The clothes and sheets that had been washed again filled the clothesline in the whole yard. Zhou Mingli simply made hand-pulled noodles and put them in the pot. He also cracked the last two eggs, added some chives, and made chive and egg drop soup as a topping. He then made several bowls of noodles.
Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli were so hungry from all that eating that they didn't even have the energy to talk, so they just ate their noodles in silence.
After dinner, Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli took showers at home, and then worked together to hang up the newly bought mosquito net. Lying on the bare bamboo mat, Jiang Ci closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Zhou Mingli turned over, looked at the exhaustion on her face, gently brushed away the stray hairs on her forehead, and after a while, he also fell asleep.
This busy and tiring morning was really exhausting.
Zhou Mingli woke up a little earlier than Jiang Ci. He went to the medical station to change his dressing first, and then the captain called him to go and check on the timber.
The houses in Shanding Brigade were all built uniformly, and any renovations or additions required reporting to the brigade leader. The Zhou family's house had not been renovated since it was built uniformly, but the carpenter had the dimensions of the doors and windows. Zhou Mingli told the carpenter, and the carpenter took him to see the wood that was ready to be used to make the doors.
The carpenter was a dull and taciturn man who only spoke about business: "These lumber pieces are all readily available. If you need them urgently, I can make them for you today."
Zhou Mingli nodded and said, "If we can do it as soon as possible, then let's do it today."
There wasn't even a door to his house. It wasn't a big deal for him, a man, but it wasn't for Jiang Ci.
After they had dinner today, Jiang Ci kept asking him inside if anyone else had come over.
Zhou Mingli, standing outside, could only repeatedly answer no.
With so many new things he's just bought, he probably won't be able to sleep well at night.
The carpenter nodded. "Okay, I'll get it done and push it over on a cart."
After finishing the conversation, Zhou Mingli didn't rush home. He glanced at the team leader outside the door and lowered his voice, "Do you have a table? My table is completely broken and unusable."
Zhou Mingli took out two yuan and stuffed it into the carpenter's hand.
The carpenter glanced at it, then leisurely stuffed it into his pocket, saying, "I'll move it over with the door tonight."
Zhou Mingli thanked them gratefully and took care of the table before going home. They didn't have watches, but they could tell from the still bright sun that it was only about three or four o'clock.
He went inside and glanced at Jiang Ci, who was still asleep, before going out to the kitchen to deal with the pig offal.
This morning, he bought ingredients in town to remove the fishy smell and odor, cleaned the pig offal thoroughly, chopped it up, and started braising it directly. Braised pig offal is the simplest dish Zhou Mingli can make right now.
Although we've added many things to our home, some of them aren't things we can buy right away.
For example, fresh vegetables.
His family only grows the most common summer vegetables: green beans, cucumbers, chives, and peppers; they don't grow any other vegetables.
Many of the chives were no longer edible; "June chives are so rotten they could kill a dog." The only chives Zhou Mingli used in the pot of noodles he made for lunch today were the tenderest ones, barely edible.
Other vegetables haven't been properly tended yet, and there are very few green beans and cucumbers growing.
His family definitely has a big problem with food.
Zhou Mingli thought to himself for a moment, then added a handful of firewood to the pot.
The water in the large pot bubbled and smelled delicious, and the aroma of meat quickly wafted out. Zhou Mingli timed the process, didn't add any more firewood, and simply let the fire simmer before leaving the kitchen.
Jiang Ci had already woken up. As soon as Zhou Mingli came out, he saw Jiang Ci with two children, looking towards the kitchen.
Jiang Ci was surprised that Zhou Mingli would suddenly appear. Zhou Mingli caught her looking hungry, so she immediately looked away.
Zhou Mingli laughed and asked, "Are you hungry?"
"No."
I'm hungry!
I'm hungry!
Jiang Ci answered the first question, and the two children answered in unison below.
They were really craving meat!
Zhou Mingli glanced at the two children and said to Jiang Ci, "We still need to steam some cornbread. It will take another forty minutes."
Jiang Ci said, "Let's invite Brother Yu and his family over too, and have them eat together."
Zhou Mingli: "It's up to you to decide, I'm fine with anything."
"Then I'll go and ask someone now, so they won't make excuses to come after they've made dinner."
After Jiang Ci finished speaking, she took the child to the Yu family's house to discuss dinner. Halfway there, she turned around and asked, "Did you make enough meat?"
But even though someone else brought meat, there wasn't enough to eat.
Zhou Mingli nodded firmly and said, "There will be plenty."
He used to be a regular customer of Aunt Qian's. The pig offal that she gave him as a bonus included two pig lungs, a lot of pig intestines, and a pig heart. Zhou Mingli carried so much offal that it must have weighed more than two pounds.
We didn't use up all three pounds of meat from yesterday. I'll stir-fry some more sliced meat and green beans, and steam some extra cornbread. That should be enough for us.
Jiang Ci felt relieved after hearing his words and went to the Yu family to invite people over for dinner.
When Sister-in-law Yu heard that Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli had invited her family to dinner, she immediately waved her hand and said, "It's nothing. If you really want to thank us, you should wait until you've settled down. Everyone's having a hard time right now, so you should take care of yourselves first!"
Jiang Ci spoke earnestly, "We'll ask for your help again in the future. You and Brother Yu have been so busy at my house today, we can't live without thanking you. We won't dare to ask you for help again in the future."
"You child, really!" Sister-in-law Yu's face showed some emotion.
Looking at Jiang Ci with a friendly gaze, he said, "Okay, I'll stir-fry some vegetables and bring them over for us to eat together!"
Jiang Ci laughed and said, "We'll have to move a few more benches over, otherwise there won't be enough seats for so many of us."
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