Life is a Game

Since cooking zongzi was not a greasy job, Jiang Feng didn't change his work clothes and went into the back kitchen in his own casual clothes.

After entering the back kitchen, he discovered that Wu Minqi and Ji Xue, who had been missing before, were actually sitting on a small stool in the back kitchen handling beans.

Taking a cursory look, Wu Minqi and Ji Xue had 9 small bags beside them. They may not look like many but add up to a lot. Each bag should be filled with different kinds of beans. Wu Minqi was peeling soybeans, and Ji Xue was peeling broad beans. Peeling beans is delicate work, and the two sat there quietly, without making a sound or moving, their eyes fixed on the beans in their hands, and only their fingers were dancing nimbly.

"What are you peeling beans for?" Jiang Feng asked curiously.

"Axue said that she wanted to make birthday soup for Grandpa Jiang. She peeled the beans by herself too slowly, so I'll help her." Wu Minqi said.

"Birthday soup?"

"It's actually bean miscellaneous soup. It's a must-drink soup for the elderly over 90 years old at my mother's house. The birthday soup uses 9 different kinds of beans. The old man puts as many beans as he wants on his birthday this year. It was originally It didn't have a name, but later everyone called this soup birthday celebration soup to make a good fortune," Ji Xue explained.

"Only beans and nothing else?" Jiang Feng asked.

"Only beans, just add some salt." Ji Xue said.

9 Beans with Salt Only…

Jiang Feng thought for a while, and then asked in his soul, "Is the soup made in this way... delicious?"

Ji Xue was silent: "It's hard to drink."

Jiang Feng \u0026 Wu Minqi: ...

Wu Minqi's hand that was peeling the broad beans paused for a moment, and now she regretted being on Ji Xue's boat to help her peel the beans.

"Since it's so bad to drink, why is it still a custom?" Wu Minqi couldn't understand.

As we all know, there are various stories and snacks that are always named after a certain emperor who likes to go to the south of the Yangtze River. It has been passed down to this day because it is delicious.

Food is the simplest thing in this world, and it only competes with taste.

"Maybe it's because of the origin of this soup. I also heard from my grandmother. She said that many years ago in their village, there was a family whose grandma liked beans very much, but it was very difficult for the family to eat beans. I can only talk about it. Count. Later, that grandma got old and lost all her teeth and couldn’t chew beans anymore, so her children and grandchildren cooked bean soup for her.” Ji Xue is not a very good storyteller, she always has to say something when she tells a story Stop for a while, think about it, and clear your mind before continuing.

"On that grandma's 91st birthday, her grandson cooked her a small bowl of bean miscellaneous soup made from 9 different kinds of beans. Because the family was poor, only one of each kind of beans was put in. Later, the grandma was 92 On her birthday, her grandson did the same thing and cooked her a bowl of bean miscellaneous soup with two kinds of beans."

"Until grandma's 99th birthday passed, their family suddenly prospered. So on grandma's 100th birthday, her grandson cooked ten pots of beans with 100 different kinds of beans. We invite the whole village to drink together. Everyone in the village thinks that grandma can live so long because she drank the miscellaneous soup made by her grandson. So later, whenever there are elderly people over 90 years old in the family, in order to please Caitou always cooks miscellaneous beans soup for him on his birthday."

"Because everyone's living conditions are better now, and they don't have to count the number of beans when eating beans like before, so when cooking miscellaneous beans, the elderly can put as many beans as they are. Everyone thinks that miscellaneous beans soup The name doesn't sound good, now they call it birthday soup." Ji Xue said.

"And then?" Jiang Feng asked, he felt that the story was not finished.

"What then?" Ji Xue was a little confused.

"On this grandma's 100th birthday, her grandson cooked her bean miscellaneous soup with 10 different beans. What about her 101st birthday? What's the story after that?" Jiang Feng asked.

"I don't know either. It's just a saying. I don't know when that grandma was born. This story was told to me by my grandmother when I was a child. Everyone said so and did the same. As for No one knows if it's true." Ji Xue said, "Besides, the tradition in our family is that old people can't celebrate their birthdays after they turn 100. They need to hide their age so that they can live for a long time. Maybe that grandma won't celebrate her birthday after she turns 100. So her grandson won't make her bean miscellaneous soup."

Jiang Feng was immediately relieved. Legends are always full of people's all kinds of wonderful fantasies and yearnings. No logic is needed, just put your own wishes on it.

The origin of the birthday soup that Ji Xue talked about is already very reasonable and convincing in all kinds of weird legends.

Jiang Feng vaguely remembered the various customs and legends in the village that Grandma Jiang told him when he was a child, and they were basically related to ghosts and gods. It is said that a child of a family was bewitched by evil spirits a long time ago, a daughter-in-law of a family was bewitched by evil spirits a long time ago, an elderly man of a family was bewitched by evil spirits a long time ago, and so on. Or earlier, there was a young lady from a rich family who eloped in the city, and there was a legend about a greedy landlord who was retaliated by a goblin, which stunned Jiang Feng when he was a child.

It seems that there is no way to form a legend if there is no evil spirit, no elopement, and no monsters to repay their favor.

Jiang Feng took a look at the rice dumplings in the pot, it was still a while before they were cooked. There was no need for others to watch the rice dumplings, so Jiang Feng went to help Ji Xue peel the beans, and sat in a row with Wu Minqi to peel the broad beans.

The broad bean skin is hard. Originally, it is much easier to boil the broad bean with salt and hot water, wait for it to cool down, and then peel it off. But Ji Xue told Jiang Feng that since the birthday soup was originally a manifestation of the filial piety of the children and grandchildren to the 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.

Strange custom, but with a good intention.

It wasn't until Wu Minqi finished processing the red beans, mung beans, and soybeans that Jiang Feng and Ji Xue managed to process 99 broad beans.

Jiang Feng hadn't stared at a small thing with such high intensity for a long time without moving his head. After peeling the broad beans, he looked up and felt that the whole sky was bright, although it was the lights on the ceiling that were shining.

"By the way, Ji Xue, have you ever had this kind of birthday soup?" Jiang Feng asked, twisting his neck.

He felt that he was not far from cervical spondylosis.

"I drank it. I drank it at a grandma's centenary banquet when I was very young." Ji Xue showed an indescribable expression, "Although the taste is not very good, my grandma said it was a blessing. Everyone wants to drink it." Drink a bowl, rubbing the blessings of the old man."

"However, it is said that the miscellaneous bean soup at the grandma's 100-year-old banquet was very delicious, but I don't know why it has become so unpalatable now." Ji Xue added.

Jiang Feng nodded to show that he understood that in the era of scarcity of supplies, boiled meat slices are delicious in the world, not to mention the birthday soup is mixed with people's best wishes and blessings for the elders, and it is normal to say that it tastes good.

When peeling beans, I can't feel the passage of time, but feel that it is extraordinarily long, which is 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 the rice dumplings and eat first."

"Okay." Wu Minqi got up and walked to Jiang Feng's side to help him peel the rice dumplings.

"Go out and tell them." Ji Xue put all the freshly peeled beans into a big bowl, cleaned up the domestic garbage they just made, put everything back in place, got up and walked out of the back kitchen to inform everyone that they were ready to eat Zongzi.

Jiang Feng hung the zongzi out of the pot with a rope, and he didn't forget to tell Wu Minqi: "Qiqi, wait for it to cool down before peeling it, it's too hot now, hiss."

Jiang Feng accidentally touched a zong leaf and withdrew his hand from the heat.

"Okay." Wu Minqi smiled.

Her boyfriend is so cute.