Teacher Wu made a porridge with millet flour that morning and went out to buy a few fried dough sticks and sesame cakes—a generous amount, one sesame cake for each person in the family and two fried dough sticks. The sesame cakes were palm-sized, oval, and covered with sesame seeds. They were baked in a large iron barrel, more than half a person tall.
This iron barrel was usually repurposed from an oil barrel, with coal at the bottom and space around the top for cakes. Once the cakes were baked, they were sold by the pound, at 50 cents per pound, plus a grain coupon. If you didn't have a grain coupon, you could get one yuan per pound.
One pound weighs six sesame cakes, and Teacher Wu bought six of them. He also bought 12 fried dough sticks from this state-owned dim sum shop.
This is a typical local breakfast combination: sesame seed cake wrapped with fried dough sticks, which is crispy, delicious, and very filling. Now that Tong's mother has brought her grandson, Dahai and Xiaohai will inevitably have sesame seed cake and fried dough sticks as well. However, since breakfast has an additional bun, Teacher Wu thought of giving up the sesame seed cake and fried dough sticks for herself and her son.
Su He took a look at the breakfast her mother-in-law bought and knew that it was bought per person and was counted. At the same time, she had no interest in fried foods, so she handed the rolled-up sesame seed bun and fried dough sticks in her hand to Dahai, and glanced at Jin Weiguo, indicating that he should give his portion to Xiaohai.
Tong's mother only let Dahai take the portion from her niece, then broke it in half and told Dahai and Xiaohai to share half each. "That's enough, they just have big eyes and small stomachs. They already ate two buns each at home before leaving! This is enough!"
Tong's mother was mainly worried about whether Teacher Wu had suffered any harm in there. The child was noisy and she didn't say anything. Teacher Wu knew what she meant and pulled her to the kitchen: "Tong Min's mother, you don't have to worry about me. I didn't suffer any harm in there, and I was given food to eat."
Tong's mother: "Since Weiguo and his friends are coming this time, you might as well go with them. Otherwise, if you stay home alone, they will miss you and you won't be able to concentrate on your work!"
Teacher Wu nodded. "Well, I've figured it out. This time I'm going with their family. I miss my grandchildren, especially our little one. He's already over a year old and can even call me grandma! And those little ones with little arms and legs! I see that one over there is only one and a half years old, but he's not even as big as our little one!"
Tong's mother knew that this person's praise of her granddaughter was probably just the beginning, and it would be her turn to praise her grandson soon. She originally wanted to use this as an excuse to go home, but when she thought about how pitiful Teacher Wu had been locked up for so long, she decided to just listen and let her praise him!
After Teacher Wu finished talking about Xiaobao, he started talking about Xiaobao: "Xiaobao is such a little brat! He's only three years old, and when he saw me holding my sister, he ran over to me and tried to get close to me! Oh, this is so pitiful! I can't stand it anymore!"
"..." Teacher Wu would never forget Daxiao. "Daxiao is five years old after all, and he really acts like a big brother. His younger brothers and sisters are all acting like spoiled brats, but he is acting like a little adult. It's embarrassing to hug him!"
Tong's mother endured it for a while, but she didn't want to endure it anymore. "Go and eat quickly. Don't eat cold food in the summer. It hurts your stomach. You're old now. Take care of your health. In the future, maybe you can still take care of Daqi's children! Go! Go!"
Teacher Wu: "You're right! I have to go eat!"
Su He and Jin Weiguo hadn't eaten yet either, waiting for their elders. Each of them was responsible for Xiao Bao, who usually didn't need anyone to supervise him, but now that Dad was free, he suddenly felt the urge to perform: "Dad, we've never had this porridge at home, and I'm afraid it will spill. Can you feed me?"
㟧䲻 stared at her with a pair of big eyes. Su He thought, how cute! How could she be so cute? She guessed that Jin Weiguo would definitely feed 㟧䲻.
The married man spoke up: "Hey! Stop acting like a spoiled brat! You could eat by yourself when you were two! Boys should eat by themselves! Let your sister see you as a role model!"
She pouted, a little unhappy! Although Su He felt that the man was a little unkind, why did she have to reason with such a young child? The child just wanted to be close to the adults, but she couldn't argue with the man in front of the children, lest the children know that the adults disagreed and take advantage of it in the future. So she didn't care.
Su He also said: "Mr. Xiao, hurry up and eat. After dinner, let's go to grandma's house. If the tide goes out in time, we can go to the beach to pick clams and fry them!"
When he heard this, he buried his head in the bowl and started drinking the porridge.
By the time Teacher Wu sat down at the table, the three children had already eaten, and her son and daughter-in-law were still waiting for her to eat.
Tong's mother took the pot she had vacated and took her two grandchildren home. Dahai and Xiaohai heard that Dahai and Xiaohai could go to their aunt's house in the countryside, and they were very envious. They begged their grandmother to go with them. After Tong's mother persuaded them, they took them home.
After dinner, the family discussed how to go to their hometown in the countryside. It would take an hour to take a bus from District 1 to Su He's mother's home, and then change to another bus from the county town. It would take another half an hour to reach the entrance of Su He's mother's village.
Although it is not a rural area, there is always traffic in this area. It is all gravel roads. However, there is only one bus in the morning and one in the evening. If you leave early and return late, you will have to wait all day if you can't catch one.
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