After being scolded by his mother, Niu Niu no longer called dad, but continued to hide behind his mother. However, behind his mother was not as fun as behind his father.
Seeing that Niu Niu had stopped making trouble, Xu Xiangjuan continued to tidy up.
Zhou Chengning originally planned to put down his pen and accompany Niu Niu, but Niu Niu remained silent after being scolded by his mother, so he continued to write his diary.
I have a lot to write today, and it cannot be expressed in a few words.
Niu Niu was quiet for only a few minutes and then started calling dad again.
"Niu Niu, you can't disturb daddy when he's writing, okay?" Xu Xiangjuan spoke much more gently this time than before.
It was difficult for Niu Niu to remember what adults said, so she decided to talk to Niu Niu directly to divert his attention.
Niu Niu: “Yeah!”
Xu Xiangjuan: "What did Niu Niu play with his brothers and sisters on his birthday?"
When Niu Niu heard the word "birthday" from his older brothers and sisters, he had a lot to say and babbled a lot to his mother.
Xu Xiangjuan cooperated. Every time Niu Niu said something, she would say, "Niu Niu is so great. Niu Niu is so amazing. He can play with his brothers and sisters."
It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, there are universal replies anyway.
His wife and son were talking. Zhou Chengning wrote at the end of his diary and also included the conversation between mother and son in the diary.
After writing the diary, he took out the photos and looked at them again. He decided to buy a photo album in the future, so he saw that the photo studio had photo albums.
Photo albums can protect photos better.
"Dad has finished writing his diary. Niu Niu, play with Dad." Seeing Zhou Chengning coming over, Xu Xiangjuan immediately handed her son to Zhou Chengning.
Niu Niu hadn't said enough. His mother had something to do, so he continued talking with his father.
While the father and son were playing, Xu Xiangjuan was looking for work to do. When she moved the bed today, the dust accumulated in the corner had been cleaned up, so there was no need to sweep the floor. She went to find some sewing work.
As long as the clothes at home were not obviously torn, she could mend them, and the needles and threads of various colors were not bought in vain.
She had never thought of buying a sewing machine. Firstly, she didn’t know how to use it. Secondly, she did all the mending at home, so she didn’t need a sewing machine. A needle and thread were enough.
Zhou Chengning had obviously learned the child's mother's way. When Niu Niu spoke, he praised Niu Niu, saying that he was so great and so amazing, and that he could play so well with his brothers and sisters.
As they were talking, the father and son started playing hide-and-seek. Actually, it was Niu Niu who was playing hide-and-seek alone. He could finally hide behind his father and play.
Zhou Chengning ignored the Niu Niu behind him and focused on the light bulb, "Juan, it's really convenient to have a light bulb."
"Yes, it's much more convenient. You just need to pull the cord to turn the light on and off. But don't write for too long, it hurts your eyes." Xu Xiangjuan was mending Zhou Chengning's sweatshirt. When she heard him talking, she replied to him.
Niu Niu was still playing happily with the wind, hiding behind his father all the time, squatting most of the time. Sometimes he would suddenly grab his father's shoulders and stand up to be blown by the wind. When he was blown by the wind, he would scream loudly, and then continue to squat, repeating this cycle over and over again, never getting tired of it.
The happiness of a little boy is so simple.
Zhou Chengning's body served as an emotionless shield for Niu Niu, and he spoke to his lover, "I won't write for too long. My eyes are very good and I can see everything clearly. I can even see the students at the last table copying their test papers and homework. But Juan, you're easily hurting your eyes by sewing like this."
Xu Xiangjuan: "I'll make you another one, it will be done soon."
Also, what's the point of copying homework and test papers? Xu Xiangjuan doesn't love studying that much, but she doesn't hate studying that much either. When she was a student, she borrowed other people's homework and also copied other people's homework. This is the first time I heard my teacher talk about this at home... I feel so complicated.
When Niu Niu was tired of playing, Zhou Chengning helped Niu Niu to pee and coaxed him to sleep.
Seeing that his lover was already lying on the bed to sleep, he turned off the lights and moved closer.
"It's blowing hot air, don't come close to me, I still feel uncomfortable." According to the agreed frequency, there will be no sex tonight. Without sex, she doesn't want her man to be close to her.
An electric fan is not an air conditioner. It cannot change the temperature or blow cool air. An electric fan just rotates and blows wind. The temperature didn't go down in the first half of the night, so it blew hot air. Even though it was hot air, it was still more comfortable. I finally felt comfortable, but I didn't want my man to get close to me.
Zhou Chengning immediately felt wronged when he heard this, "Juan, you have to stick to me in the winter, but you don't want me in the summer."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Winter is warm and summer is hot, they are not comparable at all. Even though you are hot, remember to cover yourself with a blanket, especially your stomach, to avoid catching a cold and having diarrhea."
Zhou Chengning was depressed: "I just played with Niu Niu for so long, Juan, can't you play with me?"
Xu Xiangjuan understood what Zhou Chengning meant by "play". "No, tonight is not the time for us to play. We have to wait until tomorrow night."
"Okay, Juan, I get it. You can't refuse tomorrow." He also kept track of his lover's daily routine and knew when his lover would have her period, which would not come recently.
Xu Xiangjuan: "I won't refuse. We should keep our promises."
Zhou Chengning went to sleep soundly only after hearing his lover's promise.
Xu Xiangjuan really wanted to say, you are already thirty years old, not twenty... Forget it, her man’s physical strength is not good, if she said that, he might even give her a beating, which would make her suffer.
...
"Sister Ding, is this true? He's the leader from the provincial capital." Xu Xiangjuan was picking cowpeas. When she heard what Ding Li said, she couldn't believe it.
Ding Li told Xu Xiangjuan that the provincial leaders were coming to Dezao Town to inspect the work.
It is said that he is the leader of the agricultural department, but to ordinary people like them, he is still a big leader. I heard that the county magistrate and deputy county magistrate will also accompany him.
Xu Xiangjuan knew that Dezao Town would have a grain base in the future, and a large part of it would be the land of Maodong Village, but she didn't expect that the leader would come at this time.
It seemed that at this time in her previous life, a leader came down to inspect the work. When they went to the fields, their village chief Xu Aiguo followed behind the leader. Her father mentioned it to her, and her father also followed behind at the time. Although he had nothing to do, the leader came and everyone came to join in the fun. After all, no one would drive them, a group of farmers, away.
At that time, Xu Xiangjuan didn't take it to heart at all.
Ding Li: "Of course it's true. My husband told me that the leader will take a walk around Dezao Town during the day and return to the guesthouse in the county town at night. He will spend two or three days there and may have to look around the area."
Xu Xiangjuan: "With a senior leader coming, it looks like our town will have great development in the future."
Perhaps the grain base is related to the leadership inspection work, but it will take a long time to formally establish the grain base. By that time, she and her husband and children will not be in Dezao Town.
Ding Li: "Food is the most important thing for people. It can't be said to be a big development. The leaders coming here won't change anything. They may just eat at the small restaurant here. You can write a few meat dishes when the time comes."
Xu Xiangjuan suddenly became nervous, "Ah? You're coming to my little restaurant to eat?"
They are really just a small restaurant. Apart from the better taste and more variety, they have no other special features.
I'm really afraid that the leader will get a stomachache, and then if it's not their fault, then it will be blamed on their family.
Ding Li: "I was originally looking for a small restaurant, so of course I chose yours. Although your vegetarian dishes are also delicious, it's better to write down meat dishes, fish, shrimp, etc. when the leader comes... My husband will tell you something in a few days."
Xu Xiangjuan: "The leader is here, so we can't be careless."
Ding Li: "It's okay, leaders are also human beings. If you write down the meat dishes, I will come to eat too. Just treat me as an ordinary diner and pretend that you don't know me."
Come to think of it, the leaders are just like them, and their food is not that expensive. Xu Xiangjuan relaxed her mind and said, "Sister Ding, my family doesn't know you, but how can my brother-in-law not know you?"
Tongliang will definitely come over when the time comes. Sister Ding is quite funny. She even pretends not to know her.
Ding Li wanted to see what the provincial leader looked like, but she couldn't tell Tong Lianggao directly. It happened that there was meat dish that day, so she took a look while eating. "I'll tell him in advance to pretend he doesn't know me. I'm just here to eat meat."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Okay, I'll prepare more pork, fish and shrimp then."
Ding Li left after lunch. When there were no more customers in the afternoon, Xu Xiangjuan began to discuss with her family what menu to prepare if the leader came.
When Wu Caifeng heard that the big boss was coming, she immediately brought out a bunch of braised food, "braised pork, braised fish, braised chicken, braised winter melon."
In her opinion, all braised dishes are delicious.
Xu Xiangjuan: "You can consider braised fish, but you should try another way to cook the meat, such as braised pork with pork belly or stir-fried pork with chili peppers."
Zhou Chengning took a notebook to take notes, writing down feasible dishes and then making the final version. While writing down the dishes, he made some suggestions, "Juan, if you really want to lead, how about we make some mung bean soup? Bring a bucket of water, put the well water on the surface, and drink it to quench your thirst in the summer."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Well, let's have a mung bean soup and a wolfberry and white fungus soup."
"OK."
Xu Gensheng almost wanted to say braised eggplant, but changed his mouth to, "I want a plate of cold noodles, and garlic eggplant. If you like spicy food, you can consider pickled fish. Other dishes... my daughter, you used to cook shredded pork with fish flavor and Kung Pao chicken at home."
Xu Xiangjuan: "One braised dish is enough. If you want to make pickled fish, then we can change to braised pork. You can consider the Kung Pao Chicken and Fish-flavored Pork that dad mentioned. We originally have garlic eggplant on the menu, so let's not count that."
Wu Caifeng: "Stew a chicken, stew a chicken with mushrooms."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Chicken stewed with mushrooms can also be included."
The more Xu Gensheng and Wu Caifeng discussed, the more ideas they had. Xu Xiangjuan listened to her parents completely and made simple judgments based on their suggestions, thinking that this one was okay and that one could be changed to another.
Soon Zhou Chengning had almost filled up a whole sheet of paper. "How do we set the price? What if not only the leaders want to buy meat and vegetables, but other guests also want meat and vegetables? What if we don't have enough meat and vegetables?"
Xu Xiangjuan: "The price depends on how much the fish cost. Dad, you have experience with fish and shrimp. You can ask about the price someday. The price of pork has gone up a bit now. Considering the weight of the meat, the firewood and the complexity of cooking, the price is set at 2-3 yuan."
Xu Gensheng knows a lot about fish. There is a lot of water here, and fish and shrimp don't need to be raised as much as pigs. "Fish and shrimp are not as expensive as pork. They are less than one yuan or a little over one yuan per catty. I will go and ask about the price when the time comes. I'll try to get a cheaper price."
Xu Gensheng didn't have time to go fishing and catch shrimps himself, so he had to work in the small restaurant, so of course he had to buy fish and shrimps.
Wu Caifeng: "You have an old friend who sells fish and shrimps. You can buy from him when the time comes. We know each other and he should be able to give you a discount. I will buy chickens in town that day so I don't have to raise them in a small restaurant or at home."
Because his family ran a small restaurant in the town, they had no time to look after the chickens at home, so they became thin. Later, they simply stopped raising them and slaughtered them for food.
The small restaurant’s demand for eggs cannot be met by the hens at home, so they have to buy the eggs from other places. Since the eggs are bought by themselves, there is naturally no need to raise chickens.
After discussing for an hour or two, we finally decided on the menu for the day when the leader might come to dinner.
The mayor's family will notify whether the leader is coming or not, and they will start preparing after being notified.
...
The leaders of the provincial agricultural department did come, and in mid-August, Xu Xiangjuan received accurate information about Tong Lianggao's condition two days in advance.
In the morning, the leader's secretary also came alone to order food, paid the money, and came to eat at the agreed time.
"As long as there are no typhoons this year, we will have a good rice harvest this year."
Zhao Huizhu replied: "Yes, typhoons have caused serious damage to crops. Last year, there was a severe typhoon and the harvest was almost non-existent. The losses caused to our farmers were very large."
"The meteorological department said there will still be typhoons this year, but they won't be as strong as last year. We should protect as much as we can to reduce losses. Farmers are suffering heavy losses, food supply is insufficient, and it's difficult to coordinate in the market."
A group of leaders had already walked around the fields in the morning and came to eat at the agreed time.
Xu Xiangjuan saw the leader. He was in his forties or fifties, with dark skin, neither tall nor short, but very thin. If he didn't speak Mandarin and had the temperament of a big shot, you wouldn't be able to tell that he was a leader. He looked like an ordinary farmer.
With such a leader, Xu Xiangjuan feels more at ease when cooking.
The dishes were ordered by the secretary, and the leader had no objection. There were eight or nine people in the group. The table of the provincial leader was occupied by the leader, the secretary, the county magistrate, and the deputy county magistrate Zhao Huizhu. The other table was occupied by other junior leaders who accompanied the leader, and the town mayor Tong Lianggao.
As expected, Ding Li came today, bringing her two children with her. I don't know if the family had colluded with the children in advance, but the mother doesn't recognize the father, and the children also don't recognize the father.
Of course, Dad can only pretend not to know his wife and children.
The news that the leader was coming spread like wildfire, and diners in the town and nearby towns all knew that he would not come in the next two days, so except for Ding Li and her two children sitting at one table, the remaining three tables were empty.
It was quite unnecessary for them to discuss other guests at that time. Let’s not talk about whether other guests would buy the meat and vegetables, just talk about whether other guests would come.
Fortunately, for the sake of freshness, we didn’t buy too much meat, so the remaining meat can be digested internally.
All three tables of food were served, and Xu Xiangjuan and her family also sat outside to eat.
This way it doesn’t feel like the place is reserved by the leader and his group.
Guagua didn't know that the people at the next table were leaders. They treated them as ordinary guests. While eating, he started to talk: "Mom, Miaomiao will go to elementary school next semester, and I will be the only one in kindergarten."
Xu Xiangjuan: "You only had Miaomiao and Xixi as your friends in kindergarten?"
"Um!"
After hearing her daughter's simple and clear answer, Xu Xiangjuan didn't know what to say for a moment. Could it be that the children in kindergarten have started to play in groups?
It seems so.
Xu Xiangjuan: "Then Guagua, you will be able to go to elementary school next year and play with Miaomiao and Xixi."
Guagua was still a little confused. Although she didn’t know the leader next door, she knew Xiao Jiang’s family. She was wondering why her mother asked her to pretend that she didn’t know Xiao Jiang.
And Xiao Jiang seemed to have tacitly understood and pretended not to know her, but it didn't matter. After dinner, she would go out and wait for Xiao Jiang to come out. Then they would go out and play together, and then she would ask Xiao Jiang again.
Guagua: "Mom, next year is still a long time away."
Xu Xiangjuan: "Not long ago, you can see that Niu Niu can walk now. Niu Niu couldn't walk at this time last year."
Niu Niu followed with a "hmm" and then called her "sister".
He wants his sister to take him out to play.
Usually his sister and he don’t eat at the same time. Although he saw his sister, he didn’t know when she finished her meal and went out.
Guagua seemed to know why her brother called her. She finished her meal quickly without asking her mother any questions or answering her brother's questions.
Xu Xiangjuan could also sense that Niu Niu wanted to go out and play with his sister, "Gua Gua, take your brother to the store to buy some candies later. Mom will give you money. Remember to open an umbrella and go out with your brother."
Having money, Guagua immediately became a little money-grubber and told her mother that she would take her brother to the store after she finished eating.
Since she was taking her younger brother to the shop, Gua Gua ate slowly. By the time she finished, Xiao Jiang would definitely have finished too, and then they could go to the shop together.
Children leave the table faster than adults. After eating, Guagua took the umbrella given by his mother and took his younger brother out. Before leaving, he winked at Xiao Jiang.
After Gua Gua and his brother went out and disappeared, Xiao Jiang pretended to eat two more bites of vegetables, got up from the chair and told her mother that she was going out to play.
The adults didn't notice the eye contact between Gua Gua and Xiao Jiang, but Da Jiang did, sneered, and continued to sit and eat with his mother.
It was a rare opportunity to eat meat at noon, and he was not full yet, so he would not run out like his sister did. He wanted to finish the meal with his mother.
...
When Xiao Jiang went out, he saw Gua Gua holding an umbrella and standing with Niu Niu at the corner not far away, and ran over.
"Sister Xiao Jiang, why should we pretend not to know each other? We obviously know each other." Gua Gua was sandwiched in the middle, holding Niu Niu in her left hand and Xiao Jiang in her right hand. She held an umbrella in her right hand, which just covered both sides.
Dwarf Niu Niu listened to his sister talking, held her hand, and raised his little head towards her. Although he didn't quite understand what his sister was saying, he felt like he was participating in it.
The three children walked side by side. Xiao Jiang was not as curious as Gua Gua. "My dad was working at noon today. You see, my dad didn't eat at the same table with my mom. My mom also asked us to pretend that we didn't know my dad."
Her mother told her that sometimes eating is also work for adults. She heard the adults at the two tables chatting in words she couldn't understand, and vaguely understood what her mother meant by eating is also work.
Guagua didn't really understand what it meant, but he nodded anyway and said, "Is that so."
Niu Niu nodded and followed his sister's example, then did the same.
When Xiao Jiang heard that Guagua and Niu Niu both agreed, he felt that they understood and said with satisfaction, "We kids don't care about adults' business. We just need to play by ourselves."
Guagua: "Yes, it's none of the adults' business."
Niu Niu: “Yes!”
Guagua didn’t find it annoying that her brother imitated her. She even thought that her brother had a strong learning ability. However, no matter how strong his learning ability was, after sending Niu Niu back from the store, she would run out to play with Sister Xiao Jiang. It would be better not to bring Niu Niu with her.
Niu Niu is a little boy who hasn’t even started kindergarten. They have nothing fun to do with Niu Niu.
Children may have a natural weakness for small shops. Even though the shop looked like nothing in the eyes of adults, the three children spent a long time shopping there.
Niu Niu had never been to the store before and was interested in everything. Gua Gua stood by and saw her brother trying to take something, but she didn't stop him. She just had to put it back after he took it because she had no money to buy it, so her mother gave her a dime.
Buy three candies, and the remaining seven cents will be hers alone.
The shop owner knew that Gua Gua and Xiao Jiang, especially Xiao Jiang, were old customers. For the sake of being old customers, he did not stop Niu Niu from touching this and that, but asked the two little girls to watch their brother and not to damage the packaging bags.
Although he didn't buy anything else in the end, Niu Niu still gained something by taking back a candy.
"Guagua, is this okay for us? Auntie said to bring Niu Niu to buy candy, and the candy should be all Niu Niu."
As she said this, Xiao Jiang had already put the candy that Gua Gua handed to her in her mouth.
Guagua has experience, "It's okay, mom said to buy candy, and I will have a share of the candy. Niu Niu already has a candy."
Xiao Jiang: "Okay, Guagua, take Niu Niu back later. I'll wait for you outside."
Gua Gua: "Sister Xiao Jiang, I'll be right out after I send my brother off."
When Guagua brought Niu Niu back to the restaurant, people at both tables were still there and the food on the tables had been almost finished. Only the leaders were left talking about work.
It was a hot day and the restaurant had fans on, so the group planned to rest for a while before going out.
The sweet soup had already been served as a dish. After the meal, Xu Xiangjuan and others cleared away the bowls and plates and served some cold tea to the leaders.
During the time, when I saw Zhao Huizhu, I pretended not to know her. After all, there was a senior leader there, and he looked like an honest and upright leader. If he started talking, I would have thought they were doing something.
Anyway, in the human world, there are default rules for adults.
"Mom." Niu Niu handed the candy to his mother.
Xu Xiangjuan had already noticed that Guagua had sugar in his mouth, and felt that children were indeed cuter as they got younger. When they grew up, they would be like Guagua, a little monkey.
Guagua sent Niu Niu home and immediately ran out again. This time she didn’t hold an umbrella because it was too troublesome. Without Niu Niu, she would not let the umbrella affect her mobility.
Xu Xiangjuan peeled off the candy wrapper for Niu Niu and put the candy into Niu Niu's mouth, "Niu Niu, don't swallow it, just hold it in your mouth."
Niu Niu felt the sweetness of the candy, but he didn't swallow it directly. Instead, he held it in his mouth. After eating the candy, Niu Niu turned around and found that his sister was gone. "Sister."
When Niu Niu was talking, the candy was about to fall out, but he didn't even need his mother's help. He just used his chubby little hands to press it back into his mouth.
Xu Xiangjuan coaxed Niu Niu: "Sister has something to do. Niu Niu has been out playing for so long, it's time to take a nap."
Niu Niu still called out to his sister a few times, and pulled his mother to the door to look for his sister, but he couldn't see her at all, so he gave up.
Xu Xiangjuan told Zhou Chengning to bring the whole pot of herbal tea over and then took Niu Niu to the kitchen.
She saw that several leaders' tea bowls were empty. Instead of asking them to fill them, she thought it would be better to just bring the teapot over so that the leaders would be more comfortable.
Zhou Chengning noticed it then and hurried to get the teapot, or two pots, so that both tables could have herbal tea.
The small restaurant has become a meeting room where leaders are chatting about work-related matters, and all of them look uneasy.
The herbal tea had been served, and the family stayed in the kitchen waiting for the guests to leave. Fortunately, there was a ceiling fan in the kitchen.
Niu Niu had a piece of candy in his mouth, but he couldn't finish it, so he spit it into Xiaopang's hand and asked his mother to put it away for him so he could hold it next time.
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