When Zhang Xiuhua cooks, she must mobilize the enthusiasm of the whole family. No one can be lazy, including Zhuzhu who can't walk yet.

Zhuzhu was still young and didn't know how to peel garlic, so she took an iron spoon and knocked on the table to accompany everyone's gongs and drums. The main point was participation.

Jidong was in charge of selecting vegetables, Jilin was in charge of washing them, Yaoyao was in charge of cutting them, Baolin was in charge of lighting the fire, and Youcai was in charge of cooking. Zhang Xiuhua stood by and gave instructions.

"Preheat the pan to 70% and pour in the oil. When it starts to smoke, add the sugar."

Youcai looked up at her, "Sugar?"

He had just thought it was salt.

"This is called stir-frying sugar color." Zhang Xiuhua asked him to scoop two spoonfuls, and reminded Baolin to use a low heat. She turned around and reminded Youcai, "Make sure to stir-fry until small bubbles appear."

Youcai is not patient enough, and making sugar color requires patience. He is afraid of burning it and wasting oil and sugar, so he is very focused and keeps stirring with a spoon, not daring to be careless at all.

After the small bubbles come out, put the sliced ​​pork belly in. The method of slaughtering pigs at this time is different from that thirty years later.

When slaughtering pigs at this time, the blood is drained, so there is no blood in the meat and there is no need to rinse it with water.

Under the flickering firelight, Youcai waved the spatula and fried the dishes with great vigor.

At this time, the smell of meat was also aroused. Several children blocked the kitchen door, sniffing the meat aroma with greedy looks on their faces.

Zhang Xiuhua did not chase them away, but instructed Youcai to add the seasoning.

After putting it in, simmer the meat for a while until the seasonings are absorbed, then add the potatoes.

"The beans are very tender, and if you put them in first they will melt. So you have to put the beans in last."

"When was the last time?" Youcai stared at the stove nervously without even raising his head.

"When the soup is reduced to only two bowls of soup, add the beans."

Next, Youcai made good use of her time and poured out two bags of sweet potatoes from the house.

Baolin came over and said, "Mom, why are you washing so many sweet potatoes? We can't eat so many."

"Mom is going to make vermicelli."

Baolin had eaten vermicelli before, so he was curious. "Why do you have to make it yourself? You can just exchange it for sweet potatoes."

The vermicelli factories over there all exchange it for sweet potatoes.

Zhang Xiuhua laughed, "We don't have any here. So I have to make it myself."

The children no longer gathered at the door, but came over to wash together.

Jilin didn't forget to ask for benefits, "Mom, can I have more meat if I wash the sweet potatoes?"

Zhang Xiuhua was happy, "Okay. I'll give you two more pieces each."

The children grinned, “That’s great!”

With the help of several children, two bags of sweet potatoes were quickly washed. The next step was to grind the sweet potatoes into powder.

There was no blender at that time, but she was too lazy to chop the potatoes into small pieces herself, so she cut the sweet potatoes into pieces first, and then when it was late and the children were asleep, she hid in the space and crushed the sweet potatoes into crumbs.

Of course, after the flour mill is built, she will definitely ask the team to buy a sweet potato crusher from the agricultural machinery station. She had seen this kind of machine in a video in her previous life. It was not large in scale and did not use much iron, so it should not cost much.

After she cut the sweet potatoes, the meat was finally cooked.

Youcai fried the silkworms and served the steamed rice and sweet potatoes. This was today's meal.

Zhang Xiuhua didn't say to start eating, so the children didn't dare to pick up their chopsticks even though they were greedy.

Zhang Xiuhua sat over and, according to the previous agreement, gave Youcai five pieces of meat and Baolin three pieces. The other children were responsible for washing vegetables, cutting vegetables and washing sweet potatoes, and were given three pieces each.

Afterwards, she served the dishes into small bowls, not according to the contribution, but gave them to Jidong first, because he had stayed at home to take care of the children and had made the greatest contribution, so he should choose.

Then it was her turn, "I've been busy all day, and my contribution is only slightly less than Jidong's. I get the second choice."

After she made her choice, she let the other children play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever won got to choose first.

After one round, everyone got their share.

Before the children had finished sharing the meat, Youcai had already started eating. He chewed exaggeratedly, making the other children scream with envy and start picking up the meat from their own bowls with chopsticks. "Wow, this meat is so delicious!"

Youcai held his chin high, proud and complacent, "I made it. Of course it tastes good."

Seeing that he took all the credit, Baolin immediately responded, "And me, I helped light the fire."

The other children ate with big mouthfuls.

There was only one pound of meat, plus potatoes and beans, and no one was stingy with the oil. The rice was filled with soup, and the children's mouths were full of oil as they ate.

There was also a plate of tussah silkworms that was snatched away by the children.

When everyone had almost finished their meals, Youcai tilted his head and asked, "Aunt Zhang, shall we make some pancakes for dinner?"

He was tired of eating rice and sweet potatoes together every day.

Zhang Xiuhua was a little hesitant. She could do it, but she still had to make sweet potatoes and go to work. Facing Youcai's expectant eyes, she nodded and said, "If you want to eat, just make it yourself."

Youcai scratched his head. He could do it, but he didn't know how.

"I teach you."

Youcai nodded and said yes.

Zhang Xiuhua looked at the other children and said, "You can help him make it too. We can eat together later."

Baolin was holding a sweet potato in one hand and had raised the other hand, "I'll help him light the fire."

The other children looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't know how to cook. Yaoyao raised her hand and said, "Then I'll pump the well for you to get some water."

Jilin is too young and he doesn't know anything.

Jidong thought for a moment and said, "I'll knead the dough with you."

Then Zhang Xiuhua taught them how to steam buns. One pot of steamed buns can be eaten for several days, saving time. The children will go to school soon and have to do homework when they come back, so they don't have much time to cook.

Zhang Xiuhua asked Youcai to borrow an old yeast from his aunt's house. Since there was no yeast powder now, he could use this to make the dough.

She told them the method and let the children do it on their own while she went to work.

Before leaving, Ji Lin, who couldn't participate in steaming the buns, was asked to wash the dishes.

When Zhang Xiuhua finished work in the afternoon, she heard the villagers say that they didn't need to plant vegetables tomorrow. These vegetables were enough for them to eat.

Because these vegetables don't grow big, they can't be stored in the cellar for long. They are planted for pickling. But pickling doesn't require that much. So planting 200 acres is enough. It would be a waste if there is no salt to pickle.

Of course, the village will also have good cabbage to distribute to the members. That is the wheat that the team has been planting. Since it is all spring wheat here, it can only be harvested in August or September. It is too late to plant crops on the vacant land, so it can be used to plant cabbage, radishes and the like.

These will be harvested in mid-October and distributed to members as winter storage vegetables. Of course, if they are stored in the cellar, the leaves will rot.

Now that she had no work to do, Zhang Xiuhua could finally relax.

When he got home, Baolin told her like a little firecracker, "Mom, the steamed buns didn't rise well, they're a little hard."

Zhang Xiuhua glanced at Youcai, who had his head lowered, probably because he was afraid that she would blame him for wasting food.

She walked over and rubbed his head. "It's good that you cooked it the first time. It's a little harder this time. Next time, wait a little longer and knead it until the dough is fully risen."

I don’t have a scale at home, so I have to rely on feel to determine how much water and baking soda to add.

Zhang Xiuhua used a bowl and spoon from home as measuring tools. "This dough must be fermented for 24 hours. If it's cold, the time will have to be extended. You are too impatient."

Youcai lowered his head.

Jidong came over with a pen and asked Youcai to write down the steps, "so you don't forget them next time."

Youcai glanced at him and finally took it.

After kneading the dough, cover it with a lid and set it aside.

Thinking that the children might be hungry, Zhang Xiuhua first taught him how to make hanging pancakes, which is quick and does not require waiting for fermentation.

Youcai watched carefully from the side, taking notes from time to time and asking her what she should pay attention to.

After memorizing it, he asked Zhang Xiuhua to stand aside while he operated it and asked her for guidance.

When the table was covered with rolled dough, Zhang Xiuhua asked Baolin to light the fire. Jidong took over Youcai's work, and Youcai went to the kitchen to turn the dough.

Seeing that the three people were working in an orderly manner, Zhang Xiuhua nodded with satisfaction.

Soon the first pancake came out of the pan. Youcai broke off a piece, put it in his mouth and chewed it twice, "It's done."

He broke off a little more and gave it to Zhang Xiuhua, who nodded, "It's definitely cooked."

Only then did Youcai start to smile.

Baolin immediately asked him to break off some for him, and the other children heard the noise and ran over to ask for the biscuits. Soon the first biscuit was completely divided up.

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