Chapter 115 The date is set
As they were talking, Zhang Hongying came back with a basket on her back. The basket in her hand was unusually empty of grass. Wen Wan stood up and called out "Aunt" and reached out to take the basket. When her hand touched the top of the basket, she noticed the tangled and wriggling thing inside. She was so scared that her hand shook and she screamed. She stepped back before she could even take the basket and sat down on the ground.
Zhang Hongying was so surprised that she was frightened. She forgot to put the backpack down for a long time with it still pressing on her body.
Lu Chun'e rushed out from the kitchen and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lu Dongping stood up and quickly helped Wen Wan up. He took a look into the basket in Zhang Hongying's hand and offered her a hand to calm her down. "Are you scared? It's not a worm, it's an eel. Don't be afraid. You ate it last time. It looks scary, but it tastes good if you kill it and chop it into pieces."
Wen Wan trembled and didn't dare to look over there: "It looks too much like a snake." There were so many of them twisted together, it was scary and disgusting, and she was so scared that her hair stood on end.
Seeing her recover, Zhang Hongying breathed a sigh of relief, put the backpack on the eaves steps, threw the basket aside and said: "This thing looks like a long worm, it looks a bit scary, I dare not provoke it. Dongping's father and his uncle are pasting the ridges in the rice fields, and this thing keeps digging holes in the fields, making the fields full of big holes and small eyes that can't hold water at all. So I caught it while pasting it, and gave some to come back to burn later. I didn't dare to look at it all the way back before I brought it back." She didn't know that Wen Wan would come to meet her when she arrived in the yard.
Wen Wan didn't dare to get any closer.
Lu Dongping helped Zhang Hongying hold the backpack. After she took off the backpack straps, he picked it up and poured out the pig feed against the wall.
He went into the house, took the scissors and said, "Then I'll go kill it. Chun'e is already cooking."
"What are you going to cook?"
Lu Chun'e said, "There's not enough ground corn, so I scooped some cornmeal and mixed it with some white flour to make noodles. I also picked a lot of cowpeas and cucumbers and cooked them together."
Zhang Hongying nodded: "Okay, let's cook it like that!"
In theory, the best way to cook eels is to steam them with rice and eat them mixed with it. However, the family only distributed a small amount of food before the New Year, and the rations that Wen Wan brought with her were less than a thousand kilograms in total. A lot of it was consumed during the time when the house was being renovated. We also have to hold a banquet at the end of August. If we don’t plan our meals, it will be difficult to eat until the twelfth month, let alone the winter month.
At that time, I might have to ask the team for a loan. After all, it is not so easy to buy food now. Not to mention food coupons, which are expensive and cost money, and money is not something that can be easily obtained.
Lu Dongping went to kill the eels, and then ran to the fields to pick peppers.
This thing can either be stewed with some soy sauce, or stir-fried with garlic and chili peppers. Either way, it should taste better with a stronger flavor.
Since she was not needed for anything, Wen Wan went to take care of her own things. The bed in the new room had been made. She straightened the straw on it and spread the mattress she brought from home on it. Suddenly, she remembered something and had to prepare the sheets as soon as possible.
Zhang Hongying had already sewn the quilt using the white cotton cloth she was planning to use to make shirts. There was still a piece missing, so Zhang Hongying patched it up herself, making it completely new inside and out.
She did tear off a piece of the bed sheet, a pink one with a bright red peony print, but the edges were still frayed and needed to be fixed again. The bed was made, and she heard Lu Mingjiang's voice from outside. She went out to greet him, scooping up a basin of water and wiping everything down again. It still smelled of paint, so she had to get rid of it. It would be nice if she could pick some wildflowers like in spring and put them around the house.
Lu Dongping came in from outside and reached out to pull her: "It's time to eat!"
"Donglin hasn't come back yet?"
It was getting dark and the forest was probably already pitch black.
"He must have run far away. He will definitely come back after dark."
As he was speaking, Lu Donglin's loud speaker-like voice came from outside: "I'm back!"
Lu Dongping raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you back?" As they left the house together, they heard Zhang Hongying start cursing. "Don't you know where home is when it's not dark? You're not brave, but you're not small-minded. Don't you know there are wolves in the mountains behind and wild boars in the mountains ahead? If you meet them, you won't even have time to cry, and you won't even have a bone left."
Lu Donglin said, "Can you please stop trying to scare people with this trick? We're not far away, we're just in the front mountain, and there are so many of us! The forest is turned into a road all year round, so which wild boar is so desperate to get out and get killed?"
Seeing that he completely ignored her words, Zhang Chun'e was so angry that she wanted to hit him with a broom.
Lu Donglin hid behind Wen Wan like a rabbit and yelled, "Mom, you're going too far. I didn't do anything wrong and you still hit me. Can't you speak freely or what? I picked a basket of wild mushrooms and you didn't praise me. You have such a diligent son like me and you beat him at every turn. If he becomes stupid, you'll be miserable and you'll have to take care of him in his old age."
Wen Wan saw Zhang Hongying about to lose her temper, so she changed the subject: "A basket? How come you're so good at it? Let me see, are they the two things you taught me this afternoon?"
"Really? You must have traveled a lot! Even if you dried it in the sun, it would be a lot!"
Lu Dongping said, "Don't do these things for now, let's eat first. The noodles won't taste good if they're soaked for too long."
Wen Wan thought about what he said about having to grind the mill after dinner, so she didn't dare to delay any longer and went into the kitchen.
Cucumbers and cowpeas are cooked together without adding oil, just a little salt and the soup is particularly fragrant. Yellow eel is fried with garlic cloves and green peppers, it is a little broken, but it does not affect the taste.
It was a delicious meal indeed.
After dinner, Lu Dongping carried half a sack of corn from the house to Shi Mo outside the yard. He lit a torch and said to Lu Mingjiang, "Come back tomorrow and get some more grain out of the cellar. I'll come back early and grind the mill so we can get more out."
Lu Mingjiang nodded in agreement, stretched out his hand and slapped the mosquito, and the mosquito died in his palm.
Lu Minghai's family next door had not gone to bed yet and were resting in the yard. When they saw the fire in front of the millstone, they all came over. Gao Xiulan was talking to Zhang Hongying, Lu Minghai was chatting with Lu Dongcai and Lu Mingjiang, and Lu Donglin was showing off his new skills in the yard like a monkey, pulling Lu Dongfu around. He could do somersaults several times in a row.
Lu Minghai was free at the moment, so he asked Lu Dongping about the date for the wedding banquet. Since no one else was around, Lu Minghai finally spoke more freely: "Although this wasn't popular in the past, I still had someone look at the almanac. There aren't many good days in August, but the best is August 30th, the 22nd of the lunar calendar, which is a good day for a wedding. Since you were planning to hold it at the end of the year anyway, this is a good date brought forward. Putting aside other things, just to seek peace of mind, pick a good day, and hope for good luck. Wen Wan and I will live happily and smoothly in the future."
Lu Dongping asked Lu Mingjiang, "Dad, what do you think?"
What could Lu Mingjiang say? This was something he should have been concerned about. It was naturally good to have his elder brother helping him to worry about it.
"I'll tell you what you have to say. When have you ever listened to me?"
That’s true!
Lu Dongping nodded: "Okay, then thirty."
"Well, it's not that long now. We've already left the banquet and other matters as is. You should discuss what you need to do as soon as possible."
There was no need for anyone else to tell him this, Lu Dongping knew it clearly.
It was getting dark now, and mosquitoes were flying everywhere. It was a little hot in the room. It was not as comfortable as sleeping outside. It was so pleasant to feel the night breeze blowing on my body.
It didn't take long to push half a bag of corn. After Lu Dongping finished, he swept the mill and carried the grain into the house. After that, he took a bench and sat next to Wen Wan and talked to her: "My uncle just told me that he asked someone to look at the almanac, and the date is set for August 30th of the Gregorian calendar." This date really happened. After the banquet, they had a day off and school started.
Wen Wan didn't understand this at all, so she nodded: "If you say it's okay, then it's okay."
The obedient Lu Dongping always couldn't help but want to hold the person in his arms and give him a good beating.
"However, I may have to go to the county town."
"Is there anything else you haven't bought?"
"Yeah!" Wen Wan nodded. "My uncle sent me a radio ticket and a lot of tapes. I'm getting married soon, and I want to buy the radio as my dowry."
The money Lu Dongping spent on buying tiles to repair his house, the labor costs for making furniture, and the paint were not as much as the money for a radio. He really couldn't buy that thing without a hundred or eighty yuan. It was not something that could be solved with just a ticket.
"Want to prepare a dowry for yourself? Then all you need is that radio ticket. You can get the money from that coupon!"
Wen Wan shook her head. She couldn't tell whether Lu Dongping was sincere or just saying it to cheer her up. She simply wouldn't agree. "I already said it's a dowry. How can I take the ticket and pay for it at the same time? I still have enough money to buy a radio, but if I get married, I'll definitely be poor and have to rely on you for food and drink."
Lu Dongping laughed: "A man is for you to rely on. If you have to make such clear distinctions after marriage, then what's the point of getting married?" Putting aside the question of whether it is right or not, she is a substitute teacher in school, earning 15 yuan a month, and also has work point subsidies. If she lives a normal life, she can make more than enough money, so why would she need to rely on anyone!
Lu Dongping thought she was just acting coquettishly, and he loved the way she spoke to him softly and coquettishly.
After talking for a while, it was indeed getting late. People outside the yard had not yet left, so Lu Dongping did not dare to be rude. He scooped some water and they washed together. Wen Wan then went to bed.
As she closed her eyes and fell asleep, her mind flashed quickly, as if she had forgotten something. She couldn't remember it no matter how hard she tried to think about it. Finally, she succumbed to the sleepiness and fell asleep.
When she walked into the school with Lu Donglin the next morning, she finally remembered.
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