It was getting dark.
The fragrance wafts from the yard.
A dish of lotus root balls was served on the table. Two lotus roots were chopped, mixed with flour, stirred, kneaded into lotus root balls and fried, filling two large bowls.
Zhao Sidan was lying on the dining table, drooling uncontrollably.
Cheng Wanwan stuffed a meatball into his mouth and said angrily: "My stomach has been full these past few days, why do I still drool every day?"
"My mother's cooking is so delicious!"
Zhao Sidan swallowed the meatballs in one bite. They were crispy and sweet, and he couldn't get enough.
Cheng Wanwan picked up fifteen meatballs and piled them into a full bowl and handed them over: "Give them to your grandma."
Zhao Sidan ran out holding the bowl.
The old lady was alone in the Zhao family at the moment. The wild vegetable paste had been cooked, but no one else came back. The old lady was a little worried, fearing that something had happened.
After all, this is a deep mountain and old forest. If some kind of beast jumps out, the whole family will be doomed.
After waiting, I smelled the tempting fragrance, and then saw Zhao Sidan jumping into the yard: "Grandma, my mother asked me to bring it!"
A big bowl full of meatballs, fried golden and crispy, with a lot of oil on them.
"Why did your mother waste something again!" Old Mrs. Zhao said, "What is this?"
"Mom said they were deep-fried meatballs." Zhao Sidan said with a smile, "Grandma, take a bite, it's so delicious, you can't wait to swallow it with your tongue."
Mrs. Zhao twitched the corners of her lips. With so much oil and sugar added, even a piece of mud would taste delicious.
However, when the eldest daughter-in-law was short of food, she brought food over again and again, but she never mentioned moving back. What kind of bad idea was she holding back?
The old lady stopped Zhao Sidan who was about to leave and asked, "Has your mother talked about anything to you these past few days?"
"Yes!" Zhao Sidan said with his fingers, "Mom said she wanted us to have enough food, she also said she wanted to live in a new house, and she said she wanted us to eat meat every day..."
The old lady's eyelids jumped, she really wanted to move back!
You actually want to eat meat every day, what kind of sweet dream do you have?
When we lived together, there was a lot of chaos every day. If the eldest daughter-in-law didn't get rid of those bad habits, she would never allow the eldest son to move back!
Zhao Sidan quickly ran back to have dinner.
Wu Huiniang was telling Cheng Wanwan about Wang Damai next door: "My hands and feet are very diligent. I helped dig a lot of wild vegetables, chopped all the firewood at home, and picked up two buckets of water for the family..."
Cheng Wanwan didn't know what to say.
In ancient history, whenever there was a famine, there would be cases of selling children, and there would even be cases of people exchanging children for food.
She didn't want such a tragic thing to happen to her.
Cheng Wanwan lowered his head and finished his dinner quickly, then took the lotus root balls to Li Zheng's house again.
It was already dark now, and night was when wild beasts came out. Villagers generally did not go up the mountain at night. As soon as the sun went down, Old Man Zhao came down with his children and grandchildren. Fortunately, no one in the village was wandering outside. A group of people were surprised. Returned to the courtyard of Lao Zhao's house without any danger.
A group of people slumped on their chairs tiredly, their palms covered with thick calluses.
Mrs. Zhao hurriedly gave the children extra meals. Each of them steamed an extra steamed bun. After eating and drinking, the group of people finally came to life.
Old man Zhao took a puff of dry cigarette, stood up and said, "I'm going to find Li Zheng."
Mrs. Zhao scolded angrily: "You are so exhausted, can't you go again tomorrow?"
Sun's eyes flashed: "Yes, Dad, let's rest for the night and then go to Li Zheng tomorrow morning."
Old Man Zhao shook his head: "I feel uneasy, I must make it clear."
He put on his straw sandals, opened the door to the courtyard, and walked toward the Satsuma house under the bright starlight.
As soon as I walked to the door, I heard familiar voices coming from the yard.
"I went up the mountain this morning and saw a dry pond. I dug a shovel and found something like this. It was white and clean. I didn't know what it was, but I thought it was edible. I dug some and took it back to cook. "Cheng Wanwan said methodically, "Chop it into pieces, wrap it in buckwheat flour, and fry it in a pot. I don't know how fragrant it is. You can also eat it after stewing it directly in the pot. It tastes similar to sweet potatoes, so I I was just wondering, could this stuff be as filling as sweet potatoes?"
Li Zheng's eyes were filled with surprise: "Da Shan Niang, where did this thing come from?"
"There are a lot of them on the mountain, about four or five acres." Cheng Wanwan said, "It's all covered in the thick soil. I estimate it weighs over a thousand kilograms."
Li Zheng's wife's eyes shone: "If it's over a thousand kilograms, then each household can have almost a hundred kilograms. Although it's not as filling as corn, it will at least prevent you from going hungry for half a month..."
Li Zheng tasted a lotus root ball. It contained a lot of oil and was more fragrant and delicious than meat. If this thing really weighed a thousand kilograms, what would Dahe Village have to worry about?
He still had some doubts in his eyes: "We have this thing in Dahe Village, how come no one has seen it before?"
"This is jade bamboo shoots!"
Old man Zhao took a step and walked in.
Li Zheng and Old Man Zhao are cousins. Old Man Zhao is a few years older. He said with determination, "I saw it decades ago. There are many jade bamboo shoots in the south, which can fill the stomach. But I heard that they are specially sent as tribute to the capital. I don’t know why we have one in Dahe Village.”
Cheng Wanwan was extremely surprised. She didn't expect that Old Man Zhao had seen this thing.
It turns out that in this era, lotus roots were called jade bamboo shoots, which sounds quite beautiful.
Lotus root is rich in starch and can indeed replace staple food in a short period of time, but it is not as full as the staple food.
Li Zheng looked a little impatient, and he hurriedly said: "I'm going to change into a pair of straw sandals, and I'll go up the mountain to take a look later."
Li Zheng's wife said disapprovingly: "What time is it now? There are wolves on the mountain, so we can't go back tomorrow morning?"
"I can't wait until tomorrow morning. This is a big deal related to having a full stomach!"
Li Zheng hurriedly changed his shoes, but Li Zheng's wife had no choice but to light a torch and hold it up the mountain. The wolves did not dare to approach.
Old Man Zhao looked at Cheng Wanwan and said approvingly: "Da Shan Niang, I misjudged you before."
He found a large piece of jade bamboo shoots, and even though he knew it was edible, he came over immediately to tell Li Zheng that Dashan Niang was not as selfish and greedy as he thought.
He used to think that the third daughter-in-law was good, but when faced with the huge temptation of food, the pattern of the third daughter-in-law became apparent.
Cheng Wanwan coughed and said: "There are only six people in our family, one young and one pregnant. We can't dig up all the jade bamboo shoots..."
The most important thing is that she has a shopping mall trading system. A handful of wild vegetables can be exchanged for several kilograms of rice. Their family will not go hungry in times of famine, but others cannot.
She never felt that she was selfless, but at least she would not fight for life-saving food with a group of people who had no hope.
Li Zheng walked out holding a torch, followed by his three sons. Old man Zhao went back and called the second and third sons. A group of seven old men went up the mountain at night. The danger was not that high.
