Lin Lan and Lin Yuezhen took Little Douzi home. The two women sorted the Sichuan and green Sichuan peppercorns until they were clean, then found two large, clean ceramic basins. They stoked the fire in the stove and ladled about a dozen pounds of rapeseed oil into a wok.
They placed the sorted peppercorns into the large ceramic basins. Once the rapeseed oil in the wok stopped bubbling, they raked a thick layer of ash over the charcoal fire.
Each holding a ladle, they poured the boiling rapeseed oil over the peppercorns. Bursts of a fresh, numbing, peppery aroma filled the air.
They continued until the hot oil submerged the peppercorns and the wok was empty. Then, they covered the basins to let everything soak overnight. The next day, they would strain out the peppercorns, pour the oil into ceramic jars, and seal them for storage. The longer it sat, the better the flavor would become.
"That smells amazing! Little Lin, are you making pepper oil?"
