Qin Junyao looked at Qin Sanniu like this and felt a little heartbroken. Initially, she thought Qin Sanniu was just introverted and taciturn, but later she realized her brother might have autism.
He would repeat many things and exhibit brief instances of obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Qin Junyao had previously taught a student with autism, who, like Qin Sanniu, disliked communication and lacked interest in things.
Even with new items at home, dishes with rabbit meat, or the malt sugar Qin Junyao bought, Qin Sanniu wouldn't show a very obvious reaction.
Unexpectedly, Qin Sanniu liked dogs.
"Sanniu, how about I find you a puppy to raise, okay?" Qin Junyao crouched beside Qin Sanniu and asked.
Fuzi jumped to Qin Junyao's front, holding a dog leash. "Sister Qin, I know someone with puppies, but they're not the kind that can catch rabbits."
"No," Qin Sanniu said, hugging his knees and shaking his head while sitting on the ground. "Grandma will exchange it for money."
Qin Junyao patted her brother's shoulder without a word. It was indeed something their grandmother would do to trade a dog for money. It seemed she needed to find a way for Sanniu to have a dog that wouldn't be exchanged for money.
Fuzi played at the Qin family's for a while before going home. He still had to study with his teacher. Before leaving, Qin Junyao packed him some vegetables from her space.
"I can carry it myself. Sister Qin, when will you come to my house to play?"
"Grandma Ma makes delicious potato shavings, and she knows many, many other delicious foods," Fuzi said, holding the leash of a small dog in one hand and a basket of vegetables in the other.
"It's too busy at Sister Qin's house. I'll come to play when I'm less busy. Do you really not need me to escort you?"
"No, no, my brother teaches me. A man does his own things. I can do it."
Qin Junyao patted Fuzi's head and watched him walk up the mountain.
Potato shavings. She could ask Mother Qin to try making them.
***
In the afternoon, while cooking, Qin Junyao sat by the stove, tending the fire. The family was busy, and Mother Qin didn't dare let Qin Junyao help with washing or cutting vegetables; it was too slow.
"Junyao, do you soak the shredded potatoes in water before coating them with flour?" Mother Qin asked Qin Junyao, holding up the shredded potatoes, which were as thick as chopsticks.
"Yes, then steam them, and finally mix with salt and chopped scallions."
"Who told you this? Will it taste good?" Mother Qin expressed doubt. It was the first time she had heard of eating potatoes coated in flour.
Qin Junyao added more firewood to the stove. "Everyone here makes potato shavings."
"They use a grater to shred the potatoes, and there are many ways to make them, some mixed with stir-fried ketchup, others stir-fried with meat filling, which is even tastier."
Grandma Qin chimed in at this moment. "Stir-fried shoe soles with oil and minced meat are also delicious. Would you like to try?"
"Can we get used to what the locals eat? I can barely understand what they say."
Qin Xiaoyu followed Grandma Qin, mimicking her speech. "Mother, when is dinner?"
"Oh my, you mimic quite well," Mother Qin said, finding her youngest children's imitation of the local dialect quite accurate.
Qin Xiaoyu lifted his chin. "I'm just listening casually. If I studied properly, I could do even better."
Everyone was amused by Qin Xiaoyu and burst into laughter.
While steaming the potato shavings, Mother Qin put a few more potatoes in the stove pit, just in case the shavings didn't taste good and they could have baked potatoes instead.
***
"How is it? Is it delicious? Junyao just had me mix it casually," Mother Qin asked, holding chopsticks and looking at the people eating potato shavings at the table.
"Auntie, it's incredibly delicious. It's both a dish and a staple food," Qin Erniu said, giving Mother Qin a thumbs-up.
"I still can't master Sister-in-law's cooking skills. With the same seasonings, what Sister-in-law makes always tastes better than mine," Qin Ershen also couldn't help but praise Mother Qin.
Grandma Qin looked at the people at the table eating with their bowls. After hesitating for a long time, she picked up a chopstickful of potato shavings and put it in her mouth.
Huh?
It tasted quite good, better than she had expected.
Qin Junyao also found it very good. It was not easy to make something delicious without oil.
Winter wheat would be sown tomorrow. It would take a full day to finish. Afterward, she would have Mother Qin and Aunt Qin Er learn the local cuisine.
***
After sowing the winter wheat, Qin Junyao asked Fuzi to invite his Grandma Ma to teach Mother Qin some Northwest Chinese cuisine.
The day before, Qin Junyao and Qin Daniu drove the donkey cart to Yan County to buy lamb, pork, and chicken fat and lard from the pig.
She didn't know the difference between the two types of oil, so she bought both.
Comparing them with the grains, vegetables, and spices like Sichuan peppercorns still available in the market, she prepared a large portion from her space. White sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar were bought from the general store.
For Mother Qin's small business, Qin Junyao was willing to spend money.
The family's elder, Grandma Qin, did not ask Qin Junyao where the money came from or accuse her of wasting money on meat. Instead, she skipped that day's afternoon meal, waiting on an empty stomach for the next day's delicacies.
"This must be Miss Qin that the young master often mentions. What a beautiful person," Grandma Ma said upon arriving at the Qin house. After Fuzi introduced her, she greeted everyone, then focused on chatting with Qin Junyao.
She had raised the young master herself and wanted to see what Miss Qin, whom the young master praised so much, was like.
"Grandma Ma, you're too kind. I'm a child from a farming family; you don't need to call me 'Miss.' Just call me by my name. I'm sorry to have troubled you by inviting you today; please bear with me."
"Hahaha, not at all. It's not troublesome. I don't have anyone to talk to all day. I should be thanking you, Miss Qin. I'll call you Miss Qin then, hahaha," Grandma Ma laughed heartily.
Good, she's polite and doesn't look down on her as a servant.
"Hurry up, I'm starving," Grandma Qin said impatiently, holding her stomach and looking at the two people talking.
If you're here to cook, do it quickly. When can't you talk?
"Yes, yes, Auntie, I'll start now." Grandma Ma wasn't annoyed; this was nothing compared to Qian Shi's nagging and disdain.
She was less than forty, though Fuzi called her Grandma. Calling Grandma Qin 'Auntie' was appropriate.
Mother Qin had already rendered the lard yesterday, and the wheat had been ground into flour. Everything was ready, and they just needed to start the stove and heat the oil.
***
Dishes such as meat-filled potato shavings, guokui yazi, lamb paomo, cai gedanzi, saozi noodles, and roujiamo were served one after another.
Grandma Ma and Mother Qin got along well, and Grandma Ma even went back to get some pickled vegetables and made corn slurry fish-fish.
In addition to demonstrating, Grandma Ma also told Mother Qin the recipes for dishes like liangpi, qiaomian heluo, hulutou, and steamed lamb during cooking.
Just listening made one's mouth water.
The table was almost entirely filled with staple foods. The Qin family members ate with abandon, almost losing all semblance of decorum, all stuffed and too full to speak.
"It's so fragrant. Adding roasted chili peppers to the lamb soup is incredibly fragrant," Qin Erniu said, still thinking about the roasted chili peppers while sitting on his stool.
This was Grandma Ma's little trick for cooking.
She would roast dried chili peppers in the embers of the stove until slightly burnt, then chop them up. They were spicy and fragrant because they hadn't used lard to extract chili oil.
"Roujiamo is more fragrant. I love roujiamo," Qin Xiaoyu said, looking at the unfinished roujiamo on the table. His eyes and mouth wanted more, but his stomach was full.
Qin Junyao thought about the dishes they had just eaten and mentally calculated the costs. It was time to have a discussion with Mother Qin.