Chapter 193: Chapter 106: Rice Transplanting Season (Part 2)

’No way. If she helped me today, wouldn’t I have to go over to her house and help cook when it’s their turn to transplant rice seedlings? When would this cooking duty ever end? I’d rather endure a few days of farm work myself than drag out this cooking obligation.’

Shi Tou’s mother was visibly pregnant now. Patting her belly, she smiled at Liu Xiaomei. “Isn’t your family busy? Your brother has already gone to help us transplant seedlings, but your mother isn’t in the fields? Who’s cooking at home then?”

Liu Xiaomei grinned slyly. “My mom sent me. She’s at home today. Juhua, don’t be in such a rush to refuse. There are so many people today, do you really think you can manage it all? Aren’t you just afraid we’ll ask you for help when it’s our turn to transplant? Hehe, but that’s exactly what I want. I want you to come help me then. Cooking is boring, and it’s always better to have someone to talk to.”

Juhua looked at the girl’s crafty expression, feeling exasperated. “Your family has plenty of workers,” she said resignedly. “And for cooking, you have both you and your mother. Why would you need to ask anyone else? Too many people just makes things complicated.”

As she took the knife from Juhua’s hand and started chopping vegetables, Liu Xiaomei said, “We need to be quick, right? Our family is already several days late. If we can’t plant all the seedlings at once, it’ll affect them. Juhua, I know you’re a homebody, but if you come help me cook, you can also come see my house. We have two peach trees, and they’re both bearing fruit! We also have a plum tree, two apricot trees, and two persimmon trees. In June and July, the sweet-and-sour apricots and plums are delicious. Later on, the persimmons get sweet too. The saplings your brother dug up for you? I’m the one who set them aside for you. My brother was going to pull up all those little sprouts and toss them—the backyard is too crowded—but I remembered you wanted some, so I had him leave them. My Third Brother also netted a bunch of little fish and shrimp and dried them. You should come over, talk with me for a bit. It’s better than always being cooped up at home. I’m always the one going to your place, but you never visit me. It’s making me feel a bit awkward.”

Juhua listened to her chatter on, a smile forming on her face as she drifted off in thought.

’This Liu Xiaomei was always telling her about this and that from her family’s garden—how their chili peppers had thinner skins, how their melons were sweeter, how their melon seeds were bigger than anyone else’s. And for some reason, Juhua loved to hear it.’

She looked at the little girl, feeling an inexplicable fondness for her. “Stop talking,” she said. “You’re making my mouth water. Fine, I’ll come help you when the time comes! But when the apricots and plums are ripe in June, you have to bring some over for me.”

Liu Xiaomei beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly, promising she would definitely pick the best ones for her.

Juhua found cooking much easier this time, because Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother was truly an excellent cook. The old woman had the same straightforward, capable personality as Shi Tou’s mother. And though she wasn’t young, she was still quite sturdy.

With just a few words, she assigned everyone their tasks, showing no signs of being flustered. Moreover, her cooking was very distinctive. A dish she had brought, chili cakes, completely won Juhua over, and she humbly asked the old woman to teach her how to make it.

To make the pickled chili cakes, you minced red chilies and mixed them with ground rice flour, corn flour, salt, and finely chopped young ginger. The mixture was then packed into an earthenware jar to pickle. When it was time to eat, you would scoop out a bowlful, sprinkle it with chopped scallions, brush a pan with sesame oil, and pan-fry it over low heat like a pancake until both sides were golden brown and crisp. Since red chilies were the main ingredient, the finished cakes were a brilliant red.

The chili cakes were sour, spicy, and fragrant, with a pleasant crispiness—an extremely appetizing dish. If they weren’t so salty and meant to be eaten as a side dish, Juhua would have devoured several more pieces. Liu Xiaomei also ate a few and, as a result, she and Juhua had to keep drinking water.

Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother advised them not to eat so many on their own. They were meant to be eaten with rice, she said, and eating them like this would give them a stomachache.

The old woman had a very practical way of managing things. Yangzi and Little Shitou, who were off from school, wanted to go down to the paddies, but she told them, “Won’t you two just be in the way? You’d be better off gathering some river snails. We could make another dish with them.”

Hearing this, the two boys grabbed their baskets and headed for the fields. At this time of year, river snails were crawling everywhere in the paddies. Before noon, they returned with a full basket.

Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother gave each of them an embroidery needle and taught them how to extract the snail meat. They had to pry off the little “lid,” pull the meat out from its curled shell, pinch off the intestines at the end, and keep only the black-and-white patterned flesh from the middle.

Yangzi and Little Shitou took their task very seriously. Once they had picked out about two large bowls’ worth, they put the meat in a small basket, washed it clean at the riverbank, and delivered it to Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother in the kitchen.

Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother had Liu Xiaomei chop some chives and green garlic to have ready. First, she flash-fried some red chilies in the oiled wok, added a bit of salt, then tossed in the snail meat and began to stir-fry it rapidly. “You can’t cook these for too long,” she explained to Juhua and Liu Xiaomei. “If you overcook them, the meat gets chewy. You have to plate it as soon as it’s nearly done.”

When she saw the snail meat change color, she tossed in the chives and green garlic. As soon as their fragrance filled the air, she took the dish off the heat.

She put a small portion into a separate bowl and said to Yangzi and Little Shitou with a chuckle, “You two come have a taste. You’re the ones who gathered them, after all. You’ve been working hard.”

The two boys ran in excitedly, took the chopsticks their grandmother offered, and popped a cluster of snail meat into their mouths. They both cried out in delight. Juhua and Liu Xiaomei quickly tried some as well. It was indeed fragrant and spicy, with a tender yet firm, smooth texture.

Finding the dish a little spicy, Juhua brought out the jar of rice crisps and gave one to each person. They placed the snail meat on the crisps and popped them into their mouths. A wave of CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH filled the air. As they ate, they glanced at one another and burst out laughing.

Seeing the four of them eating with such delight, the old woman’s eyes crinkled into a smile. She said to Shi Tou’s mother, “You come have some too. The cooking is almost finished. Take a break!”

Shi Tou’s mother’s pregnancy cravings were already intense, and seeing Juhua and the others eating with such relish made her swallow hard. “Is it really that good?” she asked. “It certainly smells wonderful.”

Little Shitou quickly put some snail meat on a piece of rice crisp, ran over to his mother, and held it out. “Mom, try it,” he said. “It’s really delicious.”

Shi Tou’s mother took a bite. It was indeed fragrant, spicy, and whetted her appetite. “It really is good,” she said to her son. “You two should go gather some more this afternoon. We still have many days of transplanting ahead of us, and this makes for a wonderful side dish. Mom, how come I’ve never seen you make this before?”

Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother smiled. “I learned it from Lianhua’s mother-in-law.”(To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please consider supporting it with your recommendation and monthly votes on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep