The moment they entered the courtyard, Jin Xiaomei called out from next door, "Zhao Jun, Jie Chen, come on over! Auntie will make you something tasty."
"Alright!" Zhao Jun replied. He walked to his front door and shouted inside, "Mom, Jie Chen and I are going over to Auntie's to eat."
"Go ahead," said Wang Meilan, who was scrubbing a pot and boiling water. She smiled. "Your auntie learned a new dish. Let her whip it up for you two."
Filled with curiosity, Zhao Jun led Jie Chen next door. As soon as they entered, they saw Jin Xiaomei at the stove, shucking corn kernels.
Nearby sat an opened package of Butter Paper, holding a pile of pine nuts.
Pine nuts are simply shelled pine seeds. They were common in the Northeast, but this batch was tiny—half the size of the ones Zhao Jun usually snacked on.
Zhao Jun knew at a glance that these were from a horsetail pine.
