Reborn in 1977

Of course, he didn't dare to chat about Jiang Lili's family affairs anymore, so he could only talk about other things.

"Xiao Jiang, have there been any special events happening here in the past three years?"

Jiang Lili looked at him in confusion, "What special events?"

Chen Fan, "Like some funny things, or memorable ones, how you usually work, or anything else, just casual chatting."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Lili tilted her head and thought for a while, then suddenly couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. Just as she was about to speak, she burst out laughing again.

Chen Fan stiffly maintained a smiling face, not saying anything, just looking at Jiang Lili.

What on earth was so funny? Just tell me!

Perhaps the heart-to-heart talk just now had opened her heart, or perhaps Chen Fan's attitude made her feel very comfortable. Unconsciously, Jiang Lili also put down her long-held caution and vigilance, revealing some of her true nature.

After laughing several times in a row, Jiang Lili finally managed to hold back, but her face was still full of smiles, which was much better than her usual wooden expression.

Then she began to tell the story that made her laugh non-stop, "The year before last, there was a new educated youth who couldn't distinguish between barnyard grass and rice seedlings when working in the fields. He pulled out all the rice seedlings, leaving only barnyard grass in the field, which made Captain Yang jump up and down cursing. He was fined to pull out all the barnyard grass and replant all the rice seedlings."

Chen Fan blinked. Not being able to distinguish between the five grains, wasn't that too funny?

Jiang Lili continued, "From here to the rice fields where we work, we have to go through a slightly wide ditch. Originally, there was a wooden bridge over the ditch, but it was washed away by a heavy rain that summer. When everyone went to work that day, they all jumped over it, but he was the only one who didn't dare to jump. Several male educated youths said they would throw him over, since the other side was grassland anyway, and he wouldn't get hurt. As a result, he moved around in fright and fell into the water. The two educated youths who threw him had to pull him up."

Chen Fan's eyes twitched slightly. Good heavens, throwing people over? There seemed to be some grievances involved.

At this time, he also became interested. That educated youth seemed to have a story. His family conditions should be good, otherwise, ordinary families wouldn't have the conditions to spoil him so much.

Jiang Lili, "He was frightened by falling into the water, so the captain gave him a day off. Grandma Huang at the head of the village is from Hubei and knows how to make the local specialty zhazha pepper, so she sent him a bowl. As a result,…"

Speaking of this, Jiang Lili hugged her stomach and laughed non-stop again, "He had never seen this thing before. It smelled sour and he thought it was a bit dirty, so he took it to the river to wash it. As a result, all the rice flour was washed away, and in the end, there was only a little bit of chili skin left in the big bowl of zhazha pepper."

This time, Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh along.

If you don't know what zhazha pepper is, you won't know where the joke is.

In some parts of Hubei, chili peppers are called pepper. After harvesting the chili peppers in autumn, wash them clean, remove the stems, dry them, and chop them into pieces. Then, pour rice flour and an appropriate amount of salt into a container, mix well, put them into a jar, press tightly, seal the mouth, and place it in a ventilated and dry place to ferment naturally. It can be taken out for consumption after half a month.

This kind of zhazha pepper can be stir-fried with oil or boiled. It has a golden color and a sour and spicy taste. It is a local specialty dish of Jingchu.

Since Jingzhou is close to the Yangtze River, this dish has also spread with water transportation, and it exists in many places along the Yangtze River.

This thing is originally made of chili peppers and rice flour. Rice flour dissolves in water. The educated youth washed it with water, so in the end, besides a little chili skin, of course, nothing else would be left.

In the eyes of the locals, washing zhazha pepper with water is like washing flour with water, so naturally they would laugh until their stomachs hurt.

No wonder Jiang Lili laughed so much that she couldn't stop.

And that wasn't the end of it.

Jiang Lili, "There was also a female educated youth who made a joke. At that time, the captain used a donkey cart to bring them back from the commune. After they were sent here, the donkey rolled on the ground. When she saw the donkey fall to the ground, she quickly shouted 'It's not good, it's not good, the donkey has fallen!' Then Captain Yang took a look and said to her, 'The donkey is rolling around, haven't you seen it or heard of it? Why are you so flustered? You're going to scare people to death'."

Speaking of this, she specifically explained,

"Actually, Captain Yang didn't mean to say that to her. That donkey is an important property of the village. Shouting that the donkey has fallen will really scare them. At that time, many villagers were so anxious that they were on fire. When the Huang warehouse keeper ran out, he almost fell. So, if you see livestock lying down in the village, you must not shout randomly."

Chen Fan sat next to her, listening to her rambling about the people and things of the past, asking a few questions from time to time. Unconsciously, the distance between the two of them seemed to have narrowed a lot, and Jiang Lili no longer always lowered her head, occasionally even laughing a few times.

It wasn't until the sky was about to darken that Jiang Lili came back to her senses, "Oh, what time is it?"

Chen Fan looked at the sky, got up and uncovered the pot lid, "No matter what time it is, let's taste whether the meat is tender or not."

Uncovering the pot lid, a rich aroma wafted over.

Jiang Lili took a deep breath, her eyes lit up instantly, "It smells so good, there really isn't any fishy smell."

Chen Fan smelled it carefully, "There is still a little fishy smell, but it doesn't affect the taste."

Then he used chopsticks to cut the bowl of turtle blood that had been salted and solidified into small pieces, and poured it in together, then covered the lid, "We can eat in fifteen minutes."

Jiang Lili suddenly got up and ran out, "I'll go get the rice."

There was still a lot of space under the pot lid. When steaming the turtle, you can steam the rice at the same time, which saves firewood and the effort of heating the rice.

After putting two large bowls of rice on the steaming rack, fifteen minutes later, Chen Fan uncovered the lid again, picked up a piece of meat and tasted it, and couldn't help but nod repeatedly, "Hmm, delicious."

The meat is fresh and tender, and the soup is clear and delicious. This pot of steamed turtle is considered done. Although there is still a little bit of fishy smell, it is covered by the spiciness of the ginger, which is almost imperceptible. People whose sense of smell and taste are not so sensitive may not even feel it, but the umami taste is particularly strong.

Chen Fan carried the turtle pot to the kitchen, Jiang Lili put out the fire in the earthen stove, and sealed the stove lid tightly before putting other things on the steaming rack and walking away with the steaming rack.

When they arrived at the kitchen, the two sat face to face, ready to eat.

Jiang Lili suddenly said in a low voice, "Chen Fan, this is such a big pot of turtle meat, should we send some to the captain and the others?"

Chen Fan looked at her in surprise, not expecting that this little girl had such a high level of awareness?

Frankly speaking, this casserole is quite big, not much smaller than a washbasin, and the turtle meat is piled up in a full pot, plus that bowl of turtle blood. If it is stewed directly, I am afraid that the soup will overflow. Such a lot of dishes, the two of them can't really finish it.

Chen Fan hardly hesitated, then got up to find a bowl, "Then I'll send a bowl to Captain Yang, Accountant Liu, and Warehouse Keeper Huang."

Captain Yang was nice to him, giving him quilts and shoes, and he was also his lifesaver. Accountant Liu and Warehouse Keeper Huang were also busy helping out. Warehouse Keeper Huang even sent him half a bag of sweet potatoes. But it's just a bowl of turtle meat, there's nothing to be reluctant about.

Jiang Lili quickly got up and helped him with it.