When Zhang Guoqing returned home from lunch break, as soon as he stepped into his yard, he smelled the fragrance of zongzi in the air and saw zongzi hanging under the eaves of the kitchen.
Strings of small and exquisite rice dumplings, tied with colorful silk threads, are in triangular, cylindrical, pointed, or conical shapes...
His wife wraps the rice dumplings into a work of art.
Zhang Guoqing couldn't help but laugh. He felt that his wife's excellent cooking skills had been unfairly neglected in the past few years. Needless to say, there was quite a festive atmosphere.
Feeling itchy from being shown off by his buddy, Yi Jiefang shamelessly followed him and immediately pushed away Zhang Guoqing who was standing in front of him. With a roar, he rushed to the kitchen door.
"Sister, your brother is here."
Zhang Guoqing burst into laughter when he heard this.
"Good to hear you're here. I don't need to ask anyone to deliver it." Zhou Jiao came out of the kitchen upon hearing the news. She looked at Yi Jiefang with a smile and pointed at the small rice dumplings hanging there. "What flavor do you like? I'll pick it out for you."
"I know my sister is the best." Yi Jiefang finished joking, poked it with his finger, and sniffed it, "Oh my god, she really is one after another."
Zhang Guoqing showed off to him, and he was skeptical. It turned out that what this guy said was true!
Zhou Jiao thought he thought it was too small, so she quickly told Zhang Guoqing to take down two bags. She figured no matter how small they were, twenty or so would be enough. Any more and there wouldn't be enough to share!
"Wait, let me eat one first."
Zhou Jiao quickly asked him to go into the kitchen and do it herself. The ones she hung under the eaves looked the best, and she planned to let him take them back for Xiao Tanger and his siblings to play with.
"Mm, delicious!" Yi Jiefang swallowed the second small rice dumpling and smacked his lips with a sigh. "If I had asked my wife to bring the ingredients, she could have made three of them with just one."
Zhang Guoqing glanced at him amusedly and said, "You should be thankful that your sister-in-law can't make dumplings by herself."
"Then my wife is much more capable than Dayong's wife."
"Blow it up! We don't have to pay taxes anyway." Zhang Guoqing took down two baskets of zongzi, hooked his shoulder and walked out. "I won't take you home. I'll have someone deliver the portions for Dayong and the other two later."
"Okay, do you have any realgar at home?"
"I'm so prepared."
As the two old brothers walked out of the house arm in arm, Yi Jiefang's eldest son and Wan Dayong's eldest son also came to the door carrying rice dumplings.
"Uncle Wu, my mom asked us to bring it over for Aunt Wu to taste."
"Uncle Wu, my mom said that my dad's company gave us some today, and she's not sure if it's delicious. She didn't make any this year, so she'll give it to you guys to try. If it's good, we'll buy it ourselves next time."
"Where's my Fifth Aunt? I came here to exchange. My mom's cooking skills are not good. The rice dumplings my grandma has made have tasted the same for hundreds of years. You guys just have to make do with what you have."
Zhang Guoqing looked at his nephews with amusement, "You little bastards! Who told you to call me Fifth Uncle?"
They weren't afraid of Zhang Guoqing and laughed cheerfully, "My dad said so."
"Let's go in."
"I can't help it. Who gave you the name Xiaowu? Isn't that just right?" Yi Jiefang patted his buddy on the shoulder. "Be good, come in quickly. I'm your brother and I have to go back."
"Get lost! You can't even tell my full name from my nickname." Zhang Guoqing cursed with a smile and handed him the rice dumpling. "Eat less. You'll get indigestion if you eat too much."
The four boys here rushed into the kitchen, and the remaining son of Geng Dazhi came over staggeringly with a small bamboo basket, shouting before he even arrived.
"Uncle, come and help me, I'm so tired."
"What's going on?" Zhang Guoqing glanced at the small bamboo basket. Well, this time it's sea crabs, and by the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will probably be hairy crabs again. "Is your father asking you to deliver things door to door again?"
"Haha~ There aren't many restaurants, and the food is so limited. My dad said we can each share a few dishes. My mom said she won't share the rice dumplings she made."
"Celebrating the festival in the courtyard this afternoon?"
"Yes, there's a large family gathering for lunch at noon, and my dad said he won't be coming over for now. Remember to call him if you have any plans."
In the small team of five people, Geng Dazhi has the widest network of contacts. He can always add a dish for everyone during festivals. After a long time, everyone has gotten used to it.
Several people also tacitly accepted it, and when there was something good, they would share it among themselves. In Yi Jiefang's words, there was no need to be polite among brothers, just remember it.
Judging from the situation, these big crabs were probably caught by this guy through the route of his colleagues in the Ministry of Railways. Zhang Guoqing planned to find a pig and kill it to share among a few families after a while.
It’s not a big deal to always eat other people’s food, right?
After the three Ping'an brothers delivered the rice dumplings and returned home, they also brought back a large bunch of them.
Zhou Jiao looked at the large plate of rice dumplings with a mixture of laughter and tears. Fortunately, there were enough guards at home, otherwise they would not be able to finish them.
After busying themselves with social interactions, the family can finally gather at the dinner table for dinner.
I had just taken a few bites when the phone rang again...
Wuyi stood up and said, "I'll go answer it."
After a while, I heard Wuyi's voice, "Mom, come over and answer the phone."
"Uncle, are you calling from home or somewhere else? Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Have you eaten rice dumplings? ...Oh, me? Yes, today is my grandpa and my mom's birthday..."
"...It's only daybreak here now. I'm not home yet. I went on a business trip as soon as the school holiday ended and can't go back yet... What month are you going abroad? I'll pick you up."
"I guess in August...my mom is coming..."
When Zhou Jiao moved over and just took the phone from her son, she heard Miao Tianming's voice, "Sister, I wish you a happy birthday first."
"Thanks." Zhou Jiao estimated the time difference. "What time is it there? There's still time to call in the evening. It's just a birthday."
"Sister, don't you want to celebrate your birthday? You'll age a year after celebrating your birthday, right? Hahahaha... Don't worry, my sister is still a great beauty..."
Wuyi curled his lips, turned around and walked away, muttering, "After being in a capitalist country for too long, he's really been led astray. He used to be such an honest kid, but now he's become a sly talker."
Ping'an and Liuyi turned around to look at their brother who was walking towards them, and laughed with joy.
"What's wrong?"
The two brothers looked at Miao Lishan and shook their heads.
"Grandpa, my uncle asked me to wish you a happy birthday." After Wuyi sat down, he said, "Grandma, aren't you answering the phone? It's my uncle calling from overseas."
Miao Lishan's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she quickly put down her chopsticks and looked at Zhou Xiaozheng. Finally, I could call home. Does this mean that as long as I was careful with my words, I'd be safe?
Zhou Xiaozheng tilted his chin slightly towards her, motioning her to answer the phone.
The last meeting passed a resolution to grant clemency to all detained party, government, military and special personnel below the county and regiment level of the former GMD, and to grant them political rights.
Even this was unbanned, not to mention the Miao family's information, which he had already reported. The only thing was that his wife probably wouldn't be able to recognize the Miao family in her lifetime.
Fortunately, there was Miao Tianming who was rescued by his daughter and son-in-law. If he lost this bond, he would really feel guilty towards this silly woman.
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