Chapter 95 Mutton Soup Bun

Yan Guixiang was full of passion and walked very fast. She had walked halfway before she met Zhang Ruifeng and Zhao Hongxia who were also in a hurry. The two of them were worried about the snow, so they also walked very fast.

She finished her brainstorming and returned to reality, "Sister Zhang, Hongxia."

"mom."

"cinnamon."

When the three of them met, Zhao Hongxia said, "Mom, you are so nice. You actually came to pick me up."

Yan Guixiang smiled and said, "I didn't intend to come pick you up at first. I thought a little snow wouldn't be a big deal. It was Mumu who came to our house to ask for a raincoat, saying that he and Binbin were coming to pick someone up and would bring one for you. Then I thought, forget it, let's not let the two kids go out, I'll pick them up myself."

Zhao Hongxia laughed: "I don't care, you're here anyway."

Zhang Ruifeng took the raincoat and thanked him with a smile, "Sorry for the trouble, it's quite heavy."

"What's the trouble? I'm from an iron family, after all. How can I not be able to lift two sets of straw raincoats?"

Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "That's true. Back then, you were the most powerful militiaman in our brigade. Binbin and the others were still not as good as you."

"That's not necessarily true. The Yangtze River's waves push forward, and each wave is stronger than the last. I think Binbin and her generation are more capable than ours. Girls nowadays are so independent-minded."

"They're so bold and daring, and it's all thanks to you backing them up. Binbin told me that when Wu Mei wanted to break off the engagement, they were worried Xu Cheng's mother wouldn't agree. But Wu Mei said, 'At worst, I'll go talk to Director Yan.' Listen, these kids really think of you as their backbone."

Yan Guixiang smiled and said, "That would be great! I wish they would come to me for consultations whenever they have problems. It's better than keeping things to themselves. But to be honest, these kids have their own opinions, and I'm just a support."

Zhang Ruifeng and Zhao Hongxia had just put on their raincoats when snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "You've arrived just in time."

The three of them were all wearing straw raincoats and straw hats. They were not afraid of the wind and snow, and were not in a hurry to travel. They walked back chatting and laughing all the way.

☆

When Zhang Ruifeng returned home, she smelled the aroma of mutton soup before she even entered the door, and the hot steam hit her face as soon as she entered.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, many families are starting to improve their lives, and the Xie family's mutton soup isn't particularly special. They stew it honestly.

Zhang Ruifeng laughed and said, "What delicious food are you two cooking up?"

Xie Yun replied, "I bought some mutton at the market and made some soup. It smells alright to me. Mom, you have to praise me later, no matter whether it tastes good or not."

"My daughter's cooking must be delicious."

Xie Shen came over to help her hang up her raincoat, and ran to her room to get a pair of shoes for her to change into.

The disadvantage of thousand-layer cloth shoes is that they cannot be exposed to water and will get wet if they are exposed to water.

Zhang Ruifeng quickly changed her shoes, and Xie Shen took the pair she had taken off to the stove to warm them before washing his hands.

"Mom, my sister bought a lot of delicious food today. There are snacks, candies, and apples."

“And apples!”

"We bought them at the market. Someone was pushing two big baskets on a wheelbarrow, and there were a lot of people gathered around."

Zhang Ruifeng laughed and said, "This thing is really rare. Sister Wang and Xiao Chen from our store live close to the commune and have worked at the grain store for years. They visit the supply and marketing cooperative every few days during their lunch break, but they rarely see it in stock. Sister Wang said the salesperson probably kept it for himself and sold it to someone he knew. You two are really lucky."

Xie Yun said, "Mom, I bought two chickens. Let's keep one for ourselves and give the other one to Uncle Li's family."

"Okay. Let's have a good New Year."

Zhang Ruifeng washed her hands and said to Xie Shen, "Hurry up and bring out the delicious food."

She knew that if she didn't go home, the two children would definitely not eat. Binbin was better, as she was a grown-up and could hold her temper, but Mumu must be very greedy.

"Why!"

Xie Shen agreed loudly and quickly took out the paper packages of snacks. "Mom, let's just try them. My sister's mutton soup has been stewing for a long time, we have to save some for that."

"I know. You don't have to tell me that."

She opened the paper package, took out a piece of egg cake, broke off a small piece and put it in her mouth, then broke the rest into two halves, giving half to her daughter and half to her son.

"It tastes good, but it's too sweet. I'm not used to it. You two can eat it."

Xie Shen took it and broke off half for Zhang Ruifeng, "Eat more and you'll get used to it."

Zhang Ruifeng was about to refuse, but Xie Shen had already run over and sat down next to Xie Yun. He nibbled at his egg cake bit by bit, like a little squirrel nibbling on an acorn. He was really savoring it.

Xie Yun broke off a piece from her own and stuffed it into his mouth, and she finished the rest in one gulp.

How big can a piece of egg cake be?

If she eats like this, her family's three pounds of snacks will last until the end of the first lunar month.

Xie Yun opened the lid of the pot, broke the pancake into small pieces, put it into the pot and cooked it for three minutes, then served a large bowl to each person.

Xie Shen quickly stuffed the remaining egg cake into his mouth to free up his hands to help her.

Zhang Ruifeng ate a piece of mutton first and praised it, saying, "It's well-cooked, easy to chew, and has no mutton smell at all. It's delicious."

She ate another piece of steamed bun and praised it, "Delicious! I thought it would fall apart once cooked, but it's still a little chewy after absorbing the broth."

Then she ate a piece of radish and praised it again: "This radish tastes better than meat."

Finally, she took a sip of the soup and continued to praise it: "It's very fragrant. I feel very nourished after drinking it."

Xie Shen ate and followed along with the "hmm hmm" sound.

Xie Yun was very proud.

Although she felt that the dish still had many shortcomings, it still attracted many diners’ praise.

The atmosphere was so lively that she felt a sense of pride as if she had won the cooking competition tonight.

Just after finishing the meal, the loud speaker blared, "Attention, women comrades, attention, women comrades, please come to the team headquarters for a meeting as soon as possible. It's cold, we have prepared hot water for everyone. Comrades coming to the meeting can bring bowls and pots to drink some hot water to warm up."

Zhang Ruifeng said to Xie Shen, "I'll leave the house to you. Your sister and I are going to a meeting. We'll lock the door from the outside. You can clean up and go to bed early."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Xie Yun smelled a bit stronger of mutton soup, so she changed her clothes before going out with Zhang Ruifeng, each holding a bowl.

They didn't have cups and drank water from bowls.

Although they were not thirsty, since the loudspeaker specifically reminded everyone to bring bowls, there was a possibility that the water tonight was a little special and they had to drink it!

Snow fluttered down, and the two of them put on their straw hats and went out. The meeting place was not far from home, so they didn't wear raincoats.

When Xie Yun and Zhang Ruifeng arrived, there were already many people in the room and it was very lively.

Today was a general women's meeting. Any female comrade from Liushu Village was welcome to attend. Even Li Aiyun and Zheng Lanping would have been welcome. But they didn't come.

There were two large buckets of steam at the door. Someone was standing behind them responsible for fetching water for everyone, and they were given a bowl of water as soon as they entered the door.

Xie Yun took a small sip. It was a little sweet, with a hint of malted milk. It must have been put in the bucket with malted milk, and maybe some sugar as well.

She whispered to Zhang Ruifeng, "We should ask Mumu to come too. He can still have another bowl."

Zhang Ruifeng nearly choked on the water she had just taken. She quickly swallowed it and whispered, "Just think about this in your mind, don't say it out loud."

Wang Huaqing asked, "What are you two whispering about?"

Xie Yun said, "This water is delicious! I have never tasted water that tastes so good. I can't bear to drink it, so I'll take it home and let my brother try it later."

Wang Huaqing rolled his eyes. "Drink yours. I'll let you take a bowl with you when you leave."

Little girl, she can smell the mutton soup on her, and you are still crying poor to her.

"Okay. Thank you, Aunt Huaqing."

Xie Yun found his little friend with the bowl in his hand, and Zhang Ruifeng also joined Xu Cheng's mother.

Before the meeting officially started, everyone chatted casually.

There are so many meetings in rural areas these days: study sessions, exchange meetings, and ideological presentations. It's said that some brigades hold meetings every night. Missing out is unacceptable; it's considered a lack of ideological progress and leads to criticism. As for the specific content of these meetings, they often consist of reading newspapers. Some people simply retreat to a corner and sleep through the entire process.

The leadership of Liushutun may not be too keen on this. They only do it when the situation is tense, and let it go when the situation is not tense. In any case, during the time Xie Yun has been here, apart from the women's meeting, the grain distribution meeting, and the year-end work points settlement and commendation meeting, no other meetings have been held.

The atmosphere at the women's meetings in Liushu Village was always very positive. Every meeting was about serious business, and everyone was very active.

Most people had arrived, and Yan Guixiang announced the start of the meeting.

"Let's first thank Sister Hua Qing. She took out her treasured collection of sugar and malted milk to make tea for everyone. This was sent back by her nephew in the city as a token of her filial piety. Sister Hua Qing felt that we women comrades have worked hard all year and have performed exceptionally well, so she gave this to everyone as a reward. Let's applaud and thank her."

【DuangDuangDuang】

There was the sound of stomping feet.

The compacted earth was almost being stomped into dust.

Yan Guixiang quickly called a halt.

Zhou Dani said, "We all have bowls in our hands, so we can't clap. We can only stamp our feet. Thank you, Hua Qing!"

Wang Huaqing smiled and said, "You're welcome. Let's keep up the good work and perform well next year."

Someone said, "In order to drink your malted milk next year, I have to behave myself."

Everyone at the scene burst into laughter.

Yan Guixiang waited for everyone to laugh for a few seconds before knocking on the table and saying, "It's the end of the year, so we women comrades should also hold a summary meeting, a commendation meeting, and a talk meeting to see what we did best this year, where we still lacked, what difficulties we encountered, what we couldn't figure out, and what we hope for next year. Let's talk about it. What can we do for everyone? Let's also raise all the questions and discuss them on the spot."