Today's lunch was affordable and almost free of charge. Not only did everyone eat their fill, but they also praised the delicious food and said that Qin Huai was not a stingy person.
This is the highest praise from rural people.
I managed to get through lunch, but I still have no idea about dinner.
Sister Hong stood in front of him with a worried look on her face. Qin Huai cruelly took off the jade pendant from his neck and handed it to her, asking her to help him sell it in exchange for something.
Sister Hong knew what this meant to him, so she was very hesitant. But if she didn't take it, she would obviously not be able to get through this hurdle today.
He didn't let the old man know that he gave the jade token to Sister Hong, so Old Man Qin looked at him worriedly while he worked. There was only some corn flour left at home. How could it be enough to feed so many people in the evening?
He was worried about this, but the person involved didn't seem to care at all and kept doing this and that.
Seeing that the time was getting later and his grandson was not in a hurry at all, Old Man Qin could no longer bear it and dragged Qin Huai aside and asked him, "What are you going to give to everyone for dinner?"
"Grandpa, don't worry, I'm ready."
"Ready? Prepared for what? Why can't I see it?"
He had barely finished speaking when Sister Hong came over and said to Qin Huai, "I traded five pounds of noodles for two bottles of wine. That unscrupulous grocery store wouldn't give me more. I also traded two pounds of noodles for a pound of meat."
"It's not a small amount. As long as I can get through this level today, that's enough."
Old Man Qin asked impatiently, "What did you exchange it for? Is it the jade pendant you've worn since childhood?"
"Grandpa, staying alive is the most important thing. Those are just external things."
The old man was so anxious that he said, "That's your proof of recognition. You're so stupid. You gave it to someone else. How will you find your family in the future?"
"You and the girl Xiaomi are my family. There's no need to look for them. I don't want to look for them either."
His biological parents gave him to someone like Qin Dashu to raise, and he almost lost his life. No matter what the reason, he could not forgive them.
"You..." Old man Qin was very sad, but Qin Huai's responsible attitude made him feel better.
"Sister Hong, you should start now."
Sister Hong mixed corn flour and flour together, added starter, covered it and waited for fermentation.
Then she cut the meat into large pieces and extracted the fat.
According to Sister Hong, they wanted to keep the refined lard. Qin Huai was speechless. Why would they keep only half a small bowl? Sister Hong said anxiously, "You really don't know how to live. Even the landlords can't eat like you."
The roof has been cleaned and the grass has begun to be laid. Both Old Man Qin and Qin Huai are busy as they have to finish the house before dark today.
The thatched house has disappeared in Qinhuai's memory. Both the adobe and thatched houses have disappeared in the long river of history, but now they are the main theme. Every house is a low thatched house with no windows and it is dark inside.
But even just building a house like this took Qin Huai a lot of effort.
The old man stacked the wheat straw below, placing it one by one, and made sure it was very tight, otherwise it would leak when it rained. Qin Huai used an iron fork to carry it to the roof, and the man above had to stack it again. The house didn't look big, but it needed a lot of wheat straw.
Fortunately, the wheat straw belonged to the production team, and the amount he brought back was enough.
The house wasn't ready until Qin Xiaomi came home from school. Qin Huai walked in with his little girl, Qin Xiaomi. Qin Xiaomi looked up and said, "Brother, it really won't leak anymore, right? Next time it rains, we won't have to stay awake all night, right?"
The little girl's careless words made Qin Huai's nose sore. He comforted her and said, "It doesn't matter if it leaks. We can fix it if it leaks again."
Old Man Qin said, "Your brother sold all the jade tokens he had worn since childhood to renovate his house. He spent so much money, so he certainly wouldn't miss anything."
The girl said anxiously: "Brother, why did you sell your jade pendant? Why do you want to repair the broken house? It was always fine before."
Human potential is infinite, and so is tolerance. Yatou and Qin Xiaomi grew up in a poor family and have become accustomed to hardships, but they cannot accept that the jade token used by their brother to recognize his relatives is missing.
Qin Huai said, "It's just a jade token. I can redeem it when I make money. Today, everyone helped us repair the house. It's a great occasion. We can't cry and upset everyone."
After he said that, Yatou and Qin Xiaomi held back their tears.
The helpers outside had already cleaned up. Sister Hong called Qin Huai and said, "It's time to eat."
Because of the sumptuous lunch, everyone was looking forward to the dinner. Sister Hong brought a pot of red and green noodle soup with the aroma of egg flowers and fried pork.
This is noodle dumplings, a very common food in the north, but no one would make it as beautiful as it is today.
Eggs and meat were luxuries. Workers in the city only had half a pound of pork per month, and country people had no chance to eat meat. So the men thought the hospitality, which seemed shabby to Qin Huai, was very good.
Qin Huai took great pains to bring over a large basket of golden steamed buns.
As for the snacks, they were just some wild vegetables, moldy beans and the like, but the men from northern Anhui would not be disgusted. They clinked their glasses and said, "We had a drink together at the last banquet. It's been over a year since we last had one."
Nowadays, when getting married, those with better financial conditions can barely invite everyone to a banquet, with at most eight bowls of wine, and the wine is basically homemade. Those with poorer financial conditions will just take the bride home and will not hold a wedding banquet at all, and everyone understands this.
The wine is not a good one. The local Daqu, which costs 60 cents a bottle on the market, is an absolute luxury.
The men drank some soup and said to Qin Huai, "After eating at your house, it's like eating at ours when we get home. It's like pig food."
Qin Huai said, "This was made by Sister Hong. Sister Hong's craftsmanship is excellent."
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