On August 14th, the sun was already high in the sky, but Ningtang had not yet gotten up.

Erniu glanced at the wall clock and pouted, "It's already eleven o'clock and stepmother hasn't gotten up yet. Brother, Sanwa, let's go call her."

The eldest and third child said hello.

The three children climbed up to the second floor proudly and ran to Ningtang's room.

Sure enough, Ning Tang covered his head with the quilt and was still sleeping soundly.

The three kids were so angry that they stood in a row, neatly arranged on the ground, put their hands on their chests, crossed them, and shouted in unison, "Mom! Get up!"

Ning Tang was having a beautiful dream. In the dream, she went back to the year 2024, worked hard, got a promotion and a pay rise, but she was woken up by the hoarse voices of the three little ones.

Ning Tang pushed the quilt aside and frowned as he looked at the three kids, "What are you three yelling about? Are you going to let me sleep?"

The eldest child said, "Stepmother, don't you see what time it is? It's already 12 o'clock, and you haven't gotten up to cook yet."

Ning Tang waved her hands, "There are red dates on the counter, you can eat them to fill your stomach. I'm lazy today, no, I'm not feeling well, so I won't cook."

As soon as Shen Lie left, all the big and small matters of the family fell on her.

Every day she has to buy groceries, cook two meals, wash her and her three children's clothes, and do housework. Even an iron man is not made for this. Ning Tang rarely feels lazy and wants to take a day off.

Erniu reached out and pushed Ningtang, "It doesn't matter if the dates are full or not, we are hungry."

In response to her, Ning Tang turned over and covered his head with the quilt again.

The three children had no choice but to run downstairs to the first floor.

The three children were discussing how to get the red dates, when the third child suddenly shouted, "What a smell! It smells so good."

Da Wa and Er Niu sniffed and both of them smelled the fragrant scent.

The three children followed the scent and finally arrived at Su Junyan's house.

Ning Xue was having dinner with Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu in the living room on the first floor. There were three dishes and a soup on the table, including braised lion head, crab with ginger and scallions, and fish head and tofu casserole. Every dish was delicious.

"Slurp." The third child was the youngest and had no self-control, so he couldn't help but sip.

The eldest and second daughter were also very greedy, but they were grown-up kids after all, so they weren't as out of control as the third daughter. But they couldn't help but glance at the food on the table.

Ning Xue was picking up some food for Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu when suddenly three little heads popped out of the door, startling her. "Hey, Big Kid, Second Girl, Third Kid, why are you here?"

Sanwa held his finger in his mouth and looked at Ning Xue expectantly, "Aunt, can we come to your house for dinner?"

Ning Xue rolled her eyes and coaxed Sanwa to talk more, "Don't you have any cooking at home? Why do you want to come to our house to eat?"

Erniu sighed, "Our stepmother refused to get up to cook for us, so we haven't had any food till now."

"You haven't eaten yet?" Ning Xue covered her mouth in exaggeration. "Your stepmother is really lazy. It's already so late and she still refuses to get up to feed you."

Su Guangzong nodded while eating and agreed with Ning Xue, "That's right, we are both stepmothers. Look at my mother. She goes to the market at 7 o'clock every morning to buy the freshest vegetables, and cooks a big meal for us at noon."

Su Yaozu raised his head proudly, "You must be jealous."

They were quite envious. The three children looked at the food on the table without blinking.

"Jealous, can you give us something to eat?" Big Boy looked at Ning Xue expectantly.

This cousin is the most considerate. She gave them a lot of delicious food before. She should give them some this time too, right?

Ning Xue curled her lips and looked at the three children with regret, "It's not that I don't want to invite you to dinner, but the meal is over and there are only empty plates left."

While Ning Xue was talking to Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa, Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu had already swept away all the food on the table.

The three children were not as thoughtful as Ning Xue. Seeing that there was indeed no food on the table, they had to say goodbye to Ning Xue and the Su twins with regret.

But this was just Ning Xue's idea. As soon as they left the Su family's house, Erniu couldn't help but complain to Da Wa, "Brother, my cousin did it on purpose!"

The eldest child sighed, "She did it on purpose, but she didn't want to give it to us. We can't just pester her for it. We are a man and a woman, we need to have some backbone."

Sanwa nodded his head, stretched out his hand and clenched his fist, "Boneheadedness!"

After returning to their home, the three children sat in the living room for a while. Their stomachs rumbled and they could not help but go upstairs to look for Ningtang again.

Ningtang was really exhausted during this period. After sending the three children away, she fell asleep again.

When I was half asleep and half awake, I heard the familiar magical voice of my eldest child again, "Stepmother! Get up and cook!"

Ning Tang opened her eyes and saw Da Wa with her hands on her hips saying, "Look at the stepmother next door. She is so nice to Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu. She has already prepared dinner for them."

The eldest child often went to the Su family to play during this period. Ning Xue took good care of Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu. The twins were always taken care of by their mother every day.

At the instigation of Ning Xue, the twins would occasionally mention to the eldest child and the others how good my stepmother is, how good your stepmother is, and in short, they would say that Ning Xue is good and Ning Tang is not good.

Da Wa was smart and could draw inferences from one example. He learned it quickly and applied it to Ning Tang.

Stepmother next door?

Ning Tang was stunned for a moment, then realized that Da Wa was talking about Ning Xue.

On the entire island, Ning Tang submits to no one but Ning Xue.

Moreover, they are not her own children, and she has not been with them for long, but Ning Xue treats them more like her own children than her own.

Ning Tang asked himself, he definitely did not have the same broad mind as Ning Xue.

When the three big kids were lying in front of Ningtang's bed and crying for food, Ningtang looked at their three little faces and didn't feel any pity or anything like that described in novels. She just thought they were annoying.

A bunch of little brats, they can make a big fuss if they are hungry, they almost tear down the house.

Ning Tang scratched her ears. She almost suspected she was deaf because of the big baby's devilish voice just now. "How old were you three born?"

The three children looked at each other, and the eldest child said, "I was born in 1969, the second daughter was born in 1971, and the third daughter was born in 1973."

"Oh." Ning Tang turned over with a clear conscience, thinking, I was born in 2000, and my actual age is much younger than you guys. Why should I take care of you?

If it is 2024, the eldest child will be 55 years old, and the second and third children will be 52 and 49 years old respectively.

Ning Tang looked at the three smooth and tender little faces in front of him, and felt deeply moved. The total age of these three was over 150 years old!

When I think about it this way, I feel even less guilty.

Da Wa didn't know why Ning Tang asked them how old they were born, and then ignored them after getting the answer.

They thought Ning Tang was hinting that they were grown-up kids now and shouldn't quarrel or make trouble.

Da Wa angrily put one hand on his waist, pointed a finger at Ning Tang on the bed, and yelled, "Humph, if you don't cook for us, we'll cook for ourselves."

Erniu followed closely, "That's right, cooking is not that difficult."

The third child, with his round belly, imitated the eldest child and hummed in a baby voice.

The three-headed little man looks so unimpressive and actually very cute.

"Erniu is right. What's so difficult about cooking? I cook for you every day." Ning Tang counted on his fingers, "I made steamed prawns on Monday, steamed mackerel on Tuesday, steamed scallops on Wednesday, and steamed crabs on Thursday... You see, every meal is different."

"It's not the same as before?" The eldest boy's eyes widened. "I think they just changed the soup but not the medicine."

Uh, Ning Tang was speechless. He turned his back to them and pulled the quilt over his head in response.

Seeing Ning Tang ignoring them, Da Wa snorted, "If you don't cook for us, stepmother, we'll cook for ourselves. What's so great about that?"

Erniu said, "Don't get up to eat when we're done."

Sanwa agreed, "That's right."

Ning Tang stretched out a hand from under the quilt, waved it, and said, "Go, go quickly, you just need to fill your stomachs, I don't need you to worry about me."

The three children hummed in unison, and then Ning Tang heard a series of footsteps coming downstairs.

Ning Tang felt sleepy again, so she ignored the three children and fell asleep again.

She closed her eyes for a while, and suddenly heard a chaotic ding-dong sound coming from the first floor. She opened her eyes abruptly. Could it be that the three little brats, Big Boy, were here for real? Were they really going to cook?

Cooking is fake, but not tearing down the house is real?

She quickly lifted the quilt, put on her shoes, and went to the kitchen to take a look.

In front of the stove, the guy standing on a small stool waving a spatula, if it’s not the eldest boy, then who else could it be?

The eldest boy grabbed the egg with his left hand, knocked it on the stove, and poured the egg into the pot. He held the spatula in his right hand and stirred it from time to time. He looked quite professional.

But the next second, a burning smell filled Ning Tang's nose. She reached out and waved away the smell, "Comrade Shen Dawa, are you planning to burn down our house?"

Ning Tang's voice suddenly came from behind, and Da Wa was startled, "Stepmother, what are you doing? When did you come?"

"Just now, I came to see how you were cooking." Ning Tang said.

Erniu pouted, "It's well cooked, just wait and eat."

Ning Tang was amused and pointed at the burnt scrambled eggs in the pot. "Are you sure it's okay to eat this?"

Da Wa choked, rolled up his sleeves and prepared to start over, still stubbornly saying, "I just made a mistake, I'll cook it again and let you taste my cooking skills."

The little man, who was only three pieces of tofu tall, said these words while holding a spatula, which really made Ning Tang laugh.

Ning Tang chased away the three children who were gathered around the stove and said, "Okay, let me cook. Your cooking skills can't be improved any more."

The eldest child snorted, "You don't have to do it. I can do it myself."

Ning Tang was amused. "Really? You are a boaster and a walker. Look at the scrambled eggs you made. They are almost sticking to the pan. Do you still want our pan?"

Da Wa took a look at the dark bottom of the pot, handed the spatula to Ning Tang, and said with his hands on his hips, "Then you come, let's see how well you can cook. It's delicious."

Ning Tang took the spatula and pinched his little face, "Hey, you still don't believe me, don't forget who cooked the meals you've been eating recently, look, I'll show you my cooking skills."

Ning Tang was really ready to show off her cooking skills for the three little kids this time. She remembered the sugar cookies made by her mother Ning in her previous life. The dough was coated with syrup and rolled into a cake shape, then fried until both sides were golden brown. When you took a bite, you would first taste the crispy crust and then the hot and sweet syrup. Just thinking about it made her so gluttonous.

She described the deliciousness of the sugar cookies to the three children. The eldest child was already hungry, so he urged Ningtang to make sugar cookies.

The step of kneading the dough was not difficult for Ning Tang, but the sugar cookies he rolled out were either not round or the skin was broken.

After finally rolling out a few odd-shaped sugar cakes, Ning Tang poured oil into the pot, and the three children gathered around the pot expectantly.

Ning Tang chased the three kids away, "Stay away, or you'll be splashed."

The eldest, second and third kids had no choice but to move away, but they still paid close attention to what was happening in the pot.

Ning Tang rolled up his sleeves and stared at the sugar cookies in the pot without blinking.

About seven minutes later, Da Wa snorted and looked at Ning Tang in confusion, "Stepmother, do you smell anything?"

Ning Tang said guiltily, "No..."

Erniu raised her hand, "Erniu smells it, it's a burning smell!"

The eldest child sighed like a little adult, "Stepmother, did you forget to turn it over?"

Ning Tang clumsily turned it over with a spatula. Alas, the side of the cookie close to the bottom of the pan had turned into charcoal.

Ning Tang glanced at the black biscuits and said stubbornly, "It's okay. As the old saying goes, eating black steamed buns can make money!"

Erniu hesitated and asked, "Is this true? Are you lying to us, stepmother?"

The eldest boy glared and said, "Then you eat the stepmother, and I'll give you the money."

Ning Tang touched his nose with a guilty conscience, "Don't be so picky. It doesn't matter whether it smells good or not. It's meat in your mouth."

The eldest, second and third kids didn't respond, they just stared at her.

Ning Tang raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, I'll let your dad make you some candy when he comes back. Let's eat something else today."

The eldest child nodded, "That's about right."

After saying that, he led Erniu and Sanwa out of the kitchen.

Ning Tang looked at his back and waved his fist in the air. He really wanted to beat up this little brat.

Ning Tang was preparing to make steamed seafood as usual, but suddenly remembered that she did not go shopping today. It was almost two o'clock now, and the vegetable market must be closed.

When Ningtang came out of the kitchen, the eldest, second and third children were already eating dates.

The eldest child, holding a red date in his mouth, tilted his head and said, "Stepmother, is the meal ready? So fast."

"Uh..." Ning Tang said, "I didn't buy any vegetables, so I have nothing to cook now."

The eldest child sighed like a little adult, "Ah, what can we say about you?"

Erniu and Sanwa followed his example and sighed in unison, "Alas."

Ning Tang pinched their little faces one by one, "Why are you sighing? Children who sigh won't grow taller. It's just because I didn't cook. Come on, I'll take you to a restaurant."

"Eat out?" asked the eldest child. "What does it mean to eat out?"

"We're just going to a hotel to eat." Ning Tang said, "Big Brother, you're more familiar with the island, tell me which hotel on the island is better?"

Da Wa shook his head and said, "Stepmother, you are overthinking it. The army has a canteen, the school also has a canteen, everyone knows how to cook, who opened a hotel on the island? Only the city has state-owned hotels."

Erniu: "Brother, you are wrong. Not everyone can cook, but my stepmother can't."

Ning Tang choked, "What's so great about being able to cook? I can do a lot of other things except cooking."

"For example?" Big Boy tilted his head.

"I'll tell you when I think of it." Ning Tang said, "Let's think about how to fill our stomachs first."

Ning Tang touched his empty stomach and thought, if only it were 2024 now. When I'm hungry I can just order takeout or boil some instant noodles.

Instant noodles?!

Ning Tang immediately had an idea. He took out five yuan from the cabinet and put it in his pocket. He called Da Wa, "I'm going to go out for a while and buy you some food. You just wait for me at home."

The eldest boy replied weakly, "I know. I hope the three of us haven't starved to death before you come back."

Erniu asked in confusion, "Is this food market closed?"

Ning Tang went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative as soon as she got out of the door. During this period, she went out to buy groceries every day and became more and more familiar with the distribution of facilities on the island. She would never again be in a situation like the first time she went out to buy groceries and needed her eldest son to lead the way.

The supply and marketing cooperative is located in the east of Hailang Island, opposite to the vegetable market.

It was called a supply and marketing cooperative, but in fact it was just a storefront of nearly 100 square meters. It was a sultry afternoon, and there was only a young male salesperson in the cooperative, who was listlessly leaning against the glass counter and dozing off.

Ning Tang knocked on the glass in front of him, "Hello, I want to buy something."

The male salesperson was disturbed during his nap and was very unhappy at first, but when he saw Ning Tang's innocent and beautiful face, his anger subsided and his tone softened, "Okay, what do you want to buy?"

Ning Tang gestured, "You have instant noodles here, um, instant noodles?"

"Instant noodles, yes we do." said the male salesperson.

He kindly reminded Ning Tang, "Instant noodles are quite expensive. Do you have enough money?"

Today's instant noodles are not cheap. The price and value are comparable to Maotai in later generations. Moreover, they are all sold in bulk, and there are only four or five bags in the supply and marketing cooperatives.

Ning Tang nodded and thanked the salesman for his kindness. "It's okay. I have enough money. Go get me three bags."

Hearing this, the male salesperson stopped talking and took out three bags of instant noodles from the counter. "Eighty cents a bag, three bags for two dollars and four cents."

Although he was mentally prepared, Ning Tang couldn't help but be surprised, "So expensive?"

The male salesperson took the instant noodles back and said, "This stuff is so expensive. When it was first released, everyone wanted to buy a pack to try it out, but when they asked about the price, they backed off."

In other words, it doesn’t matter if Ning Tang asks the price but doesn’t buy it, since she is not the first one anyway.

Ning Tang quickly stopped the salesperson from moving. "No, no, no, I want to buy it."

This time it was the male salesperson who was surprised. "Are you really buying it? Think carefully. This is two dollars and forty cents."

Ning Tang took a look at the Fang noodles. The yellow packaging had a picture of braised pork ribs noodles printed in the middle. The more he looked at it, the more tempting it became.

And the comforting thing is that the instant noodles are quite big in portion, with one pack weighing more than two taels. Buying three packs is enough for Ningtang and the three children.

Ning Tang nodded, "Okay, please pack it for me." After that, she counted out two yuan and handed them to the male salesperson.

The male salesperson counted the money and saw that she really wanted to buy something. He looked at her with surprise and thought, I wonder whose family this spendthrift woman is from. She spent three bags of instant noodles for 2.40 yuan like that. If she used 2.40 yuan to buy vegetables, I don't know how many kilograms of food she could buy and how many meals she could eat.

Ningtang went out with five yuan and bought instant noodles for two yuan and forty cents, leaving him with two yuan and sixty cents.

She thought for a moment and asked the male salesperson, "What kind of candies do you have for sale?"

She didn't cook today and the three little kids were hungry. She still had an unshirkable responsibility on her shoulders. She went to buy some candy to comfort them so that they wouldn't have to wait for Shen Lie to come back and complain to him.

The male salesperson handed her an oil-paper bag and said, "Yes, brown sugar cubes, 1 cent a bag."

Ning Tang opened the oil paper package and found that it was filled with red sugar cubes about the size of a thumb. Compared with the brightly colored fruit candies and milk candies wrapped in candy wrappers, this was just like kitchen sugar.

But something is better than nothing, so Ning Tang spent ten cents to buy the brown sugar.

After returning home, Ning Tang handed the oil paper bag to Da Wa and said, "Take it and sweeten your mouth. I'll go make some instant noodles for you guys."

The eldest boy took the oil paper package, opened it, and gave each of them a piece of brown sugar.

Sanwa held a piece of candy in his mouth and mumbled, "Mom, what are instant noodles?"

Ning Tang showed them the square noodles, "This is the square noodles."

The eldest child took a look and said, "Why is it called Fang? Instant noodles are not called Troublesome Noodles. Are you kidding us, stepmother?"

Ning Tang glared, "Why would I fool you?" She pointed at the three big characters 'Fang? Convenient Noodles' on the bag, "Isn't it written here, three big characters, Fang?, Convenient, Noodles."

Ning Tang patted his head and said, "Hiss, I forgot, you guys can't read."

The three children are very clever, especially the eldest one, who is very smart. For a moment, Ningtang really did not remember that the three youngest ones are not old enough to go to school.

The eldest child puffed up his cheeks and said, "What's so great about knowing how to read? Dad said that I will be in the first grade in September, and by then I will be able to know so many, so many, so many words."

Ning Tang pinched his little face and said, "Then wait until you know a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of words before you tell me."

Erniu was only five years old, and it was too early for her to go to school. She only cared about how to fill her stomach. She swallowed her saliva and said, "Stepmother, are the instant noodles delicious?"

Ning Tang had never eaten instant noodles like this before, but it was probably about the same. "It should be delicious."

"Should?" Big Boy looked at the square noodles weakly. Square noodles might be delicious, but he couldn't believe Ning Tang's cooking skills. After all, he had been eating tasteless steamed seafood for so many days.

Erniu urged, "Don't worry about it. Okay? Not good? Eat it. Stepmother, hurry up and do it. The three of us are starving to death."

The eldest child agreed, "That's right. If you don't cook, we don't know if we can live until Dad comes back."

Ning Tang rolled up his sleeves and said, "Don't worry, I guarantee you three little ancestors will be satisfied."

Ning Tang picked up three packets of instant noodles and went into the kitchen. The three children followed her like three little quails, following closely.

Ning Tang first boiled water in a pot, then tore open the instant noodles bag. In addition to the noodles, there was also a small bag of seasoning.

She put the noodles into the pot, and soon the aroma of noodles wafted out. Then she added the seasoning packet, stirred it for a few seconds, and scooped the soup and noodles into a bowl, the aroma filling the air.

"Wow, it smells so good." Sanwa couldn't help but exclaim.

Ning Tang took four small bowls and poured the noodle soup into each one. Then he placed them in front of them and said, "Take a bite."

Big Boy couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, picked up the noodles and put them in his mouth. The noodles were chewy and the soup was rich in flavor. Big Boy swore that this was the first time in his life that he had eaten such delicious food.

Erniu held the bowl with her two little hands and slurped the soup, with her little face almost buried in the bowl.

Sanwa was not as skillful as his brothers and sisters in using chopsticks, so he could only blink his big eyes and look at Ningtang for help, saying coquettishly, "Stepmother——"

Ning Tang raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'll feed you."

Sanwa ate the noodles contentedly in small bites. After he was full, Ningtang sipped a few sips of the noodle soup.

The craftsmanship of today's instant noodles is certainly not comparable to that of later generations, but the taste is still acceptable, and Ningtang was quite satisfied with the meal.

Da Wa ate the whole bowl of noodles, not even leaving any soup. After finishing, he wiped his mouth unsatisfied and asked Ning Tang, "Stepmother, when can we eat instant noodles again?"