After school in the afternoon, Zhan Chunlan hurried home. She wanted to get back quickly and prepare dinner before the rest of the family returned.
Dinner was a mixture of rice and cornmeal steamed in a traditional steamer. Zhan Chunlan quickly washed the rice and cornmeal three times, then poured the rice into a boiling pot and cooked it for six or seven minutes until the grains were half-cooked, leaving a little white core in the center.
While the rice was cooking, Zhan Chunlan quickly broke off the cabbage leaves one by one and washed them clean. She cut the cabbage stalks into strips and the cabbage leaves into slightly wider pieces. She took four potatoes, peeled and shredded them, and then took a sauerkraut from the pickling jar, rinsed it slightly with water, squeezed out the water, and shredded it. The dishes for tonight were almost ready, and she was just waiting for everyone to come back so she could start cooking.
The hallway gradually became lively, footsteps approached from afar, and voices grew louder; the machine factory was closing for the day.
Zhan Chunlan drained the half-cooked rice from the pot, rinsed the pot slightly, scooped in a small ladle of water, placed the wooden steamer in the pot, put the steamer rack at the bottom, covered it with a layer of gauze, poured the drained rice into the steamer, covered it with a layer of rinsed cornmeal, poked a few holes with chopsticks, and finally covered it with the lid and steamed it over high heat.
"Aunt Wang, are you resting?" Xu Lixia's voice came from outside.
"Lixia's off work, have you seen my Xiaomei?" Aunt Wang, who was sitting at the door, also responded. Although she said the same thing every day, if someone passed by without greeting her, she would not only catch them and lecture them as an elder, but also gossip about them for being impolite and not greeting their elders.
"She's behind me, she'll be there soon." Xu Lixia didn't want to talk to her anymore and quickened her pace to get home.
A moment later, Wang Da Niang's cursing could be heard from outside.
"That wretched woman, seeing the whole family waiting for her to come back to cook, she's still walking slowly behind them, doesn't she know to run a few steps..."
Zhan Chunlan rolled her eyes in the kitchen. She's not even fifty years old yet, and she's not incapacitated. But after marrying her daughter-in-law, she automatically became an old lady. She doesn't do any chores at home, and the whole family waits for her working daughter-in-law to take care of them.
Others tried to persuade him, saying that raising his son was hard work, and now he was enjoying the blessings of his daughter-in-law. But damn it, it wasn't his daughter-in-law who made him work so hard. If anyone made him work so hard, go find them!
However, Deng Xiaomei herself had no objections, and others wouldn't meddle.
"How's dinner preparation going?" Xu Lixia went into the kitchen to check on the progress and also to check on the use of rice and vegetables.
"The rice is steamed. We can cook and eat when Dad and the others come back." Zhan Chunlan replied softly, mimicking the original owner's mannerisms, while her hands continued to tidy up the countertop.
"Okay, get up early tomorrow, don't do what happened this morning." Seeing that there was nothing wrong in the kitchen, Xu Lixia sat down to rest in the living room, while reminding Zhan Chunlan.
"Okay, Mom." Her voice was soft and her attitude sounded respectful, but her expression was like that of a villainous female supporting character in a Thai drama, with her mouth drooping and her lips moving as if she were saying something.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Zhan Chunlan instantly switched to a blank expression, turned around, and saw that Zhan Zhiqiang had returned.
"Dad, you're back. Take a rest, the food will be ready soon." Zhan Chunlan immediately took the lunchbox from his hand and put it away, then quickly started cooking.
Put the drained rice water into a pot, bring it to a boil, add the pickled cabbage and a little salt, cook for another two or three minutes and it's ready to serve; then I stir-fried a plate of cabbage and shredded potatoes, and that's dinner for tonight, two dishes and a soup.
He brought the dishes to the square table in the main room, called everyone to start eating, and then went back to the kitchen to scoop rice.
Opening the lid, a plume of scalding white steam billowed up, carrying the unique sweetness of rice. Zhan Chunlan squinted, waiting for the steam to dissipate slightly before seeing the cornmeal in the steamer gleaming golden. She picked up a rice ladle and stirred the rice and cornmeal together. The sweet aroma of the cornmeal mingled with the rich flavor of the rice, and the snow-white rice grains coated in golden cornmeal were plump and distinct. Rice steamed in this wooden steamer tasted much better than rice cooked in an electric rice cooker.
Zhan Chunlan handed the rice to Zhan Zhiqiang and Xu Lixia with both hands, but put the rest down without handing it to them.
Zhan Chunhua wanted to say something to her, but then she remembered what she was going to say later, so she let it go. Seeing that her older sister didn't say anything, Zhan Chunyun didn't make a fuss either; Zhan Hongyu simply picked up his bowl and started eating, not caring about anything else.
"Chunhua, how's it going with you and Jiao Lei? Will things be settled this year?" Xu Lixia still cared a bit for her eldest daughter. If things were settled, then her promotion to a permanent position shouldn't be a problem.
Zhan Chunhua paused, her hand gripping the food, her throat tightened, and her voice seemed to be squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Mom... Jiao Lei said his younger brother will graduate high school next year, and his younger sister will also be starting high school. Their family wants to buy his brother a job, so the bride price..."
Before she could finish speaking, she lowered her head, her chopsticks unconsciously poking at her rice. She knew that although her parents treated her a little better than her two younger sisters, it wouldn't make anyone happy to hear that they were hinting at a low dowry so early in their relationship.
Upon hearing this, Xu Lixia's face immediately darkened: "What do you mean? Are you starting to complain about being poor right after starting a relationship?"
Zhan Chunhua quickly put down her chopsticks and waved her hand to explain: "No... their family really..."
"You're not even married yet, and you're already siding with them. Use your pig brain! What kind of good family would use the money meant for a bride's wedding to buy a job for their younger brother-in-law?" Xu Lixia looked at her outgoing, girlish demeanor and felt a bit exasperated.
“Work is indeed a big deal. Without work, you have to go to the countryside. Have you asked them clearly whether they are planning to buy a job for his sister as well?” Zhan Zhiqiang was very calm and wanted to understand the Jiao family’s specific plans.
"I asked, and Jiao Lei said that his family does have this plan," Zhan Chunlan said hesitantly.
"Bullshit! If you value your daughter so much, why didn't you buy a job for her older sister back then? Now that it's her younger sister's turn, she's all pampered?" She pointed her finger forcefully at Zhan Chunhua's head. "You think you're a fool?"
Xu Lixia was in a bad mood, and her tone was a bit harsh, but she kept her voice down, since the soundproofing here wasn't good, and it wouldn't sound good if the neighbors heard what she said.
Zhan Chunhua looked up abruptly, her eyes already red: "Mom! Jiao Lei, he..."
"Your mother is right," Zhan Zhiqiang interrupted in a muffled voice, tapping his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl. "If Jiao Lei really can't handle it, it's better to end it sooner rather than later. The longer it drags on, the more difficult it will be to deal with."
"Dad!" Zhan Chunhua's voice changed.
Xu Lixia looked at her eldest daughter's red eyes, sighed, and softened her tone: "Chunhua, your parents aren't after that dowry; we're afraid you'll be taken advantage of! Think about it, if you hadn't dated Jiao Lei, you would have been promoted based on seniority anyway. Now look what's happened..."
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