Over the past few days since transmigrating here, Su Zhi had been eating cornbread for several meals in a row, and she felt like she must have lost weight from hunger these past two days. She initially thought that Yue Chunhan’s family was so poor that they had no other food to eat and could only manage with a little cornbread. But when Su Zhi carefully observed Yue Chunhan’s yard, she found that they actually grew quite a variety of vegetables and fruits themselves.
The bean trellis that had nearly scared her that night was now laden with a bountiful harvest of beans. A row of tomato vines grew by the gate in the courtyard wall, some of the tomatoes already so ripe and red that they seemed about to burst with juice. In the vegetable garden within the yard, there were also rows of scallions, two rows of chives, two rows of Chinese cabbage, and even eggplants and chili peppers.
An abundance of ingredients, all right here in this small yard. Yet Yue Chunhan, surrounded by all this produce, still chose to eat those sour, tough cornbread cakes every day?
Su Zhi was astonished, but on second thought, it was understandable. First, it was possible that Yue Chunhan didn’t know how to cook. These homegrown items were probably reserved for the elderly grandmother nearby who took care of Yue Tiantian to use for meals. Perhaps Yue Chunhan and Yue Tiantian even went over to her place for meals sometimes. Second, farm work in the fields was indeed busy. It was possible that Yue Chunhan, preoccupied with work, simply had no time to cook and could only quickly steam some cornbread in a pot to fill his stomach.
Thinking of how Yue Tiantian had been eating nothing but cornbread with Yue Chunhan for so long, Su Zhi couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness. Yue Chunhan, with a yard full of vegetables but eating only dry bread, was no different from someone sitting on a gold mountain but eating chaff and coarse vegetables.
Su Zhi rolled up her sleeves and said to Yue Tiantian, “Wait here, Tiantian. Auntie will make something delicious for you!”
Cornbread could be eaten as a staple alongside other dishes, but Su Zhi couldn’t accept just gnawing on dry bread by itself.
Yue Tiantian didn’t know what Su Zhi was planning, but she just found it fun. She followed Su Zhi into the vegetable garden, carrying a basket for her.
Because they hadn’t been harvested for too long, many of the beans in the yard were already a bit old. Some even had very plump bean pods inside; they would be too tough to chew now but could be saved as seeds for planting next year.
Su Zhi picked and chose, soon selecting enough tender beans for one dish. She also picked the older ones, planning to dry them in the sun and save them for planting next year.
Su Zhi then went to pick some eggplants and chili peppers from the garden, found a few potatoes from an earthen basket in the shed, and prepared some scallions and garlic, setting them aside.
Today, she planned to make a famous Northeastern one-pot dish. Although they didn’t have pork ribs, they could make do without them.
Autumn beans were longer and thinner, with smaller beans inside—not as plump and round as summer beans—but they were tender. While some people might complain they lacked bean flavor, for Su Zhi, they were just right. She really liked eating these tender autumn beans.
Su Zhi washed the autumn beans and broke them in half. The potatoes, eggplants, chili peppers, and other ingredients were also washed and set aside.
It was still early in the day, not yet noon. By preparing everything in advance, Su Zhi would save a lot of time when she actually started cooking.
She sat down and carefully braided Yue Tiantian’s hair. This time, Yue Tiantian sat still obediently, even more expectant than yesterday. Having her hair played with by her aunt felt so comfortable it almost made her want to fall asleep.
Su Zhi’s hands were very skillful. There weren’t many hairbands at home, so using the limited ones available and tearing two pretty silk scarves the original host had brought, she styled Yue Tiantian’s hair simply. The beautiful silk scarves were tied into the shape of flowers, their fresh blue and pink colors particularly eye-catching. Paired with Yue Tiantian’s adorable, cute little face, it was especially endearing.
As expected, Yue Tiantian looked in the mirror, jumped up happily, cheered, and said she wanted to show the other kids, to show off.
There were many children of similar age in the surrounding villages, almost all playing outside freely. Yue Tiantian was one of them. During the day, when Yue Chunhan didn’t have time to watch her, she would follow the boys up the mountain to pick wild fruits or go down to the river to catch fish, having a great time.
Su Zhi didn’t stop her. Smiling, she reminded Yue Tiantian to come back for lunch at noon, then waved goodbye with a smile.
Yue Tiantian had already forgotten about wanting to hear the second half of The Little Mermaid. Her attention was completely captured by the hairstyle Su Zhi had just done for her. She ran out, face full of excitement, and as expected, received unanimous praise from the boys and girls around her, along with many exclamations of envy.
“Wow, what pretty hair flowers! So beautiful…”
“Tiantian, where did you buy them? I want my mom to buy me one too.”
“Such pretty colors! I love pink the most…”
“So beautiful! Can you take it off and let me wear it? Just for a little while…”
“…”
Yue Tiantian proudly puffed out her chest. The children who used to mock her as a messy-haired little madwoman were now looking at her with eyes full of envy.
…Having Auntie here was really nice. They had tried to scare her before, saying Auntie would hit, scold, or bully her. But there was none of that! Auntie was so gentle and beautiful.
Yue Tiantian treasured her pretty hairstyle and lovely hair flowers. When some of the children around wanted to touch her hair flowers, she wouldn’t let them, afraid they might get damaged, and refused them one by one.
Because of Yue Tiantian’s hair flowers, many children ran home at noon, crying and fussing, demanding equally pretty hair flowers for themselves, causing quite a commotion at home.
However, Su Zhi knew nothing about all this. When she estimated it was about noon, she started preparing lunch. She was going to make herself a good meal and say no to cornbread and pickles!
In fact, Su Zhi wasn’t a master chef, but living alone as an adult, she had learned a thing or two. During holidays, she sometimes even prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner herself, earning unanimous approval from her family.
Now, facing the traditional earthen stove in the countryside, Su Zhi felt a bit of a headache. She squatted down, imitating Yue Chunhan’s method: first using easily flammable straw to start a fire, stuffing it into the stove opening, then adding a few thin, not-too-thick wooden boards, and finally adjusting the space inside the stove opening before placing a few pieces of firewood inside.
Although the straw initially went out quickly without igniting the wood, Su Zhi tried several times with great patience, finally managing to get the firewood burning.
Watching the firewood slowly burning in the stove opening, Su Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her face, now dusty from the smoke and heat.
The fire at the bottom of the pot could burn for quite a while without needing much attention, so Su Zhi focused on the large iron wok commonly used in the countryside.
The wok was very dark. Since Yue Chunhan usually didn’t cook much, just steaming things hastily to get by, Su Zhi needed to scrub it thoroughly. She used a brush made from sorghum tassels to clean the wok, then scooped out the dirty water with a wooden ladle made from a halved gourd. After repeating this a few times, the wok was ready for stir-frying.
There was a large jar of lard at Yue Chunhan’s house. When solidified, it was pure white and looked very thick. Su Zhi scooped out a spoonful and threw it into the wok. The flames from the stove licked the bottom of the wok, quickly melting the lard into a pool of yellowish oil.
It’s often said that cooking with lard makes dishes more fragrant. Su Zhi used to dislike lard, finding it had a strange odor, but the lard before her didn’t seem to have much of a smell.
She added scallions and garlic to the wok to stir-fry until fragrant, then poured in the plate of washed ingredients. Instantly, a sizzling sound erupted, and the room filled with smoke. Su Zhi quickly stir-fried with a wooden spatula.
There were many ingredients in the wok, and Su Zhi’s arms began to ache from stirring. She did her best to stir-fry each ingredient until cooked through, then added the seasonings.
The seasoning jars at Yue Chunhan’s house were almost empty, without many varied seasonings. There wasn’t even much MSG. But fortunately, there was enough salt and some soy sauce. Su Zhi managed by adding some dried seasonings and sauces, then added water and let it stew.
A bubbling sound came from the wok, and a faint aroma wafted out—different from the sour, astringent smell of cornbread. The tantalizing aroma made Su Zhi, who had been craving it for so long, almost shed tears.
…Finally, she could eat some proper food!!
The food in the wok wouldn’t be done for a while. Su Zhi picked a few small potatoes from Yue Chunhan’s shed, washed and peeled them, then placed them on top of the stew in the iron wok. This one-pot dish would be just fine.
Since she couldn’t find the bag where Yue Chunhan stored staple foods, Su Zhi had to make do this way.
After a while, estimating that the food was almost done, Su Zhi, who hadn’t eaten a full meal for several sittings, hurriedly found a plate. Lifting the lid, she was greeted by a burst of fragrant steam.
As the large cloud of steam dissipated, the stew in the iron wok was still bubbling and churning, with steam rising straight up. The aroma of food cooked over firewood smelled wonderful. The small potatoes Su Zhi had added later already had crispy, browned edges, their skins crunchy while the insides were soft, tender, and melted in the mouth.
The beans, eggplants, potatoes, and chili peppers in the wok were mixed together, presenting a rich array of colors, exuding a unique rustic charm and that distinct “wok hei” (breath of the wok) aroma.
Just as Su Zhi had served the dish onto the table and placed it there, Yue Tiantian, excited from playing outside, rushed back through the door. The moment she saw that plate of steaming hot food, her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, “Wow!”
“Auntie, did you make this? Oh my gosh, it looks so delicious!”
Yue Tiantian couldn’t wait to grab a piece of potato and put it in her mouth, but Su Zhi stopped her in time. Gently leading her to the water basin, Su Zhi helped her wash the muddy hands she had played with all morning, then handed her chopsticks before letting her start eating.
A faint blush of embarrassment appeared on Yue Tiantian’s face, knowing her earlier action wasn’t very hygienic. She proactively assured Su Zhi, “Auntie, I’ll wash my hands first next time.”
Su Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle.
Su Zi had steamed the leftover cornbread cakes from Yue Chunhan’s morning batch again. Although they didn’t taste great, if Yue Tiantian didn’t like the potatoes, she could still use them as a staple.
Yue Tiantian, seeing the delicious food, had already forgotten about her cornbread. She grabbed her chopsticks and happily ate the crispy small potatoes along with the beans and eggplant, shaking her head and praising Su Zhi, giving her extremely positive feedback.
“It’s so delicious, Auntie!”
“Auntie, your cooking is even better than Granny next door’s! Wow, this is so fragrant too!”
“Auntie, Auntie, you’re amazing!”
“…”
Despite her young age, Yue Tiantian had already learned how to win Su Zhi over with sweet words. Su Zhi, eating the food she had made herself, felt as if her body, which had been on the verge of starvation after so many meals of cornbread, had come back to life.
She happily squinted her eyes, chewing contentedly.
…So delicious! Indeed, food cooked by oneself tastes the best.
The two of them, sitting in the yard, enjoyed their meal heartily and contentedly, eating with great relish. Soon, they had almost finished the entire plate of food.
Meanwhile, by the courtyard wall near the cornfield, someone was pacing back and forth, looking rather restless.