Four Foods in the Mountains

In late autumn, the wind keeps blowing.

Cen Ning got up early in the morning and found three thick clothes in the box.

Lu Jianglan was still sound asleep, Cen Ning handed Lu Yunchuan's clothes to him: "It's windy in the morning, wear something thicker before going out."

Lu Yunchuan nodded and took it. Cen Ning tucked the quilt for Lu Jianglan who was on the kang, put pillows on the side of the kang, and walked out the back door with Lu Yunchuan.

It was cold, and we washed our faces with boiling water. After the two of them washed up, Lu Yunchuan went to the backyard to feed the chickens and collect eggs, while Cen Ning prepared breakfast with a hot pot.

There are a few more chickens in the family now, and there are more eggs picked up every day. Lu Yunchuan wipes the eggs one by one and puts them in the basket in the kitchen.

Cen Ning scooped up rice and boiled a pot of white rice porridge. He fried two eggs in oil. The dough was ready to wake up, and he planned to fry fried dough sticks to eat.It's cold, people eat more oil.

After the dough wakes up, roll it out thinly, divide it into even long strips, stack them up one by one and press them with chopsticks to form a shape. When the oil in the pan is heated up, put it in the pan and fry it slowly over low heat until it is fully cooked.

The fritters just out of the pan are soft and crispy, with a chewy texture.

After serving a plate of side dishes, Cen Ning scooped two spoonfuls of soy sauce from the plate, dipped the fried dough sticks in soy sauce and ate the porridge.

When the food was put on the table, Lu Yunchuan took a sip of the hot porridge and said, "Boy Ping is getting married, and the family is too busy. I will accompany Er Zhuzi to the town to buy some things. I guess I will come back after lunch."

Boy Ping is the youngest son of the village chief's family. The village chief has taken care of Lu Yunlang and Lu Yunchuan brothers over the years, and it is only right that he should help out.

Cen Ning nodded while holding the bowl, and Lu Yunchuan asked again: "Is there anything missing at home? I'll buy it together."

Cen Ning swallowed the deep-fried dough sticks and thought for a while: "Make a pot of soy sauce, buy some red dates, and steam date cakes to eat later. It's cold, so you can put a few in the soup."

He said again: "Come back with some cakes, I haven't bought them for Yuan'er for a long time."

Lu Yunchuan listened and nodded: "I haven't been to the town these days. I haven't bought it for a long time. This time I bought more."

Cen Ning put the fried eggs into Lu Yunchuan's bowl: "Buy more peach cakes, that one can hold up, and you can eat it slowly, so it's not good for him to eat too much at one time, and also weigh some jujube paste cakes, brother Zhi likes it that."

Lu Yunchuan wrote down one by one.

After breakfast, Lu Yunchuan went to the village chief's house with a basket on his back to look for Er Zhuzi, and Cen Ning mixed hot water in the yard to wash the underwear that the family changed last night.

Just washed and hung on the hemp rope to dry, there was movement from the room inside.

"Daddy, can you come and stay with me?"

Hearing the voice, Cen Ning wiped his hands and walked into the house. When he entered the door, he saw Lu Jianglan rubbing his eyes on the window with his ass pouted, and when he came in, he stretched out his arms, "Daddy."

Cen Ning walked up to him and picked him up to pat him. Lu Jianglan hadn't woken up yet, so he lay down in his father's arms and stopped moving, wanting to continue to sleep.

Cen Ning wrapped him in his little quilt and coaxed him: "Daddy, will you dress you up? Get up and eat after getting dressed. Father is going to the town. After dinner, go and play with Brother Ling and Sister Tuan."

Want to eat, want to play, but sleepy.

Lu Jianglan twisted her body, not wanting to move.

Cen Ning patted his butt, and said, "Who likes the steamed pancakes in the morning?"

"Small steamed cakes." Lu Jianglan suddenly opened his eyes, "Yuan Yuan likes it the most."

As he spoke, he moved upward and hugged Cen Ning's neck: "Daddy, eat something warm."

Cen Ning rubbed his son's hair with a smile and got dressed.

Lu Jianglan sat on the chair and swayed his legs. Behind him, Cen Ning tied a hairband to the little Jiujiu on the top of his head. The little doll in the mirror had red lips and white teeth. Because of the cold weather, he had gained weight and looked more like a Lantern Festival.

With a small round face, Lu Jianglan ran to the yard to wash his mouth and wipe his face, while Cen Ning went to the kitchen to serve his breakfast.

The fritters are deep-fried, so it is not good to give them to Lu Jianglan early in the morning, for fear that he will spoil his stomach, so Cen Ning made him small steamed pancakes.

Shred white radish and potatoes, crack an egg, put a handful of chopped green onion, sprinkle with salt and mix well, squeeze out the water, then mix well with flour, knead into small round cakes half the size of a palm and steam them in a pan.

The steamed cakes just out of the pan were soft and tender. After washing, Lu Jianglan ran to the kitchen, muttering: "Small steamed cakes, small steamed cakes, Yuan Yuan likes small steamed cakes..."

"Did our family raise a little pig?" Cen Ning nodded his forehead.

Lu Jianglan was delighted while biting the steamed pancake, and it was said that the little pig also smiled and Mimi nodded: "Little pig also likes small steamed pancakes."

Cen Ning pinched his son's face, and was about to speak when Brother Zhu's voice sounded outside the courtyard: "Ning'er, are you home?"

"It's in the kitchen, come in and sit down."

"Little Daddy, I'm here too." Lu Jianglan yelled out the door while chewing on the steamed cake.

The two families recognized their relatives, and Lu Jianglan called Brother Zhu that way.

Brother Zhu walked into the kitchen, played with Lu Jianglan who was sitting on the bench eating steamed cakes for a while, and then talked to Cen Ning.

"I heard that Sister Lan brought her husband and son-in-law back to her mother's house yesterday when her child was full moon. Instead of running to the Lu's house, she walked around to you and sister-in-law Chunling. Is it true? Then Wang Fengyu must not be angry at home." His face is green." Brother Zhu asked Cen Ning with his shoulder.

Cen Ning picked up the goose eggs soaked in cold water and peeled them. Hearing the words, he said helplessly: "It's true, Chuanzi and I didn't expect Sister Lan to come to our place. There are few things at home, and the meals are not cooked properly. Prepare, thanks to the two of them mentioning a lot of things."

Sister Lan got married two years ago, and she came out of the Lu family's courtyard.

Two years ago, when Sister Lan reached the age of marriage, Wang Fengyu wanted to betroth her to a family in another village.

The man in that family is a widower who loves drinking the most. Whenever he gets drunk, he starts beating people. The last wife was beaten so hard by him that she hanged herself on the beam of the main room.

When he was old, the widower wanted to marry another daughter-in-law and have children to continue his incense. He had a lot of money in his family and said that he was willing to give a double dowry and not a dowry.

Knowing his character and virtue, good people are unwilling to marry their daughters, but Wang Fengyu has taken a fancy to the dozen or so taels of dowry money.

Sister Lan looked cowardly, but she had a strong temper. When she heard that Wang Fengyu wanted to sell her to a widower to fill the house, she ran to the back mountain and threw herself into the river without saying a word.

She was fine, and was spotted and caught by some men who got up early to go to the fields, but when the men helped carry Sister Lan back to Lu's house, Wang Fengyu lost her temper viciously.

A girl who is waiting to be married has been seen by a few men and touched her wet body, her reputation is about to be ruined, how can she marry?

Sure enough, the man from the Hou family immediately wanted to withdraw from the marriage after hearing the news, and he also wanted to return the gift money.

More than a dozen taels of white money was snatched back before it was warmed up. Wang Fengyu almost didn't come up with hatred. She raised a daughter for more than ten years just for these few taels of betrothal gifts. Now she can't get married, could it? Do you still keep eating rice at home?Immediately kicked sister Lan out of the door.

He was still yelling that it was Sister Lan, a girl whose family shamelessly lost her chastity, and was afraid that keeping her would tarnish the reputation of so many generations of Lu family ancestors.

With nowhere to go, in the end Cen Ning and Lu Yunchuan couldn't stand it anymore and took Sister Lan to their home.

Yao Chunling's natal family also helped to inquire, and found a new family for Sister Lan.

That man is honest and capable, the only thing is that his legs are a little lame, which was accidentally dropped when he was a child, so he never got a wife.

After hearing about Sister Lan, she only said: "She doesn't think I'm a lame man, and I naturally don't think she didn't live in a good family. As long as she agrees to this matter, I will treat her well in the future."

In this way, a marriage was formed. Sister Rilan's dowry was comparable to that of other girls in the village, and it was bought by Cen Ning and Yao Chunling together.

After peeling the goose eggs, Cen Ning handed them to Lu Jianglan: "Eat the eggs after eating the steamed pancakes, so that you can grow taller."

Lu Jianglan nodded while holding the big goose egg, and obediently put it in his mouth.

Brother Zhu liked it, raised his hand and rubbed the little Jiujiu on the top of his head, and said to Cen Ning, "Sister Lan is also a lucky one. Parents and brothers are unreliable, but there are kind-hearted brothers and sisters-in-law who are willing to help." With her, life is not bad now."

"There's no such thing as a kind heart. I just can't bear to see her suffering as a girl."

"That's right." Brother Zhu sighed and said, "In this world, it is the most difficult for the girl and brother."

While talking, he looked at Lu Jianglan with both hands: "Wang Fengyu is a patriarchal black-hearted thing, but I am not. God, open your eyes and give me a girl or a brother. Wu Erhe and I must be careful."

Brother Zhu's stomach hasn't moved for several years since he got married. Although his parents-in-law never urged him, but he saw Lu Jianglan being so good-looking and beautiful every day, he just felt greedy, and wished he could take him home.

In the middle of the afternoon, when Lu Yunchuan came back with Er Zhuzi to buy some good things, Cen Ning was in the yard putting a cloth towel into Lu Jianglan's back clothes.

"Father is back!" Lu Jianglan couldn't move his neck after being caught by his father, so he opened his mouth and opened his mouth to shout.

"Is this going out to play?" Lu Yunchuan asked.

Afraid that Lu Jianglan might catch a cold if he sweated while playing, Cen Ning would put a small sweat towel on his back every time he went out to play.

"Brother Ling and Sister Tuan called me to pick wild fruits." Lu Jianglan said.

"That's just right." Lu Yunchuan put down the pannier behind him, took out a few oil-paper bags and opened them, "Father bought some cakes, you can eat some with Ling Geertuan and his sisters."

"Wow, there are so many." Lu Jianglan's eyes lit up, he stretched out two palms to take the pastry, and happily hopped out the door.

Cen Ning instructed behind him: "Yuan'er, don't jump, you will fall later."

Lu Jianglan continued to jump.

"If the cake falls, you should cry." Lu Yunchuan said.

Lu Jianglan paused and stood still for two seconds before continuing to move forward with his short legs, walking steadily step by step.

Cen Ning shook his head and laughed, Lu Yunchuan took out another oil-paper bag from his arms, opened it and pushed it in front of him: "Trough cake, your favorite, the buddy just put it out, I kept it in my arms and it was still warm."

On the back hill, three diced radishes are stuck together, and an oiled paper bag containing pastries is placed in the middle.

Sister Tuan bit her milk pancake with happiness on her face: "It's so sweet and delicious, I'm going to eat it all by myself this time, so I won't share it with my brother."

After thinking about it, he carefully broke off half of it: "My sister is good, I will save some for her."

"Eat it all." Lu Jianglan held a piece of peach cake in both hands and said, "There are still others, you can eat by yourself first."

"Okay." Sister Tuan was happy, shaking her head and stuffing the milk cake into her mouth.

Lu Jianglan felt a little choked after eating a piece of peach cake, and wanted to go to the river to wash two fruits.

They just went up the mountain and picked a lot of water forest seeds. The water forest seeds are sweet, soft and juicy. He likes to eat them.

As soon as he stood up, Ling Ge'er turned his head and asked him, "What are you doing?"

Lu Jianglan said: "The peach crisp is dry, go wash the fruit, do you want to eat it, I will wash some for you too?"

Brother Ling didn't say a word, he stuffed the unfinished pastry into his mouth, clapped his hands and stood up, said vaguely: "I'll wash it for you, it's slippery by the river."

Lu Jianglan nodded. In fact, he was also a little scared, and said happily, "Then I'll go with you."

Leaving the group sister to watch things, Lu Jianglan and Ling Geer went to the river to wash fruit.

Brother Ling was three years older than Lu Jianglan, and taller than Lu Jianglan. Compared to Lu Jianglan, he looked more like a milk doll, and Brother Ling was already out of shape.

Pulling Lu Jianglan to the bank of the river, Brother Ling told him: "Just wait for me here, stand still."

Lu Jianglan nodded.

Ling Ge'er rolled up his sleeves, bent down to wash the fruits, he washed the fruits meticulously, and cleaned them one by one with his fingertips.

The children in the village ate the fruit directly and didn't even bother to wipe it, but Lu Jianglan had a delicate stomach and would get sick if he ate something unclean.

"Brother Ling." Lu Jianglan said.

"what happened?"

"Your arm is red."

Brother Ling looked down, and there was a red and swollen mark on his arm, which was accidentally scratched by a branch when he went up the mountain to help his mother carry firewood.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

"It must have hurt."

Brother Ling washed the fruit, stood up and covered Lu Jianglan's mouth with the fruit: "It grows on my arm, if I say it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt."

Lu Jianglan puffed his cheeks and nodded.

Back on the flat ground, Brother Ling distributed the fruit to sister Tuan, and Lu Jianglan took out a handkerchief from his bosom. The handkerchief was small, with small flowers embroidered on the corner.

With a handkerchief, he wiped off the water on Brother Ling's arm, and said, "The wound should not get wet or dusty, I'll wrap it up for you."

Trying to recall his father's appearance, Lu Jianglan took a handkerchief and tied an ugly knot on Brother Ling's thin white arm.

Sister Tuan laughed: "It's so ugly, let's untie me."

"No need." Brother Ling touched the knot on his arm, "You can eat your fruit."

"Oh."

Lu Jianglan is quite satisfied with the knot he tied, he thinks it looks pretty.

Picking up a jujube paste square cake, Lu Jianglan handed it to Brother Ling: "Brother Ling, you eat this, it's so sweet, my father and brother Zhi both like it, my brother loves it."

Speaking of Brother Zhi, sister Tuan's eyes lit up, and she moved to Lu Jianglan's side.

"You're laughing like a thief." Lu Jianglan said.

Sister Tuan twisted the little Jiujiu on Lu Jianglan's head to avenge her, and continued, "Yuan'er, I heard that Brother Zhi is going to marry Brother Da Huzi."

"How?" Lu Jianglan couldn't believe it.

"Really! I heard from my mother that I plan to get married first. Brother Dahuzi is so pretty, and I like it too. But my mother said that I am too young, but Brother Zhi is also good-looking. It is Brother Zhi. If my son married Brother Dahuzi, I wouldn't be so sad..."

Sister Tuan was talking to herself, and the fruit in Lu Jianglan's mouth was not sweet anymore.

"But I can't bear Brother Zhi, I don't want Brother Zhi to get married."

Sister Tuan Cheng said: "This is because you are ignorant. Brother and girl will marry when they reach their age. Brother Ling and I will also marry in a few years. You still want to marry a wife, but Let's say it first, I will definitely not marry you in the future."

Lu Jianglan's attention was quickly diverted, and he said angrily, "Why don't you marry me?"

"Because you are prettier than me!"

"Isn't it beautiful? You like ugly ones?"

"Ah, Yuan Er, you are so stupid. Doesn't it make me ugly if you are beautiful? I don't want to do that."

Lu Jianglan said blankly: "Then I will marry a daughter-in-law who is prettier than me, like my father."

Sister Tuan looked at Lu Jianglan intently for a while, then shook her head with a serious expression: "Then I guess you will be a bachelor for the rest of your life."

"what……"

"Okay," Ling Ge'er had had enough of these two people, "but shut up, it's still too early for the two of you to get married."

He was the oldest among the three, and Lu Jianglan and sister Tuan all listened to him.

Hearing this, he shut his mouth as expected and remained silent.

Still holding the jujube paste square cake for Ling Geer, Lu Jianglan lifted it up and handed it to Ling Geer.

His hands are white and tender, with small dimples on the back of his hands, and he looks especially good holding the date cake with red letters on it.

Brother Ling lowered his eyes to look at Lu Jianglan's hand, and then at Lu Jianglan. His brows and eyes were pale, his eyes were as black as ink, and he looked cold when his face was expressionless.

Lu Jianglan was a little apprehensive: "You don't like it? Then I'll eat it, and you can eat something else."

Before he could withdraw his hand, Ling Geer suddenly lowered his head and took a bite of the jujube cake.

The bite was a bit big, and the teeth grazed Lu Jianglan's hand, leaving two red marks on the knuckles.

"Ah, I'm biting." Sister Tuan shouted as she chewed the fruit.

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt." Lu Jianglan blinked and smiled innocently, and asked, "How is it? Is it delicious? Do you like it?"

"Stupid." Brother Ling said softly, his eyelashes trembling.

The green hills behind him are like splashed ink. The men working in the fields are returning home with hoes on their shoulders. People come and go on the country roads. There is a smell of soil, food, and overripe mountain fruits. Set in the west, the breeze swayed.

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It's over!

Thanks for your support, haha~