CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 091 COOKING FOR MU YUANXIU (3)

In front of the stove, there were neatly stacked firewood and some dry leaves for lighting a fire.

The pots and stove were scrubbed clean.

Beside the stove was a small water jar covered with a wooden lid, which Li Yuzhu opened to find it filled with clear water.

She couldn’t help but secretly admire, this young man really knew how to live; she wondered which fortunate girl would marry him in the future.

After inspecting the stove, Li Yuzhu began to search for ingredients.

She found some flour and rice in jars on the utility shelf and at the bottom of the shelf, she found some dried radishes, two freshly dug bamboo shoots, and a few eggs.

Beside the utility shelf, there was a piece of cured meat hanging.

Li Yuzhu found an empty clay basin, grabbed a handful of dried radishes and placed them in the basin, then scooped up some clear water to soak them.

Next, she began to peel the bamboo shoots.

After washing and chopping the two types of vegetables, Li Yuzhu started to slice the cured meat.

The meat was cut into thin slices and placed on the plate with the vegetables for later use.

As for the two eggs, they would be made into steamed egg custard later.

With the ingredients ready, Li Yuzhu began to light a fire to stir-fry the vegetables.

The ashes in the stove had already been cleared out, so she first stuffed a handful of twigs into the stove, followed by some dried leaves, and struck a fire stone to ignite the leaves.

The sun-dried leaves quickly flared up, and in no time, lit the twigs.

Once the twigs were burning, Li Yuzhu added three slightly thicker pieces of firewood into the stove.

Once the fire was blazing, Li Yuzhu immediately scooped a spoonful of lard into the pot.

When the oil was hot, she poured in the sliced cured meat, and when the meat was stir-fried to a golden curl, she added the dried radishes.

After stir-frying for a while, she added some salt and a small amount of clear water, stir-frying again.

The dish in the pot made a sizzling sound, filling the small kitchen with fragrance.

Soon, the dried radishes were soft and the meat slices were cooked; she plated and removed them from the pot.

Then, she stir-fried the second dish, spring bamboo shoots with cured meat slices.

Once both dishes were ready, Li Yuzhu cleaned the pot, poured in a washed bowl of rice, and added clear water to cook; once the water boiled, she stirred it occasionally with a spatula to prevent sticking to the pot.

When the rice grains were slightly blooming, she scooped up and filtered out the rice broth.

On the wall hung a round bamboo mat with fine holes, presumably for steaming rice.

Li Yuzhu washed it clean, placing it at the bottom of the pot for use.

She didn’t pour in the cooked rice immediately but walked outside to the courtyard to pick a few leaves for rice dumplings, washed them, and laid them on the bamboo mat in the pot, then poured in the semi-cooked rice, having drained the rice broth.

The rice was piled up like a small mountain, and she poked a few holes for ventilation with chopsticks.

Next, she cracked two eggs into a bowl, added clear water, sprinkled a bit of salt, mixed it evenly, skimmed off any foam with spoons, scooped a small spoonful of lard from the jar into the egg mixture, and placed the bowl beside the rice.

She poured a small amount of clear water into the pot, just enough not to submerge the bamboo, covered the pot with a lid, and started steaming on low heat.

Soon, steam rose from the pot lid, filling the room with the fragrance of rice dumplings.

At this moment, the rice couldn’t be uncovered yet; it needed to be steamed a little longer to become soft and fragrant.

There were still a few unburned firewood sticks in the stove, which didn’t require adding more; these were sufficient to steam the rice thoroughly.

On the ground in front of the stove, there were scattered leaves and firewood branches. To prevent any fire sparks from dropping and causing an unsafe incident, Li Yuzhu took a broom and swept them clean.

After cleaning up, she patted her sleeves and walked toward the main room.

I wonder how much of my fabric Mu Yuanxiu has cut.

"Neighbor? How’s the cutting going?" Li Yuzhu called out to Mu Yuanxiu.

Mu Yuanxiu heard her voice and came out of the bedroom.

On the table behind him, there was a set of women’s clothes already sewn.