amaotonovel Chapter 186: Compromise
Chapter 186: Compromise
“Let’s make chicken soup. I’m kind of craving some. We don’t have any fresh pork, so I wonder if some chicken buns would work?
I will cook a duck for Xiao Bai and Hei Hei respectively. We have so many chickens and ducks that the poultry room is no longer big enough for them. I am thinking of building another room to separate the chickens and ducks. "
Xia Qingyue looked at him and thought that he was the one who raised the chickens and ducks, so he had the right to decide what to do. She said embarrassedly, "Then Heihei and I got the benefit."
"It's more lively when we eat together. The most important thing is to enjoy the meal. I'll take the chicken to the well, kill it and bring it back." Han Zhibai poured all the hot water in the pot into two wooden barrels and walked out with them.
After washing the vegetables and steaming the fish, set it aside, add water to the pot again and bring it to a boil, blanch the shepherd's purse until its color deepens, take it out and rinse it with cold water, squeeze out the water, and chop it into small pieces like the onions.
She beat three eggs, fried them and crushed them with a spatula, planning to make dumplings with egg, scallion, chicken and shepherd's purse fillings.
After the ingredients were ready, she poured the flour into a large bowl, beat an egg, and tried to move the salt shaker with one hand to add some salt. However, the shaker was not light and she could not lift it with one hand, so she had to pick it up with both hands instead.
The salt jar feels dry when touched by hand, without any greasy feeling. Both the salt jar and other things on the kitchen cabinet are neat and tidy, which shows that Han Zhibai cleans and takes care of them every day.
She opened the salt jar and was surprised by the full amount of refined salt inside. "Why does he have so much salt?"
After a while, Han Zhibai came back after killing the chicken. "Qingyue, how do you want to cook the chicken soup? I also want some dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots."
Xia Qingyue, who was making dumplings by the kitchen cabinet, said, "Let's make mushroom chicken soup. It tastes fresh and delicious."
He went to the utility room to find some dried mushrooms, soaked them in warm water, put the chopped chicken pieces into a pot and boiled them for the two little ones on the homemade stove.
Seeing that small stove, Xia Qingyue remembered the one she made at the end of last year. The two were very similar, except that Han Zhibai's was bigger and shorter. Their structural principles and functions were actually similar.
All the lean meat of a chicken was removed, and the chicken skin and chicken fat were put aside. Han Zhibai placed them on the kitchen counter.
“It’s a bit dry to wrap only lean meat, so we can’t waste the chicken skin and chicken fat. We can add some of the refined oil to the stuffing, and the rest can be saved for stir-frying or cooking noodles.” She was wrapping a bun with scallion and egg filling, and she was almost done.
"I'll refine the oil." Han Zhibai went to work.
The two of them cooked lunch together, busy but orderly. When it was almost done, the two little ones came running back and they shared the steamed fish and cooked chicken with them.
Finally, a big pot of dumplings came out of the pot. Han Zhibai ate the big bowl while she ate the small bowl.
On the table was a large bowl of chicken soup, one dish each of pickled fish and smashed cucumber, and a bowl of dumplings for each person. It was no exaggeration to say that this was the most sumptuous meal Xia Qingyue had prepared in the past six months.
"Eat quickly." Han Zhibai stuffed the chopsticks into her hand.
She nodded and picked up a dumpling to eat. It was stuffed with chicken and shepherd's purse. It was fresh, tender and delicious. It tasted so good that she stamped her feet under the table.
Han Zhibai also ate the dumplings first. After eating one, he looked up in surprise and said, "Qingyue, the dumplings you made are so delicious!"
"If it tastes good, eat more."
They ate their meal and enjoyed it.
Once he saw Xia Qingyue finish the chicken soup in her bowl, Han Zhibai would take the bowl in time, pick out the good chicken meat, scoop the chicken legs and wings into the bowl, and then scoop the soup. Every time he handed the bowl over, he would say, "The soup is delicious, drink more."
Heihei beside him was eating the meat in his bowl, while Xiaobai's bowl next to him had half a chicken and a fish left in it.
Xiaobai didn't eat anymore. He lay comfortably on the ground with his limbs facing the sky, revealing his white, bulging belly. He was sleeping soundly and snoring softly.
After lunch, Han Zhibai rushed to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen.
Looking at his busy back, Xia Qingyue hesitated and said, "I see you have salt in your jar, would you mind selling me some?"
After she finished speaking, she felt a little regretful, thinking that this was a bit too much. "It's okay if it's inconvenient. I have..."
"Salt?" Han Zhibai paused while wiping the counter. He looked at the salt jar, thought of something, dropped the handkerchief in his hand, turned around and said to her:
"Qingyue, come with me."
He took her to the utility room, opened a wooden box in the corner, and took out a heavy bag from it. There were several more bags of similar items in the box.
Han Zhibai opened the bag, and Xia Qingyue saw that it was pure salt without any impurities. She was stunned and pointed to the box with a trembling voice: "Could that be salt too?"
"Yes, I fished them out of a salt lake."
"Lake salt!?" She was shocked.
"When I was a child, my father took me out of the forest formation, which is the direction of the mountain opposite the main hall. After walking for three days, we came to a lake with blue-green water. Under the clear water was a large area of thick white stuff, a bit like stone, but it was not stone.
Dad told me that the white stuff was like salt, and he taught me how to handle it. The salt I ate since I was a child came from there. "
“Although the salt is very white now, it used to be a bit dirty, with fine sand and small stones mixed in it. My father tried many ways but failed to completely remove the impurities.
Until last year, you taught me the method of filtering water, and I thought about using the same method on this salt, and it actually worked!"
Han Zhibai still feels excited when he thinks of the scene of using water filtration to clean the salt last year.
"Ah, this." Xia Qingyue didn't expect that she had helped by accident.
Han Zhibai took out another bag of salt from the box and said, "Qingyue, please help me get the backpack and put it in now. I'm afraid I'll forget it later."
A bag of salt weighs about 40 kilograms, and two bags weigh about 80 kilograms.
"Just sell me one bag." One bag is enough for her to eat for several months.
"I cleaned it using the method you taught me, so how can I let you buy it? Take as much as you want.
If there is no more, I will just go to the lake and fetch some back."
"But it takes several days to carry it back and forth. You have to cook it, filter it, and dry it in the sun. It's very hard work. Although you used my method, I didn't do anything. Why don't you sell it to me at a low price?"
Seeing her frowning and embarrassed look, Han Zhibai thought of a compromise, "Qingyue, how about this, you and I can share the salt, we don't have to spend money to buy it, the salt is running out, I'll go and carry the salt back, and you come over to help with the rest of the process."
"Hmm..." She lowered her eyes in thought.
After a while, she said, "Okay!"
Han Zhibai pursed his lips and smiled, his eyes sparkling.
His thoughts were everything he had, and she could take whatever she wanted.
At the same time, he also knew that she had her own principles and it would be burdensome to violate them.
So, he made do with these things as best he could.
After packing the salt and leaving the two kids at home to sleep, they took the backpacks and put on straw hats to go to the backyard to pick pears.
The tree was tall, so Han Zhibai climbed up to pick the pears, while Xia Qingyue picked the better pears at the foot of the tree.
After picking a basket of fruits, Han Zhibai tied a rope to the basket, slowly lowered it, and slid down the tree using his hands and feet.
"Aren't you going to make dried fruits? Why are you only picking these?"
She was just thinking about climbing the tree to pick pears as well, as the picking process would be faster if there were more people.
"I'll make dried fruits in a few days. Take these pears back and share them with Uncle Li and the others."
"Qingyue, accept it."
Staring into his sincere and gentle eyes, Xia Qingyue swallowed back what she wanted to say and smiled sweetly: "Okay, I'll thank you on behalf of my uncle and aunt, we will enjoy it."
After picking the pears, Xia Qingyue woke up Heihei and prepared to leave the valley to visit the Li family shelter.