"Do you need my help?" The next day, Xiang Jin was sitting on a small bench under the eaves of the corridor, peeling lotus roots, when Yan Chen appeared at the right time.
Xiang Jin raised his head suddenly, and then raised the corner of his mouth, "Are you here?" Then he turned his head and looked behind him, and sure enough he saw Grandpa Zeng, Grandma Mo, and his cousin Zeng Haoze standing there.
On the road not far from the hospital, she was chatting with her grandparents and a group of people. It seemed that the two groups of people met there by chance.
Yan Chen said a faint "hmm" and then repeated, "Do you need my help?"
"Okay, then help me peel off the lotus root skin," Xiang Jin stood up and thrust the knife and lotus root into his hand.
"What are you doing here? Making soup?" Yan Chen sat down where she had been sitting just now.
Xiang Jin asked, "Do you like lotus root soup?"
"Well, it's okay!"
Xiang Jin nodded, "Okay, let's make lotus root and pork ribs soup later."
"Did you make this soup especially for me?" Yan Chen was surprised, raised his head and stared at her without blinking.
Xiang Jin was stunned for a moment, and then he shook his head honestly and said, "That's not true. I was planning to make a soup, but I just haven't decided whether to put lotus roots or white radish, but you
Since we like to drink lotus root soup, let’s add lotus root. Lotus root has the effect of clearing away heat and cooling the blood. During the recent Chinese New Year, everyone eats and drinks every day. Drinking some lotus root soup is just the right way to remove the fire in the body.”
Yan Chen lowered his eyes and continued peeling, "With so many lotus roots, what else can they be used for besides making soup?"
Xiang Jin said, "I'm going to make cold lotus root slices and sweet and sour lotus root. What do you think? Do you like this?"
Yan Chen stared at her and said, "What if I say I don't like it?"
The anticipation on Xiang Jin's face suddenly dissipated a lot, "Ah, you don't like it?"
Seeing her disappointed expression, Yan Chen's lips curled up into a smile, "I lied to you, I like it!"
"Really?" Xiang Jin wondered.
Yan Chen said, "Even if I didn't like it before, I will definitely like what you make!"
"Why?" Xiang Jin was startled, as if he missed a beat, and stared at him with wide eyes.
Yan Chen said, "Of course I believe in your cooking skills!"
Xiang Jin withdrew his gaze angrily, and then said with an arrogant expression, "That is, although my cooking skills are not as good as those of famous chefs, if I want to make a dish that is not delicious, I still have something to do.
It’s a certain level of difficulty.”
Yan Chen smiled!
Xiang Jin said, "Then be careful and don't hurt your hand. Our kitchen knife is a bit sharp."
"good!"
Xiang Jin turned around and left, and the smile on Yan Chen's lips widened.
Yang Zhao led several children back with a basket of fresh vegetables. When he saw Yan Chen, he ran over with a joyful expression, "Brother Chen, are you here?"
"Um!"
"Come on, come on, I'll peel it, I'll peel it," he put the vegetable basket in his hand on the ground, and then went to get the lotus root in his hand.
Yan Chen refused, "No!"
Yang Zhao said, "Hey, what you want, what you want, come here, give it to me, I'll do it! You are guests, how can we help you guests to work?"
Yan Chen frowned slightly and looked at him, "Aren't you also a guest?"
Yang Zhao took the kitchen knife and lotus root from his hand carelessly and said, "I'm different. My sister and I are a family. We do our own work and it's not considered a chore!"
Yan Chen gave up his position and said, "Whatever!"
Yang Zhao directed a few young ones not far away, "You guys, take the dishes into the kitchen and give them to me. Let's see what she does next."
"Oh," several young ones ran over to carry the basket.
Yan Chen walked aside and washed his hands.
Not long after, a group of people on the road entered the yard of Xiang Jin's house. After Xiang Jin and her mother came out to greet them, Xiang Jin asked her grandparents to entertain Grandpa Zeng and Mo.
Grandma and the others, then
Then he said to Yan Chen and Zeng Haoze, "You are free to do it. If you want to drink water, Yan Chen, just pour it yourself. In addition, there are two decks of playing cards in the drawer under the coffee table. If you feel bored, you can also take them."
Come out and play."
"good!"
The two brothers nodded slightly, and then Xiang Jin returned to the kitchen to continue preparing lunch.
Grandma Mo, Grandpa Zeng, and Xiang Jin's grandparents were accompanying them. Xiang Jin, her uncle, and her second uncle dragged a large scrap iron pot by themselves, and went to the room where firewood was piled next to them to hold a few pieces.
Use large firewood and some small dry firewood branches to start the fire.
After Zeng Haoze looked at the internal structure of Xiang Jin's house, he said to Yan Chen, "Their house is really well built," especially in a rural area like theirs, it is particularly original and eye-catching.
When he came back, he just stood in the yard and looked outside casually.
Yan Chen said, "This was designed by Xiang Jin."
"Oh? That girl designed it?" Zeng Haoze was surprised again. He really couldn't tell that this little girl actually knew how to design buildings? She is a talent!
"Yeah," Yan Chen nodded slightly, then grabbed an idle book on the coffee table and started flipping through it.
After Xiang Jin's eldest and second aunts waited for the fire in the pot to light up, they asked them to go over and warm themselves up. After Xiang Jin's eldest and second aunts chatted with Grandma Mo and Grandpa Zeng for a while, they got up and said to go to the kitchen.
To help, Grandma Mo also wanted to get up to help, but was held back by Xiang Jin and her grandmother.
"Old sister, please don't go. They have enough manpower. In fact, they won't be able to do much work. At most, they can only do some work. The main thing is girl Jin."
Hearing her mention Xiang Jin, Grandma Mo smiled and nodded, "Yes, girl Jin is a great cook!"
Xiang Jin and her grandmother also laughed, and then asked, "Hey, why hasn't Aunt Liao come yet?"
Grandma Mo explained to her, "Dongmei can't come today. There are guests at Dongmei's house. Her brothers, sisters and nephews are here."
Xiang Jin and her grandmother said "Oh", "How many people are here?"
Grandma Mo nodded, "In the morning, I saw her brother-in-law and a sister coming, as well as her brother-in-law's son and her sister's two daughters, so there were many who came.
There are still seven or eight people."
Grandma Mo nodded, and then she heard Xiang Jin and her grandfather ask the old man at home if he wanted to play cards for a while. The old man at home asked, "Do you have any cards?"
Xiang Jin and her grandfather said, "There are tiles, long tiles, and playing cards. My eldest and second brother also brought the mahjong tiles from home. Which one do you want to play?"
Xiang Jin's eldest and second uncle also looked at him with great interest.
Grandpa Zeng hesitated for a moment and then said, "How about playing long cards? We are most familiar with this?"
The smile on Xiang Jin's grandfather's face became brighter and brighter, and the corners of his mouth and eyes were full of smiles. It seemed that he also liked playing long cards.
So Xiang Jin's two uncles went to the small house to move tables and benches. When Yang Hui saw it, he hurriedly took a half-sized flat-bottomed iron pot that seemed to be usually used for cooking fires and went to the kitchen and asked Xiang Jin, "What's in the stove?"
Do you have a fire? Grandpa and Grandpa Zeng are going to play cards now, so I will light a fire for them and put it under the table to roast."
Xiang Jin was boiling the pork ribs, "There should be some, why don't you go down and take a look?"
"If you want fire, come on, come on, come on, come on, I'll shovel it for you," Xiang Jin and her second aunt quickly picked up a fire stick and poked the firewood in the stove a few times, and then the firewood flowed along the stove
The hole in it leaked,
Then she picked up the small shovel on the side and shoveled the firewood into the flat-bottomed iron pot. After a while, she shoveled most of the pot, and then she picked up a few large fire sticks from the stove and put them in.
on top.
"Okay, let's take it and go. Be careful, but don't burn it."
Yang Hui knelt down and went to hold the brazier. Xiang Jin suddenly remembered, so he said to Yang Zhao, "Cousin, it seems that there are some big black coals in the house where we store firewood. You can find them later and give them to me."
Let them take it over. There is no smoke when baking this one, and this one is more durable." Oh, it would be great if there was an electric oven at home, Xiang Jin thought.
Xiang Jin's mother also said hurriedly, "Oh, yes, yes, it's in the bamboo basket next to the pile of firewood."
Xiang Jin and her aunt came over carrying a basket of washed vegetables, "Where do you get the coal?"
Xiang Jin's mother said, "When I came back from town last time, I picked it up at Zao'erya. It probably fell off someone's truck hauling coal."
Xiang Jin and her two aunts nodded.
With the help of his mother and second aunt, Yang Zhao no longer needed him here after peeling the lotus roots, so he went to play with Yan Chen and the others.
When he saw his grandfather and the others playing cards there, he thought of the two decks of playing cards he bought from the canteen yesterday, so he opened the drawer under the coffee table and took out the two decks of cards.
"Brother Chen, Brother Haoze, do you want to play?" He looked at the two brothers with starry eyes.
Yan Chen glanced at the cards in his hand, and Zeng Haoze took a deck of cards from his hand, "What are you playing for?"
Yang Zhao said, "It's all fine, Landlords, running fast, golden flowers, whatever you want to play!"
Zeng Haoze asked Yan Chen, "Are you having fun?"
Yan Chen looked at the deck of cards and put down the book in his hand, "Okay!"
Yang Zhao turned his head and asked his brother, "Do you want to play together?"
Yang Hui said, "I'm not very good at it. Come on, I'll watch from the side."
Yang Zhao nodded, "Okay, let's play with the three of us," then he looked at Yan Chen and Zeng Haoze, "Then are we playing with money or without money?"
When Zeng Haoze saw his eyes, he couldn't help but glance at where the elders were, and stopped shuffling the cards, "Do you want to play with money?"
Yang Zhao nodded vigorously, "Let's have some fun. If you don't get money for this, then winning or losing would be boring, don't you think?"
Yan Chen asked, "How big do you want to fight?"
"Fifty cents, one piece, two pieces!"
Yan Chen said, "Okay, let's fight the landlord for one dollar!"
Xiang Jin cooked a total of eighteen dishes for noon, and sat on two tables. There were meat and vegetables, chicken and duck, fresh spicy fish fillets, braised cured fish pieces, and cold garlic white meat and meat.
There are soft and glutinous Dongpo pork elbows, as well as bitter melon stuffed meat with unique taste. Three different flavors of dishes are made using lotus root alone.
Xiang Jin saw that Yan Chen really liked eating the cold lotus root slices and cured fish slices, so she turned her head and whispered to him, "There are some cold lotus root slices in the kitchen. I'll serve them out later.
Are you going to take two of these cured fish back to eat when the time comes?"
Yan Chen looked at her and smiled, "Okay!"
Yang Zhao was eating and asked, "Brother Chen, has that bastard of yours eaten?"
Yan Chen said, "Eat!"
Yan Chen immediately put down the bowl and chopsticks, and then stared at him with excitement, "How did you make it? How did you do it? My sister couldn't make that tortoise soup, so our tortoises were still kept in the tank.
of."
Yan Chen said, "I don't know, it was my grandpa who did it."
"Did Grandpa Zeng make it?" Yang Zhao was surprised, and then he looked towards the table of elders, and then asked Yan Chen, "Did you drink the stewed soup, or eat the braised pork?"
Yan Chen said, "Stewed soup!"
"So, does it taste good?"
"Well, it's okay!"
"Oh, then I will go to Grandpa Zeng for advice later. Sister, if I ask Grandpa Zeng how to make that tortoise soup, will you let me kill those tortoises? Oh no,
I’ll only kill two, and I’ll keep one for you as a pet!”
"You still treat turtles as pets?" Yan Chen looked at Xiang Jin and said with a smile.
Xiang Jin said, "I can't do that turtle, so I have to keep them in the pond."
"Hey, sister, sister, are you listening to me?" Yang Zhao saw the two of them talking there and ignored him, so he glared at Xiang Jin with a resentful look on his face.
Xiang Jin said, "I understand, if you can get the scriptures from Grandpa Zeng and make delicious turtle soup, I will allow you to kill the three turtles."
"Na na na, is this what you said?" Yang Zhao suddenly became happy.
Xiang Jin nodded, "Of course!" She also really wanted to drink turtle soup, okay?
With this promise from Xiang Jin, Yang Zhao was in an extremely good mood. Even the depression of losing dozens of games to Yan Chen and his brothers in the Landlord battle was gone. He ate even more happily.
Work hard and eat a piece of meat in one bite, a piece of meat in one bite, and rice in one bite with chopsticks, nothing the same.
Because there were so many people today, Xiang Jin had prepared enough ingredients for lunch, especially a few big dishes that could even be eaten as a meal, so Xiang Jin simply suggested to Grandpa Zeng and Grandma Mo not to cook at night.
It's better to eat here and help them eliminate it.
Grandma Mo and Grandpa Zeng finally discussed it, and then agreed, and then said that they would eat at their house tomorrow morning, and they could invite Aunt Liao to come with them at that time. Yan Chen and the others would go directly after eating.
Xiang Jin and the others nodded, "Okay!"
So everyone sat down again after eating. Those who played cards continued to play cards, those who played Landlords continued playing Landlords, and those who chatted continued chatting. Of course, Xiang Lan and the others' biggest hobby was watching TV.
During the New Year these days, as long as Xiang Lan didn't go too far, Xiang Jin didn't bother to care about her.
After Xiang Jin and her mother cleared away the pots and pans, her mother went to the living room to chat with Grandma Mo and the other female compatriots, while Xiang Jin stayed in the kitchen and took out a few pieces of chicken breast.
Thaw made another snack of fried chicken nuggets for them.
Xiang Jin loaded up several small buckets and carried them out, giving them a place to put a small bucket for them to try. When she stood in front of Yang Zhao and the others with the last small bucket of fried chicken nuggets,
, only Yang Zhao could be seen there with a hapless look on his face, wailing, "Oh, why did I lose again? Why didn't I win a game? You guys are too awesome?"
Xiang Jin put the small bowl on the coffee table. Yang Zhao reached out and picked one out and threw it into his mouth. Xiang Jin slapped the back of his hand, "It's okay if you don't wash your hands. I put a toothpick on it for you."
No need at all?"
Yang Zhao quickly admitted his mistake and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't do it next time!"
Xiang Jin glared at him fiercely, and then said to everyone, "How about you try the new food I made and give your opinions?"
Zeng Haoze picked up a toothpick and put a piece into his mouth. Yan Chen raised his eyes and looked at her, "What is it?"
"Fried chicken nuggets! Try it?" she answered and motioned to him.
Yan Chen also picked up a toothpick and put a piece into his mouth. Xiang Jin called to Yang Hui, "Would you like to try it too?"
"Oh, good!"
After they all tasted it, Xiang Jin asked, "How is it? How does it taste?"
Zeng Haoze nodded, "Yeah, it's delicious, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."
Yan Chen said, "The meat is smooth, juicy and very delicious."
Xiang Jin looked at Yang Hui, and Yang Hui said, "Oh, there are no chicken bones in it!"
Yang Zhao cut it and said, "My sister made this from chicken breasts. Of course there are no bones. Let me tell you, my sister used several chickens to try out this texture.
It took me a few days to try out this flavor.”
"Is it so difficult to do?" Yan Chen crossed a piece and looked at Xiang Jin.
Xiang Jin said, "It's not bad!"
Yang Zhao said, "Isn't that right? It's not like you don't know that my sister has always been a person of high taste. She likes to pursue perfection and be the best no matter what she does."
Xiang Jin said, "How can I be so picky?"
Yang Zhao said, "Why not? Maybe you don't think anything, but we all know it clearly. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Chen. Brother Chen, do you think so?"
Xiang Jin looked at Yan Chen, and Yan Chen smiled slightly at her, "You just have stricter quality control requirements."
Xiang Jin looked at Yang Zhao with a proud look on his face, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that I have strict requirements on quality?"
Yang Zhao curled his lips and said, "You two have high requirements and high quality."
Yan Chen asked, "Are you still having fun?"
Yang Zhao hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Then Yan Chen dealt the cards, and Xiang Jin stood behind Yang Zhao with his hands folded, looking at his cards and his playing style. As a result, he found that Yang Zhao's playing style was really "bad".
No wonder he was always losing. With this skill, it would be weird if he didn't lose. He didn't demolish what should be demolished. He didn't bomb when it was time to bomb. He didn't call the landlord when he should be called. She just looked at him like this
The way I played in one set was a bit frustrating.
There was no suspense. He lost this game again. When he lost, he beat the table and howled. Xiang Jin rolled his eyes to the sky speechlessly, "I've given you a hard time, but you also lose."
Don’t complain!”
"Ah?" Yang Zhao turned around and looked at her in disbelief.
Xiang Jin said, "Ah what? Brother Yan Chen and Brother Haoze gave you a free pass. Originally, they wanted to play your cards, but they gave you a free pass and let you continue." That's it.
He was really good at playing. If he hadn't been fooled, he would have probably lost more than a few dozen or a hundred yuan, and he might have doubled it.
"Ah?" Yang Zhao still looked in disbelief.
"How about you come and play for a while?" Yan Chen looked at Xiang Jin and said.
Xiang Jin hesitated, "You don't want to play anymore?"
Yan Chen stood up and gave up his position, "I'll get up and walk around for a while."
"Okay, then I'll play for a while," Xiang Jin walked over and sat in his seat, then collected his money and handed it to him. Yan Chen didn't take it, but said, "Let's play!"
Xiang Jin didn't refuse, and then put the money down, and then the three of them started fighting, with Yan Chen standing behind her and watching.
When there were only the last three cards left, Zeng Haoze said, "Are you going to rob the landlord?"
Xiang Jin shook his head, "I don't want it!"
Yang Zhao raised his hand and shouted, "I want to rob the landlord!" Then he grabbed the cards.
Finally, Xiang Jin and Zeng Haoze's cards were all played out, and Yang Zhao still had a lot of cards in his hand. When Xiang Jin threw down the last card, Yang Zhao also put down the cards in his hand, and then
When Xiang Jin saw the cards he had, three, three, four, four, five, six, eight, nine, he couldn't help but scornfully said, "How dare you call a card like yours a landlord?"
Yang Zhao argued, "I didn't want to catch Qi."
Xiang Jin said, "Even if you have another seven in your hand, you shouldn't rob the landlord. Look at your cards, the biggest one is just a 'k', even the 'a' and '2' and the little king are all
No, you dare to rob the landlord?" At this point, she shook her head, "Your skills are not good, I think you should not fight, your skills are too good?"
She even suspected that the two brothers Yan Chen and Zeng Haoze didn't want to play with them at all. This was too little of a technical challenge.
Yang Zhao blushed and said, "Oh, let's not play this anymore. Let's go play mahjong. I am better at mahjong!"
Xiang Jin looked at him suspiciously, "Is that so? Don't lie!"
Yang Zhao said, "Why are you lying to me? Really! If you don't believe me, ask my brother, I have played with my parents, my second uncle and my second aunt before, and they have never disliked my poker skills.
"
Xiang Jin looked at Yang Hui aside, and Yang Hui nodded towards them, "It's true, he can play mahjong pretty well."
Xiang Jin looked at Yan Chen and the two brothers, "Should we fight?"
Both brothers nodded, "Let's fight!"
Then everyone collected the change in front of them and walked towards the small square table not far away.
Xiang Jin returned the handful of change to Yan Chen, and Yan Chen said, "No, just take it, I have some change with me." After saying that, he was afraid that Xiang Jin would insist on giving it back to him, so he leaned into her ear.
While talking to her in a low voice, he whispered another thing, "I'm going back to the provincial capital tomorrow morning. Can you make me some fried chicken nuggets and take them with me? I think it tastes good?"
Xiang Jin asked, "Then it will be cold by then?"
Yan Chen said, "It's okay, you can put it in a thermos bucket for me."
Xiang Jin asked, "Then it won't be fragile by then?"
Yan Chen said, "It's okay, what I ate was the chicken flavor inside."
Xiang Jin said, "Okay, then I'll get up and do it tomorrow morning, and I'll bring it over to you when it's done."