Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl-Chapter 196 - 107: The Real Farming Life

Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother had heard from her daughter that Juhua’s family were sincere people. She smiled. "We country folk might look simple, but we’re sharp on the inside. We naturally grow close to those who treat us well. But if someone’s a real skinflint, people deal with them once and then want nothing more to do with them."

Shi Tou’s mother chuckled. "Isn’t that the truth. Changhe and his wife are so sincere with everyone that when families butchered their pigs over the New Year, they all gave them some pork. We country folk don’t have any other valuables. When you butcher a pig, the pork is the best thing you can give. Sending some over is just a show of good will. I reckon your family will be building a new house soon—your current one is getting really old—so this should save you some money on food. And don’t you worry, we brought plenty of ingredients this time. You should learn from Shi Tou’s grandmother. She can whip up a whole feast, so you don’t need to bring out any of your own food."

Juhua and Liu Xiaomei laughed. They suddenly looked at Shi Tou’s mother, wondering with some confusion, ’How can the mother be such a great cook, but her daughter’s skills are just average?’

Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother seemed to read their minds. She glanced at her very pregnant daughter and said with a knowing smile, "There’s an old saying, ’A strong mother makes for a weak child.’ It may not be entirely true, but there’s some sense to it. Because I know how to cook, she always had someone to rely on. I could never bear to see her get tired, so I’d just cook everything and let her eat. After she got married, well, this is how she turned out. Her skills in the kitchen are just passable. If you don’t believe me, think about it. Aren’t lots of families just like this?"

Shi Tou’s mother gave an embarrassed laugh and told the two girls that it was true. She added that Meizi was now just like she had been back then.

After a moment of laughter, Juhua asked, "Grandma, what are we using for the egg dumpling filling?"

The old woman replied, "We’ll chop up some pickled chili slices and pickled greens to make a sour vegetable filling. Then we’ll blanch and finely chop some cilantro for a cilantro filling. And we’ll mix some acorn jelly with that sauce to make a tofu filling."

And so, the group got busy again. Juhua and Liu Xiaomei started by preparing the fillings for the egg dumplings.

Once they had the fillings ready, Shi Tou’s maternal grandmother cracked seven or eight eggs into a bowl, added some chopped scallions, and whisked them together before setting the mixture aside. She told Shi Tou’s mother to maintain a low fire with the straw, then brushed a little sesame oil into the wok. When the wok was hot, she ladled a spoonful of the egg mixture in. Using the spatula, she constantly spread the liquid egg outwards, and a round little egg crepe quickly took shape.

With swift hands, the old woman scooped a bit of the pickled vegetable filling onto the center of the crepe. Then, she lifted her spatula, folded the crepe in half to enclose the filling, and pressed the edges tight. She flipped it over to cook for another moment, and a small, exquisite egg dumpling was complete.

Repeating this process, she quickly filled two large bowls with egg dumplings.

Next, the old woman began to produce dish after dish as if performing magic tricks, leaving Juhua and Liu Xiaomei completely stunned. They had no idea when she had prepared all the ingredients.

A small bunch of finely chopped pickled chives and red chili slices were arranged on a large, rustic porcelain platter, their alternating red and green colors a beautiful sight. Then, she took the salted duck eggs that Zhang Huai’s family had brought over, boiled them, and cut each one into four wedges. The white of the egg cradled the glistening, oily red yolk. Arranging the wedges around the edge of the chives, she turned the dish into a work of art, like a still-life painting.

She had soaked some dried cowpeas—Juhua hadn’t even seen when she’d done it—and rendered the fat from a small piece of pork belly. She then braised the cowpeas with dried chilies, creating a wonderfully chewy and incredibly fragrant and spicy dish.

Her soybeans were also different from how Juhua cooked them. Juhua would simply braise the soaked soybeans with chilies and call it a day. The old woman, however, added a large spoonful of bean paste, a generous handful of dried shrimp, and some chopped green garlic shoots for extra aroma, making the dish look even more appetizing.

The small dried fish weren’t pan-fried, either—the old woman said that method used too much oil. Instead, she tossed them into the wok with pickled red chili slices, pickled ginger, and green garlic shoots. After a quick stir-fry, she sprinkled some chopped scallions on top and served it. The sour and spicy aroma was so intense it shot straight to your head, making your mouth water.

In addition to stir-frying the river snails like they had at noon, she also made another version stir-fried with bean paste.

She also chopped some fresh chives and mixed them into the pickled chili paste before pan-frying it into patties. This added the fresh fragrance of chives to the chili patties, giving them a different character from their original spicy flavor.

The red-braised loaches had cubes of white tofu floating in the sauce, another mouthwatering sight. A pickled black fish was, of course, stewed with pickled greens.

The only substantial meat dish was cured pork stir-fried with green garlic shoots.

When all the dishes were ready, she made a soup with the cilantro-filled egg dumplings and served it in a clay pot. Floating in the broth were the pale yellow dumplings, flecks of jade-green scallion, and tiny, star-like golden dried shrimp. The rising steam carried the fresh fragrance of cilantro.