After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 70 New Year’s Eve in Deguang’s 31st Year
Not to mention how Mrs. Hu tearfully accused the naughty child when she found out that her son ran out of the room again, nor how the brothers Hai Jiao and Haitang protected their little brother from Mr. Hu’s scolding. As the day progressed, the number of guests who came to Haijia to test the house slowly decreased.

Soon, the New Year of Deguang’s 31st year arrived.

The Hai family happily spent a reunion year.

There has been no fighting in Suzhou City for more than half a year. Although barbarians and horse bandits occasionally come to harass the surrounding villages and towns, as the Suzhou Guard has increased its troops and stepped up patrols, the lives of the people in this area have become much more peaceful.

God was kind, there were no major disasters last year, and there was a bumper harvest in the fall.Many immigrants from Guazhou and Shazhou have filled the villages and towns under Suzhou, and the population in the state has also flourished.Even though there had been rumors that the imperial court was going to close Jiayuguan and cut off trade routes, at least for now, life in Suzhou was relatively stable.

In the first month of the year, Suzhou City is bustling with people. Many people in the city visit relatives and friends. Residents from surrounding areas also go shopping in the city on horseback and by car. Some people also inquire about whether there are fireworks and lantern shows and other entertainment activities.

It's a pity that Suzhou City's finances are a little tight this year in order to build a wine workshop and a glass workshop, and there is not much surplus in the account, so there are no fireworks planned. There are only a few big businessmen who have joined forces to hold a medium-sized lantern festival. It means mean.However, Suzhou Wei followed the usual practice and invited a theater troupe from other places to sing the opera for several days in Jiayuguan City and Suzhou City, attracting surrounding soldiers and civilians to come to listen to the opera.From New Year's Eve to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, these two places are lively.

Haitang obtained permission from her grandmother Ma, and together with her brother Hai Jiao, she went shopping in the city with her cousins ​​Xie Wenzai, Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian to watch the lanterns, and visited all the shops that were still open during the first month of the year.

Privately, she asked her brother Hai Jiao to show her the way and wrote down the places where foreign spies or gangsters might be welcomed, just in case.

Of course, this is what comes easily.When she goes shopping, of course she still has to have fun herself.She took advantage of her grandmother Ma's loose control during the first month of the year to try out all the restaurants and stalls in the city, and she could even recommend her favorite restaurants to her family members.

She researched some rough recipes for some of the delicacies that satisfied her the most. She directed Jin Guo to tinker with them at home, and she actually made a copycat version of them.Some are not as good as those cooked in the store, but you can use them to trick your mouth when you want to eat them; some are even more delicious than those cooked in the store. Grandmother Ma immediately ordered Aunt Cui and her daughter-in-law to copy them and collect the recipes. , keep it for future family heirlooms.

Haitang privately said to her brother Hai Jiao: "Grandma is a bit exaggerated... Most of the ingredients used in these recipes are unique to the northwest. If we go back to our hometown, we will have nowhere to buy the ingredients if we want to eat them. Even if we buy the ingredients, , it may not taste that way, what’s the use of keeping the recipe?”

Hai Jiao thinks this is nothing: "It's better to keep it than not to keep it. What if we no longer live in our hometown in the future? If I join the army, I may not be transferred elsewhere. What if I come back to the northwest again? Now, won’t this recipe come in handy?”

In his previous life, he lost all his relatives. When he was living abroad, during the holidays and other families reunited, he could only miss his relatives alone and recall the family reunion when he was a child.At that time, he wanted to taste the cooking made by his grandmother and second aunt again. He missed even the noodle soup made by his strong wife.Therefore, his grandmother ordered Haitang to transcribe the recipe, but he didn't think anything of it.But he couldn't tell his sister how he felt in his previous life.

He could only say softly to Haitang: "We are slowly saving recipes. Even if we go to other places and leave our relatives in the future, as long as we can buy the ingredients and use the recipes, we can make the taste of home. When we eat it, It's like coming home. Isn't that a good thing?"

Haitang instantly understood her brother's mood. Thinking about the time when she first entered the world of Dachu in her previous life, and when she first entered the palace...

Haitang smiled: "Brother is right. Then let's save more recipes!"

She still has a lot of recipes in her mind.In addition to the recipes she had eaten and seen in modern society, the snacks she made when her family opened a small shop in her previous life, and the palace meals she had after entering the palace... She has memorized all the recipes.Although she is not a food official, she has never eaten pork and has seen pigs running away.When she was working as Secretary Cai, she had a good relationship with the food and wine officials of the Shang Food Bureau. She often saw the palace food and wine recipes from them... However, in this northwest border city, supplies were not abundant, so she could There are not many recipes that can be used.Although Haijia has a rich store of spices, there are not many choices for seasonings.Haitang believes that instead of making delicious dishes that are time-consuming and costly at home, it is better to make more down-to-earth daily delicacies...

She set her sights on corn, a new grain that was harvested only last year.

Hai Xiya has been encouraging everyone in Suzhou City to study more about how to eat corn. However, from last autumn to the beginning of this spring, most people still eat the new grain by boiling it, whether it is eating the corn with a stick or eating the corn. The kernels are broken off and cooked into porridge. The taste is good, but it is a bit hard to chew - the corn they grow is a hard-kernel variety.

Some people also roast corn on the cob, and the texture is slightly different, but equally delicious. This method is mainly popular in the military, and soldiers on duty at various piers and outposts love this way of eating.

Some people also found that corn can be stored for a relatively long time after being dried. Some people can continue to eat it after the spring begins, which is very attractive.Someone at the health center has already begun experiments to see how long the new grain seeds can be stored after harvesting.

Of course, it’s not that no one has tried to grind corn kernels into powder for consumption. It’s just that corn flour is different from flour. Whether it is used to make pancakes or noodles, there seems to be something missing. It breaks too easily and is a bit awkward when cooked. It’s so troublesome, it’s better to just boil it...

Haitang asked Cui Bo to find a small stone mill for herself. She took out the dried corn at home and threshed it. She used the small stone mill to grind it into fine powder herself, then mixed some glutinous rice flour into it, added sugar, salt, eggs, etc., and made a pot. Xiaowowotou came out and was delivered directly to the dining table in the main room during lunch.

Grandma Ma greatly appreciated it: "This tastes much better than the dead-faced pancake I tried to make earlier. Please write down the recipe!"

Grandfather Hai Xiya also asked his granddaughter about the recipe of Wo Wotou in detail. When he learned that sugar and eggs were added, he sighed and said nothing more. Afterwards, he sent this recipe to several generals at the guard station. .

Haitang knew in her heart that her grandfather must have thought that the cost of the recipe he came up with was a little too high, and it was not affordable for ordinary people.But ordinary people can still cook corn and roast corn to wrap their stomachs. Even if they add less other ingredients, it doesn't mean they can't make steamed buns, it's just not as delicious as her method.

After that, she tried adding white flour and salt to cornmeal to make corn noodles, adding milk, dried fruits, sugar, etc. to bake corn tortillas, and then made fish stewed in an iron pot with corn tortillas... She had not yet mastered the way to eat corn that she knew. At the end of the day, the corn stored at home was used up first.

Grandfather Hai Xiya was not angry about this. Instead, he smiled and said: "This corn is really good. It can be eaten in so many ways and can nourish people. I have gained weight while eating it. I will definitely eat it after spring. Plant a few acres of corn, and you’ll have more new vegetables to try in the fall!”

Not long after spring began, he was busy taking people to cultivate more land outside the city.But just after half of the land was reclaimed, new news came from Ganzhou.

The list of officials participating in the peace talks has finally been finalized.

(End of this chapter)