Chapter 272: Food at Home

The next day, Xia Juanjuan sent a telegram to Li Zhan, but Li Zhan was probably on a mission again, so there was no reply to the telegram.

There was nothing we could do about it. Fortunately, Shen Wanxue's application also had to go through the process, so it wouldn't be finalized for a while.

Xia Juanjuan could only take advantage of these days to improve her diet and prepare some clothes for her to cover herself against the cold winter.

Although the northwest is at a similar latitude as here, it is drier and colder, and food is scarce, so winter is not easy there.

Lu Han's clothes couldn't be made too new, so he just took the few pieces that Shen Wanxue had, took them apart, washed the fabrics, and patched up some torn places with cloth so that they still looked old.

The cotton inside is part of the old cotton that has been clumped together, to which some new cotton taken out from the space and duck down and goose down are added, and then it is sewn together.

Looking at it this way, it looks like the outside is still old, but because it is made of duck down, it is not thick and will not arouse suspicion.

The same method is used for laying the lid.

In addition, she also tore off some other cloth, deliberately stitching together two kinds of cloth, and made a set of cotton-padded clothes and trousers for Rong Zhenbang, as a filial gift to her daughter-in-law whom she had never met.

Xia Juanjuan also sewed about one or two hundred yuan into the clothes and quilts, so that Shen Wanxue could take it out and use it if there was any emergency.

Of course, she hadn't told Shen Wanxue about this yet, fearing that if she knew now, she would refuse to accept it, so she planned to tell her about it before leaving.

In addition, a pair of boots was made for each of them, which was convenient to wear in winter.

It’s not easy to buy anything else, otherwise it will be inconvenient when moving.

Xia Juanjuan thought to herself that she would see how to send things to them when the time comes.

But even if you can send things, sending too much will attract attention, and it is definitely not as convenient as living in the same village.

All I can do now is to take better care of you.

Lin Yuru was in charge of the family's food, which was obviously richer during this period than before.

In the morning, I had thin-skinned soup-filled steamed buns. This method of making steamed buns is rare in the north, where the buns are very solid and large, with plenty of fillings and a thick skin. One can fill you up half way.

When Lin Yuru saw Xia Juanjuan making it for the first time, she was surprised for a long time and said with a smile: "Is this a dumpling? The skin is so thin?"

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "This is a soup dumpling. You can drink the soup inside, but you have to be careful not to burn your mouth when eating it."

The fillings are all lean meat, with some seasonings such as green onions.

Or you can make fried spring rolls with freshly picked green peppers from the vegetable garden, lettuce, home-grown bean sprouts, and finely chopped pork. After seasoning, wrap them in thin spring roll wrappers and fry them twice in a pan.

It’s time-consuming and oily to make, but it’s really delicious.

For lunch and dinner, there are fried noodles with soybean paste, various kinds of brine noodles, rice with braised pork, spring bamboo shoots with pork belly, steamed pork with rice flour, stir-fried rabbit, stir-fried chicken with mushrooms, etc. In addition, there are all kinds of ingredients, stir-fried mushrooms, stir-fried vegetables, etc. From time to time, there is also old hen fish maw soup, crucian carp and tofu soup, old duck soup, etc.

A lot of these were made and sent hot to Shen Wanxue and Yang Qiushi.

When Xia Shuangshan was busy with spring plowing, the Li Zhan family also helped out in the fields, so meals were always delivered to the courtyard, so there was no need to send them there.

Zhou Qiuhe and Li Jie would also send some over from time to time.

Lin Yuru couldn't help but say, "Juanjuan, have you been eating too well recently? You can't spend that much with Lizhan's allowance. There are six little ones in the family, and now they need tuition fees. In the future, they will have to build a house and get married. You can't not save money. If you spend so much money, people who know will say that you have given the children nutritional supplements. People who don't know will say that you don't know how to live and are wasting money. If Lizhan hears about it, he will also say that you are a spendthrift. It will be bad if you quarrel again..."

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "Mom, it's nothing. A meal is just two dishes and a soup. How many people are there in our family? Besides, Dad has to work in the fields every day, and you and I have to go from time to time. It's all hard work. How can we not eat well and have enough food?"

Don't worry, Li Zhan knows that I eat like this. He is afraid that our family is too frugal. Besides, we live behind closed doors, and people may be suspicious of what we eat at home. We can deny it when we go out and say that we eat simple meals. Besides, it's only for this period of time. After this period, I will pay attention to it in the future."

Lin Yuru was a little confused and asked, "This period of time? What does it mean?"

Xia Juanjuan has not yet told Lin Yuru that Shen Wanxue is Lizhan's biological mother, but she still told her that Shen Wanxue might pass away soon.

After hearing this, Lin Yuru sighed for a long time and said, "So that's what happened? We should make more delicious food. Alas... She is also pitiful. She is a daughter. How can she be like us, used to suffering since childhood? She is so old and still has to suffer these things. Her husband is not around, and her son is also lost and can't be found... Alas..."

Lin Yuru never mentioned the extravagant life at home again.

The busy farming season was almost over, and it was not until late April that Xia Juanjuan resumed her work of supplying supplies to the canteens of the two factories in the county town.

In Luocheng, occasional transactions have also resumed.

Luo Cheng was conflicted for a moment, wondering whether he should tell Xia Juanjuan that Li Zhan had once looked for him so that she would have peace of mind, but in the end he decided not to tell her.

After all, he was still keeping the details of his investigation into Xia Juanjuan a secret. If he told them, he would be exposed.

If Xia Juanjuan gets angry and stops doing business with him, where can he find a source of goods with good quality and reasonable prices?

The business that Xia Juanjuan and I do in Luocheng is mainly Chinese medicinal materials. As for Western medicine, Xia Juanjuan doesn't have much in stock, so she will only sell it if it is urgently needed and the price is high.

There are also cotton and timber, and we have also started to sell some food supplies.

Although we have already figured out Xia Juanjuan's background, the source of these materials is even more incredible.

If Xia Juanjuan had connections like him, then it could be explained. But how could she, who came from a rural family, get so many things even if she married a soldier?

Fortunately, Luo Cheng is not a wicked person. He does business in this field and actually has some rebellious thoughts. He feels that the direction of the entire country is not right and it should not be like this. There must be another way to go.

Since I can't do anything openly, I might as well try to figure it out in the dark.

Therefore, there is no need to delve into where Xia Juanjuan's supplies came from.

The Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month was the time to harvest wheat. Only after completing the mission of Li Zhan could he return.

Shen Wanxue's application was approved. However, the departure time had to be postponed to July or August, when the busy wheat harvest season was over.

Li Zhan was depressed. Although, in the end, Shen Wanxue and Rong Zhenbang were together.

But it was Shen Wanxue who went to the northwest to accompany Rong Zhenbang instead of transferring Rong Zhenbang back to the vicinity of Beijing.

The biological parents who had finally met each other are now becoming more and more distant.

After Xia Juanjuan sent the telegram, she sent him another letter, which contained a brief letter written by Shen Wanxue, asking him not to interfere in this matter anymore. Although she was going to the northwest, she was satisfied to be with his father.

Li Zhan naturally knew that Shen Wanxue applied first because she was afraid that it would affect his future.

Although he felt regretful, Li Zhan did not rashly try to change the outcome of the matter.

Xia Juanjuan still made rice dumplings with salted egg yolks and pork, and the sweet ones were with red beans, dates and peanuts.

After Lizhan came back, he called Shen Wanxue over in the evening, and they all had a semi-reunion dinner together.

After dinner, Xia Juanjuan took the children back to the house and put them to sleep, allowing Li Zhan and Shen Wanxue to reminisce about the past.

At midnight, Li Zhan came in, hugged Xia Juanjuan from behind, and did not move for a long time.

Xia Juanjuan turned over, hugged him back, put her face on his chest, and said softly: "I know you feel bad. But this is only temporary and will pass soon."

She even felt the urge to tell him that if he just waited another four or five years, everything would be fine and his parents would return to the city...

But when I opened my mouth, I still didn't know where to start.

Lizhan kissed her hair and asked faintly, "Juanjuan, am I so incompetent that I can't even protect my own parents?"

Xia Juanjuan raised her head and looked at him very seriously, then she moved closer to him, kissed his lips, and said softly, "I don't allow you to say that. Didn't you protect me and the kids very well? Mom and Dad...it's the fault of this era, not yours..."

Li Zhan looked at Xia Juanjuan, holding her tightly in his arms, and called softly: "Juanjuan...you are so nice..."

The next day, Xia Juanjuan and Li Zhan took the kids to the county town, took a family photo, and had a few copies developed, as well as photos of the triplets alone, and photos of the triplets with Xiaowen, Xiaowu, and Beibei.

Shen Wanxue asked for photos last time, and although she later said she didn't want them, Xia Juanjuan still thought that it would be difficult to give her photos of Li Zhan and herself, but she was not afraid of photos of the little guys.

After all, the kids are growing up year after year and they are the same. Even if someone with ulterior motives comes to find fault with the photos, they may not be able to identify the person!

In the next few days, Lizhan went to the fields to help harvest the wheat, thresh and thresh the grains. He was very busy. There were some days when he had to work until midnight to harvest the wheat.