After finishing work and returning home, Ma Yuying immediately began to get things ready.
She blanched and chopped the wild vegetables, added tofu, and scrambled two eggs, mixing them into a large bowl of filling. The dough was made with sweet potato flour, and she also specially mixed in some leftover wheat flour from the Lunar New Year.
The steamed buns were made by Xiuzhi and Ma Yuying. Xiuhong, considered educated in the family, wasn't bothered by the cold and sat in the courtyard pretending to read a novel. Chen Baocai was still out playing and hadn't returned. Xiumei was the busiest girl, running in and out, mainly helping Xu Keke carry things.
Aside from helping with picking and washing the vegetables, Xu Keke couldn't offer any other assistance. Even though Bai Lu had memories of making steamed buns, Xu Keke knew as soon as she tried that this kind of skill-based task couldn't be learned just by watching. Most importantly, the ingredients were too scarce; Xu Keke tried once but failed, and fearing waste, she didn't dare try again.
As soon as the first batch of buns came out of the steamer, Ma Yuying put two in a bowl for Xu Keke, urging her to eat them while they were hot. This made Xu Keke feel a little embarrassed, as the buns weren't all finished yet, and Xiuzhi was still busy on the kang (heated brick bed) in Ma Yuying's room. Ma Yuying was also tidying up on the stove, preparing to steam the next batch. Xu Keke felt it was a bit inappropriate for her to eat before the workers had even had a chance to eat.
She took the steamed buns to the inner room. Holding one up in her hand, she offered it to Xiuzhi to eat with her own. Xiuzhi initially refused. Ma Yuying, who was bringing over corn porridge for Xu Keke, saw the two refusing and laughed heartily.
He Xiuzhi said, "Then let's eat first, and then we'll wrap them."
Xiuzhi listened to her mother, brushed the flour off her hands, and took the steamed bun from Xu Keke. The two of them, one sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) and the other standing below, each holding a steamed bun, ate heartily.
Ma Yuying went out again to bring Xiuzhi some porridge and two steamed buns. Seeing the two of them eating happily, she felt happy too.
Speaking of which, Ma Yuying's filling was really fragrant, and the dough was chewy. It contained wheat flour, so you could taste the wheat flavor. The buns were delicious, and with some porridge, Xu Keke ate two in one go. The buns were large, and they looked tempting, but she couldn't eat any more.
Ma Yuying packed seven steamed buns into a large plate, covered them with two clean towels to keep them warm, and asked her second daughter, Xiuhong, to deliver them to the old village chief's house.
"I'm not going, why should I go?" Xiuhong tossed her braid, grabbed a bowl and two steamed buns, and ran away.
"You child, you've been idle at home all day, and you can't even run an errand." In the end, Ma Yuying still decided to let her youngest daughter, Xiumei, go.
The little one was small, carrying a large plate, and it was getting dark; she was worried about falling. Xu Keke, who had just finished eating, took the plate from her. "Let her stay home; I'll go."
The old village chief's house and Ma Yuying's house weren't very close. By the time they arrived, it was already dark.
There were people sitting in the main room of the old village chief's house; the whole family probably hadn't eaten yet. When Xiaodouzi saw Xu Keke and then Baozi, he jumped and skipped around in the yard with great joy.
Xu Keke entered the room and saw Gao Zhe and Xiao Han, whose head was bandaged. Both men had strange expressions on their faces when they saw Xu Keke. They seemed to have been talking for a moment, but now they both fell silent.
Chen Jianguo's expression remained as unpleasant as ever. Xu Keke greeted the old village chief and explained that Ma Yuying had sent the buns. The old village chief didn't say anything polite, only smiling and asking Xu Keke to thank Ma Yuying for him.
Little Bean, familiar with the place, went to get an empty bowl from home, knelt on the stool, and watched eagerly as Xu Keke put the buns into the bowl, a smile never fading from his lips. Only when Xu Keke was walking out with the empty plate did he remember her, and he clung to her hand with a pitiful expression, reluctant to let her go. If Chen Jianguo hadn't forbade him from leaving, he would have gone with Xu Keke.
Xu Keke hadn't expected this little guy to be so sentimental. They'd only known each other for a few days, and he was already so clingy. She smiled and comforted him a few more times before leaving the old village chief's house.
She hadn't gone far when Wu Wanyi suddenly appeared from the side, startling Xu Keke.
"Do you know why Gao Zhe and the others went to see the captain?"
Xu Keke didn't speak or leave, just stared at her. Wu Wanyi raised an eyebrow, her expression haughty, "If you want to know, I can tell you, but you have to tell me the truth?"
After hearing her say that, Xu Keke gave her a cold look, then turned and walked away.
Wu Wanyi panicked and stopped her, "I know you've been reborn too, but there are some things you wouldn't know even if you were reborn. But I know everything."
Xu Keke was too lazy to pretend; she had already guessed it when Wu Wanyi took the initiative to curry favor with Widow Wang. But she didn't expect her to expose herself.
Seeing that Xu Keke was still calmly looking at her, Wu Wanyi was a little unsure.
“You must have been reborn. Otherwise, given your relationship with Chen Hong, how could you have fallen out with her and caused such a scene at the brigade?”
Xu Keke, holding the empty plate from Ma Yuying's house, laughed, "Wasn't it all your doing that I fell out with them? You deliberately said those things to Chen Hong in front of me, wasn't that meant for me to hear? I should thank you, because if you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have reflected on whether our relationship was truly friendship."
Was it really her words that had the effect? Wu Wanyi hesitated. Since her rebirth, she had always wanted to get closer to Bai Lu. But Bai Lu and Chen Hong were the closest, and the two were always together. She had never had the chance to speak to Bai Lu alone.
That's why I volunteered to take care of her when I told the team leader I wanted to. I didn't expect Chen Hong to overhear and say things like she was close to Bai Lu and was taking over her work. I was so angry at the time that I said those things.
Wu Wanyi stared at Xu Keke for a long time. "I died and was reborn. I know everything. If we cooperate, I can tell you what will happen in the future."
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