Yu Hongli curled her lips and said sarcastically, "Your mother is really greedy and only picks out the best food. Is your father's allowance enough for her to do this?"
How could An An, a child, understand what she meant? She answered innocently, "My family just started cooking today. We don't eat it every day."
Yu Hongli was about to speak when she saw Lu Shishen coming back. A trace of calculation flashed in her eyes and she whispered, "Bingbing hasn't eaten pancakes for a long time. If your mother has a lot of steamed pancakes, you can give one to Bingbing later."
An An is young, but he is not stupid. In the countryside, he can eat fried cakes less than twice a year. How can such a good thing be given to other children casually? He pretended not to hear and said nothing.
Seeing that he refused, Yu Hongli glared at him secretly. Seeing that Lu Shishen was about to come up, she didn't know what to say anymore. She walked away angrily with her butt twisted. When she passed by Lu Shishen, she deliberately spoke loudly.
"Captain Lu, your family is the best off in the entire family compound. You have fried pancakes in the morning and braised pork at noon."
Lu Shishen frowned and said nothing, then strode back home.
Yu Hongli smelled the aroma of fried cakes, went home and looked at the grain buns in her own pot. She lost her appetite and complained to her husband, "Captain Lu's family eats fried cakes so early in the morning. Are they going to live like this?"
Sun Dashan chewed his multi-grain cake and said unhappily, "Why do you care what other people eat?"
Yu Hongli glared at him and said, "Once they arrived at the military dependents' home, they were able to enjoy a good life. I have been with you for so many years, and I have to eat these hard multi-grain cakes every day. Can't I complain a few words?"
Sun Dashan yelled at her, "Don't make trouble so early in the morning. If you don't want to eat, go back to the inner room."
Sun Dashan has a stubborn temper. He rarely gets angry, but once he gets angry, he is harder to calm down than a pig during the Chinese New Year. After so many years of marriage, Yu Hongli has figured out his temper and dares not say a word when she sees him really angry.
When the children saw their parents quarreling, they were so scared that they dared not breathe. They just lowered their heads and ate their cakes without making a sound.
…
Yang Niannian cooked sweet potato soup and steamed a pot of fried cakes. The aroma of flour was fragrant. She asked Lu Shishen to bring the cakes to the table in the main room, and then stir-fried some vegetables with garlic.
In her previous life, Yang Niannian worked in a restaurant during the summer vacation and learned some cooking skills from the chef. Although she was not very good, she had no problem making some home-cooked meals.
She fried a plate of green vegetables until they were delicious and fragrant. Just as she shoveled the vegetables out of the pot, Lu Shishen came in from outside. Seeing the fried vegetables on the chopping board, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Yang Niannian noticed his look and said with a smile, "You take the dishes over first, and I'll serve the sweet potato soup."
"Um."
Lu Shishen lowered his eyes, picked up the dish, and walked out. After a while he came back with the rice bowl.
Seeing that he was so considerate, Yang Niannian was very happy. In the original owner's memory, her father and brother never entered the kitchen, thinking that it was women's work. Most men in this era had such patriarchal ideas. Fortunately, Lu Shishen was not such a person.
Yang Niannian followed Lu Shishen into the main room with chopsticks in hand. An An stared at the fried pancakes with his mouth watering. He was still polite and didn't eat them even though he was greedy.
Yang Niannian handed him the chopsticks and said, "Let's eat."
An An couldn't wait to pick up the fried cake and take a bite. It was so delicious that she almost bit off her tongue. While eating the cake, she was still thinking about Yu Hongli's words.
"Aunt Yu said that I was greedy and picked out delicious food every day, saying that my father's allowance was not enough for me."
Yang Niannian subconsciously replied, "Don't listen to her nonsense, she is just a troublemaker."
Lu Shishen, who was eating a biscuit, looked up at her and thought that this description was somewhat apt.
As Yang Niannian finished speaking, she remembered that Lu Shishen was there too. Seeing that Lu Shishen didn't say anything, she breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment and said, "I plan to start a small business in the city to supplement my family income."
When the reform and opening up just started, it was a good time for all industries to develop. As long as she had a little brains, it was almost like picking up money on the ground. She had to seize this opportunity to make some money.
Lu Shishen has already reached the position of group leader at such a young age, and there is still room for advancement in the future. If she can make some more money, the two of them, one in business and the other in the military, will definitely live a comfortable life.
Lu Shishen thought that Yang Niannian wanted to start a small business because of what Yu Hongli said. He said calmly, "My allowance can support my family, don't worry."
"I don't like gossiping with my sisters-in-law. It's boring to stay at home. I'd better start a small business to supplement the family income and kill time."
Worried that Lu Shijian would not agree, Yang Niannian did not want to disagree with him over this matter. "If you are worried that I will lose money in business, I can write you an IOU, and I will pay you back when I make money in business."
Hearing the words "IOU", Lu Shishen frowned slightly.
Seeing that his father didn't say anything, An An whispered, "Teacher Zhou said that was speculation."
Yang Niannian got a headache when she heard Zhou Xueli's name. "The country supports farmers to start businesses and get rid of poverty and become rich. Teacher Zhou is unconventional. With her feudal ideas, can she educate students well?"
When An An heard Yang Niannian talking about Teacher Zhou, she subconsciously defended her, "Teacher Zhou is a good teacher. She treats me very well, and all the students in our class like her very much."
The child was simple-minded. He felt that Zhou Xueli was always concerned about him at school and spoke softly to him, so he believed that a teacher who was nice to him was a good teacher.
Yang Niannian pouted, "I don't know if she's a good teacher or not, but there's something wrong with the way she teaches students. If you follow her teaching method, others will be driving cars while you're still digging potatoes in the fields."
It's a different era now, but people are still so old-fashioned in their thinking. It's really misleading young people.
An An argued loudly, "When I grow up I want to be a soldier like my dad. I don't want to dig potatoes."
Yang Niannian glanced at the half-fried pancake in his hand and urged, "Eat your fill first and go study."
An An seemed to be awakened. He quickly wolfed down the pancake, drank the sweet potato soup, ran back to the house to get his schoolbag, and shouted, "Dad, I'm going to school."
Before he finished speaking, the man ran out of the yard.
Yang Niannian and Lu Shishen were the only ones left at home. Seeing that he frowned and didn't say anything, Yang Niannian couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so she asked tentatively, "Do you also think that doing business is speculation?"
"No." Lu Shishen shook his head. "I've given you the money. You can use it however you want. You can do business if you want. Just be careful."
After a pause, he added, "No need to borrow."
Yang Niannian's eyes lit up instantly, and as her mood improved, she even flattered him, "I knew you were definitely not the kind of person who was stubborn and would not change your mind."