Chapter 26
Then, she started a fire on the stove and added water to the pot. After the water boiled, she blanched the suet and fat meat, then scooped them out. She rinsed the pot clean and then added water. She poured the fat meat and suet into the pot. The pork oil boiled in this way would be brighter.
She did every step according to what was taught online.
An hour and a half later, Qiao Mai fished out the browned oil residue and poured it into a jar. Then, she put it into her space. Qiao Mai poured the refined oil into a large jar and put it aside to let it cool. Only then did she begin to prepare the dishes she wanted to cook!
She plucked the water spinach, washed it clean, cut it into sections, and put it on a plate. She also took two dried red peppers from her space, cut them into sections, and put them aside.
After cutting the tofu into small cubes, she took a spoonful of chili sauce from her space and placed it in a bowl. Then, she picked a few onions, washed them, and cut them into pieces. She cracked four eggs in the bowl, poured in the diced onions, and mixed them well. She also added a little salt.
When she saw the salt, she could not help but complain. The salt available here was all big salt blocks.
After she bought it, she had to process it herself, turning the large pieces into small chunks. She had tried a small piece before. It was salty, bitter, and astringent. It could not compare to the snow salt in her space.
Therefore, the large jar of coarse salt became a decoration. Every time she cooked, Qiao Mai would use the fine salt in her space.
After preparing all the ingredients, it was about time to stir-fry!
It was the first time cooking in her life, so Qiao Mai was a little nervous. She was afraid that the food would taste bad and she would have to cook it a second time.
Qiao Mai had bought plenty of ingredients and was afraid of messing things up. Fortunately, after cooking the first dish, her confidence gradually recovered.
She placed the four dishes on the table. Qiao Mai grinned and set the bowls and chopsticks. She wiped her hands and slapped her head. She hadn’t bought the rice yet.
She locked the door and sprinted to the grain store. When she arrived, she looked at the bags of rice and noodles and asked.
“How much is the best white rice here?”
“Thirty coins.”
“Yo, the same price as pork!”
” It’s guaranteed to be delicious.” The worker stood beside her with a smile.
“Let me see?”
The waiter led her to a bag of rice. “This is it. We don’t have new rice yet. This is from last year, so it’s considered new.”
Qiao Mai grabbed a handful and brought them close to her eyes to take a closer look. She sniffed them and pretended to be a professional.
“Mm, it’s alright. Give me ten catties of rice and a jar of vegetable oil.”
Time was tight. After weighing it, Qiao Mai placed it in the basket, paid for it, and left.
When she got home, she cooked a bowl of rice, washed it, and placed it in a small porcelain basin. Qiao Mai stored some water and steamed it in a pot. She knew how to do this.
In the past, she always used an electric rice cooker to steam rice, order dishes from the restaurant to take home, or heat the finished products from the freezer and eat them with rice. It was also convenient.
Thinking of the instant food in her space, she swallowed her saliva. The next time Shopkeeper Lu came, she would make two dishes from them.
It was drizzling outside. Shopkeeper Lu held an umbrella and carried a jar of wine. She arrived at the right time.
The moment she entered the room, she smelled the fragrance. She put away the umbrella to the side of the door. After entering the room, she took off her shoes and sat by the table.
Looking at the four dishes, she gulped and waited for Qiao Mai to bring a bowl of rice into the house.
“I didn’t expect your cooking to be so good.”
“Try it. I don’t know if it’s good or not. In the past, the Tian family didn’t let me go to the kitchen because they were afraid I would steal their food. This is my first time cooking.”
“Sister, bring two more cups. I brought wine. Let’s drink some. If we drink too much, I’ll sleep here for the afternoon.”
“As long as you’re happy.”
Qiao Mai went to the kitchen and brought two cups. Lu Sanniang opened the wine jar and filled it to the brim.
“Come, you’ve worked hard today. Let’s have a toast.”
The two were straightforward people. They downed the wine in their cups in one gulp and wiped their mouths. Lu Sanniang picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of braised pork. She put it into her mouth and chewed.
“Yes, this meat is delicious. Oh my god, I didn’t expect you to be so talented in cooking.”
“Next time, call my two disciples along.”
“Then we have to come over at night.”
“Alright, we’ll wait for the next time it rains.”
“Deal!”
The two high-fived each other. They ate the meal as if they were sworn sisters.
Qiao Mai picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of each dish. It was barely edible. She had to improve it next time. It should be fine after practicing a few more times.
Qiao Mai summarized her cooking skills. She was still lacking, and she was not familiar with the operation. It tasted like it was made by a novice.
However, Lu Sanniang enjoyed the food. She ate more than half of the four dishes and drank more than half of the jar of wine. She didn’t even touch the rice.
Lu Sanniang directly slept on her bed. Qiao Mai shook her head, cleaned the table, and washed the dishes. Then, she sat beside Lu Sanniang and did the chores.
Women’s snoring was no worse than men’s. Lu Sanniang snored like thunder. Qiao Mai had no choice but to plug her ears with cotton.
When the sky darkened, Ruxin and her sister came over with two servant girls.
“Master, we’re here to pick up my mother. Is she here?”
“She’s still sleeping on the brick bed. She drank a lot of wine at noon.”
The sisters woke Lu Sanniang up. She opened her eyes and sat on the brick bed to regain her senses.
“Sister, remember what you said. Next time, our family of five will come.”
“I won’t forget. Let’s go back quickly. It’s too late, and the road won’t be easy to walk.”
They finally left. Qiao Mai had been thinking about the watermelons in the space for a long time, so she locked the door and went into the space.
She went to check on her baby first. Seeing that Ling’er had woken up, she carried her to the ground.
She laid a small mat on the ground and placed Ling’er on it. Then, she took a spoon.
Qiao Mai picked a watermelon from the field she had planted herself and smashed it open with her fist. The flesh inside was as good as the ones she sold at her stall.
She took a big bite, and it seemed to be sweeter than the ones she sold. It was so sweet that her throat was a little sore.
Sure enough, the black soil produced good food. She ate slowly, her eyes occasionally sweeping across the empty space where she had just picked the melons.
Ling’er saw that her mother was eating, and her little mouth was also sucking. She hummed as if she wanted to eat.
Qiao Mai didn’t dare to let her eat, not even a mouthful of watermelon water, for fear that she would have a stomachache.
Fifteen minutes later, another melon that looked the same grew from the spot where she picked the melon.
Qiao Mai was excited. Then, she picked another melon from another quarter of the land. She wanted to see if this extra melon could be replicated as well.
After she finished eating the melon, no more melons grew.
Therefore, she used her mind to pick all the watermelons in the replicated watermelon field and piled them in a corner. The field without seedlings was quickly disposed of by the space as trash.
Qiao Mai thought about it and decided that this patch of land couldn’t replicate watermelons, so she just needed to keep the land that could.
Then what should she plant in this field? Qiao Mai went back to the refrigerator and searched through the fruits. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
She took two boxes of strawberries and a pair of tweezers back to the field. Ling’er was playing with herself.
She pinched her daughter’s little face. “Mother will make a few toys for you to play within a few days.”
She turned around and squatted on the ground. She picked up the strawberry seeds with a small tweezer and planted them. Halfway there, Ling’er woke up, and she coaxed her to sleep. Qiao Mai put her back on the bed and returned to the field.
After planting all the seeds in the two boxes of strawberries, she finally filled up the area and watered it.
She stood up and massaged her waist.
It was not easy for farmers. She only planted four acres of land and already felt exhausted.
Working and exercising were two different things.
Qiao Mai washed the two boxes of strawberries and placed them on the bedside table. She wanted to lie down for a while before eating them.
She didn’t expect to fall asleep after lying down for a while. She slept until dawn.
When the rooster crowed, she opened her eyes. Qiao Mai was a little annoyed when she thought about how she had fallen asleep so muddle-headedly the entire night.
The child didn’t cause any trouble, but she had just been here for a few months. Her life had been slowly changing.
She can’t let my guard down. She can’t sleep so soundly at night anymore.
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