Chapter 144 Mud Dumplings

Unlike most families of this era, the Shen family is not a family where the man is the breadwinner and the woman is the homemaker.

When a woman makes hand-rolled noodles, men also need to help.

This year, Shen Jichuan rarely came back for such a long time, and he met his mother who wanted to teach his newlywed wife how to make hand-rolled noodles. Without anyone telling him, he took the initiative to put away the bowls and chopsticks and helped Shen's mother set up the rolling table.

The so-called rolling table is actually a large table.

It can be folded up and leaned against the door when not in use, and taken out and set up when needed.

The tabletop has been used for making hand-rolled noodles for a long time and has become shiny.

Mother Shen was happy today and asked her son to set up the noodle making machine in the yard.

Shen Jichuan went to the kitchen and got a large basin to knead the dough.

The flour is ground from wheat grown at home. It is not pure white, but slightly yellow, with a strong wheat aroma.

Now Xia Keqing finally understood why there were always people on the Internet reminiscing about the past.

Some people would say that the past is unforgettable because it has passed.

In fact, if you really go back to the past and you are in the same situation as before, you may not think that the past is so good. Only when you lose it will you miss it.

But at this moment, Xia Keqing really wanted to say, it’s really not!

Things from this era, whether it is chicken or flour, cannot be compared with industrially produced goods in later generations.

I have to say, although materials were scarce in that era, people ate really well!

Unlike later generations, although materials are abundant, what we eat is technology and hard work.

"Keqing, look, let's knead the dough first."

"This side, feel it carefully, it's alive."

As soon as Shen's mother finished speaking, Shen Lan laughed, "Third sister-in-law, you listened to my mother's nonsense, how can noodles be alive?"

Mother Shen glared at her, and Shen Lan immediately shut her mouth.

Xia Keqing smiled and said, "Mom, I'm listening!"

Mother Shen nodded with satisfaction, “My hand-rolled noodles are actually made with very simple ingredients, just flour, water, and a little bit of salt, please help me get the salt jar.”

Before he finished speaking, Shen Jichuan had already brought the salt jar over.

Mother Shen was a little surprised.

Suddenly I felt like I had missed something.

She couldn't help but turn her head and ask Shen Jichuan, "Sanwa, do you remember that mother needs salt to make hand-rolled noodles?"

Shen Jichuan nodded slightly, "Yeah."

Mother Shen's eyes lit up, "Yes, you have been different from your eldest brother and second brother since you were a child."

She glanced at Shen Xiaochuan, “It’s different from your little brother.”

"Your eldest brother is most like your father, he always likes to bury his head, your second brother only knows how to read his book, and your youngest brother is just a monkey, but you are the only one who can sit still."

Shen Jichuan nodded slightly.

In his memory, the scene of his mother making hand-rolled noodles has always been deep in Shen Jichuan's heart.

He sat on a stool not far away, polishing his wooden sword, dreaming of becoming a peerless master and being invincible in the whole village.

From time to time, he would look up at his mother.

He was afraid that his mother would find out about his treasure and confiscate it.

Shen Jichuan thought about it and decided not to tell his mother the truth of that year...

He remembered that his eldest brother was helping his father chop wood, his face and body were covered in sweat, but he didn't say a single extra word.

The second brother moved a high stool and sat on the small stool, reading a book.

The two younger sisters helped their mother get water and salt jars.

The younger brother is nine years younger than him. At first, he was still in his cradle. When he was three or five years old, this kid loved to sneak to the corner of the wall in front of the house to dig ants and earthworms for fun. He just didn't like to stay in the house.

Shen Jichuan didn't stay at home for a long time, but this scene lasted almost throughout his entire childhood.

The main reason was that there were not many opportunities to make hand-rolled noodles at home at that time.

There are many people in the family, most of whom are teenagers. They can eat at least eight kilograms of noodles for one meal, which requires at least five kilograms of flour.

So eating a meal of noodles is actually a luxury.

Because it is a luxury, whenever there is noodles at home, it becomes a carnival for all the children in the family.

Shen Jichuan thought of the past scenes, and then looked at his wife with a serious face, his eyes couldn't help but deepen.

"Um."

As a result, Shen's mother said again: "Xiaoqing is so thin, and you can't see that she has any strength. You will knead the dough later, and mother will teach you how to make hand-rolled noodles."

Shen Jichuan:?

Shen Lan burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! I thought you were going to teach your sisters-in-law and let them cook for your brothers, but you are just thinking about teaching your son and letting your sisters-in-law enjoy it."

Mother Shen said angrily: “I want to teach you two sisters so that your husbands can enjoy happiness, but it’s a pity that you can’t teach them, right?”

Speaking of husbands, we have to mention Chen Ju’s husband Zheng Zhongming.

Zheng Zhongming is Chen Ju’s junior high school classmate. After graduating from high school, he started working and now works in a feed factory.

Originally, he was going to come to Shen Jichuan's wedding.

But because an elder in the family passed away, and Chen Ju was pregnant, it was inconvenient for her to stay there, so he sent Chen Ju here and then went back.

Shen Lan suddenly felt embarrassed.

But she is very good at the tactic of "diverting trouble to others".

"Big brother, second brother, and little brother, you should learn quickly, otherwise my third brother will learn it in the future. My third sister-in-law will have something to eat, but my eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, and my future sister-in-law will have nothing to eat. Don't you think my mother is biased?"

Shen Laoer is not very interested in his mother's hand-rolled noodles, although he loves to eat them.

But he never cared much about food. Usually, the couple ate in the school cafeteria. On weekends, they either went home or went to his father-in-law's house to eat and drink. They seldom had the opportunity to cook for themselves.

He chuckled and pretended not to hear.

When Shen Xiaochuan heard that he had to learn how to make hand-rolled noodles from his mother, he ran away.

Only Shen Dachuan came over and looked at it carefully.

Mother Shen glanced at him and continued to instruct her third son to knead the dough, “Don’t use so much strength, go slowly, kneading the flour to its full strength does not rely on violence.”

"Do you want to poke a hole in my iron basin?"

The smile in Shen Lao Er's eyes could not be hidden.

However, when Xia Keqing looked over, he immediately coughed dryly and pretended to be playing with his daughter.

Little Shen Yuhe also came over, "Uncle San, can you give me some flour to make dumplings?"

What Shen Yuhe meant by making dumplings was to take a little dough, poke it into dough, and then dig some soil from his grandfather's yard to wrap it in the dough.

It’s hard to say who should eat this thing.

Mainly because on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when Shen's mother was making hand-rolled noodles, she asked for some out of curiosity.

If this were the case in the past, how could food be given to children to play with?

But now the Shen family is well off and it’s a big reunion, so Shen’s mother was happy and gave her some.

Unexpectedly, the granddaughter made a "bag of earth" in a blink of an eye and almost threw it into the pot.

At that time, Shen Lan even joked that it was a pity that her niece’s “earth dumpling” was not cooked, otherwise whoever ate it would definitely become rich in the new year. After all, with such luck, who wouldn’t become rich?

Second Sister Shen smiled awkwardly, “Chen Yuhe, don’t waste food!”

Shen Yuhe is a stubborn person, "I told you to cook it and eat it, but you wouldn't let me!"

Sister Shen: ...

“Chen Yuhe, are you itching for trouble?”

Shen Yuhe immediately complained to her grandmother, "Grandma, Mommy is going to spank me!"

Mother Shen loved her child, so she pinched a small piece of dough for her, "He He, take it and play with it. If it's covered with dirt, you can't eat it, understand?"

Shen Lan immediately said, "We have chickens in our yard, and there is chicken shit in the soil!"

Chen Yuhe: ...

Shen Xiaochuan, who was standing outside the door: …