Chapter 56: Let Myself Go
The restaurant's closing time is later than the factory's. When Lin Xiangnan returned home, Hu Meili and Lin Xiangxi had already had dinner.
Hu Meili was sitting outside enjoying the cool air and chatting with her neighbors. When she saw Lin Xiangnan coming back on his bicycle, she immediately came over with a fan in hand.
"How was it? Did you encounter any problems at work today? Are your boss and colleagues easy to talk to?"
Lin Xiangnan thought of the lunch box of braised meat in his bag and said sincerely, "I really made the right choice to go to this company!"
The work is easy and not tiring, and she can eat delicious food. It suits her better than any administrative position in the factory.
"I picked the job for you, so how could it be wrong?" Hu Meili was quite complacent.
It was obvious that she got this job by luck, and Hu Meili even boasted about it. Lin Xiangnan didn't try to flatter her. He parked his bicycle and went into the kitchen.
When Hu Meili and Lin Xiangxi saw this, they knew that she must have brought back some delicious food, so they gave up their playmates and slipped into the kitchen.
As soon as he opened the lid of the lunch box, the aroma of the braised meat filled his nose. The bright color made Lin Xiangxi drool.
"What a delicious braised meat. Where did it come from?" Lin Xiangxi looked at Lin Xiangnan eagerly, "Sister, can I eat it?"
Lin Xiangnan nodded, "I exchanged it with the chef of the restaurant. Eat it. This box of meat is for eating. It has no other use."
She is not like Hu Meili, who would hide a pack of biscuits in the cupboard and save them for the next time she visits relatives.
"Then I'll do the cutting." Lin Xiangxi volunteered. As he cut, he said, "This meat will definitely taste good when mixed with rice or stuffed with steamed buns."
Hu Meili pretended not to hear, "Don't look at me. Our family's food supply for this month is almost gone. There's really not enough to eat."
The monthly food ration of 28 kilograms, which is the amount of coarse grains and fine grains combined, is not enough under normal circumstances, not to mention that Lin Xiangnan would bring back some delicious dishes from time to time. Once his appetite was whetted, the food in the house would be even less.
It was impossible to steam a new pot of rice, so Hu Meili only took out two mixed noodles from the cupboard and said, "This is the dinner left for Xiaonan. Let's share it among the three of us and eat it."
Lin Xiangnan also had dinner. Zhang Dapang cooked the dishes, and the five of them ate together in the restaurant. It was more economical. Although this was considered eating out every day, the cost was just as low as eating at home.
The three of them shared two mixed noodle pancakes, taking a bite of the pancake with a bite of the braised meat. The one pound of braised meat was quickly finished, and at the end, the three of them felt a little unsatisfied.
He ate without saying a word, and only after he finished did Lin Xiangxi exclaim: "This is definitely the most delicious meat I have ever eaten in my life!"
Lin Xiangnan smiled and said, "You have never eaten anything good."
She doesn't bring delicious food home every day.
During the summer vacation, Hu Meili did not cook. It was Lin Xiangxi who made the fire, and Lin Xiangnan who cut the vegetables. They then poured them into the pot, added water and salt, and cooked them.
It is edible, but the taste is really average. It can only be used to prolong life. Lin Xiangnan eats it as a diet meal.
"This braised meat is so delicious. It's worthy of being made by a great chef." Hu Meili touched her belly with satisfaction and praised Lin Xiangnan, "Luckily you were smart and asked for the braising liquid. It will be perfect for cooking tomorrow morning."
Under normal circumstances, that pound of braised meat should be saved for breakfast tomorrow morning.
But Hu Meili didn't mention this because she knew that the delicious food Lin Xiangnan brought back was never kept until the next day.
Even if Hu Meili didn't allow him to eat, Lin Xiangnan would take Lin Xiangxi to the kitchen to eat secretly when he felt hungry in the middle of the night.
Then next time when they wanted to eat something good, Lin Xiangnan would just take Lin Xiangxi out to eat and then come back.
After many times, Hu Meili has learned her lesson. She eats and drinks as she pleases, and doesn't take things to heart.
Anyway, it's not her money, so she doesn't have to worry about it. Even if Lin Xiangnan's private money is spent, there will be someone to support him in the future.
After eating the braised meat, Lin Xiangxi went to wash the dishes on his own initiative.
Lin Xiangnan instructed, "Little brother, light up the coal stove. I brought back some fresh beef shanks. Put them on the coal stove and stew them slowly over low heat."
Lin Xiangxi lit the fire while Lin Xiangnan washed the meat and put it into the pot. The two of them cooperated very well.
Hu Meili was offended by this and muttered softly, "You treat your brother like a puppy all day long."
"He's happy to do so." Lin Xiangnan raised his eyebrows proudly.
She knew that Hu Meili was a bit biased towards boys, but Hu Meili was not her biological mother and was quite nice to her, so Lin Xiangnan didn't care about it.
Seeing Lin Xiangnan's smugness, Hu Meili was furious. "Alright, alright, both of you go out and play. I'll do it."
"That won't work. Mom, don't you have any idea about your own cooking skills?"
Hu Meili was dissatisfied, "Your cooking skills are not as good as mine!"
Lin Xiangnan brushed the strands of hair on his forehead and said, "I am different from you now. I have a famous teacher to teach me."
Following Zhang Dapang's instructions, he added the appropriate amount of water and simmered it for a sufficient amount of time. The braised meat was so fragrant that Lin Xiangnan almost thought he was the reincarnation of the God of Cooking.
While eating in the morning, Lin Xiangnan complained: "I said I should have some talent. It's all your fault, mom, for delaying my development."
Hu Meili just focused on eating meat and ignored everyone.
After they finished eating, Hu Meili said, "You are at work now, so you have to eat at the company. From now on, Xiaoxi will have lunch at her grandma's house, and I will eat in the factory cafeteria. Just cook for two people, it will be too troublesome for me to run back and forth at noon."
"Okay, I have no objection."
"That's fine with me."
When Lin Xiangnan was at home, she was generous and a child king. In order to get some candy from her, a bunch of children surrounded her.
When she went to work, no one in Lin Xiangxi's superiors cared about him, so he completely let himself go and had a blast playing with the kids on the street.
In less than two days, he ended up in the police station.
"The nature of this matter is very serious. This is called stealing, you know? This time the owner didn't care and asked you to compensate for the things, and the matter was settled. But what about next time?" The police officer on duty criticized: "The child is so old, and he still does such a thing. Is this how you parents educate your children?"
The children who made mistakes stood in a row, and the parents who came to pick up their children also stood in a row. They all listened obediently and did not dare to refute.
Children have nothing to do during the summer vacation. They usually pick up firewood for their families. When they have nothing to do, they hang out on the streets, picking up glass bottles, waste newspapers, iron wires and nails, and aluminum toothpaste tubes. They can sell them at the scrap yard and exchange them for money to buy candy.
This time they "picked up" a bunch of old steel in a dilapidated shed, sold it, and went to buy ice cream, and then the owner came to their door.
Lin Xiangxi has been hanging out with Lin Xiangnan for a long time, so he has no shortage of ice cream to eat. They do bad things together just to fit in.
Now that he had been criticized, he could only stand dejectedly among the crowd, not daring to look up and meet the eyes of his family.