Wang Sihai brought a lot of chestnuts this time. Jiang Wanwan didn't plan to make all of them into chestnut cakes. She picked out the small and good-looking ones and prepared to make sugar-roasted chestnuts.
She made a lot of sugar-roasted chestnuts, and the iron pot at home happened to be big enough, so she didn't work in the two-bedroom apartment.
Sugar-roasted chestnuts are also simple. Wash the chestnuts and cut a straight slit with a knife.
Heat the pan dry and add some oil. Vegetable oil will do, but butter will be more fragrant. Jiang Wanwan directly took the butter from the two-bedroom apartment.
Fry the opened chestnuts in oil, add a few spoons of sugar, and stir-fry until the sugar is almost dissolved. Finally, add clean water, cover and cook.
While the fire was burning, I heard some noise outside the door and saw Lu Xiao's mother coming.
Lu's mother came quite frequently these days, but Jiang Wanwan didn't think about the reason and continued to do her own thing.
"Wanwan, I made some red bean buns today and brought them over for you to try. San'er loved eating red bean buns during Chinese New Year in previous years."
Red bean filling is a good thing these days. Red beans and brown sugar are added, and people only make some steamed red bean buns during the Chinese New Year.
It's not a festival, and Second Brother Lu and Lu Xiao are not at home, but Mother Lu actually made red bean paste.
"Thank you, Mom," Jiang Wanwan took it and thanked her.
"Why are we as a family being so polite?"
Mother Lu looked at the pot that Jiang Wanwan was boiling. There was bubbling steam and a hint of sweet fragrance could be smelled.
"Making chestnuts again?"
Jiang Wanwan nodded.
Mother Lu felt a little embarrassed, but she couldn't tell why. Her daughter-in-law was still very respectful and polite to her, but for some reason, she felt something was different.
"I heard that Du Zhiqing was sent by the team leader to dig a canal. If something like this happens again, just tell me. Even though the second and third brothers are not here, your eldest brother and I are still at home and can take care of it for you."
Jiang Wanwan nodded again, but before she could say anything, the voice of her elder brother Lu Hui came from outside.
"Mom, mom, where are you? Oh no, something happened."
Mother Lu's face froze. She pushed the door open and walked out, scolding her eldest son, "Why are you so flustered? What happened?"
Lu Hui gasped for breath, his voice almost crying, "Mom, Xiulan has been taken away, and the team leader came to ask us to go to the commune with him. Mom, what should we do?"
Zhang Xiu Lan went out early this morning. Her eldest daughter-in-law has been out for a long time recently, and no one knows where she goes.
They are all adults, so it is not appropriate for her as a mother-in-law to interfere.
"Who took him away? Where can we pick him up? Please explain clearly."
Lu Hui's eyes were evasive, and he began to stutter. "They were... they were arrested by the patrol team. Xiulan went to the black market, and the team leader asked us to go to the commune to pick her up and receive criticism and education."
What else could Lu's mother not understand? Why else could he be arrested by the patrol team for going to the black market at this time?
He turned around and glanced at Jiang Wanwan, not knowing how to speak. "Old Third Wife, I'll go take a look first."
Jiang Wanwan said calmly, "Okay."
After waiting for only one word, Mother Lu felt an indescribable sense of loss, but she did not dare to delay any longer and hurried away with her eldest son.
Jiang Wanwan looked at the backs of the two people, lowered her eyes slightly, sighed secretly, went back to the house and continued to cook her chestnuts.
After a while, Wang Sanni came over with the child.
Lu's mother and Lu Hui followed the team leader to the commune and have not returned yet, leaving Wang Sanni and the three children at home.
In the past, Chunsheng and Xiaoshu would go to her place to play with Qingqing, especially Xiaoshu, who would often stay in their house when he had nothing to do.
For some unknown reason, neither of the two children came to her place today. She was feeling bored staying at home, so she came to find Jiang Wanwan.
There was a fire burning in the room, and it was warm. Wang Sanni carried the child and moved a stool, sitting next to Jiang Wanwan, accompanying her to light the fire and talk.
Jiang Wanwan couldn't help but feel puzzled when she heard that Zhang Xiulan was arrested by the police for selling food on the black market.
"Isn't your food still together? What kind of food did she take to the black market? Or did she take food from the public and sell it secretly on the black market to fill her own pockets?"
Seeing that Wang Sanni stopped talking, Jiang Wanwan knew that she had guessed right.
When Brother Lu came to see Lu's mother, she really thought that Zhang Xiulan also had the ability to make money in the black market.
"How did she get the food out without anyone noticing when you were all in the same yard?"
Wang Sanni sighed, "It gets light late in the winter, so she went out early in the morning. If you don't pay attention, no one will know what she's doing. In fact, my sister-in-law has done this kind of thing in previous years, but she just wasn't caught by the patrol team."
"Didn't Mom say anything? And didn't Second Brother have any objections?"
If they were not discovered once or twice, and this happened every year, living in the same yard, how could they not reveal anything?
"I don't know whether mother knows or not. In previous years, my eldest sister-in-law did this when your second brother was working on the river. I mentioned it to him, but by then the grain had been sold and the money was probably all gone. We were just the two of us, so we could eat anything and never starve. So I never mentioned it again."
Jiang Wanwan understood that in previous years, not only the second house’s food was in the public house, but even Lu Xiao’s food was in the old house.
Zhang Xiu Lan sold the public grain, and no one had any objections, so it was not easy for Lu Jie to stand up and speak out alone.
Another point is that Wang Sanni knew about Zhang Xiu Lan selling grain, but did her mother-in-law really know nothing about it?
Jiang Wanwan didn't want to maliciously speculate about Lu Xiao's mother. She respected her mother-in-law, but she had to admit that when it came to handling family issues, her mother-in-law handled the problem...
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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