Because Nie Qianqian was delayed outside Jishi Hall for a while, she finally failed to catch the bullock cart and could only walk back to Qinghe Village on her two short legs.
Not long after walking, it became completely dark. A bright moon rose in the night sky. Through the moonlight, I could barely see the road ahead. Taking the village road and walking on the concrete road were completely different concepts. The village road was bumpy and uneven, and it was a bit deep to walk on. A shallow kick is very tiring.
Nie Qianqian wiped the sweat from her forehead and once again deeply experienced the difficulty of the life of the working people at the bottom. In her previous life, she had good fortune and was inevitably arrogant. On the second day of this other life, she had no support from her family and no accumulated foundation. She started from scratch, not only physically tired, but also mentally toughened.
Nie Qianqian looked at the dim yellow light scattered in the village houses not far away, and became more determined that she would take her family in this world out of Qinghe Village and live a good life.
When she walked to the entrance of the village, she saw two figures, one large and one small, standing there in the moonlight.
When she got closer, she recognized Liu Yan, who looked anxious and eager, and Xiao Tuantuan, who had a little pout.
When Xiao Tuantuan saw Nie Qianqian, she let go of Liu Yan's hand, ran towards her with her short legs, hugged her legs tightly and rubbed her, "Mom, you are back, Tuantuan I’ve been waiting for my mother.”
Nie Qianqian put down the basket, squatted down and hugged Tuantuan, "Mother bought a lot of delicious food for Tuantuan today, so she came back late."
Tuantuan choked her mouth and said, "Tuantuan doesn't need to ask for delicious food. I want my mother to go home early."
Nie Qianqian felt soft in her heart. It was said that children from poor families would become masters early. Tuantuan was born in a family like the original owner and was even more sensible and sensitive.
Liu Yan took the frame from Nie Qianqian and found that it was very heavy, which made her eyes wet. Is her daughter walking back to the village from the town carrying such a heavy thing on her back today? She is a useless mother and makes the child suffer.
Under the night, Liu Yan's emotions were well hidden, and she asked softly: "Why are you back so late?"
Nie Qianqian: "After selling the fish, I walked around the market and bought a lot of things. I missed Uncle Li's oxcart and it was too late when I walked back. Mom, why don't you wait at home? It's cool at night and let the wind blow here. "
Liu Yan has been waiting at the entrance of the village with her group since it was still dark. She has been waiting for more than an hour. If she were not afraid of crossing paths with Qianqian, she would have wanted to walk to the town to look for her.
Liu Yan sighed: "Mom, where can I sit at home? Come home quickly and have dinner."
Nie Qianqian felt warm in her heart. Although it was inevitable that she would be lonely when she first entered a different world, this family gave her warmth.
The three returned to the old house, which was already heated by Liu Yan. Liu Yan took the warm water on the stove and poured a glass of water for Nie Qianqian, "Drink some hot water quickly."
Nie Qianqian took the water and drank it in one gulp, then led one large and one small child into the house, sharing with a smile on her face, "Let's see what I bought today."
Under the flickering candlelight, Liu Yan and Tuantuan watched Nie Qianqian take out one good thing after another from the basket as if by magic.
"These are the new clothes and shoes I bought for Mom and Tuantuan. Let's put them on tomorrow. Mom, I see that the soles of your shoes are leaking and water will get in when it rains. You can't wear them anymore."
"This is the ten pounds of white rice and flour I bought today. Mom, I know you want to say that white rice and noodles are expensive, but Tuan Tuan has a healthy body and needs to eat something good. You need to take good supplements."
"This is the pork we bought. Let's stew some meat tonight." After a day of intense work, Nie Qianqian was already hungry, and she really wanted to eat braised pork.
"These are vegetables bought in town, including potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, and cabbage."
"These are the candies I bought for Tuantuan. Tuantuan can eat a few candies every day, but not too many. It's not good for the teeth."
This is····
Liu Yan and Tuantuan were stunned, watching Nie Qianqian's "magic" with wide eyes.
Those three bamboo baskets don't look big, but they look like bottomless pits, and they can't be empty even if they are taken out.
These good things, even during the holidays, would not be their turn in Lao Nie's house, and they would not even take a look at them.
When Nie Qianqian finished placing the things she bought on the Tukang, both of them stared blankly and didn't speak for a long time.
After a long while, Liu Yan stuttered and asked: "Qianqian, how much do these good things cost? How can you make enough money selling fish?"
Nie Qianqian had already guessed that Liu Yan would ask this question and said what she had planned in advance.
"In the back alley next to the Tiande Library where Xianggong copied books, I happened to rescue an uncle. The uncle seemed to have some kind of anemia and almost fainted in the back alley. I lifted him up and took care of him for a long time. The uncle was kind-hearted. , after waking up, he gave me two taels of silver as a thank you gift, so that I could buy so many things."
It is difficult for Liu Yan to distinguish between half truth and half falsehood.
Liu Yan thought to herself: This must have helped a rich family. I heard Qianqian's father say before that every rich man in town needs three to five taels of silver to eat.
Liu Yan clasped her hands together: "God knows, we Qianqian are blessed."
Tuantuan drooled as he looked at the colorful candies in the paper bag. What did the candies taste like? He had never eaten candies since he was born.
Nie Qianqian took out a candy and stuffed it into Tuantuan's mouth. Tuantuan's eyes suddenly widened and lit up, then narrowed in happiness, and tasted it carefully. This is candy, it's so sweet.
She took out another candy and gave it to Liu Yan, who made the same expression as Liu Yan and Tuantuan.
Nie Qianqian was more happy watching it than eating it herself, and burst into laughter. Liu Yan and Tuantuan were a little embarrassed, so they pursed their lips and smiled. Gradually, their smiles widened, and the laughter of the three of them filled the entire old house.
Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian organized all the things they bought, and Liu Yan hurried to cook.
"Mom, when I went to town to buy pork, the stall owner told me a recipe. I will make the pork later."
Nie Qianqian studied abroad for many years in her previous life. She was not used to Western food, so she learned to cook early. Although she could not compare with the chefs, her daily dishes were very delicious. She would never treat herself badly wherever she went. host.
Nie Qianqian chose a strip of fat and thin pork, cut it into chunks, took out the required seasonings from the space early and put them into a cloth bag, blanch the pork, heat the pot, heat oil, add cinnamon, Bay leaves and star anise, these spices were also available in this era, but they were often used as medicinal materials and people would not use them for cooking.
Liu Yan stewed the fish into the pot and watched Nie Qianqian cooking attentively.
"Are these fragrant leaves? Star anise? Can these also be used for cooking?"
"Of course, Mom, smell it, it will start to smell fragrant as soon as it is put into the pot."
"It really is."
After Nie Qianqian stir-fry the meat, add sugar and salt.
Liu Yan's flesh ached as she watched. This cost more than a kilogram of pork and cost dozens of pennies. It also required so much sugar. This sugar was also a rare thing. At first, Mrs. Nie was not even willing to part with a bowl of brown sugar water. To the sick Qianqian.
Even if I earned enough money today, I still can't spend money like this. But when I tried to dissuade you, I swallowed it back when I saw Nie Qianqian's expectant expression.
She is not very opinionated, otherwise she would not have been bullied in Lao Nie's house for so many years without knowing how to resist. After moving out, Nie Qianqian became her backbone. If Qianqian is happy, she will be happy as a mother.
Soon, the fish and meat were stewed, and Liu Yan stir-fried some vegetables. Two adults and one snack had three dishes, one fish and one meat, even though the main family table in the village did not have this level of food.
The aroma of fish and meat is irresistible, especially for villagers, who may not be exposed to much meat in a month. Aunt Wang's house, which is closest to Nie Qianqian's house, has long smelled the tempting aroma of meat.
Aunt Wang scolded Uncle Wang who was on the kang head. "How come this girl from the Nie family still smells the smell of meat? Yesterday Liu Yan came over to borrow a bowl from us. How come she can buy meat today?"
Uncle Wang had already finished his meal, but now he could smell the aroma of meat, and his mouth was watering again, "I didn't know, this meat tastes so damn fragrant, why does it still smell like fish?"
Aunt Wang curled her lips and said, "You have a bad nose. How can there be fish? Do you think it is Liu Yan's eldest brother who came to help them?"
Uncle Wang took a puff of welding smoke and said, "You're talking about the laborer who carries big bags in the town? His family can't live without a living, but he can also help them buy meat? What's more, I met their family at the entrance of the village a few days ago. My father-in-law has gone, and the whole family has gone back to the natal village for funerals, and they haven’t come back yet.”
Here, Nie Qianqian and the others didn't know that the fish cooked tonight had already made everyone around them salivate. At this moment, the three of them were holding three bowls of white rice, showing off the braised pork and stewed fish, focusing on the rice without saying anything.
The braised pork is soft and tender, melts in your mouth, and has the aroma of meat. When mixed with the white rice dipped in the soup, it is, in one word, amazing!
Tuantuan had rice grains on his mouth and thought: This is the happiest day since he was born.
Liu Yan felt sour and sweet in her heart: It turned out that the life after moving out was not difficult. There was no oppression from her mother-in-law, no beatings and scolding from her husband, and she was free.
Nie Qianqian ate the fish and recalled that Liu Yan once told the original owner that before Liu Yan got married, her family was poor and she had worked in the kitchen of a restaurant in the town for many years.
She secretly added soy sauce and other modern seasonings to the braised pork. Needless to say, it tastes good. Mom doesn’t have that many seasonings, but the fish is stewed so deliciously. Her craftsmanship is really good. You can consider making a living from it in the future.
