boyutpedia Chapter 322: Different Customs in Different Places
Chapter 322: Different Customs in Different Places
In early February, with the weather cold and the Spring Festival approaching, my aunt and grandmother started shopping. They asked Ah Liang to drive them back to Suzhou to buy a lot of New Year's goods, and also sent many gifts to their relatives in Suzhou.
Throughout the year, relatives never visit each other empty-handed, especially with the Spring Festival approaching, when it's even more important to visit each other. The more you visit relatives, the closer the relationship becomes.
This time when she goes back, her aunt will also need to go to Uncle Qian's house to get rice cakes and dumplings. In the past, when she was at home, she would ask the neighbors to help her make these things. But now that she's in Shanghai, she doesn't have the means to do it anymore, mainly because there aren't enough people to help.
Huang Xiaochuan didn't know how rice cakes were made in other places, but in the countryside of Suzhou, it took a lot of effort to make them.
First, a large amount of glutinous rice flour is steamed and then poured into a enclosure covered with a clean plastic sheet. Once the enclosure is full, people wearing special shoes go in and stomp on it, similar to pounding a mortar. And it's not just one person, but a group of people stomping on it until the glutinous rice flour becomes sticky and elastic. Then it's pressed down and lifted onto a bench to be cut into small pieces.
You can't use a knife to cut rice cakes because they will stick to the knife. So you use a rope that's been soaked in water to cut them, usually into pieces about the size of a brick.
Once the rice cake has cooled completely, it becomes as hard as a brick; if you throw it, it could knock someone unconscious.
They are usually stored in a water tank filled with water, and the water is changed regularly. They can generally be stored for one winter, but they won't last any longer, as the rice cakes will spoil and turn sour.
When you want to eat it, take a piece out of the water tank, painstakingly cut it into one-finger-thick slices with a knife, and cook it with porridge or rice porridge. You can also cut it thinner and stir-fry it with vegetables.
Dietary habits vary from place to place. People in the Wu region almost always eat rice cakes during the Lunar New Year, but in Qingjiang, where Huang Xiaochuan lives, very few people like to eat rice cakes, and even if they do, it is different from that in Suzhou.
Different accents every ten miles, different customs every hundred miles – this is something that has been created over thousands of years in China, and it continues to evolve with the times.
With his maternal grandmother and aunt not home, Huang Xiaochuan temporarily took over the cooking duties.
"Big sister, what do you want to eat for lunch?" Huang Xiaochuan asked his older sister Zeng Hong before going out to buy groceries.
Zeng Hong thought for a moment and said, "Let's make braised pork and bamboo shoots! We already have winter bamboo shoots and salted pork at home, you can just buy some tofu knots."
Upon hearing that he was making pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup, Huang Xiaochuan immediately replied, "No problem." This was a dish he was quite good at, and the recipe was very simple.
He took Zhou Wei and Li Huan to the market, bought a basket of vegetables, and then headed home.
When they arrived at his doorstep, Ding Yi and Qi Huan also arrived in their car, bringing along their bespectacled family member.
Huang Xiaochuan looked at them with a puzzled expression and asked, "Why are you here?"
Ding Yi pulled hard on the four-eyed boy, who was wagging his tail and trying to jump up to greet Huang Xiaochuan, and said, "Ask it."
Huang Xiaochuan guessed without even thinking that Si Yan must have gotten into trouble again.
"Your bespectacled son has gotten into trouble again, hasn't he?"
Just mentioning Ding Yi makes me angry.
"Damn it, this stupid dog ate my mom's lipstick first thing this morning, which made my mom so angry that she kicked me and the dog out. In the end, this is all your fault. Now I'm homeless and have nowhere to eat. You have to take full responsibility."
"Ha! Sorry, I didn't buy that much groceries. You can go wherever you want, just don't come to my house!"
Unexpectedly, Ding Yi refused to leave this time, blocking the doorway and saying, "If you don't let us in, then you can't come in either."
Qi Huan didn't know how to offer any advice, so she just covered her mouth and laughed from the side.
"My dog bites," Huang Xiaochuan threatened Ding Yi with sticks of various sizes.
"Alright, I already know what kind of people your two dogs are. They won't bite anyone unless you're home. Besides, I've been here so many times, they already know me."
Huang Xiaochuan pointed at the four-eyed man and said, "Then bite it!"
"Bite harder, this bastard needs to be taught a lesson. Let your Big Stick and Little Stick discipline it properly." Ding Yi originally brought Four-Eyes with him to be disciplined by Big Stick and Little Stick. This stubborn dog was useless to beating or scolding at home, but he was afraid of Big Stick and Little Stick.
As soon as the big stick or the small stick bares its teeth, this thing immediately rolls up belly to show its submission, becoming incredibly obedient.
Having run out of options, Huang Xiaochuan could only say, "Get out of the way!"
"No way!"
"Damn it, how am I supposed to open the door and let you in if you don't move aside?"
Ding Yi opened the door only after hearing this.
As soon as he entered, he saw Big Stick and Little Stick. Four-Eyes immediately rushed over to fawn over them, then laid his four paws on the ground in a submissive posture, looking as utterly servile as could be. Ding was so angry that he threw down the rope. This cowardly dog was infuriating to look at. At home, he was completely lawless and fearless, but when he saw Huang Xiaochuan's two big wolfhounds, he became incredibly timid.
When Ding Yi and Qi Huan entered the house, they saw their eldest sister Zeng Hong and Yu Xiang taking care of the child in the living room. The two of them took the initiative to greet their eldest sister and Yu Xiang.
Qi Huan picked up Xiao Xuanxuan and started playing with her. The three women chatted around the little girl.
Ding Yi leaned over and touched Xiao Xuanxuan's chubby face a few times: "Call me uncle."
"Alright! She'll call you when she can say it. Just get your red envelope ready. This uncle title isn't for nothing. Come over and have some tea."
Upon hearing this, Ding Yi walked towards the tea table, saying, "I don't want to drink it. That stuff is so bitter, what's so good about it? I've noticed you're like an old man, why do you like drinking this stuff? Get me a can of Coke."
"Tch! I don't even want to give you any. You wouldn't be able to taste the good stuff even if it were in your mouth." As he spoke, Huang Xiaochuan took two cans of Coke and gave one to Ding Yi and one to Qi Huan.
Ding looked around and asked, "Where are Grandma and Aunt?"
Huang Xiaochuan took a sip of tea and said, "I went back to Suzhou this morning. I need to send some things to relatives before the New Year, and I also need to bring some things back from Suzhou. You can take some rice cakes with you when you go."
"Then I won't be polite." Ding Yi's eyes lit up as soon as he heard there was rice cake.
Huang Xiaochuan had given it to him twice before, and his family loved it. Moreover, you can't buy this outside; the taste of homemade is completely incomparable to the kind sold in stores.
Seeing Ding Yi's expression, Huang Xiaochuan said with disdain, "Look at you, so pathetic. A little bit of rice cake makes you drool."
Suddenly, something on the tea table caught Ding Yi's attention, and he dismissed Huang Xiaochuan's words as a passing breeze.
"Your Yixing teapot looks pretty good. Where did you get it?"
"Wow, you have good taste! This is a teapot by Master Gu Jingzhou. It was a gift from someone, and I don't know how much it cost. Apparently, Master Gu took it to Hong Kong for an exhibition in 85."
"This teapot looks beautiful, what's it called?"
"Stone Ladle Teapot".
Ding Yi held the teapot in his hand and looked at it for a long time before putting it back.
"Not bad, not bad!"
Huang Xiaochuan asked in confusion, "You know about Yixing teapots too?"
"How would I know? My grandpa likes this, and all my knowledge comes from him."
"Tch! I knew it!"
Actually, Huang Xiaochuan doesn't know much about the quality of Yixing teapots. This teapot was bought for him by Huang Boyi from Hong Kong, but it is indeed quite good for brewing tea.
Huang Xiaochuan is particular about the tea leaves and water when drinking tea. He doesn't have any special requirements for teaware, but the tea leaves must be of good quality, and clean well water must be used to brew the tea. Every week, Huang Xiaochuan would arrange for someone to fetch well water from an ancient well at the foot of Shangfang Mountain in Suzhou.