When Gao Mingcheng returned to Grandma Xi's house, there was only a hint of afterglow in the western sky.
Green smoke curls up from the kitchen chimneys of every household. When walking in the aisle between two neighboring houses, you can smell the aroma of food emanating from them.
Nowadays, everyone's life is better than before. In the past few years, we ate less white rice, mostly sweet potato rice, bean rice, etc. In recent years, more people eat white rice, and only a few families can still live a good life. Tougher.
The main room of Grandma Xi's house was lit with lights, and the light also came out of the kitchen. At the same time, there was the sound of the spatula touching the iron pot when cooking.
"Grandma, is there any hot water?" Gao Mingcheng asked half of his body.
"Yes, in a boiling water bottle." Grandma Xixi replied, and at the same time glanced at him, she immediately saw a pheasant in Gao Mingcheng's hand.
Gao Mingcheng took the boiling water bottle and knife from the kitchen, walked to the yard, wiped the pheasant's neck to bleed it, and then threw it into a basin.
At this time, Gao Zhuang also came over to help. Gao Mingcheng scalded the pheasant's feathers with hot water, then picked it up and placed it on the ground. The two of them plucked the feathers together and quickly took off the pheasant's beautiful feathers.
"Brother Mingcheng, grandma has already cooked two dishes. I'm afraid the pheasant won't be cooked in time." Gao Zhuang said.
"It's okay. Let's eat first. The pheasant will be stewed slowly and we'll eat it later." Gao Mingcheng was not in a hurry to eat. He picked up the knife and started to disembowel the chicken.
The light in the yard was dim, so Gao Zhuang came over with a kerosene lamp to light it.
In just two minutes, Gao Mingcheng's knife skills were as smooth as water, and he quickly processed the pheasant's internal organs. He only needed the heart, liver and gizzards, but not the intestines.
In fact, chicken intestines are also delicious, but it is more troublesome to clean them. Gao Mingcheng, with some behavioral habits of later generations, simply discarded the chicken intestines.
But Gao Zhuang refused, so he picked the chicken intestines aside, processed them quickly, then washed them with plant ash, and finally scalded them with boiling water.
"Brother Mingcheng, chicken intestines are so delicious, why throw them away! If you don't want to make them, I'll make them. This saves grandma from seeing them and getting scolded!"
Gao Mingcheng smiled sarcastically, placed the cleaned pheasant on the chopping board, and chopped it into pieces neatly.
At this time, Grandma Xiao had already cooked the vegetables, cleaned the pot and put water in it. After mincing the pheasant, she put it directly into the large iron pot, then covered the pot and simmered slowly.
Gao Mingcheng lowered his head and glanced at the stove. There were two thick firewood inside, which was enough to burn for a while, so he went to the dining table to eat.
Today's dishes are relatively simple, a fried chili and a loofah and egg soup.
"It's so troublesome to plant sugar cane! If it weren't for the task assigned by the county, I really wouldn't want to plant it!" Gao Zhuang complained to Gao Mingcheng at the dinner table.
All day today, he and his grandmother worked in the sugar cane fields.
There was a sugar factory in their county, so the county assigned tasks to the countryside, requiring every household to plant sugar cane. In late autumn and early winter, people from the sugar factory would drive over to buy it.
It sounds like it’s for the development of the people, but in fact it’s really not the case!
A ton of sugar cane only sells for more than 200 yuan, and sometimes the purchase is not timely, so the sugar cane falls into the hands of the villagers. In addition, growing sugar cane is troublesome and the price is low, so the villagers are not willing to plant it at all.
"Look, my hands were cut by the sugar cane leaves!" Gao Zhuang stretched out his hand with a very aggrieved tone.
Sugarcane leaves are very sharp, and they sting and itch when cut, which is very uncomfortable.
Grandma Xi felt distressed and angry, and said, "I asked you to wear a long-sleeved coat, but you refused no matter what!"
"It's hot!" Gao Zhuang defended himself. Young people are afraid of heat and don't have as much experience as old people, so they take it for granted that they wear short sleeves.
"Well, let's see. When spring comes next year, I will talk to the village committee and say that I am not in good health and there are few people at home. I will see if I can stop planting sugar cane. Even if it is not possible, I will only plant three-thirds of the land. ." In the end, it was Grandma X who felt sorry for her only grandson.
When Gao Zhuang heard this, he smiled and flattered: "Grandma is so kind."
Gao Mingcheng watched the interaction between their grandparents and grandchildren with a smile on his face.
After the meal, Gao Mingcheng entered the room where he lived. Not long after, he took out a new watch from inside.
He handed the watch to Gao Zhuang and said, "Here, it's for you."
Gao Zhuang was surprised at first, and then he was delighted.
He took the watch and looked at it carefully under the light. This watch was from Lushan brand. Although it was not brand new, it did not look old either.
"Brother Mingcheng, where did you get your watch?" Gao Zhuang asked in surprise, and Grandma Xi also looked over.
This watch was obtained by Gao Ming and Cheng Hei - no, it was given to him by the bald man!
But there is no need to tell the real situation. Gao Mingcheng said: "When I was selling honey, I happened to see someone selling second-hand watches. They said they were in urgent need of money at home. They only wanted to sell them for ten yuan. I thought the quality was okay, so I decided to sell them for only ten yuan." Bought it."
A brand new watch costs 60 yuan, and if a used one only costs 10 yuan, it is indeed a good deal.
Gao Zhuang was very happy. He put the watch on his wrist, and then swung his wrist. He felt that after putting on the watch, his whole temperament was different.
Handsome!
But Grandma Xi disapproved and said: "Mingcheng, you can buy it if you buy it, but you can use it for yourself, you don't need to give it to Gao Zhuang!"
Although ten yuan is cheap, it is still money!
At this time, Gao Mingcheng took out another watch from his trouser pocket. It was a brand new watch.
"I bought it too. This one is new and more expensive."
He bought a watch before, but he kept it hidden from others, and now he has made it clear.
"Let me take a look." Gao Zhuang was as happy as a fool. He took Gao Mingcheng's watch again and put the two watches together to compare.
The watches are all Lushan brand, one is brand new and the other is semi-old. But if you don’t look carefully, you can’t tell.
"You young people... Isn't money hot for your hands? Why can't you save money?" Grandma Xi hated that iron cannot become steel, and looked at Gao Mingcheng helplessly.
After that, she went to her room and took out ten yuan, handed it to Gao Mingcheng, and said, "It's not easy for you to make some money. You can take this money and count it as our purchase."
Gao Mingcheng naturally refused to take it and said: "Grandma, I came to your house for food and accommodation, but you didn't ask me for money. I gave you tall things, so why did you ask me for money? I don't want this money!"
One wanted to give, the other refused to accept, and the two sides were in a stalemate for a while.
So Gao Mingcheng took a bath to escape, took a change of clothes, and pulled Gao Zhuang outside, "Grandma Xixi, Gao Zhuang and I went to take a bath, watch and light the fire!"
Grandma Xiao was helpless and watched them leave.
On the bamboo chair, there are two watches, one new and half old.
Watches can't touch water, so the two of them naturally won't bring watches with them. Grandma Xiao touched this piece and then that piece, with a smile on her lips, but there were a few tears in her eyes.
These days are getting better and better!
