Burning fire in earthen stoves has long been a commonplace for children.
They divided the work and cooperated. Xu Dong made the fire, Xu Xi washed the rice, Xu Yin was strong and was responsible for chopping the goose meat, and Ning Jin was good at cooking and was responsible for frying the goose.
Xu Yin ran to the dean’s mother’s room, took a thin bamboo pole and hooked a bamboo basket from the high beam, which contained dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and garlic. It was originally used to smoke out insects and prevent mold, but now it is just used as a condiment.
Xiao Hu was amazed when he saw it: "When you left, you actually left a hand? This rice still looks very new. Where are you hiding it? Is it not flooded?"
“We put the rice in bags and hung it on the rafters. This is what the dean’s mother used to do because she was worried about being eaten by rats.”
“There are still a few potatoes here, but they haven’t sprouted yet.”
Xu Yin hooked a small basket from the beam of the storage room at the back. In it lay a few small potatoes with dried soil on the surface. They looked a little shriveled, but miraculously they had not sprouted.
"You can eat it without sprouting." Xiao Hu said, "Goose meat stewed with potatoes is so delicious!"
Xu Yin smiled, took out the potatoes, washed them, and peeled off the skin to reveal the light yellow flesh. They looked very good.
Xiao Hu squatted at the mouth of the well, watching her neatly pressing down the water to wash the potatoes, and asked curiously: "Is there a lot of water in the well? Over there at the old base, the water flow pumped up by the water circulation system is so thin that even taking a bath is suffocating. Yes, water is not as convenient as yours."
"There should be a lot." Xu Yin lifted the stone slab covering the wellhead and showed it to him, "The water level is quite high now, right?"
“It’s quite high. If water is inconvenient back at the camp, can I come up here to fetch water?”
"Okay." Xu Yin thought for a while and said, "You can also connect a tube to drain the water."
If someone always comes to use water, will it be easier for her to enter and exit the bunker in the future?
Xiao Hu did not doubt that he was there and responded: "I'll ask the professor when I get back. It's not too troublesome to connect the pipe. It would be great if it can solve the water problem."
When the goose meat is almost cooked, Xu Yin puts the washed and diced potatoes into it and stews it.
There were two burners on the earthen stove, and two pots were set up, one to stew goose meat, and the other to simmer rice. After a while, I smelled the long-lost aroma of iron pot cooking.
This is a fragrance that you will never smell in the underground city.
Xu Yin likes to eat rice crispy rice the most. It is brown and fragrant and crunchy when you take a bite.
When Xiao Hu came out to look for them, although he had already eaten, he saw the red-colored, spicy goose meat and potatoes stewed with a bowl of white rice that smelled very fragrant. He swallowed his saliva, as if he was hungry again. .
The four children had been busy for most of the day and were already hungry. They picked up their rice bowls and ate with their heads down. While eating, they persuaded Xiao Hu: "Brother Hu, you can eat it. We left a portion for the professor. We won't say that you are eating alone." of."
…”I thank you!
After eating and drinking enough, one big and four little ones wiped their mouths and sighed with satisfaction: "You are so full!"
Everyone laughed after saying this.
If others hear this, they will probably want to put a sack on them.
Because Xiao Hu was here, the four children did not stay any longer. They cleaned up the kitchen, dug out the supplies hidden in every corner, and put them together. There were a small handful of dried chili peppers, a small pinch of Sichuan peppercorns, a few shriveled garlic heads, and a small handful of shriveled garlic. A bundle of dried beans, a bag of dried corn kernels, a dozen potatoes, and a jar of smelly pickles.
Half of the potatoes have sprouted. Let’s go back and see if they can be grown in high-temperature soil.
They didn't hide the smelly pickles. The dean's mother probably carried them to a cool place at the back of the woodshed, which was covered with wooden boards and an oilcloth. At that time, the water flooded only up to the waist of the jar, and then it was covered with ice and snow. When I was cleaning it, I thought it was an abandoned broken water jar, but I didn't look carefully. When I discovered it now, it really smelled!
Xu Xi pinched her nose and said, "It stinks! The pickles made by the dean's mother before were not smelly. If they are so smelly, they must have gone rancid and cannot be eaten."
Xu Dong: “Then let’s carry it out and throw it away together!”
"Wait a minute!" Xiao Hu said, "Is this smell the same as stinky mandarin fish or stinky tofu? Remove the foam on the surface, and what's underneath is actually fermented vegetable brine. I'll take some vegetable brine back and test it. Maybe we can still eat it, but we can’t waste it!”
…”
The four children took a step back together: "Brother Hu, come on then!"
In the end, the simple Xiao Hu took over everything. When he returned to the camp carrying a pot of stinky vegetable stew that could be smelled as close as three meters away from him, his colleagues all avoided him:
“Damn it! Hu Tianyu, did you fall into the manure vat?”
…”
Professor Liu couldn't stand the smell either: "Xiao Hu, please stay away from me."
Xiao Hu: “…”
He picked up the vegetable stew bottle and hummed: "Don't be greedy when I fry the stinky tofu!"
Hearing this, Xu Dong stepped forward and said, "Brother Hu, let me help you carry the bottle."
…”
This snack foodie!
“Professor, we brought this to you. The weather is hot. Eat it quickly! If you don’t eat it, it will go bad!”
Xu Yin pulled Professor Liu to the side and quietly handed him a very clean aluminum lunch box, which was hot in her hands.
“What delicious food did you get? Is there anything to eat outside now?”
When he opened it, he saw that it was a delicious and delicious potato and goose meat rice bowl. He opened his mouth and said, "Meat? Where did you get it? Isn't it rotten meat that has been dead for a long time? You will get sick from eating this! You have all eaten it. ? Ouch, Lao Zheng! Lao Zheng!"
Before Xu Yin could explain, Professor Liu called Dr. Zheng who was with the team.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Professor, you can't blame me for this. You called the people over yourself."
She explained the origin of the goose, potatoes, and rice. Professor Liu covered the lunch box protectively: "Old Zheng, go back!"
Dr. Zheng laughed loudly: "I won't go back! You asked me to come here, and I'll be there for you!"
…”
Two old men who have been friends for decades almost fell out over a box of goose meat rice bowl.
At the end of the day, each person had half a box, and he was still very satisfied with his meal.
Professor Liu whispered to Xu Yin: "Next time there is such a good thing, tell me first."
Xu Yin: “…”
Hin thought, didn’t I just secretly drag you to a corner to eat? Who called Dr. Zheng here in such a loud voice?
Professor Liu knew he was in the wrong and smiled: "Let's have a meeting!"
After everyone arrived, he held a meeting for everyone and assigned everyone their work tasks.
Xu Yin’s four children are mainly responsible for daily cultivation and sowing. They all follow Professor Liu’s instructions on how to plant and what to plant.
After the rest days are fixed, we will work five days out of seven days a week, with one day off in rotation and one day off fixed.
Xu Yin's four children looked at each other in a way that only they could understand - on fixed rest days, they could go to the bunker to play.
Professor Liu was initially worried that Xu Yin's children might not adapt well. They clamored to come up to breathe fresh air before, but after arriving, they might cry and want to go back within a few days.
He has even made arrangements in this regard - if the four children cannot persist and return to Central City midway, who will take over their work.
Unexpectedly, the four children did not adapt very well. They were very active every day. Going to work was like going on an outing to play, and they were full of energy.
On the contrary, other members of his team have experienced symptoms of acclimatization or heat stroke of varying severity, some have fever, some have diarrhea, some are weak and have loss of appetite...
Professor Liu himself also suffered from chest tightness and discomfort for several days. He drank the heat-relieving tea prepared by Xu Yin and got better.