The cast iron kitchen knife cut off the chicken bones and chicken, and fell on the three-inch-thick willow wood cutting board, making a muffled sound.
Wang Zhong's voice also sounded: "I remember that year was in 1942. It hadn't rained a day since spring, and the crops in the fields were all burned to death. There was also a war, and the government requisitioned grain every day, and even the trees The bark and leaves were all chewed up, and many people choked to death after eating Guanyin soil. I followed the people from the same village to escape the famine and traveled to many places. But at that time, there were wars everywhere, and we could only hide here and there until we got here. At that time, dozens of people either starved to death or died of illness, and I was the only one left.
I was too lazy to leave anymore, so I just started working as a long-term worker in the house of the landlord in the village. I managed to survive with some strength. Later, after liberation, the land was divided. This house belonged to the landlord of the house where I was a long-term worker. Courtyard, during the land reform, the farmers' association assigned this courtyard to me. "
"In 1942?" Jiang Hongguo was a little surprised, with a strange look in his eyes. When the famine happened, Jiang Hongguo was only a teenager: "Many people starved to death that year!"
That year, there was a great famine, with people dying of hunger and mourning all over the land. An unknown number of people died. When talking about this, Jiang Hongguo was still somewhat concerned.
"Brother Wang, now that we are liberated, don't you plan to go back to your hometown?"
Wang Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "Why go back? It's been so many years and I can't find my way back. Besides, I'm used to living here. This is my home."
There was a bit of sadness in his tone.
Jiang Hongguo put a towel on her shoulders and combed her hair with a comb. She was deeply moved. It was precisely because she had experienced fleeing that she could understand the pain of fleeing.
Although he is also fleeing famine now, he can still get food after all. But when Wang Zhong fled famine, he was fighting everywhere. Dozens of people came out together. In the end, he was the only one who died of starvation and illness. That year Jiang Hongguo also followed his parents. The family fled the famine together, and when they finally returned home, there were not many members of the family left.
The weak chord in his heart was suddenly touched, and the look in Wang Zhong's eyes also changed. Even Jiang Hongguo himself didn't realize it.
Wang Zhong put the chopped chicken into the cabinet, walked to the stove, opened the lid and took a look. The water in the pot had already begun to bubble: "Actually, when I first saw you on the road today, I knew you must have escaped from a disaster at home."
Wang Zhong placed the wooden pot lid on the pot lid shelf against the wall, turned around and went to the bathroom, brought out a wooden bucket, and used a wooden ladle to scoop hot water into the pot.
Jiang Hongguo sighed: "If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't live anymore, who would be willing to leave their hometown and run away to escape!"
"Brother, I'm here to help you!" Jiang Hongguo stood up and prepared to help.
Wang Zhong smiled and refused: "No, no, you should dry your hair quickly. It's not as good as during the night. The closer it gets to night, the colder it will be. But don't catch a cold."
After saying that, Wang Zhong carried the bucket and entered the bathroom. After a while, the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.
Jiang Hongguo was sitting in front of the stove drying her hair, but her heart was filled with mixed feelings again.
······
At night, Wang Zhong sat in the room, reading by candlelight, and was reading "The Legend of the Swordsman of Shushan" bound in blue leather and thread.
Just as he was reading word for word, there was suddenly a knock on the door outside.
"Brother! It's me!" Jiang Hongguo's voice sounded outside the door.
Wang Zhong got off the kang and pulled the door latch. When he opened the door, he saw Jiang Hongguo standing at the door with her hair pulled back.
"It's cold outside. If you have anything to do, come inside and tell me!"
Wang Zhong welcomed the people into the house and locked the door again.
"Brother, why do you light so many lights?" Jiang Hongguo walked straight to the kang and sat down, asking curiously.
There was a kerosene lamp on the kang table, another one on the window sill, and another one on the box at the west end of the kang. The lights of the three oil lamps intertwined, making the room quite bright.
Wang Zhong smiled and said: "The light is too dim. Reading is not good for your eyes. Please light more lights to make the room brighter."
Jiang Hongguo looked at the thread-bound blue book placed on the Kang table, with a little surprise and admiration flashing in her eyes: "It turns out that my eldest brother is still a scholar!"
"Just looking at the excitement." Wang Zhong said: "What does the girl want to see me for so late?"
Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Zhong, her beautiful eyes covered with mist. She tapped her silver teeth on her chapped lips and said, "Brother Wang, your meal today saved my life. I don't have anything." The only person who can repay you is this body. If Brother Wang doesn’t dislike it, I am willing to serve him..."
Wang Zhong suddenly stood up and said with a serious face: "Sister, don't mention this again. I'm not the kind of person who takes advantage of others' danger, let alone doing things to repay kindness. I will give you food, yes When I see you, I think of myself many years ago. I just want to help you and have no other thoughts."
Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Zhong's clear and bright eyes and couldn't help being moved. Tears instantly filled her eyes and flowed down. She shook her lower lip and said, "Brother Wang, I won't hide it from you. I went out to escape." It’s been half a year since I was born, and I haven’t even had a full meal. Now it’s getting colder and colder outside, and I really can’t walk. If you don’t mind, just ask for me. I work very quickly, and I can do laundry. I can cook, work in the fields, and clean the house, and I promise to take good care of you."
While speaking, Jiang Hongguo took the initiative to step forward and grabbed Wang Zhong's hand.
Under the dim candlelight, the two traces of tears hanging on the pretty face were clearly visible. The Jingchai sarong could not hide its beautiful color. I really felt pity for her when I saw her.
Wang Zhong sighed, looked at Jiang Hongguo and said earnestly: "Sister, I can understand your pain. It's freezing and snowy outside, and you are unfamiliar with the place. Where can you go? If you don't want to leave anymore, it happens that the wing at home is still there. If it’s vacant, just stay here first and then talk about it.”
"Brother, I..." Jiang Hongguo grabbed Wang Zhong's wrist excitedly, staring at Wang Zhong, biting her lip, tears in her eyes couldn't stop pouring out, she was moved beyond words surface.
Wang Zhong said: "I won't let you live in vain. This winter, you will first help me with housework, wash and cook, clean the house, and take care of the dozen chickens in the backyard."
"In the spring of next year, several mutual aid groups in our village are preparing to expand production. The work in the fields will definitely be busy by then. It is a time of shortage of people. If you are willing, you can stay. At least you can have something to eat. If If you don’t want to, just be...”
"Brother, I am willing! I am willing!" Before Wang Zhong could finish speaking, Jiang Hongguo grabbed Wang Zhong's hand and said impatiently: "I can do anything."
Wang Zhong patted the back of Jiang Hongguo's hand that was tightly holding his own, took it out of Jiang Hongguo's hand, and said with a soft smile: "Then starting from tomorrow, the work in this house will be left to you, sister. I don’t want to see chaos in the house, so I’ll bother you, sister, to take more trouble.”
"Brother, don't worry, I'll take care of everything." Jiang Hongguo was so moved that her beautiful eyes were filled with crystal tears.
If at this time, Wang Zhong stepped forward and pushed the person down on the kang, everything would surely fall into place.
But Wang Zhong smiled softly and said: "Sister, it's getting late. You've been traveling all day and you must be tired. You'd better go back to bed quickly. Get some rest early and be refreshed before you can work tomorrow. live."
"Brother, let me laugh." Jiang Hongguo raised her sleeves to wipe her tears and said with sobs, "Brother, then I'm leaving."
"Okay, go back quickly!"
Wang Zhong sent people out: "It's cold, go to bed early, and don't forget to get up at night to add firewood to the stove."
"I remember it!" Jiang Hongguo's voice seemed to contain a bit of relaxation and pleasure that he had not seen before.
Wang Zhong locked the door and sat back on the kang. He had just made Liu Xiahui, but he felt a little regretful in his heart. But regrets were regrets, but Wang Zhong did not regret it. Wang Zhong liked beauty, but he could not walk after seeing a woman. The kind of Tao.
Jiang Hongguo is indeed beautiful, and her appearance is in line with Wang Zhong's aesthetics. She has an oval face and willow eyebrows, and is a little gentle. But if you just sleep with her, how can you buy tea with those tea sellers in the real world? No difference.
Since you want to sleep with someone, you have to capture your body and mind. That's interesting. If you just want to sleep with a woman, with Wang Zhong's ability, how can you not sleep with him?
In the east wing room, Jiang Hongguo was lying on the hot Kang, covered with a soft and warm quilt. He looked around with his eyes, looking at the clean and tidy room. Thinking of the past events he had just talked about with Wang Zhong, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Wang Zhong. A strong sense of curiosity was reborn.
Having almost the same experience, coupled with the enthusiastic greetings, Jiang Hongguo not only did not feel any discomfort, but actually enjoyed it very much.
Thinking of his actions just now, he couldn't help but feel his cheeks getting hot. Thinking of Wang Zhong, his mood became complicated again.
Among the chaotic thoughts, thick tiredness surged like a tide, and Jiang Hongguo fell into sleep without knowing when.
Early the next morning, light poured into the house from the window. Jiang Hongguo opened her sleepy eyes and gradually woke up from her sleep. The warm quilt made her feel like a dream.
I haven’t slept well in such a warm bed for half a year. It’s normal to sleep in the open air. It was fine in summer and autumn, but it suddenly got cold a while ago, which was fatal. Jiang Hongguo not only has to worry about eating every day, but also has to worry about food. You have to worry about where to stay.
If you don't pay attention, you might fall asleep one night and never wake up again.
It is common for those who go out to escape from famine to freeze to death and starve to death.
After all, Jiang Hongguo is just a woman in her twenties, and her heart is not as strong as she expected.
With a ten-pound quilt covering her body and a kang burning underneath, Jiang Hongguo was finally able to take off the cotton-padded jacket that she had been wearing for almost a month.
Before she even got out of bed, Jiang Hongguo heard shouts in the courtyard.
Jiang Hongguo suddenly reacted and looked anxious. He quickly got up and dressed. He got off the kang and opened the door. He saw that the yard was completely white, with snowflakes still floating in the sky. There were already many footprints in the yard. Wang Zhong's tall The figure, braving the wind and snow, was practicing fists and kicks in the courtyard.
It didn't look very brilliant or brilliant, but when the punches and elbows were struck, there was a fierce wind, and the wind and snow within a square foot were also wiped away.
The shout was like a muffled thunder, although the pitch was not high, but when it fell in the ears, it made people feel inexplicably trembling.
Seeing that the door to the east wing was opened, Wang Zhong stood up with his fists closed, a smile on his face.
"Girl is up!"
Jiang Hongguo said apologetically: "Brother, I'm really sorry. I overslept. I'm going to make breakfast right now." As he spoke, he ran towards the main room.
Wang Zhong smiled and said: "No need, I've already done it!"
"Ah?" Jiang Hongguo froze on the spot and turned to look at Wang Zhong.
"It's too cold outside, let's go inside and sit down!"
The two walked into the house and closed the door. Jiang Hongguo looked at the steaming steamer in the morning and immediately lowered his head in shame: "Brother, I slept too deeply last night. I usually get up very early." ,······”
"Sister!" Wang Chong smiled and waved his hand, interrupting Jiang Hongguo: "You have been running away from home for half a year. You are on the road begging for food every day. It has been cold these days. You must not have had a good night's sleep. It's not easy. It’s normal to sleep comfortably on the hot kang and sleep more deeply.”
"Brother, don't worry, there will never be a next time." Jiang Hongguo assured Wang Zhong firmly.
"Okay, okay!" Wang Zhong said: "There is hot water in the thermos bottle! You go and wash your face and mouth first."
"Yeah!" Jiang Hongguo turned around with a look of annoyance and self-blame and entered the bathroom with a thermos bottle.
When she came out of the bathroom, the two-layer steamer drawer on the pot had been placed on the table, and the yellow buns in the steamer drawer had been put into the grate by Wang Zhong and placed on the kang table.
In addition to the yellow steamed buns, there were also two bowls of steamed eggs sprinkled with chopped green onion, two bowls of soy sauce, and a plate of pickles on the table.
"Hurry! It's time to eat!" Wang Zhong greeted Jiang Hongguo with a smile.
Jiang Hongguo climbed onto the Kang and sat cross-legged, looking at the steamed eggs and yellow steamed buns on the table, and then looked up at Wang Zhong who was nibbling on the yellow steamed buns and eating pickles.
"Look what I'm doing, hurry up and eat!"
Jiang Hongguo picked up a yellow steamed bun and started eating it.
While eating, Wang Zhong said: "Sister, after dinner, you and I will go find our village party secretary and say hello to the party secretary first, and then you will go to the county with me to buy some things. "
"Yeah!" Jiang Hongguo put down the hot egg soup and nodded repeatedly: "No problem."
“Eat it while it’s hot!”
After dinner, Jiang Hongguo took over the task of washing the dishes and cleaning up. This time Wang Zhong did not treat her politely.
When Wang Zhong led Jiang Hongguo out, although the snowflakes were still falling outside, they were getting smaller and smaller.
"Hey! Big Chong, where did you get your new wife?" As soon as he went out, he met Niu DaDang. This guy was making noises and his voice was so loud that it could reach the sky.
Wang Zhong smiled and said: "What kind of daughter-in-law? Brother Daring, please don't talk nonsense. This girl came from Henan to escape famine. I met her and temporarily stayed at my house. It's freezing now and she has no place." But go, I will take her to find Wanchun, say hello, and let her stay in our Maixiang Village first."
"He's here to escape!" Niu Dadan's expression changed, and there was no longer any teasing on his face. He gave Wang Zhong a thumbs up: "That's why I have to help!"
Along the way out, I met many people, all of whom were as surprised as Niu DaDang. Wang Zhong would patiently stop and explain to people. Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Zhong smiling and patiently explaining to the villagers, with already complicated emotions. There are a few more different emotions.
Most of the people are simple and kind-hearted. Nowadays, the situation in the village is getting better and better. Every household is not short of food. Everyone is willing to help those who are fleeing famine.
"He's here to escape famine!" In the village committee office, Wang Wanchun looked at Jiang Hongguo, who was wearing an old cotton-padded jacket next to Wang Zhong, with some kindness in his eyes. After asking about Jiang Hongguo's origins, he nodded and said: " Since Wang Zhong is willing to take you in, let’s stay for now!”
"Thank you, Party Secretary, thank you, Party Secretary!" Jiang Hongguo hurriedly bowed to Wang Wanchun.
"You can't do it, you can't do it!" Wang Wanchun quickly stood up and supported him.
After exchanging a few words with Wang Wanchun, Wang Zhong led Jiang Hongguo toward the county seat.
Today's county town is different from that of later generations. It is still surrounded by tall city gates, towers and protective walls. Compared with previous years, there are fewer soldiers and bandits in military uniforms and carrying guns on their backs who want to go in and out. There are more people.
But now it is winter, it is still snowing, and there are not many people in the county.
I bought two pieces of cloth, went to the butcher's shop to cut a few kilograms of meat, and went to the medicine shop to buy a lot of herbs, as well as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and other miscellaneous things. When I was about to go back, I met a peddler. .
"Brother, do you want to buy a dog?" The dog seller is a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, wearing an old cotton-padded jacket and a sticky hat on his head.
"How to sell?" Wang Zhong knelt down and carefully looked at the puppies in the wooden cage.
Among the few local dogs, there were actually two red dogs from Laizhou. It was those two red dogs that Wang Zhong was looking at.
"Brothers are very knowledgeable at first sight," the dog owner said with a shrewd smile on his face: "The best ones here are these two red dogs. They are almost two months old. When they are raised, they are used to look after homes and homes, and go hunting in the mountains. good helper."
"This number!"
"Where are the two together?" Wang Zhong looked at the dog owner.
The dog owner's eyes lit up, the surprise in his eyes flashed away, and the smile on his face became brighter: "I think you sincerely want it, brother, so be it, just give me this number." The dog owner raised six fingers.
Wang Zhong smiled and stretched out his hand to pull back two fingers.
The smile on the dog owner's face suddenly stopped, as if he had swallowed coptis, and his face was bitter.
"Brother, your price is too harsh!"
Jiang Hongguo watched Wang Zhong and the dog owner fight over the prices for a while, and finally happily bought two red dog puppies, tied them with two hemp ropes, and took them home.
The news that Wang Zhong took in a handsome young girl spread throughout Maixiang Village in less than half a day, causing quite a heated discussion.
"Guo'er, wash a piece of ginger and peel some garlic."
Wang Zhong stood in front of the stove, holding a spatula in his hand, instructing Jiang Hongguo to do something for him. After getting along for more than a day, Wang Zhong also called Jiang Hongguo from girl to Guo'er, which added a bit of intimacy.
"okay!"
Jiang Hongguo was watching the fire in front of the earthenware stove in the yard. On the earthenware stove was a casserole one foot square and about three inches deep. The female pheasant was stewed in the pot. It had been simmering for a whole afternoon, accompanied by white Steam gushes out of the pot, and the aroma is so rich that it can be swallowed by your tongue.
After a day's work, Jiang Hongguo was almost familiar with it. He picked up a piece of old ginger still wrapped in dried mud from under the eaves, and expertly scraped and cleaned it.
Cut the ginger and pat the garlic, stir-fry the rooster meat, the spatula collides with the thick cast iron pot, and the oil is scorched by the fire. The chicken turns from raw to cooked quickly, and seasonings and side dishes are added one after another. After a while, the aroma of the meat will make you greedy. The whole hall was filled.
"It's ready to be cooked as it is now!"
At the stove, Wang Zhong was cooking and explaining to Jiang Hongguo.
Today, Wang Zhong only cooks the dishes, and all the work of cutting, washing, cooking and doing chores is taken care of by the ginger red fruit.
Jiang Hongguo stared intently at the steaming chicken in the cast iron pot, swallowing her saliva unsatisfactorily and not forgetting to nod.
Take the chicken out of the pot, pour a ladle of water into the pot and cook with residual heat.
Jiang Hongguo quickly brought the fried chicken to the Kang table.
The casserole on the stove was also brought into the room by Jiang Hongguo, whose ears were wrapped in a rag and brought to the Kang table.
"There is an aluminum lunch box in the cabinet. Take it out and fill it with some meat and soup. After dinner, you and I can deliver it to the second grandpa."
Jiang Hongguo took out the aluminum lunch box, opened the lid of the casserole, filled the aluminum lunch box with steaming meat and soup with a spoon, and asked, "Who is the second grandpa?"
"The main surnames in Maixiang Village are Niu and Ma. The second grandfather is from the Niu family. He is of high seniority and prestige. He is an upright man and is highly respected by the villagers, but he has no heirs."
"When I fled the famine before, thanks to my second grandfather giving me a few meals, I didn't starve to death."
Jiang Hongguo nodded repeatedly.
Wang Zhong said again: "Put in more meat!"
"Yeah!" Jiang Hongguo followed the law and specially selected a chicken leg and several pieces of chicken breast with more meat and less bones.
It's just that an aluminum lunch box is only that big, and the broth can't be filled too much.
Covering the aluminum lunch box tightly, Jiang Hongguo brought in the hot yellow steamed buns.
"Stop working so hard, sit down and eat!" Wang Zhong greeted Jiang Hongguo.
"Okay!" Jiang Hongguo responded with a smile. Just as he was about to take off his apron and get on the kang, he remembered Wang Zhong's words and hurriedly walked into the bathroom and washed his hands before sitting on the kang.
The yellow steamed buns are steamed in the morning and can be eaten as soon as they are heated.
"The nourishing effect of pheasant soup is even better than that of an old hen. After simmering it for a few hours, the essence and nutrients are all in the soup. Drink more soup to replenish it!"
Wang Zhong had already placed a bowl of chicken soup in front of Jiang Hongguo.
"Brother, I can do it myself!" Women in general are always easily moved by this kind of subtle concern, and Jiang Hongguo is no exception.
After eating a few mouthfuls of yellow steamed buns, Jiang Hongguo picked up the fragrant chicken soup and blew on it, then lowered his head and took a sip. As soon as the yellow-white chicken soup entered his mouth, Jiang Hongguo's eyes suddenly opened wide, his eyes shrank, and his face of shock.
"This chicken soup is so delicious. I have never tasted such delicious chicken soup!"
Wang Zhong only smiled slightly.
"Brother, how come your chicken soup tastes so good?" Jiang Hongguo couldn't help but asked curiously after swallowing the chicken soup and yellow steamed buns in his mouth.
Level five cooking skills, in a feudal society, would be enough to serve as a royal cook in the palace.
The art of cooking, in addition to dishes and ingredients, lies in the fact that the same ingredients and the same conditions, in the hands of ordinary people and people with advanced cooking skills, taste like cloud mud.
The method of processing ingredients, the heat of cooking, the timing of adding seasonings and side dishes, and so on.
"It's nothing more than ingredients and heat. I'll teach you later!"
Wang Zhong said, "After dinner, remember to feed Dahong and Erhong."
"good!"
Wang Zhong asked: "Can you make clothes?"
Jiang Hongguo nodded: "Yes!"
"Didn't I buy two pieces of cloth today? That piece of floral cloth is for you. The second box on the west side of the warehouse contains cotton. Go get some and make yourself a new cotton coat."
"I..."
"I bought everything, so I can't waste it, right? Do you want me to wear colorful clothes?"
Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Zhong and bit her lower lip, "Brother! Thank you!"
