The old man is very cautious; it will take a lot of explaining.
Seeing that the old gatekeeper wouldn't budge, Huo Yingjie continued to persuade him, "Grandpa, look at us, we're old and young, how could we be bad people? Grandpa, you seem like a good person, so I'll tell you the truth. Grandma Qi's son went to school here before Liberation, and after Liberation, there was no news of him. Later, I heard from the villagers that he died. In those chaotic times of war, death was a common occurrence. It's just that the old lady didn't get to see her son one last time, so she wanted to come to the school to see him before she died."
The old gatekeeper saw the old man and woman; they were truly pitiful.
"Oh, which of their sons is gone?" the gatekeeper asked, feeling a pang of pity.
Huo Yingjie said, "They only have one precious son. Now that they've come, they've used all their savings to come and see him. It's quite pitiful. Please let us in to take a look."
Upon hearing this, the old gatekeeper felt even more sympathetic towards the elderly couple outside.
"They're quite pitiful, but they're from out of town. However, judging from your accent, you seem to be a local. Bring me your household registration booklet so I can see it," the old gatekeeper said. He could help, but he couldn't offer no guarantees.
Huo Yingjie was stunned. Who carries their household registration booklet with them when they go out?
“Sir, I didn’t bring my household registration book, but I really am a local,” Huo Yingjie said. “Sir, have a smoke, have a smoke. We’ll just walk around near the entrance, we won’t go inside, okay?”
As he spoke, he stuffed a whole pack of cigarettes into the old gatekeeper's pocket.
The old gatekeeper had just smoked one of those cigarettes and was even more tempted. He wanted to refuse, but couldn't bear to take it out.
Seeing that the old man didn't take it out, Huo Yingjie took out a yuan from another pocket and said, "Grandpa, just consider us as tourists visiting the scenic area. We'll buy tickets, okay?"
The old gatekeeper only earned fourteen yuan a month and lived a meager life. Seeing this money, his eyes reddened. Seeing Huo Yingjie, the young girl outside, and the two elderly people, he figured they should be alright.
Besides, if these people cause trouble, he can just shout, and there are other people living in the dormitories behind that can come and help.
Seeing that the old gatekeeper had agreed, Huo Yingjie thanked him repeatedly, saying, "Thank you so much, sir! We'll be leaving in a little while."
The old gatekeeper came out and opened the door for them.
With a loud bang, the heavy, ancient gate slowly opened.
What I saw was not a thriving campus, nor did I hear the sound of students reading aloud.
Only tangled weeds, howling cold winds, and a desolate, bleak atmosphere.
"Alright, you can wander around here. I'll be checking when you come out, so you can't take anything from inside," the old gatekeeper reminded him. Although he knew there was nothing valuable here, saying a few words like that was a good way of showing he was a conscientious worker.
"Yes, yes, we'll just take a look. We won't take a single needle or thread, nor will we touch a single blade of grass," Old Qi said with a forced smile. Huo Yingjie had been in the gatehouse for quite some time, probably giving the old man some benefits.
The old gatekeeper let them through, and Huo Yingjie rode his tricycle with He Tiantian on the other side.
Huo Yingjie had visited this school several times before and explained things to them, and He Tiantian listened along.
However, the desolate scene made all four of them feel uneasy.
When Grandma Qi saw that it was noon, she said, "Alright, let's go home for lunch."
"Okay!" He Tiantian agreed.
Old Qi felt a pang of sorrow. He had been here once before, even during the most chaotic times when the Japanese occupied Nanshi, the school still had students and teachers. But now that peace had arrived, the place that should be educating and nurturing talent for the nation had become like this?
He was a rough man who only knew how to fight; he didn't know the reason for this and couldn't figure it out!
Although He Tiantian was sad, she knew things would get better, and soon she shook off her earlier dejection.
After returning home, He Tiantian cooked four bowls of ginger soup as usual. After drinking it, He Tiantian started cooking, while Huo Yingjie washed the vegetables.
This noon, He Tiantian noticed that everyone was in a bad mood, so she decided to make something delicious and make dumplings.
I bought flour today, kneaded a dough, put it in a bowl, covered it with a pot lid to let it rest, and then started chopping cabbage filling.
There was pheasant meat at home, so He Tiantian asked Huo Yingjie to scrape the meat off with a knife, soak it in water until it was tender, then chop it into small pieces, stir-fry it in a pan until it was fragrant, then add the cabbage and stir-fry it again. No need to add oil, just a little salt and five-spice powder, then it should be served immediately.
He Tiantian rolled out the dough, and one by one, the round dough balls were transformed into round wrappers in her hands.
Huo Yingjie moved a stool, reached for the dough wrappers, and started making dumplings, thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges.
He Tiantian reached out and slapped Huo Yingjie's hand, scolding, "You don't even know how to make dumplings, why are you holding dumpling wrappers?"
Huo Yingjie, unconvinced, raised his chin slightly and said, "How come I don't know how to make dumplings? You didn't know how to roll out dough or make dumplings before, how come you can do everything now?"
Huo Yingjie almost gave himself away, feeling guilty.
"I learned how to make dumplings from others in the countryside," He Tiantian said. "You also learned to make dumplings in the army?"
"Of course, we make dumplings," Huo Yingjie said. "Not everyone can cook, but everyone can make dumplings. If you don't make them well, they'll be tallied up and put aside, and whoever makes them well gets to eat them. That way, even the clumsy person doesn't want to just eat dumpling wrappers and dumpling soup! So everyone knows how to make dumplings."
Hearing Huo Yingjie say this, He Tiantian reluctantly believed him.
"Then you wrap one and let me see," He Tiantian said. "If you can't wrap it well, I'll do it myself."
"Hmph!" Huo Yingjie snorted unhappily, "Today I'll show you what the most perfect dumpling in history looks like."
"Haha!" He Tiantian laughed. "Alright then, I'll have to see the most perfect dumpling in history that you've described."
Huo Yingjie held a dumpling wrapper in his left hand and a spoon in his right, scooping out just the right amount of filling to make one dumpling.
The dumpling wrappers were perfectly round, and Huo Yingjie was very skilled at making dumplings. A cute little dumpling emerged from Huo Yingjie's hands, its plump white belly swaying gently as it sat steadily on the cutting board.
He Tiantian stared wide-eyed at the cute little dumpling on the table and asked in surprise, "Brother Yingjie, the dumplings you made are so pretty!"
"They're not only beautiful, they taste good too," Huo Yingjie said proudly, pointing to the dumplings he had made. "Doesn't this dumpling look like you?"
Upon hearing this, He Tiantian puffed out her cheeks in anger and asked, "How do I look like a dumpling?"
I unconsciously looked at my stomach. Thankfully, even though I was wearing a cotton coat, my stomach wasn't that big!
******
I highly recommend Xian Ke's "The Vibrant Fragrance of Medicine".
As the saying goes, forced love is never sweet.
Someone: Who said that? I twisted it, and it's very sweet.
A certain melon: ... (To be continued.)
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