Chapter 783 - 403: Hatching Egg (Part 2)

Chapter 783: Chapter 403: Hatching Egg (Part 2)

She flipped the food in the wok, patted it gently with the spatula, and then said to the grandmother, "It’s ready, ma’am." Then she turned to Mrs. Zhang—Liu Yunlan’s mother—who was tending the fire under the stove, and said, "Mother-in-law, just a low flame is needed now."

Mrs. Zhang hummed in agreement.

Juhua called out to Mrs. Zhang, "Auntie, why are they making you tend the fire?"

Mrs. Wang laughed. "We tried to stop her, but she insisted on helping. She sent Niuniu to look after Hulu and wouldn’t let me do anything either. Even your mother feels embarrassed."

Mrs. Zhang quickly said, "Grandmother, why say such things? Now I’m the one who’s embarrassed. Juhua, I’m not just here to work. I just wanted to join in the fun and sit here to chat with Aunt Ma and Grandmother. Your mother isn’t feeling well, and I’m a bit of a chatterbox. I was worried I’d annoy her, so I came to the kitchen. Please don’t laugh at your auntie."

Juhua quickly offered a few polite words, but Mrs. Wang had already pushed a pair of chopsticks into her hand, urging her to taste the golden-brown morsels.

Juhua picked one up and saw the fine, downy fuzz on it. Realization dawned. "It’s balut."

She hesitated, holding the thing with her chopsticks, not daring to put it in her mouth.

’These are eggs that failed to hatch, some still mostly yolk, others with fully formed chicks inside. I’d eaten them as a child in my past life. But later, my friends from the city had lectured me about them—something about bacteria, or how all the nutrients were already used up. It made me afraid to eat them ever again. Besides, I have a subconscious aversion to the ones made in restaurants.’

That was why, in previous years, whenever the Zheng Family had balut from hatching chicks, Juhua had always thrown them out, and Yang Family could do nothing about it.

This time, several hens had started brooding, resulting in a good number of balut. As it happened, Mrs. Wang was visiting, and Aunt Ma wasn’t picky either, so the two of them decided to fry them up.

Seeing Juhua just staring at the fried balut without eating, Mrs. Wang urged her earnestly, "Hurry and eat it while it’s hot. It’s not good cold. This stuff is the most nourishing, you should have a couple. Aunt Ma is a great cook. She fried them through and through until they were golden on both sides, and even sprinkled some diced pickled cowpeas on top. They’re not greasy at all."

Juhua didn’t want the old woman to worry, so she prepared to eat one. ’It’s not like I’ve never had it before, after all.’ Still, she asked, "Is this safe to eat?"

Mrs. Wang’s eyes went wide. "Of course it’s safe! Every time we hatched chicks and got balut, Grandma would fry them for your uncles to eat—I could never bear to eat them myself! Your second uncle ate the most, and your mother had her fair share too. We usually didn’t have oil, so we just dry-roasted them. Aunt Ma heard from your mother that your family used to throw the balut away, so she was afraid you’d find them distasteful and specially fried them in oil. Look how perfectly they’re cooked. You can’t throw them away anymore. What a waste!"

Afraid of getting a lecture, Juhua quickly stuffed the golden morsel into her mouth and took a bite. It was indeed crispy and fragrant, with a salty tang from the pickled cowpeas. It was quite good.

Aunt Ma seemed to understand Juhua’s concerns and offered a simple, reassuring smile. "Miss, I fried them really well. You won’t get sick from eating them."

Mrs. Zhang chuckled and said, "Grandmother, Juhua thinks they’re dirty. She’s worried they’re not clean and will give her a stomachache. Juhua, don’t be afraid. My Yunlan and Yungen have eaten them too, and they were fine. And what we make at home isn’t nearly as good as what Aunt Ma has fried."

Mrs. Wang chuckled. "Juhua, you ate these when you were little, have you forgotten? Goodness, this child has gotten so particular now that she’s grown up. Don’t be scared, eat a couple more. Grandma guarantees you’ll be just fine. Other people can’t even get their hands on these, and here you were throwing them away all these years."

Juhua felt very embarrassed. Since they tasted good anyway, she went ahead and ate two more. ’It’s not like they can kill me, right?’ she thought. ’All the village folk eat them this way. It’s only because I spent time in the city that I picked up all these taboos.’

Seeing her eat them, Mrs. Wang beamed with joy. "Good, you ate them. This is the most nourishing food, and you should eat more of it with your condition. Come on, let’s take this plate out for the others." With that, she grabbed a handful of chopsticks, picked up the plate, and went out.

As it turned out, everyone in the courtyard, young and old, ate with gusto. Only Yang Family couldn’t stand the oily fragrance and had long since moved far away. She did, however, eat two of the fruit pastries Juhua had brought over.

Juhua looked at Liu Yunlan with admiration. "Sister Yunlan, you have a great appetite. Look at my mother, she can’t even stand the smell."

Liu Yunlan blushed and smiled. "I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I just feel hungry all the time and always want to eat."

Qingmu quickly said, "Then eat if you want to eat. Don’t hold back. Eating more will give you strength. Yunlan, just tell Aunt Ma whatever you want to eat. This is your home, don’t overthink things. My mother just has a poor appetite; you don’t need to be like her."

Seeing his earnest concern, Liu Yunlan felt a sweetness in her heart and obediently nodded in agreement.

Juhua also encouraged her for a bit before sitting down to help chop the soybean pulp. Qingmu went off to busy himself in the fields.

When Juhua saw Yang Family come over to help as well, she asked, "Mother, are you feeling alright today?"

Although Yang Family was tired, her complexion was good. She smiled and said, "I’m fine. Don’t you worry about me, I’m alright. It must be my lot in life to be poor. The smell of oil makes me feel sick, but I feel much better eating some greens and tofu. I could eat a whole big bowl of this fermented soybean pulp stewed with Little Cabbage. I was just telling Yunlan we should dry it and store it to eat slowly over time."

This fermented soybean pulp, if cut into strips, dried, and stored in an earthenware jar, wouldn’t spoil. Otherwise, if it over-fermented, it would go bad easily.

Juhua listened intently and nodded. "This fermented soybean pulp is a real treasure for poor families. It’s fine to eat a lot of it. As the saying goes, ’Greens and tofu keep you safe and sound.’ If you like it, Mother, we can stew the soybean pulp with pickled potherb mustard later. It’s delicious with rice. But Mother, Doctor Yun said you should eat less of these pickled vegetables. That goes for Sister Yunlan too. You should both try to eat lighter foods."

The lives of the women in the family already revolved around the kitchen and household chores. Now, with two pregnant women in the house, their conversations were almost entirely about food and drink, interspersed with bits of neighborhood gossip. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)