Xie Chuntao shows off her skills in the kitchen.
In the past, it was difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, and she could not use it.
There are so many big fish today, and there are also rice, flour, grain and oil given by the villagers.
She will use all her skills to prepare a table of good food.
Four large fish were stewed in hot oil, and a circle of white flour pancakes were placed on the iron pot.
The fish soaked in fish intestines was also stir-fried with red chili pepper. I cut a piece of meat given by the village chief's wife and simmered it with tofu, pickled vegetables and meat. In addition to fish and meat, a spinach and egg soup was also cooked.
The dining table was set up in the main room, filled with dishes.
The fragrance fills the air and makes people salivate.
"Mom, I will bring the food to you to eat in the room." Xie Chuntao opened the curtain of the upper room and whispered.
"No need, I'll go out and eat with everyone." Mrs. Zhen tucked little Fuyuan's quilt. Little Fuyuan slept soundly, her pink mouth puckered from time to time, she was so cute.
Xie Chuntao was afraid of waking up her sister-in-law, so she walked in quietly and carried Erlang who was lying on the bed to the dining table. Zhen took out a patched coat and covered Erlang's legs.
Bai Dazhuang, Bai Zhaomei and others sat around the dinner table. The smell of fish filled their noses and made people move their index fingers. Mrs. Bai hasn't taken her seat yet, and the white wooden board hasn't come back yet, so no matter how greedy they are, they don't dare to lift their chopsticks.
They have to wait until everyone has arrived and the elders have spoken before they can eat.
But, it smells so good, I can’t help it!
"Chuntao, you put some vegetables into a bowl and keep them for your father. We won't wait for him." Mrs. Bai stepped into the main room, holding a big bowl in her hand.
Xie Chuntao took it and carefully selected a few large pieces of the best fish and put them in a big bowl.
"Okay, you're all hungry, let's eat." Old Mrs. Bai sat on the table, raised her chopsticks and gave the order.
Everyone started to move.
How long has it been since Lao Bai’s family touched any meat?
I had pork dumplings once during the Chinese New Year last year.
It’s been almost a year, and I’ve been having a lot of water all day long.
The adults could still bear it, but the young ones were so greedy that they swung their chopsticks like raindrops, and even Saburo ate quickly and urgently.
Eugene Gui is like a hungry wolf rushing towards food, specializing in picking out the tenderest meat on the belly of the fish.
Xie Chuntao and Mrs. Zhen looked at each other. They had the same idea, they would eat less and leave the meat to their children. So the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law picked up tofu and vegetables to eat.
Old Mrs. Bai raised her eyelids, knocked on the table with her chopsticks and said to her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: "Who are you doing this for? Don't eat fish? Don't eat meat? Who will you leave it to? Leave it to your own man and son?"
Zhen and Xie Chuntao's chopsticks froze.
"Let me tell you, our women work just like men. Do they have no hands or legs and need you to give in? If you don't want to eat, then don't do it. It will also save food." Old Mrs. Bai was not polite at all.
He then snarled at the men at the dinner table, headed by Bai Dazhuang: "Are you an emperor or a government official? Do you want your wife and mother to give in? You want someone to give in to see if you have what it takes. Why, you caught a few fish. The tail is raised."
Bai Dazhuang: "..."
Eugene Gui shouted as if he had received a token: "If you don't want to eat, I will. Just this fish, I can eat a whole fish in one sitting."
Old Mrs. Bai didn't give her any face at all: "You are a pig, of course you can eat so much."
Xie Chuntao and Mrs. Zhen knew that Old Mrs. Bai had always been sharp-tongued, and they felt sorry for them, so they stretched out their chopsticks towards the fish under the pressure of Old Mrs. Bai's gaze.
Bai Dazhuang received a slap from his grandmother, stretched out his chopsticks, first picked up a piece of fish meat from the belly of the fish and handed it to his mother's bowl, then picked up a piece of fish tail meat and put it into his daughter-in-law's bowl.
Finally, he gave the fish head to Mrs. Bai: "Nai, you love fish heads!"
Old Mrs. Bai's face softened slightly, but she said with disdain, "You're still young and can't lift chopsticks, so I don't need you to pick them up."
Bai Dazhuang: "..."
Bai Zhaomei and Da Lang imitated each other and served their mothers with food.
Sanlang glanced at Yu Jingui. His mother didn't need it, so he took two pieces of fish and gave one to his cousin Erlang and the other to Mrs. Bai.
Old Mrs. Bai was full of relief, but Eugene Gui was confused. Fortunately, Saburo didn't grow crooked with her.
…
The days are short in winter. After lunch and washing, the sky quickly becomes dark.
Mrs. Zhen sat by the bed and took apart the white satin coat, covered it with light and soft new cotton, and changed it into a small coat and cotton trousers for Xiao Fuyuan.
Xie Chuntao and Eugene Gui sat aside.
This was the first time that Eugene Gui carefully observed her sister-in-law. Even though she didn't like it in her heart, she admitted that her sister-in-law looked so attractive, she was as polished as a porcelain doll.
She touched her belly and prayed that the girl in her belly would be as beautiful as her sister-in-law.
"Mom, why do you have so many good things? I've never seen you take them out before?" Eugene Gui saw that his sister-in-law was wearing a chinchilla fur cloak, and the white jade-patterned satin jacket in her mother-in-law's hand didn't look cheap. , I feel a little bit tasteful.
I heard my mother-in-law mention it, my mother-in-law is different from other village women, she is someone who has eaten and seen good things.
When she got married to her second son, she wanted a red jacket, but the Bai family refused to pay for it. When she asked, they had no money.
It turns out it’s not that there is nothing, but that the mother-in-law has selfish motives.
Such good material, for a girl to wear.
This is just the beginning of being so partial, I am afraid that her daughter will be far behind her sister-in-law in the future.
"There are only these two items in total. It would be a pity to keep them for nothing. Let your sister wear them." Zhen said lightly.
"That's right, mother, your things should be given to my sister-in-law." Xie Chuntao leaned down and stared at Xiao Fuyuan with a smile. She suddenly remembered that there was a piece of cotton silk in her house, and she turned around and made some clothes for her sister-in-law.
Eugene Gui mentally scolded Xie Chuntao for being a flatterer.
"Mom, I gave it to my little sister, what will I wear when my daughter is born?" Eugene Gui asked directly.
Mrs. Zhen has always been kind to her daughter-in-law, but now she was a little unhappy after hearing Eugene Gui's question. She replied in a neither soft nor hard tone: "When you give birth to a daughter, how can I still treat my granddaughter badly?"
"I……"
"Big strong girl!"
Eugene Gui's words were interrupted by a voice calling Zhen from outside.
"The voice sounds like Aunt Xia, I'll go out and take a look." Xie Chuntao stood up.
When they heard it was Mrs. Xia, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were all shocked.
Outside the yard, Mrs. Xia stood by the fence, her clogs covered with snow.
If it weren't for the "bleating" sound, we wouldn't have noticed that she was holding a sheep in her hand. The snow-white sheep blended into the white snow.
Xie Chuntao looked at Mrs. Xia in front of her with surprise.
The Xia family and the Bai family have not interacted with each other for many years. Even if they met in the village, the Xia family ignored the Bai family.
"Mother Xia, please come in and sit down on this cold day." Xie Chuntao concealed her surprise and walked outside the fence to greet Mrs. Xia.
Mrs. Xia stood still and handed the sheep rope to Xie Chuntao: "...I heard that your mother's milk supply is not enough. There happens to be a ewe at home that has given birth. You can take it with me."
"Aunt Xia..."
Xie Chuntao hesitated, neither picking up nor picking up.
Old Mrs. Bai came to visit, and Mrs. Zhen was in the house. Xie Chuntao did not dare to take the Xia family's sheep on her own initiative.
With a "creak" sound, Mrs. Zhen pushed open the door to the upper room. When she saw Mrs. Xia outside the fence, she felt very complicated.
"Sister-in-law Xia..." Zhen called out.
"I just gave birth to a child at such an old age. I have the ability to give birth but not the ability to raise it..." Mrs. Xia said with sarcasm.
Zhen's heart rippled.
After all these years, Mrs. Xia was finally willing to talk to her.
"Sister-in-law Xia, come in and sit down." Zhen's voice was choked with sobs.
"No, don't frighten your daughter because she is so cold." Mrs. Xia refused coldly and said, "This sheep was sent by Qinghe in the evening... She came to the house early in the morning to listen to your mother-in-law borrowing the sheep..."
Speaking of her daughter Qinghe, Mrs. Xia's voice rose and fell.
"Qinghe is so stubborn... Big strong lady, you have a daughter now, don't teach her to be as honest as Qinghe."
"Sister-in-law Xia..." Mrs. Zhen heard Mrs. Xia mention Qinghe and didn't know how to answer.
"If we don't lead this sheep in, it will freeze to death here."
Mrs. Xia gave Xie Chuntao the sheep's rope, turned around and walked away in the snow.
Looking at Mrs. Xia's back disappearing into the night, Mrs. Zhen's heart felt as if she had opened a spice shop, filled with all kinds of flavors.
Back then, if it hadn't been for that incident, Qinghe would have been the daughter-in-law of the Bai family.
If it weren't for the You family's plan against their second son...
But in the final analysis, it was the second son who was blind and mute who fell in love with the You family, and let down such a good girl like Qing He in vain.
After Erzhuang married Eugene Gui, Qinghe also married to the next village. I heard that the family's situation was not good, but even so, he still sent a sheep.
"Mom, this sheep..." Xie Chuntao asked Zhen carefully.
"Put them in the pen. Pick up two larger fish and put them at your Aunt Xia's door. It's up to her whether you want to take them or not," Madam Zhen ordered.
