"Yes, I will definitely go as soon as possible."

"Also, bring Shi Tou and San Ya with them."

"No, it's too crowded and noisy."

"It's alright, I didn't invite you. Let the two of them come over and have some fun. Also, bring a few sauerkraut too."

"Okay, I'll bring the pickled cabbage even if you don't tell me."

By the time the group descended the mountain, it was almost dark. Zhang Hongmei went home and made a pot of dumpling soup. There were five pancakes left, so dinner was settled.

I ground a bag of sweet potato flour and a bag of cornmeal in the space; there will be many people eating tomorrow. It's no fun if we don't have enough to eat and we're not full.

I prepared three large bowls of dough in the space. I also added steamed pumpkin and yeast to prevent it from becoming too hard. Looks like I can't make flatbreads anymore. I'll steam cornbread instead. Two steamers definitely won't be enough; I'll have to use Liu Maocai's steamer.

It's not that we're unwilling to give them rice and flour, but it's really hard to come up with that, so we have to make up for it with vegetables.

Three bowls of steamed pork slices, seven fish, and stir-fried winter melon slices. That should be enough; if not, there are potatoes too.

If not, we'll steam cornbread at Zhang Xing's house tomorrow, and they've even heated the kang (a traditional heated brick bed). We'll also cook our own meals.

If you cook the dough early in the morning, it won't rise properly; it will just be soft and easy to digest.

Breakfast was sweet potato noodle soup, with a little vinegar and chili oil, which was quite delicious.

Before I could even finish breakfast, Er Ya came over, carrying a bowl of sauerkraut.

Zhang Hongmei felt quite embarrassed, as she had already asked for it twice, and she had even said that she didn't like it if it wasn't pickled.

Wang Xiaoshun took over the task of cleaning the fish, and soon Dashan and the other four arrived, making the fish cleaning process quicker.

"Sister Er Ya, how about you go to Uncle Zhang's house to steam cornbread later?"

Er Ya saw Zhang Shouyi circling around Zhang Hongmei, so he must not be home. She was no longer afraid to go to his house, and readily agreed.

After the fish was cleaned, Zhu Zi diligently went to fetch water, Xiao Suo volunteered to help Er Ya start a fire, and Da Shan helped Zhang Hongmei slice the fish, even bringing his own knife.

Da Shan was in charge of removing the fish bones, while Zhang Hongmei sliced ​​them. It was their first time working together, but they worked together very well. Zhang Shouyi listened to Zhang Hongmei's instructions from the side.

Peeling garlic and scallions, and also crushing the clumps of sweet potato starch.

Seeing Zhang Hongmei working so hard, I felt sorry for her and simply picked up a knife to chop the sauerkraut, which didn't require much skill.

Wang Xiaoshun was responsible for washing the cut fish bones and fish slices again.

"Brother Dashan, there are two fish heads left. I'll make fish head stew with tofu tomorrow."

"Alright, you can just split the fish head in half, right?"

"Yes, the fish bones are also broken into several pieces."

"No wonder he studied pig slaughtering, he's so skilled with a knife."

I also washed the chopped pickled cabbage; if it's too sour, it won't have any other flavor.

It took an hour to finish tidying everything up, so Zhang Hongmei decided to just use both pots together.

One pot is used to make fish bone soup, and the other is used to stir-fry pickled cabbage.

Two large basins of fish slices. Zhang Hongmei was the one who gave the instructions, while Dashan and Wang Xiaoshun were the ones who did the work.

Coating fish fillets with starch is also hard work. You need to use a lot of strength; this task alone takes about fifteen minutes.

Zhang Hongmei prepared the ingredients: a bowl of chopped dried chilies, a bowl of minced garlic, a bowl of minced scallions, and half a bowl of Sichuan peppercorns.

Looking at the remaining liquor after it had been mixed with water, Da Shan asked, "Hongmei, is there any liquor left at home?"

"That's all, just half a bottle left. I can't give it to you to drink; I'm saving it to use as a seasoning to remove the fishy smell."

"Brother Zhu, where are Stone and Sanya?"

"The two of them were listening to the radio in Uncle Zhang's yard."

"Oh, I see. I'll go see when Sister Er Ya's steamed cornbread will be ready. This pickled fish will be ready soon; it won't taste good if it's cold after it's made early."

Er Ya had already steamed the cornbread. She and Xiao Suo were tending the fire.

"Hongmei, the cornbread will take another forty minutes to cook. I just asked Uncle Zhang to check the time."

"Then I'll go back and cook. I'm afraid we won't be able to cook them all at once, and they'll get cold."

"Let me do it with you, so we don't get too tired."

"Okay, then Sister Erya will go and chop the pickled vegetables. I'm afraid there won't be enough fish to eat."

"Okay, let's go. Little Lock, you can start the fire yourself and keep an eye on the time. Once it's cooked, take it out of the pot and bring it over."

"Let's go, I understand."

Big pot dishes are not easy to make, but as long as there are enough ingredients, they won't taste bad. In August of that year, people couldn't eat a single meat dish, so even if the dish wasn't authentic, no one would complain.

Zhang Hongmei believes that simmering the fish bone soup for an extra ten minutes will make it more nutritious.

The pickled cabbage was also blanched, otherwise, with such a large quantity, it would be difficult to control the cooking time.

I took out the double-handled wok I bought and started heating the oil in a bit.

By the time Xiao Suo and the others brought over the cornbread, the sauerkraut fish was also ready.

There were many people today, so we set up two tables. Zhang Hongmei, Er Ya, Shi Tou, San Ya, Zhang Shouyi, and Zhu Zi sat at one table, and the rest of the people sat at another.

Seeing this way of dividing the food, Zhang Hongmei found another bowl, scooped out half of the pickled fish from her own table, and took it to another table.

The big eaters were all at that table. That one bowl of food wasn't nearly enough for them.

Everyone was quite satisfied with the meal. Da Shan said, "This fish tastes so much better than the one the cafeteria made on New Year's Day. I'm really full today. I haven't felt full in a long time."

"Yes, I finally experienced the feeling of being stuffed again." Erlinzi was also very satisfied.

After finishing their meal, the group quickly cleaned up and went home.

Zhang Hongmei dragged Zhang Shouyi into playing chess again, which Zhang Xingguo found out about. He insisted that Zhang Hongmei play with him instead.

Zhang Hongmei finally understood what a terrible chess player was. Not only did he play poorly, but he also frequently cheated, always taking back his moves and having to start over.

Zhang Xingguo was pleased; this girl was patient with him and with the elderly. He wasn't afraid she wouldn't treat him badly when he got old.

Watching Zhang Hongmei's madness, Zhang Shouyi felt a sense of satisfaction. He realized that he wasn't the only one suffering from his father's torment; he had found a kindred spirit in her misery.

In the end, Zhang Xingguo still lost the game of chess despite countless attempts.

Zhang Hongmei breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. This wasn't entertainment; it was torture.

"Hongmei, another plate, please?"

"Uncle Zhang, please forgive me. I don't think I want to play chess with you anymore."

"What's wrong with me? Am I bad at chess?"

Zhang Hongmei nodded honestly, "Yes, it's very bad, I'm so tired, mentally exhausted!"

"Don't you know how to respect me?"

"How could that be? I'm just telling the truth. Right, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Hongmei was unwilling to see Zhang Shouyi standing aside. Why should she have to deal with it all by herself?

Zhang Shouyi looked at her with affection. "Yes, Dad, you should go back to the compound and play with those people. Hongmei, we should study. I'll highlight the important points of history and politics for her."

Zhang Xingguo was so angry that he had no choice but to leave in a huff.

Zhang Shouyi really did highlight the important points for Zhang Hongmei.

Zhang Hongmei adjusted her mindset and quickly got into the zone, listening to Zhang Shouyi share his experience with her.