"Have you eaten yet? Woohoo~" The six little pouting mouths seemed to be about to cry, but his mother didn't give him another one, so he could only ask his three brothers for a bite or two each...
From that day on, the children began to try to wash their own clothes. However, once the hot weather subsided and long sleeves and coats became necessary, Cheng Zhenzhu stopped letting them try. Thin summer clothes were fine, but winter clothes were unnecessary...
In the blink of an eye, it was November 20th, a Sunday.
Early in the morning, before the sun rose, Cheng Zhenzhu took her four children to the town's food factory to buy chickens and mailed two letters. One was sent back to her parents' home, and the other was sent to the educated youth Xiao Gu in Caoshi, telling them that Liu Tiao was doing well and that they were all doing well.
A few days later, Zhao Fangrui in Hai City received the letter and felt a little disappointed after reading it.
At the door, Wang Xiaomei touched her slightly pregnant belly and asked her mother-in-law what was wrong.
"Zhenzhu said she won't come over for the New Year this year. She'll wait until next summer when you have the baby and then bring your kids over..."
"Is it because I'm pregnant? It's okay, I just became pregnant. The house will be lively when my second sister and others come." Wang Xiaomei said softly.
Zhao Fangrui shook her head. "It's not your fault. Your second sister is a person with her own ideas. She said that we should come back next year."
"Yeah." Wang Xiaomei nodded, feeling a little relieved.
The one who's most heartbroken about Cheng Zhenzhu and the others not going to Haishi this year is Xiao Huzi. Plus, his mother is pregnant, so it's not convenient for her to go to Sanshi Island. So, he won't be able to spend the New Year with his brothers and sisters this year...
Because of this, Little Tiger was so sad that he had to eat an extra bowl of rice every day, and he also had to urge his mother to give birth...
******
On January 1st, New Year's Day, all schools were closed.
After Cheng Zhenzhu soaked the beans, she went to the grocery store and bought two fresh pig's trotters. They were cheap, 45 cents a pound. She also bought an old hen and soaked two handfuls of vermicelli noodles to make a stewed chicken.
The four of them ate the delicious chicken soup until their mouths were full of oil and their clothes were stained with the fragrant smell of chicken. After finishing the chicken, one of them grabbed a pig's trotter bone and gnawed it under the table, which made the four or five of them scream.
Cheng Zhenzhu put the bones that had been gnawed into crumbs on the table into the food bowls of the two dogs for them to eat. After four or five dogs finished eating, they surrounded Cheng Zhenzhu and grinned non-stop, looking like ordinary people.
Cheng Zhenzhu moved the two big dogs around and shared with them two large pig trotter bones that they had just finished chewing. Today was a big day for the four and five dogs, wasn't it?
After New Year's Day, the wind on Sanshi Island grew even colder. Cheng Zhenzhu gave the children some extra cotton vests and took them on a diet of mixed grain rice for a while, then steamed a few pots of cornmeal and taro flour buns.
Cornmeal and sweet potato flour were ground into pearls several times, then carefully sifted, and some white flour was added. The result was a steamed bun that wouldn't burn your throat, and she was generous with the sugar. The buns she made were fluffy, soft, sweet, and chewy. Together with her, the kids could finish a dozen or so a day...
"Mom, we're not going to grandma's house to celebrate the New Year this year?" When the school was on winter vacation, Yitiao and Ertiao went to their mother to confirm this matter.
"Well, let's go next year when your aunt gives birth to a baby. Today we are celebrating the New Year."
"Yeah, okay." After confirming this, One, Two, and a few others felt a little disappointed, but soon ran out to play in high spirits. Six's voices became louder and louder, and even Cheng Zhenzhu could hear them from far away.
In fact, she had considered not going to Hai City. She felt that if they all went there, her eldest sister would also go home every day. Zhao Fangrui would have to take care of her daughter-in-law and take care of them, which would be tiring. So she simply decided not to go this year.
But even if she couldn't get through, the stuff could still be brought through. Cheng Zhenzhu gathered a batch of fish she'd fed herself with seaweed mud, marinated them, and made over twenty cured fish. She also scraped together a large bag of fish maw from various families on the island, specifically for Wang Xiaomei.
I didn't send the rest of the dried kelp and dried shrimp this time. His mother said that the ones he brought back in the snakeskin bag were so precious that he couldn't finish them in a year or two...
During the winter break, Yi Tiao and the others had a lot of fun outside, did some homework, and then the New Year was almost here. Cheng Zhenzhu planned to take the others to buy New Year's goods, which made the children, who hadn't been to town for a long time, very happy.
The next morning, Cheng Zhenzhu stood at the head of the bed and looked at their mother. Cheng Zhenzhu, who had woken Youyou up, was startled. "Why are you all awake?"
"Mom, we're having steamed buns for breakfast today." Yi Tiao looked at his mother and said happily.
Cheng Zhenzhu was getting dressed, still thinking about ordering food, when she saw a few hot steamed buns waiting for her in the pot.
"Who heated up the steamed buns?" Cheng Zhenzhu was surprised and happy holding the hot steamed buns.
"We'll do it together." Nijo cheerfully pointed out the two heroes. "I'll get the buns and add water, and my brother will light the fire."
Huh? San Tiao, noticing that he was being ignored while holding the bowl, hurriedly reminded his second brother and raised both hands to get his mother's attention.
"Yes, San Tiao took the bowl and chopsticks." Er Tiao added.
"Give it back to Liu Tiao!" Liu Tiao took the firewood and demonstrated it to let his mother see his contribution.
"The six of us are here to get some firewood for our brother, right?" Cheng Zhenzhu said with a smile.
"Yeah!" Liu Tiao nodded vigorously.
"Not bad, all good." Cheng Zhenzhu praised them highly. Today, the dolls really gave her a big surprise. It seemed that she could stay in bed from now on...
After finishing two steamed buns, Cheng Zhenzhu grabbed a basket and set off with a few cheerful gifts. They left early, arriving in town a little after seven. After a quick stroll through the grocery store and the supply and marketing cooperative, they bought two chickens, some pig's blood, a pair of pig ears, and two pounds of glutinous rice noodles and candy. The basket was nearly full.
I prefer chicken to duck, so this year we're focusing on chicken. The pig's blood is for hot pot, and the pig's ears are for New Year's Eve dinner...
Seeing the baskets filled with food, the children were overjoyed. Cheng Zhenzhu saw that the children were still very interested after strolling for such a long time, so she took them to the post office.
She went to the post office to buy stamps. Back then, stamps were only eight cents a piece, but they could multiply their value over time, making it a sure win. She had just remembered this, so she came to catch up.
"Do you want all these editions?" The staff selling stamps saw Cheng Zhenzhu pointing at the stamps one by one and wondered in his heart, who is this young wife who doesn't know the value of firewood and rice?
"Yes, I want both." Cheng Zhenzhu nodded with a smile, looking at one of the red stamps. It was said that this stamp, depicting the entire country painted red, later fetched hundreds of thousands of yuan. If this was the only one left, she would have bought it.
"Mom, is there anything to eat?" Liu Tiao stood on tiptoe and tried to look out the window.
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