"Mom, I went there just to try my luck, but I didn't expect there was really any. If I had known there were wild vegetables there, I would have definitely asked you to go dig with me!"
"Mom, forget it. She's right. Where can we find wild vegetables in this cold winter? The edible things around here, even the tree bark, have been peeled and ground into powder. She's lucky." Wang Dazhi felt a little better after eating the persimmons. He didn't want to push Wu Yueying to death.
"If you do something stupid like this again, don't come back." The old woman of the Wang family glared at her and said, "Stop pretending. Get up and make dinner. Dazhi is not in good health and can't afford to go hungry..."
The mother and her two children entered the room.
Wu Yueying hugged her daughter and cried.
How ridiculous.
How can you look like a weak person when you beat yourself to death?
When will she be able to get out of this family?
...
Zhao Zheng doesn't know what happened to the Wang family yet.
The father-in-law, daughter-in-law and two other children were busy making fire and cooking, while he was just lying on the earthen kang with his legs crossed to rest.
It's not that he is lazy, it's that his two daughters-in-law don't allow him to do it at all.
Zhao Zheng simply started fiddling with the persimmons.
Persimmons are stored in warehouses, which, apart from being charged, also keep them fresh forever.
Moreover, this persimmon is too ripe, not easy to dry in the sun, and it is easy to attract jealousy.
Therefore, canning persimmons is both safe and delicious.
Just do it.
Zhao Zheng took out most of the persimmons and left the rest for Zhaodi and Xiao'e to enjoy.
These are washed, then the stems, skins and cores are removed.
I spent about ten coins in the mall and bought a large ceramic jar with an aluminum lid to store persimmons.
This way the two women wouldn't doubt the origin of the pottery jar.
When Zhang Xiao'e came out with the food, she saw her father-in-law busying around. "Father-in-law, what are you doing?"
"Canned persimmons, have you tried them?"
"No." Zhang Xiao'e had only eaten persimmons a few times, let alone canned persimmons. "How do you make this can?"
Zhao Zheng handed the operation steps to her, and Zhang Xiaoe hurriedly called Yang Zhaodi over.
When Yang Zhaodi learned that her father-in-law was going to make canned persimmons, she said, "Father-in-law, you go eat first. Xiao'e and I will take care of the rest."
"No rush, let's eat first and do it later."
Zhao Zheng smiled and looked at the food on the low table. "Oh, it's shepherd's purse and egg pancakes, and boiled dandelions. It's quite a feast!"
This little bit of wild vegetables, after being rinsed with water, will be enough for a meal.
Yang Zhaodi didn't plan to make it into pickles, so she decided to let her father-in-law have a taste of it.
In addition, there was a large bowl of rice, which was more than the two women combined.
"Zhao Di, you don't have to rely on me to eat alone in the future. You also need to eat enough. I will take care of the food issue." Zhao Zheng said.
"That won't work. You're the head of the family and you have to do physical work. Only when you're full can Xiao'e and I rely on you!" Yang Zhaodi said seriously, "Besides, Xiao'e and I don't do any heavy work. This much is enough for us to eat."
Zhang Xiao'e also nodded. "Other families only eat one meal a day, and their food is mostly vegetable cakes and rice bran porridge. We eat rice for three meals a day. We eat so much, and we don't do any work, so we feel full!"
Zhao Zheng laughed dumbly, "Little girl, you talk in a roundabout way. I can't argue with you, okay?"
The two girls smiled shyly and said in unison, "These are both our true feelings."
"Come up and eat. It won't taste good if it gets cold," said Zhao Zheng.
He could clearly feel that the two women were much more lively than before and were no longer as timid as before.
The two women also hurriedly got on the kang and sat on the warm earthen kang. All their fatigue and coldness disappeared.
The rice was served with shepherd's purse, egg pancake and fresh dandelion. Although it was not a delicacy in Zhao Zheng's opinion, it was still edible.
For the two women, even in a good year, it would be a divine meal.
After eating and drinking their fill, Zhao Zheng scraped off another bowl of rice crusts and gave all the unburned ones to the two women, while leaving the half-burnt ones in the bowl.
The two of them were also very diligent. They washed the remaining persimmons and put them into a ceramic jar.
"Father-in-law, I don't remember there being so many good persimmons!" Zhang Xiao'e asked in confusion.
"Actually, I picked more than 20 kilograms of persimmons from the tree. The ones on top were bad, and the ones at the bottom were good. If I didn't say this, the villagers would be jealous to death if it got out, right?" Zhao Zheng said.
Yang Zhaodi smacked her lips and said, "Father-in-law is so lucky. Many people go to Wild Dog Ridge, but it's only Father-in-law who found these persimmons."
Zhang Xiao'e was also excited. "Wow, that will last for a long time. If I can't finish it, I can sell it for money or food!"
The more she spoke, the more motivated she became.
Immediately, the two of them put the persimmons into the ceramic jar, layering them with sugar, then covered it with a lid and boiled the jar in water, sealing it again while disinfecting and sterilizing it.
In less than two quarters of an hour, the canned persimmons were ready. Zhao Zheng immediately turned the can upside down so that it could be stored for more than three months.
Just then, Zheng Chunmei arrived as expected.
Zhang Xiao'e hurriedly hid the can, as if she was afraid that others would find out.
Yang Zhaodi didn't even let go of the persimmon peels. She decided to dry them in the shade and grind them into powder. After all, the peels are also a bit sweet.
There's no way around it. That's how poor people are. They make the most of everything they can.
Zhao Zheng also let her do what she wanted. In the past, he would have definitely looked down on her, but after experiencing the feeling of hunger, he could empathize and understand.
"Uncle Zhao, I heard you and Mrs. Wang went to Yegouling today and dug up some wild vegetables?" Zheng Chunmei said with a smile as she entered the room. "It's really rare to see green in this cold winter."
"Good luck." Zhao Zheng laughed.
Zheng Chunmei took off her straw sandals and prepared to get on the kang. Seeing Yang Zhaodi and the other two looking at her, she hurriedly said, "I washed my feet before I came here. They are clean!"
"That's more like it." Zhang Xiao'e said with a straight face.
Zhao Zheng was lying on the earthen kang. "Chunmei, massage my head and neck more today."
"Hey, Dele!"
Zheng Chunmei climbed onto the kang, and the warm earthen kang immediately dispelled the cold.
Compared to the wooden bed at home that was like an ice cellar, this place was simply heaven.
Somehow, she had been thinking about the Zhao family's earthen kang all day, and was even looking forward to coming over.
She missed the rice crust, the earthen kang, and the warmth.
Especially when she caught a glimpse of the rice crust on the low table, she became very excited. She knelt beside Zhao Zheng, put her hands on his shoulders and neck, and whispered, "Uncle Zhao, what about the rice crust..."
"If you press it well, it's yours!" Zhao Zhengdao said.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao!"
Zheng Chunmei was so excited that she pressed the button even harder.
However, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
Why is Uncle Zhao's hand on my...leg?
It must have been unintentional, right?
Uncle Zhao is an elder, how could he have any bad intentions?
For some reason, she suddenly looked at Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe behind her with a guilty conscience.
Seeing that they were not paying attention to this side, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and didn't dare to move Zhao Zheng's hand away.
What if Uncle Zhao gets angry?