Just after five o'clock, Lin Wei started steaming the rice.
Because it was brown rice, it would taste a bit dry, so Lin Wei washed two sweet potatoes, cut them up and put them in the rice, so that the rice would have a sweet taste.
The sweet potatoes on Yazhou Island are called sweet potatoes. Of course, they are called taro in Lin Wei’s hometown. However, sweet potatoes and taro are the same thing, but there are some differences in the varieties when they are subdivided.
Lin Wei's hometown mostly grows white potatoes, and there are also red potatoes, but not many. Regardless of whether it is red or white potatoes, each one is as big as an adult's palm and is generally round. However, white potatoes are crunchy and not very sweet, while red potatoes are slightly softer and sweeter.
The sweet potatoes on Yazhou Island are mostly slender, with red skin and yellow flesh. But after being roasted, the flesh inside will turn yellow with a hint of red, and they taste softer, more glutinous and sweeter than red potatoes.
Therefore, relatively speaking, Lin Wei prefers to eat sweet potatoes from Yazhou Island, so she would cut two and put them in when cooking these two days.
After steaming the rice, Lin Wei took the oysters out of the basin, then found an old toothbrush she brought from home to clean the oyster shells, then used a spoon to pry open the oyster shells and wash them.
After washing them, seeing that the time was almost up, Lin Wei found a plate and placed the oysters on it for later use.
After only three days on the island, Lin Wei has already mastered the three tricks of cooking seafood: steaming and seasoning with garlic sauce. The former is a must, but either of the latter two will do.
Anyway, seafood is tender and not fishy. No matter whether you buy marine fish, oysters, lobster or crabs, you can't go wrong with these three tricks.
The above was told to Lin Wei by the older sister at the seafood supply station.
What Lin Wei made today was garlic oysters. Since her two children couldn’t eat spicy food, she didn’t buy chili peppers. She simply fried the chopped garlic in oil until fragrant, put it on the oysters, and then steamed them.
While the oysters were still not cooked, Lin Wei quickly mixed the remaining seaweed, added a plate of cucumbers, and stir-fried some vegetables, and that was it.
Lin Wei had just finished her work when Mingming's voice calling "Dad" was heard from outside. Then Zong Shao came into the kitchen and asked if there was anything he could help with.
Lin Wei didn't bother to be polite with him. She pointed at the rice steamer on the coal stove and said, "There are steamed oysters in it. Take it out."
After hearing this, Zong Shao said, "I was wondering why it smelled so good when I came in. It turns out they were steamed oysters." As he spoke, he opened the lid of the rice steamer and found a rag to take out the oysters.
Lin Wei smiled, but didn't dare to boast. She said, "Maybe it just smells good. This is my first time making it, so I don't know how it tastes."
"It must be delicious." Zong Shao said confidently and brought the oysters to the dining table outside.
The kitchen had a strong garlic aroma, which you couldn't smell much when you went outside. However, the two brothers had been thinking about the oysters that Lin Wei had bought for almost a day. When they saw their father coming out, they came to the table and took a deep sniff: "What a nice smell!"
Lin Wei came out with smashed cucumbers in one hand and mixed seaweed in the other. Seeing the two greedy kids lying on the table, eager to try, she reminded them, "Wash your hands before eating!"
The two brothers were not usually very clean, but they were very careful about washing their hands before meals. As soon as Lin Wei said a word, they ran to the sink quickly. After turning on the faucet, they remembered to use soap and took out the soap box.
Moreover, when they saw Zong Shao preparing to sit down to eat without washing his hands after serving the food, the two brothers complained to Lin Wei, who was carrying the food out of the kitchen, without thinking: "Mom! Dad didn't wash his hands! Dad is unhygienic!"
Zong Shao: “…”
Seeing Zong Shao stunned, Lin Wei raised the corners of her lips slightly, put the bowl on the table and said jokingly: "Go wash your hands quickly, you are such a grown-up, how come you are not as hygienic as two children?"
"I just forgot for a moment." Zong Shao coughed lightly, walked to the sink and turned on the faucet.
Mingming, who felt praised, straightened his chest. Seeing from a distance that his father had not applied soap, he walked over and instructed, "You still need to apply soap. Rub your left hand, then your right hand, and make sure there are bubbles."
After the instruction, he turned back and said to his mother and brother in a low voice: "Dad is so stupid, he doesn't even know how to wash his hands."
Zong Shao: “…” I heard it!
After washing his hands according to his son's instructions, Zong Shao returned to the dining table and saw Lin Wei holding an oyster for each of the two children. He then sat down, picked up his chopsticks and waited.
Who would have thought that after Lin Wei served the oysters to the two children, she had no intention of serving him any. Seeing that he didn't start eating, she asked, "Don't you like the food tonight?" She thought he couldn't find anything to eat.
Zong Shao: “No.” He reached out and took an oyster and placed it in front of Lin Wei, then took one for himself.
The oysters were not big, and Zong Shao could swallow them in one bite. However, he did not swallow them directly, but held them in his mouth and chewed them. As he moved, the aroma of the minced garlic and the freshness of the oysters achieved a perfect blend, so delicious that one could not wait to swallow their tongue.
Compared to Zong Shao's implicit nodding of praise, the two children's love for the food was much more straightforward. Not only did they eat the oyster meat and the minced garlic on it, they also licked all the minced garlic in the corners.
Before he finished eating the oysters on the plate, Mingming was already thinking about tomorrow: "Mom, can we still eat oysters tomorrow?"
"Sure." Lin Wei agreed readily, but then she changed the subject and said, "But there are a lot of seafood on the island. Don't you want to try something else first? For example, crabs, lobsters, and various marine fish?"
As early as the first day she visited the supply station, Lin Wei had been thinking about the above Shanghai products, but she was reluctant to buy them at that time.
But with the seafood ticket that Zong Shao brought back, she felt she could be a little more generous, so she bought some oysters in the shell today.
If the household registration could be obtained tomorrow, Lin Wei thought they could be more generous and buy all the lobsters and crabs and eat as much as they wanted - well... it probably wouldn't be enough, but it should be enough to satisfy their cravings.
Mingming, who was holding the oysters and licking the garlic paste, paused. Although he wanted to eat lobsters, crabs and various kinds of sea fish, oysters were also delicious... What should he do if he wanted them all?
The greedy little guy was faced with a difficult decision.
Although Ruirui also likes to eat oysters, he is more willing to try new seafood, so he has no worries like his brother. He just asks with anticipation: "Mom, what are we eating tomorrow?"
"Let's go and see tomorrow. You can each pick one seafood." After Lin Wei said that, she asked Zong Shao what he liked to eat. If the household registration is approved tomorrow, she will buy some for him.
"I eat all of them, just buy whatever you like." Zong Shao obviously didn't have any preference when it came to food.
The two children are totally different from their father in this respect. They are much more passionate about food and start discussing it at once. It was just that he clearly wanted to eat too much and it was hard to give up. Ruirui made a decision quickly. He wanted to eat fried clams.
"Why do you want to eat clams?" Lin Wei asked in surprise.
There were no clams for sale in Shicheng, but there were some at the supply station, but she had never bought any and didn't know what they tasted like.
She originally thought that the two children would choose seafood that they had never tasted but looked familiar, such as lobster and crab, or they might choose oysters and sea fish that they had eaten before and knew were delicious. In short, she didn't expect Ruirui to want to eat clams.
But before Ruirui could say anything, Mingming answered, "I know, I know. Little Stone's mom made clams for lunch. They were so delicious!"
Ruirui opened her mouth and quickly closed it because her brother had spoken, only to confirm after his brother had answered: "Yeah!"
After learning the reason, Lin Wei readily agreed: "Okay, then let's temporarily order the sixtieth anniversary. Obviously, have you thought about what to eat?"
The excitement on Mingming's face turned into confusion: "Mom, can I think about it again?"
Lin Wei said: "You can think slowly, but you have to eat quickly."
Mingming immediately responded with a "yes" and continued to nibble on the oysters in his hand. He licked the shells clean as usual, and then picked up the spoon and started to eat rice.
…
After dinner, Zong Shao took the initiative to clean up the dishes and took them to the sink to wash them. After asking Lin Wei for permission, the two children left the yard and played with building houses on the beach outside.
Lin Wei was too lazy to move. She sat at the dining table and looked at the sea not far away.
The sea surface in the evening is golden, with sparkling waves, making the offshore ships sway along with it. The sound of waves is not obvious, but the sound of seagulls can be heard from time to time, accompanying their rapidly passing figures.
As she watched, Lin Wei's mind gradually became clear. Although the family area behind her was bustling, she felt that the surroundings were very quiet, which made her feel very relaxed.
So when Zong Shao finished washing the dishes and walked to the middle of the yard, he saw Lin Wei leaning on a stool, staring into the distance in a daze.
He pulled a stool and sat down next to her and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"ah?"
Lin Wei came back to her senses, glanced at him, then turned her head to look forward and said, "Looking at the sea, I suddenly realized that it's nice to sit here. I don't have to do anything, I don't have to think about anything, it's very comfortable."
Zong Shao hummed and said, "It's very comfortable. Sometimes I also look at the sea to relax myself."
So the two of them sat side by side, staring at the sea in a daze, until Zhao Feng came out of the house next door, saw them like this and asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"
Zong Shao turned his head to look over and said, "Look at the sea."
Zhao Feng: "...You guys really have the leisure time."
No wonder they say a short separation is better than a new marriage. Only newly reunited couples like Zong Shao would be interested in such a boring thing.
Thinking of this, Zhao Feng went into the house and found Gao Xiulian, and asked, "Wife, the weather outside is so nice, why don't we go out for a walk?"
Gao Xiulian, who was washing dishes, glanced at Zhao Feng and said, "If you have nothing to do, go call the cadets back and ask them to take a shower. They are still hanging around outside at this hour. They are both troublesome!"
Zhao Feng, who was worried, said: "...Okay!"
When Zhao Feng went out to look for the children, Lin Wei called Mingming and Ruirui back, then cut the mango and put some rambutans and bananas on a plate as after-meal fruit.
Xiao Shitou also came back with them. He came over from home after dinner. When he heard Lin Wei say that the two brothers were building a house outside, he came over.
However, the place they chose today was not good enough. The sand was not sufficient and not wet enough, so the house was not built properly. At most, a wall was built around the yard.
But the three children felt good about themselves. While washing their hands, they excitedly talked about how solid the places they had covered were. Then they agreed to continue after eating the fruit.
Lin Wei interrupted after hearing this: "You can't continue after eating. You need to take a shower and go to bed. The same goes for you, Little Shitou. If you continue playing, your mother will be worried."
The three children were a little disappointed, but Mingming was the happiest among them. He smiled and said, "It's okay. I built it very sturdily. The wind will definitely not blow it down. We can continue to build it tomorrow."
After hearing this, Ruirui asked, "Mom, can we continue building the house tomorrow?"
"Okay." Lin Wei agreed and said, "Come here and have some fruit." Then she handed a piece of mango to Zong Shao.
Zong Shao took the mango but didn't eat it right away. He watched Lin Wei share the other mango slices and asked, "You don't want to eat it?"
Lin Wei picked up the mango core in the middle and said, "Eat it."
But before she could tear off the peel around the core, the core in her hand was snatched away and a piece of mango flesh was stuffed into it. She looked up at Zong Shao, who had already peeled the skin and started eating it.
Zong Shao was not a gentleman when eating, but he wasn't sloppy either. He also didn't have the habit of smacking his lips. In this respect, he was much better than any man Lin Wei had met before.
But no matter how good a person's eating manners are, they will look a little awkward when eating a mango core. Zong Shao was no exception. Mango juice got around his lips and his hands were covered with mango juice.
Apparently Zong Shao also realized this, as he turned around while eating. Even when he went to the sink to wash his hands after eating, he walked towards Lin Wei with his back to her.
Realizing this, Lin Wei couldn't help but smile.
Zong Shao, who had just returned from washing his hands, felt a little uncomfortable and asked with a stern face, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing, mango is delicious." Lin Wei said as she lowered her head and took a bite of mango flesh.
Zong Shao: “…” She clearly hadn’t touched the mango in her hand before.
But in the end he said nothing. He just sat back next to Lin Wei, picked up the rambutan on the plate, peeled out the flesh, and naturally put it in front of her.
…
Although Ruirui went to sleep in the main house for two consecutive nights, Zong Shao did not give up the idea of letting him be independent.
When Lin Wei finished her shower and went upstairs, she heard Zong Shao's low voice coaxing the child to sleep from the second bedroom. It sounded quite realistic.
But when she got closer, Lin Wei was embarrassed. She heard Zong Shao saying, "Turn the bolt handle to the left, and pull the bolt back to the end..."
Lin Wei was in a daze when she heard a sleepy voice in the room, asking in a negotiating tone: "Dad, can I not listen to this?"
"What do you want to hear?"
Mingming immediately became interested and said, "Then I want to hear the story of the Monkey King's journey to the West. Dad, can you tell it to me?"
"Won't."
"Okay," Mingming was a little disappointed, but he didn't give up and continued to ask, "What about the farmer and the snake? The tortoise and the rabbit race? And the one guarding the tree and waiting for the rabbit? These are what my mother told me. Do you know how to do it, Dad?"
Zong Shao's answer was still straightforward: "No."
"It's okay, Dad. If you don't know how to do it, I can tell you. Let's start with the story of the farmer and the snake, okay? A long, long time ago..."
But the story had just begun when Mingming's voice was interrupted by Zong Shao: "It's time for you to go to bed. If you don't want to sleep, I can continue reading to you." Then he continued reading.
After a while, Mingming's weak voice sounded: "Don't read it, don't read it, just go to sleep, just go to sleep."
Less than two minutes after he finished speaking, Zong Shao stopped talking. Lin Wei walked to the door and looked inside, only to see the two children sleeping soundly with their eyes closed.
Zong Shao, who was sitting inside, saw Lin Wei, closed his book, stood up and walked over. When he reached the door, he turned off the light and said, "Go back, they are all asleep." Then he walked out of the room and closed the door.
Lin Wei didn't turn around immediately. She just stared at the book in his hand and asked in a low voice, "What book are you reading to them?"
Zong Shao didn't hide anything and picked up the book to show Lin Wei.
Seeing the words "Military Training" written on the cover, Lin Wei asked: "Why are you suddenly reading a military book to them?"
“Good content.”
Lin Wei certainly knew that this was a good book, but: "If you read this to them now, will they understand it?"
Zong Shao remained calm and said, "If you don't understand, then go to sleep."
Lin Wei: “…” Actually, this is your purpose, right?
As they were talking, the two of them walked into the house. Lin Wei sat down in front of the dressing table, picked up the vanishing cream on the table, unscrewed the lid, took out some, rubbed it in her hands, and applied it on her face.
While applying the vanishing cream, Lin Wei turned her head to look at Zong Shao, who was leaning against the head of the bed and continuing to flip through a book, and suddenly asked, "Do you want me to organize a bookshelf for you?"
She had looked at the luggage that Zong Shao moved out of the military dormitory. There were only a few sets of clothes in it, but there were quite a few books, filling an entire box, all placed under the closet.
Because Zong Shao had left it like this before she moved in, she didn't help clean it up after seeing it, until she saw him holding the book and asked about it.
Zong Shao put down the book and said, "Not for now. I'll see if I can get some wood back later and make some cabinets and benches."
"Is the wood difficult to handle?" Lin Wei asked as she combed her hair and braided it.
Zong Shao said, "I know people from the surrounding brigades. I'll ask them when I meet them next time." He then prepared some cabinets and benches, which didn't require much wood.
Lin Wei said "oh" and took out two rubber bands from the drawer of the dressing table and tied the tail of her braid.
Zong Shao looked at you and asked, "Didn't you sleep with your hair down the past two days? Why did you braid it up all of a sudden?"
Lin Wei said as a matter of course: "It's because I slept with my hair loose the past two days and it was hard to comb my hair in the morning, so I had to braid it up."
Lin Wei still has some baggage. Ever since she gave birth to Mingming and Ruirui, she has never gone out with her hair in two braids, because that would make people think she is trying to look younger.
It was the same in front of Zong Shao. In fact, because they were husband and wife and rarely saw each other, she would pay more attention to her image in front of him. So when he returned to Shicheng before, she would always sleep with her hair down at night, which made her look gentler and more mature.
But now Lin Wei felt that it was too tiring to always be so reserved. After all, they were no longer going to be together for a few days or a dozen days, but a whole year. And if she could survive next summer, this year might turn into ten years, or even a lifetime.
Lin Wei thought, just do whatever makes you feel comfortable.
Lin Wei with two braids did look younger, and her appearance gradually became consistent with the one in Zong Shao's memory.
Although Lin Wei changed her hairstyle a long time ago and Zong Shao went back during this period, what he remembered most was the look of Lin Wei with two braids.
It’s not that she doesn’t look good with a single ponytail or her hair down, but in the only photo of her that Zong Shao had, she had two braids.
That photo was given to Zong Shao by his mother before he and Lin Wei went on a blind date. He was not very willing to go on a blind date at that time. He was only in his early twenties. Who would be willing to rush into a lifetime commitment?
Not to mention that the person who tied him up was an unheard-of child marriage. It was too ridiculous!
But at that time, his mother was obsessed with some things and insisted that he agree to meet the girl. She even asked Lin's mother for a photo, hoping that he would be "attracted by her beauty."
He wasn't attracted by the beauty, but looking at the photo, he was a little dazed.
He had seen this girl.
That was his first year in military school. Because it was far from home and the school had strict management, he did not go home for the entire semester. But when he returned home, he saw that his familiar home had changed and his mother had already left the capital.
Because his father refused to tell him where his mother had gone, he finally learned about her from his mother's former colleagues. Then he packed his bags and traveled to Shicheng, where he found the cotton mill where his mother worked.
But after asking, he learned that his mother was hospitalized due to illness, so he asked for directions and rushed to the hospital, and then asked for the ward where his mother was staying.
He saw her for the first time at the door of the ward.
She went with her mother to visit his mother.
Listening to the laughter in the ward, he felt timid for the first time and was unable to go in.
Until her mother and his mother wanted to talk and took her out of the ward. She found him wandering outside the ward suspicious, so she caught him and asked him what he was doing, and threatened to call for help if he didn't tell the truth.
He was afraid that she would really call for help, so he said that he came to see his mother, but when he arrived at the ward, he was a little afraid to go in.
She was very confused after hearing this and asked, "That's your biological mother, why don't you dare to meet her?"
Maybe it was because they were about the same age, his mother seemed to like her very much, or maybe he had been suppressing his emotions for too long, he did not hide it and said directly: "My parents are divorced, and my mother left home. I only found out about this when I came back from school. I... I don't know if she still wants me."
In this era, divorce is a very rare thing. This should be the first time she heard of it. Her eyes were immediately filled with sympathy when she looked at him.
Perhaps because she was afraid that her sympathetic look would make him feel worse, when their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head and said, "I don't know what your parents' situation is, but I think no mother would be willing to abandon her child, so... I think you can talk to your mother."
After she left with her mother that day, he walked into the ward and talked to her mother for a long time.
He spent the winter vacation of that year in Shicheng, during which time he would occasionally think of the girl and wonder if she would come to his house with her mother to play.
He had pointedly not mentioned the mother's identity when he told her that, and it didn't seem to occur to her that they were visiting the same person.
If she saw it, she might be very surprised, staring at him with wide eyes and angrily.
Or after learning that he has explained everything to his mother, she would feel happy for him and say proudly, "See, you were right to listen to me."
But he never saw her again until he left Shicheng and returned to school.
Until my mother handed me the photo.
The photo should have been taken shortly after they met, because she hasn't changed much in the photo, except that her lips are pursed reservedly, like a little girl pretending to be an adult.
It's just that her skills are not good enough. Her bright eyes and the unconsciously raised corners of her lips revealed her mood when taking the photo, and also added a bit of girlish cuteness to her.
Looking at the photo, he finally nodded and agreed to meet her.
And when his mother asked him for a photo, he did not choose an old photo that might evoke her memory, but instead chose a new photo of him in military uniform that he had taken not long ago and sent it to her.
Although a few years have passed and his facial features have grown a lot, and the strong sun on the island has made his skin darker than when he was young and he looks more mature, but if you look closely you can still tell he looks like he was young.
Therefore, after sending the photo, he wondered with some anticipation, does she still remember him? Can you still recognize him?
Oh, she didn't recognize it.
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I will post the video tomorrow and update it after 7pm.
Please collect the next article~
"Traveling back to the 1970s and becoming a stepmother"
1. Su Ting traveled into a period novel and became the hero’s perfect sister-in-law.
Since her original body could not marry the male protagonist, she deliberately designed a plan to adopt the male protagonist's brother's child who was a comrade-in-arms. After the marriage, she was unwilling to give in and deliberately tortured her stepchildren, and finally succeeded in committing suicide and was sent to prison.
Finding herself on the road where she lost her stepdaughter, Su Ting turned around and walked into the supply and marketing cooperative with the little girl in her hand!
2. After traveling through time, Su Ting was dealt a bad hand——
The husband is away in the army and the relationship is distant. The mother-in-law has money but favors her younger uncle. There is also an unreliable family and a bad reputation...
Looking at the two skinny little kids in front of her and thinking of her husband who was the head of the group at that time, Su Ting decisively took the children and traveled thousands of miles to find her husband!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
