Fish Leaping Farm Gate

Chapter 58 The Flower Garden ([-])

In the morning, we graze cattle as usual, and then go to the fertile fields. Now the cold melon seedlings have basically grown three tender leaves, and the stems are slowly growing.Du Xiaoyu walked around the field to pull out the newly grown weeds, and loosened the topsoil intermittently. It is said that this can increase the ground temperature, and then went home for lunch.

Mrs. Zhao saw that she came back with mud in one hand, and thought that this child was very serious, so she put a few extra pieces of food for her when eating, but said, "Don't make your clothes dirty again, I will wash them all day long. It's too late."

Du Xiaoyu hurriedly looked at his body, and sure enough, it was covered with mud again. He frowned and said, "Looks like I need to get two sets of clothes. Mother, do you have any old clothes for sister? Change them for me to wear in the fields, so I don't have to wash them every time." .” It’s fine as work clothes.

That's a good idea, Du Huanghua laughed, "I just can't fit a few clothes, I'll change them for you later." He also warned, "I'll do the watering, you don't know how weak you are, don't fall into the river again .”

Du Xiaoyu couldn't wait, she really wasn't very good at the water wheel, it seemed that she used the water tank to adjust the direction.

After the three of them finished eating, Du Huanghua went to wash the dishes. Seeing that Mrs. Zhao was picking beans again, or red beans, Du Xiaoyu was a little curious and asked if he wanted to eat red bean rice.

"I made it for Aunt Wu. She's going to the town to see her daughter-in-law tomorrow. I heard that she likes bean paste buns. I'll make some and bring her there."

Mrs. Zhao is very good at making these pasta. Du Xiaoyu knew it well. When she remembered that she was going to make a facial mask that day, she asked if there were any mung beans at home. Mrs. Zhao was busy, so she asked her to get it by herself without asking why.

There was an old wooden cabinet in the kitchen. She opened it and saw that the lower layer was full of beans, red beans, mung beans, soybeans, and corn kernels, all neatly arranged in cloth bags.

She took a ladle and scooped it out, thinking that she would have to grind mung bean flour anyway, so she could make mung bean cakes, so she took out half of the bag of mung beans.

Du Huanghua glanced while washing the dishes, "What are you doing with the beans?"

"Flour." She said and went out.

Wash the mung beans first and put them in the yard to dry, then found two garlic heads in the kitchen, peeled off the skins and knocked them on a wooden cutting board until they were smashed into pieces, then wrapped them in gauze and squeezed the juice in a In a small bowl.

By the end of the afternoon, the mung beans were almost dry, so I collected them and went to grind them. The stone mill was very useful, but I was a little tired, and I quickly got a pot of powder.

Now Du Huanghua has changed a piece of clothing, and was about to try it on Du Xiaoyu, but she saw that she brought in a bowl with sticky things in it, a strong smell of garlic wafted in the air, and it was still mysterious Xi said, "Sister, go and wash your face."

Du Huanghua was at a loss, but she had no choice but to go after being urged repeatedly.

"Sister, lie down quickly." Seeing that she was done, Du Xiaoyu patted the head of the kang.

"What are you doing, what is this?" She asked repeatedly.

"It's for your face, it's said in the book that it's good for your skin." Du Xiaoyu took a small wooden spoon and dug some out to smear her face, "Sister, aren't you going to learn embroidery from Mrs. Wan soon? I saw that the girls in the town have fair skin and look good, and my sister will be fine after using this.” She tried this formula before, and it really works, it can exfoliate and whiten skin, it would be better if milk is used instead of garlic Yes, the smell is really pungent.

Du Huanghua whispered twice, "It's really cold," and said angrily, "What do I do for nothing when I come from a farm, besides, what's so good about being white? "

Du Xiaoyu laughed and said, "Fan is the same, it's unnatural, my sister used to have good skin, but it's because she's been exposed to too much sun, so she will always wear a straw hat when she goes out."

Mrs. Zhao came to find Du Huanghua to help knead the dough, and when she heard it at the door, she agreed, "Yes, what Xiaoyu said is true. You are not young, so you should pay attention to it. The rouge that Xiaoyu bought last time It's not very good, take it out and wipe it off if you have nothing to do. Sister Wu said that you will be responsible for your life's important affairs, and when the time comes, people should be more decent when they come to see people."

Du Huanghua blushed, turned her head and said nothing.

"Mother, do you want to try it too?" Du Xiaoyu turned around and asked.

"Farewell, I'm still busy, let your sister take care of it." Mrs. Zhao waved her hand and left.

After a cup of tea, Du Huanghua got up and washed off the paste, but seeing that there was still a lot of mung bean powder, she asked, "Is this still going to be done?"

"Once every three days is enough. These sisters make mung bean cakes for me." Du Xiaoyu said, "I want to take her to see Erya. She hasn't been here for a long time. I guess their house won't let her out." She will ask tomorrow Going to the mountains, I plan to take Erya with me if I can, and I don’t feel bored when someone talks.

Du Huanghua looked at her, "This mung bean cake is from Suzhou, why do you like to eat some southern tastes."

"How do you know it's over there?"

Du Huanghua put the mung bean powder on a large plate and put it on the stove, then went to light the fire, saying, "You don't remember that Mrs. Liu was also normal. You were young at that time, and your grandmother was only three years old when she died, right? No wonder. "

"Grandmother?" Du Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"That's right, Aunt Liu lives next door to my grandmother, and often comes to my grandmother's house to play. Their family is from Suzhou, and they often make mung bean cakes. My mother was very good with her when I was young."

Du Xiaoyu suddenly realized, "No wonder." It seems that Zhao's knowledge of southern things was all influenced by the handkerchief.

Du Huanghua was busy for more than half an hour, and finally made the mung bean cake, but it's a pity that there is no mold to press it, so it can't make any tricks, it's just a big square.

She cut it into small pieces with a knife, Du Xiaoyu pinched a piece and tasted it, it tasted good, just enough sugar and oil, but there was no sweet-scented osmanthus, otherwise it would be more fragrant.

"I'm going to help my mother make red bean paste buns, you clean up." Du Huanghua explained and went to the main room.

After eating early in the morning on the second day, Du Xiaoyu picked out some mung bean cakes, wrapped them up, and carried a bamboo basket with tools for digging in it, and went to Zhou Ya's house.

On Tuesday, Ya's house is not too far away, just behind her grandmother's house, and it takes about half a stick of incense to arrive.

"Erya, Erya!" Seeing a small figure in the distance, Du Xiaoyu waved his hands happily.

"Miss Xiaoyu?" Tuesday Ah was stunned, the clothes in her hand almost fell off.

Du Xiaoyu walked over and took a look, "You are washing clothes, what is your sister doing?"

Seeing her red hands, Du Xiaoyu couldn't help frowning, Du Huanghua washes all the clothes in her house, so it would take a whole day to wash such a big pile with a little effort on Tuesday?
Someone in the room heard the voice and came out, "Who's here?"

"Oh, hello, auntie." The woman had a square face and big eyes, and she looked very fierce. She should be the rumored Mrs. Hong. Du Xiaoyu said with a smile, "I came to play with Er Ya, this mung bean cake is my sister Made it, Auntie, take it and taste it."

"Which family are you from?" Mrs. Hong didn't recognize her, so she didn't reach out to pick her up.

"Mother, her name is Du Xiaoyu, and her elder brother is the youngest boy in our village." Zhou Daya came out in response, holding an embroidered piece in her hand, trying to smile, and greeted, "Xiaoyu, come inside sit."

Mrs. Hong glanced at her again when she heard the words, "Oh, it belongs to the Du family." There was some disdain in her voice, she waved her hand and said, "You can talk with me for a while, I'm still busy."

Zhou Daya couldn't wish for it. She lost a lot of face when she was rejected abruptly last time. After thinking about it when she returned home, she still felt that she should start with Du Xiaoyu. She was worried that she had no chance. Now that she is here, she must be treated well. .

Du Xiaoyu didn't enter the house, "I'm here to look for Erya, I'll go back when she's not free."

"I'm free, I'm free, why don't I have time, Er Ya, stop washing and play with Xiao Yu." Zhou Daya hurriedly said.

Du Xiaoyu rolled his eyes, it seemed that Zhou Daya wanted to please her this week, so he took some mung bean cakes out and put them in his pocket, and handed the rest to her, "You should try it too, my sister's cooking is delicious .”

Unexpectedly, a person suddenly appeared behind her, slammed into her basket, and the mung bean cake was scattered all over the ground.

When Du Xiaoyu saw it, it was a little boy who was shorter than her, about four or five years old, making faces at her, as if he was very proud of himself and knew nothing wrong.

"Little brother, what are you doing?" Zhou Daya was furious, she stretched out her hand to hit him, but she retracted her hand in the air, and said apologetically, "My little brother is very naughty, you, don't worry about it."

Such a savage person as Zhou Daya actually swallowed his anger, it seems that this kid is the king of the family, Du Xiaoyu said, "It's a pity about these pastries."

As he said that, the little boy suddenly yelled again, circling around Zhou Daya, pulling her clothes from time to time, and knocking the table and chairs next to him into a mess, having a great time playing.

Du Xiaoyu couldn't stay any longer, and felt her head hurting. Anyway, she had other goals, so she said, "I want to ask Er Ya to go out with me, okay?" body, probably won't follow.

Zhou Daya looked at her younger brother and wanted to slap him to death, but she didn't dare when her mother was here, so she said, "Okay, let me tell mother, Erya, go and play with Xiaoyu. Just don't make it too late." She wants to be a good sister.

Zhou Ya was surprised, nodded, and Du Xiaoyu dragged her away.

"Your little brother has always been so skinny?" she asked.

On Tuesday, she hummed and frowned. She was most afraid of this younger brother.

"Your sister looks very busy too, I thought she was very free." She only thought that Zhou Daya was bullying Zhou Zhou, but she saw her embroidering just now, and it should be exchanged for money like Du Huanghua.

"Well, my eldest sister doesn't have time to play on weekdays, and she wants to take care of her younger brother." Zhou Ya whispered.

Du Xiaoyu stopped talking about it, and said, "Shall we go to the mountain to play? I'm going to get some flowers and plant them back. Let me tell you, there's a beautiful apricot blossom over there. I'll take you to see it later. "

Tuesday Ah laughed, "Okay, I also like looking at flowers."

"Are you familiar with the road over there?"

"Well, I go to pick fruit in summer and autumn, and my mother will scold me if I pick less."

Poor baby, Du Xiaoyu patted her on the head in sympathy, since she is familiar with it, that's good, so as not to get lost in time.

(End of this chapter)