Han Chen, who was standing in front of Liu's mother, didn't know whether he hadn't completely calmed down yet, or was affected by what happened just now, or what, when he heard Liu's mother call him son-in-law, his mind went crazy. He immediately bowed to Liu's mother and promised loudly:
"Mom, I will treat Xuemei well in the future, don't worry. In my heart, I have always treated you and Dad as my biological parents. I will fulfill my responsibilities as a child and respect you and Xuemei well. Of course, I will also take good care of my brothers and sisters. If I do anything wrong or inappropriate in the future, you must remind me."
Han Chen's action frightened Xuemei and Liu's mother. After Xuemei came to her senses, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Han Chen heard Xuemei's laughter and realized that he had done something stupid. He scratched his head in embarrassment. To ease the atmosphere, Liu's mother said with a smile, "Xiaochen, if you and Xuemei live a good life, your father and I will be relieved. Xiaochen, I won't give you the money for changing your name until tonight!"
"It's okay, Mom!" Han Chen replied embarrassedly.
"Okay, don't you want to make dough for dumplings and steamed buns? It's past three o'clock now, we have to start. Xuemei, come with me into the house to get the flour!" Liu's mother said, changing the subject.
After saying this, Mother Liu handed the wool in her hand to Xuemei, then walked towards the kitchen carrying the pig feed basket in both hands.
Xuemei couldn't help laughing and said to Han Chen beside her, "Xiaochen, take the backpack into the main room, hurry up!"
Han Chen glared at Xuemei with resentment. Xuemei pretended to be sad and said, "You just made a promise to my mother, and now you are glaring at me. I will go to my mother and complain to her and ask her not to give you the compensation for changing your words!"
As soon as Xuemei finished speaking, Liu's mother was at the door of the main hall. She turned around and shouted, "Xuemei, what are you still dawdling about? Come in and get your things!"
Xuemei looked at Liu's mother and signaled Han Chen to react quickly, otherwise she would have to complain to his new mother-in-law.
Han Chen quickly begged Xuemei for mercy, "Master Xuemei, I was wrong. Please let me go this time. Okay?"
"That's more like it!" Xuemei said proudly, then made a face at Han Chen, and then ran to the main hall to catch up with Liu's mother and told her about other gains of the day.
Han Chen behind her looked at Xuemei's back and smiled, feeling really happy at the moment.
Xuemei put the yarn on Liu's mother's bed and heard her say, "Xuemei, come here! I have something to tell you!"
Xuemei looked at Liu's mother with a serious expression and quickly walked up to her.
"Xuemei, even though you and Han Chen have already obtained your marriage certificate, you still need to be careful about how close you are to each other.
Well, some intimate activities should wait until after your wedding. In the village, everyone recognizes the ceremony, regardless of whether you have a marriage certificate or not. For the sake of your future life, you two should endure it for another month! Understand?"
Liu's mother also went through a lot in her youth, and she knew how affectionate newly married men and women were, wanting to be together all the time. But for Xuemei's sake, she still wanted to remind her that some behaviors were best done after marriage, so that no one would use them to their advantage.
Xuemei knew that Liu's mother had guessed what she and Han Chen had just done, and her face turned red all the way to her neck.
Xuemei thought that Liu's mother had forbidden her and Han Chen from kissing each other before their marriage, so she lowered her head and whispered, "Mom, I know. I will be more careful in the future!"
Xuemei didn't know that her thoughts were slightly different from Liu's mother's, but the final result was the same.
"Just be sensible. Take this small bag of flour to the kitchen and I'll take the cornmeal. Let's see what Han Chen does." said Liu's mother.
When the mother and daughter arrived at the kitchen, Han Chen had already lit the fire and boiled the water.
Mother Liu put the things on the table and said to the two of them, "You guys stay here and make whatever dough you want. It's up to you two. We're waiting to eat anyway. I'll go rinse the cloth you bought first!"
"Mom, I want to make a cotton-padded coat that looks like a winter military uniform. Is that okay?" Xuemei asked.
"Okay, I'll study it and see how to do it. You help Xiaochen here. If you need anything, go to the room and get it yourself." Mother Liu didn't want to stand there and be a light bulb, so she left after saying that.
"Xuemei, do you want some pure white flour?" Han Chen asked as he rolled up his sleeves.
"Make a few more kinds while you have time. We'll make four pounds of pure white flour, and some flour mixed with corn flour and white flour!" Xuemei said.
Han Chen nodded and placed the cleaned wooden basin on the table. He also took out the noodles he had exchanged at the state-owned restaurant. He checked his things and asked, "Xuemei, do you have any sugar at home? Bring some over!"
"Yes, I'll get it right away!" Xuemei immediately took out a small can of sugar and also took the vermicelli that would be used to make bun fillings to soak them.
Next, Han Chen was kneading dough in the kitchen, and Xuemei took the vegetable basket to the private plot to cut leeks. Xuemei knew that there was not enough meat, so she planned to make some leek, egg and shrimp filling.
When Xuemei came back after washing the leeks, Han Chen was using a brazier to make fire.
"Han Chen, the dough is ready!" Xuemei asked.
"It's done. Four pounds of white flour were fermented. Eight pounds of cornmeal were also fermented, and almost one pound of white flour was mixed in. Adding more white flour to the cornmeal will make it easier to form a ball." Han Chen replied.
"Then I'll have to check carefully to see how you did it?" Xuemei said, and then she looked at the two bowls of dough on the table. She found that they were kneaded very well, and the wooden bowls were not stained. Xuemei immediately gave Han Chen a thumbs up and praised him, "It seems that your dough kneading skills are really good!"
Han Chen raised his head, looked at Xuemei and said proudly, "That's not the case. Xuemei, do you know what it means to knead dough well?"
"What is it?" Xuemei asked curiously.
"We need three things: clean noodles, clean hands, and clean basin. No noodles can be wasted!" Han Chen said and opened his palm to show Xuemei.
Xuemei came over and patted Han Chen's hand, then said with a smile, "It seems you've mastered the art of kneading dough. From now on, the job of kneading dough at home will be yours!"
"Okay, call me whenever you want to eat noodles!" Han Chen replied.
Han Chen placed the brazier at the back of the firebox and put the freshly kneaded dough in the firebox to rise. The temperature here was high, so the dough rose quickly.
Then the two of them cut and mixed the fillings for the dumplings. One was filled with pork, vermicelli and cabbage, and the other was filled with eggs, leeks and dried shrimps. Xuemei beat six eggs and put them in. Seeing half a pound of meat and six eggs gone in an instant, Liu's mother hurried back to her room to sort out her yarn. In Liu's mother's words, out of sight, out of mind.
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