After the meal, Li Jianguo sent Li Long away.
As he put it, there was no point in staying here. Li Long might as well go back to the Wooden Cabin and get on with his own work.
He also needed to take Lao Huang to Small White Poplar Gully on the way. Someone was keeping watch there, and Lao Huang would relieve him.
Li Long took Lao Huang, along with the pot, to the camp at Small White Poplar Gully, then drove toward the Wooden Cabin.
When Li Long reached the Wooden Cabin and handed Sun Jiaqiang an Enamel Basin of pilaf, Sun Jiaqiang, who had been washing and spreading out fritillaria to dry, took the basin and said wistfully,
"They're heading back soon, aren't they? Once they leave, I'll have to cook for myself. This pilaf... to tell the truth, I really don't know how to make it."
With that, he went to find some chopsticks, sat on the doorstep, and started eating in big mouthfuls.
Old-fashioned pilaf required every grain of rice to be soaked in oil, yet the grains had to remain separate rather than sticking together. They needed to be a little firm, but not undercooked.
It also called for "yellow carrots," not "red carrots"-the yellow variety of carrot, or a mixture of red and yellow. Using only red ones would give it the wrong flavor.
Besides large chunks of bone, it needed plenty of oil, or the pilaf wouldn't be fragrant.
After a meal of pilaf like this, there was often oil left at the bottom of the bowl. In those days, people who knew how to eat it stirred as they ate, mixing the oil at the bottom into the rice and eating it all together. It was wonderfully fragrant.
People in later