Chapter 3. Family
With the addition of their homemade pickled vegetables, these meals for a farming family were actually quite decent.
At least the porridge was semi-thick, they could still eat coarse bread, and occasionally fry an egg. During the busy farming seasons or festivals, they could even have meat and fine grains.
That's why their household's days could be considered among the better ones in the village.
Some farming families couldn't even bear to eat meat during busy farming times, after all, the money spent on those expensive items could buy ten or more jin of coarse grains, enough for the family to eat for a few days.
In order not to go hungry, every country person was meticulous with calculations, trying to break even a copper coin into halves to use.
That's why they say the days of country people who rely on the whims of nature are the hardest.
Hua Jinjiao watched her mother wiping the pot repeatedly with an oil-dipped cloth, and sighed heavily in her heart.
No wonder the dishes these days didn't taste oily, it turns out no oil was used at all. It's no wonder they didn't taste good; what was called "stir-frying" was actually just boiling dishes with a few scattered oil spots floating on top.
Upon seeing the large grains of salt still present after pounding, Hua Jinjiao's expression changed. The yellow-black salt grains clearly hadn't been purified thoroughly and were visibly laden with excessive minerals. Eating this long term would surely burden the body, causing discomfort in the intestines or even elsewhere, potentially life-threatening in severe cases.
... No wonder ancient people on average didn't live long, maybe salt had a part to play in it.
"Mom," Hua Jinjiao couldn't help but speak up.