In the evening, Lin Wei was the chef, and Mingming and Zong Shao helped her.
Originally, Zong Shao was the only one helping out, but in order to have a delicious meal in the evening, Mingming worked hard, followed them in when he saw them starting to work, and volunteered to help.
But he was not even as tall as the stove, so he needed someone to hold him when cooking and watch him light the fire, not to mention cutting vegetables. No matter how brave Lin Wei was, she didn't dare let him hold a knife at such a young age.
For a moment, Lin Wei really couldn't think of what task to assign him.
But seeing his face full of expectation, Lin Wei was reluctant to undermine his self-confidence, so she assigned the person to Zong Shao on the pretext of providing him with more helpers and asked him to arrange the work.
Zong Shao looked around and finally found a garlic from the basket where Lin Wei kept the ingredients. He handed it to his son and asked him to peel it.
He was clearly very motivated to work. After receiving the garlic, he gave Zong Shao a not-so-standard military salute and said, "I guarantee to complete the task."
Zong Shao hummed and continued to cut vegetables. Then he heard his son's weak voice the next second: "Dad, how do I peel this?"
Zong Shao lowered his head and saw Mingming holding the garlic in one hand and pinching the garlic stem with the other, trying to break it left and right but unable to do so. He reached out and took the garlic, squatted on the ground, stretched out three fingers on each hand, squeezed the garlic and said, "Watch it."
With a snap, the garlic is split into two halves.
Mingming nodded: "I see."
"Go and peel it." Zong Shao handed the garlic to Mingming again.
Mingming took the garlic, walked to the dustpan in the kitchen, broke off a clove, and stretched out his hand to peel it. He tried once, twice, and three times, but still couldn't peel it open. He had no choice but to shout again: "Dad! I can't peel it open!"
Zong Shao put down the work in his hands again, turned around and looked at his son expressionlessly: "Are you here to help me with my work, or to find work for me?"
"My nails are too short, I can't peel them off." Mingming stretched out his hand and said innocently.
Lin Wei pays great attention to hygiene, so when her two children's nails grow to a certain length, she will cut them to prevent them from touching them all day and breeding bacteria.
I just cut my nails yesterday, and now my nails are not even as high as the flesh on my fingertips. I really don't know what to do with these garlics.
Zong Shao had no choice but to reach out and take the garlic from Mingming's hand. He didn't care whether it was broken or not and just cut it with a knife. He did not use much force. The first blow only broke the garlic apart, and then he cracked the cloves one by one, not even sparing the small clove sandwiched between two garlics, in order to prevent his son from coming to find him while peeling them.
Mingming, who was standing by, watched Zong Shao crack the garlic cloves with a few "smacks" and clapped excitedly: "Dad is so awesome!"
Zong Shao glanced at his son and said, "Is this amazing?"
"Dad smashed it with a bang, he's so awesome!" Mingming nodded quickly, eager to try, "Dad, can I smash it?"
“You can try.” Zong Shao said, and then he held Mingming in his arms.
It’s not that Zong Shao has never held a child before. When he was following the army on the road and had to change trains, he would pick up all the luggage and run as fast as he could holding the child in one hand.
But after arriving on the island, he seldom held his child. He was not the kind of father who doted on his children. He would not do things like kiss, hug or lift his child up. Mingming doesn't dare to ask his father for a hug. Even if he acts like a spoiled child, he prefers his sweet and soft mother.
So after being picked up, Mingming was a little dazed. He shook his head and asked stupidly, "Dad, why did you pick me up?"
Zong Shao said, "You are too short. I am afraid you can't reach the chopping board."
Mingming wrinkled his nose: "I'm not short!" He is the tallest among his friends!
"Then let you go?" Zong Shao reminded, "I won't care whether you can reach the chopping board by then."
Although he didn't want to admit it, he felt that if he stood on the ground, he might not be able to reach the chopping board, so he quickly shook his head and said, "No, just like that." He stretched out both hands and picked up the kitchen knife.
The kitchen knife was chosen by Lin Wei. The blade is not big and it is very light to hold. It is obviously not difficult to hold it with both hands.
But when he picked up the kitchen knife, Zong Shao held his wrist and pushed it forward, and adjusted the kitchen knife to be flat: "The kitchen knife is sharp, you can't hold it too close, you have to put it flat, understand?"
"I know, I know!" Mingming rubbed his hands, raised the kitchen knife and shouted, "I'm going to start smashing garlic!"
Lift up the kitchen knife and hit the remaining half garlic on the chopping board.
“Bang!”
As the garlic cloves scattered, Mingming also started to cry out. If Zong Shao had not been quick-witted and pressed the back of the knife in time, he might have thrown the knife away, which would have been very dangerous.
Of course there is no danger now, only Mingming is rubbing his hands and crying.
Lin Wei had just put the fried dishes on a plate. When she heard the noise, she immediately put the plate down and turned around to ask what happened. Although she was crying and screaming in pain, Zong Shao looked calm and said, "It's okay. I was just shaken by the force of the knife."
Mingming suddenly raised his head when he heard the words and questioned Zong Shao with his eyes, "Dad, don't you have a heart?" I'm in so much pain, and you still say it's okay!
Zong Shao raised an eyebrow and reminded: "You were the one who said you wanted to try."
“……” Mingming had no choice but to look at his mother.
Lin Wei pulled her hand away and looked at it for a while. The palm of her hand was a little red, but it was nothing serious, so she asked, "Are you still smacking garlic?"
I had decided to smack garlic because I saw Zong Shao smacking garlic so easily and it was fun. But when I tried it myself, I found it was so painful that I didn’t want to continue. I quickly shook my head and said, “No more smacking!”
"Are you still peeling garlic?" Lin Wei continued to ask.
Mingming hesitated and asked tentatively: "Mom, if I peel the garlic, can I have fish and shrimp in the evening?"
Lin Wei had seen through her son's plan, but she pretended to understand it now and asked in a long voice, "You came in to help just for food?"
His little trick was exposed, and he nodded shyly, emphasizing, "My tongue is healed!" He even stuck out his tongue to show Lin Wei.
Lin Wei looked at him for a long time, until he could hardly open his mouth, then she deliberately said: "Of course, you can, but seafood is an irritant. What if your tongue hurts after eating it?"
Although he clearly didn't know what irritants were, he bravely shook his head and said, "I'm not afraid of pain!"
"Really?" Lin Wei looked at Mingming's hand meaningfully.
Mingming's mind was working very fast. He pretended to be calm and blew on his palm and said, "This little pain is nothing. It's nothing!"
Seeing how hard he tried to eat, Lin Wei softened her heart and said, trying not to laugh: "Okay, I'll let you have a couple of bites then."
"Just two bites?" Mingming was disappointed.
Lin Wei narrowed her eyes: "Too little?"
Mingming shook his head quickly: "Not less, not less, two bites is two bites."
After the deal was settled, Mingming took the crushed garlic cloves and squatted in front of the winnowing basket to start peeling them.
At this time, Ruirui also came back from Xiao Shitou's house. After entering the house, he habitually looked for Mingming first. He didn't see anyone upstairs or downstairs, so he shouted "brother" and went into the kitchen and asked: "Mom, did you see..."
Before he finished asking the question, he saw Mingming squatting next to the dustpan, and went over to ask him what he was doing.
Mingming looked heavy-hearted: "I'm preparing dinner tonight."
"What preparations?" Ruirui asked puzzledly.
Mingming opened his hands and showed him the garlic cloves in his hands: "Can't you see it?"
The two children rarely go into the kitchen, so they only know how many things look after they are served on a plate. Ruirui didn’t recognize the garlic cloves in his hand and asked, “What is this?”
"You don't even know this?" Mingming's eyes widened, "This is garlic head!" In fact, he only knew what it was called after hearing his father talk about it, but this did not affect his pretense.
"What are garlic heads used for?" Ruirui asked.
"This..." Mingming had never asked before, so he didn't know, so he looked up and asked, "Dad, what are garlic heads used for?"
Zong Shao replied, "Minced garlic is minced garlic. Your mother wants to make steamed shrimp with minced garlic."
Mingming suddenly realized what was going on, and then told his brother: "This is for steamed shrimp with garlic sauce."
Rarity: "...Oh." I heard you. No need for you to repeat your thank you.
The next second he heard his brother ask, "Won't you peel it with me?"
Rarity: “Huh?”
Mingming said sincerely, "Cooking is hard work. Mom, Dad and I have been busy for a long time. Don't you want to help?"
In fact, he was clearly feeling very tired. He didn't understand why, when the garlic was so small that he could wrap it with one hand, there were so many cloves to peel after crushing it, and he couldn't even hold it with both hands!
Although he clearly didn't know the saying "Share happiness and share hard times", it didn't stop him from dragging his brother into the water.
Ruirui was really fooled by his brother. Seeing that his parents and brother were so busy, he felt embarrassed to go out and play again. So, there was another child squatting next to the winnowing basket, peeling garlic.
…
Because of the two children, no, it should be said that Mingming's help, the dinner time that day was successfully... fifteen minutes later than usual.
People who cook frequently will have a good idea of how long it takes to cook common dishes. When Lin Wei buys groceries every day, she plans what dishes she will cook that day so that she knows how long in advance she needs to start cooking.
Because Zong Shao usually gets home around 6:10 when he's not out at sea, Lin Wei habitually starts eating around 6:15. The same goes for Sundays. With Zong Shao's help, she would postpone the start time of cooking.
Of course, this time is not completely accurate. It may be five minutes earlier or five minutes later. Occasionally, due to accidents, the meal time may be postponed even further.
Today's incident was clearly that accident.
In order to wait for him to peel the garlic, Lin Wei waited for several minutes after cooking the dishes. In addition, it took time to stir-fry the garlic and steam the shrimp, so the meal was late.
Although dinner started later than usual, Lin Wei was in a good mood. This was the first time her two children helped with cooking, so it was a very memorable occasion.
It’s a pity that now is not like decades later, when everyone has a mobile phone and when they encounter a memorable moment, they will take a few pictures and post them on WeChat Moments as a souvenir and to show off.
Not to mention mobile phones, many people of this generation have never even taken a few photos.
Since Lin Wei was born, the number of times she has had her photos taken can be counted on one hand. The first time was when she was promoted to high school, the second time was when she got married, and the third time was after she left the confinement period, when I took the child to the photo studio with my mother-in-law. Because Zong Shao was not there, there was no family photo to speak of.
It was impossible for her to take photos as a souvenir. All she could do was eat more garlic to show her support.
The two brothers also ate a lot of minced garlic. Although minced garlic is a condiment for lobster, the fried garlic smells fragrant and tastes sweet, so it is delicious just by itself.
Every time Lin Wei makes garlic-fried oysters/scallops/abalone and other seafood, the two children will eat up the garlic scraps after they finish the seafood.
Not to mention that they peeled the garlic themselves today, so it tasted even better. Not only did they eat some themselves, they also asked Lin Wei and the general to eat less. In the end, the garlic paste was almost finished, but half of the shrimp was left.
He had clearly taken more than two bites of seafood at this point, so when faced with the remaining lobster, he licked his lips and was eager to eat it. But when he thought of what his mother said, he didn't dare to do it. He looked up at Lin Wei pitifully.
Lin Wei found it funny and reached out to pick up a lobster for each of the two children: "Eat it."
Mingming looked surprised: "Can I eat it?"
"Considering the hard work you put into peeling the garlic, you can eat as much as you want, as long as you are not afraid of hurting your tongue." Of course his tongue couldn't hurt, he just bit the skin a little, so he wouldn't be unable to eat irritating food, but Lin Wei just wanted to scare him maliciously.
Although Mingming was frightened, he risked his life to eat it and bit through the shrimp's back in one bite.
Ruirui didn't know what happened in the afternoon yet, and asked in confusion: "Mom? Why does my tongue hurt after eating shrimp?"
Mingming immediately became alert and looked at Lin Wei with open eyes, fearing that she would tell her brother about the embarrassing incident of biting her tongue, which would greatly affect his image!
Noticing Mingming's expression, Lin Wei suppressed her laughter and said, "Brother is like this because he is not feeling well. If you are fine, you won't feel pain in your tongue if you eat shrimp."
Ruirui suddenly realized what was going on and turned to ask Mingming, "Brother, are you sick?"
Mingming nodded vaguely: "Yeah."
"Then why do you eat lobsters?" Ruirui asked again, "Aren't you afraid of pain?"
Mingming immediately put down the lobster, patted his chest with his greasy hands and said, "I am a man, I am not afraid of hardship or pain!"
When Ruirui heard this, her eyes were instantly filled with admiration when she looked at her brother.
Lin Wei and Zong Shao: "... old shígG Dujia"
Although they are his biological parents, they also have to sigh that their son is so shameless!
…
It took the people next door three or four days to move.
Normally it shouldn't be so slow, although the house next door had been vacant for a long time before Gao Xiu Lian joined the army, so when they moved in there were more bad furniture than good ones. But they were not willing to buy new furniture as lavishly as Zong Shao did. Except for the bed and cabinet in the master bedroom, all the others were repaired and reused.
Even though they had bought a lot of things over the past two years, Zhao Feng still hired people to carry the bed and wardrobe on the day of moving, and the rest were towed away on a tricycle. In addition, Gao Xiu Lian had packed up several days in advance, so even if they couldn't finish moving that day, they could make two more trips the next day and it would be enough. It shouldn't take three or four days.
Zhao Li said: "You can't tell, you are not satisfied with your new home! Terrace houses are convenient, but the space is small. The house I lived in before only had two rooms. They have three children, so sleeping at night is a problem. Gao Xiulian is used to living in a big house, it would be strange if she is happy to move there."
Lin Wei asked: "She keeps coming back like this, does she want to move back home?"
"I think so. I heard from the former neighbors that Deputy Captain Zhao got angry at home the day before yesterday, so Gao Xiu Lian handed over the keys." After talking about Gao Xiu Lian, Zhao Li reminded Lin Wei of tomorrow's dinner and asked her family to remember to dress up and attend.
Lin Wei hesitated and asked, "Aren't we just having a meal? Why do we have to dress up?"
Zhao Li was shocked: "This is the first time that several of our families have a dinner together. Do you still want to come dressed sloppily?"
Not really, but... after a brief thought, Lin Wei decided to ask first: "What do you mean by the fancy dress?"
"Just put on your most respectable, cleanest, and best-looking clothes!" Zhao Li said, rubbing her hands, "I have specially prepared rewards for the top three families!"
Lin Wei: “…”Okay.
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