Chapter 6 Living in the Village Chief's House
The people gathered at the Shen family's house to watch the excitement couldn't stand it any longer: "They are all elders. Can't the family accommodate these two children?"
"Back when the whole village was building the road, each family contributed two people. Why did they only let the eldest brother and his wife go? They're not that biased."
The others quickly realized that this kind of dirty, tiring and physically demanding work was done by men. Women would only be allowed to do it if there were no men left in the family.
Shen Jiancheng from the second branch of the Shen family and Shen Daye from the third branch are both idle.
Just to get more work points, the Shen family asked Shen Qingyue's parents to choose the most tiring job. In the end, an accident happened and they didn't even give the child a pension.
Someone in the crowd said, "It's damned immortal."
Even the old people in the village who favored boys over girls couldn't stand the Shen family!
The two old men of the Shen family, along with the second and third wives, started sucking blood from their entire family.
The people around him became more and more indignant as they spoke.
The Shen family was so angry that they almost died. Are all the villagers blind?
It was obvious that their whole family was bullied by that damn girl Shen Qingyue. Shen Qingyue overturned the table and wasted food, and now she is threatening to die.
The people around them seemed confused and started pointing fingers at them.
Second Aunt Zeng Juhua was the most eloquent and could turn black into white, but she was kicked several meters away by Shen Qingyue. Now the place where she was kicked was piercingly painful!
She had no time to defend the Shen family, she was just worried.
As for the others, none of them are as steady as Zeng Juhua.
Liu Yu had just been beaten by her own man. She was furious and cursed the Shen family for being worthless.
Now she heard that the people around her not only scolded the Shen family, but also scolded her.
Liu Yu instantly felt like a female gorilla whose tail had been stepped on: "Don't listen to her, there's nothing wrong."
The villagers have completely seen through the true face of the Shen family after what happened today.
Everyone in the village entered the yard. Naturally, there was a curious person who opened the room of Shen Qingyue and her sister and compared it with the room of Liu Yu, the third room.
Shen Qingyue's bed was just a low wooden board, and the sisters squeezed inside.
The third brother's room was spacious and bright, with new clothes displayed throughout the room. There was even a brand new radio.
Looking at it this way, what else is there that you don’t understand?
Old Mrs. Li, who was in the crowd, had always been at odds with Grandma Xu Xiuzhi. As she was of higher generation in the village, she couldn't help but sneer, "She's my real grandmother, and even my step-grandmother wouldn't do this."
Mrs. Li said, "Girl, if you don't have a place to stay, come and stay at my house."
Xu Xiuzhi immediately became angry: "This is my family affair, just mind your own business. You still want to meddle in my family affairs? Don't you think you are qualified?"
The Shen family is also a well-known family in the village. When the news of building a house came out a few days ago, their reputation in the village was even higher.
Now all the faces of the Shen family have been rubbed on the ground, how can they bear it?
When Grandma Xu Xiuzhi saw Shen Qingyue, she wanted to tear her alive.
Mrs. Li's words just now made Xu Xiuzhi's face turn pale. She said angrily, "Shen Qingyue, stop pretending. You're still threatening me with death. If you have the guts, then go and die."
When Old Lady Li heard this, she spat in her face: "You beast! People like you are not fit to be anyone's grandmother!"
Xu Xiuzhi wiped her face, her face flushed with anger, and she was furious.
She wanted to beat Old Lady Li, but the key point was that the Li family was also a big family in the village. Before Xu Xiuzhi could get crazy, she had already separated the two people.
Old Mrs. Li said, "Village Chief, you absolutely cannot let these two children go back to live here. If there's no room, I'll make room for them."
After saying this, he did not forget to mock Xu Xiuzhi: "It must be a room with a bed."
Then, as if on purpose, Mrs. Li came over and said to Shen Qingyue and Shen Mei, "You are not allowed to live in the shed!"
As soon as the words fell, the voices of the people around him became louder. I used to think the Shen family was okay. Now it seems that they are too cruel.
They can even harm their own son and granddaughter. They are not a kind family.
The two sons of Zeng Juhua from the second house, Shen Chaoxiong, are 22 years old, and Shen Chaohu is 21 years old, both of which are at the age to get married.
I also heard that the Shen family was going to build a big house, and all the families with daughters in the village were watching, fearing that someone else would get the good marriage first.
But now I see that this kind of family even cheats their own relatives. It is even more difficult for women from outside to marry into the family.
In an instant, all the families with daughters in the village backed out, but Zeng Juhua, the second wife, didn't know about it yet.
Zeng Juhua was thinking about getting revenge from Shen Qingyue someday for the grievances she suffered today.
Shen Qingyue said: "Village Chief, we don't want to stay here anymore."
The village chief said, "Okay, you two sisters will stay at my house for a while."
Afterwards, he scolded the Shen family for a few more words, and then left with Shen Qingyue and Shen Mei.
Leaving the Shen family in a mess.
People like Second Aunt, Third Aunt, and Grandma, who were the main bullies, were also injured to varying degrees.
Just now, the villagers saw how pitiful Shen Qingyue and her sister were, and they wanted to stay at their parents' grave for a while. They were so wronged by the children that they all felt a sense of justice.
Shen Qingyue left with the village chief.
But these villagers did not leave and continued to point fingers at the Shen family.
The women in the village were incredibly sharp-tongued, their words sharper than a knife, causing great suffering to the Shen family.
Although the Shen family was ruthless to Shen Qingyue and the others, they did not dare to be too rude to the villagers.
After all, our ancestors have lived in the village for generations. We cannot offend anyone, whether they are far away or nearby.
The men in the Shen family all looked embarrassed and said, "Go back to the house." Everyone went back to the house.
The villagers around saw that there was nothing exciting to watch.
Had to disperse.
But before they could walk far, they heard the Shen family's shouting and cursing again.
The Shen family didn't notice anything in the yard just now.
Now when I return to the house, I see broken plates and bowls all over the floor, and no one has cleaned them up.
Not only was the place a mess, but everyone was hungry after the whole night, and the Shen family was crying and cursing.
When the villagers were about to leave, a few gossipy ones came back and quietly slipped into the yard and lay down at the wall to listen.
In less than a day, their insults would spread throughout Liujia Village.
…
Shen Qingyue and Shen Mei went to the village chief's house.
The village head's wife, Liu Dahua, was a warmhearted person. She had already tidied up the two rooms early and said, "That grandmother of yours is really inhuman. I've already made the west room for you. It's all new cotton mattresses made this year, so they're so soft. You can rest assured and stay here for as long as you want."
"Thank you, Aunt Dahua." Shen Qingyue said, "I really don't know how to repay you."
Even strangers were kind to her, but her own family members were the worst bullies.
Aunt Dahua asked, "What are you thanking me for?" She was in the crowd just now and heard what happened to Shen Qingyue, and she felt sorry for her.
Looking at Shen Qingyue and Chen Mei, they were dressed so thinly, and there were patches on their old clothes.
It was 1985. Life was better than in earlier years, and the village had already begun the household contract responsibility system. Land was distributed to each household, and there were no longer any particularly hard-pressed families.
It’s really sad to see the two little girls look so thin.
The village chief was called down from the dinner table. He had only eaten half of his meal when he suddenly remembered something and said to Liu Dahua, "Make some food. The two girls haven't eaten yet."
"Okay." Liu Dahua agreed readily.
Shen Qingyue said, "Aunt Dahua, it's great that you can take us sisters in. We won't eat the meal."
Liu Dahua pretended to be angry: "When you come to my house, it's like coming to your own home. If you are polite to me again, I will be angry."
Shen Qingyue said: "Thank you, Auntie. How can I trouble you to cook again? Otherwise, I will do it."
Liu Dahua said, "Okay."
Her husband is the village chief and their family is considered wealthy. Liu Dahua has a good temper, but her only problem is that she is careless about cooking and housework.
When Liu Dahua heard that the Shen sisters were going to cook, she was delighted. Worried that they would not be able to relax, she followed them into the kitchen.
Although Liu Dahua is not good at cooking, she can help out and teach them how to use the seasonings.
Liu Dahua took them into the kitchen.
Chen Mei couldn't help but be shocked. As expected of the village chief's house, the kitchen was really big and had plenty of seasonings.
Rice, flour, grains, and oils are all here. There's also dried vegetables and cured meat. What's even more surprising is that there's a freshly scaled, uncooked fish in the basin.
Chen Mei was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. These were things that had never been seen in the Shen family before.
It was placed right there. At first glance, I didn't know where to put my hands and feet, and felt extremely awkward.
Shen Qingyue, on the other hand, was very calm.
In her previous life, she worked as a kitchen helper in a state-owned restaurant and learned a lot. Later, she ran her own business and because of her good cooking skills, her life became prosperous.
When I was reborn and saw the kitchen stove again, I felt a sense of familiarity.
Aunt Dahua asked, "Do you know how to cook this fish? If you do, go ahead and cook it." Aunt Dahua's cooking skills were average, and she didn't know how to cook fish. This was a reservoir fish her brother had sent her, weighing over four pounds.
Every time she cooks it, there is a fishy smell, which is a waste of such good fish.
So now Aunt Dahua gets scared when she sees fish.
Shen Qingyue asked: "Do you want to eat braised or stewed?" The fish is fresh.
When Auntie Dahua heard her say that, her eyes lit up: "Let's braise it." Then she said to Shen Qingyue in disbelief: "You can make this?"
Chicken and fish have always been considered as big dishes. If you can even get these "big dishes", then other stir-fries are even easier to prepare.
Chen Mei hesitated to speak.
Aunt Dahua asked, "What's wrong, Meizi?"
Chen Mei reminded her sister: "Braising consumes a lot of oil." When she cooked at home, if she used a little more oil, her grandmother would chase her and scold her all day.
Nowadays, when I visit someone’s house, I’m afraid that the host will be unhappy if I cook such an oil-consuming dish right away.
Aunt Dahua said, "Don't worry, it's very oily and smells good! I'm not a rich woman, but I can afford a little food and drink. I'll make some more dough and steamed buns, and we can eat together."
Chen Mei said, "Let me do it." She was familiar with this kind of hard work of kneading dough at home.
After a while, the fire started to burn hot.
After Shen Qingyue cleaned the fish thoroughly, she cut it into pieces, poured oil into it, and added some salt to the oil.
Aunt Dahua was watching from the side and was amazed. Regardless of the quality of the things, just the posture showed that he was a master.
Shen Qingyue said, "Salt is to prevent it from sticking to the pan." Fish meat is no different from other fish. Once it sticks to the pan, turning it over will completely break it apart!
"Ah." Aunt Dahua said cheerfully, "You never stop learning."
Then there was a sizzling sound, and Shen Qingyue put the fish in the pot.
Wait until the skin on one side is fried until it is set before turning it over. Just looking at the fish, the skin is crispy, golden and shiny, it is even more beautiful than the fish at the village banquet.
Shen Qingyue fried the fish first, then stir-fried ginger, green onions and spices with oil.
After frying until fragrant, I put the fish directly in and added a little wine, soy sauce, and sweet and sour sauce. While the seasoning in the pot has not yet reacted, I quickly added some water and simmered it on low heat.
The fishy smell of the fish disappeared, leaving only the unfamiliar fresh smell filling the kitchen.
Chen Mei didn't know that her sister had such a skill.
As for Aunt Dahua, her eyes lit up and she asked Shen Qingyue to fry another handful of peanuts.
Chen Mei steamed four large buns, each of which was bigger than a man's fist.
The braised fish in the pot was collecting its juices, and soon the clear broth became rich and sticky. When the lid was lifted, the aroma burst out, making your mouth water.
Finally, Shen Qingyue sprinkled a handful of coriander, and the braised fish looked even more delicious.
Chen Mei’s steamed buns were also served at the same time, along with some fried peanuts.
Frying peanuts requires a lot of oil, but Shen Qingyue only uses a tiny amount. This is a real test of skill. If the heat is too high, the peanuts will burn; if it's too low, they won't be cooked through.
Shen Qingyue came out, heated up the village chief's previous dinner, and brought it to the table.
The village chief has two sons, one is a postman and the other works in a factory, neither of them is with the village chief.
The village chief had already smelled the fragrance in the house.
But because of the village chief's pride, he didn't dare to go in. He just wanted to know what they were doing in the kitchen, why it smelled so good? The village chief's stomach seemed to sense it and started to growl.
The dishes were all served. The village chief was also a little surprised when he saw them: "You spent so much time cooking fish?"
Aunt Dahua kept talking: "Oh, you don't know, these were all made by Shen Qingyue and Shen Mei. It's amazing." She just tasted some of the fish soup left at the bottom of the pot, and it was delicious.
Just give her some soup and let her dip it in steamed buns, and she can finish a meal.
The village chief's attitude towards them became more gentle: "Just treat it like your own home. Come, eat."
He was the host, and if he didn't pick up his chopsticks, the others would feel embarrassed, so they had to pick up a piece of fish first.
The piece of meat was wrapped in fish skin and broth. After taking a bite, the village chief lost his composure.
The combination of the tender fish meat, the tough fish skin and the delicious fish soup creates a very rich taste.
The village chief had eaten a lot of delicious food, but this was the first time he had eaten fish that was this delicious.
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