NABC Chapter 16 Flower Roll
Chapter 16 Flower Roll
Song Jiaojiao nervously rolled her eyes and quickly changed the subject, "Quick, I picked some wild grapes on the mountain. Let's pour them out first, otherwise they'll spoil by tomorrow. Then we can make wine and drink it when winter comes." The two of them worked together to pour out the grapes and spread them out in the corner.
"Second sister, bring a big bowl, let's wash the grapes and eat them." Song Jiaojiao called to the kitchen, picking out several bunches of big, dark grapes.
"Here it is, Mom. What kind of grapes are these? Are they delicious?" Mu Xue came out carrying a large bowl, tilting her head up to ask Song Jiaojiao curiously.
Song Jiaojiao picked a large grape and stuffed it into Mu Xue's mouth. Mu Xue chewed it and opened her eyes wide, saying, "Sweet." Song Jiaojiao put the rest of the grapes into the bowl, smiled, and pinched Mu Xue's little cheek.
"Take it to wash and eat with your sister, but don't eat too much, or you won't be able to eat dinner later." As soon as she finished speaking, Mu Xue ran off quickly with the bowl in her arms.
"Big sister, you must try some! The grapes Mom picked are so delicious."
Hearing Mu Xue's cheerful voice coming from the kitchen, Song Jiaojiao smiled as well.
"Mother, the cloth shopkeeper brought the cloth today, along with a big bag of scraps, saying it was a gift," Wang Hefan said from the side.
"It's here. I'll take the cloth and cotton to your Grandma Lin tomorrow and ask her to help make some clothes. The quilts are simpler; I'll let your younger sister practice making them." Song Jiaojiao thought that Mu Qing couldn't possibly make all these clothes by herself, so it would be faster to ask the villagers for help. Song Jiaojiao didn't know many people, except for Aunt Lin from her third uncle's family, with whom she was only slightly acquainted.
"Okay, Mom, you can send it tomorrow. I want to go to the mountains with Uncle Cheng tomorrow to see if there are any wild animals in the traps." Wang Hefan thought that he hadn't been to the mountains for a few days and wanted to go with Uncle Cheng.
"Okay, go ahead. Are you coming back for lunch? When you're in the mountains, listen to your Uncle Cheng's instructions and be careful." Song Jiaojiao looked at the man in front of her, who was even taller than her, and knew it wouldn't be good to stop him, so she could only give him more instructions.
"I'll just bring some dry food to eat in the mountains for lunch, otherwise this round trip will waste time," Wang Hefan said earnestly, scratching his head.
"Okay, I'll steam some buns for you tomorrow morning. You can take them and eat with your Uncle Cheng." Song Jiaojiao thought for a moment and decided to get up early tomorrow to make buns, since they still had some meat they bought in town.
Before she could finish speaking, Mu Qing's voice came, "Mother, eldest brother, dinner is ready."
Mu Qing walked over carrying a bowl of noodles. "Big sister, you've worked hard. What delicious food did you make tonight?"
"Mom, tonight I made soup from the leftover pork bone, kneaded some dough, and cooked noodles with it. I also added some lamb's quarters that I picked this morning," Mu Qing replied shyly with a smile.
"Hmm, not bad. The broth made from pork bones is perfect for noodles. I'll buy some more when I go to town next time." Song Jiaojiao said with a smile, then went to wash her hands and prepare to eat.
Simple cooking methods often bring out the true flavor of food. After a long day, Song Jiaojiao was enjoying her meal. After finishing her meal, she went to soak her feet in water to prepare for an early rest, as she had to get up early the next day to make steamed buns.
After a day of hiking, Song Jiaojiao went straight to bed, showing no signs of being picky about the bed, and didn't even have time to check out the upgraded space.
The next day, just before dawn, when Mu Qing got up, Song Jiaojiao had already kneaded the dough into a ball and placed it on the stove to rise slowly. Seeing Mu Qing come in, she said, "Awake? There's hot water in the small pot. It's cold in the morning, so add some hot water to help you wash up."
Mu Qing nodded and busied herself washing up. Song Jiaojiao took out the meat, first slicing it into thin slices, then mincing it into a paste. She put it in a bowl, added seasonings and mixed it well. Finally, she added scallion and ginger water and stirred it until it became sticky. Then she set it aside for later use.
At this moment, Mu Qing had also finished packing. "Mother, what can I do?"
Song Jiaojiao looked at the dough and said, "We can start making steamed buns now. You start cooking the porridge first, and then put the fire on the big pot so we can steam them later."
Song Jiaojiao took out the rested dough, sprinkled it with dry flour, kneaded it, and pinched it into small pieces. She flattened each piece in her hand and started making steamed buns. In no time, Song Jiaojiao had finished making the buns. Seeing that there wasn't much meat filling left and a large bowl of dough, she rolled it into a thin pancake, spread the remaining meat filling evenly on the pancake, rolled it up, cut it into small squares of roughly the same size, stacked two squares together, pressed them together with chopsticks, pinched the ends, pulled and twisted them, and a meat flower roll was ready.
Once all the steamed buns and rolls are made, the steamer will be steaming. Put the lid on, wait a moment after the water boils, and they'll be ready.
It was already daylight outside, and Wang Hefan had gotten up and was preparing the things he needed to go up the mountain in the yard.
"He Fan is up. Dinner will be ready soon. Go wash up first." Song Jiaojiao heard a sound in the yard and guessed that Wang He Fan must have woken up.
Wang Hefan replied softly, "Okay, Mother, I'll be right there after I put this away."
Hearing the sounds from the courtyard, Mu Xue got out of bed. Before she even opened her eyes, she said, "Mom, it smells so good! It smells like meat buns."
Upon hearing Mu Xue's voice, Song Jiaojiao replied, "That's right, you little glutton, we're having meat buns today. Didn't you say you liked them last time? We'll have plenty today. Go wash your hands and eat."
Fifteen minutes later, the aroma of the buns wafted from the pot. Song Jiaojiao lifted the lid and used chopsticks to transfer the plump buns into a bowl. "Big sister, it's ready. Take this bowl of buns over first, and I'll get a bowl to take out the meat rolls." After Song Jiaojiao finished picking up the rolls, there were still some buns and rolls left in the pot. She would come in and pack them up when Wang Hefan left.
"The steamed buns are here! Are you hungry? Come on, let's eat!" Song Jiaojiao placed the steamed buns on the table and invited everyone to eat together. The fragrant rice porridge paired with the soft steamed buns was incredibly delicious.
"He Fan, I put your steamed buns in the steamer. Don't forget to take them with you. And remember to bring some water too," Song Jiaojiao mumbled, munching on a bun.
"I see."
After finishing her meal, Song Jiaojiao went into the inner room and reminded Mu Qing and Mu Xue not to forget to feed the chickens and take out the white fungus from the winnowing basket to dry.
After closing the door, Song Jiaojiao went into her personal space. She was too tired yesterday and fell asleep without even checking her space.
Upon entering the space, the changes were immediately noticeable; the thatched houses and warehouses had increased significantly, and the land area had doubled. There was now much more space available for planting.
"Host, you see, space upgrades will only be better for you." Flying Tiger's smug voice came, and Song Jiaojiao looked at Flying Tiger at this moment, feeling that it was different.
"Flying Tiger, did you sneak a bite? You look like you've gained a lot of weight."
"I'm not fat! I'm not fat at all! I've clearly grown up, okay? You don't really think I'm a cat, do you?" Flying Tiger said, hands on his hips, annoyed and embarrassed.
There's no such thing as a cat having a waist, but that's not important. "You are a cat, go and see for yourself, what else do you look like but a cat?"