Li Pan came back, washed her hands, and soaked the dirty clothes, waiting to wash them in the washing machine when everyone else returned.
She steamed the glutinous rice that had been soaked in advance, crushed the sweet wine yeast into powder, and put it in a basin for later use.
The equipment used for making sweet rice wine had to be thoroughly cleaned and scalded, then dried with no trace of oil or water, otherwise it would inevitably grow mold.
Once the glutinous rice was cooked through, she tasted it to make sure it was not undercooked; she then set it aside to cool until it could be handled comfortably for mixing with the yeast, ensuring the yeast was evenly distributed before covering and setting aside in a warm place to ferment.
Considering the warm weather, she guessed the fermentation might produce liquid by the following day.
She had gone up the mountain to pick some shepherd's purse to clean and chop, and cut some pork from a pig brought back from the base; having a refrigerator now made things much more convenient.
She chopped some of the leg meat, choosing a fatty piece and specifically buying some slab fat to render into lard later, after cooking was finished.
She minced the pork along with wild onions and home-grown onions—the wild onions had a stronger flavor—and added some minced ginger.
After mincing the meat, she used hot water to soak some Sichuan peppercorns, onions, and ginger, letting it cool before mixing it into the minced meat to remove any gamey smell.
She first mixed the meat, gradually adding the onion and ginger water in small amounts along with soy sauce, thirteen spices, and cooked oil among other seasonings, stirring in one direction to efficiently blend the water into the meat through repeated mixing, which made the filling tender.
When the meat mixture became sticky and held together well, she could add the shepherd's purse and some salt, mixing thoroughly.
The dough was also ready; she had added some cornmeal, making the dumpling skins yellow.
She sat down to make dumplings, recalling that the last time they had eaten dumplings was during the previous New Year celebration; they hadn't had them since due to insufficient food supplies, and they couldn't normally afford such luxury. But now, with the harvest nearing, she felt less anxious and indulged in a good meal.
She steamed a basketful to start with and decided to cook the rest in boiling water once everyone else returned.
She finished making all the dumplings, preparing four baskets full, estimating it was enough for three people.
She mashed some garlic and mixed it with briefly blanched, cool-seasoned grandmother-style dressing, and briefly stir-fried tender radish pods. She then cooked some shredded potato and stewed smoked fish, enjoying the delightful aroma.
With dinner ready, she called everyone to come and eat.
"Wash your hands and let's eat," she said.
"It smells delicious, what have you cooked that smells so wonderful?"
Qin Jianzhong came over to take a look.
"Today we're eating well, dumplings," she said.
"Wow! Such luxury when it's not even a holiday. We still have many days ahead, we should save and be content with filling our stomachs. Life here is much better than in the camp," he said.
Qin Jianzhong looked on with eagerness yet felt a twinge of regret about using so much food.
"Brother Qin, we've worked hard for many days, and with the harvest upon us, a good meal is a reward. Besides, you've worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk; it's hard. You deserve a good meal," she said.
"Sister, rest assured I'm not eating for free, I'll definitely earn my keep," Qin Jianzhong said, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"I'll make another couple pots of pan-fried dumplings then," she said.
Pan-frying the dumplings didn't require much oil, just a thin layer in a flat-bottomed pan. Once the pan was hot, she arranged the dumplings neatly. Once the bottoms were golden brown, she added enough water to come up one-third of the way up the dumplings, covering and steaming them for eight or nine minutes. As the sound of sizzling diminished, she would check the dumplings. With little water left, she'd fry them for another minute, and then remove them from the pan; the pan-fried dumplings were now ready, their bases golden brown and crispy.
Two pots of pan-fried dumplings were served, alongside steamed dumplings and boiled dumplings, as well as vegetables. Today's fare was all dumplings with vegetarian fillings—the wild vegetables were nearly overgrown, so it was one of the last meals to enjoy them.
The three of them ate deliciously.
"Girl, your dumplings are really delicious."
"If it's tasty, eat more; there's enough food today."
The dumpling meal satisfied everyone. All the dumplings were eaten up, with none left over, and all the vegetables were finished as well.
The kang bed stove was ready, and Qin Jianzhong lit it to warm it. They needed it to incubate chicks, so the temperature couldn't be too high—just warm enough, not exceeding forty degrees; otherwise, it would cook the eggs.
Li Pan was in charge of monitoring the chicks. This task wasn't strenuous—dirty and tiring tasks were always handled by the two of them.
They prepared a cardboard box padded with straw covered with old clothes for insulation and checked it several times a day to test the temperature; it couldn't be too hot or too cold.
During this time, they couldn't stay idle. She proceeded to make green bricks while Xue Dong and Qin Jianzhong made larger green brick embryos, probably for paving the courtyard.
Following their design, she made brick embryos and then went around the fields in the afternoon, transferring superpower energy. There were grasses in the orchard area, wild grasses that cattle and sheep could eat, but they alone weren't enough.
She collected some honeysuckle and licorice to dry; they could either use them at home or sell them.
The fruit trees were growing well; nearly all of them survived.
After finishing the farm work in the afternoons of the past few days, Xue Dong and Qin Jianzhong also needed to build a green storage pit to raise cattle and sheep more effectively, especially cows, which would make working the fields much easier.
The time saved could be used for other tasks.
The green storage pit was planned to be built with stones and bricks, slightly elevated to avoid flooding by rainwater. They figured two small ones would be enough; smaller pits ferment faster and are easier to fill and store.
After returning, they went to the lakeside to pick up some stones and slates to bring back, using them later to build the green storage pit. The ground needed to be raised with gravel and yellow mud.
In two or three days, the sweet rice wine was ready. They had sweet rice wine stewed wild chicken eggs for breakfast, along with crispy pancakes made from lard and various stir-fried dishes inside.
They also had a cucumber salad. The spiky-tipped cucumbers were ripe now.
The sweet rice wine was delightfully sweet, a nice start to the day when had in a bowl at breakfast.
People came to the base today to help them build houses.
They had scheduled to come over today. Li Pan had steamed several large pots of bean flour and cornmeal buns yesterday. Although they were coarse grains, they didn't add bran, making them quite delicious, as they were made from proper flour.
They brought out smoked fish, chicken, and other meats for the meal.
In total, five people came, making seven people including Xue Dong and Qin Jianzhong.
They collaborated efficiently. Qin Jianzhong, a Wind Element user, supported them by carrying loads, while an Earth Element superpower user handled filling and levelling the ground. Gao Wenbin, a Gold Element user, was responsible for installing electrical and network cables, laying bricks, and along with the Earth Element user, reinforced the city walls and roof against potential natural disasters. Everyone had a role to play.
They opted for cement and sand. After much discussion, they raised the ground and padded it with sand and stones, built the walls with green bricks and purchased red bricks, and then leveled it with cement.
The exterior required an insulation layer to withstand the extreme cold of winter, necessitating thicker walls for insulation purposes.
The interior walls needed an additional layer of insulation wool first because the cement walls shed dust, and second, for better insulation than pre-disaster standards against the extreme cold.
Both the interior and exterior required insulation layers. After laying the insulation wool on the interior walls, wooden panels could be used for decoration in the style of a log cabin, a concept very dear to Li Pan, and also to save money since the farm had plenty of trees, eliminating the need for separate purchases.
The house featured a small second floor, which was entirely Li Pan's. It had a gabled roof, and the second floor was also an attic. The gabled areas could be used for storage cabinets or a desk. The tallest part of the second floor was three meters high, ensuring plenty of headroom.
It also had a small balcony. They installed thick glass to the balcony to prevent rain and snow, allowing for sitting on the balcony during summer days to drink tea and tend to flowers.
The staircase area was spacious. Xue Dong planned to set up a cozy corner for her with a sofa where she could read books or browse her phone. Books could be stored in a corner shelf, and they could also project movies onto the wall.