Chapter 4: No gain, no early rise

Zhang Lifen looked at her son, straightened her chest, raised her head, glanced at Tian Zaohua out of the corner of her eye, and said, "Fuyunlou was founded during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. It is a well-known restaurant in Yuecheng. His grandfather and his father were both chefs of Fuyunlou. His grandfather even cooked for national leaders. This time, his father was supposed to come and pick Ningning up in person, but as the chef of Fuyunlou, he couldn't spare the time, so he asked us mother and son to come."

"Zaohua, did you hear that?" an old man said to Tian Zaohua, "Yuening wants to be a city dweller."

Tian Zaohua was so angry that her face turned black, but Zhang Lifen turned to her son with a smile and said, "Guoqiang, take out the cigarettes and candies and treat everyone to some!"

"good."

Luo Guoqiang opened the black bag and took out a bag of candy and a pack of cigarettes. Zhang Lifen took the candy, peeled a candy and put it in Yue Ning's mouth, saying, "Give it to my Ning Ning first."

Yue Ning hadn't tasted candy for many years, and this candy was really sweet. What made her feel even sweeter was Zhang Lifen's kindness in protecting her.

My father once said that Zhang Lifen was a petty person.

Yue Ning looked at the candy and thought from Zhang Lifen's perspective. In this world, no one has extra rice. They can't even get enough food and clothes, and Grandpa Luo still subsidizes them all day long. It's understandable that Zhang Lifen has complaints.

Zhang Lifen began to give candies to the women and children present, saying, "We heard before that those girls with bad backgrounds have a hard life in the mountains, and many of them marry local cripples or idiots. Ningning's uncle has been worried all these years. When he came over to take a look, the little girl was a little thinner and darker, but everything was fine. It must be the help of you sisters in taking care of her."

Most people present only give their children a piece of rock candy to sweeten their mouths during the Chinese New Year, not to mention the milk candy from big cities, which everyone craves. The children can't wait to peel off the candy wrappers and stuff the candy into their mouths, saying it's delicious.

Zhang Lifen walked up to Tian Zaohua, took out a few candies from her bag, and said, "Big sister, have two candies."

Tian Zaohua didn't want to take it, but she thought of her children at home, so she held out her hand. Zhang Lifen put the candy in her hand, chuckled, and continued to pass out candy.

There wasn’t much candy in a bag of one pound, and they were all gone in an instant. Those who came late didn’t get any.

"Yuening's family has guests coming. Let's help her collect the sheep grass and let her entertain the guests." Aunt Chunmei, Yuening's neighbor, suggested.

The onlookers rushed forward and collected the sheep grass on the field together.

Yue Ning pushed open the door and said, "Aunt, brother, come in quickly."

Yue Ning's home was an adobe house next to the sheepfold. The two followed him into the house, and Zhang Lifen asked, "Why is it so dark?"

The sun was still high at six in the afternoon in the northwest on a summer day, so the lighting in the house was really poor. Yue Ning went over and opened the window covered with plastic paper, and the room became a little brighter.

The mother and son of the Luo family finally saw the situation in the house clearly. The house was very small. There was a brick bed against the east wall. The wall of the brick bed was covered with old newspapers. On the brick bed was a patched blue printed quilt. There was a small wooden table with an enamel teacup on it. There was a worn-out wooden box next to it, and on the box stood a photo of Yue Zhirong. Zhang Lifen felt a little creepy when she saw the eyes in the photo. She turned around and asked, "Ningning, why is your father's photo here?"

"I live alone, and looking at my dad's photo is like my dad is right next to me."

Yue Ning walked over and covered the photo with a towel. She felt relieved when looking at the photo of her father, but outsiders did not think so.

She picked up a broom and swept the kang. The northwest wind was strong and the sand was strong. She cleaned it up in the morning, but it was covered with dust in the evening. After sweeping it clean, she said, "Auntie, Brother Guoqiang, please sit on the kang."

The mother and son came over and sat down. Yue Ning turned and walked to the door, pulled Aunt Chunmei, and asked softly: "Aunt Chunmei, can you lend me two sets of bowls and chopsticks?"

"I'll get it, I'll get it." Aunt Chunmei trotted back.

"It's already past six o'clock. Why don't the old and young wives go back to cook? What are you doing here?" An uncle drove away all the onlookers.

"Ningning, is there any water? I'm almost dying of thirst after rushing all the way here." Luo Guoqiang asked.

Yue Ning went to borrow a bowl from Aunt Chunmei to pour water for the two of them. Now that Brother Guoqiang said he wanted to drink, she took out her only bowl, poured a bowl of water from the teacup, and said, "Brother Guoqiang, you drink!"

"My mother wants it too." said Luo Guoqiang.

Yue Ning handed the cup to Zhang Lifen and said, "Aunt, drink from the cup."

Zhang Lifen took the cup, looked at Yue Ning, and asked, "Ningning, you don't even have a bowl at home, do you?"

Yue Ning smiled sheepishly and said, "There is only one bowl at home."

"This...this is too bitter." Zhang Lifen said with heartache.

Yue Ning was indeed poor, but he only had one bowl because he lived alone and ate little, so one bowl and a plate were enough for him.

Zhang Lifen put down her teacup, hugged her lovingly, and said, "Don't be sad, everything will be fine. It will be fine when we return to Yuecheng."

Her aunt felt sorry for her, and Yue Ning responded gratefully, "Yes."

At the door, Aunt Chunmei came over with bowls and chopsticks, and also brought four eggs. She said, "Aning, these are the only four eggs I have at home. I really can't help you much."

"Thank you, Auntie! It's already very good."

Yue Ning came into the house with a bowl and said, "Aunt, Brother Guoqiang, there's nothing good at home. I'll make some potato cakes and we'll eat together."

Usually, she would steam a pot of potatoes in the morning, eat two of them, and take two with her to eat when she was herding sheep. In the evening, she would crush the remaining potatoes, add some salt, two drops of cooked oil, a spoonful of chili powder, and some wild vegetables dug while herding sheep, and she would make do with that.

She had dug up a lot of sand onions while she was herding sheep today, and she picked them clean while she was herding sheep. Now she took them out and divided them into two portions, the small portion was chopped up and put in potato pancakes later, and the large portion was used to scramble eggs.

Sand onion has the fragrance of onion, but not spicy, like tender leeks with a bit of sweetness, and sand onion has a unique flavor. In her previous life, she liked to use sand onion to cook beef and mutton, and in order to ensure freshness, she even airlifted it from the northwest to Yuecheng.

There were three steamed potatoes left in the morning. Yue Ning took out the flour distributed by the production team at the beginning of the month, crushed the potatoes, added green onions and salt, and mixed them together.

Behind her, Zhang Lifen winked at Luo Guoqiang, who shook his head. Zhang Lifen glared at him and asked in Cantonese, "Do you still want to go to Hong Kong City? They have a restaurant?"

Yue Ning did not stop her work. The words "Hong Kong" and "restaurant" entered her ears and were imprinted in her mind.

Luo Guoqiang walked up to Yue Ning and said, "Ningning, let me help you."

"It's okay, I can do it myself." Yue Ning said.

"Ningning, ask your brother to come and help you. Let him, the chef of Fuyunlou, show you his skills." Zhang Lifen smiled and spoke gently.

Yue Ning kneaded the dough and turned to say, "Aunt, why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken? I have nothing here, so I can't let Brother Guoqiang show off his cooking skills. When I return to Yuecheng in the future, I will definitely taste the dishes cooked by Brother Guoqiang."

"Let your brother Guoqiang make fire for you." said Luo's mother.

"I can do it myself. You two sit for a while, it will be ready soon." Yue Ning rolled potato pancakes on the chopping board.

Yue Ning finished rolling out the potato pancakes and picked up the oil bottle. There was only a little oil left in the broken bottle. She only had three taels of vegetable oil coupons a month, which she usually bought at the beginning of the month and made chili oil once every two weeks. This was the remaining half. After baking pancakes and frying scallions and eggs, the oil bottle was almost empty.

Yue Ning brought the pancakes and scallion eggs to the table and said, "Aunt, Brother Guoqiang, wash your hands and have dinner."

The two of them got off the kang. Yue Ning scooped a bucket of water from the water tank, came to the wooden basin, and said, "I'll save the water for washing clothes tomorrow."

The mother and son washed their hands and sat back on the kang.

She poured some chili oil into the bowl and said, "We in the northwest like to add some chili to everything we eat."

Luo's mother picked up a potato pancake and watched Yue Ning put a piece of scrambled egg in the pancake. She also tried to do the same, but without adding red oil, as the Cantonese people prefer a light taste.

She took a bite and found that the potato pancake with shallot scrambled eggs was surprisingly delicious. The potato pancake was soft and springy, with just the right amount of saltiness, and the shallot scrambled eggs were not only soft and tender, but also extremely delicious.

"Ningning, the onions here are not scallions, right?" Luo Guoqiang, as the chef, was the first to ask this question.

"This is the sand onion from the grassland. Pick the tender ones. It tastes a bit like chives, but it is more tender and tastes better than chives," Yue Ning explained.

“No wonder.”

Zhang Lifen finished a pancake, took another one, sandwiched an egg and said, "Ningning! I just told that woman that your uncle is the chef of Fuyunlou, and my daughter and I are here to take you home. This is true. But there are too many educated youth who want to return to the city. My second son, your elder brother Qiang, also went to Hunan to work in the countryside, and your uncle just made arrangements for him. If you were my daughter, I could retire early and let you take my place, but you are not a direct relative..."

"Aunt, how can this be done? If it's really difficult, then don't do it. The policy is getting more relaxed every year. I'm only 18 years old, so there's really no rush." ​​Yue Ning declined. Going back to the city was indeed an extremely difficult matter, and she didn't want to owe another huge favor, and she already had a plan.

She signed up for the college entrance examination since it was resumed in 1977, but was not admitted probably because of the political review. Last year, she heard that the political review was relaxed, but she encountered the sheep plague. Between the college entrance examination and state property, she chose to protect state property. This year, she signed up for the college entrance examination again, intending to apply for a university in Shanghai. Even if she fails to get into a university, now that she has completely taken off the hat, with the further expansion of reform and opening up, there are plenty of opportunities. Why should she owe such a big favor at this time?

"How can I do that? It would be fine if I didn't see it, but now I see how hard your life is. If I go back like this, not only will your uncle complain, but I won't be able to sleep well at night." Zhang Lifen ate a bite of the biscuit and continued, "Ningning! Originally, my husband and I wanted you to marry your brother Qiang, and then transfer you back to Yuecheng in the name of resettling your family."

When Yue Ning heard the word "marriage", his heart tightened.

"Your uncle thought about it and felt that it's not appropriate. Your brother Jiaqiang went to Hunan to work in the countryside when he was sixteen, and his cooking skills are not very good. When your grandfather Luo passed away, he was most worried about you and your daughter. If you were to marry Jiaqiang, not to mention your father, I'm afraid your grandfather Luo wouldn't be satisfied in the afterlife." Luo's mother looked at her son gently, "After thinking it over, your brother Guoqiang is still the most suitable. He learned to cook from your uncle since he was a child, and his cooking skills are the best in their generation. At a young age, he has become a chef. So, your brother Guoqiang and I came together."

This is not a question of who is better, Guoqiang or Jiaqiang. It's that Yue Ning has never thought about getting married so early. She is only 18 years old. In order to return to the city, she has to marry a stranger?

Besides, the Luo family brought Luo Guoqiang with them. With her years of experience, Luo Guoqiang is considered to be a good-looking chef. He is good-looking and has good cooking skills. Although he cannot be said to have unlimited prospects, his future is definitely bright.

Logically speaking, my grandfather went to Hong Kong to work as a cook, leaving my father in Guangdong City, and it was Grandpa Luo who arranged my father's wedding.

Moreover, after they came to the northwest, Grandpa Luo always missed them and supported them. Grandpa Luo was implicated by their family and died of illness. It was the Yue family who owed the Luo family a favor. But why did the most capable son of the Luo family marry a yellow-haired girl who grew up in the northwest? I can only say that there must be other reasons behind this. There is no such thing as no gain without pain!