April 10th, Saturday.
Chen Lie rarely had a day off, so he stayed in bed until half past ten.
At the same time he opened his eyes, Ning Tang also got up.
The two looked at each other and asked in unison, "What are we having for dinner today?"
Chen Lie, "But you cook at noon."
Ning Tang was speechless. "Pike and yellow croaker are quite plump this month? How about steamed pike or deep-fried yellow croaker?"
Chen Lie ate these two kinds of fish every day on the boat when he was out at sea. When he heard Ning Tang say that he wanted to eat these two kinds of fish, he subconsciously refused, "Goodbye."
Ning Tang thought for a moment, "So? Do you want to eat the shrimp paste?"
"Shrimp paste?" Shen Lie was stunned.
"Yes, it's made by chopping shrimp into paste and then blanching it into meatballs. Actually, they are similar to fish balls." Ning Tang said.
"Sounds good." Shen Lie thought he could give it a try.
Ning Tang got up and went to the vegetable market to buy shrimp and fish balls, and also bought a pound of wild eels.
When we got home, the three of Da Wa were also up.
After washing up, the eldest child rubbed his eyes sleepily and said, "I found that I get up later and later."
Erniu yawned. "It must be my stepmother who's taking care of us. Before she came, we used to get up at seven every morning."
Ning Tang said, "Yes, yes, it's all my fault. I was the one who tied you to the bed. You three little brats, you're lying in bed and you dare to blame me."
Chen Lie chuckled, took the dish from Ning Tang's hand, and asked her, "How are you going to cook these dishes?"
Ning Tang said, "You can fry the wild eels, just like you did with the fried crabs. Coat them in flour batter and fry them in the pan."
Chen Lie poured the small eels into a basin of water, first rinsed the blood off the surface of the eels with clean water, then rubbed off the mucus on the surface of the eels with salt, and then coated them with the prepared flour paste and fried them in a pan.
While he was making fried eels, Ning Tang removed the heads, shells and shrimp threads of the blanched shrimps, chopped them into a paste, then added egg white, starch and salt, stirred them, and then made them into small meatballs. They were called shrimp pastes, but in fact, they were similar to shrimp balls.
After making the shrimp paste, Ning Tang took out the fish balls he bought from the fish stall owner and cooked a pot of shrimp paste, fish ball and seaweed soup with the shrimp paste and seaweed.
The soup is ready, and on Chen Lie's side, the fried eels are also out of the pot.
He called Da Wa to come and serve the dishes. Da Wa had been clinging to the kitchen door frame for a long time. When he heard Chen Lie calling him, he hurried into the kitchen and said, "I'm coming."
Da Wa took the plate and walked out of the kitchen two steps. He looked around and while Chen Lie and Ning Tang were not noticing, he blocked the view with his body and stuffed a fried eel into his mouth.
The flour paste was seasoned with chili powder and pepper. It was crispy, salty and delicious. Big Boy couldn't help but eat one piece after another.
Ning Tang's voice came from the kitchen, "Shen Dawa, did you wash your hands before eating secretly?"
The eldest child almost choked, "How do you know I ate it secretly?" No, no, that would be a confession. The eldest child quickly changed the subject, "I didn't eat it secretly."
Ning Tang was amused. "The point is not whether you stole food or not, the point is whether you washed your hands or not."
The eldest child whispered, "No..."
Shen Lie really wanted to beat him up, "How dare you pick up things with your hands without washing them? Aren't you afraid of getting worms in your stomach?"
Da Wa didn't believe it, "How is that possible?"
"Really?" Ning Tang said, "I'm not lying. If you had worms in your stomach, the pain would kill you."
Seeing Ning Tang and Shen Lie's solemn promises, Da Wa suddenly felt a dull pain in his stomach and pouting, "Okay, okay, next time, I'll wash my hands before eating, okay?"
Shrimp, fish balls, seaweed soup, and fried eels were served. Chen Lie eagerly scooped up a bowl. As soon as he took a sip, his eyes lit up. "This soup is delicious! I'll make it again next time."
The shrimp paste and fish balls are tender and chewy, and the seaweed soup has a light salty and fresh taste, which is very delicious.
For a moment, everyone fell silent and just drank from their soup bowls.
Ning Tang said, "You can make it again, but it's too greasy to eat the same dish all the time. Next time, you can try the tomato, shrimp and vermicelli casserole."
"Tomato, shrimp and vermicelli casserole?" Chen Lie asked.
"Yes, just crush the peeled tomatoes and add shrimp paste and vermicelli. It tastes just as good. Oh, and you can also add some enoki mushrooms." Ning Tang said.
Shen Lie imagined the taste and thought it was okay, "Okay, let's make this next time."
After dinner, Chen Lie went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Ning Tang helped him.
The eldest, second and third children were playing in the living room. The third child accidentally spilled some water. The eldest opened his mouth and wanted to call Ning Tang, "Mom..."
He paused, and instead of calling everyone "Mother," he asked Erniu and Sanwa, "What do you think? Should we call our stepmother "Mom" instead?"
Erniu tilted her head, "Why did you change your words?"
Sanwa was also very ignorant. He was still young and didn't remember anything. He couldn't tell the difference between his stepmother and his biological mother. In his subconscious, Ning Tang was his biological mother.
Da Wa repeated what he had heard during the New Year's greetings, "Sister Luo said that it's not nice for us to call our stepmother 'stepmother'..."
After all, he is in elementary school and knows much more than Erniu and Sanwa.
They always call Ning Tang stepmother. Even if Ning Tang herself doesn't mind, outsiders will have a bad impression of Ning Tang. Small-minded people will even think that Ning Tang treats them harshly at home, so they are unwilling to change their way of calling her mother.
Also, it seems that the three of them are very impolite.
After hearing what Da Wa said, Er Niu said, "You can change your name, but why do you have to call me mom?"
In fact, Erniu felt that calling her stepmother was more intimate. When she talked about her mother, she always thought of the woman who rarely talked to her and put all her attention on the eldest and third children.
The adults only taught them to call this person "Mom", but never explained to them why they should call her "Mom".
Erniu couldn't help but feel puzzled and asked Da Wa, "Brother, what exactly is Mom?"
Da Wa explained without hesitation, "Mom is not a thing, she is the one who gave birth to us."
Sanwa tilted his head and said softly, "Who gave birth to us? Does that mean anyone can be called mom?"
He thought of the Journey to the West that Chen Lie had read to them. The stone monkey, Sun Wukong, was actually born from a stone. "What's the difference between having a mother and not having one? Sun Wukong was born from a stone. He doesn't have a mother, but he's still alive and well."
"Uh." Big Boy didn't know how to explain it, but he was quick-witted and quickly came up with the answer. "We're different from Sun Wukong. He's a spirit, a deity, and we're human. We have to have a mother, and mother is the one who raised us."
The older child spoke more and more smoothly. "Raising means to provide us with food, and educating means to teach us principles."
Erniu said, "Then? I think I can call my stepmother "Mom."
Ning Tang achieved both of these points.
Even the pickiest eldest child couldn't find any reason not to call Ning Tang "Mom".
The eldest child nodded and said, "Then it's settled. From now on, you can call your stepmother "Mom."
Erniu said, "Okay."
Sanwa was still young and didn't understand the situation, but that didn't stop him from imitating Erniu's response. He clenched his fist and said, "Okay."
After the discussion, the eldest child looked at the spilled water on the ground by the third child and wanted to call Ning Tang again, "Hou..." He got used to calling her that way. Although he decided to change his words, he couldn't do it for a while. He quickly reminded himself and called out again, "Mom!"
Ning Tang was washing dishes, and was taken aback when she asked Chen Lie, "Dawa is calling me, right?"
Chen Lie was even more confused than her and hesitated, "Should I?"
It’s not the couple’s fault for being confused. After all, the three children had always refused to call Ning Tang “mom” and had always called her “stepmother”.
Ning Tang suddenly felt a chill on her back, as if someone had unexpectedly blown a breath behind her ear. A chill ran from her tailbone to the top of her head. She looked at Chen Lie in shock, "Could this be haunted?"
Shen Lie opened his mouth wide, his eyes almost falling out, "You mean, Da Wa saw his biological mother?"
He heard that some children, in certain circumstances, could see strange, mysterious things.
Could it be that Big Baby has encountered a ghost? !
The two looked at each other, threw down their bowls and rushed out of the kitchen.
Chen Lie grabbed Da Wa's shoulders and shook them a few times. "Dawa, what did you just say? Say it again."
The eldest child's brain was almost mixed up by him, "I, I say, Mom."
Ning Tang made a martial arts start, looking around the room warily. "Captain Shen, you watch over Da Wa while I go get some help. By the way, do you know anyone who can exorcise ghosts? Anything reliable?"
Chen Lie was speechless, "Why not me?"
Besides, those who were involved in that kind of stuff were all forced to work in the cowshed a few years ago. There was no way he knew them.
Ning Tang said as a matter of course, "Because I'm scared, I have to hide away."
Shen Lie: ...You really have the nerve to say that.
After a while, the eldest child finally understood, "You guys? You think I saw my real mother?"
Ning Tang rolled her eyes, "Nonsense, why else would you call mom?"
The eldest child puffed up his cheeks and said, "I was calling you."
"Call me?" Ning Tang pointed at herself. "You called me mom?"
She looked at Chen Lie and said, "Captain Shen, I think something's wrong with Da Wa. Can you tell me what to do? Should we find an exorcist, or see a doctor, or combine Chinese and Western medicine?"
The eldest child was furious. "I don't need an exorcism or a doctor. I just called you mom. What's wrong? Mommy mommy mommy!"
He couldn't yell alone, so he called Erniu and Sanwa, "You guys? Yell too."
Erniu followed behind Da Wa and called out crisply, "Mom!"
Sanwa gestured to Ning Tang to pick him up, nestled in Ning Tang's arms, kissed her cheek, and said in a baby voice with a smile, "Mom."
Ning Tang was kissed by Sanwa, who was confused. Without thinking, he responded, "Hey, dear son."
Erniu was unhappy and pointed at Sanwa and said, "You only let him kiss you and not me."
Ning Tang was amused. He bent down and pointed at his right cheek, which had not been kissed by Sanwa. "Then, you kiss this."
Erniu's face turned slightly red, and she hesitated for a long time before kissing Ning Tang on the cheek.
Ning Tang pinched her little face and spoke kindly to her as if it were free. "Good daughter, good girl, my little sweetheart."
Erniu's face was so red that she was about to explode. "Good daughter", "good girl", "little sweetheart", she had never been called like that before, it was like she had drunk a bag of sweet honey.
She turned her face away, the corners of her clothes were wrinkled, and she inexplicably felt that if she could be called like this, it would be worth it to call Ning Tang "Mom" a few more times, even if her voice became hoarse.
The eldest boy was dumbfounded. It was clearly him who asked people to call him "Mom" first. How come the second girl and the third boy both got kisses, but he got nothing?
Chen Lie was even more dumbfounded. They were obviously his biological children? Why were the three little brats surrounding Ning Tang and calling her mom non-stop?
He inexplicably felt isolated...
Ning Tang held Sanwa and Erniu in her arms and was intimate with them for a while. Finally, she remembered to ask Dawa why he called her.
The eldest boy had a sour face and said in a deflated voice, "The third boy spilled the water, so I called you."
"Oh, it's just a small matter." Ning Tang instructed Chen Lie, "Go, get a broom from the kitchen and sweep up the glass shards on the floor. Then get a mop and mop the floor. Oh, and after that, wash the remaining dishes."
Chen Lie was speechless, "You just know how to order me around." Having said that, he still obediently did as Ning Tang instructed.
Ning Tang said, "What do you mean by 'calling you'? That means I rely on you to do things for me."
Seeing that the eldest child still had a sullen face, Ning Tang was amused and pinched his little cheeks, "Oh my, why does our eldest child have such a sullen face?"
The eldest was very angry and pointed at the second and third children, "You only gave him two kisses, but not me."
Ning Tang felt that they had to be fair, "Well, I'll kiss you, okay? You're treated better than the other two. They both took the initiative to kiss me, but you're different. I kiss you."
After saying that, he kissed the eldest child's little face. The eldest child was satisfied and smiled happily.
Ning Tang sighed, it was different having three kids, they were jealous of each other for her every day, just like a seesaw, when one end was pressed down, the other end would rise up.
On April 13, after a round of written tests and interviews, the Women's Committee announced the list of successful candidates who were recruited as officers.
Zeng Xinlan went to check the results, while Ning Tang and Mrs. Luo were waiting for her good news at Mrs. Luo's house.
Mrs. Luo was very worried about Zeng Xinlan.
Ning Tang actually had a rough idea of who would be selected this time, so he wasn't that nervous.
Zeng Xinlan came back with heavy steps. When Mrs. Luo saw her expression, her heart skipped a beat.
Zeng Xinlan smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you two. I didn't pass the exam this time."
Mrs. Luo felt very distressed. She knew too well what this recruitment meant to Zeng Xinlan. She took Zeng Xinlan's hand and said, "Xinlan..."
"It's okay, sister-in-law." Zeng Xinlan forced a smile. "Although I couldn't go to the Women's Committee, the people at the health center pharmacy told me that I could give it a try. It can be considered a blessing in disguise."
She said, "Luckily, I listened to Xiao Ning and made two preparations. While preparing for the Women's Committee Secretary exam, I also didn't forget to inquire about information at the health center and pharmacy."
In the past, many people would have been vying for jobs in the health center's pharmacy, but this time, when the news of the Women's Committee recruiting staff was released, everyone's attention was drawn to it, and few people asked about the jobs in the health center's pharmacy.
Zeng Xinlan initially planned to prepare wholeheartedly for the examination for the Women's Committee Secretary, but Ning Tang advised her to make preparations for both scenarios. She could get in touch with the pharmacy in the health center. In case she failed the examination for the Women's Committee, she would still have a backup job in the health center.
Zeng Xinlan was very convinced by Ning Tang's words. After Ning Tang's advice, she took the time to go to the health center's pharmacy to ask.
Fortunately, she asked, but no one at the pharmacy was interested. As soon as she went to ask, they almost decided on her, saying that they would let her give it a try. In fact, they just didn't say it so firmly. As long as Zeng Xinlan didn't make any big mistakes and passed the probation period safely, the job would be hers for sure.
Mrs. Luo's eyes lit up. "That's good, the pharmacy is also a good job. Although the salary is not high, only three yuan a month, the work is easy, you can take turns working, and it won't interfere with your taking care of Dahu."
The work in the pharmacy is relatively easy. I start work at nine in the morning and work until twelve noon. I have a two-hour lunch break, then go back to work at two in the afternoon and get off work at five.
The lunch break was enough for Zeng Xinlan to walk back and forth between home and the clinic. She got off work early in the afternoon, so she could go to the beach to catch some seafood and still have time to cook for Dahu and Captain Qi.
Zeng Xinlan also thought so. It was an unexpected success. This job in the health center pharmacy was actually the most suitable one for her.
After coming to terms with it, her expression brightened. "Well, I think this job is pretty good too."
Mrs. Luo asked again, "So? Who got into the Women's Committee this time?"
She was also very curious about who defeated Zeng Xinlan and successfully entered the Women's Committee.
After all, she saw how hard Zeng Xinlan worked. How hard would anyone have to work to defeat Zeng Xinlan?
Speaking of this, Zeng Xinlan looked at Ning Tang's expression, hesitated for a while, and said nothing.
Ning Tang smiled and said, "Just tell me straight away, did Ning Xue pass the exam?"
Mrs. Luo was surprised. "What? It's her? She passed the exam?"
Zeng Xinlan nodded. "She and another military wife named Zhang Mian passed the exam."
Ning Tang had guessed it long ago. With Ning Xue's hard work and education level, it would be difficult for her to fail the exam.
To be fair, Ning Xue only has a high school education, is not stage-shy, is a very opinionated person, and is very suitable for the job of Women's Committee secretary, so it is normal for her to pass the exam.
Although Zeng Xinlan's cultural level is acceptable, there are many people with higher cultural levels than her. Not to mention others, even Li Yun, who often follows Ning Xue like a follower, is a high school graduate.
Moreover, Zeng Xinlan is shy and easily stage frightened. She gets nervous when there are many people around. In this exam, her score in the written test was okay, but her score in the interview was very low.
Mrs. Luo didn't know what to say.
Ning Tang thought of Li Yun for some reason. Although they had only met a few times, Ning Tang keenly realized that this person was not an easy person to deal with.
She? She and Ning Xue applied for the exam together? Ning Xue passed, but she didn't. Tsk tsk...
The next day, Saturday
Ning Tang came home after buying groceries. As soon as she entered the house, her three children ran over.
"Mom!" Big Baby yelled, "What are we having for dinner today?"
Ning Tang threw the bag into the kitchen. "Pork bone stewed with kelp soup."
She bought three large bones and a bag of dried kelp.
I poured three buckets of water into the pot. I heard footsteps and turned around. It was Da Wa. She asked, "What else do you want to eat?"
Da Wa thought for a moment and said, "Eat cake."
"Go upstairs and call your dad to come down to make pancakes." Ning Tang's hands were busy soaking the dried kelp and putting it into the water together with the washed pork bones to make soup.
Chen Lie went downstairs and fried the pancakes.
The pork bone and kelp soup was served with the pancakes. Da Wa took a deep breath of the aroma and said, "It smells so good."
Ning Tang often went to that pork stall to buy vegetables. The stall owner was familiar with her and knew that she had three children, so he often saved some good meat for her.
Today's pork bones are called pork bones, but in fact, there is some meat on them that has not been removed cleanly, so it can be considered a meat dish.
Chen Lie fished the pork bones out of the soup, removed the meat from them, and put them into the bowls of Ning Tang and the three children. He then used chopsticks to dig out the marrow from the pork bones and divided it among the four of them.
After that, he tore the cake into small pieces, soaked them in the soup, and ate them together after the cake softened.
After dinner, Chen Lie went to the army because he had a meeting to attend in the afternoon.
Before leaving, he reminded Ning Tang, "Remember to give Da Wa extra lessons."
Ning Tang was speechless. She thought Shen Lie had forgotten about this.
This was the first time that Da Wa heard about this. He was dumbfounded, his neck stiffly twisted towards Ning Tang, "Mom, what do you mean by 'give me extra lessons'?"
Ning Tang was amused. "You forgot, you got 60 points in Chinese in your last final exam. Your dad said you did so badly, so he asked me to help you with your studies and bring your grades up."
Making up lessons means I can’t go out and play, and today is Saturday!
The eldest child's face suddenly turned sad, "Can I not make up for it?"
Ning Tang pulled him onto the table and said, "You can tell Captain Shen about this. It's no use telling me. Do you think I want to help you with your studies? This is mine. It's lunch break time. Wouldn't it be better to take a nap than to help you with your studies?"
"Okay." Big Boy said weakly.
He saw two exercise books on the table, one for Chinese and one for math. "I only did poorly on the Chinese test. I got a perfect score on math. Mom, did you get the wrong textbook?"
"That's right." Ning Tang said, "It's your dad's idea to tutor Chinese, and it's mine to tutor math."
The eldest child was confused. He didn't understand, so Ning Tang explained to him, "Your dad thinks you didn't do well in Chinese and should take extra classes. I think you're good at math and should focus on expanding your strengths, especially math. Neither of us could convince the other, so we decided to help you with both subjects at once."
The eldest child looked stunned. "According to you, if I did poorly on the test, it was wrong. If I did well on the test, it was also wrong."
"That's not the case," Ning Tang said. "As for Chinese, just make up for it. 70 or 80 points will be enough. As long as we can report to Captain Shen, it's fine. As for math, I think you're a math genius. Learning advanced math knowledge in advance should be a piece of cake for you. So, our make-up class will be very easy. Don't worry."
After hearing what Ning Tang said, Da Wa finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he heard Ning Tang praising him as a genius, his face turned red and he took the initiative to pick up the Chinese textbook.
Actually, first-grade Chinese is just like that. There is nothing to make up for.
Ning Tang had seen the last Chinese test paper where Da Wa scored 60 points. Da Wa's score was mainly due to carelessness and ugly handwriting, which was why he scored so low.
She taught the eldest child according to the knowledge in the Chinese textbook, starting with the most basic initial consonant table and final vowel table.
The eldest child gets a headache when he sees this thing. What are those initials and finals? After looking at them for a long time, they look like tadpoles. He is completely confused.
After all, he was a child and had little patience. He got angry and pushed the book away, saying, "I don't want to study anymore!"
"Then? I won't learn it." Ning Tang said.
Now it was the eldest child's turn to be dumbfounded, "Mom, won't you try to persuade me?"
"Why should I advise you?" Ning Tang laughed, "If you don't learn Chinese well, you will be beaten by Captain Shen? It's not me."
"Belts, rolling pins, clothes hangers..." Ning Tang counted while glancing at Da Wa's expression out of the corner of his eye.
After successfully seeing his face turn from red to white, she smiled and asked him, "Are you still going to study?"
Da Wa swallowed his anger and said in a gentle voice, "Learn."
Ning Tang picked up the Chinese textbook and placed it in front of him. "Be good, actually, learning Chinese has many benefits. If you learn well, you will be able to read books by yourself."
Da Wa thought of the row of storybooks on the bookshelf and the wonderful stories inside, and hesitated, "Really?"
"Really?" Ning Tang said, "What good would it do me to lie to you? Captain Shen and I can tell you stories because we studied Chinese well when we were young."
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