Nongmen Merchant Girl

Chapter 18 Wine

"Second Sister, do you have any big tanks that you don't use at home?"

"Oh, there is a water tank in the backyard that I used to use, but it was too small and useless."

I picked more than [-] catties of wild grapes today, and I guess it can fill half a tank.Xu Ru ran to the backyard to take a look, only to notice a clay vat half a person's height placed beside the fence in the vegetable garden.

"This tank is very heavy. When my father comes back, help move it to the front yard."

She carried half a bucket of water, washed the crock three times, and dried it with a dry cloth.

Father Xu came back after finishing all these tasks, carrying two large grass carp, each weighing more than three catties.There is something like a fishing rod on the back.

"Oh, eat fish...!" Xiao Bao followed Xu's father into the door from the outside, shouting as he walked.

"Second girl, what are you picking so many black fruits for? Are you selling them?" Xu's father said while putting things away.

"It was the fourth sister who said that this one can make wine, and we are not busy anyway, so we picked so many."

"That's right, Dad, yesterday I heard people on the street saying that this black fruit can be brewed together with white sugar, so I want to try it myself. If you do it well, you might be able to sell it for money!"

"You're the only one with a lot of tricks!" Mother Xu smiled softly. "I'm going to go fish, I'll make you hungry!"

"Mom, I'll go with you. I know how to make it delicious. Second sister, go and give one to my third aunt. One is enough for us to eat at such a big age, and it won't be fresh tomorrow. Mom, don't you think so?" Her big, bright eyes are full of sincerity.

"The fourth girl is right. Your third uncle is a person who doesn't know how to farm. He can only write and read. Your third aunt also helps us a lot at home. You should hurry up and bring it to us so as not to miss the cooking time. "The third uncle, Xu Youcai, heard that he went to a private school for a few years in the early years, but was not admitted as a scholar. Later, his family's conditions were not good, so he didn't continue to take the exam. In order to make a living, he set up a stall in Qinghe County to write family letters and so on. of.

Xu Ru asked her mother to clean up the fish, and then put cornmeal pancakes on top of the noodles. She went to the vegetable field and pulled out a green onion and a few cabbages, washed them and chopped them finely.Finally, I accidentally saw peppercorns in the cabinet, and salty sauerkraut was found in a crock under the chopping board.In this way, the ingredients for a pot of pickled cabbage, tofu and fish are ready.

It's just that I was too tired to go up the mountain today, my arms were weak, and the big shovel was heavy. It was a bit laborious to cook vegetables, so I watched my mother cook fish while lighting the fire.

Zhaodi also came back from the elder sister's house just after the meal was ready.

"It smells so good, Simei, you are really amazing, a bit spicy, especially this soup, it's so delicious, it's even better than Yumanlou's!" Zhaodi admired while drinking the soup.

"You have never eaten Yumanlou's fish, and you are still bragging here, but I also believe that the fourth sister cooks better than Yumanlou's fish, because it is the best fish I have ever eaten." Yinhua continued Come on.

"This Yumanlou is the largest restaurant in Qinghe Town, and it is owned by the Ling family. I heard that the cook his family hired used to work in the palace," Zhaodi said again.

"That's right, we'll eat there once we have money." Xu Ru felt full after eating half a pancake. When I first came here, I couldn't stand eating tortillas all day long. Every time I ate it, I felt full. slow.Now I can keep up with the family.

"Here, eat another half pancake. Eat enough, Abao eats more than you." Mother Xu handed her half a pancake.

Xu Ru saw that there was only one pancake on the plate, the second sister ate one and the father ate one, the mother and herself ate half of it, and A Bao was still gnawing on one.

"Mom, I can't eat any more. I ate roasted sweet potatoes with my second sister at noon. You can eat with dad. Dad, help me move the jar from the backyard here later." Xu Ru pointed to a corner of the main room

"Next time it's time for the second sister to go to the eldest sister. Every time you go, you have to look at the face of that family. The lunch is thinner than ours." Zhaodi complained and took a bite of the pancake.

Mother Xu waited until she was almost done eating before opening her mouth. "How is your elder sister? How is your body? When will you give birth?"

"It's still the same, the belly is getting bigger, I heard from the elder sister that it's coming soon, it's less than a month away."

"Oh, that's good. No matter how poor the Tian family is, this Jinhua is pregnant with their first grandson, so they won't treat Jinhua badly. Besides, Brother Qingshui also spends a lot of money on private schools every year, so you should be frugal. "Tian Qingshui is the second son of the Tian family we married.

"Hey, the eldest brother-in-law is an honest person, but the grandmother of the Tian family is too stingy, she is so stingy, mother, you didn't see her girl's trouser legs are a lot shorter, not as good as mine. You say their family They grow more fields than us, and they still have a cow, so how can they be so economical?" Zhao Di said strangely.

"By the way, mother, you asked me to take [-] eggs. I don't know if the eldest sister can eat them in her mouth. She will sell them, right? Fortunately, I secretly took the ten coins you gave me. It’s for the elder sister.” She stuffed the last piece of cake into her mouth, talking vaguely.

"Third Sister, don't say this in front of Eldest Sister in the future. Anyway, Eldest Sister is also married and they are a family. If you say this, Eldest Sister will not be able to save face. She will definitely be angry if she hears it, let alone in front of outsiders. It's gone." Xu Ru couldn't see it, she was still a small person in this trick, and she probably spoke out loud, but this kind of provocative words should be heard by the eldest sister, if there is a pimple in her mind, how will she get along with others in the future? .

……

The red clouds in the sky slowly faded, and the sky gradually darkened.The grapes drying outside have an attractive color like agate.Seeing that there were no water droplets on the grape skins, and the original layer of "powder" remained on the outside of the grapes, Xu Ru called Yinhua and Zhaodi to make wine together.

Making wine is not difficult, the main thing is that it takes some time, and the brewing time also needs to be grasped.First of all, wash your hands, and then pick off the dried grapes one by one, crush them and put them in the prepared crock.A layer of grapes and a layer of sugar, the ratio is about ten to one by weight.After pinching the grapes, there was more than half of the vat. Xu Ru found a wooden board to cover the top of the vat, and then waited for natural fermentation.

"Don't cover it too tightly. After two days, use clean dry chopsticks to stir them every day to make them fully mixed, which is conducive to fermentation. You can drink it after one month, but if you want to taste better, you need to put more It's been a long time."

"Fourth sister, you are really amazing, you know this, how did you come up with it?" The second sister Yinhua knew that this must not have been heard during the market.

"I don't know how I know, I just know it in my head, am I too stupid before?"

"No, it's just that you used to be relatively quiet, and you didn't like to do such fun things." Zhaodi said quickly.

(End of this chapter)