Joe's Farming

As the saying goes, every layer of autumn rain brings a layer of coolness.

The first morning when Qiao Yu woke up in her new home, she opened the door and found frost on the ground.

Qiao Yu had agreed with Gu Feng that they would go hunting in the mountains, so he got up early. Since he handed over the shop to Wen Ge'er, he slept until he woke up naturally every day. Sometimes Gu Feng made breakfast at home, and sometimes the old man made it. Usually it was a regular breakfast like porridge and steamed buns.

Aunt Shi's family resumed making tofu and selling it every day, so Gu Feng went to buy a large can of soy milk early in the morning. In this weather and with the hot soy milk, Qiao Yu especially wanted to eat soy milk fried dough sticks.

Fortunately, because the weather was cold and it was difficult to make dough, Qiao Yu specially prepared a ball of old dough in the kitchen for making dough, which could also be used to make yeast.

Qiao Yu scooped a pound of flour, pinched an old dough into it, added a little lard, two eggs, a little salt, mixed it with warm water, and after kneading it, he put it close to the stove and waited for it to ferment. Because it was daybreak, the stove was warming hot water with a small fire. Since Qiao Yu came, everyone in the family would drink boiled water.

After about half an hour, the dough had grown a lot bigger, so Qiao Yu divided the dough into two halves. Without kneading it, he sprinkled a layer of flour on the chopping board to prevent sticking. He slightly pressed down the bubbles on both sides and cut them into long strips one and a half fingers wide.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands stretched out from behind and hugged Qiao Yu's waist. Qiao Yu was startled, and then she heard a familiar voice.

"What delicious food has Qiao Yu made again?" Gu Feng is no longer surprised by what Qiao Yu makes, but he is still amazed every time.

Qiao Yu resumed his hand movements and pressed the two long strips in the middle with chopsticks.

"Please help me watch the fire and make sure it doesn't get too big." said Qiao Yu.

Gu Feng obediently sat on the small stool. With his tall stature, sitting on the short stool was a cute contrast.

When the oil temperature was not too hot, Qiao Yu stretched the pressed dough and slowly put it into the oil to fry. The dough expanded due to the heat and instantly expanded several times in size. Hearing the "sizzling" sound of frying, Gu Feng couldn't help but look up and saw this scene.

"What's this called? It's a bit like the fried pancake I ate in the north before. But that pancake wouldn't grow that much bigger if I put it in." Gu Feng asked.

Qiao Yu put several more dough sticks in to fry, using chopsticks to stir them so that they are evenly heated: "This is called fried dough sticks, and it tastes especially good when eaten with soy milk. You can try it later."

Youtiao must be eaten hot to be delicious, so Qiao Yu shouted again: "Uncle, wake up the children and have breakfast!"

Qiao Xing ran to the kitchen first: "Little Daddy, I'll serve the dishes."

"Be good, take out the soy milk from the earthenware jar first, be careful of the heat."

Qiao Xing agreed. There was a clean rag on the stove, so he wrapped the edge of the earthen jar with the rag and carefully carried it to the main room.

A large octagonal table, matching tables and chairs, and a coffee table shelf were added to the main room of the new house. On the shelf were Gu Feng's hunting tools and some small gadgets that Qiao Yu made on a whim.

Qiao Yu scooped the fried dough sticks into a winnowing basket. When they were almost done, she told Gu Feng to turn off the fire and ignore the oil in the pot. When it cooled down, she scooped it out and put it in a can for use next time.

Before the fried dough sticks were served, Qiao Yu tore off half of it, gave a bite to Gu Feng, and then took another bite herself. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and very delicious.

Qiao Yu had never eaten fried noodles since she traveled through time. This was the first time that Gu Feng tasted this kind of food. He liked it very much after taking a bite and ate the rest with the help of his husband's hand.

"Hurry up, hurry up. It won't taste good if it gets cold." Qiao Yu urged him. Gu Feng chewed it quickly. After he finished eating, he kissed Qiao Yu hard when he wasn't paying attention.

Qiao Yu handed him the dustpan fiercely: "Take it out!" Then she went to find some sugar at home, because soy milk should be sweet. Qiao Yu wiped the marks left by Gu Feng with a sly smile, as this stinky man was expressing his love more and more passionately.

Gu Xiaoyan sat obediently in her seat. When she saw her father holding a basket of golden strips, her eyes widened: "Daddy, what is this?"

"Dough sticks, Daddy said they should be eaten with soy milk."

Gu Feng put down the fried dough sticks and sat down.

Qiao Xing had already distributed soy milk to everyone, and Qiao Yu came in with a jar of sugar soon after.

"Have you washed your hands?" Qiao Yu asked first.

Gu Xiaoxue said: "Yeah! They are all washed."

"You're so good. If you want sweet soy milk, add sugar yourself." Qiao Yu said, adding a spoonful of sugar to herself, stirring it with chopsticks, and then picking up a fried dough stick. "You can tear off the fried dough stick and soak it in soy milk, or you can eat it like I did."

Qiao Yu put the dough stick into the soy milk for a while, then took it out and ate it in one bite. Gu Feng also tried soaking some dough sticks like Qiao Yu, and although they were also delicious, he preferred the crispy texture of the dough sticks. So he ate a few bites of the dough sticks and drank a sip of soy milk.

The children followed suit, those who liked to soak in soy milk did so, and those who didn't liked it didn't. The grandfather liked a softer texture, so he tore the dough sticks, soaked them in soy milk first, and then slowly picked them up with chopsticks to eat.

Gu Xiaoyan really likes the taste of fried dough sticks with soy milk: "Little daddy, this fried dough stick goes well with soy milk! Just like you and daddy!"

Qiao Yu couldn't help laughing: "Soy milk with fried dough sticks, haha...you reminded me of a song."

Gu Feng frowned: "Song?"

Qiao Yu sang a few lines softly: "I know you and I are like soy milk and fried dough sticks. We have to eat them together to taste the best."

Gu Feng listened to the strange rhythm and straightforward words, leaned close to Qiao Yu's ear and whispered, "Only sing to me."

Qiao Yu then realized that he was too proud of himself. This was in ancient times. How would the children see him?

Who knew that Gu Xiaoxue would say in a flattering tone: "Little Daddy, it sounds so good, please sing a few more lines."

Even Uncle Wang said: "This song is quite special. I have never heard it before."

Qiao Yu thought it was bad, but then she heard Gu Feng calmly say, "Qiao'er's mother came from the south before, so it should be his mother who taught him."

Qiao Yu said hurriedly: "Well, my mother also taught me how to make fried dough sticks."

Uncle Wang nodded and said, "The south is a land of plenty, with a wide variety of food. Brother Qiao must have inherited your mother's teachings, no wonder he can cook so many delicious dishes."

Gu Feng immediately continued: "Well, Qiao'er is smart and has figured out a lot of new foods."

Qiao Xing looked at Qiao Yu adoringly: "Little Daddy, can you teach me in the future?"

Qiao Yu touched his head: "Of course."

Gu Xiaoxue and Gu Xiaoyan immediately said, "And me."

"Whatever you want to learn, I will teach you."

Qiao Yu didn’t finish the fried dough sticks for breakfast, so he wrapped three of them and put them in a bamboo basket so that he could eat them when he was hungry in the mountains.

Gu Feng had set traps on the mountain the day before. Today, he took Qiao Yu to check the traps and taught Qiao Yu how to identify places where traps were set and how to disguise traps. Yesterday's traps caught a fat rabbit and a pheasant. Qiao Yu was so excited that Gu Feng tied them up with a rope and put them in Qiao Yu's bamboo basket.

Then Gu Feng took Qiao Yu to look for rabbit footprints. Qiao Yu was a novice, so Gu Feng just took him to catch a rabbit.