Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Making Snake Soup (2)_1 Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Making Snake Soup (2)_1 Although the old hen was gone, the ramshackle chicken nest in the courtyard still stood, perfect for raising rabbits.
Lin Wei took her little sister to clean the chicken droppings out of the nest and piled them in a corner of the wall, then laid some dry straw before placing the young rabbits inside.
Fortunately, these wild rabbits were still small and couldn’t run around.
Otherwise, the broken fence around the nest wouldn’t have been able to contain their tiny bodies at all.
However, Lin Yuan was determined to mend the fence properly.
In the future, she wanted to raise more rabbits and chicks.
In fact, she really wanted to raise pigs as they were easier to keep alive.
Once their home conditions improved and there were leftovers such as rice gruel from washing the wok, anything edible would be enough to keep the piglets alive.
Plus, their thatched house was conveniently located on the west side, with a depression on the outside leading to the foot of the mountain.
There weren’t any neighbors close by, so it would be great to build a pigsty in such a convenient spot.
After the two had finished tidying up the chicken nest, Lin Yuan instructed them to go outside and pick some fresh grass to feed the rabbits.
There was a small puddle next to their home that didn’t hold much water, but would fill up when it rained, with plenty of wild, fresh grass growing around it.
Lin Wei knew that her eldest sister was deliberately sending them away to prepare the Snake Soup, so without saying a word, she grabbed her little sister’s hand and ran off, forgetting even to take the basket for collecting grass.
Lin Yuan watched her run as if chased by a ghost and couldn’t help but chuckle.
She then took the wild vegetables she had picked on the mountain earlier into the inner room, asking her parents to talk and pick the vegetables at the same time, giving them something to do and to prevent her mother from coming out suddenly while she was preparing the snake, which might shock her.
She wasn’t ready for her brother to be born just yet.
Only after everything was in order did she start to prepare the snake.
She had done this before in a past life.
It was quite simple: she needed to skin the snake first to prevent her parents from recognizing it, then put the meat, along with the bones, into the nearly cooked rice, naturally adding some salt and green onions for flavoring.
Fortunately, she found some old rice at home, which she remembered begging from the old house because they had nothing else to eat.
The rice, having been stored for too long, wasn’t very palatable, so Lady Yang had given it to her with a condescending expression like she was doling out alms, an expression Lin Yuan still couldn’t forget.
But old rice was better than no rice at all, and she could still make delicious Snake Soup with it.
First, she boiled the rice to remove the dirt and scum, then put the snake meat with the bones into the pot.
When the rice started to burst, the snake meat was just short of being fully cooked, so she turned down the heat and let it simmer.
When the snake meat was tender enough, she used chopsticks to pick out the bones.
With Lin Wei absent, Lin Yuan had to expend much effort tending the fire, but fortunately, it didn’t affect her cooking.
While the rice was simmering on low heat, Lin Yuan found two sturdy, clean baskets in the kitchen, covered them with leaves, spread the goji berries on top, and then placed them in a breezy and cool spot to air-dry.
Given the current weather, the two large baskets of goji berries should dry out in two or three days.
By the time Lin Yuan had finished preparing the goji berries, a fragrant aroma wafted from the rice in the kitchen, indicating that it was ready.
She quickly opened the pot lid and served two large bowls.
The rice was still hot, and since it wasn’t mealtime yet, she didn’t rush to bring it inside.
Instead, she washed out the big pot and started cooking another batch of rice.
Later, she would throw the wild vegetables her parents had picked into the pot to make a delicious vegetable rice dish, seasoned with some salt.
While Lin Yuan was washing the pot, Lin Wei returned with her sister.
In truth, they had picked quite a lot of grass already, but Lin Wei had delayed returning, worried that her elder sister might not have finished cooking.
As soon as Xiao Linshuang entered, her nose picked up the pleasant scent: “Big sister, what delicious food have you made?
Lin Wei sneaked a glance at the two bowls of very sticky rice on the stove, unable to discern any trace of snake, and curiously asked her big sister, “Is this, what, that?”
“What’s this that?” Xiao Linshuang asked, blinking curiously while drool was already dripping from her mouth.
After Lin Yuan rinsed the rice and covered the pot, she finally pulled her little sister’s face, which was almost buried in the bowl, away, smiling, “This is for dad and mom; your rice is still in the pot.”
Inside the house, Lady Liu had finished picking the vegetables and took her daughter’s bowl, surprised, but once she heard Lin Yuan say there was plenty more in the pot, she started eating with ease.
The couple praised the meal as they ate, incessantly asking what was in it to make it so delicious.
Lin Yuan simply smiled without answering, while Lin Wei, watching the two enjoy the meal, couldn’t help but feel her stomach churn and ran out.
For lunch that day, Lin Wei ate very little, while the clueless Xiao Linshuang had a full bowl.
After lunch, Lin Yuan looked at the pitiful amount of food left in the house and her parents’ gaunt faces and decided to make a trip to the old house.
If they weren’t going to divide the family, she would force a division.