Song Tan's Notes

In the end, everyone chose to pickle salted duck eggs.

There's no other reason than that the mud the men had dug out with such great effort couldn't be wasted. Plus, there wasn't enough time, and the remaining activities weren't satisfying enough (that's the real reason).

In short, it's said that the big yellow dog was one of the treasures Song Tan found shortly after returning to his hometown last year, and even Yunfeng was so envious he was practically drooling.
Why are all the stray dogs he encounters short-legged mixed breeds?
Lu Chuan thought for a moment: "These large dogs can't be kept in the city anyway, so it's even harder for you to encounter one."

"These are our local mongrel dogs! Banning them is simply unreasonable!"

Of all those pet dogs, none can compare to their local breeds—they're hardy, easy to care for, and never picky about leftovers. They're loyal, protect their owners, and never destroy the house…

Everyone was heartbroken!

But living in the city is not easy. With such a small space at home, plus their upside-down schedules and energetic children, it's not advisable to consider getting a pet for now, as it would only add to their burden.

So, after looking at it a few more times with regret, I took out my phone to take pictures here and there, and finally reluctantly decided to pickle the salted duck eggs.

At Lao Song's house, after the duck eggs were produced on a large scale, they would collect them for several days and then gather them at the factory to process them. It had been a long time since they had pickled their own duck eggs.

Ulan spent a while preparing all the tools, then thought, "They even seem to enjoy pickling salted duck eggs. Maybe I should teach them how to make soybean paste later?"

Song Tan thought for a moment: "The temperature is too high now, and there's still plenty of sauce, so there's no rush—I'll have Qiao Qiao take them to make rice wine and dry eggplants later."

These are all simple and easy to do. Making soy sauce involves steaming, boiling, sun-drying, and fermenting, which takes a long time and requires watching the children during some steps, which is exhausting.

"Row."

Ulanli agreed, beaming with joy, "No children come back from our village. Look at these few, all lively and cute!"

After thinking for a moment, he added, "That spinning top thing is no good. Luckily it's not my child; someone this old can't handle it."

一边又啧啧：“这要是放村里，肯定一顿好揍，看他长不长记性……”

Song Tan thought to himself that the way he looked about to whip him with a rope didn't seem like he hadn't been beaten before.

But if you hit a child, you're afraid of hitting them too hard and causing problems like fever, which would mean both the adult and the child would have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night.

If you hit him too lightly, judging by the way He Tuoluo is beating him, he'll probably never learn his lesson.

Moreover--

Song Tan asked curiously, "Mom, aren't there any children who can't be cured even if you hit them?"

Of course not!

"The kid from Zhou Shunshui over there almost drowned in the pond when he was little. After he was rescued and recovered, his family gave him a severe beating—you didn't see it, they beat him really hard. They dragged him to the pond by the ear and whipped him with a belt. The kid screamed and then got a fever again..."

"It was no use. He nearly drowned again the second time, but luckily he was pulled out..."

Otherwise, how could that couple possibly endure it?
Song Tan vaguely recalled seeing Zhou Shunshui's son during the Spring Festival. The son now had a mediocre job in the city, and the couple were paying off their mortgage, raising their child, and had bought a used car. They were living a very frugal life.

But he seems quite reliable when he does things; it's hard to imagine that he was such a scatterbrain as a child.

In short, thank goodness their Qiaoqiao is a sweet and considerate child.

……

The freshly dug yellow mud had been drying in the sun all afternoon and was completely dry; the high temperature had also killed many germs and insect eggs. When we arrived at Old Song's house, Wulan was preparing several large sieves.

"Come on, sift out all the leaves and stones in this yellow mud—men, you can do it? It'll be easier for you to wash with your short hair. This stuff is very dusty, so don't get it all over your body and face."

As he spoke, he handed over a few face masks.

Men: ...Let's do it!
Their short hair is indeed easier to wash, and now that they've settled down outside the yard, they've started making arrangements.

In the courtyard, Wulan brought out a few stools: "I boiled the water and let it sit for an afternoon. Let's wash the duck eggs first."

Each old man gently scrubbed a duck egg with a piece of loofah, then wiped it clean and placed it on a winnowing basket to dry.

It's still over 30 degrees Celsius. Let it sit for a while until the yellow mud is mixed evenly, then it's ready to use.

This is a task that both adults and children can do, but duck eggs are big, and children may not be able to hold them properly or may break them due to uneven strength. Therefore, they were assigned a more important task—

Prepare yellow mud.

Of course, the yellow clay hasn't been sifted out yet, so we took a bag of salt and had the children mix it with cooled boiled water.

Add whatever amount of yellow mud sifted out from outside directly into the basin.

The children were full of energy and didn't find carrying basins to fill with yellow mud to be a trivial task at all; on the contrary, they did it with great enthusiasm.

From a thin, murky yellow muddy water, it gradually thickened, and then it became increasingly difficult to stir the mud...

Finally, the children's clothes, arms, faces, and hands were covered in yellow mud. All the yellow mud was poured in, and the large basin in front of them was filled with only thick, heavy yellow mud.

But it's thicker than regular mud, so it won't be too thick to cover the duck eggs.

Qiaoqiao brought out a ceramic jar from the house and shoveled a small bucket of wood ash.

Of the more than 100 duck eggs, 10 were given to each adult and 5 to each child. Everyone sat around the materials in a large, haphazard circle, which was completely inefficient.

But its advantage lies in the fact that everyone can participate.

Little teacher Qiaoqiao took the initiative and solemnly took out a washed and dried duck egg. She rolled it in the white wine basin in front of her, and then rolled it in the yellow clay basin. The duck egg was immediately covered with yellow clay.

But this is not enough.

He then reached out and covered the duck egg with another thick layer of yellow mud—

"See! That's it!"

A layer of wood ash was laid at the bottom of a clean jar, and the duck eggs covered in yellow mud were gently placed inside.

"Actually, you could just bury them in the clay pot, but that would make washing them a bit more difficult. My mom said she'd clean them and send them to you later, so we packed them in separate jars."

He added, "After you've covered the duck eggs with a layer, you need to sprinkle another layer of wood ash!"

But no one is paying attention to this detail right now; everyone is both surprised and embarrassed.
"You're sending it to us too? That's such a waste of money."

Song Tan laughed: "Don't be so polite. We send packages all the time, it's nothing. Besides, you and your child made it by hand, don't you want to try it together? Eating it here just doesn't feel the same."

Oh my!

Although she felt that all food tasted the same, having been with Lu Chuan for a long time, she knew he valued rituals and meaning. His special mention of it now brought up a surprise and delight for everyone.

It's clear that this has some significance, and taking it seriously is truly interesting.

Her words energized everyone, young and old, and they became even more meticulous in wrapping the mud, as if even a little too thick or too thin would affect the result.

Yun Danqing, who has always been a gentle and obedient young lady, is now covered in mud on her face, hair and body.

The mother glanced at her daughter's outfit and thought to herself that she would have to wash the clothes in a basin before putting them in the washing machine that evening.

Otherwise, with all this muddy water, how could I possibly put it in the washing machine?

Little Huangni couldn't wait to ask, "When will this salted duck egg be ready?" Qiaoqiao thought for a moment and said, "It's hot now, it'll be ready in a month!"

He even calculated the time precisely: "You'll have to stay here for half a month, go home and rest for a week, and then wait another week before you receive it!"

Qin Beibei then asked, "Mom, can we play for a month? We can take the duck eggs with us then."

Even He Tuoluo nodded: "I'll take the yellow mud with me! I'll share it with my brothers and let them see what it's like—ouch!"

Aunt He slapped him on the back of the head: "If we wash this yellow mud in our house, what if it clogs the drain? How are we going to clean it then?"

"So young, and you still have your brothers..."

She was filled with helplessness towards her son, and looking at the salted duck egg covered in thick yellow mud in her hand, she dared not take the mud back with her!
Ulan laughed and said, "Of course we can't ask you to take the mud with you. This yellow mud won't dry in a month; you can't even break it into pieces. It'll really clog the drains..."

Living in the city isn't that convenient either; she wouldn't even remember it if people didn't bring it up.

Unlike here, they can just splash a whole basin of muddy water onto the roadside.

Each person could only handle a maximum of 10 duck eggs, and no matter how slowly they worked, they finished cleaning them up in no time.

Finally, the wood ash at the bottom of the bucket was poured into the jar, and Qiaoqiao sealed the lid and carried it to the corner of the kitchen without any effort.

Qin Yun watched from the side: The jar was made of earthenware and was very heavy. It was also filled to the brim with yellow mud and duck eggs, but the other person didn't seem to have used much strength in his waist and legs!

"Sigh!" he sighed, "I was just as energetic when I was young."

His wife glanced at him, smiled, and said nothing.

Qin Yun: ...

He could really be like that when he was young!

But from sifting to washing, it was all a time-consuming task. Now that it was getting dark, there was no need to ask them; Seventh Uncle had already decisively instructed them:

"We'll eat here tonight! Come on, let's move all the tables outside into the yard, with the big fan blowing..."

As they were talking, Chef Jiang, Chef Chai, and a few others had already started preparing in the kitchen.

When it comes to cooking fish, everyone uses their own skills and techniques, so even the same dish can produce different flavors without taking much time.

Apart from the stove feeling a bit cramped when there are more people, it doesn't affect anything else.

Meanwhile, He Tuoluo's stomach was rumbling. At this moment, smelling the increasingly irresistible aroma in the air, and looking at his parents who were also rubbing their bellies and staring intently at the kitchen, he finally decided to take a roundabout approach.

He looked at his grandparents pitifully:

Can I have fish tonight?

Looking into their grandson's big, watery eyes, and thinking about how long they'd been here and how he'd only ever gotten a taste of food, never a proper meal like this, the grandparents couldn't help but soften their hearts.

But before he could even open his mouth, his daughter-in-law asked again:

“He Tuoluo, I’ve told you many times before: dangerous behavior makes us live in fear. As a child who has no ability to protect himself and cannot take responsibility for himself, it’s best not to do it—do you understand the lesson now?”

He Tuoluo thought for a moment and said, "I understand. But I protected myself from falling and took responsibility for myself by not doing anything dangerous!"

The elderly couple suddenly went black.

How did you raise your grandson to be so bold and honest?
Looking at her son and daughter-in-law, they both took a deep breath at the same time. The darkness concealed their faces, which were on the verge of collapse. At this moment, she said coldly, "Then you can have a bowl of fish head tofu soup first, and then I will take you to the canteen on the mountain."

Drinking a small bowl allows him to taste the flavor, while sending him up the mountain helps him remember the lesson...

Oh my goodness!

Did they not burn incense at their ancestral graves? How could they raise such a child! So young, and already needing to take blood pressure medication.

He Tuoluo was even more devastated.

Qin Beibei had told Yun Danqing countless times how delicious the food was and how full her stomach was!

He only got a taste of the food at each meal before being sent up the mountain.

Although the food in the cafeteria is even better than what we cook at home, well, it's so good to have such delicious food to go with it!
That adult is simply unreasonable!

hegemonism!

Where there is oppression, there is resistance!

He will not yield tonight!

He Tuoluo's nose stung, and tears welled up in his eyes. He remained silent.
He could have taken responsibility for himself...

People came and went in the courtyard, carrying various fragrant dishes as they passed by. A sympathetic look flashed across He Tuoluo's face, followed by a complicated look at He Kuang's family.
Ugh.

The children are pitiful, but the parents suffer far more than the children!

Even Lu Chuan said with sympathy, "How about I open a bottle of wine for you guys tonight?"

"Open it!" Before anyone could answer, Song Youde couldn't wait any longer: "The wine that Boss Chang sent isn't intoxicating, let's just have one cup, it won't make a difference!"

This is true.

The aroma of the wine is strong, a contradictory blend of richness and crispness, and the slightly tipsy state after drinking it can temporarily make one forget one's troubles...

Song Sancheng immediately went inside to get the wine:

"Come on! Try some!"

He Tuoluo stood to the side, holding a small bowl of fish soup. He sipped it with relish and reluctance, while looking at the group of adults and letting out a haughty snort in his heart!
The teacher said drinking alcohol is bad!

Adults can drink irresponsibly, so why bother finding fault with them?

He was clearly in charge; he wasn't injured at all.

Thinking of this, he looked at his smartwatch again—he would bring his "high-calorie" hawthorn dumplings tonight to replenish his energy, and then continue walking along the main road!

He remembered that this was the road he had driven on.

What time should I schedule it for, around midnight?

Dad usually works until two or three in the morning, but he didn't work yesterday, and today...

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to set a time of 12 o'clock to see what the situation was like.

And another thing! Once you're caught sneaking out, you absolutely cannot be brought back.

This time the punishment is not letting me eat anything delicious, maybe next time I won't be allowed to eat anything at all!
His resolve hardened once more, yet he still felt a furry sensation on his ankle.

Then look at Xiao Shi next to me, sigh!
How can I coax my dog ​​to obey me?

Could he hire him with his pocket money? (End of Chapter)