Chapter 86: Ancient Oven Part 2

Oddly, no one came to the door, even after knocking for a long time.

Xiaoguo wondered if the whole family had gone out. She told Zhuang Zhuang to stop knocking and they drove off on the donkey cart.

At this hour, their family might have gone to the market.

Zhuang Zhuang felt a little disappointed that he could not see Wen Xiaoyi.

Xiaoguo had no choice but to drive to another shop. When Xiaoguo asked if there were any mooncake molds, the boss brought her to a section filled with molds.

“This is it. Would you like to browse through them yourself?”

Xiaoguo walked over and slowly picked out the patterns and words she liked from the pile.

“Zhuang Zhuang, come and pick something too.” Xiaoguo called out to Zhuang Zhuang.

Zhuang Zhuang imitated Xiaoguo and picked the molds up individually. From the looks of it, the molds here had very exquisite designs.

Xiaoguo chose a mold with the wordings Hua Hao Yue Yuan1 and Hua Kai Fu Gui2 printed on it. She also picked out a few molds with floral design. Zhuang Zhuang selected a few designs that he thought were nice.

They handed the molds to the owner so that he could wrap them up. He took the molds from them. There were sixteen molds in total, each one costing two copper coins. Xiaoguo paid thirty-two copper coins in total.

After putting them on the donkey cart, Xiaoguo drove to the most bustling part of the county. There were several metal smiths here. Xiaoguo went to one at random and asked for four iron plates in the sizes that she needed.

After paying, she headed to the next shop.

The ingredients for making the oven were ready. The last item she had to get was the white wine for the pickled duck eggs.

She bought a jar of wine from a wine shop and carefully placed it on the donkey cart. She reminded Zhuang Zhuang not to let the jar topple. Zhuang Zhuang sat beside the wine jar and wrapped his arms around it. He nodded and told Xiaoguo not to worry. He would definitely take good care of it!

Xiaoguo told him that he had all her trust.

It was still early when they got back. However, Xiaoguo was not in a hurry to make the oven, even though Zhuang Zhuang was getting impatient.

The more important thing now was to pickle the duck eggs, because they had to be cured for at least 20 days.

There were still 23 days until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Xiaoguo had to quickly marinate the duck eggs. If the time was too short, the duck eggs would not have an oily yolk.

Xiaoguo carried the bottle of white wine to the kitchen. Zhuang Zhuang followed behind her. “Bring me the duck eggs.”

When Zhuang Zhuang heard Xiaoguo’s words, he gave a shout to reply and turned to bring the basket of duck eggs to the table. Xiaoguo placed the white wine aside.

“Zhuang Zhuang, boil the water!”

Xiaoguo prepared everything she needed. After Zhuang Zhuang boiled the water, Xiaoguo added salt in the ratio of three parts water to one part salt. When all the salt had dissolved, she asked Zhuang Zhuang to remove the firewood.

Zhuang Zhuang followed Xiaoguo’s instructions and moved the firewood to the side. Xiaoguo stirred the salt water in the pot with a spoon to make sure that all the salt had dissolved. She put the spoon aside and waited for the salt water to cool down.

While waiting for it to cool, Xiaoguo brought Zhuang Zhuang with her to check the surface of the duck eggs. If there were any particles on the eggs, she would dip a cloth in water and wipe the egg shells clean.

There were probably more than forty duck eggs in the basket, but Xiaoguo was not going to marinate all of them. She was only going to marinate twenty-five eggs.

The most delicious part of salted duck eggs has always been the egg yolks. Xiaoguo really couldn’t eat the egg whites because they were too salty.

Xiaoguo found a clean jar and wiped it with a cloth. After making sure that it was clean, Zhuang Zhuang placed the duck eggs individually into the jar.

Zhuang Zhuang pursed his lips in concentration, afraid that he would break the duck eggs. After placing one egg safely in the jar, he continued to put the next one down.

Handing over the task of transferring the duck eggs to Zhuang Zhuang, Xiaoguo went to check on the salt water to make sure that it had cooled down. Then, she opened the bottle of white wine that she had bought.

According to the amount of salt that had just been added, the ratio of salt to wine had to be 1 to 1.5. After pouring the white wine, Xiaoguo saw that Zhuang Zhuang was done with the duck eggs. She walked over and picked up the jar.

Zhuang Zhuang wanted to help Xiaoguo carry it, but Xiaoguo did not allow it. As there were no smaller jars at home, Xiaoguo had found a slightly larger one.

The jar was quite heavy for Xiaoguo. If Zhuang Zhuang were to carry it with his small arms and legs, he could drop it. It was a small matter if the jar were to fall, but if he were to hurt his arms and legs, it would be a big problem. So she’d better forget about letting him carry the jar.

After patiently explaining everything to Zhuang Zhuang, Xiaoguo carried the jar to the stove and started transferring the salt water to the jar by using a spoon.

After pouring all the water in, it was just enough to submerge the duck eggs. Xiaoguo asked Zhuang Zhuang to pass her the two pieces of waxed paper and red cloth on the table.

The waxed paper and red cloth were placed over the mouth of the vat. With a firm press, the lid was sealed tightly over the vat. The extra layers of oil paper and cloth help to ensure an airtight seal.

Zhuang Zhuang still wanted to help Xiaoguo move the vat. Xiaoguo smiled and allowed him to try. Anyway he would not be able to move it. Even if there were only duck eggs in the vat, it was impossible. Now that so much water had been added to it, it would be even harder to move the vat.

Zhuang Zhuang was eager to give it a try. He squatted down and wrapped his arms around the vat. He took a deep breath and counted to three. Then, he pushed himself up using the strength in his thighs.

Xiaoguo watched Zhuang Zhuang preparing to lift the vat and did not take it seriously. Could such a young child carry such a heavy jar?

To Xiaoguo’s amusement, the jar really left the ground.

Xiaoguo’s eyes slowly widened in surprise. Zhuang Zhuang finally managed to stand up straight!

Although Zhuang Zhuang could straighten his legs, they were trembling beneath the weight.

Xiaoguo came to her senses and quickly took it from him. Zhuang Zhuang heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the vat had left his arms.

“Mother, how is it?”

Zhuang Zhuang chuckled and looked up at Xiaoguo, his eyes begging for praise.

Xiaoguo hugged the jar, which was obviously as heavy as Zhuang Zhuang, and felt a little lost.

Zhuang Zhuang actually managed to lift up the heavy jar.

“Not bad!” Xiaoguo said. “But in the future, you’re not allowed to move anything heavier than your body weight. Nothing at all. You’ll get hurt!”

Xiaoguo warned Zhuang Zhuang sternly, and he nodded seriously. He had tried too hard just now.

“Are your limbs feeling weak now?”

Seeing that he had admitted his mistake, Xiaoguo’s heart softened.

“Yes, yes!”

Zhuang Zhuang rubbed his arms. They really felt weak. He looked up at Xiaoguo, wanting to know why this was happening.

Xiaoguo smiled and brought the jar to a shaded area. She then explained to Zhuang Zhuang, “It’s because when a person is doing something very tiring or moving something very heavy, they may sometimes pull a ligament on their arm. As a result, their arm will feel weak and soreness may set in the next day.”

Hearing Xiaoguo’s words, Zhuang Zhuang was a little afraid. He had used so much strength just now that his legs were trembling.

“But the symptoms will go away in a day or two. It’s fine.”

Xiaoguo added, and Zhuang Zhuang heaved a sigh of relief. He really shouldn’t show off anymore.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded seriously at Xiaoguo, promising that he would not do it again.

After lunch, Xiaoguo asked Zhuang Zhuang to take an afternoon nap. However, the little guy was really energetic and said that he wanted to make the oven with Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo tried to persuade him otherwise but Zhuang Zhuang refused to budge. He was bent on making an oven with Xiaoguo. Xiaoguo had no choice but to agree.

Zhuang Zhuang turned around and started moving the bricks happily.

Xiaoguo looked at the boy. This child was really stubborn…