Third watch, seeking pink support.
***......****
During the Dragon Boat Festival, eating zongzi is a common custom regardless of region. People working in the mountains, far away from their hos, don’t get the chance to enjoy the festive zongzi. If their shop made zongzi for sale during the Dragon Boat Festival, they would surely turn a good profit.
"That works," Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang said in unison.
Although eating zongzi is a common tradition, the zongzi eaten in the south and north differ. In the south, most people eat white rice zongzi, which is made with glutinous rice. But in the north, it’s different. For instance, in Thirty Mile Camp where Lian Manman lived, there was no production of rice, let alone glutinous rice. Although wealthy families might buy glutinous rice to make zongzi for the festival, most tenant farrs, including town residents, ate zongzi made with millet.
Millet zongzi is made with local yellow millet. This millet is ground from broomcorn millet, which when ground into flour, can be used to make baobao buns, also known as sticky bean buns, in winter.
The local yellow millet is much cheaper than the white glutinous rice brought in from other places.
So, should their shop sell millet zongzi or glutinous rice zongzi?
"There are quite a few people from the south who co to the mountain. They might not be used to our millet zongzi. We should make white rice zongzi for sale," suggested Lady Zhang.
"There are also people from our northern parts on the mountain. I’ve chatted with them, and they said that their families also eat millet zongzi," Lady Zhang added.
"Then let’s make both white rice and millet zongzi for sale," Lian Manman suggested. This way, everyone would have more choices: they could eat what they were accustod to or try sothing new.
It was a simple decision, and naturally, everyone agreed.
"Mother, what kind of zongzi will our family eat?" Xiao Qi asked.
In the past, the Lian Family of course ate millet zongzi.
"Mother, do you rember? The year before last during the Dragon Boat Festival, uncle brought back so glutinous rice zongzi from town. Grandma gave a bit, and I still rember the taste... It was more delicious than our millet zongzi," Xiao Qi said to Lady Zhang with puppy dog eyes.
At Thirty Mile Camp, the white glutinous rice brought in from the south for making zongzi was called "river rice."
The local yellow millet their family ate was a coarse grain, not as finely ground as the polished river rice from the south, and therefore a bit rougher in texture and not as tasty. Although Lian Manman didn’t quite agree, the majority of tenant farrs’ children, who had always eaten yellow millet, longed for river rice.
The so-called rarity is what makes sothing precious. River rice, transported a long way from the south, was considered rare and valuable by most people.
Lady Zhang was moved by Xiao Qi’s pleading.
"Xiao Qi loves river rice, eh? Alright, this year our family will also make so river rice zongzi," Lady Zhang said. Now that the family had so extra money, being able to provide tasty food for the children only brought Lady Zhang joy, and she would not begrudge the expense.
Xiao Qi’s wish being granted, he sat there grinning with delight. Lian Manman couldn’t help but pull him closer and pinch his chubby cheeks.
Lady Zhang then discussed with Lian Shouxin how much river rice and yellow millet to buy, how much was needed for personal use and how much for the shop.
Lian Manman’s eyes sparked with a thought.
"Father, Mother, haven’t we yet to collect our food allowance for these two months from Grandfather? When we separated households, Grandfather promised us a year’s food allowance, and the yellow millet we need for making zongzi should be included in that, shouldn’t it?" she said.
Upon hearing Lian Manman’s words, Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang both fell silent.
In those two months, because business was good at the shop, and they were busy with farming and preparing for Lian Zhizhi’s engagent among other things, Lady Zhang paid extra attention to improving the family’s diet, now richer with rice and white flour. They also made sure to have one or two vegetable dishes with every al, which ant they consud less coarse grain. They hadn’t finished their previously collected food allowance, so Lian Shouxin hadn’t gone to Old Master Lian to request more for those two months.
"The food allowance... I’ll go collect it, just this yellow millet..." Lian Shouxin clearly had sothing difficult to say.
As a family, what Lian Shouxin was thinking and wanted to say was understood by everyone.
"How about this... We’re not exactly short of food now. As for the food allowance, let’s just leave it be. We won’t go and claim it," Lady Zhang proposed.
This suggestion was exactly what Lian Shouxin had in mind. The Lian Family’s granary was not very full. Also, every ti he had to move grain from the Upper Room, Lady Zhou did not look too pleased.
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