Tian Tian had no plan to go over to work. She and Tian Zhuo were really tired. What's more, her aunt was also in the kitchen, so there was no need for so many people to go.
"What gift did you bring today? Let me see it so I can prepare a return gift for your family!" Grandma Lin sat on the kang, seemingly calm and composed, but in fact her eyes were always glancing at the earthenware basket that Tian Tian and the others had brought.
Tian Tian curled her lips, but she didn't say anything. She took the basket and handed it to Grandma Lin, "It's just some common things, nothing special."
Grandma Lin took the soil with great anticipation. Among her three daughters, her second daughter had the best marriage and always brought back good things during the Chinese New Year. This time, Grandma Lin thought that she must bring back a piece of meat or a fish.
As a result, Grandma Lin was destined to be disappointed this time. When she opened the cloth covering the basket, she found a small bag of sweet potato strips underneath.
Grandma Lin’s face immediately turned dark.
"Why did you bring back these sweet potato strips this year? We have plenty of them at home, just keep them for yourselves!"
In fact, sweet potato strips are also a good thing nowadays. They are a real food that can fill the stomach. It is quite good for ordinary families to take a small bag of sweet potato strips back to their parents' home to visit relatives.
But it just so happened that what Grandma Tian brought back before was either a small piece of meat or a small piece of fish. Although they were not big and weighed only one or two taels, they were all meat after all. This time, she brought back sweet potato strips, which was a big contrast for Grandma Lin.
"Really?" Tian Tian's eyes were full of stars. "It just so happens that I walked all the way here from home and I'm hungry, so I'll eat some dried sweet potatoes to fill my stomach."
As she spoke, Tian Tian took out a few dried sweet potatoes from the bag and handed some to Tian Zhuo. She was hungry, let alone Tian Zhuo.
The dried sweet potatoes they ate were more like the later steamed sweet potatoes, which were choking when eaten. They picked the ones that were only as big as the tip of a finger. After washing the sweet potatoes and cooking them, they were placed outside to dry in the sun. There were also those that were steamed and then cut into slices and dried in the sun. No sugar was added, just the sweetness of the sweet potato itself. The texture was soft, glutinous and sweet, and it was not difficult to eat. Tian Tian really liked it.
Seeing that Tian Tian was really eating the dried sweet potatoes as if she was at home, Grandma Lin was furious again. But she just said those words and it was difficult for her to say anything now. It seemed as if she was not keeping her word. Moreover, she was reluctant to give any dried sweet potatoes to her grandson and granddaughter.
But Tian Tian didn't eat too much this time. She took a few bites of dried sweet potatoes and didn't feel as hungry as before, so she didn't eat any more.
Thinking that it wasn't long before lunch, I decided to wait and eat more.
Grandma Lin couldn't hold it in for a while, and said, "So this year I gave you dried sweet potatoes. I heard that the reservoir was selling frozen fish a few days ago. Didn't you get any back?"
"Yes! My dad made two and my grandma stewed them and ate them." Tian Tian said.
They didn't have anything good to eat during the Chinese New Year this year. When Old Mrs. Tian slaughtered the pig, she asked for a lot of pork fat, so there was only a small piece of edible meat, about two taels. After it shrank in the pot, each person couldn't eat much.
Old Mrs. Tian stewed the two fish because she felt that the food was not very good during the Chinese New Year this year.
But Grandma Lin didn't know about this. She thought Tian Yuan was a soldier and that Grandma Tian's family was rich.
"So you're just giving us these things to get rid of? I don't know what you do with all that money? You can't even afford to give gifts to your own grandma's family."
Tian Tian sighed, "Grandma, our family is short of money now. You see, all three of us are in school. Not to mention the textbooks and miscellaneous fees, the tuition alone is a huge expense. Our family is living a tight life now. We can't even get enough to eat, so how can we have extra things to give as gifts? These dried sweet potatoes are all saved from our teeth."
Grandma Lin thought about it and realized that it would cost a lot of money for all three children of the Tian family to go to school, especially for Tian Tian to go to high school, which would cost even more.
"Why should a little girl like you go to high school? What a waste of money! After you graduate, you will have to go home to get married and farm the land. Tell me, how much money can you save if you don't go to high school?" Grandma Lin complained.
"Grandma! My aunt and my sister Juanjuan haven't come back yet?" Tian Tian asked.
She didn't want to continue discussing this matter with Grandma Lin, so she simply changed the subject.
Although she didn't like this granddaughter, when the topic came up, Grandma Lin no longer had time to get angry. She was also a little worried, "Who knows? Why did they come so late this year? They haven't come yet at this time!"
In previous years, Lin Meishuang and Lin Meixia both came here early in the morning. After all, they were from the same village and could just walk a few steps to get here. They didn't have to spend most of their time on the road like Tian Tian and the others.
"Meixia! Meixia?" Grandma Lin shouted into the kitchen at the top of her voice.
"What do you want me to do, Mom?" Lin Meixia poked her head in while wiping her hands.
When she heard Grandma Lin calling her so anxiously, she thought there was something urgent, so she hurried over.
"Didn't you say this morning that you saw your sister? Did your sister tell you why she had to come over late today?" asked Grandma Lin.
"You didn't tell me this, what's wrong?" Lin Meixia asked.
When she was leaving in the morning, she passed by her eldest sister's house. Her eldest sister stopped her and said that she might come late today, and asked her to help tell Grandma Lin not to make her worry.
"Look, your sister and her family haven't come back yet. It's almost time for dinner, and we don't know if something happened. You should go to your sister's house to see her. If nothing happens, we can rest assured." Grandma Lin said.
"Okay then. I'll ask Shugen and Caogen to go over and take a look." After saying that, Lin Meixia turned around and wanted to call her two twin sons who were playing in the yard.
"No need, auntie. Tian Zhuo and I are fine anyway, so let Tian Zhuo and I go take a look." Tian Tian said.
Anyway, she didn't want to stay at home. Grandma Lin was always weird and it was annoying to stay at home.
"Then do you know where your aunt lives?" Lin Meixia asked.
Tian Tian didn’t grow up here, so how would she know where everyone lives?
"I know. I've been to my aunt's house before to give her something, and I still remember how to get there." After Tian Tian finished speaking, she lowered her head and asked Tian Zhuo if he wanted to go with her.
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