Chapter 40 ☆ Sugar-Mixed Tomatoes (Part 1)

Remove the stems of the green peppers, take out the seeds, tear them into several pieces by hand, put them in a small stone mortar, sprinkle a few grains of salt, and pound them finely with a stone pestle. The fresh green peppers are crisp and tender, with plenty of juice, and they are quickly ground into a fine green pepper paste, releasing a unique aroma.

Making this green pepper paste is simple in theory, but it requires a lot of patience. Cheng Yaoyao pounded it for a while until her wrist felt sore. Xie Fei smiled and took over to continue.

Cheng Yaoyao sighed inwardly, noting how much stronger Xie Fei was, despite her slender wrist that seemed like it could break if bent.

After the green pepper paste was ready, Cheng Yaoyao tasted it. The green peppers, freshly picked from the yard, were very fresh, and a little salt brought out their flavor perfectly, but there was still a hint of bitterness. Cheng Yaoyao commented, “The white membrane inside the green pepper is too astringent. Next time, try removing it for a better taste.”

“I’ll try it next time,” Xie Fei’s deer-like eyes flashed with admiration.

In the countryside, food was scarce, so every bit was used to its fullest. Xie Fei had never noticed the bitter taste of the white membrane inside the green pepper. It amazed her that Sister Yaoyao could detect it.

Yaoyao washed a few tomatoes in a basin, fished them out, and put them on the chopping board. When she cut them, juice flowed all over the board. The tomatoes were evenly cut into small pieces, placed on a deep plate, and sprinkled with white sugar.

As the white sugar covered the pink tomatoes, Xie Fei was surprised and asked, “Where did the white sugar come from?”

Cheng Yaoyao pointed to the brown paper bag beside her and said, “I just opened this bag of candy. Find a clean jar to store the sugar.”

“No, my brother will definitely be angry,” Xie Fei said, looking lost.

They had already used the white rice and the white sugar that Cheng Yaoyao brought. She wondered how angry her brother would be when he returned later.

Cheng Yaoyao raised an eyebrow: “Are you afraid your brother will be angry, or that I will be angry?”

“…Sister, don’t be angry,” Xie Fei said pitifully.

Cheng Yaoyao almost laughed out loud. She could see that this little sister of the Xie family was indeed just as described in the original book—a rather indecisive, soft-hearted person.

Seeing Xie Fei so nervous that she was about to cry, Cheng Yaoyao said helplessly, “Don’t worry, I won’t quarrel with your brother. I’ll explain everything when he comes back later, okay? Otherwise, I will really be angry.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you,” Xie Fei said, sticking close to Cheng Yaoyao like a little white rabbit, helping her with the preparations. After a while, she whispered, “If my brother gets angry later, I’ll stand by your side.”

Cheng Yaoyao picked up a sugar-sprinkled tomato and stuffed it into Xie Fei’s mouth, smiling with a playful glint in her peach blossom eyes: “Why?”

Xie Fei chewed the tomato in her mouth. The juicy sweetness of the tomato, combined with the unmelted sugar, created a burst of flavor unlike anything she had ever tasted before: “Because Sister is beautiful.”

Cheng Yaoyao burst out laughing. She was in a good mood, humming a little tune while busying herself in the kitchen, with a small apron tied around her waist, outlining her particularly slender and graceful figure.

The evening light poured in through the window as Cheng Yaoyao stood in the simple kitchen, arranging the vegetables and fruits in her hands, her face full of innocence and joy.

She was strikingly beautiful, with a teardrop mole under her eye that added to her charm. Having grown up being doted on, she had not been hardened by the world, so her demeanor always had a hint of coquettishness, brightness, and pride.

Cheng Yaoyao’s brightness and flamboyance were what Xie Fei longed for the most.

Completely unaware of Xie Fei’s various emotions, Cheng Yaoyao happily wandered around the kitchen. Though the Xie family’s kitchen was simple, it was clean, and she was the only one who could manage it. Besides, there was a world of difference between cooking for someone you liked and cooking for those annoying guys at the educated youth camp.

The only downside was that the ingredients were limited, and the seasonings in the kitchen were also scarce. However, the fresh and natural produce was an advantage. Cheng Yaoyao decided to return to basics, trying to retain the most original and natural taste of the ingredients.

She placed the fresh, tender cucumbers with flowers and thorns on the chopping board, cut off the ends, and held the cucumber with two chopsticks. With a light flick of her wrist, the knife moved so quickly that it was almost invisible. Finally, she pinched the ends and gently pulled, leaving the thin cucumber connected from end to end.

Xie Fei watched in amazement. Cheng Yaoyao felt quite proud: Even though she had changed bodies, she hadn’t lost her knife skills.

She placed the shredded cucumber on a plate, sprinkled it with a little salt, and let it marinate.

While boiling water in a pot, she blanched the fresh, tender black fungus until just cooked, then rinsed it in cold water. The cold rinse made the black fungus even more vibrant and tender. She added a little soy sauce, sprinkled minced garlic, and stirred it all together to make a delicious cold dish.

The cucumbers had released a lot of juice. Cheng Yaoyao poured out the bitter liquid and asked Xie Fei, “Do you have vinegar at home?”

Xie Fei searched for a while and finally took out a glass bottle: “There’s just a little bit left.”

In this day and age, tickets were required for everything except salt, vinegar, and soy sauce. However, the Xie family was in great difficulty, and even these three essentials were in short supply, so the few drops of red vinegar left in the bottle were poured out.

Shredded cucumber goes best with dried chilies. Crush the dried chilies and sprinkle them on the cucumber along with all the seasonings. Pour a spoonful of boiling oil over it. With a sizzling sound, the spicy flavor of the seasoning seeps into the cucumber.

But the Xie family’s oil cans were cleaner than their faces, so Cheng Yaoyao had to find another way. There was some chili sauce made by grandma at home, so she scooped a small spoonful and added it to the cucumber, along with a little white sugar.

At this moment, the lid of the pot was pushed up with a popping sound, gradually emitting an enticing rice aroma.

Xie Fei wrapped her hands with a rag and lifted the lid of the pot. She saw that the porridge in the pot had become thick and white; the rice soup was bubbling happily, and the green beans had already bloomed.

Xie Fei picked up the spoon and stirred the porridge in the pot: “Sister, do you think the porridge is ready?”

Cheng Yaoyao leaned over and took a look: “Just right. Turn off the heat and scoop out the porridge.”

Xie Fei brought a large, glazed ceramic basin and carefully scooped out the mung bean porridge from the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot clean. There was white rice soup stuck to the wall of the pot, which soon solidified into a white rice crust. She also poured a bowl of water into it, carefully washed the bottom of the pot, and scooped up the light white rice soup.

Cheng Yaoyao looked at her in confusion. Xie Fei held the bowl and explained, “These are all fine grains. We can’t waste any of them. We haven’t eaten fine grains in a long time.”

Cheng Yaoyao’s heart seemed to be squeezed by something, and she gained a deeper understanding of the Xie family’s poverty.

After Xie Fei drank the bowl of thin rice soup in small sips, she and Cheng Yaoyao brought several cold dishes to the yard.

There was a Bagua-shaped well ^[1]refers to a well designed with eight trigrams, a symbol in Chinese metaphysics. in the Xie family’s yard, with a hemp rope tied to the side. Xie Fei deftly pulled the rope back and forth, pulling out a bamboo basket from the well.

The bamboo basket was very deep, with a large belly and a small mouth. Xie Fei put a few cold dishes into the basket and put them back into the well. Xie Fei held the rope and said to Cheng Yaoyao, “You have to lower it slowly and gently; otherwise, the juice might spill out.”

Cheng Yaoyao carefully helped lower the basket. The rough hemp rope ^[2]refers to a type of coarse rope. scraped across her palm, which was a little painful.

After all the ropes were lowered and the basket swayed gently, Xie Fei smiled and said, “Okay. When brother comes back, the cold dishes will taste best when they are cold.”

Xie Fei added, “I’ll go get the porridge out and put it in the water tank to soak.”

Cheng Yaoyao hummed and lay down beside the well to enjoy the breeze. The well platform was made of bluestone, and the edge was very smooth. Over the years, it had been worn by the hemp rope, leaving a dent.

The original book mentioned that the Xie family was very prosperous at the time, and the well was dug very deep, with cool, sweet water. Cheng Yaoyao curiously leaned over the edge of the well to see how deep it was.

At that moment, the sky was filled with a sunset glow. Deep in the well was a round, mirror-like surface of water, reflecting Cheng Yaoyao’s small face. A small lotus leaf suddenly emerged, and it seemed to feel the coolness of the well water, gently shaking its leaves.

Cool air rose from the bottom of the well, more refreshing than air conditioning. Cheng Yaoyao couldn’t help but lean a little further.

“What are you doing!” A heavy sound of something falling to the ground was followed by a rough force grabbing Cheng Yaoyao’s shoulders and pulling her back heavily.

Cheng Yaoyao fell backward into a hot embrace. Her slender shoulder blade hit Xie San’s thick chest muscles, and she winced in pain. When she turned around, she was startled by Xie San’s angry eyes.

Xie San’s face was full of anger. He grabbed her shoulders tightly, as if he were holding a treasure he had found some time ago. “Who told you to stay by the well?”

“I… I just…” Cheng Yaoyao was so stunned that she couldn’t react.

Xie Fei, just walking out of the kitchen with the porridge, saw her brother grabbing Cheng Yaoyao with a face full of anger, as if he were about to strike her. She immediately shouted, “Brother, what are you doing!”

Xie San released his grip, but his anger was still evident. He turned to Xie Fei and asked, “Why did you let her lie by the well?”

Xie Fei was also startled: “Sister, it’s very dangerous by the well. How could you lie there?”

Cheng Yaoyao’s mouth turned down in displeasure.

Xie Fei quickly said, “It was me who didn’t tell you, brother. Don’t be angry. Sister, don’t be angry either. I was just afraid you might fall into the well.”

“I’m not stupid! How could I fall in there?” Cheng Yaoyao finally reacted, feeling aggrieved and angry.

Hearing the commotion, Grandma Xie also came out of the house. She looked at the three people in the yard with different expressions and stared at Xie San: “What happened? I heard everything from inside. What fell?”

Cheng Yaoyao curled the corners of her rosy lips and said, “It’s me…”

“I accidentally broke the bottle,” Xie San said, turning to stand in front of Cheng Yaoyao, either intentionally or unintentionally. He added to Grandma Xie, “The bottle is not broken.”

“Well, you are usually a very careful child. Why are you so impatient today?” Grandma Xie said, as if hinting at something.

Xie San agreed and took the big basket to the kitchen. Xie Fei put the porridge in the water tank and also took Cheng Yaoyao into the kitchen.

***

T/L Notes:

Dear Readers,I sincerely apologize for the occasional delays in unlocking some of the scheduled translations. Since the system still requires manual unlocking and this fan translation is part of my side project, I haven’t always been able to stick to the planned timeline. However, I’m doing my best to unlock the stories on time.

Noted for this story: And I also apologize for the late updates. I will release all the updates together after completing the translation. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!