Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two

Xu Yuqing was completely unaware of Yan Lan's admiration. Upon returning home, she started processing the hawthorns.

These hawthorns were incredibly fresh, round and plump like little fruits of fortune. She washed them patiently one by one and removed their stems.

She also found a large, dusty tray in the kitchen, about one and a half meters wide, tucked away in the corner.

This was left by the previous occupants, possibly because it was too cumbersome to take with them. Many items in the kitchen had been left behind for similar reasons.

She sprinkled some soap powder into the tray and found a new loofah gourd to scrub it clean.

The loofah gourd was soft and comfortable to hold, but the tray, being old, had some sharp edges that made Xu Yuqing feel uneasy as she scrubbed, fearing she might get cut.

She would have to find someone to buy a new one from; she guessed there might be villagers skilled in weaving them.

She also needed to purchase a small basket for carrying smaller items, so she wouldn't have to use grass ropes that left her hands red every time she went to the supply store.

However, Old Xie had promised to make a small cart, and Xu Yuqing rubbed her chin, humming thoughtfully. She decided to question Xie Junli tonight about when he would have the time.

After washing the tray, she took a stool out to the courtyard to dry it, letting the soap scent dissipate.

She returned inside to retrieve the soaked hawthorns, planning to place them on the tray once it was dry.

By the time she finished these tasks, it was nearly lunchtime. Xie Junli had mentioned today that he would try to buy some meat, but she wasn't sure if he had gone yet.

Xu Yuqing actually wanted beef or chicken or duck, anything other than pork, which she had grown tired of after eating it for so long.

Moreover, she wanted to prepare various dishes to test how long they could be stored.

However, there was no meat at home, so she decided to have a simple lunch. In the northern winter, ingredients were scarce, and Xu Yuqing lamented that she had arrived at an inconvenient time.

If it had been early autumn, she could have stockpiled more food. She heard that one could even forage for mushrooms in the mountains, though she would have to wait until spring to do so.

As someone who grew up in a concrete jungle, Xu Yuqing had never experienced this kind of life.

She steamed some rice and found two eggplants for lunch. However, looking at the eggplants, she couldn't help but sigh—when would she be able to enjoy fried prawns?

In her past life, seafood had been her favorite, but here, she couldn't even taste the sea.

She recalled that the original body's hometown seemed to be a coastal town, and Xu Yuqing furrowed her brow, shaking her head. She wondered if it was due to the original body that she had no memories of her family.

Thinking about it gave her a headache.

Once the eggplants were cooked, she added a steamed egg custard. With the rice, Xu Yuqing placed the dishes near the stove to keep them warm and then went outside.

Why hadn't he returned yet?

She placed the hawthorns in the tray, spreading them evenly. When coating them with sugar, not a drop of water could remain, especially with the prepared sugar. The hardness and quality of the final product depended on this step.

Xu Yuqing had done a show on rock sugar series, where rock sugar-coated fruits looked beautiful and tasted delicious, but the chances of failure were high, particularly with fruits like strawberries that were sensitive to heat and easily released juice.

Xie Junli still hadn't returned, so Xu Yuqing selected some less attractive hawthorns, took out a knife and cutting board, and sliced them. Once dried, she planned to steep them in water to drink.

The hawthorns were small and contained seeds, making them difficult to slice. Xu Yuqing sat down, basking in the warm sun as she cut them slowly.

Xu Yuqing was engrossed in her slicing and didn't notice Xie Junli opening the door. "Yuqing?"

"Ah, did you buy meat?" Xu Yuqing put down the knife, shook her hands, and looked up expectantly at Xie Junli, who had empty hands...

Disappointed, Xu Yuqing walked over, and Xie Junli finally revealed his surprise. His cold expression softened as he brought in a large basket from outside.

The basket was very eye-catching on his way back, but fortunately, Xie Junli's stern face deterred anyone from asking questions.

He wasn't foolish enough to display the meat openly and instead told people that he had bought flour from the grain station since they had run out at home.

To avoid dirtying Xu Yuqing's hands, he first removed the top layer of wild vegetables from the basket, which he had purchased from the villagers.

They looked tender and served as good camouflage.

There were many wild vegetables, and since it hadn't snowed yet, this was likely the last batch before winter. They were quite expensive, and beneath them lay the meat.

The first thing Xu Yuqing saw was an entire pig's trotter!

Xu Yuqing's mouth gaped open in surprise. "How could you buy this?"

Xie Junli remained silent, gently shaking his head. He was cautious, knowing that although everyone was aware of such transactions, if they were openly discussed, it would be like handing over leverage.

He carried the basket into the house, and Xu Yuqing quickly followed, carrying the knife and cutting board.

Once the front door was closed, they entered the kitchen, and Xie Junli no longer held back. "There's a quota for raising pigs in the village. That family is bold, thinking their location is remote, so they raised several extra. When I mentioned I wanted meat, they took me to their home to fetch it."

Besides the pig's trotter, there were also spare ribs, lean meat, and shoulder meat. As for the most popular fatty pork, it had been sold immediately after slaughtering yesterday.

Xu Yuqing was surprised. "That remote? You can't even hear the sound of slaughtering?"

Xie Junli shook his head. "They slaughtered the pigs halfway up the mountain and quickly brought them back."

Xu Yuqing nodded, not giving it much thought, as long as they had meat at home.

Xie Junli didn't mind getting his hands dirty and took out the straw, tossing the pieces of meat onto the ground. Only then did Xu Yuqing notice that there was a chicken underneath!

"There's even a chicken!" Xu Yuqing was delighted. This must be what it felt like to be well-off!

She finally understood why some people enjoyed stockpiling food.

It provided a sense of security!

With the meat, Xu Yuqing forgot about Xie Junli. She happily took the knife and divided the spare ribs into several portions, instructing him to freeze them. She hadn't decided how to cook the whole pig's trotter yet, so she planned to freeze it for later. As for the chicken, she froze that as well.

After a busy spell, Xu Yuqing looked at the meat hanging in the corner of the yard and smiled contentedly.

Satisfied, immensely satisfied!

Xie Junli watched Xu Yuqing, wanting to indulge her for a while longer, but alas, his stomach was truly empty. He patted his belly; recently, after his intense training, his abs had returned. At this moment, his hunger had caused his stomach to deflate, making their shape even more pronounced.

"Yuqing, let's eat first."

Xu Yuqing was taken aback, only then realizing she hadn't eaten yet. "Okay."

Halfway through the meal, Xu Yuqing suddenly remembered something and immediately turned to Xie Junli, who was engrossed in eating. "Comrade Xie."

Her tone was dignified and serious. Xie Junli paused mid-chew, nearly choking and hurriedly coughing.

"What's wrong?" As he spoke, Xie Junli had already run through several scenarios in his mind, wondering if he had upset her.

But everything had been fine lately, so why did his wife suddenly adopt this tone?

Xu Yuqing didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point. "You promised to make me a small cart."

...

Xie Junli's heart, which had been on edge, settled firmly. He had indeed forgotten about it during this time. To salvage his reputation, "I'll start working on it right away."

With a task at hand, Xie Junli sped up his eating by another notch. After tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, he was about to go chop down a tree.

"Hey! Take it easy, your hand isn't fully healed yet!"

Xu Yuqing hadn't expected him to be so eager, and now she was a bit worried. Although his bandages were off, large movements could still strain the wound on his shoulder.

Xie Junli waved dismissively as he left, knife in hand.

With the man gone, Xu Yuqing felt spirited today. She wanted to see how the cart would be made. With that in mind, she decided to make some snowball hawthorns first.

She collected the dried hawthorns in an enameled pot, arranged the slices neatly, washed them, added water, and sugar.

Their sugar ration tickets weren't plentiful, and Xie Junli hadn't saved any before. However, they had enough for the occasional sweet treat.

And more would be issued next month.

Two parts sugar, one part water, and the fire was lit to begin boiling the mixture.

The method for making snowball hawthorns involved stirring the sugar and water until evenly mixed, waiting for bubbles to form.

When the large bubbles turned into smaller ones, the fire was extinguished, allowing the syrup to cool slightly before adding the hawthorns.

While hot, the syrup would be sticky, but as it cooled, it would achieve the desired snowball texture.

Aside from hawthorns, peanuts, sweet potato strips, taro strips, and other ingredients could also be used.

Once the hawthorns were scooped out, hot water was poured into the pot. As the sugar dissolved, the pot was cleaned.

In addition to the snowball hawthorns, Xu Yuqing had also planned to make some tanghulu.

However, she had forgotten to ask Xie Junli to bring back some bamboo. But was there even bamboo nearby?

Unable to make tanghulu, Xu Yuqing decided to use the remaining hawthorns to make hawthorn cakes once she bought more the next day. Thin layers of the cakes, dried, would become fruit leather.

In the enameled pot, the half-pot of white-and-red hawthorns looked adorable. Xu Yuqing eagerly took one and bit into it.

With a gentle bite, the sugar coating crumbled, accompanied by the sour and tender hawthorn flesh. The taste was exquisite!

Xu Yuqing wanted another one after eating the first, unable to stop herself. However, too many hawthorns could lead to stomach issues.

Reluctantly setting aside her desire, she was just about to take the hawthorns outside when she heard a noise in the yard. Xie Junli had returned.

"You're back! Come quickly, I have something delicious for you!" Xu Yuqing picked one up and eagerly fed it to him.

"How is it? Delicious?"

Xie Junli still had a piece of wood on his shoulder and hadn't reacted yet when something was stuffed into his mouth. Though unsure what it was, anything his wife made was delicious.

Trusting her completely, Xie Junli chewed instinctively. The moment he bit down, sweetness and sourness intertwined in his mouth. He furrowed his brow, swallowed the hawthorn, and spat out the seeds.

He initially found the taste strange, both sweet and sour, but after swallowing it, he wanted another one.

Xu Yuqing asked, "How was it? Wasn't it delicious?"

Xie Junli responded reflexively, "Everything you make is delicious."

This unexpected praise struck a chord in Xu Yuqing's heart, and she laughed happily, her round eyes narrowing with joy. "Comrade Xie, not bad in terms of awareness!"

Xie Junli accepted the compliment with confidence and looked expectantly at his wife. "Can I have more?"

"There's more~ but you can't eat too much. This afternoon, take half to Sister-in-Law. I plan to serve these sweets at the full moon banquet; they're both beautiful and appropriate."

Xie Junli had already put down the wood. Rather than eating, he decided to focus on making the cart once his mouth stopped watering.

On the coffee table in the living room, an enameled pot brimmed with red hawthorns. Xie Junli glanced at Xu Yuqing. "There's so much here."

His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Xu Yuqing thought for a moment before understanding. "What do you mean? It's not that I'm unwilling to give you more. Eating too many hawthorns can cause stomach problems, which would be troublesome."

Misunderstanding her, Xie Junli remained silent with a stiff expression, popped two more into his mouth, stood up, and said, "I'll go work on the cart."