Crossing the Unknown Country

The five of them went home carrying their belongings. They walked very fast this time, all thinking about going home to paint the walls. They agreed to paint Su He's house first, and then go to Su Pei's house together.

When I got home, I put the lime blocks in a bucket and added water to make lime water. Several people each took a broom and started painting the wall. More people made the work easier, and it didn't take long to finish. Everywhere in the house was white, even the kitchen and toilet were painted white.

A few people took brooms and half of the kudzu root powder and went to Su Pei's house again. It happened that grandma and grandpa were at home today. Seeing a group of children coming over, they asked them: "What are you all doing here?"

Su He smiled and said, "Grandma, come over and paint the wall together."

Grandma wondered: "What brush should I use to paint the wall?"

Su He took out the burned white lime and told her grandmother, "Grandma, let's use this to paint the wall."

Su Che had already found an old wooden barrel, threw some lime into it, and poured water on it, white smoke came out. Grandma and Grandpa were shocked, wondering how could water make smoke come out. Su Che then filled another half barrel with water, and when it turned into a white paste, he called a few people to start painting the wall.

Su Pei asked grandpa and grandma to watch them paint all the walls white. They divided the work among themselves. Su He, who was short, painted the bottom, Su Pei and Su Che, who were tall, painted the top, and Su Feng and Su Run painted the middle. Soon, the whole room was painted. Grandpa and grandma looked at the bright room and were very happy. These children were so capable. Several people painted every corner of the house, and the house became clean and fresh.

Grandma dried the water for the children, asked them to sit down and rest, and asked them how they found these white stones. When she heard that Su He knew these from medical books, she was very happy. She thought that Su He was smart, and this was a specialty of others, but her children had learned it.

When the uncle and aunt came back, they were very happy to see that the house was white and bright. They asked them to have dinner together before leaving. Su He and the other three waved their hands quickly, saying that it would be quick to go home and cook. They had to go home and cook, and they still had to work after dinner! Su He also told them how to eat kudzu root powder, and asked them to try it tonight.

Su Che said at the side: "It's delicious, grandma, let's have egg soup and pancakes tonight!"

The three of them said goodbye and went home. Today was another fulfilling day. After returning home, Su He found millet and mashed it and added a little kudzu root powder. The brothers had already boiled water and made rice porridge directly. Su He found that drinking porridge like this could satisfy hunger and give a feeling of fullness, unlike rice porridge which was too watery and useless. Adding the wild vegetables he picked, he would definitely feel very comfortable after drinking a bowl of this.

The multi-grain steamed buns were cut into slices and roasted over a small fire in the yard. The buns were skewered with clean branches. The aroma of the wood mixed with the aroma of the roasted grains, and they were crispy and delicious. Su He roasted seven buns, cut them into slices, put them in a bowl, sprinkled some pepper leaves and crushed salt on them, and tried one himself. It was delicious.

The remaining wood ash was directly poured into the compost. My parents came back and started to eat. Looking at the rice paste and the fragrant steamed bread slices served, I felt that life was getting better and better. Although it was still the same food, after being tinkered with by my own Su He's little hands, how come it became different? I could not only eat enough but also eat well.

Su Feng and Su Run laughed and said, "Why didn't I know that my sister's cooking skills were so good before? I felt that the meals we had before were all just a waste of time."

Su He said: "Let's work together, and we can eat different meals every day in the future. There are so many varieties of rice and noodles! As long as we think about it, we can definitely make different food."

Su He's father laughed loudly: "My dear daughter, our family will depend on you for delicious food in the future. Your mother has no hope, so we will just have to wait and eat delicious food in the future."

Su He Niang pretended to be angry and said, "You all ate my food together, and now that there's something delicious, you start to make up stories about me. I'm really angry!"

Su Run hurriedly coaxed her mother: "Mom, your cooking is delicious, but a good cook cannot cook without rice. Now that our family is well off, you don't have to worry about my cooking! I can't let you work so hard, look how good this is."

Su He Niang looked at the little rascal and burst out laughing, saying, "I'm just teasing you! I also want to eat the food cooked by my own daughter. Who wouldn't love such delicious food? I just can't come up with these ideas."