Starting from Mounta Chapter 207: Rice Flower and Si’an

??Chapter 207: Rice Flower and Si’an

“Didn’t you say you wanted to keep it before? Why the sudden urge to make furniture?” Xiulan asked curiously as she watched Lin Heng after Carpenter Liang left.

Lin Heng smiled and replied, “Once it’s made into a table, we can still sell it. For now, we can use it ourselves.”

In truth, if he didn’t make it into furniture now, he might not think much of it later. With more money, he could buy all sorts of fine woods like golden nanmu and North Arican walnut. By making it into furniture now, they could enjoy it themselves, adding a bit of value. Of course, selling it now wouldn’t be bad either, but in this small town, there probably isn’t anyone who could afford it.

After considering everything, he decided to make it into furniture. The square table at ho was a bit small, so he planned to make a long table, a few beautiful benches, and a dressing table for Xiulan. If there was any wood left, he would make a tea tray or a bookshelf for himself.

“That sounds good,” Xiulan nodded. Adding a few more pieces of furniture to the house would be nice.

After a pause, she added, “Let’s take a bag of walnuts to the bedroom and crack them open. Tomorrow, we can make walnut sesa oil dregs dumplings.”

The reason she picked wild walnuts was to make dumplings. Dumplings made with dried wild walnut kernels are a delicacy.

“Alright.”

Lin Heng had already guessed that Xiulan wanted to use the wild walnut kernels for dumplings. In the countryside, this is considered a top-tier delicacy.

They took a sack of wild walnuts, along with a wooden hamr for cracking them and a wooden basin to hold the kernels, and headed to the bedroom.

Lin Heng lit the fireplace, and soon it was warm enough to wear just a sweater.

He found a small stool about ten centiters high and began cracking the walnuts. Since they collected wild walnuts every year, Lin Heng had a special tool for cracking them. Wild walnuts are round and have particularly hard shells, making it easy to get injured if you hold them by hand. Lin Heng had a sturdy iron pear wood block with a three-centiter diater, one-centiter deep hole carved into it. He placed the walnuts in the hole, and with one strike of the wooden hamr, they cracked open.

After cracking them, he poured them out for Xiulan to pick out the kernels.

“Try this!” Xiulan offered so walnut kernels to Lin Heng.

“They’re fragrant enough, but the walnut skin is a bit bitter,” Lin Heng comnted after taking a bite. No matter what kind of walnut, the yellow-brown skin on the surface is always bitter.

Xiulan smiled slightly, “Once I roast them, it’ll be fine. A little rub and blow, and the bitterness is gone.”

“I want so too~” Xiao Xia opened her mouth wide, eager to taste the walnut kernels.

Xiulan gave her a bit, then continued filling the wooden basin. Xiao Xia didn’t seem to mind the bitterness and kept reaching for more, but the two of them couldn’t crack enough to satisfy her.

“That’s enough, you can’t eat any more,” Xiulan said, gently stopping her.

Xiao Xia watched longingly for a while until Lin Heng distracted her with a toy.

Lin Heng cracked the walnuts quickly. After finishing half a sack, he helped Xiulan sort through them. The wild walnut kernels were small, and it took them two to three hours until after three in the afternoon to get two and a half pounds.

Xiulan added a low fla to the pot and slowly roasted the walnut kernels. Once roasted, the thin skin ca off with a rub, just like peanuts, and a few blows left only the pure walnut kernels.

The aroma was so enticing that Lin Heng couldn’t imagine how delicious they would be when made into dumplings with oil dregs and sesa.

After preparing the walnut kernels, Xiulan kneaded the dough, using so for dumpling wrappers the next day and making knife-cut noodles for the three of them to eat that evening.

The next morning, Lin Heng got up early, fed Hongzao so corn porridge, and prepared the carriage on the road.

Once Lin Heng was ready, Xiulan dressed Xiao Xia and brought her to the road with a bag in hand.

Today, Xiulan wore the khaki cashre coat Lin Heng had bought for her, with a goose-yellow turtleneck sweater underneath, black long pants, and brown short boots. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, her smooth forehead exposed, without the classic bangs of the era, instead styled with natural-looking wispy bangs.

Her eyes were bright and beautiful, her lips rosy, and her attire and deanor made her look like a pretty young woman from the city rather than a rural housewife.

Xiao Xia wore a red cotton jacket with plum blossom prints and a white scarf, looking equally adorable.

“Hop on!” Lin Heng smiled, extending his hand to help Xiulan and Xiao Xia onto the carriage.

It was an open carriage, simple but efficient.

Xiulan sat next to Lin Heng, holding Xiao Xia in her arms and wrapping a scarf around her mouth.

“Let’s go!” With a flick of the reins, Hongzao trotted forward.

The ground was still covered in thick frost early in the morning, and Lin Heng and Xiulan’s breaths ford white clouds in the air.

The sun was just above the mountain peaks, making the mountains look like they wore golden crowns.

When the family of three arrived at Huangtan Town, where the land was flat, they finally felt the warmth of the sun.

“So warm~” Xiao Xia, wearing leopard skin gloves made by Xiulan, waved her hands like little paws.

The leftover clouded leopard skin was used to make two pairs of gloves, one each for Xiulan and Xiao Xia, with the scraps sewn onto Xiao Xia’s shoes. Lin Heng didn’t have any, but Xiulan kept his hands warm.

“It’s only eight o’clock, and they’re still setting up stalls. Let’s warm up by the fire first,” Lin Heng suggested, looking at the street scene and then checking his watch with a smile.

“Alright.”

Xiulan nodded and led Xiao Xia over, while Lin Heng took the horse to tie it up in Old Man Gao’s backyard.

“Brother Lin, Sister-in-law!” Wang Zhou hurried over to greet them as soon as he saw the three enter.

“Shrimp chips, candy!” Xiao Xia seed to understand that this store belonged to her family. She broke free from her mother’s hand and ran toward the shelves.

“I’ll get it for you, I’ll get it for you.” Lin Heng, looking helpless, went over and got her a bag of shrimp chips.

Seeing Wang Zhou following him, Lin Heng quickly shook his head and said, “Wang Zhou, just do your work. Don’t worry about us.”

“Alright.” Wang Zhou nodded and turned back to the counter.

Lin Heng went inside to see Old Man Gao, ward himself by the fire for a while, and then, around nine o’clock, took Xiulan and Xiao Xia out for a stroll.

The sun was pleasantly warm now, and the street stalls were all set up. The bustling crowd made the street lively.

“It’s different now that it’s almost New Year,” Xiulan said with a smile as she looked at the street. There were many more stalls than usual, and even two tractors were parked on the street selling fruit.

“Let’s go buy so fruit,” Lin Heng suggested with a smile. In this area, resources weren’t abundant, and there weren’t many types of fruit. The tractors were selling fist-sized oranges, along with apples, pears, and hawthorns.

After so picking and choosing, Lin Heng bought ten jin of each kind.

Once they were done buying, Xiao Xia imdiately wanted to bite into an apple. Lin Heng gave her a small one and temporarily stored the rest at the shop.

After putting away the fruit, Lin Heng held Xiao Xia’s hand and followed Xiulan. They planned to see if there was any beef or lamb to buy for a hot pot al.

They hadn’t gone far when Xiao Xia suddenly pointed ahead and said, “Daddy, look, why is that person putting his hand in soone else’s pocket?”

Xiao Xia’s innocent remark not only alerted Lin Heng but also the nearby passersby.

“That’s a thief!” Lin Heng shouted, and the thief imdiately turned and ran.

“Catch the thief!” soone yelled, and a group of people quickly gave chase. Thieves are always despised, no matter the ti or place.

Lin Heng didn’t join the chase. Instead, he took the opportunity to educate Xiao Xia about the dangers of thieves and how to protect herself.

Xiulan felt relieved only after checking the money in her coat pocket.

As the three of them walked down the street, they couldn’t help but attract attention. Compared to others, their clothing was quite impressive, especially Xiulan’s elegance and beauty, which caused n on the street to turn their heads repeatedly.

However, when they saw Lin Heng with Xiulan, they quietly turned away after a quick comparison.

“Bang!!” Suddenly, a loud noise ca from ahead.

Xiulan looked over and was pleasantly surprised. “It’s a popcorn seller! Let’s go buy so.”

“Sure,” Lin Heng agreed, also interested. Popcorn was a common snack during his childhood New Year’s celebrations.

“Daddy, pick

up, please,” Xiao Xia pleaded, unable to see anything through the crowd. Clinging to Lin Heng’s leg, she refused to move.

Lin Heng had no choice but to pick her up and head toward the popcorn seller.

The vendor was an old man turning an iron canister over a roaring fire.

The canister had no pressure gauge, relying solely on experience.

“Co and see, co and taste!” the old man shouted while turning the canister. A bamboo basket beside him was half-filled with popcorn, free for anyone to try.

Popcorn was cheap and plentiful, drawing many buyers. The area was crowded with people.

Lin Heng found a relatively safe spot with his wife and child and grabbed a handful of popcorn to taste.

“It’s so good!” Xiao Xia exclaid after taking a bite, imdiately captivated by the flavor and clamoring for more.

Xiulan laughed and said, “This popcorn would be perfect with so malt syrup to make popcorn candy.”

“Let’s order so,” Lin Heng suggested, also fond of the idea. He approached the old man and arranged to have ten jin of popcorn made, promising to return later to pick it up.

After placing the order, he grabbed two more handfuls of popcorn for Xiao Xia to enjoy.

Unfortunately, this machine could only make popcorn. If it were like a tractor engine, it could turn corn into long, fluffy popcorn pieces.

As they continued to wander, they saw vendors selling spring couplets, calendars, various vegetables, and wild ga.

“There’s beef for sale over there,” Lin Heng pointed out, spotting a large yellow cow head from afar.

“How much is the beef?” Xiulan asked as they approached.

“One and a half yuan per jin. This is ho-raised yellow beef,” the vendor replied, his smile growing warr at the sight of their attire.

Without needing to try hard, the vendor could tell Lin Heng and Xiulan were well-off.

“What about the tripe?” Lin Heng asked, pointing to the uncleaned tripe nearby. The price was a bit high but not unreasonable.

“That’s two yuan per jin,” the vendor said with a smile.

Lin Heng turned to Xiulan and suggested, “How about we buy five jin of beef and five jin of tripe?”

Xiulan didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, she turned to the vendor and asked, “If we buy this much, can you throw in so bones? No one buys them anyway.”

“How about this: add five yuan, and I’ll give you a beef leg bone,” the vendor offered with a smile.

Xiulan glanced at him, then pulled Lin Heng away, saying, “Let’s go buy so pork instead.”

The vendor quickly called after them, “Wait, I’ll give you a beef rib for free.”

For him, a sale of over ten yuan was significant, and beef bones weren’t in demand in this town.

“That’s more like it,” Xiulan said, satisfied.

Xiulan nodded in satisfaction and ended up buying six pounds of beef shank and five pounds of tripe.

With the beef purchased, there wasn’t anything else they urgently needed. After dropping off their goods at the shop, the three continued to wander aimlessly down the street.

Xiulan and Xiao Xia often didn’t have the chance to co down, so they enjoyed looking around. Lin Heng wasn’t particularly interested, but since Xiulan wanted to explore, he accompanied her.

“In a few days, when I get a motorcycle, I’ll take you to the city to visit the temple fair,” Lin Heng said to Xiulan with a smile. The city had street food, which this street lacked, apart from the occasional candied hawthorn.

“Okay,” Xiulan blinked, looking forward to it.

After wandering for a while, the three of them felt a bit tired and decided to head back to the shop.

On their way back, a person with their hands hidden in their sleeves walked directly toward Xiao Xia.

Lin Heng had a sharp mory and imdiately recognized the person as the thief from earlier.

“This isn’t good, that person is targeting Xiao Xia,” Lin Heng thought, realizing it was an act of revenge.

The hand hidden in the sleeve might be holding a small knife. If the thief managed to slash Xiao Xia’s face and escape in the chaos, whether he could catch him or not was another matter, but Xiao Xia’s face would be ruined for life.

Thinking of this, Lin Heng quickly moved Xiao Xia behind him, grabbed a pole from a nearby stall, and sneered at the thief, “You think I wouldn’t recognize you after you just stole sothing?”

“You!” The person was startled, not expecting Lin Heng to recognize him, and imdiately turned to leave without a word.

“Get lost, or I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison,” Lin Heng shouted, tossing the pole back.

After saying this, he ignored the curious glances from people around them, pulling Xiulan and holding Xiao Xia as they quickly left the area.

“Was that the thief from before?” Xiulan seed to understand the situation.

“Yes, it looks like he wanted to get back at Xiao Xia,” Lin Heng nodded, regretting not having caught the thief and handed him over to the police earlier.

“Let’s hurry back,” Xiulan said, feeling a bit frightened. Fortunately, Lin Heng was there.

“It’s fine. We’re in an open area now, so I’m not afraid if he tries anything,” Lin Heng reassured her with a smile.

In these tis, thieves and human traffickers were rampant, so it was wise to stay vigilant when out and about.

“Let’s just head back. There’s no need for trouble,” Xiulan insisted, pulling Lin Heng along, not wanting him to get into a confrontation.

Lin Heng didn’t argue, but the incident reminded him to be more mindful of his family’s safety. Once they had more money, hiring a bodyguard might be a good idea. These tis weren’t as peaceful as the future.

Back at the shop, they gathered their things and took a carriage to return ho.