Chapter 26 – Baizhu stew is pretty good
Ms. Zhong went to the old cupboard and took out the oil container. She dug vigorously with a spoon and noticed some oil foam on it.
“I can scrape a little off.”
Yan Xiaosi said, “No need to scrape so hard, just pour some hot water into the oil container and shake it a few times. The oil foam on the container will all mix with the water. Then pour the water into the pot to stew the dog meat.”
Ms. Zhong did as she said, first adding a few ladles of water to the large iron pot. Yan Shuxue was in charge of making the fire. Soon, the water in the pot began to boil, and Ms. Zhong carefully put in half of the dog meat.
They must finish the dog meat in one meal, or else the Liu family would find out and cause trouble.
Yan Xiaosi was treating Yan Shuyun’s wound.
She first sprinkled some medicinal powder on Yan Shuyun’s wound, then found a clean rag to wrap it up.
Although there were clean bandages in her portable space, taking them out would lead to questions from Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuqin. Unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, she used a clean rag for Yan Shuyun instead, as the effect was similar.
Yan Shuyun looked at the gray powder in her hand and asked curiously, “Xiaosi, what kind of powder is this? It’s quite useful; my wound doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”
The powder used for Yan Shuyun’s wound was made by grinding traditional Chinese medicine, which was easy to explain.
Yan Xiaosi replied, “This is Sanqi powder. Sanqi is a Chinese herbal medicine that can treat bruises and injuries. It grows near the weir outside our village. I often go there to catch loaches, so I know about it.”
Yan Shuyun observed her skillful wound-wrapping technique and looked at her with admiration, “Xiaosi, I think your medical skills are not worse than those of the village doctor.”
In Shao Yao Village, there was a local doctor named Ge Dongshu who could treat some minor ailments like headaches and fevers. When the villagers fell ill, they would go to him to get some herbal prescriptions.
Ge Dongshu was the only local doctor in Shao Yao Village, running a monopoly. Over the years, the Ge family had made some money and had become a wealthy household in the village. Although they couldn’t compare with the Yan and Liu families, they were much better off than ordinary families.
Yan Xiao Si had some impressions of Ge Dongshu.
His character wasn’t very good. Last month, when Yan Shuyun caught a cold and had a fever that left her unable to eat, they went to Ge’s house to ask for some medicine on credit, planning to pay back when they had the money. However, not only did Ge Dongshu refuse to give them medicine on credit, he also mocked Ms. Zhong.
“Thank you, Third Sister. One day, I’ll make sure that old geezer Ge Dongshu has no business left.”
She held grudges, and since Ms. Zhong was now her mother, bullying Ms. Zhong meant bullying her.
Yan Shuyun took her words as a joke and just laughed it off. Then she asked another question, “Xiaosi, you mentioned that baizhu stewed chicken is delicious. Now that we have dog meat, can we use baizhu to stew dog meat?”
With her reminder, Yan Xiao Si remembered the baizhu she had dug up.
Baizhu had a mild nature. It shouldn’t be a problem to stew them together in a pot. If there were no other ingredients in the dog meat, it would taste rather greasy.
“We should be able to add some to the dog meat.”
Yan Shuxue, who was standing nearby, chimed in.
“Since it’s possible, I’ll go fetch some baizhu, wash it, and have it ready for the pot.”
After washing the Bai Zhu, it looked somewhat like potatoes. Ms. Zhong cut the baizhu into pieces as if it were potatoes. When the dog meat was almost cooked, she threw the baizhu into the pot and added some coarse salt.
