eurekapd Chapter 866: Lowly Food
Chapter 866: Lowly Food
The next day, after dinner, the master and his disciple went out with their small baskets on their backs. Poor Zhou Suli and Li Lai could only watch them go away while they had to go in another direction.
At this time of year, there is not much to do in the fields. Everyone is either chopping firewood in the mountains or wandering around the village.
Seeing the master and the disciple dressed like this, he was very curious, "Where are you going, master and disciple, dressed like this?"
I was really surprised. They were wearing coarse cloth shorts, carrying small baskets and small dustpans...
It has been a long time since Zhou Guo appeared in front of them dressed like this. Every time she appeared, she was bright and beautiful, wearing one set of clothes after another. They couldn't afford to buy her, but they were very envious.
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Hello, aunties. We are hungry and want to go to the river to catch some snails to eat."
After hearing this, everyone was even more surprised, "You guys still want to catch snails to eat?"
"Yeah, there are so many delicious foods at home, why would you want to eat something so unpalatable from the river?"
In their eyes, these were cheap things that country folk like them would only eat when they had nothing else to eat. The Zhou family was so rich, why did they still eat this?
Zhou Guo said: "How can this not be presented on the table? Is there any distinction between high and low food? Besides, snails are not bad. They taste good. They are just a little dirty and smelly, but they will be fine after washing. Don't you like such delicious food? It's so delicious!"
"It's delicious, but it's too troublesome to prepare. If it's not washed well, it will smell fishy. I'm too lazy to spend the effort. I might as well cut off two pounds of meat and try it."
Everyone nodded. They were indeed too lazy to bother. They might as well go up the mountain to chop some firewood. Besides, the mushrooms in the mountains would soon come out, so they might as well go down the mountain and watch over them.
Zhou Guo smiled and left.
After walking a long way, she said to the old man, "Why would it be so troublesome? Just take them back and put them under the kitchen for a few days, let them spit out the mud and dirt, and they will be clean. Then wash them, brush them, cut the butts, and you can fry them. Once they are fried, you can eat them. Isn't it delicious?"
The old man glanced at her and said, "Have you forgotten that when we built the house, there were several large basins of snails. Who was so angry when washing them?"
Zhou Guo was stunned, and after thinking for a while, he said, "That's too much, but how much can we eat at home? What's there to be afraid of if the whole family has to eat this?"
As long as the food is delicious, she is not afraid of the trouble and enjoys it once it enters her mouth.
The old man nodded, "You're right, you deserve to eat such delicious food."
Zhou Guo said: "...Are you praising me? Why do I feel something is wrong?"
The old man didn't answer her, and the two of them had already arrived at the place.
There has been plenty of rain this year, and since the summer the riverbed has never leaked, so the water level has only receded at this time.
Zhou Guo stepped on the exposed rocks, bent over and lowered his head, searching slowly in the river.
However, when the weather gets cold, there are not many snails in the river, and you usually have to walk more than ten steps to pick up one or two.
She remembered that summer, the river was full of it.
She walked along the river for half an hour, and there was less than half a pound of snails in the basket.
The old man couldn't find any snails, so he simply caught small fish and shrimps from the river. The small fish were delicious when fried, and the small shrimps were even more delicious when dried and ground into powder to use as seasoning.
The task of picking snails fell on her alone.
After picking for another half an hour, the basket finally contained about one and a half pounds of snails, but she was already dizzy.
I smacked my eyes a few times and looked around, only to see rivers everywhere.
Her vision became clear and she noticed that there were many children from the village around her. When they saw her looking over, they ran away.
Zhou Guo: “…”
What's going on? She is not a ghost. Didn't these children all play at her house in the past? Why don't they play with her now?
Has she become a plague god?
With this doubt, he fished for another hour and found about three kilograms. He said to the old man who was still fishing for shrimps, "Master, go back. The water is getting cold. You are too old to stay in the water all the time."
The old man stood up and said, "Can't you just talk properly? You keep saying that I'm old. What? Am I old and about to go into a coffin?"
Zhou Guo said, "That's not the case. I'm just worried about you. It would be bad if you caught a cold and got sick. You've been in the water for so long. Do you still feel your feet?"
The old man said, "I'm not stupid. I can stay in the water forever."
He looked at the snails in her basket and said with disdain, "Why are there only so few?"
Zhou Guo also looked at the shrimps and small fish in his basket, "You're talking about me, you only have that much too. It's cold now, so it's good to have these. It's not like in the summer when you can fill the basket in just one or two hours."
The two men went back dripping wet, with not a single dry spot on their trouser legs or sleeves.
Only two of them practiced martial arts and were in good health, so Li was relieved.
Zhou Guo discovered that there were very few children in the village who dared to say hello to her now, almost none at all. They would hide behind her when they saw her from a distance.
Li smiled and said, "They don't dare. Those who were your age or older have grown up. They are either married or staying at home to get married. They won't wander around the village. Those who are playing in the village now are younger than you. They haven't been in contact with you for several years. You are like an adult now. Isn't it normal that they don't dare to play with you?"
Wu Ya said, "Yes, you are not seen all day long, and the people you come and go are all important people. Many people in the village teach their children not to bump into you. They are just curious about you and treat you as an adult. Have you ever seen a child who is willing to play with adults?"
Zhou Guo sighed, "It's only been a few years, how come I'm already grown up? I haven't even married yet, and I'm just like them, a child too!"
Mrs. Li nodded and said, "You are right. I have to find a husband for you. There are not many people your age in the village who have not yet arranged marriage. Everyone is waiting to get married."
Zhou Guo said quickly, "Please don't worry. If you want to worry, you should worry about my uncle and my two older brothers first. They are not in a hurry, so why should I be in a hurry? Besides, my eldest sister is pregnant again. The Zhao family attaches great importance to her baby and won't even let her visit. You have to go over to see her from time to time, right?"
Zhou Xing had been married for several years and finally had good news last month after giving birth to Yuan Ge'er.
This made the Zhao family very happy. No matter whether this baby was a boy or a girl, the curse of the Zhao family's only-inheritance lineage was finally broken!
Therefore, this baby was even more serious than the first one, and I couldn’t even go back to my parents’ home.
Li smiled and said, "Your elder sister is living a good life now. If this child is born, she will be able to manage the household."
"Really?" Zhou Guo was very surprised. "Who said that?"
Li smiled from ear to ear, "Who else could have said that? It was Old Master Zhao who spoke. I don't think her parents-in-law have any objections. After all, Zhao Yang is their only child, and he will be his sooner or later. Your eldest sister has to be the boss of the Zhao family!"