Ning Tang was making rice sauce for Sanwa. The boy was going abroad a few days after the New Year and said that he couldn't get used to foreign food. He kept pestering Ning Tang to make rice sauce for him, saying that if he couldn't get used to foreign food, he could just mix it with the rice sauce and he would be able to eat it anyway.
Sanwa said, "Mom, please cook more. I don't know how long I'll be abroad." He added, "I heard people overseas eat hamburgers, fried chicken, cola, and fries. I can't handle all the whole grains."
Chen Lie laughed, "Didn't you eat hamburgers when you were a kid? You even praised them for being delicious."
Sanwa puffed up his cheeks and said, "Dad, you still have the nerve to tell me that you guys tricked me with steamed buns stuffed with meat and vegetables. After I arrived in Shanghai, my coach took me to a restaurant run by some foreigners that sold real hamburgers. I even argued with my coach, saying that real hamburgers were made of steamed buns."
The chef had to come out personally to explain that this was an authentic hamburger, a foreign hamburger made of two slices of bread with beef and lettuce, topped with ketchup and salad dressing.
Sanwa took a few bites and found it was just so-so. He still preferred home-cooked food.
Ning Tang made beef and mushroom sauce. He cut the beef into small cubes and the mushrooms into slices, and then added onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, star anise, cooking wine, bean paste and other seasonings and stir-fried them until they were tasty.
The fried beef and mushroom sauce looked very pretty and fragrant. Ning Tang took a bowl of freshly steamed rice, scooped a spoonful of beef and mushroom sauce on the white rice, and handed it to Sanwa, "Try it and see if it suits your taste."
Sanwa took the bowl and mixed the beef and mushroom sauce with the rice. He took a bite and was greeted by the salty and fresh aroma of the sauce followed by the delicate fragrance of the rice. It was a perfect match for rice. This spoonful of beef and mushroom sauce was enough to wash down a large bowl of rice. Sanwa was very satisfied and kept saying, "It's delicious. I'll make this. Mom, please make me a few more jars so I can take them abroad."
Ning Tang was amused. "Don't you feel sick of eating just this?"
Sanwa's eyes lit up, "Anything else?"
Ning Tang thought for a moment and said, "You can also make green pepper and egg sauce and bamboo shoot sauce."
The bamboo shoots are spring bamboo shoots dug from the back mountain. After they are dug out, the skin is peeled and spread out in pieces on a winnowing basket to dry. I have a lot of such bamboo shoots stored at home.
Green pepper and egg sauce is made by removing the seeds from the green peppers, roasting them, pounding them into a paste, and then frying them with eggs. Chen Lie has been particularly fond of this recently. He pounds a bowl of green peppers, takes two toasted steamed buns, and puts a layer of it in between. It is so fragrant.
When Sanwa heard Ning Tang's description, his mouth was watering. He quickly said, "I want both. Mom, please make them for me."
When the three kinds of rice sauce were ready and served in glass jars, even the eldest and second daughter started to get envious. "Mom, give us some too so we can take some to school to eat with our rice."
Sanwa was so doting on the jar that he hugged it, "You two have food in the cafeteria, why do you need rice sauce? I won't give it to you." He then said pitifully to Ning Tang, "If I don't share it with them, I won't have enough for myself. Just for this, I might eat it all in one week."
The eldest child said, "Third child, just be content. You're just going abroad. Mom even made some rice sauce for you. She was afraid you wouldn't be able to adapt to the local climate. Why don't you share some with us?"
Chen Lie said happily, "It's still the old one who is annoying."
"It hurts, it hurts." Ning Tang continued, "Each person? I'll make six cans, two cans of each of the three flavors. Is that okay?"
The glass jars at home are all big, six jars are enough for them to eat for a while.
The three children were satisfied.
Ning Tang said while moving his arms, "You guys? You really don't feel sorry for me at all."
Chen Lie replied, "That's right."
Ning Tang glanced at him and said, "You too, come over here and help me."
Chen Lie said honestly, "Understood."
The two of them worked for two days before they finished making twenty-four cans of rice sauce.
The eldest girl had six cans, the second girl had six cans, and the third girl had twelve cans.
Sanwa took the twelve cans of rice sauce in his hands, looking confused. "Mom, you finally remembered that I'm your most beloved youngest son and secretly made six more cans for me?"
Ning Tang was amused. "You think too much. These six cans are for Ji Anguo."
Ji Anguo? It was the last time when a new telephone was installed at home, the first person he called was Sanwa, and then he interrupted that young man.
Sanwa said that Ji Anguo's biological mother died early, and his father married a stepmother when he was three years old. His stepmother treated him very badly, not giving him food or clothes. After he had a new brother, she beat and scolded him from time to time. Fortunately, Ji Anguo worked hard and was selected to join the Navy Swimming Team training base. The team provided him with food and accommodation, and also paid him a salary. Now his stepmother and his father are inferior to him and have to rely on him for a living.
Ning Tang felt sorry for Sanwa after hearing this. In addition, Ji Anguo had taken good care of Sanwa when they were at the Navy Swimming Team training base, so he made an extra portion of sauce and asked Sanwa to bring it to him.
Sanwa was of course happy about it. This time when he went abroad, Ji Anguo would go with him. The two of them would have twelve jars of sauce together, which was enough for them to eat.
After the Lantern Festival and eating three-color dumplings, the three children returned to Shanghai.
The eldest and second daughter returned to school, and the third daughter returned to the Navy Swimming Team training base.
Ji Anguo was impatient to see his stepmother's expression, so he didn't go home for the New Year this year and spent the holiday alone in the training base.
Fortunately, he was not the only athlete who did not go home for the New Year. Several people got together, had hotpot, and watched the Spring Festival Gala. This Spring Festival passed just like that.
When Sanwa returned to the dormitory, Ji Anguo was sitting with his legs crossed, watching TV and eating a piece of dried mango from time to time, looking very comfortable.
Seeing Sanwa carrying so many bags that he had to bump into the door with his butt, Ji Anguo quickly jumped up from the bed and helped Sanwa carry his things. "Why are you carrying so many things? Did you move your family here?"
"Go, go, go." Sanwa retorted, "I brought so much because there are not only mine but also yours in here."
"Mine?" Ji Anguo pointed at himself, "Is there still a share for me?"
"Yes." Sanwa took out several jars of rice sauce one by one. "Here, my mother made it for you: beef and mushroom sauce, green pepper and egg sauce, and bamboo shoot sauce. Take it abroad to eat."
"Auntie—bah." Ji Anguo slapped himself and walked forward to put his arm around Sanwa's shoulders. "Why call me Auntie? I should call her Mom. Mom is so nice. She made so many rice sauces for us. She must have known that we can't get used to foreign food." He sniffed. "This rice sauce must be delicious."
Sanwa glanced at him and said, "That's my mother." He added, "You haven't even eaten it yet, and you already know it's delicious?"
The rice sauce was sealed with brown paper, so no flavor could penetrate it. However, just by looking at the color, one could tell that it must taste good. So Ji Anguo said, "This isn't the first time Mom has sent us things. Dried mangoes, dried fish, seaweed, etc. are all delicious. Since this rice sauce is made by her, it can't be that bad."
Twelve large jars of rice sauce were neatly lined up in a row. Ji Anguo glanced at them and sighed, "My biological mother is different. My stepmother never sent me anything." He pouted and said, "With a stepmother, I have a stepfather. Now he has a little son. How can my father still think of me?"
Sanwa patted his brother's shoulder. He knew something about his brother's family affairs. After patting him, he realized what was happening and said, "My mother is not my biological mother."
Ji Anguo's eyes widened. "Our mother is not your biological mother? What does that mean? Is she still your stepmother?"
Sanwa looked at him strangely. "Of course she's my stepmother. My mom married my dad when I was three. She's about the same age as yours. Calculate your age and see if it's correct." He added, "Didn't I tell you?"
Ji Anguo didn't say anything. The two of them just faced each other, staring at each other.
Sanwa slapped the back of his head and said, "Okay, I really haven't told you."
Ji Anguo glanced at the rice sauce again and sighed, "It turns out that stepmothers are different from each other." He muttered, "Why don't I have such good luck as you?"
Ji Anguo saw how good Ning Tang was to Sanwa.
She sends me a package every two months. She is even more loving to me than my own mother and loves me more than most other mothers.
Sanwa didn't want to talk about his sad story, so he changed the subject. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Hurry up and open a can of bibimbap and try it to see if it tastes good."
Speaking of food, Ji Anguo became excited and forgot all the sadness he had just felt.
I went to the cafeteria and ordered two large bowls of white rice. I separated the three flavors of rice sauce, scooped a little of each, and spread it on the rice. I didn't need any side dishes. Just this small spoonful of rice sauce was enough to go with a large bowl of white rice.
Ji Anguo smacked his lips as he ate. "How about we ask Mom to send some more? These few cans are not enough to fill our stomachs. I guess they'll be eaten up before we even leave the country."
Sanwa agreed and said, "Then call and tell Mom when the time comes."
Mom feels sorry for you and will definitely make it and send it to you.
Just as Sanwa was sharing the rice sauce with Ji Anguo, Dawa also arrived at the school.
The six cans of rice sauce were taken to school and were divided up by Da Wa's roommates within a few weeks. Da Wa didn't care much and let them eat them.
After all, the food in the school cafeteria tastes good, and the rice sauce is just the icing on the cake. It's not like Sanwa, who lost the taste of home after going abroad.
Asking for rice sauce is mostly just to amuse the third child. The more they scramble for it, the more delicious it becomes.
Da Wa now focuses all his attention on business. After selling women's clothing and children's clothing, Da Wa has turned his attention to men's clothing.
Although the women's clothing market is large, the men's clothing market is also not small. Nowadays, there are just as many boys who love dressing up as girls. They don't like to be picky about clothes. As long as they like something at first sight, they will pay for it immediately. This makes the business more enjoyable.
For example, it is March now and the weather has not yet fully warmed up, which is the time when long coats are selling well.
Da Wa took the opportunity to buy a lot of beige, black and gray long coats. They had good styles and were trendy. They were sold out as soon as they were put on the shelves. Some men bought them for themselves, and some women bought them for men.
Big Baby suddenly had an idea and came up with an idea. When buying an expensive long coat, he would give a summer women's dress for free, which was a buy-one-get-one-free deal. These summer women's dresses were old goods that were not sold last year and were stored in the dormitory. But Big Baby was smart and came up with this buy-one-get-one-free promotion. He cleared out a lot of old goods at once and the funds flowed back.
Customers who receive summer women's clothing as gifts will not lose out. Summer will be here in a few months, and these summer women's clothing can still be worn. They are quite trendy and will not be outdated at all.
When Da Wa was doing business, especially selling women's clothing, many customers would ask after buying clothes whether they had any accessories to match, such as bracelets, necklaces, etc. It didn't matter what the material was, as long as it was elegant, simple and easy to match.
Da Wa was therefore on the lookout for new merchandise, and when he went to buy new goods in May, he dragged Da Hu and Er Niu along to negotiate a deal with a merchant selling accessories. They decided to try out some first to see if they sold well.
Da Wa and Da Hu didn't know how to look at these accessories, but luckily Er Niu was there. There were many beautiful girls in the music conservatory, and they all knew how to dress up. Er Niu had seen a lot and had a rough idea of what kind of accessories young girls nowadays liked, so she helped Da Wa pick a lot of them.
After the three of them purchased the goods and put them in the dormitory, they made an appointment to go out for dinner.
The eldest boy was the host. "What do you two want to eat?"
"Let's have some mutton hotpot at Donglaishun." Dahu sipped his saliva. "It's a new place that's said to serve authentic Beijing cuisine. I've been craving it for a long time."
Da Wa waved his hand and said, "Okay, then let's eat this."
So the three of them took a turtle car to the commercial street where the Donglaishun mutton hotpot restaurant was located. Coincidentally, this commercial street was the same commercial street as the department store where Da Wa and Da Hu went to buy skin care products and cosmetics for Ning Tang and Zeng Xinlan last time. It was also here that they ran into Su Guangzong entering the game hall.
When they arrived at the door of Donglaishun Hotpot Restaurant, before going in, Da Wa glanced at the game room. The game room was still the same as before, with a small red and blue light box at the door, and it was dark inside. He wondered if Su Guangzong was here today.
Just thinking about it, whether Su Guangzong went to the game hall or not was none of his business. The most important thing was to fill his stomach.
After entering Donglaishun, Da Wa generously ordered two large plates of mutton rolls and a lot of side dishes.
The mutton rolls at Donglaishun are made from large chunks of mutton that have been frozen in the refrigerator and then cut with a steel knife. The slices are as thin as cicada wings, and then they are dipped into the thick white soup made from mutton bones, rinsed briefly, and then dipped in the family's secret sesame paste. They are so delicious.
After eating two large plates, the eldest boy still felt unsatisfied and ordered two more.
After finishing the mutton rolls, we started to eat the side dishes, such as enoki mushrooms, lettuce, corn... Although they are vegetarian dishes, they taste just as good after being dipped in oil, and they can also relieve greasiness.
Finally, drink a big bowl of mutton soup to feel satisfied.
After eating until their stomachs were bloated, the three of them left Donglaishun smelling of mutton.
Da Hu sucked his teeth and said, "The mutton here tastes delicious and authentic. Let's come back to eat next time."
Er Niu laughed, "You've never been to Beijing, how do you know this is the authentic one?"
Da Hu was unconvinced, "Anyway, it tastes good. That's right, it tastes good. It's authentic."
Er Niu thought about it and agreed, "It's indeed delicious."
Big Brother continued, "If you want to eat it, just come back next time, okay..." It's not worth it, and he has a lot of money now.
Before he could finish his words, a slovenly man suddenly rushed in front of him, his eyes red, and said in a rough voice, "Big boy, lend me some money."
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