After hearing what Song Dahai said, Song Ning learned about Song Xiu'e's situation.
Zhu Shun was a kind man; he was good to his wife and children.
But his mother was a formidable woman.
He resented that Song Xiue had only given birth to two daughters and no sons, and he couldn't stand the sight of her all the time, constantly looking for trouble with her.
Zhu Shun also has a younger brother who gave birth to a grandson for the Zhu family last year. Now, the old lady finds fault with her eldest daughter-in-law even more, and consequently treats the two children badly as well.
Zhu Shun and his wife did almost all the housework, and the old lady never said a kind word about it.
Unfortunately, Zhu Shun was weak-willed and dared not go against his mother. He did whatever his mother said. So, when Song Xiu'e went back to her parents' home, there was no one to do the work, which is why Zhu Shun was allowed to take her back.
After listening, Song Ning sighed. Every family has its own troubles, and life isn't easy for anyone.
Nowadays, people in the village don't dare to easily separate their families, unless it's like the Song family, where not separating is no longer an option.
No matter how difficult things get, when the family is together, there's strength in numbers, and at least they won't starve.
When Song Ning got home and noticed the atmosphere had changed, she knew the two had made up.
That night, Song Xiu'e slept with Song Ning again, while Zhu Shun went to Li Daniu's house to stay overnight.
The two of them will leave early tomorrow, and the night before, Liu Yuelan packed a lot of things in a basket for them.
Previously, it was always Song Xiu'e who sent things to her parents' home; this was the first time she had ever seen someone take things to her husband's home.
Liu Yuelan packed some fine rice and flour, a small bundle of leafy greens, a pheasant, and some dry rations for them to eat on the road.
Seeing how many things her brother and sister-in-law had given her, Song Xiu'e felt a lump in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes.
The next morning, before dawn, Song Xiu'e and Zhu Shun left in an oxcart. Song Ning didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky before he finally got out of bed.
She was all alone at home; Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan were not there either.
It was almost noon when the two of them leisurely returned from outside.
Song Ning could tell something was wrong just by looking at their expressions.
"Father, Mother, what happened?"
Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan sighed and said slowly, "Our village is almost out of water."
Song Ning's heart skipped a beat as she recalled the village chief's unpleasant expression from yesterday.
The well at the east end of the village is now producing water much slower. The village chief discovered this by chance, and he has been frowning all day long ever since. Today, he finally revealed it to the village chief.
However, that well is already quite resilient. It has provided water for the entire village for so long and it still hasn't run out of water, which is already very good.
"The village chief said that families with fewer than four members can only fetch one bucket of water a day, while families with more than four members can fetch two buckets a day. I heard that many villages have completely run out of water now, and I don't know if the county government is taking any action."
Song Dahai sighed again.
There are only three people in their family, and one bucket of water a day is enough. They don't have any other choice now, so they use it sparingly and it should last for quite a while.
If it doesn't rain soon, life will probably get even harder, and Song Ning doesn't want to just sit around waiting to die.
It's time to make money, and she needs to openly and honestly take out the things in her space. Once it's done openly, she won't have to do it secretly anymore.
It's summer now, and people should like to eat something cold, but there's no ice right now, so we can't make shaved ice.
After much thought, Song Ning decided to accept reality and see what she had now instead of constantly thinking about things she didn't have.
Seeing Liu Yuelan busy kneading dough by the stove, the snow-white dough being kneaded back and forth in the basin, Song Ning had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of something good.
After lunch that day, Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan rested, while Song Ning quietly scooped out two bowls of flour, poured in water, and began kneading the dough.
This was also the first time she had done it herself, kneading and washing the dough according to the order she remembered.
Since there were no special tools at home, Song Ning chose a larger plate, filled it with a spoonful of the water from washing the flour, and put it in a pot to steam.
The first time, the fire was too strong, and after the water boiled, the plate was knocked over, and the noodles and water all went into the pot.
The second time, the heat was lower, but the batter solidified and stuck tightly to the plate, no matter how hard I tried to pry it off.
The third time, Song Ning had a pretty good grasp of the heat and even changed the plate, but still failed.
Song Ning: ...Does she really have no talent?
Just as I was wondering what went wrong, a sudden exclamation came from the doorway: "Oh my goodness! What are you doing?"
Liu Yuelan looked at the grain on the stove, which Song Ning had ruined, with a pained expression, and kept clicking her tongue in disbelief.
Song Ning awkwardly scratched his head: "I originally wanted to make something different, but it didn't work out."
As Liu Yuelan tidied the stove, she said helplessly, "What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you. Why waste this food?"
Liu Yuelan cleaned the stove, while Song Ning was still pondering why she had failed, even though she had seen many people do it this way at home before.
What exactly went wrong?
When Liu Yuelan came to open the cabinet, Song Ning suddenly caught sight of a jar and finally remembered what she had forgotten.
She's getting dumber and dumber. People have special tools when making dough. They brush a thin layer of oil on the tray when steaming it, so it's easy to take it out after it's cooked.
Nowadays, the plates we use at home are mostly made of wood, and the surface isn't very smooth. We can't do without oiling them.
Thinking of this, Song Ning's fighting spirit was rekindled, and he rubbed his hands together, ready to continue.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yuelan quickly covered the cabinet, saying, "Er Ya, our grain can't withstand this kind of damage!"
"Don't worry, Mother, it will definitely work this time."
I dipped a little oil from the oil can onto the plate, then placed the plate on the water, filled it with water, and covered it with the pot.
Liu Yuelan sat on a small stool, tending the fire, feeling a real pang of heartache over the flour and oil.
Timed it perfectly, Song Ning lifted the lid of the pot. The dough had already solidified. She took out the plate and carefully lifted it with a small spatula. It was done!
Song Ning steamed the remaining dough sheets one by one, then put the gluten into the pot to steam, and then started making the soup.
Song Ning used to eat liangpi (cold skin noodles) with soup. He would put scallions, ginger, and garlic in a bowl of boiled water, sauté them in oil, add some Sichuan peppercorn powder, and then rinse it with water. It would be even better if he could add some cucumber shreds and mung bean sprouts on top.
But now the conditions are limited, there are many things we don't have, so we can only put in whatever we have.
Once the broth is ready and the gluten is cooked, cut the noodles and gluten, pour the broth over them, and a bowl of cold noodles is ready.
Song Ning excitedly said, "Mom, you must try this! It's delicious!"
How could it not taste good? With this method and all these good ingredients, even a clod of dirt would taste delicious.
Liu Yuelan felt sorry for these things, but once she tasted them, all those thoughts vanished.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
