Cute Beast Food Garden

In the bedroom at night.

The well-fed bird lightly climbed up the man's back and hugged the back of his neck as before.After a light pecking sound, the cute little bird dumpling disappeared and turned into a cute boy.

"It's just right, come here, here is the brewed scented tea." The man waved to Qi Yan, took out Qi Yan's cup, and filled it up for him. "The tea farmers planted it on the hillside. The aunt next door just picked it and gave it to our family."

"Thank you." Qi Yan held the cup and took a sip.He didn't drink much tea at first, but the tea leaves were surprisingly fragrant, with a hint of sweetness.

They sat down on the stools in the house, Qi Yan said: "Today I have peeled all the pine cones, and all the pine nuts inside have been sorted and bagged. The next step is to sell these batches of pine nuts."

"Yes." Si Dongmo nodded, "I've been thinking about this question since I came back, how to sell this batch of pine nuts. Ah Jin told me the price of pine nuts imported from the Shanhuo store, but I think there is There are still some ways."

Qi Yan smiled, "It seems that the two of us want to go together. These pine nuts can only be sold at a cost price, which is too low. But if they are made into finished products and sold, they can earn a lot of money. income will be doubled.”

He asked Si Dongmo: "In terms of cooking, you are better than me. What dish do you think is more delicious made of pine nuts?"

Hearing this, Si Dongmo thought to himself: "The price of pine nuts is very expensive, and ordinary people like us can't afford it at all. In the town, only big restaurants can buy pine nuts and make them into dishes like pine nuts corn and pine nuts shrimp. sell to customers."

Qi Yan also added: "In fact, the taste of individual pine nuts is not outstanding. Its grain size is small, and the taste is not particularly sweet after being cooked. If it is sold in bags of dried snacks like peanuts and melon seeds, customers will buy them. I feel more disadvantaged.

You think, if the pine nuts are sold in small bags, they are small in size and expensive in a bag; second, the pine nuts have a special taste, and diners will get tired of eating too much at one time, so the selling effect is not good.My idea is that it is better to make other kinds of snacks with pine nuts. "

"Small snacks..." Si Dongmo frowned, "I remember that there are almond cakes and peanut cakes sold in the town, so if the pine nuts are also made into cakes and other snacks, would it be more cost-effective?"

Qi Yan nodded and said: "That's what I mean. Pine nuts are not suitable for packaging and selling in bags, but are suitable for embellishing other ingredients, or even made into pastries and snacks."

"It makes sense. But I have never made pine nut cakes before, and I can say that I have no experience in controlling the taste."

"It's not difficult. We can experiment with several plans at the same time, and make a portion of each dish you think you can try. What about pine nut cakes, pine nut cakes, pine nut steamed buns, and what..."

"Pine nut porridge?" Si Dongmo suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "I saw it in Boss Lan's restaurant last time. Some customers had health-preserving porridge with herbs on their tables. Actually, the pine nuts are edible. It’s too greasy, and it seems to be quite suitable to be used as an ingredient in porridge.”

"Yes, that's the way of thinking." Qi Yan agreed, "I have an idea, after we make these experimental dishes, we will show them to our family members, and if the effect is good, we will put them in the town to 'pilot' them. When I was in the restaurant last time, I promised Boss Lan that I would help him pay attention to the ingredients in the mountains so that he can make a 'healthy meal'. I think your pine nut porridge is good."

"That's fine, it's settled." A gleam flashed in Si Dongmo's eyes, he became excited and geared up, "I'll make the dough tomorrow morning, and you can come and help me to taste the taste."

"Leave it to me." As a human being who lived on the modern earth, Qi Yan's knowledge on food must surpass that of rural youths with limited information.The two of them drank some scented tea slowly, chatted casually for a while, and then it was time to rest.

The house is very stuffy in summer, but in ancient times there were neither air conditioners nor electric fans, only hand-operated fans.The family's conditions are limited, Qi Yan and Si Dongmo can only live in the same room.The two men had nothing to shy away from. They slept on one side of the plank bed, with a mat under them and a thin quilt over their bodies.But the temperature in Xia Ye is extremely high after all, even if there is little cover, Qi Yan's body is still hot and sweating, even drowsiness is driven away by the sweltering heat.

Qi Yan lay on the bed for a long time, tossing and turning restlessly.He found that it was really difficult for him to calm down, coupled with the unscrupulous mosquitoes flying around his head, he was so annoyed that he shook his head violently several times, almost hitting the bed.

Si Dongmo, who was sleeping with his back turned to him, heard the movement behind him. He turned around and asked, "What's the matter, is it hot?"

"Hmm." Qi Yan responded sullenly, "Not only is it hot, but there are also many mosquitoes buzzing endlessly."

"Mosquitoes?" Si Dongmo stood up and lit a candle, "Why are there no mosquitos here?"

Qi Yan was taken aback, "Really?"

"Really, I grew up so big, mosquitoes never bite me." Si Dongmo nodded seriously.

Qi Yan laughed, "Wow, your blood can't be of a special quality, is it so powerful?" While speaking, he felt a numb itching on his arm, and immediately slapped it with a "slap" .

However, the mosquito that landed on his white arm sensed the sound of the wind in advance, and flew away leisurely before being slapped flat.

"Didn't hit it, ran away." He sighed depressingly.

Si Dongmo took the candle and asked Qi Yan to help hold it, and searched around the bed.Not long after, the greedy mosquito buzzed around again and landed on Qi Yan's calf.

"Snapped!"

The strike was quick and ruthless, and before the mosquito could bite, it was killed by Si Dongmo's palm.

"Great, it's finally knocked out." Qi Yan exhaled and lay down on the bunk again.

Si Dongmo got out of bed to wash his hands, looked at Qi Yan's exposed calf and the skin on his arms, and raised the corner of his mouth, "You look fair and tender, no wonder mosquitoes like to bite you."

"So, don't you look rough?"

"That's not true. I, a farmer who works in the fields all year round, can't compare to a little spirit beast nourished by the aura of the mountains."

After killing the mosquitoes, the man went out to wash his hands.A quarter of an hour later, he returned to the house with a very large mouse in his hand.

Qi Yan was startled, seeing the squeaking gray-white mouse desperately waving its little paw in the man's hand, he couldn't help asking: "Dong Mo, why did you bring this mouse into the house, aren't you afraid of infecting the disease?" ?”

"This is not a mouse," Si Dongmo squatted down, and picked up the giant gray "mouse" with one hand, and with the other hand, he grabbed the half of the rope on the small table and made a loop. Put it in again.

Finally, the rope tied with the "mouse" was thrown to the beams of the house, and the squeaky big guy was hung on the roof.

Qi Yan stared at all this dumbfounded.The mouse-like little animal was covered with thick fur and was chubby. It was hung from the roof, struggling desperately, and swinging in mid-air.

"This is an ice mouse."

Qi Yan didn't know why, so he saw the ice mouse staring straight down with its round black eyes wide open. It seemed to be very panicked about being hung on a high place, and its limbs kept kicking and waving.The screams of the giant rat became louder and louder, and finally, with a "poof", a light blue mist spread from the ice rat's body, gradually filling the entire room.

With the release of the weird mist, a burst of coolness gradually spread in the stuffy room, driving out the heat and replacing it with bursts of coolness.

Qi Yan looked at the ice mouse in disbelief, and then at Si Dongmo.Seeing the man smiling a little smugly, Qi Yan asked curiously: "The room has become much cooler, did the ice rat do it?"

"Exactly." Si Dongmo casually flicked the Icemouse's chubby belly, which caused the guy to scream tremblingly.

The man chuckled twice, "This ice mouse is very afraid of heights. When it is hung on a high place, it will scream in fright and scatter ice particles. Our Lezhuang has such a habit. When the weather is hot, hang the ice mouse inside the house, and it will emit ice particles and cold air, so that the house will be cooler.”

"You went out just now and brought it back so soon. Could it be that this ice mouse is raised at home?"

"Oh, it's not. I just went out to wash my hands, and I happened to see this guy picking up radishes and eating them in the vegetable garden. I thought this guy could make ice particles and cool air, so I just caught him."

"It's really you, you can catch a strange beast after you go out and wash your hands." Qi Yan said with some admiration.The man raised the corner of his mouth and gave him a smirk.

The temperature in the room dropped very quickly, it was like turning on an air conditioner in the house.Qi Yan lay back under the quilt again, he raised his eyes to the ceiling, and saw the bulging face of the ice mouse hanging on the roof was flushed, and it was shaking miserably in the air, Qi Yan was a little worried about that pitiful appearance Can't bear it.

The ice mouse hung and swayed in the room for a long time, dancing and struggling non-stop, and screaming continuously, each one getting louder.When the room was getting chilly, Qi Yan poked Si Dongmo's arm, "That big mouse looks pitiful, why don't you hang it on the roof and put it down."

"Well, it's okay, it's not so hot in the room now."

Si Dongmo stepped forward and untied the rope around the ice mouse.The fat mouse's feet were finally no longer in the air. It trembled and hugged Si Dongmo's arm tightly, looking at him tearfully, obviously frightened.

The man did not release it directly, but brought a bamboo cage from the front of the stove.

"This is a cage made when catching foxes. It has been empty for a long time and is useless. Now it's just time to install this thing."

He picked up the crying ice mouse that was curled up in his arms, stuffed it into the bamboo cage, and closed the entrance and exit.

"Squeak, squeak..."

The ice mouse hugged the railing of the cage with its two fluffy paws, and looked outside with its big black eyes.It stared at Si Dongmo for a while, but after realizing that the man walked out the door without paying attention to him, he turned his head to look at Qi Yan on the bed, and screamed, as if desperately begging for the bed The little beauty can let herself go.

Qi Yan looked at it while lying on his side, and shook his head with a smile: "Big mouse, why did you get caught by Si Dongmo? Next time, don't come to steal radishes, do you understand?"

He pulled the quilt a little over his body, "However, thanks to the big mouse, it's really cool in this room."

"Squeak..."

While talking, Si Dongmo came back from outside the house, holding a big carrot in his hand.When the ice mouse saw the radish, its round body immediately started to move, watching the man's movements with wide eyes.

"Here, take it and eat it. You stay in our house during this period, and I will let you out after the summer is over."

Si Dongmo stuffed the radish through the gap in the railing.The ice mouse immediately stood up on its hind legs, stretched out two small paws to catch the radish, opened and closed its teeth, and began to eat with relish.

Si Dongmo took the Icemouse, who was gnawing on the radish, outside.Qi Yan looked at his back in a daze for a moment. He felt that Si Dongmo was still very accommodating to him. The man himself had a special physique and was not very afraid of heat, but he still specially caught an ice mouse from outside for his own sake. I also kept ice mice at home.

I slept very peacefully and comfortably that night.The next day, Si Dongmo and Qi Yan got up early, went to the kitchen behind to cook breakfast, and started experimenting with pine nut dim sum by the way.Qi Yan has limited experience in cooking by himself, so he helped Si Dongmo, kneading noodles, fetching water, washing vegetables, washing pine nuts, etc. in the house.

The stove house is very simple and there is no such equipment as a range hood, so when the firewood is lit, the whole house is full of thick oily smoke.Qi Yan seldom experienced such battles, so he coughed and burst into tears.

Si Dongmo heard his coughing, walked up to him and took a look, and found that the originally fair and clean boy had been smoked into a face, and his big black eyes were full of tears.

Seeing the handsome young man's disfigured appearance, Si Dongmo felt a little distressed: "Hey, it's all smoked like this. You can go outside the room for a while, I'll just come here."

Qi Yan looked up at him.Like him, the man's face was smeared with oily smoke, his eyes were half-closed, and he couldn't open them very well.He shook his head: "Didn't you come here too? Don't worry, I'm not that delicate. If you can bear it, I can bear it too."

The man couldn't hold back Qi Yan, so he could only let him stay in the room.The two were working in the sweltering stove, sweating profusely.After the preparations were almost done, Si Dongmo started to bake the pastries. He simply took off his shirt, and worked neatly in front of the stove with his strong upper body naked.

Hearing the intermittent coughing of the young man behind him, Si Dongmo glanced at the pot where the rice was boiled, grabbed a few pine nuts, ground them, and threw them into it.

"Qi Yan, my mother and Hong'er should be up by now. You look at this pot, and when the porridge is done, bring it out for them to taste. Don't stay in this smoky stove. inside."

Qi Yan sniffed and smelled an unusual smell of pine nuts: "Hey, this is pine nut porridge?"

"Yes." Si Dongmo winked at him, "I'll see their reaction when I go out later."

"clear."

Just as they were talking, Qi Yan suddenly saw a black shadow behind them entering the kitchen.Turning around, it turned out to be Le Hong, Si Dongmo's younger brother.

Qi Yan turned his face sideways, his eyes met Le Hong's, but he jumped up in shock: "Wow! You, who are you?"

"My name is Qi Yan." Qi Yan smiled politely and looked at him carefully, "We met before."

"Qi Yan?" Le Hong scratched his hair, as if he had no impression.Qi Yan then added: "The last time you brought Painted Wolf back, Si Dongmo and I were right in front of you. I picked mountain goods with him."

"Oh...that's it." Le Hong nodded half-understood, his eyes still confused, "I was enchanted that time, although my eyes were open, I couldn't remember anything. Uh... ..."

He rubbed his hands nervously, then glanced at the man's back, looked at the boy in front of him a little cautiously, and said, "I don't have a good memory, don't mind. But when will you come back to us this time?" Damn, you didn't come back with my brother, did you?"

Qi Yan thought, I really came back with your brother.However, he still doesn't trust Le Hong very much for the time being, and he doesn't plan to reveal his identity as a spirit beast to him.

Fortunately, at this moment, Si Dongmo turned around in time and rescued him.The man greeted his younger brother: "Hong'er, you came just in time, the porridge in the pot is almost done, you and mother can eat first."

"Hey." Le Hong ran to look at the pot, Qi Yan was slightly relieved.

Le Hong served two bowls of pine nut porridge, and asked Si Dongmo curiously: "Brother, why did you make the dough so early in the morning? Are you going to make pastries today?"

"Yeah." Si Dongmo nodded, picked up a towel and wiped his hands, "It's pies, soft cakes, and balls made of pine nuts. Go out obediently, and I'll ask you to taste it when I'm done baking."

"Pine, pine nuts? Is that the pine nut you picked yesterday?"

"Exactly."

Le Hong was speechless: "Such a valuable thing should be sold, why are you willing to give it to the people in the house?"

Si Dongmo didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What is there to be reluctant about? Today I made it for you to taste. I want to improve, but I don't want to eat it every day. After I'm done, I'll sell it in the town, and I'll buy it for you with the money." something to eat."

Le Hong grinned: "Hey, that's good. Otherwise, I really feel 'conscience' after eating this food that only high-ranking officials can eat." He smiled at Qi Yan, holding two bowls of porridge Then ran out.

After hearing what Le Hong just said, Qi Yan felt a little sad.These peasants live in poverty, and they feel "conscience uneasy" when they eat things made of expensive ingredients, and they feel uncomfortable when they think about it.

He thought, if one day they can make a fortune by virtue of their skills and live a relaxed and comfortable life, without worrying about food, clothing, or debts, what a pleasant time it would be.

Si Dongmo saw that he was standing there as if he was worried, so he poked him on the shoulder and handed over a newly filled bowl of pine nut porridge.

"Here. Don't be in a daze, you can eat while it's hot."