Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Living Expenses
Zhang Mengzhi is a typical Sichuan native, even before he traveled through time, so he particularly likes Sichuan cuisine. Whether it is official cuisine or Jianghu cuisine, he likes it.
In fact, authentic Sichuan cuisine is basically not spicy, and the lighter the taste, the harder it is to cook. Many people have never seen a few authentic official Sichuan dishes in their entire lives.
The reason why Zhang Mengzhi could eat official cuisine was because he had become an apprentice of a master Sichuan cuisine chef before he traveled through time. Otherwise, he would not know where to eat ordinary official cuisine.
In fact, most of the restaurants in Sichuan Province outside serve Jianghu cuisine instead of official cuisine. Jianghu cuisine is the cuisine made by people who used to do heavy work and travel around the country. It is mainly spicy and has a strong taste, which makes it easier to eat with rice. And the cooking method is simpler than official cuisine.
Official cuisine is different and has complicated cooking methods. Some dishes even need to be prepared many days in advance. Ordinary Sichuan cuisine chefs cannot make them well, and may not even have heard of them.
Of course, what Zhang Mengzhi wants to cook now is not the official cuisine. Even if he wants to cook it, he doesn't have the conditions. Nowadays, most families cook Jianghu cuisine, and the official cuisine is only known in name but not in reality.
Twice-cooked pork, braised pork, shredded pork with green pepper, mapo tofu, fish-flavored eggplant, stir-fried water spinach, plus a tomato egg drop soup.
Six dishes and one soup cannot compare to a table full of meat dishes in later generations, but the portion is quite sufficient.
Zhang Mengzhi’s cooking skills were indeed great. As soon as the dishes were served on the table, everyone’s mouths were watering at their aroma.
"It's delicious. As expected, Meng Zhi's cooking is the best."
Zhang Mengyao directly stole a piece of twice-cooked pork.
"Pah. Have you washed your hands?"
Mother Zhang came in with chopsticks and saw her eldest daughter eating meat with her hands. She immediately hit the back of her hand with the chopsticks.
"Mom, wash it. Mengzhi has loved cleanliness since she was a child, and she forced us to love cleanliness too. How dare we not wash it!"
Zhang Mengyao stretched out her hand to show her mother, there were still water droplets on it!
"hehe."
Father Zhang watched the interaction between his wife and daughter with a silly smile, and opened a bottle of wine to fill it for himself and his son-in-law.
As for my son, he never drinks.
Perhaps young people in later generations know that drinking is bad for the body, so even though Zhang Mengzhi was just a worker, he never touched alcohol.
The Zhang family knew that Zhang Mengzhi didn't drink, so they didn't even prepare a wine glass for him.
"Brother, here you go."
Zhang Mengyu came back with a few bottles of drinks, four bottles of orange drinks, and placed them in front of Zhang's mother, Zhang Mengyao, Zhang Mengzhi and himself.
"Did you spend all your pocket money on these things?"
Zhang Mengzhi looked at her sister and asked.
He didn't object to his sister eating snacks and drinking beverages, as long as it wasn't excessive, he wouldn't care. But he was worried that Zhang Mengyu would have no self-control, eat snacks all day long, and even skip meals.
"No, today is an exception. I rarely eat snacks normally."
Zhang Mengyu quickly protected her wallet. She had two yuan of pocket money every month, which she applied for from her parents when her brother did not go to the countryside.
I’m afraid that she would be bribed by some bad boys with small favors. I think girls should be raised in wealth, so my pocket money is as much as two yuan every month!
Not to mention that she is not an adult yet, even for an adult girl, it is rare to have two dollars of pocket money every month.
Therefore, Zhang Mengyu is particularly difficult to deceive, and the boys' method of using snacks to deceive people simply doesn't work.
"Don't eat snacks all the time, or you'll never grow taller."
Zhang Mengzhi reminded her sister that the girl is only about 15 meters tall and it is the period of growth for girls. Once they are over 18 years old, it will be difficult for them to grow taller, unlike boys who can still grow faster after 18 years old.
Like Zhang Mengyao, she stopped growing after she turned 15. She was 1.6 meters tall at the age of 15, and she is still 1.6 meters tall now.
"I know."
Zhang Mengyu might doubt what her parents say, but she will definitely believe what her brother says.
Therefore, she seldom eats snacks in normal times, and only buys some snacks when she is really hungry.
She only drinks during the Chinese New Year and other festivals, and doesn't touch them at other times.
"Sit down and eat."
When Mr. Zhang came back from shopping and saw his eldest daughter and son-in-law, he was so happy that he didn't go to work in the afternoon and asked for leave from his boss, planning to have a good drink with his son-in-law.
The leader knew that Mr. Zhang was a serious worker and that he asked for leave today for special reasons. His married daughter and son-in-law rarely came back, so half a day off was quickly approved.
Looking at his father and brother-in-law who were holding on to the bottles of wine tightly, Zhang Mengzhi served them each a bowl of rice.
"Eat first, then drink."
Don't drink on an empty stomach, drink slowly after you're full.
"good."
The father-in-law and son-in-law picked up the food and started eating without saying a word.
In this family, one can occasionally disobey his wife, but if he dares to disobey his son (brother-in-law), he will be grabbed by the ear and scolded by his wife.
I can’t finish it this time. Forget it, I’ll drink it later. If I miss the food, it will be gone.
There were six dishes and one soup, all served in large bowls, with quite a lot of portions. Add a pot of rice, and six people finished it all.
Zhang Mengzhi was clearly a young man in his prime, but he ate the least during the meal.
Even the underage Zhang Mengyu eats more than him. Zhang Mengzhi looks confused. Is this reasonable?
"It makes sense. It makes sense. I'm still growing!"
Zhang Mengyu defended herself and tried hard to pull her stomach in.
"You're not afraid of dying of fullness."
How could Zhang Mengzhi not see her little movements, and couldn't help but speak.
"It's because my brother's cooking is so delicious! I couldn't help myself! Whether it's twice-cooked pork or braised pork, I love them all. I saw my sister eat a lot too!"
Zhang Mengyu said unconvincedly, why only her was mentioned.
"Hey, you little girl, I'm your sister! And I'm an adult, so what's wrong with eating more?"
Zhang Mengyao reached out and held her sister's head, saying with gritted teeth.
She was never well fed at her husband's house, and finally had to use food coupons to eat in the factory cafeteria. The dishes in the cafeteria were never oily and didn't taste very good, and were not as delicious as what her brother cooked!
So she couldn't help but eat an extra bowl of rice, especially the fish-flavored eggplant, which was perfect to go with rice.
But the twice-cooked pork and braised pork were also very delicious. She took a bite of meat and a bite of rice, and almost ate her tongue.
Maybe everyone was short of oil and water, so meat dishes were more popular. Zhang Mengzhi ate the most tofu and vegetables, while the others didn't touch them much.
However, even though the six people were not that hungry, they ate half of the two dishes, and Zhang Mengzhi ate the remaining half.
Zhang Mengzhi ate meat every day before he traveled through time. Although he ate less meat after traveling through time, he could still eat meat every now and then. So he was different from the people of this era and was not very greedy for meat. He knew that everyone liked to eat meat, so he ate one piece of meat and never touched it again.
The others were concentrating on eating and didn't notice Zhang Mengzhi's actions.
"Mengzhi, your nephew and his family will be here tomorrow, let's do it again!"
Zhang Mengyao liked it so much that she couldn't help but tell her brother.
"good."
Zhang Mengzhi did not refuse. His sister was not living well after getting married, and he could not go to the Xia family to blame the elders. He could only prepare more food for his sister after she returned to her parents' home.
Although he knew that the old man of the Xia family had treated his sister and brother-in-law badly, their practice was the norm in that era. If he went to seek justice for his sister, he would end up being in the wrong and would also harm his sister and brother-in-law.
"By the way, Mom, have you collected my salary for this month?"
Zhang Mengyao asked.
She must pay for the living expenses of her son and daughter when they come to live in her parents' home. Even if her parents, brothers and sisters don't mind raising two children, she and Dayong cannot just pay nothing.
"I received it. I saved it for you in the old place."
Mother Zhang was cleaning up the dishes with her little daughter and answered without even raising her head.
"Brother, wait for me."
Zhang Mengyao took her husband to the old place to get the money. That was Zhang's mother and Zhang's mother's bedroom. There was a drawer in the closet where her salary was kept.
If the money was kept at the Xia family, it would have disappeared the next day. After losing a month's salary, Zhang Mengyao simply asked her mother Zhang to collect the salary for her every month and save it, and she was determined not to give her in-laws a chance to touch it.
It's not that she is so heartless. Since she married Xia Dayong, her in-laws have not helped her at all.
Her mother from her natal family took care of her during the confinement period, and her two children were also taken care of by her mother's family before they were one year old. After they were one year old, she sent the children to a nursery attached to the factory, sending them there in the morning and picking them up in the evening, and she did not let her in-laws take care of them.
Today is an exception, because I need to go shopping and it is inconvenient to take the child with me, so I can only ask my mother-in-law to help take care of the child for a day. There is no other way, the teachers in the nursery also have to take a summer vacation.
I wonder if the two children are doing well at grandma's house today? I always feel that my in-laws are unreliable. Although the two children are already five years old, they are still young and cannot fight back if they are bullied by adults.
"Twenty dollars is a little too little. If you give me another twenty dollars, the two children will need to stay here until school starts!"
Xia Dayong took out another twenty yuan from his wife's salary and put it into living expenses.
The children are older now, and usually the two kids play at home by themselves after they go to work. The five or six-year-old children no longer need everyone's care.
Today they said that Grandma Xia would take care of the child for a day, but in fact they were just asked to take care of the child's lunch. The child can play by himself and does not need them to take care of him at all.
“That’s right.”
Zhang Mengyao thought about it and took out another twenty yuan.
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