When the uncle and the middle-aged man carried the sticky rice upstairs again and again, Zeng Wenjuan gave them one dollar and said, "I'm really sorry for bothering you today. This is for you to drink water."

"Thank you...thank you!" The old man smiled innocently and put the money in his arms.

After seeing off the old man and the middle-aged man, Zeng Wenjuan saw Goudan and Gang Gang playing on the ground. Zeng Wenjuan cut some apples and navel oranges and walked over: "You two can sit on the chairs and play. The ground is too cold."

"Just now! Here are apples and navels. You two can eat them if you are tired of playing!" It was the first time Zeng Wenjuan saw Goudan bringing friends to her home, so of course she had to treat them well. What's more, he took good care of his own children.

Goudan then remembered the sugar man in his hand. He stood up and said to Zeng Wenjuan and Zhao Jianguo, "Mom and Dad, look! Isn't this sugar man the same as us? Isn't that grandpa very powerful?"

"Really? That grandpa is super awesome. Do you want to eat it now? If not, mom will put it away for you." Zeng Wenjuan looked at Goudan, who was holding the food in his hand but not eating it, and it was no fun to play with it.

"Okay, thanks, Mom. Please help me put it away! I want to play with my brother now." Goudan handed the candy man in his hand to Zeng Wenjuan and said.

Zeng Wenjuan put the sugar man away and went to the kitchen to kill the chicken.

Zhao Jianguo slid his wheelchair into the kitchen: "Is there anything I can help you with? I'll move it to you! It will save you from getting tired."

"Then help me process the fish so that I can hang it up to dry later. You know how to pickle fish, right? It's the same as pickling meat, just add more ginger to remove the fishy smell." Zeng Wenjuan said to Zhao Jianguo that her man should be ordered around by her, instead of worshipping him as an ancestor.

Zhao Jianguo was not vague either. He picked up the scissors and started to work. He first scaled the fish, then cut open the fish's belly and carefully dug out the fish intestines. During this process, he had to be very careful not to break the fish gallbladder. The part that was stained with bile would be very bitter. In the end, he successfully saw the fish gallbladder.

The next step is to cut the fish open, make horizontal and vertical cuts on its body to change its shape, then apply juice of onion, ginger and garlic to remove the fishy smell, then sprinkle chili, pepper, Sichuan pepper and salt on it to start marinating, then use a rope to thread its mouth, and when it is done marinating, you can hang it out to dry.

Zeng Wenjuan also started to kill the chicken at this time. She used the kitchen knife to cut the chicken's neck quickly and accurately. Zhao Jianguo prepared a bowl of salt water and placed it on the stove in front of Zeng Wenjuan. Zeng Wenjuan then grabbed the chicken's feet and wings and drained the blood. A bowl of chicken blood was ready, and she could have an extra meal at noon.

Put the chicken in hot water and wait until the feathers are scalded, then pluck them while they are hot. After plucking all the feathers, use scissors to open the chicken and pull out the chicken intestines and heart and put them in a clean plate, then wash them.

Zeng Wenjuan put the chicken on the chopping board, took a kitchen knife and started to cut off the two chicken legs first, then started to cut and cut the chicken into pieces, put it in the pressure cooker, added a little white wine, and added the other ingredients when the chicken was almost cooked.

"The cured fish is almost pickled. I'll take it down and hang it up first. You stay at home and watch the pot." Zeng Wenjuan said to Zhao Jianguo after she finished doing all this.

Zhao Jianguo nodded: "Okay, I'll watch it."

Zeng Wenjuan took the pickled fish and went downstairs. There was a special place for drying cured meat downstairs. Every family had a place to dry things. There were aunts and sisters-in-law chatting downstairs, so there was no need to worry about the dried food being stolen or eaten by birds.

After Zeng Wenjuan dried the cured fish, she said hello to the aunties and military wives downstairs and went home.

As soon as I got upstairs, I was stopped by Wang Hui's wife: "The mushrooms on the mountain are delicious this season. Why don't you go up the mountain with us to pick mushrooms tomorrow?"

"That's great! No matter when you go tomorrow, I will definitely go with you. I've been eating sauerkraut for a while and this might just improve my taste." Zeng Wenjuan agreed immediately.

"After breakfast tomorrow morning, take your backpack and sickle and go up the mountain. Mushrooms usually grow in remote places. There may be thorns, so you need to use the sickle to clear the way." Wang Hui knew that it was Zeng Wenjuan's first time picking mushrooms, so she specifically reminded her.

"Okay, thank you sister-in-law." Zeng Wenjuan agreed with a smile, and then went home.

As soon as she entered the house, she saw Zhao Jianguo playing with Goudan and Gangwei. This was the scene she had always imagined, a family of three together. Zhao Jianguo would come home after get off work to play with the children.

"I'm back." Zhao Jianguo stopped what he was doing and said to Zeng Wenjuan when he heard the noise at the door.

"Well, I just chatted with the aunts and sisters-in-law downstairs. When I reached the stairs, I met Sister Wang Hui. She invited me to go up the mountain to pick mushrooms together tomorrow. I will go with them after breakfast tomorrow." Zeng Wenjuan said.

Zhao Jianguo smiled and said to Zeng Wenjuan: "Okay, now that you are here you really need to communicate with the sisters-in-law. You can't always stay at home."

......

Another beautiful day.

After having breakfast, Zeng Wenjuan changed into old clothes and went out to find Wang Hui.

"Sister-in-law, are you home?"

Inside the room, Wang Hui heard Zeng Wenjuan's voice and walked out while shouting, "Wait a moment, I'll be right there."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Hui walked out of the house.

"Let's go! They should all be waiting on the first floor."

The two of them went down to the first floor and saw three women in their thirties carrying baskets and holding sickles in their hands, chatting casually.

"You are all here! Let me introduce you. This is Captain Zhao Jianguo's wife, Zeng Wenjuan." Wang Hui introduced several sisters-in-law. She introduced Zeng Wenjuan: "Wenjuan, this is Captain Wang's wife, Sister Li, this is Captain Liu's wife, Sister Ma, and this is Captain Chen's wife, Sister Hu."

"Hello, my three sisters-in-law. I'm sorry that I haven't come to say hello to you in such a long time." Zeng Wenjuan greeted them first.

Sister Li smiled and said, "It's understandable that you don't have time to take care of Captain Zhao at home. Let's go first! We can talk on the way."

"Okay, okay, this period is the peak season for mushrooms in the mountains, and many people go up the mountain. Yesterday, Hu Yan, who lives next door to me, picked a large basket of mushrooms and cooked a table full of mushrooms in the evening. They smelled so good." Sister Ma said to everyone with a smile as they walked.

"These wild mushrooms are delicious! There are people in the county town who are willing to exchange good things with the villagers!" Mrs. Hu also said with a smile.