Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 309 - Chapter 309 309. Eggplant bun and Moutai Liquor_1

Chapter 309: 309. Eggplant bun and Moutai Liquor_1 Chapter 309: 309. Eggplant bun and Moutai Liquor_1 Nowadays, the days are getting longer and nights shorter, the sun fiercely hot by 3 o’clock, the green lush sedges laid out on the cement outside soon looked wilted.

Song Youde got up and wandered around before he could no longer hold back a sigh and shook his head, “You all nowadays don’t know how to do anything!”

As he spoke, he went over to Seventh Uncle’s stove, scooped up two shovelfuls of ash with an iron shovel, and evenly spread it over the sedges.

“You need to do this first; it absorbs the moisture and kills pests so that the sedges dry thoroughly. After that, making straw mats will be less of a hassle.”

Song Tan didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment, “I’ve never made straw mats before, how would I know? Grandpa, as long as you know how, that’s enough! The family will depend on you for straw mats from now on!”

Song Youde once again proudly curled his lips:

“That’s right, there’s an old saying: having an elder at home is like having a treasure. You think it’s made up?”

Song Tan: …I was just praising you a little, why are you so boastful? When you say that as an elder, you sound like self-praising Wang Po!

Looking at the half-cut golden tobacco leaves, she couldn’t help but feel moved, “Grandpa, cut another two jins for me to give to a friend.”

Song Youde hesitated slightly, “What friend? Can’t you give them something else?”

Two jins of tobacco would require almost three jins of dried leaves, and the stems weigh the scales down considerably.

Song Tan thought of her lifesaver–why hadn’t their friend placed any orders recently?

“This friend introduced a big client to me, every order is at least 100,000. So, should I give it or not?”

Fine then.

Song Youde sat back down on the bench and picked up the kitchen knife again, “Bring me another bundle of tobacco leaves.”

…

Meanwhile, Seventh Uncle was pondering over the dinner menu–

With so many people and the weather being hot, he was also worried.

“Tantan, I saw the eggplants in the field are looking good. How about we keep dinner simple tonight? We’ll make eggplant flatbreads and a pot of white fungus soup? If that’s not enough, we can have a bowl of cold noodles too?”

Eggplant flatbreads?!

Instantly, Song Tan’s mouth watered uncontrollably.

Seeing her reaction, Seventh Uncle laughed:

“Alright, that’s settled for tonight. Go to the field and pick more eggplants, and bring back a couple of handfuls of spring onions–If there are red chiles, pick some for me. I’ll make a sauce for cold noodles.”

With the house full of people, what’s said to be a few eggplant flatbreads led Song Tan to carry a basket to the fields, returning with it nearly full of eggplants. A couple of vibrant, fresh-looking bunches of spring onions stood out, exceptionally supple.

Seventh Uncle then called over Qiaoqiao, “Actually, eggplant flatbreads are best with purple eggplants, but ours aren’t ripe yet. Green eggplants aren’t much different.”

“Sometimes, cooking is all about using what’s available. When you can choose, pick the best ingredients; when you can’t, you’ve got to be creative.”

Qiaoqiao listened obediently, “I understand, use what we have.”

“Good,” Seventh Uncle had become accustomed to his own wittiness. Teaching such a smart apprentice was a bit addicting for him, and now he gave orders even more unabashedly:

“First pick out the onions, chop them into small pieces.”

As if they needed him to pick them.

Aunt Lianhua and the granny couldn’t wait to take the spring onions and cleaned them up in no time, efficiently and neatly.

After practicing for a while, Qiaoqiao’s chopping speed might have been a bit slow, but the pieces were uniform and evenly sized.

Chopping green onions was only the basics anyway.

Seventh Uncle even multitasked while teaching, “Chop the eggplants into thick round pieces. Since we’re eating at home, just make crosswise cuts; it doesn’t matter the size as long as they fit in the mouth.”

Compared to other dishes, eggplant flatbreads truly required no special skill.

Whisk some eggs with a bit of salt, water, and flour, mix in the green onions to make a thick batter, then dip the eggplant slices in batter before frying them in a pan over low heat…

Before long, the distinctive aroma of eggplants began wafting through the courtyard.

Qiaoqiao blanched the white fungus and faced the next question, “Tell me, why do we need to blanch all the ingredients before making white fungus soup?”

Qiaoqiao remembered it all too clearly.

He said loudly, “Because if you don’t blanch them first, they’ll turn slightly sour when you cook them!”

“When do you add the goji berries?”

“You add them once the silver fungus soup is almost ready, otherwise they too will become sour, and their nutritional content will be destroyed.”

“Hmm.”

Seventh Uncle was pleased. “Good child!”

So Qiaoqiao became even more fervently excited.

Now, as the sun set, Song Youde finally finished cutting the four jin of tobacco leaves, carefully weighing them into two portions, not willing to spare even an extra ounce.

After that, he walked around the pot with his hands behind his back for a couple of rounds, then went to take in the not-yet-fully-dried rush grass.

Finally having a moment to himself, he said, “Make some extra. I’ll call Xiaozu over, and she can take the tobacco leaves back with her tonight.”

He made plans for himself, feeling particularly wistful at this moment: when would guests come to his home?

His Maotai didn’t taste right without company; he mainly wanted to show it off, and he even begrudged opening a bottle.

But when it came to random guests, he’d also hate to share it, so at this moment, he felt especially anxious.

Secretary Xiaozu now had become like family, not turning down an invitation for the life of her; a single phone call, and she’d be over without even attempting to decline, quickly walking over.

As she entered the courtyard, the indescribably salty fragrance, wafting with the allure of fried food, made her stomach rumble uncontrollably.

Watching Qiaoqiao ladling out the silver fungus soup to cool it down, she couldn’t help but express her regret without holding back,

“If this were chilled, it would be so refreshing!”

“That wouldn’t do.” Old lady Wang Lifan smiled, “For young women, eating too much cold food isn’t good, especially since summer hasn’t even started. It’s better to eat something warm.”

Alright then.

Secretary Xiaozu accepted this without any fuss and even sighed, “It’s the elderly who understand how to take care of their health. We young people are all over the place, either starving or overeating, and if it’s not spicy food, it’s oily and cold… Over time, it wrecks your stomach.”

Upon hearing this, Song Youde called out at the top of his voice,

“See, I told you not to be a stranger! In the future, come straight over for meals, you’re still acting shy and putting on an act!”

Song Tan and Zhang Yanping exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.

Secretary Xiaozu smiled warmly, “You really care for me too much, old man. Did you drink the wine I brought over last time? I’m free tonight, how about I join you for a drink?”

“If it suits your taste, I’ll bring you more next time.”

Oh my.

These words were incredible.

Song Youde was immediately overjoyed, “You can drink?”

“I can,” Secretary Xiaozu said heartily. “I’ve been able to drink since I was a teenager. We won’t drink much, just a little toast!”

“Alright, alright, alright!”

Song Youde couldn’t wait to rummage through his house for that hidden Maotai.

And here, Secretary Xiaozu smiled warmly at Song Tan, “Your home has such a great atmosphere.”

Song Tan kept silent.

She thought to herself, Now I’ve finally seen someone who can climb up the pole even better than me.

Meanwhile, Song Youde not only took out the Maotai but also brought out the pouch of tobacco leaves:

“Here Xiaozu, I cut these especially for you this afternoon. You can send them back to your family; they’ll definitely love it!”

Secretary Xiaozu accepted it with a smile, “Sure, next time my family gets some good tobacco, I’ll bring some for you to try as well.”