Chapter 62 Zhaodi: Uncle San, I want to eat your steamed buns
"Uncle Zhang, don't be nervous," Wang Ziru picked up the enamel cup and drank tea, then smiled and said, "It's not a big problem, it's just that your heart rate is slow. In layman's terms, you often feel like your heartbeat has stopped."
After hearing what Wang Ziru said, Qian Li immediately wondered if she was talking nonsense.
Unexpectedly, the uncle sitting on the rattan chair was startled at first, and then smiled, "How could you, my young wife, see the problem with my heart?"
"As long as you stay calm and don't be impatient, there won't be any big problem." Wang Ziru said.
Grandpa Zhang smiled and shook his head, one hand resting on the armrest of the rattan chair, his slightly curly gray hair lying on his back, "I do have this problem with my heart! I even went to the provincial capital's big hospital for a checkup a few years ago."
"The doctor said the same thing as you did! He also taught me a set of exercise methods, which is to do Tai Chi every morning. I have gotten much better in recent years."
Qian Li was stunned.
When she married into the Zhang family, her uncle had just retired and returned to his hometown.
Every time I came to bring some food to my uncle, I saw him practicing boxing in the main hall of his house. I thought he was doing it to strengthen his body and hope to live a long life.
It turns out it’s to control heart disease!
Qian Li's mother-in-law stood in front of the chopping board next to a simple single-top stove, pouring boiling water into a thermos.
Turning around, she skillfully pulled out dough balls with her hands and threw them onto the floured chopping board. She smiled and said, "Third daughter-in-law is probably more capable than the comrades at the town's health center. Since you took our Qian Li's pulse today, you can also write her a prescription. Let's see if she can get pregnant after taking the medicine."
Baoer had never seen dough kneading before. Holding her beloved little windmill in her little hands, she stood beside Grandma Qianli, watching her kneading dough with her eyes rolling.
Wang Ziru turned around and glanced at her son, seeing him watching the dough being kneaded with such curiosity.
Retracting her gaze, Wang Ziru smiled and said, "That's fine! Uncle Zhang, do you have paper and pen?"
Since the other family all shared the same opinion, Wang Ziru readily agreed and agreed to prescribe a Chinese medicine prescription for Qian Li.
If you are lucky, your health will improve after a period of conditioning.
Grandpa Zhang was originally a retired worker from the grain station. His home had the letterhead paper that the grain station used in the past. There were rows of red stripes printed on the white paper, and a red letterhead with the words "Cangnan County Grain Station" printed on the top.
The village women who had come to the Zhang family to watch the excitement saw that Wang Ziru had agreed to help Qian Li with her illness, and now they borrowed paper and pen from Mr. Zhang to start writing.
Most of these village women had never been to school and could not even read a single word. They could not help but walk into the house and come behind Wang Ziru.
"Go to the next door Huma Village and get two doses of medicine according to my prescription. After you drink them, I will check your pulse..." Wang Ziru wrote a prescription for Qian Li, which mostly contained medicines for clearing and regulating the body. Even if they are not used for pregnancy, they can also regulate the body to a better state.
Several village women saw Wang Ziru writing a few lines of words that looked like ghost writing.
Curious about what it's written.
"Let me see..." Mr. Zhang was sitting on the rattan chair opposite. He saw that the way Wang Ziru held the pen and wrote looked very much like a cadre of their grain station.
Look how effortlessly she writes the prescription.
Mr. Zhang reached over, took the prescription and looked at it. He saw that the words were written in a smooth and elegant manner.
Before he finished reading the prescription, Mr. Zhang's face suddenly changed, and he couldn't help but respect the wife married by the third son of the Zhai family.
I was secretly amazed. In this era, anyone who could write such beautiful cursive script must have been educated, and only those who were truly learned could write beautiful cursive script.
"Uncle, is there...a problem?" Qian Li only attended elementary school, but when she saw her uncle's face change, she asked nervously.
"I don't know how to read prescriptions!" Grandpa Zhang laughed and handed the prescription to his niece-in-law.
The village women never expected that the third daughter-in-law of the Zhai family could actually... write!
I've never heard of it before.
Suddenly, he looked straight at the young wife.
Not only can he write, but he can also prescribe medicine. Even the barefoot doctor in the neighboring Huma Village probably hasn't heard of him being so good at writing.
Qian Li read the prescription several times as if it were a treasure, but she didn't understand any of it. She carefully folded the prescription and put it in her pocket.
"Bake pancakes,...do you need our help to make them?" Wang Ziru roasted the fire and looked sideways at Qian Li's mother-in-law.
"No, no, just take a rest. This is just a small job, there is no need for someone as noble as you to help."
Qian Li's mother-in-law waved her hands happily.
However, Qian Li was not in the habit of just sitting and waiting for ready-made food, so she quickly got up to help make the dough.
Wang Ziru also stood up to watch, and saw Qian Li and her mother-in-law skillfully kneading the dough into a round shape, pouring half a spoonful of sugar in the middle, and sealing it like a bun.
Finally, I put it on the chopping board, pressed it lightly, and quickly formed it into a round shape with my other hand. In the blink of an eye, it became a round pancake.
Master Zhang re-lit the fire of the foot stove.
"Don't use too high a fire to bake pancakes. If it's too high, they will burn easily..."
In a blink of an eye, a circle of off-white steamed cakes appeared around the foot stove.
Then cover the honeycomb coal outlet of the foot stove with an iron cover.
As the baking time passed, Grandpa Zhang picked up the pancakes one by one with a pair of tongs, turned them over and continued baking.
Bao Er stood beside the foot stove, staring at the circle of steamed buns, drooling, "Mom, can I have two steamed buns?"
"Hehehe... Today, you can eat enough at Grandpa's house." Grandpa Zhang smiled kindly, put down the fire tongs, pulled Baoer over and held him up to warm himself by the fire.
Qian Li and her mother-in-law were extremely jealous of how beautifully Bao Er was groomed by her mother.
With a smile on her face, Qian Li made a wish secretly.
"If I can also get pregnant with a big fat boy this year, I will go to give Sister Ziru a New Year's gift every New Year."
…
The Luo family is not at peace.
In the main hall of the Luo family, the family stood inside as if they were discussing something important.
They saw with their own eyes that the third daughter-in-law of the Zhai family could really cure children. Today, despite the tremendous pressure of being misunderstood by the Luo family and the whole village, they had to help treat the fourth daughter-in-law's newborn child.
"We don't have anything to give to the Zhai family. In my opinion, there are many prey in the mountains in spring. Today, we brothers don't need to go to the fields. Let's just go into the mountains to hunt..."
The proposal of the four brothers of the Luo family was supported by several women in the family.
The third daughter-in-law of the Zhai family has helped their family so much, they should be thanked very much.
When the other men in the village saw the Luo brothers going out together, they hurried home, took their own belongings, and followed them into the mountains.
In this season of scarcity, every household in the village is having a hard time and having a dry meal has become a great luxury.
And Mr. Zhang's house is very lively.
Normally, Grandpa Zhang lived alone in a brick and tile house. His youngest son did not live with him, but lived in an old house.
So there were usually only a few old men from the village living in Grandpa Zhang's house. After dinner, they would go over to brag and listen to Grandpa Zhang tell the story of "Xue Rengui's Rebellion against the Tang Dynasty".
What a nice day today, all the people here are women from the village.
Wang Ziru and Baoer drank a sip of tea and ate a steamed bun. The mother and son ate three steamed buns filled with white sugar in a row.
I am more or less satisfied.
"I'm so full! Uncle Zhang, your family is so prosperous. I'll come to your house whenever I want to eat steamed buns..."
"Haha! If you want to eat steamed buns, just bring Bao Er with you. I'm an old man and I don't eat much. I only make steamed buns when I want to change the taste."
Mr. Zhang has a hearty laugh.
Qian Li and her mother-in-law had a very filling meal of steamed buns at her uncle's house.
Before leaving, Mr. Zhang wrapped two steamed buns in paper and said, "Give them to the third boy to take back and try."
"Uncle Zhang, you are so thoughtful. My mother and I ate six steamed buns, and you even gave us two to take home. I wonder how happy Bao'er's father must be."
"Two steamed buns are nothing. From now on, we will have to trouble you with these matters of the Zhang family."
Mr. Zhang said with a meaningful smile.
Of course, he had already seen some clues that the wife of the third son of the Zhai family did have some abilities.
Treating them to a few steamed cakes was no big deal, but if she could help her niece-in-law Qian Li get pregnant, that would be a big deal.
Wang Ziru took two hot cakes and returned to the Zhai family with her son. In the yard, the two new houses built by the old family had already been covered with tiles.
It's basically over.
When everyone saw Baoer holding her mother's hand, they returned home and the men started to tease Baoer with a smile.
However, Baoer saw his father sweeping the yard with a big broom, and ran over with a smile on his face, tugging at his pants, "Dad! Mom brought you some pancakes."
"...Did you really eat steamed buns when you went to Master Zhang's house?" Zhai Ximo turned around and looked at his wife.
Wang Ziru glanced at the yard and said, "It's time for dinner, aren't you hungry yet?"
The tone is no longer as gentle as before.
He glanced vaguely at his two sisters-in-law and their daughters who were working in the yard.
Children are greedy by nature, and when they heard their aunt say that she brought back "baked cakes", Zhai Zhaodi and her two cousins' faces froze and they couldn't help licking their lips.
Zhai Ximo gulped, dropped the broom, picked up his son and went back to the house.
Back in their side room, Wang Ziru took out two hot steamed buns and handed them to the man, "Baoer and I are full. Eat them while they're hot. They're filled with sugar and taste great."
Wang Ziru looked at the man and smiled, and at that moment, she felt all her tiredness disappeared.
Zhai Ximo smelled the sweet wheat aroma of the pancake, opened his mouth, and was about to take a bite.
Outside the door, the three nieces had already followed them into their room.
Zhai Zhaodi couldn't help but ask, "Uncle San, are the baked cakes... delicious?"
The two sisters, Zhai Xiaofeng and Zhai Xiaoya, were already drooling from their mouths as they stared eagerly at the steamed buns in their uncle's hand.
"When my mother and I went to the town to meet up, we heard that the baked cakes were sweet. Third uncle, I want to try whether the baked cakes are sweet..." Zhai Zhaodi glanced at her third aunt Wang Ziru in the room, and stated her request directly with a trembling voice.