The happy little days of the Ye family

After returning home, Father Ye drove the donkey cart to the house where the pigs were being slaughtered today and took the ordered water and pig heads home.

Mr. Ye asked his father to make braised meat at home, then got up and drove the donkey cart to Xiaohoushan.

When Father Ye came to the bamboo forest, the Tang brothers had already dug more than 80 kilograms of winter bamboo shoots.

It’s not that the Ye brothers are lazy, but the winter bamboo shoots are much smaller than those in spring and summer, and they are extremely difficult to find when hidden under the soil. The fact that the two brothers can dig up more than 80 kilograms of winter bamboo shoots is already impressive.

Winter bamboo shoots are shoots that develop from the lateral buds of moso bamboo before and after the beginning of winter. Because they have not yet been unearthed, the bamboo shoots are tender and sweet.

Because winter bamboo shoots are buried in the soil and are extremely difficult to find, they are much more expensive than spring bamboo shoots.

Tang Erlin followed his mother to dig winter bamboo shoots in the back mountains every year, and he had some experience.

The first point: Generally, there are winter bamboo shoots in the ground where the mud on the surface is loose or has cracks and feels soft when you step on it.

Second point: After the beginning of winter, look for bamboo whips around bamboos with black and yellow leaves. When you dig out bamboo shoots with sharp shoots, if you run into a young whip and chase after it, there must be winter bamboo shoots when the old whip digs forward.

Mr. Ye followed Tang Erlin's instructions and searched carefully in the bamboo forest, and sure enough he found a few fat and tender bamboo shoots.

Seeing that it was still early, Mr. Ye was not in a hurry to go back. The three of them dug winter bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest for most of an hour.

The three of them dug another ten kilograms of winter bamboo shoot meat. When Mr. Ye saw that it was getting dark, he reluctantly took the Tang brothers and winter bamboo shoots back.

Back to the Ye family, the Tang brothers helped move the winter bamboo shoots down.

Mr. Ye originally planned to give a few winter bamboo shoots to the brothers to take back for a try, but after thinking about it carefully, a pound of winter bamboo shoots can buy a pound of meat. It would be better to just give them braised pork. Most people in the village like to eat meat. of.

Mr. Ye took two winter bamboo shoots to the kitchen and planned to bury the remaining winter bamboo shoots in sand.

Mr. Ye brought out a large vat, spread a thick layer of wet river sand on the bottom, arranged the intact winter bamboo shoots with their tips facing upwards in the vat, filled the gaps with river sand, and then covered them with a thick layer of wet river sand. Wet the river sand until the tops of winter bamboo shoots are completely covered.

Then move the large tank to a cool and ventilated place. In this way, winter bamboo shoots can be stored for 30 to 50 days.

In addition to burying them in the soil, you can also use a stove fire to simmer the winter bamboo shoots for preservation. Bury the dug winter bamboo shoots with their shells on the fire and simmer them until they are soft and not hard.

After simmering, take it out and store it in a cool and humid place. The simmered winter bamboo shoots can be stored for more than 30 days without spoiling.

Winter bamboo shoots can be stir-fried raw or stewed in soup. They are delicious and crispy. It was too late to make stew, so Ye Mu planned to make stir-fried pork with winter bamboo shoots.

There is actually a skill to peeling winter bamboo shoots. Ye Mu first uses a knife to cut off the tail of the winter bamboo shoots, then places the winter bamboo shoots head up, and uses a knife to cut down from the head of the bamboo shoots, so that it is easy to peel off the bamboo shoots.

For larger winter bamboo shoots, you need to place the winter bamboo shoots on the ground first, score the bamboo shoot shells with a knife, and then break them open at that line, so that you can easily remove the shells.

For small bamboo shoots, just twist the top of the bamboo shoot a few times to loosen the upper bamboo shoot, then divide the bamboo shoot tip into two halves, roll one half with your fingers or chopsticks, and roll it outward until the shell falls off, and do the same with the other half. .

Ye Mu cuts the winter bamboo shoots into thick slices and then blanchs them in water for a while to remove the bitterness and make them taste better.

Ye Mu cut a small piece of fat and lean meat into thin slices, put a little oil in the pot and stir-fried the oil in the meat slices, then added the blanched winter bamboo shoots and stir-fried over high heat to release the aroma.

After simmering for a while, add coarse salt to taste, and the fragrant winter bamboo shoots and fried meat are ready.

It's a pity that I don't have enough time. If I use this winter bamboo shoots to stew chicken soup, it would be perfect. The winter bamboo shoots are originally sweet and crisp, and the local chicken soup is delicious. The combination of the two is sweet and sweet.

Mother Ye did it once last year, and even now, several greedy cats in the Ye family still remember it.

During the three-day temple fair in the town, the Ye family's stall made a lot of money. On the third day after returning from the temple fair, Mrs. Ye counted her silver and found that she had earned three taels of silver in just three days.

In fact, the bulk of it is the persimmons made by Mrs. Ye, which costs 9 cents per catty, and there is no cost, so it is pure profit. Braised pork and groceries all cost money, so you make less money.

Mrs. Ye is looking forward to the county temple fair, which will definitely be more lively.

The winter bamboo shoots are hidden in the soil. The Tang brothers spent two days digging in the bamboo forest and only dug about 180 kilograms of winter bamboo shoots.

Mr. Ye: "The temple fair in the county will be the day after tomorrow. Let's go to the bamboo forest to dig winter bamboo shoots tomorrow. People in the county like to eat winter bamboo shoots and dig more tomorrow. The price of winter bamboo shoots is high, which is more cost-effective than selling spring bamboo shoots."

"I think so too. There are many rich people in the county, and these rich people like to eat these delicacies the most."

In three days, a total of 3 kilograms of winter bamboo shoots were dug in Xiaohou Mountain.

Ye's father plans to bring bacon, winter bamboo shoots, persimmons and dried fish he made some time ago to set up a stall at the county temple fair.

Moreover, Ye’s father only planned to set up the stall for two days, and on the third day he would take the whole family to a temple fair in the county to broaden his horizons.

The temple fair in the county was crowded with people and very lively.

In two days, Father Ye sold more than 80 kilograms of bacon, 110 kilograms of persimmons, more than 300 kilograms of winter bamboo shoots and dozens of kilograms of dried fish.

Prices in the county are higher than in the town, and I actually made nearly seven taels of silver in just two days.

Father Ye happily took the whole family with him and set out to visit the temple fair in the county.

The county temple fair was held at Huafeng Temple on the outskirts of the county. Huafeng Temple was very grand. I heard that seeking marriage here was very effective. There were many well-dressed young men and women at the temple fair.

Several members of the Ye family came to the temple fair with empty stomachs, and started eating and drinking as soon as they arrived at the temple fair. After eating and drinking, Father Ye bought a few bags of melon seeds and planned to eat them while watching the show.

The temple fair performances in the county are much richer than those in the town. In addition to lion dances and opera troupes, there are also acrobatics troupes and floats.

The Ye family's favorite thing is the acrobatic troupe's performance, which includes jumping through fire rings, crushing large rocks on the chest, and cute little monkeys.

Several country bumpkins saw the acrobatic troupe's performance for the first time. The Ye brothers and Ye Qingqing were very excited, shouting at the top of their lungs and applauding as hard as they could.

After the performance, the three people's palms were red and their voices were hoarse.

After watching the performance, it was still early, so Father Ye suggested walking around the county.

A few people wandered around and came to the bookstore. Ye Xilin wanted to buy some cheap paper for the beginning of spring.

No wonder people say that studying is expensive. Just a piece of paper of the worst quality costs 85 pieces. Fortunately, there is no need to buy books, just use Ye Donglin's old books, otherwise he would definitely bleed a lot.

Ye Mu bought some cheap paint for painting patterns. The paper also cost a lot, and Ye Qingqing also wanted to learn how to draw. Paper and paint were used up quickly.