Chapter 86: Eating Bamboo Worms
After two days of plowing, Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen were busy preparing the medicine seedlings. On this day, Hu Guiying came to play, so they took a day off.
When Hu Guiying came, she was also carrying a basket of duck eggs.
Lin Shuang picked up a duck egg and held it up to the light. There were still water marks on the shell. She smiled and teased, “Did you squat by the river in the middle of the night to get these again?”
Hu Guiying put the basket on the stone table, raised her chin proudly, and looked like a nouveau riche. “How could that be? I’m half a rich person now. Why would I need to go and pick them myself? I just got them from someone.”
Lin Shuang clicked her tongue. “Alright. We’ll have stir-fried duck eggs for lunch.”
Outside, Ping’er, Caitou, Dahua, and Xiaohua were gathered around a vegetable basket, chattering and gesturing, discussing going up the mountain to find bamboo worms.
Hu Guiying overheard them and poked her head out of the room. “Where are you going to find them? Take me with you.”
Caitou said, “There’s a bamboo forest halfway up the back mountain. We’ll go there to find them.”
This was the time when there were the most bamboo worms. If they were lucky, they could find a lot.
Hu Guiying smiled. “Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll go with you.”
Seeing that an adult was participating, the little ones were also very excited. They put on a small bamboo basket for catching fish and ran up the mountain.
Xiaohua was originally not allowed to go up the mountain, but seeing that her older brother and sisters had all left, she also rushed forward with her little short legs and almost tripped over the threshold.
Lin Shuang looked at the little girl’s trembling walk and shouted at Ping’er, “Ping’er, hold little sister Xiaohua’s hand. Walk slowly. Don’t run.”
Hearing this, Ping’er quickly stopped.
Xiaohua was looking back, but she was lifted up by a powerful arm and put on her back. A cheerful voice also came from above. “You little thing, you want to go up the mountain too? How long will it take for these two little short legs to climb halfway up the mountain?”
Xiaohua’s two dark, glistening eyes stared at Hu Guiying’s smooth profile. She hugged her neck tightly, and dangling, she watched as the figures in front were left behind, bit by bit.
Lin Shuang looked at Jiang Huaizhen, whose eyes were constantly looking up the mountain, and smiled. “If you want to go, you can go too.”
Jiang Huaizhen’s lips were lightly pursed, her face expressionless. “Catching bamboo worms is a child’s game. I’m not as childish as Third Aunt.”
“What child’s game? How old do you think you are?” Lin Shuang smiled and pinched her lower back. “Go on. You didn’t even have a companion when you were little. You’ve been so mature since you were young. If this continues, you’ll get old quickly.”
Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen’s expression suddenly froze.
She was not a person who paid much attention to her appearance, but she felt that Lin Shuang valued her appearance the most. She was already a year older than her, and if she didn’t pay attention to her maintenance, she would definitely get old faster than her. In the future, when her face was full of wrinkles, wouldn’t she be despised by her and eventually abandoned?
So she quickly changed her mind. “Then I’ll go and take a look.”
“Go on,” Lin Shuang looked at her, her eyes like water. “Have fun.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
Lin Shuang shook her head. She was old in her heart and couldn’t play with children. She was too lazy to make the effort to climb the mountain.
Jiang Huaizhen looked at the soft smile on her face, and her heart fluttered. Her eyes also softened, and she said softly, “Then you wait at home. I’ll be back in a while.”
“No hurry. Come down when you’re tired of playing,” Lin Shuang said.
Only then did Jiang Huaizhen turn and run up the mountain.
Halfway up the mountain was not far from home. Lin Shuang was busy with the trivial housework at home and could still hear the children’s laughter from the mountain.
Hu Guiying’s voice was louder than the cicadas in the trees, but she couldn’t hear the sound of her own quiet gourd.
But with that wooden and introverted personality, if she could shout along, the sun would probably rise from the west.
The sun gradually climbed higher, and Lin Shuang estimated the time, washed the rice, and put it in the pot.
There was still half a pot of porridge left from the morning. She just had to cook a pot of dry rice. She put a few pieces of dry firewood in the stove, and the flames crackled and leaped up.
Just as the aroma of rice began to waft out, the sound of “patter, patter” footsteps came from outside.
“Auntie!” Ping’er was the first to run into the room, and the fish basket she was holding was rustling.
“We caught so many bamboo worms, so many that we can’t fit them all.”
“How many is so many?” Lin Shuang smiled and took the small fish basket, lifted the lid, and a group of black and yellow bamboo weevils were squeezed together, their hard wings buzzing.
“Auntie, cover it quickly. It’s going to fly out,” seeing this, Ping’er was so anxious she stomped her feet.
“Alright, alright. I’ll cover it.”
Lin Shuang nimbly closed the lid and looked up to see Hu Guiying and Jiang Huaizhen come in, each carrying a bulging bundle.
Looking at the things in their hands, her scalp tingled a little. “Don’t tell me, it’s all in there.”
Hu Guiying smiled. “What’s so impossible about that? With me and Huaizhen, not a single bug in that bamboo forest can escape.”
Jiang Huaizhen, who was next to her, didn’t say anything, but her cheeks were also flushed, and she was clearly very happy.
She walked up to Lin Shuang, untied the large cloth bag in her hand, revealing the bamboo worm babies, as thick as a little finger, wriggling their bodies, white and plump.
Hu Guiying’s mouth was watering. “What do you think? They look delicious, don’t they?”
“Where did you get the cloth bag?”
“This is my clothes,” Hu Guiying said.
Only then did Lin Shuang notice that she was only wearing a small jacket, bare-chested.
“A great woman is not particular about trifles. It’s a good thing that Caitou is the only little boy.”
Hu Guiying pointed to Jiang Huaizhen’s bag and smiled. “That’s Caitou’s clothes. That kid was too embarrassed to come with his bare body, so he ran home.”
Hearing this, Lin Shuang couldn’t help but imagine the scene of Caitou running towards the end of the village with his bare upper body, as if his butt was on fire. She couldn’t help but laugh.
“You didn’t even think to bring a bag when you went up. You just rushed forward,” she said with a reproachful tone.
“Who could have thought we’d find so many at once?”
“Alright. You and Huaizhen go outside and deal with that bag of shelled bamboo weevils. Pull out their guts, wash them clean, and bring them to me.”
Hu Guiying quickly asked, “How are you going to cook them?”
“Deep-fried, crispy.”
In the past, country folk didn’t have enough salt and oil. How could they deep-fry? When they dealt with the bamboo weevils, at most, they would pull out their guts, stuff a small grain of salt inside, wrap them in leaves, and bury them in the ashes. When they were roasted, it was a delicacy that made one’s mouth water.
It was only now that Lin Shuang’s family was well-off that they were not so tight on oil.
“Alright. I’ll go and do it right now,” hearing that there was something delicious, Hu Guiying was extremely motivated.
Jiang Huaizhen asked, “Are we going to fry them all? Should we send some to Sister Mai’s family? Caitou, Dahua, and Xiaohua put in a lot of effort just now.”
Lin Shuang said, “Let’s fry them all. We’ll send some over after they’re fried.”
Zhang Mainiang’s family would definitely not be willing to use oil to fry them. Anyway, since they were already frying them, they didn’t lack this much.
Jiang Huaizhen understood and turned to go out with Hu Guiying to deal with the bamboo weevils.
Lin Shuang tied on her apron and began to prepare lunch.
The bamboo worm babies had to be washed in clean water first, then blanched in boiling water for a while. They were then taken out to clean the things at their tails, and finally washed again and drained.
Soon, the bamboo weevils were also cleaned, a full large winnowing basket.
Lin Shuang ladled out almost half a jar of oil and melted it. When the oil temperature was about right, she first put in the bamboo worm babies to fry, then took them out.
Then she put in the large bamboo weevils from the winnowing basket. The bamboo weevils were not yet dead, and they were still struggling when they were put in the hot oil. But as soon as they were soaked in the hot oil, they curled up completely. Before long, a rich, toasty aroma filled the air.
There were too many bamboo weevils, and she had to fry them in two batches.
The fried bamboo weevils filled two large plates. She sprinkled fine salt on them, tossed them, and they were done.
Looking at Hu Guiying, whose mouth was almost dripping into the hot oil, Lin Shuang said, “Why don’t you try one?”
Hu Guiying smiled and reached out to grab one.
“Can’t you use chopsticks?”
Before she could finish, this tiger-like girl had already grabbed one and thrown it in her mouth. With a few crunches, her face showed an expression of both astonishment and satisfaction. She gave a thumbs-up repeatedly. “Delicious—delicious—”
With that, she was about to reach for another but was glared at by Lin Shuang. “The children are still outside. What kind of bad habit are you developing? You can only eat when the food is on the table.”
Hu Guiying quickly said, “I’m not stealing food. I just want to help you with the dishes.”
A poor excuse.
Lin Shuang couldn’t say anything to her and let her be.
She poured out the remaining oil into another jar and began to stir-fry the vegetables.
The tiger-like girl had just brought a basket of duck eggs. Stir-fried duck eggs with chives would be one dish, and then a vegetable soup would complete the meal.
Dahua and Xiaohua had originally wanted to leave. Zhang Mainiang had told them that they couldn’t eat at someone else’s house.
But Ping’er, having been instructed by Lin Shuang, had pulled them to stay. On top of that, the fragrance from the kitchen was coming in waves, and the two little girls were swallowing and couldn’t move their feet.
The freshly fried bamboo worms were golden and oily. Lin Shuang had specially saved a portion for Mainiang’s family, and the rest were served on a plate. The stir-fried duck eggs with chives were glistening with oil, a pile of yellow and green, making one’s mouth water.
Jiang Huaizhen arranged for the three little girls to sit together, their identical bamboo bowls neatly arranged.
Dahua was five years old and knew the rules. Her little hands were neatly folded on her lap, but her eyes kept glancing at the fried bamboo weevils.
Ping’er was four years old. She had originally been an unloved little girl, but since she had come to the West Mountain Valley and had been doted on by Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen, she was much more lively and confident than before, and had finally regained the vitality of a child.
Xiaohua was the youngest, just over two years old. She was a little slow and naive, and curious about everything. She was especially cute. Although she was thin, her belly was round, and she waddled when she walked, which was very likable.
At this moment, her little round belly was pressed against the leg of the table, and her dark, glistening eyes were rolling around, staring at Jiang Huaizhen for a long time.
By the time everyone had sat down, and seeing that the old woman had started to eat, Lin Shuang greeted, “Alright, let’s eat.”
The children cheered, and their chopsticks and spoons clattered.
Old Madam Jiang looked at the few little ones, and a smile appeared in her eyes. “It’s rare for our family to have so many children eating together. It’s so lively.”
Ping’er was eager to show off her treasures. She pointed to the plate of crispy fried bamboo weevils. “Grandma, these big bugs are crispy. I caught a hundred of them.”
How could she know how to count? In her mind, a hundred was the largest number, and she felt that she had caught the most.
Old Madam Jiang’s teeth were not good. She waved her hand at the plate of struggling bamboo weevils with their shells and legs. Jiang Huaizhen, who was sitting next to her, ladled a spoonful of the bamboo worm babies onto her rice.
“This is tender.”
She picked one up, and as soon as she chewed it, the juice burst in her mouth. The crispy fragrance mixed with the tenderness was truly delicious, and she couldn’t help but praise repeatedly, “Fragrant, so fragrant! You caught them well, and your aunt cooked them well.”
Seeing Old Madam Jiang’s praise, the few children were overjoyed and chattered, all wanting to speak.
Lin Shuang tapped the table. “Eat properly first. You can talk one by one after you’re done.”
The few voices stopped one after another, and then there was a sound of chewing and swallowing, rising and falling, like firecrackers.
Hu Guiying was eating her rice and said indistinctly, “This is so delicious. If we had some wine, it would be a life fit for the gods.”
Jiang Huaizhen looked at her. “You want to drink in the middle of the day? What kind of bad habit have you learned from those people at the yamen?”
“How could that be? I was just saying,” Hu Guiying shrunk her neck, but her chopsticks didn’t stop, and in the blink of an eye, she had taken two more fried bamboo weevils.
The children’s stomachs were small. Ping’er and Dahua were full after a little while. Only Xiaohua was eating slowly, still scooping rice into her mouth with a spoon, her mouth covered in rice grains.
Lin Shuang smiled and asked Ping’er, “Are you full? You can go and play.”
Seeing this, Xiaohua also put down her spoon.
Jiang Huaizhen, who was next to her, grabbed her small body. “You haven’t finished this small bowl of rice. You can’t go yet.”
The little girl blinked, looked at Jiang Huaizhen’s stern expression, and hugged her bowl as she moved into Lin Shuang’s arms.
She finally stopped running.
Lin Shuang smiled and put a few pieces of stir-fried duck eggs in her bowl. “Alright. Finish your rice first and then go and play. Otherwise, the greedy worms in your stomach won’t get any food, and they’ll bite your stomach.”
Only then did Xiaohua obediently sit up straight and put the food in her mouth, one spoonful at a time.
Hu Guiying had almost finished eating. Seeing that the older children were gone, she began to gossip. “Let me tell you, the yamen is probably going to change.”
“What change?” Lin Shuang asked.
Jiang Huaizhen also looked up at her.
“I heard that an imperial envoy is coming down to investigate the flood. Now, the county magistrate, the chief clerk, and the county magistrate are all as anxious as ants on a hot pan, sending people everywhere to shut people up. I don’t know what those people will be able to find out when they come.”
Lin Shuang asked, “Didn’t they report the data and request disaster relief from above before? Has the disaster relief fund come down?”
Hu Guiying shook her head. “We don’t know. But the yamen did set up a few sheds at the south gate to distribute porridge to the disaster victims. I just don’t know if it’s the disaster relief fund from above.”
Lin Shuang sneered. “Just the porridge from those few sheds, a few hundred catties of rice. We could have afforded that.”
Hu Guiying stuffed a crispy fried bamboo weevil into her mouth, chewing it with a crunch. She said, “Logically, in that flood, your village saved so many people. The higher-ups should have shown some appreciation. But they didn’t even care about this matter, which is really disheartening.”
Lin Shuang said nonchalantly, “Forget it. We didn’t save people for any reward in the first place.”
In her past life, she had also heard that the county magistrate had been replaced later, but these were matters for the higher-ups. What did it have to do with a commoner like her?
