12dz Chapter 17 Dumpling Soup
Chapter 17 Dumpling Soup
Gao Mengli mixed quicklime and wood ash in water, then filtered it through a rag.
Heat the lard again, then pour it out and set it aside.
She looked at the coarse salt in the jar with some disdain; it tasted rather bitter. But there was nothing she could do; coarse salt was all she had at home, and it was perfect for making soap.
She'll refine the coarse salt when she has free time; she prefers fine salt.
Taking advantage of the break, Lin Xi ran to the old house next door and picked a handful of peach blossoms.
The people in the old house heard the commotion, but they dared not speak out against it. They all stayed inside like quails, not daring to say anything bad about him.
What if this bastard gets angry and hits someone? Sending him to the county yamen is exactly what he wants; he can go in and eat free "jail food," which he'd be more than happy to do.
Every time Lin Xi picked a flower, the people in the old house shuddered with pain.
Damn it, those are peaches...
The peach blossoms smelled wonderful, which Lin Xi loved. He completely ignored how the people in the old house were gritting their teeth at him.
I happily picked a big bunch and quickly ran back.
Gao Mengli brought out the slightly warm lard and placed it on the table. Then, she first mixed the filtered wood ash water with the quicklime and calcium carbonate water.
Da Niu had no idea what her mother was going to do, and watched Gao Mengli operate with great curiosity.
Everything was normal until he saw his mother pour the stone-water mixture into the lard.
His eyes widened like saucers. "No, my goodness! This is no way to waste things like this! It's oil, oil!"
His heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys were all throbbing with pain, and his internal organs were fighting each other inside his body, causing his brain to shut down.
Gao Mengli was rather oblivious and didn't notice the look of pity and strong disapproval on her eldest son's face.
He stirred the mixture in the bowl in front of him, occasionally adding some finely ground salt.
Stirring 81 times resulted in excellent saponification, and a fine paste-like substance appeared in the bowl.
Gao Mengli looked at her work with satisfaction, a slight smile playing on her lips.
At this moment, Lin Xi, who had been "stealing" the peach blossoms, returned. He quickly threw the handful of peach blossoms into the bowl in front of Gao Mengli.
Da Niu, however, stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.
No, are his parents alright? Are they sick either?
These people are definitely not family; they can't be from the same household. One person causing trouble is bad enough, but his father even picked a handful of peach blossoms and threw them into the bowl—damn it, those are meant for peaches…
The two continued with their work without pausing for a moment.
After mixing well, Gao Mengli cut the two sections of bamboo she had previously cut in half.
Then pour the mixed mixture into the bamboo tubes, stuff the openings with Da Niu's tattered clothes, and hang the two bamboo tubes under the eaves.
"It can be used tomorrow!"
Da Niu watched his spendthrift parents' series of actions, feeling like crying but helpless.
As for what it was for, he didn't ask, nor did he want to know. After all, he had wasted so much lard, and his heart was wounded, so he couldn't care less about his parents.
Gao Mengli glanced at the sky; it was getting dark, but she had only picked a basketful of elm seeds, which was far from enough.
Make more tomorrow, and with the money we earn, we still have a lot of things to buy for the house, and everything costs money.
So she took Lin Xi and they went to the hills to pick elm seeds, carrying baskets on their backs. They went back and forth twice and brought back two more baskets.
Labor is glorious, but it can also lead to hunger.
When the two returned, they were hungry again. Lin Xi scooped out half a pound of flour and made dumpling soup, thus finishing dinner hastily.
They didn't like the taste, so they only ate one bowl and then stopped.
But Da Niu regarded it as a delicacy.
After all, this was a dumpling soup made with wheat flour. His father used the pork skin he cut off at noon to rub the bottom of the pot, frying out a little bit of lard, and then added dumplings made from wheat flour to cook it. Even the pork skin was cut into strips and fried until crispy.
The white dough dumplings are uniform in size, appearing and disappearing in the thick soup. Each dumpling is full of the rustic aroma of flour and has a wonderfully chewy texture.
The addition of that little bit of lard was like the finishing touch, giving the whole soup a rich and mellow aroma.
The pork skin is fried until crispy, and when you put it in your mouth, it makes a "crunch" sound, and the aroma of the fat explodes in your mouth, creating a wonderful contrast with the warm and smooth taste of the dumpling soup.
Da Niu sipped the dumpling soup spoonful by spoonful, feeling the delicious flavor spread from his throat to his stomach. Gently stroking his stomach, he felt an indescribable warmth!
He ate with relish, but his parents seemed a little disgusted. After finishing one bowl, they put down their bowls and chopsticks, washed up, and went to bed.
There were still about two bowls left in the pot, he was so happy! His parents wouldn't eat, so he would!
He was sitting in the courtyard, enjoying his meal by the moonlight, when he heard a noise coming from his courtyard gate.
He put down his chopsticks, glanced at the house, and saw that his parents' room was quiet. Only then did he feel relieved and quietly walked over to open the courtyard gate.
Just as the three little kids at the door were about to speak, Da Niu quickly gestured for them to be quiet with his finger and whispered like a thief, "Shh, don't talk! Afu, go home and get a bowl. I'll scoop some dumpling soup for you to take back and share with your younger siblings."
Upon hearing his cousin's words, Lin Fu quickly nodded, realizing that this was called "Geda Tang" (a type of noodle soup).
From the moment his uncle started frying pork skin, the three of them hid outside the yard and inhaled the aroma of meat through the crack in the door.
He and his two younger sisters were already drooling all over the place.
He quickly ran back to the old house, took a bowl from the kitchen, and then tiptoed to the next door, placing it in Da Niu's hand.
The three of them looked at Da Niu with bright eyes, pinning their hopes of getting to eat dumpling soup on their older brother!
Da Niu turned around and went back into the yard. He took a bowl from the pot and, as he passed through the yard, he nervously glanced back at his parents' room several times.
Then, gently placing the bowl in Lin Fu's hands, he said, "Hold it steady, take it back and eat with your sisters!"
Lin Fu's eyes were practically glued to the dumpling soup in his hands, but that didn't stop him from nodding to Da Niu.
He quickly took his two younger sisters to bed and went home, afraid that if he stayed out any longer, the drool from his mouth would drip into his bowl.
Back at the old house, Jiang saw that Afu had returned with his two granddaughters, and a sense of doubt arose in her heart.
When her gaze fell on the bowl of dumpling soup in Afu's hand, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
"Afu, did the neighbor give this to us?" Jiang asked softly.
Afu looked nervously at the bowl in his hand, then at Jiang Shi, and whispered to his grandmother, "Mmm, Grandma, this is dumpling soup that Brother Da Niu gave me. It smells so good."
It really is……
She quickly ran to the gate of the courtyard, looked outside, and then quickly closed the gate.
Her grandson is getting bolder and bolder; he actually dared to rummage through the neighbor's yard.
The neighbor next door can't even afford candles... I hope this won't cause trouble...
She returned to the house, where the family stared in shock at the dumpling soup Lin Fu had placed on the table.
Although everyone was swallowing hard, no one said they would try a bite.
Old man Lin Yong felt he couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first, "Old woman, this was secretly given to Afu by Da Niu, this..."
He meant, what if those two bastards find out tomorrow?
When the head of the family heard the old man speak, they all turned to look at Jiang.
Jiang stared at the steaming dumpling soup on the table. The steam and the unique aroma were like a "villain" with a big hammer, constantly pounding on her head. She was almost losing control.
Jiang felt immense pressure; this kind of "filth" should be disposed of as soon as possible. "Eat it, everyone eat it!"
She quickly took a spoonful and felt that this was the ultimate taste in the world, it was so delicious!
When the others saw that their mothers had started, they quickly grabbed their spoons and began to drink as well.
The whole family was captivated by the aroma of a bowl of dumpling soup. They couldn't help but drool even in their sleep. The aftertaste was so strong and unforgettable.