However, on the way back ho, Wei Ziang didn’t ask her those questions, he rely asked if she was hot or tired and offered to help carry her basket.
Mi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, yet also found it odd; why did Wei Ziang seem not the least bit curious?
But soon, after eating, when Xiaocao brought over her batch of mushy prickly pears, Mi imdiately put the matter to the back of her mind.
Looking at the basket full to the brim, Mi was a bit surprised, "You guys didn’t keep any for yourselves to eat?"
Xiaocao smiled nonchalantly, "Didn’t I eat a lot while picking them in the morning? And when my parents ca ho at noon, they picked so from the roadside too, so they’ve tasted them too."
Having tasted it ant they had eaten it.
Since that was the case, Mi had nothing more to say.
"Mi, what are you planning to make? Need any help?" Erniang had just finished eating a handful of prickly pears given by Mi, which tasted better than those she picked in the morning.
Mi shook her head, "Mom, you and Dad go rest, we’ll handle it ourselves."
During lunch, he noticed his dad’s feet were so soaked they were white, and though his mom didn’t work in the fields, there was no shortage of household chores.
Seeing the children were all eager and high-spirited, Erniang didn’t insist.
"Just be careful with the fire."
Once Erniang left, the group started getting busy.
There was sugar and salt at ho, so they poured the prickly pears into a wooden basin, added so salt, and soaked them in clean water for a few minutes.
Taking this opportunity, they boiled a pot of water for later use.
"By the way, Mi, my dad said after we make that stuff you talked about, if we sell it for money, we should first cover the cost of sugar and salt, and I only need a third of the rest."
"Of course, if it doesn’t sell, it’s no big deal; we can just pick so more tomorrow."
Mi waved her hand generously, "What one-third, we’ll divide it based on the amount of prickly pears, I won’t take advantage, and you won’t suffer a loss."
She only brought out one basket, aning it’s about the sa as Xiaocao’s, so apart from the cost of salt and sugar, any money made would be split equally between their two families!
"That’s not right, it’s your thod, you should definitely get a bigger share."
"It’s actually really simple, you’ll know after just watching once."
A basket of prickly pears turned out to be more than they expected. Excluding the bamboo basket, there were still seven or eight pounds, and the two baskets were about fifteen pounds in total.
Mi and Wei Ziang kept one basket of prickly pears and even divided it into two portions, one for their family to eat, so when their big brother and second sister returned, they could also taste it.
The other half was to be sent to Liu Ze’s parents’ house with the coachman when he returned, otherwise, it wouldn’t be fresh by tomorrow.
Of course, along with it goes the jam they were making!
In the prickly pears kept for themselves, Mi mixed in so from her space, but the ones for making jam didn’t include any.
When there’s an opportunity later, she’ll specially use the prickly pears accumulated in her space to make so jam for her family, but for now, the ones being sold don’t need it.
After all, this jam was just a one-ti sale, and learning to make it was particularly easy.
She intended to sell it to the restaurant; the chef, with so thought, could easily make it.
Therefore, this first sale was all about novelty; and later, when it becos common, the focus would be on quality and taste. It’s not too late to then use the jam from her space.
They scooped out the soaked prickly pears and drained the water on a large bamboo sieve.
"Wow, it’s so dirty. You couldn’t see any of that before."
Xiaocao was a bit startled, seeing all sorts of dirt in the water, like leaves, mud, and even so small insects.
"No worries, a little dirt doesn’t hurt when you eat it." If you’ve eaten it, there’s no need to worry too much.
At least when eating, it looked clean to the naked eye.
Xiaocao patted her chest with lingering fear, "I won’t dare eat it directly next ti."
Mi chuckled twice; she was particular, but not overly so. If conditions allowed, she’d wash it clean before eating; if not, eating it directly was also fine.
But truth be told, the prickly pears, after being soaked and washed, looked even more crystal clear and much more appealing.
The prickly pears were washed twice, and the water had boiled as well, so they directly poured the cleaned prickly pears into the boiling water and stirred while cooking.
"Mi, are you cooking these until they’re done?" Xiaocao was completely clueless about what was being made.
"Pretty much. Just cook the prickly pears until they’re soft and mushy, and the water is almost boiled away."
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