Chapter 335 Bean Soup
Since making rice dumplings was not a fussy job, Jiang Feng went into the kitchen in his casual clothes without changing into work clothes.
After entering the kitchen, he discovered that Wu Minqi and Ji Xue, who had been missing before, were actually sitting on a small stool in the kitchen handling beans.
A cursory glance revealed that Wu Minqi and Ji Xue had nine small bags beside them. They didn't look like much, but they added up to a lot. Each bag should contain different beans. Wu Minqi was peeling soybeans, and Ji Xue was peeling broad beans. Peeling beans was a delicate job. The two of them sat there quietly, making no sound or moving, staring at the beans in their hands, with only their fingers dancing nimbly.
"What are you doing shelling beans here?" Jiang Feng asked curiously.
"Axue said she wanted to make birthday soup for Grandpa Jiang. It's too slow for her to peel the beans by herself. I'll help her," Wu Minqi said.
"Birthday soup?"
"Actually, it is bean soup. It is a soup that my mother's family must drink on their birthdays when they are over 90 years old. The birthday soup uses 9 different kinds of beans. The number of beans is put in each of the birthdays of the elderly this year. Originally, it was It didn’t have a name. Later, in order to get a good start, everyone called this soup longevity soup,” Ji Xue explained.
"Only beans and nothing else?" Jiang Feng asked.
"It's just beans, just put some salt on it." Ji Xue said.
Only salt is added to 9 kinds of beans...
Jiang Feng thought for a while and asked in his soul: "Is the soup made this way... delicious?"
Ji Xue was silent: "It tastes terrible."
Jiang Feng & Wu Minqi:......
Wu Minqi paused while peeling broad beans. She now regretted joining Ji Xue, a pirate ship, to help her peel the beans.
"Since it tastes so bad, why has it become a custom now?" Wu Minqi couldn't understand.
As we all know, there are various stories passed down to this day, and the snacks are always named after a certain emperor who likes to go to Jiangnan. It can be passed down to this day because it is delicious.
Food is the simplest thing in the world, competing only on taste.
"Maybe it's because of the origin of this soup. I also heard it from my grandmother. She said that many years ago there was a family in their village whose grandmother liked beans very much, but it was very difficult for the family to eat beans. I can only talk about it. Count. The one after that When grandma got old and lost all her teeth, she could no longer chew beans, so her children and grandchildren cooked bean soup for her. "Ji Xue is not a very good storyteller. She always pauses and thinks while telling stories. Think about it, clarify your thoughts, and then continue.
"On that grandma's 91st birthday, her grandson cooked her a small bowl of bean soup with 9 different kinds of beans. Because the family was poor, they only put one of each kind of beans. Later, the grandma was 92 On her birthday, her grandson cooked her a bowl of bean soup with two beans of each kind. ”
"It wasn't until Grandma's 99th birthday that her family suddenly became prosperous. So on Grandma's 100th birthday, her grandson used 100 beans of each of 10 different kinds of beans and cooked ten large pots of these beans. Mixed soup, invite the whole village to drink together. People in the village thought that the grandma lived so long because she drank the bean curd soup her grandson cooked for her. Therefore, whenever there was an old man over 90 years old in the family, in order to get good luck, he would cook bean curd soup for him on his birthday. Soup.”
"And because everyone's living conditions are better now, they don't have to count the number of beans as before, so when cooking bean soup, they put in as many beans as the elderly person is. Everyone thinks that the bean soup is The name is not nice, now everyone calls it longevity soup," Ji Xueyi said.
"Then what?" Jiang Feng asked, feeling that the story was not finished yet.
"What then?" Ji Xue was a little confused.
"On this grandma's 100th birthday, her grandson cooked her bean soup with 10 different kinds of beans. What about her 101st birthday? What's the story after that?" Jiang Feng asked.
"I don't know either. This is just a theory. I don't know when that grandma was from. This story was told to me by my grandmother when I was a child. This is what everyone said and did. As for No one knows whether it is true or not." Ji Xue. He said, "And the tradition in our family is that old people cannot celebrate their birthdays after they turn 100. They need to hide their age so that they can live longer. Maybe that grandma will not celebrate her birthday after she turns 100, so her grandson won't celebrate her birthday. It’s a soup of beans.”
Jiang Feng was immediately relieved. Legends are always full of people's various wonderful fantasies and yearnings. There is no need for logic, just one's own wishes.
The origin of the birthday soup mentioned by Ji Xue is already very reasonable and convincing among all kinds of strange legends.
Jiang Feng vaguely remembered the various customs and legends in the village that Grandma Jiang told him when he was a child, most of which were related to ghosts and gods. It is said that a long time ago, a family's children were possessed by evil spirits, a long time ago, a family's daughter-in-law was possessed by evil spirits, a long time ago, a family's elders were possessed by evil spirits, and so on. Or maybe even earlier, there was a fairytale-like legend about a young lady from a wealthy family eloping in the city, about a greedy landowner who was retaliated by a goblin, etc., which frightened Jiang Feng into confusion when he was a child.
It seems that if there is no evil spirit, no elopement, and no monster to repay the favor, there will be no way to form a legend.
Jiang Feng took a look at the rice dumplings in the pot. It would still be some time before they were ready and ready to be taken out of the pot. There was no need for others to watch when cooking rice dumplings, so Jiang Feng went to help Ji Xue peel the beans, and sat in a row with Wu Minqi to peel broad beans.
The skin of broad beans is hard, so it is much easier to boil the broad beans in hot water with salt and wait for them to cool before peeling them off. But Ji Xue told Jiang Feng that since the longevity soup is originally a reflection of the filial piety of children and grandchildren towards their elders, the harder it is to peel the beans, the better. It is said that the harder it is to peel the beans, the longer the elderly will live.
Weird custom, but a good starting point.
After Wu Minqi had finished processing all the red beans, mung beans, and soybeans, Jiang Feng and Ji Xue were able to finish processing 99 broad beans.
Jiang Feng had not stared at a small thing with such high intensity for a long time without moving. After peeling the broad beans, he looked up and felt that the whole sky was bright, even though the lights on the ceiling were shining.
"By the way, Ji Xue, have you ever tasted this kind of birthday soup?" Jiang Feng asked, twisting his neck.
He felt that he was not far away from cervical spondylosis.
"I've had it. I drank it at a grandma's 100th birthday party when I was very young." Ji Xue showed a confused expression. "Although it doesn't taste very good, my grandma said it's a blessing. Everyone wants it." Have a bowl and enjoy the blessings of the old man.”
"But it is said that the original bean soup at Grandma's 100th birthday banquet was very delicious, but now I don't know why it has become so unpleasant." Ji Xue added.
Jiang Feng nodded to express that he understood that in an era of scarcity, boiled meat slices were a delicacy in the world. What's more, birthday soup is a soup mixed with people's best wishes and blessings to their elders. It is normal to say that it tastes good.
When I was shelling beans, I couldn't notice the passage of time. I just felt that it was extremely long, which was similar to the feeling of taking physics class in high school.
Jiang Feng took a look at the rice dumplings in the pot and said, "Ji Xue, Qiqi, don't peel them. The rice dumplings are almost ready. Let's peel them and eat first."
"Okay." Wu Minqi stood up and walked to Jiang Feng to help him peel the rice dumplings.
"Go out and tell them." Ji Xue put all the beans she had just peeled into a big bowl, cleaned up the domestic garbage they had just created, returned everything to its original place, got up and walked out of the kitchen to inform everyone that they were ready to eat. Zongzi.
Jiang Feng used a rope to lift the rice dumplings out of the pot, and he did not forget to tell Wu Minqi: "Qiqi, wait until it cools down a bit before peeling it off. It's too hot now, hiss."
Jiang Feng accidentally touched the rice dumpling leaf and was so burned that he retracted his hand.
"Okay." Wu Minqi smiled.
Her boyfriend is so cute. (End of chapter)