flstandardbreds Chapter 144 Roasted Chestnuts
Chapter 144 Roasted Chestnuts
Gu Yumei sighed: "We're all unfortunate. Women need to have their own families to support them, otherwise they'll suffer at the hands of their husbands' families."
Also, it's better to marry someone from nearby than someone from far away. If I had married someone from my own village, things wouldn't be like this now.
After that, she talked about that family, and then about her two older sisters' families.
She also said that she hadn't seen her eldest sister for ten years.
The reason her older sister became estranged from them was because her parents favored one over the other...
While everyone ate, they listened to her tell stories about her family.
When Jun Wenhui heard her mention her relationship with the Gu family patriarch, she looked surprised: "So, you still have ties with the Gu family patriarch in Sanfu? And he doesn't care about you then?"
Gu Yumei smiled bitterly: "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. Actually, I originally wanted to marry into this village, which would be like finding a son-in-law to live with me, but my uncle's family disagreed."
They say I have a tough life because my mother was harvesting wheat in the field when she gave birth to me.
As she was carrying wheat to the edge of the field, she squatted down, stood up, and with a sudden burst of strength, gave birth to me...
My parents couldn't withstand the pressure, so they married me off.
Because of this, how could my clan elder uncle possibly let me return to the village?
The others were shocked to hear her say that. How dangerous was that?
Dongfang Jin wasn't too surprised, because her grandmother had mentioned this to her before.
She said that during that dark period, they fled to Lianhua Township in the Lesser Khingan Mountains to escape disaster.
My grandmother said that pregnant women working in the production team often gave birth in the fields while they were working.
Back then, such women were recognized as model workers and role models for everyone to learn from. How come this kind of thing became an ominous sign in ancient times?
Gu Yumei said that after her eldest sister married into her husband's family, she gave birth to six daughters in a row, while her second sister died during childbirth along with her unborn child. Only she gave birth to two sons in one go.
However, she was still not favored in her husband's family because in the Shen family, all the grandchildren were sons.
“Things will get better in the future,” Dongfang Jin said, and Gu Chenglin and Jun Qirui walked over.
Gu Yumei quickly got up and served them sliced mutton and chopped vegetables. Shen Qijun, with his keen eye, added charcoal to the fire.
Dongfang Jin asked, "Are you awake?"
Gu Chenglin sat down next to her and shook his head: "He looks exhausted. He's not injured. Let him get some sleep and he'll be fine."
Jun Qirui sat down next to Gu Chenglin and said to the two boys, "Jingye and Qihui will sleep with me tonight."
Gu Jingye has three rooms. One room has already been given to Long Jiu and Long Shiyi. This room is a suite and is now for Long Er to sleep in.
If the two children go, it might be inconvenient if Long Er wakes up.
The two children said yes in unison.
Shen Qijun stared at his younger brother. How long has it been? And he's already stopped looking for him? What happened to being brothers?
Gu Yumei glanced at her eldest son, whose face was dark, and then at her carefree youngest son, shaking her head helplessly.
The younger son used to stick to his older brother no matter where they went, but now...
Thinking of covering her mouth with a handkerchief, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
After everyone finished eating the hot pot, Jun Wenhui and Gu Yumei cleaned up the kitchen.
Dongfang Jin and Jun Qixian washed the large basin of pebbles again.
Gu Chenglin and Shen Qijun set up a pot under the eaves outside the stove in the kitchen, while Gu Jingye and his sister, along with Shen Qihui, carried firewood out of the woodshed.
Jun Qirui followed Dongfang Jin's instructions and prepared the sugar syrup.
While adjusting it, he muttered about the waste.
White sugar! Sugar that's whiter than the snow next to it, and it's just being wasted like this!
Listening to his incessant muttering and sighing.
This amused Jun Qixian quite a bit, and she kept giggling.
Finally, Gu Chenglin went inside and brought out half a sack of white sugar, weighing about twenty pounds, before he stopped eating.
His actions left Jun Wenhui both amused and exasperated. Her son, who was in his twenties, had never been so talkative before.
After Gu Chenglin set up the pot, Dongfang Jin told him to put the pebbles into the pot and then light the fire.
"Heat the pebbles until they are dry, then add oil and continue stirring..."
The group huddled together, watching as Shen Qijun tended the fire, Gu Chenglin kept stirring the stones in the pot, and Jun Qirui occasionally added oil.
Gu Jingye stood to the side, his lips pressed tightly together, his gaze following Jun Qirui's every move.
His pained expression made the others suppress their laughter.
Jun Qirui watched with amusement, seemingly with sincerity. Every time he scooped up a spoonful of oil, he would pause in front of Gu Jingye, and just as the oil at the bottom of the spoon was about to drip onto the ground, he would quickly put it into the pot.
Gu Chenglin...
This is outrageous!
However, seeing his son's expression, he couldn't help but laugh.
At first, seeing the child like this would break his heart, but now he finds it funny. His wife is just being unreasonable, and he still has the same expression.
Is this child really going to become a miser?
That's not okay.
Once the pebbles in the pot changed color, Dongfang Jin poured the chestnuts into the pot and asked Gu Chenglin to stir-fry them quickly.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Jun Wenhui praised, "This job really needs Chenglin to do. If Rui-ge'er were to do it, he'd probably be exhausted after just three shovelfuls."
Jun Qirui...
I've confirmed it; this is her biological mother.
Is he really that weak?
Gu Chenglin...
She couldn't help but glance at Jun Qirui's arm, and then at her own arm.
Seeing Jun Qirui looking at him with resentment, he subtly showed Jun Qirui what he was doing.
Dongfang Jin...
Speechless. Do you think you're being pretentious?
However, looking at Gu Chenglin's explosive biceps, those bulging muscles, she glared at him, signaling him not to show off and to be mindful of the occasion.
“We’re just doing this for our own consumption. If we were running a business, doing it this way would be exhausting, and we would need to use machines.”
"See how puffed up the chestnut skin? Now it's time to add the sugar water."
Gu Yumei also looked pained: "Then... will that sugar even fit inside the chestnuts?"
Dongfang Jin smiled and said, "What we want is the steam in the sugar water... that way the chestnuts will be soft and delicious when they are stir-fried."
Gu Yumei felt even more heartbroken upon hearing this; what a waste!
That snow-white sugar was so precious; in all her years, it was the first time she had ever seen such crystal-clear sugar.
"So, aren't all these little stones covered in sugar too?"
"Yes, whether the chestnuts are ripe or not, and how evenly they're cooked, depends entirely on the heat of these stones and..."
As time went by, the chestnuts in the pot emitted a sweet aroma that drifted gently in the air, captivating all who smelled it.
The brown outer skin, as it is constantly stir-fried, makes each one puff up like a piece of amber.
A "snap" broke everyone's attention as a chestnut cracked open, followed by another "snap, snap" sound, and the sweet aroma became even more intense.
Gu Caiwei looked at Dongfang Jin longingly: "Little Mistress..."
“I know,” Dongfang Jin scooped out the cracked chestnuts with a slotted spoon, then used a spatula to crack them open one by one, letting them release all the heat inside.
Jun Qirui picked one up and was about to put it in his mouth when Dongfang Jin stopped him in time: "Don't you want your mouth anymore? You're supposed to be a scholar, don't you even know the principle of thermal expansion and contraction?"
Jun Qirui asked in a daze, "What is that?"
"It's cold now, and these chestnuts are fresh out of the pan. Look, they're still steaming hot inside. If you put them directly into your mouth, they might explode."
As Dongfang Jin spoke, she scooped a chestnut from the pot and threw it into the snow beside her. The chestnut exploded with a "bang" as soon as it hit the snow, scattering the chestnut flesh all around it.
Everyone stared in astonishment at the scene.
Jun Qirui was so frightened that he took a step back. Just now... if... it had been in his mouth... ah!
His body shuddered at the scene he had imagined.
Jun Wenhui realized what was happening and slapped Jun Qirui across the face. If that thing exploded in his mouth, then…
Dongfang Jin looked at them: "Did you see that?"