Chapter 62: Returning Home The moon is still hanging in the sky, Geng Yunye...
The moon was still hanging in the sky. Geng Yunye got up quietly, wrapped in his military coat, and pushed open the door of the main room in the dark.
The dough in the basin had been fermented overnight, and the surface was covered with fine honeycomb-like pores. Geng Yunye rolled up his sleeves, and the strong muscle lines on his forearms rose and fell with his movements. His flour-covered palms slapped heavily on the dough. The dough quickly turned in his palms, turning into smooth balls, and then he expertly divided them into even-sized pieces.
He placed the dough on the chopping board and pressed down with his wrist. The dough gradually became firm in his palm. The steamer cloth had been scalded with hot water. Geng Yunye carefully laid it out and placed the buns one by one.
As soon as the steamer was covered, Geng Yunye used tongs to pick up a pot of charcoal fire and brought it into the house to light the stove. He cleaned the steel milk pot, filled it with water, poured in the swollen corn kernels, and placed it on the stove rack.
Half an hour later, the kitchen and bedroom were filled with the aroma of wheat and sweet corn. The steamer was opened, and white mist with hot air rushed towards us. The soft white flour buns were puffed up and round. Geng Yunye used a wet coarse cloth to cushion his hands and took out the buns one by one and put them on the bamboo tray.
The corn porridge on the stove was thick and shiny. He took out the pickled kelp seedlings from the pottery jar, cut them into neat small pieces, sprinkled them with minced garlic and dried chili peppers, poured boiling rapeseed oil on them, and the rich aroma mixed with spicy flavor instantly spread.
Cheng Xin was attracted by the fragrance, rubbed her eyes and pushed open the door.
"Come and try it to see if it suits your taste." Geng Yunye pushed the porcelain bowl of corn porridge in front of Cheng Xin.
The corn porridge was steaming, and the wheat aroma filled the air when the steamed bun was broken open. Cheng Xin took a bite of the soft and white steamed bun. The soft, glutinous and sweet taste mixed with the refreshing taste of the cold vegetable made her eyebrows curved.
After the meal, the eight-immortal table in the main hall was filled with gifts that Geng Yunye had prepared in advance. Two whole Jinhua hams were wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied with hemp ropes in a grid pattern, with a double happiness seal with gold characters on red paper pinned to the knot; and the tin can of West Lake Longjing tea was printed with exquisite landscape paintings.
Two rolls of Dacron fabric were spread on the table. They were the fabrics that Cheng Xin had chosen at the underwear factory. One was aqua blue, one was aqua red, and the other two were navy blue corduroy fabrics that were soft and drapey.
The most eye-catching ones are two cans of malted milk and two cans of White Rabbit candy. The tin cans of malted milk are printed with bright patterns, and the cans are wrapped in transparent cellophane and tied with red ribbons in a cross, forming a beautiful bow; the red wrappers of White Rabbit candy are very suitable for the occasion, and each can is carefully tied with a red ribbon.
In addition, there are two sets of autumn clothes and autumn pants. The navy blue fabric is printed with the iconic blue and white stripes. The stitching is fine and neat, and it feels soft and thick.
Geng Yunye deliberately put the long underwear on top: "The pure cotton material keeps warm, and it is convenient for parents to move around in it."
Cheng Xin stroked the Double Happiness seal on the ham, and pinched the red silk knot on the candy jar, her eyes welling up with heat.
She sniffed and glared at Geng Yunye in mock anger: "Why did you prepare so many expensive things? Don't you know how expensive malted milk is? My brother is a greedy boy. If he sees it, it will be like throwing stones on water."
Geng Yunye put the last can of candy into the basket, and the hemp rope tied into a neat knot in his palm. He smiled and said, "Today is the day to visit my parents, so of course I have to bring the best things with me to reassure my parents."
Cheng Xin reached out and patted his shoulder: "If you spend money like this again, I will punish you!"
Geng Yunye laughed even more happily when he heard this: "As long as you and my parents are happy, it's worth it no matter how much money is spent." He carried the bamboo basket steadily on the shoulder pole. His shoulders sank slightly due to the pressure, but the smile in his eyes did not diminish at all.
The bamboo basket on the back seat of Geng Yunye's car was tied steadily, and the red ribbon on the front of the car swayed in the morning breeze.
When I met a familiar member on the road, he joked: "You guys can open a supply and marketing cooperative with this kind of business!"
Cheng Xin rang the bell at the door, and Cheng Lei rushed out like a happy puppy. The next moment, his exclamation almost blew off the roof. He stared at the malted milk in the bamboo basket without blinking, full of disbelief: "Sister! Am I seeing right? It's malted milk! Wang Erdan's father in our class bought half a can on the black market. Wang Erdan has said it dozens of times, saying it's more valuable than sugar!"
As he was about to pounce on the bamboo basket, Cheng's mother, who had heard the noise and rushed over, slapped him on the back of his head: "You are so rude! Let your brother-in-law rest first!"
Cheng Lei shrank his neck in grievance, but his eyes were still fixed on the fat baby pattern printed on the can.
Geng Yunye chuckled upon seeing this, opened the package and scooped out two spoonfuls of brown powder, then added boiling water, and as the porcelain spoon stirred, a rich malt aroma instantly filled the air.
"Come, have a taste." He handed the steaming enamel pot to Cheng Lei, who was rubbing his hands with greed, "I'll buy you more after you finish drinking it."
Cheng Xin glared at him in anger: "This little brat is starving me to death. He is old enough to eat, so don't spoil him."
Geng Yunye slowly put down the spoon and glanced at Cheng Lei who was drinking with his cheeks puffed out. "Xiao Lei is growing up, so he needs to drink more to supplement his nutrition so that he can grow taller."
The boy responded vaguely, freed his milk-stained hand to give his brother-in-law a thumbs-up, and licked the edge of the enamel jar with milk foam at the corners of his mouth, just like a little bear stealing honey.
The hot air from the earthen stove was filled with the rich aroma of meat. Cheng's father opened the steamer, and the braised pork lay in a celadon bowl, with amber sugar wrapped around the fat and lean meat; the steamed sea bass lay in a white porcelain plate, with the boiling oil poured on it making the scallions curl into golden flowers, and the mellow aroma of rice wine mixed with the sweetness of the fish meat went straight to the tip of his nose.
There were three plates of vegetarian dishes on the chopping board: stir-fried bamboo shoots, potatoes with pickled mustard greens, and homemade pickled cucumbers. The soup was radish and pork shank soup, with golden oil floating in the milky white broth, and the radish cubes were stewed until they were translucent and broke apart with a chopstick poke.
Father Cheng filled his son-in-law and himself with sweet potato cakes and said, "Wang Fugui was sentenced to ten years in prison, and the result of the punishment for his son Wang Jiangang has also been announced."
Geng Yunye picked up the wine bowl and took a sip, almost unable to suppress the fleeting cold light in his eyes.
Cheng Lei's eyes widened. "Wang Jiangang was shot? Yesterday I saw Wang's relatives carrying a coffin through the back hill!"
"More than that!" Cheng Cunzhi's voice was a bit sad. "Originally, Wang Jiangang was only sentenced to twelve years. He was not convinced and wanted to overturn the verdict. As a result, his ex-wife knelt at the door of the court with their children, crying and saying that he had forced her to drink and locked her in the house..."
Cheng's mother put down her chopsticks, her eyes reddened: "What a sin! She got pregnant with her second child while still in the confinement period, and the gold necklace her parents gave her was stolen by the man next to her." Geng Yunye's fingertips gently stroked the edge of the bowl. Last month, he wrote an anonymous letter to Wang Jiangang's ex-wife, who followed his instructions in the letter to bring Wang Jiangang to justice.
“I heard that those accomplices also had a bad end?” Cheng Xin added a spoonful of carrot soup into Geng Yunye’s bowl.
Cheng Lei answered incoherently with braised pork in his mouth: "Zhang Mazi was sentenced to five years, Lao Guanggun and Hu Gou Wa were sentenced to three years each. They didn't participate in the wild boar meat sale!"
Cheng Xin didn't sympathize with those people at all. The team felt more peaceful without them. "Evil will be punished. They deserve it."
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