The next morning at around five forty, Xuemei and Han Chen woke up. They lay on the warm kang, covered with quilts and talked.
Hearing footsteps in the living room, Xuemei stood up, stretched, and said, "Shall we both get up too?"
Han Chen pulled Xuemei's hand and said, "It's okay to lie down for a while. It's only six o'clock. Grandpa and Uncle Hu should be getting up to exercise."
"Let's get up. My aunt has to go to work today. We can't ask Uncle Hu and sister-in-law to make breakfast for us every day, right? Sister-in-law has two children to take care of. Let's get up and make breakfast!" Xuemei said.
Han Chen thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go make breakfast, you lie down for a while!"
"Come together. I got enough sleep last night. Besides, I still have to give you some face in front of your family." Xuemei said jokingly.
"Even if you don't cook, you'll still make me proud!" Han Chen said, then he leaned over and kissed Xuemei on the face.
As soon as Han Chen and Xuemei opened the door, they saw Lin Songguo and Juan practicing Tai Chi. When they heard the sound of the door opening, Lin Songguo and Juan looked over.
"Wake up, Xuemei. Did your uncle Hu and I wake you up?" Lin Songguo asked kindly.
"No, Grandpa, we got up after we had enough sleep. You and Uncle Hu continue exercising and don't worry about us!" Xuemei replied with a smile.
Xuemei and Han Chen first used the boiling water in the kettle in the room to wash up in the shower room, then filled the kettle with water and placed it in the room to keep it hot.
Juan looked at the young couple walking towards the kitchen and said, "Are you two hungry? I'll make you breakfast now!"
Xuemei shook her head and said, "Uncle Hu, no need. Han Chen and I don't have much to do. We can just make breakfast. You just tell us what to eat in the morning!"
Hu An didn't shirk his responsibility and said with a smile, "Okay, then we'll trouble you this morning. Xuemei, you can move anything in the kitchen and do whatever you want. Put the food in the largest vat. Xiaochen, I left a coal stove on fire. You know how to light it, right?"
"Uncle Hu, I haven't forgotten. You and my grandfather should exercise in the living room. Leave breakfast to us two!" Han Chen replied.
After entering the kitchen, Han Chen first opened the lid of the coal stove that was still on fire, put a coal ball in with an iron clamp, and when the coal ball was almost dyed, he put it in another coal stove, and then added coal balls to the two coal stoves.
Xuemei scooped a bowl full of millet, rubbed it several times with hot water, then poured it into a large casserole, poured boiling water into it and cooked it on the coal stove.
There was an iron pot on the other coal stove. Xuemei found some dried shredded radish and planned to make some pickles, so she grabbed a handful and put it in the pot to cook.
Han Chen washed the potatoes and sweet potatoes, intending to steam them later along with the frozen, hard, multi-grain buns that Juan and the others had prepared in advance. Xuemei, on the other hand, watched the coal stove, occasionally stirring the millet porridge in the casserole.
After the shredded radish was cooked and swollen, Xuemei took it out and rinsed it with warm water first.
Then, she placed the dish on a cutting board and cut it into small pieces with a knife. She also chopped the ginger, garlic, and dried chilies. After preparing the dish, Xuemei first dried the wok and added a little lard. Once the oil was hot, she added the chopped ginger, garlic, and dried chilies. After sautéing the chilies until their sharp flavor came out, she added the diced radish and salt, stirring everything together. Just before serving, she added vinegar and soy sauce.
After Xuemei fried the dried radish, she felt that the dish was a little less, so she cut two more potatoes into shreds and then fried some shredded potatoes with vinegar.
Just as they finished making the vinegar-fried shredded potatoes, Yu Qing came in and said with an embarrassed look on her face, "Xuemei, I'm sorry, I got up late and bothered you to make breakfast!"
Yu Qing usually wakes up at 6:30 in the morning and cooks. Feng Ru helps the two children wash up and comes in to help cook. The Lin family starts eating around 7:10 in the morning. After dinner, Feng Ru clears the dishes and leaves with Yu Qing, each taking one of the children. Their working hours are from 8:00 to 5:00, with an hour's break at noon. After work at 5:00, Feng Ru drives Lin Jin home, and Yu Qing picks up Lin Ren along the way.
Juan and Lin Songguo get up at six every morning in the winter, and even earlier in the summer, to exercise together. Juan and Lin Songguo would exercise with them for 45 minutes to an hour.
Therefore, after Yu Qing and Hu An discussed it, they decided that she and Yu Qing would make breakfast, while Hu An would make dinner. Yu Qing and Feng Ru would eat lunch at work, while Lin Jin and Feng Ru would eat together in the faculty cafeteria. Lin Ren would eat at the Yuhong class, leaving Hu An responsible for just him and Lin Songguo at lunch.
Yu Qing woke up just a few minutes late this morning. As soon as she arrived in the living room, she heard Hu An say that Xuemei and Han Chen were making breakfast in the kitchen.
"It's okay, aunt. We are family and there's no need to talk nonsense. Han Chen and I don't have anything to do this morning, and you still have to go to work later! I'll just steam the buns!" Xuemei replied.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you. Han Chen, there are eggs in the basket in the cupboard. Take out a few and steam three bowls of egg custard!" Yu Qing said.
Han Chen nodded, took out three eggs and three small bowls from the cupboard, beat an egg in each bowl, and then followed the method Xuemei told him at home, adding appropriate amount of hot water and salt to stir, and using chopsticks to remove the bubbles.
After it was done, they started to steam it in the iron pot steamer. The Lin family’s steamer was relatively large, so only two layers were enough. Four multi-grain steamed buns, a few sweet potatoes and a few potatoes were placed on the first layer, and three bowls of egg custard were placed on the second layer.
When the food in the steamer was done, Feng Ru took the two children to wash up. Yu Qing even went back to the house to use scissors to cut some green onions that she had planted in a small wooden pot. Yu Qing took it to the kitchen, cut it into shreds, and sprinkled it on the egg custard.
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