"Besides, my good friend is your elder. Just treat him the same way you treat your Aunt Meng."

When Fang Zhiyi heard him say this, she had no choice but to nod. Since she said so, she would not be polite. With him around, it would be more convenient to celebrate the New Year.

After they finished talking, Fang Zhiyi and the others started cooking. Because Fang Zhiyi didn't like fatty meat, they only used a small piece of pork belly and the rest was lean meat.

It was faster for two people to do it than for one person. Fang Zhiyi and Meng Xiangan helped wrap the dough, and they finished it quickly. There was still some dough left, so Fang Zhiyi made a few pancakes.

It can be saved for tomorrow's meal. After it was ready, Meng Xiangan boiled water to make dumplings, while Fang Zhiyi went out to call his younger brother back for dinner.

As soon as Fang Zhiyi walked out of the alley where their home was, he saw two people chasing each other under a tree.

"Zhilin, go home and eat. We're having dumplings today. Xiaoshan can come too, okay?"

Hearing her words, the two stopped chasing each other and looked at their sister coming over. Only then did they realize that Lin Ke was happy.

She ran over quickly, threw herself into Fang Zhiyi's arms, and said coquettishly:

"Sister, can we play for a while longer? Just for a little while, okay?"

Fang Zhiyi looked at the child who was acting like a spoiled child and said helplessly, "You haven't had enough fun after playing for so long. Aren't you hungry? We made dumplings today. Don't you want to eat some?"

Hearing this, Fang Zhilin hesitated for a moment. He was very hungry and wanted to eat dumplings, but he also wanted to play with Niu Xiaoshan. He couldn't decide which he wanted to do most.

"I want to eat, but I also want to play with my brother."

Fang Zhiyi looked at Xiaoshan not far away, then looked down at his younger brother and said with a smile: "Why don't you invite your brother Xiaoshan to our house for dinner? If he agrees, you two can play together again."

......

In this way, Fang Zhiyi finally took the two children home for dinner. When they got home, Meng Xiangan looked at the extra children, just smiled, and then continued what he was doing.

“It’s out of the pot.”

Meng Xiangan scooped the dumplings onto a mat and brought them to the table. Their kitchen was small, so they always ate in the open space in the living room.

The two little ones sat there, watching the dumplings coming, and their eyes kept following the dumplings.

Fang Zhiyi followed behind, first bringing two bowls of dumpling soup, and then going to the kitchen to get vinegar. After getting everything, they started eating.

"It tastes really good. Looks like I don't have to worry about you two going hungry."

"Of course I will. Just wait and see. When you come back later, I will definitely make Zhilin plump and white."

......

After dinner, Meng Xiangan cleaned up the dishes and went to pack his luggage, but he didn’t have much to take.

The three bags that were originally filled to the brim, when I went back this time, even two of them couldn’t be filled.

Fang Zhiyi went to the kitchen and prepared to boil the piece of lard he brought back, as there was not much oil left at home.

However, Fang Zhiyi said that he still likes vegetable oil, but there is less oil and water here now, so sometimes cooking tastes better when more oil is added.

Making this thing is not easy, but fortunately she has learned it before, so as long as she controls the temperature well, there shouldn't be any big problems.

Fang Zhiyi used the moonlight to wash the lard clean, then dried the water on it, cut it into small pieces, and put it in the pot.

Then add water and put the lard in, then start paying attention to the fire and simmer it slowly.

In the end, she boiled a whole jar of lard from such a large piece of fat. She scooped out the oil residue, sprinkled a little salt on it, and then brought it into the house to feed the two people who were playing.

The two people smelled the fragrance and stopped playing. They sat there quietly and ate with their hands.

Fang Zhiyi returned to the kitchen and began to fill the jar. Looking at the jar, she thought it should be no problem for her to use it for two or three months.

After finishing, they returned to the house. No matter how delicious the food is, it will become greasy if you eat too much. The two of them ate a little and then stopped.

Seeing that it was getting late, Fang Zhiyi first sent Niu Xiaoshan back home, and then brought back a bowl of steamed vegetables, which were wild vegetables from the mountains. It was unknown who sent it to the Niu family.

After bringing it back, Fang Zhilin couldn't eat any more after just two bites. However, Meng Xiangan, perhaps because he had used up his energy in packing things, or perhaps because this was the taste of his childhood, ate half a bowl.

Then he lay down on the sofa, touched Fang Zhilin's head and said, "When I'm not around, you two should be more careful at home. When you go to bed at night, make sure to check whether the door is closed properly, okay?"

"Also, if you get into trouble, don't be stubborn. If you can't solve it, ask an adult for help, or go directly to the police."

Fang Zhiyi nodded, then said, "I know, I know, don't worry."

"Okay, now that we've talked about this, you're of the right age now. If you meet someone you like, you can spend some time together. I won't stop you, you know."

After hearing this, Fang Zhiyi said angrily, "What are you talking about? I don't have such thoughts right now. All I want to do now is to raise Zhilin. I'll just let things take their own course."

"Okay, whatever you want. But when you're old enough, there will definitely be a lot of people introducing you to other people. You'll be busy then."

Fang Zhiyi heard him say this and said with a smile: "Then you don't have to worry, I have a way."

"If there's anything happening at home, tell me."

——

Meng Xiangan repeated many instructions over and over again, but he still felt uneasy about leaving, but there was nothing he could do.

The next morning, Fang Zhiyi got up early to cook. She steamed rice, made fried rice with eggs, braised pork, and boiled a few eggs.

They made some extra for him to eat on the train. After the meal, they sent Meng Xiangan to the train station together.

Fang Zhilin's relationship with his uncle had been getting better and better in the past few days. After arriving at the train station, he finally realized that his uncle was going to leave him, and he burst into tears.

After sending the person away, Fang Zhiyi finally managed to coax the person into silence by buying him a popsicle. The two of them walked home together. Fang Zhiyi licked the popsicle with red eyes, and he didn't look in a very good mood.

The two returned home. Fang Zhiyi cleaned up the mess in the kitchen that had been made while cooking in the morning. Then, seeing that Fang Zhilin was still not happy, he sent him out to play.