"Mother, is this...is this dinner?"
Isn't it Chinese New Year?
No, there are no thin flour pancakes to eat during the Lunar New Year.
Shui Qing had already come up with an excuse: "The first meal in the new house should be a fresh start! Come on, let's wash our hands in the spring water pool first, everyone gets a share."
The five little ones took a deep breath and ran happily to wash their hands.
They are children after all, the oldest being no more than eleven years old. Who can resist delicious food?
Fan Jin looked at the happy children, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
Instead of washing his hands with the children, he first put the mushrooms and grains he had picked together and put them away.
Looking at the burlap sack, which was now slightly bulging compared to before he left, his gaze deepened slightly. He then shook his head, his expression turning into a calm smile.
He then gathered the thatch that the children had cut earlier and arranged it neatly before going to the spring to carefully wash his hands.
When he returned, he saw a large man and five small children, each holding a rough pottery bowl in their right hand and a white flour pancake in their left, their big eyes sparkling with anticipation as they looked at him.
There was no table; the seven people sat on the ground around a large rock about knee-high.
"Why haven't you eaten?" he asked softly.
"Father, Mother said that the whole family should eat together!" The youngest, Fan Hu, repeated Shui Qing's words as if to take credit.
Fan Jin's smile deepened even further.
He smoothed the hem of his long robe and sat down in the empty space specially reserved for him next to the large rock.
On a large rock in front of them was a bowl of egg drop soup with more eggs than loofah, and in the middle of it was a bamboo basket containing more than a dozen thin white flour cakes.
His eyes fell on the bowl full of eggs, and he naturally assumed that his wife and children had saved them for him because they couldn't bear to eat them themselves.
He pursed his lips and said to his two daughters beside him, "Yanqiu, Xinghui, there are too many eggs in Daddy's bowl. I can't finish them all, so I'll share some with you."
"No need, Father, look at the eggs in our bowl, there are even more!" Fan Xinghui said excitedly.
This was the first time she had ever seen so many eggs!
In the past, the eldest sister cooked the meals, but precious foods like eggs were kept hidden in Grandma's room.
During holidays or occasional cooking, Grandma would always take it out and make it herself, never letting my eldest sister lift a finger.
When it was all done, she and her older sister didn't get any. They didn't even get a share of the soup without egg drop soup. The only people in the family who had ever eaten eggs were their father and three younger brothers.
The younger brother only received a small, thin piece.
Fan Yanqiu held the rough earthenware bowl, looked at the eggs covering the loofah inside, and said to her father with a nasal tone, "Dad, look, there are so many eggs. You don't have to divide your share between me and my little sister anymore."
In the past, her father would divide his share among her and her younger sister, which would make her grandmother unhappy.
Father always disliked Grandma, and she and Little Sister were a big part of the reason.
Seeing the excitement on his two daughters' faces, Fan Jin snapped out of his past hardships and said to Shui Qing with gratitude, "Yes, there's food for everyone. Your mother is very generous."
"Yes, Mother is so good to us!"
"Mom is so generous! I just counted the eggs, and she used a full five eggs to make the egg drop soup!"
"So five eggs make this much egg drop soup?"
The five children began a lively discussion.
Fan Jin raised an eyebrow, his clear eyes looking at Shui Qing with confusion.
The children had never handled eggs before, but he knew that five eggs could never make such a full pot of egg drop soup...
Shui Qing sat calmly, her expression unchanged, and said to the five children, "Everyone's here, let's eat!"
"Wow!"
The five little ones cheered, eagerly took a bite of the flatbread, and then drank a big gulp of egg drop soup.
Mmm, so delicious!
The white flour pancake has a crispy, golden-brown crust, while the inside is fluffy and soft, unlike the hard, crumbly texture of the dark flour bun.
My throat didn't hurt when I swallowed it!
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