Without waiting for his mother to say anything, Ruan Xiaohai picked up the army green rubber shoes on the kang and put them on impatiently.
He dreamed of having a pair of shoes like this.
Very comfortable, fits the foot very well.
The color is nice too.
The soles of his old shoes were worn out and hurt his feet, and there were big patches on top of small patches on the uppers.
There is no good land.
He had wanted to buy a new pair of shoes for a long time, but due to his family's conditions, he had been holding back.
"Mom, please try your pair. I'm so comfortable wearing this."
Ruan Xiaotang was so happy when she saw the genuine joy on her brother's face.
"Here are some newly bought cloths. I'll let mom measure your size later. Then we can give each of the three of us a new set of clothes. How about that?"
I heard there were new clothes to wear.
This makes me happier than the Chinese New Year.
Ruan Xiaohai picked up his sister and shouted excitedly.
Liu Guifang looked at her children, whose faces were filled with happy smiles, and was dazzled for a moment by listening to their laughter.
Tears filled my eyes.
Not wanting to upset the two kids, she turned her face away, pretended to touch the grey fabric on the kang, and quietly concealed it with her sleeve. She should have shed tears.
One can't help but sigh that her family's hard times are finally over.
Ruan Xiaomei, who is also a girl, is not so lucky.
Just this morning.
Her own mother tied her up like a piglet, with her hands and feet tied tightly with hemp ropes as thick as a finger.
Two people lifted it and threw it onto the ox cart that came to pick up the bride.
She was wearing a red dress and a large red veil on her head, which symbolized prosperity. It was extremely ironic at this moment.
Sitting on the ox cart with one leg.
At that moment, her heart was completely filled with despair.
On the other hand, the faces of all the relatives and friends around were filled with happy smiles.
But that sound had nothing to do with her.
She knew that they were not there to bless her, but to laugh at her.
Those laughs were an endless mockery of her and her future married life.
After all, which normal woman from a normal family would willingly marry a fool?
Ruan Xiaomei closed her eyes in pain and sighed with difficulty.
The daughter's pain was exchanged for her mother's worry-free food and clothing.
From a certain perspective, such self-sacrifice is worth it.
The aunt was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth.
While warmly entertaining relatives and friends, he smiled proudly.
A girl's life is like a dandelion, rising and falling with the wind.
You just can’t do whatever you want.
Liu Guifang, remembering the kindness her great aunt had shown her in the past, took out two yuan and went to give a gift on behalf of her branch.
Ruan Xiaotang did not go. She and her younger brother Xiaohai stayed at home and picked up a shovel to clean up the vacant space in the yard.
The weather is getting warmer.
There was also plenty of rain.
Some seasonal vegetables such as eggplant, pepper, cucumber, tomato, etc. are planted in the field.
"Sister, grow more cucumbers. Our mother loves them."
Ruan Xiaohai held a large ladle in his hand and watered the small holes where the seeds were buried.
Ruan Xiaotang looked back at him unexpectedly and asked jokingly, "What vegetables do you like to eat?"
He blurted out, "I only like to eat meat. I'm happy if I can eat meat three times a day!"
Ruan Xiaotang was not surprised. At this age when she was growing up, meat was a necessity.
It’s a pity that I was born in this difficult time with a shortage of food and clothing.
"Then why don't you go to the banquet with our mother today? It's a big meal, aren't you greedy?"
Ruan Xiaohai replied firmly, "No, I don't like the attitude of my cousin's family towards you and our mother. They treat us like charity every time they say a word to us. They act so superior all day long. I don't like it."
Unexpectedly, this kid's values are quite upright.
He is worthy of being Ruan Xiaotang’s younger brother.
It means having backbone.
"How about we make dumplings for lunch?"
"Can."
Whoever does it, do it.
Ruan Xiaotang returned to the house and washed her hands and face.
He picked up the enamel basin, propped up the cloth bag, took the small scoop inside, and scooped a pointed scoop of snow-white flour.
This cloth bag of flour was brought by Zhou Xingze when he first visited him last time. Each bag weighs about ten kilograms. Life is hard, so we have to be more careful when eating these kilograms of flour.
His fingertips gently scraped away the top, leaving behind a flat scoop of white flour.
He scooped two small scoops of black flour from another cloth bag.
Mixed in white flour.
Add appropriate amount of warm water in small amounts and multiple times, and use chopsticks to quickly scrape the flour into flocs.
Finally, use your palms to knead the floc-like dough into a ball.
Rub the palms vigorously and continuously.
Knead until the surface of the dough is smooth, then cover with a lid.
Set aside to rise.
Pick up a washed cabbage, cut it into segments, then cut it into pieces horizontally. Hold the chopping board with one hand and chop it into small pieces.
Sprinkle a little salt on the cabbage while chopping.
The purpose is to accelerate the precipitation of water and remove the sour taste of the cabbage.
Finally, use both hands to squeeze out the moisture from the chopped cabbage.
Place in a porcelain bowl.
Take out the peanut oil from the space and pour it into it, stir evenly, then add sesame oil, fermented black beans, chopped green onions, ginger, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, chicken essence, and a bowl of chopped oil spinach in turn.
Use chopsticks to stir evenly and let the flavors absorb.
Place the pre-kneaded dough on a floured board.
No need to knead the dough.
Pick up the dough and use both hands to make a big hole in the middle.
Hold the dough with both hands and roll it in a clockwise direction.
Pull open.
Cut out an appropriate amount, hold it flat with both hands, press it on the panel with your palms, and rub it evenly.
Roll it into a moderate thickness and cut it into small even pieces with a knife.
Dust with flour and shape into a ball.
Pick up the rolling pin and roll each dough piece into sheets of appropriate thickness.
Pick up the dough and add appropriate amount of filling.
Use your thumb to pinch it tightly.
And so on.
An hour later.
Ruan Xiaotang finished making all the dumplings skillfully.
The dough was not too much or too little worked, and the filling was just used up.
The dumplings were arranged neatly, like ingots, on a curtain made of sorghum stalks.
Light the fire, and after the water boils, you can put the dumplings in.
"Sister, you work really fast. You made so many dumplings so quickly. It's a blessing for Brother Zhou to marry you."
"I didn't expect you to be so sweet."
"Wash your hands, we'll eat later."
"Yes, command."
Ruan Xiaotang smiled, picked up the colander and pushed the boiling dumplings in the pot.
Pick up a bowl of cold water and drop it in.
Wait for the water to boil again before taking it out.
Ruan Xiaotang smiled and picked up a plate of dumplings and walked into the house.
"Eat, eat."
The brother and sister sat facing each other on the kang table and began to eat lunch.
Ruan Xiaohai couldn't wait for the dumplings to cool down, so he picked up one with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
The moment the mouth is bitten open, hot juice overflows.
Burning the tender flesh inside the lips.
He quickly opened his mouth, exhaled, and fanned cool air inside with his palms.
"Why are you in such a hurry? No one is competing with you for it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
