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could not eat such a big piece of meat. They could only wait until everyone was almost done. There were bits and pieces in the pot before they could drink the soup.
"Xiao Hong, you don't have to carry us. We will stand and watch. You eat too."
Because it was a short table, everyone sat on small stools, also known as Hu stools. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could stand by the side, but when they saw Xiao Hong watching, they felt uncomfortable. It was fine if they did not let her in, but since they were sitting together, they could not just watch.
Zhang Xiaobao broke free from Xiao Hong's embrace and ordered.
Xiao Hong did not dare to move her chopsticks, and shook her head.
Wang Juan also broke free and said, "Just eat. The more the merrier."
"Xiao Hong, let's eat together. You have taken care of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo these few days. Just treat it as a reward." Jang Wong Clan finally spoke. Xiao Hong thanked them and ate carefully.
Five people were eating, and only two children were left. Zhang Xiaobao looked and refused Xiao Hong's offer of soup. He scooped some tofu with a spoon, put it in the pot, and put it on Wang Juan's plate.
"Eat. We will eat the duck blood later. These things are still edible."
Wang Juan did not stand on ceremony. After mixing her own seasoning, she stuck her chopsticks into the tofu, dipped it, and ate it in small bites. After eating, she stuck out her tongue and said, "So spicy."
Zhang Xiaobao also scalded some tofu for himself. There were already a few Xiao Hong dots on the back of his small hand. Xiao Hong was frightened when she saw this.
She quickly took Zhang Xiaobao's hand and looked at it. The others also saw this situation and became nervous. Only Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not have any expression.
"Xiao Hong, you eat your food. Don't worry about Xiao Bao. This little bit of scalding is nothing." Wang Juan said. She knew that she and Zhang Xiaobao were the same kind of people. This was not a wound at all. She believed that even if a layer of skin on Zhang Xiaobao's hand was burned off, Zhang Xiaobao's hand would not tremble even if he wanted to kill someone.
"En, right, it's not hot at all. It's just hot. I can eat it myself. I am a monster." Zhang Xiaobao said with a smile, two small dimples appeared on his chubby face.
"What monster? It's an immortal. Don't listen to your father's nonsense. Xiao Hong, since Xiao Bao can do it himself, let him eat it himself. My son is not an ordinary person. "
Jang Wong Clan also felt a little distressed, but she still chose to support her son.
"It's all in the past. Why are you still talking about him? Mother, I'll pluck some prawns for you. "
Father Zhang saw that his wife was going to bring up the past again. He was afraid that he would be scolded by his parents again. He boiled three prawns and plucked some red meat for his parents and Jang Wong Clan.
"It's noon. Why hasn't the people sent by San Shui County come back yet?"
Zhang Xiaobao used a spoon to scoop up some mutton, which was deliberately chopped by his family, and put it into the small bowl that Wang Juan was holding with both hands. The two of them drank one mouthful after another. Suddenly, he thought of the matter in San Shui County and asked casually.
"It should be fine. What I'm most worried about isn't that side, but which river will stop the boat? What if the boat hasn't arrived yet?" Wang Juan drank a mouthful of soup and looked around the table out of habit as she spoke.
"There's no hurry. I believe that the two rivers will definitely have something. I know this liar Song's mentality. What are you looking for?" Zhang Xiaobao saw Wang Juan's actions and asked.
"Vermicelli. I forgot. There's no vermicelli here." Wang Juan used lip language this time.
"I haven't made vermicelli before, but I know the general idea. When I was young, there was a starch field near the orphanage. The water in the river was white. If I had known earlier, I would have gone in and seen how they made it.
Later, I'll ask someone to make it with wheat. Isn't it just making starch first? With 10 taels of silver, it's definitely possible to make some vermicelli. It's a pity that there's no chili sauce today. "
Zhang Xiaobao tried hard to think, but in the end, he still couldn't figure out how to make vermicelli. He didn't like to eat vermicelli. It was okay to eat it occasionally, but he had never cared about it.
"It's okay. When will you ask someone to make noodles? I know how to make them. When I was young, there was a family in the courtyard that made vermicelli. I often went to help them knead the noodles." Wang Juan saw Zhang Xiaobao's lip language and said comfortingly.
While the two of them were lip speaking, Xiao Hong had already finished eating in a hurry. She didn't dare to eat until she was full. She just ate two mouthfuls of each dish and then put down her chopsticks.
Zhang Xiaobao also knew that Xiao Hong had already made a great decision to eat a few mouthfuls. Seeing that it wasn't good for her to stay on the side, he said to her, "Xiao Hong, go and see how Little Seven is doing. We must keep that liar Song here for a few days."
Xiao Hong agreed and left. Here, they were still eating and drinking.
If they didn't talk about things that didn't happen here, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan would let go of their worries. They didn't need to lip speak anymore. They drank soup and ate bits and pieces of food there, and then began to study the next plan.
The adults, on the other hand, did not make a sound. As they ate, they looked at the two little fellows. When they heard the words that only adults would say, the smile on their faces never disappeared. Finally, they did not have to worry about whether the next generation would ruin the family business.
The most depressed person was Father Zhang. He always felt that the two children were abnormal. But when he saw the other three people he couldn't provoke all take it for granted, he couldn't say anything.
On second thought, this was good. When Xiao Bao grew up, he might come back with the top score in the exam. So, he said to his son, "Xiao Bao, are you willing to learn how to read and write from your father?"
"Yes, I am learning. Dad, please take care of me in the future." Zhang Xiaobao swallowed the soup, nodded and said to his father.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
