Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 119.2

“I keep saying, just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you should stay home all day with the kids and do housework. Go out, dance in the square, or even set up a stall—it’s better than squatting at home. No progress at all…”

Song Hongmei clearly had deep grievances, muttering, “Is it easy for your grandma to grow some vegetables?”

Song Tan chuckled, “Right, Aunt. You know how to live well. These spring bamboo shoots, once blanched and dried, will last a long time!”

“That’s right,” Song Hongmei looked nostalgically at the bamboo grove, “Nobody buys bamboo anymore. The grove has grown so dense over the past twenty years. It’s not good to have too much. Better to dig up more of these spring shoots and give them some space.”

She continued pondering, “These tender bamboo shoots, sliced diagonally and blanched, then stir-fried with pickled chili and some beef—oh, that would be so delicious!”

Then she thought of the lettuce leaves!

“Tonight, let’s have pickled chili bamboo shoots and stir-fried lettuce leaves, and steam the locust flowers with eggs. Tomorrow, we can make locust flower pancakes…”

Thinking about it this way, it seemed they had enough to eat for half a month, saving a few hundred yuan on food expenses!

With the calculations clear in her mind, Song Hongmei swung her hoe even more enthusiastically!

Song Tan didn’t have much of a craving for these bamboo shoots at first. Spiritual cultivation was tough, and this year she hadn’t spared much spiritual energy for this place. But hearing Song Hongmei’s suggestion, she couldn’t help but feel tempted.

Just as she was thinking of asking Qiao Qiao to dig up a few more to take home, she saw that silly boy had already emerged from the other side of the bamboo grove, holding a bunch of rapeseed flowers:

“Sister, these are for you.”

He casually snapped off a piece of the rapeseed stalk and ate it.

Song Tan laughed, “When I was young, my mom used to stir-fry rapeseed flower buds and stalks. I never liked it.”

Song Hongmei laughed, “When you were little, we had to think twice before eating meat, and we were still farming. There wasn’t time to make things delicate; of course, it didn’t taste good.”

“Now it’s different—what do they call it? Healthy eating!”

Song Hongmei, who had been selling pancakes in the city for decades, had cooking skills honed by her frugal spirit. She looked at the handful of rapeseed flowers and immediately thought of several dishes:

“Let me tell you, pick a bunch of rapeseed flowers, then go up the mountain to see if there are any wild onions and dig one up. Blanch the rapeseed flowers until they’re cooked, then chop the onions finely. Mix in chopped ginger and garlic, chili powder, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and MSG. Toss in the onions and drizzle with sesame oil… Delicious!”

Hearing this description…

Song Tan felt her mouth watering just thinking about it, but…

“Aunt, your recipe would make even a shoe taste delicious.”

Song Hongmei laughed heartily, “Then you can also use it to make egg drop soup, or chop up the rapeseed flowers and mix them with eggs…”

“If that doesn’t work, boil the rice water and then add the rapeseed flowers, sprinkle with green onions and some pepper…”

When it came to making the most of what she had, Song Hongmei was indeed an expert. None of the ingredients she used were expensive, yet she always managed to make them delicious.

Song Tan sighed, “Aunt, you really know a lot…”

Song Hongmei laughed, “This is nothing! You should have seen the old chefs in our village when they prepared banquet feasts. They were amazing!”

“Whatever they had on hand, they could turn into a great dish. One spring banquet featured rapeseed flowers stewed with fish tails—it was so praised, people couldn’t stop talking about it!”

“I’ve remembered it for decades.”