"Take care, Brother Lin, come visit me sometime!" Li Daniu waved to Lin Chaosheng as he left.
When they got home, Liang Mei and Liang Fu happily greeted them.
"This...this is...flour and rice?" Liang Mei asked in shock.
Over the years, with such severe food shortages, Liang Mei had hardly ever eaten rice or wheat flour. When she saw that truckload of rice and wheat flour, she was so shocked that she couldn't say a word.
Liang Fu was once again impressed by her brother-in-law. Seeing how charismatic and responsible he was now, she regretted her previous sarcasm towards Lin Chaosheng.
Lin Chaosheng divided the items in half, put the other half in the cart, and handed it to Lin Shansheng.
"Shansheng, take these back to your parents, and make sure to tell them not to skimp on the food, understand?" Lin Chaosheng looked at Lin Shansheng seriously.
Lin Shansheng nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, brother, trust me. If Mom and Dad don't want to eat it, I'll cook it for them. They definitely won't want to waste it!"
Lin Chaosheng was very satisfied and saw Lin Shansheng to the door. "It's getting dark. You should go home and eat. Be careful!"
Lin Shansheng disappeared in an instant. "Got it, bro!"
"Come on, let's have rice today!" Lin Chaosheng turned to Liang Mei and Liang Fu.
Liang Mei looked at Lin Chaosheng helplessly, "How do I steam it? I don't know how..."
Lin Chaosheng looked at his wife, who had lowered her head in frustration, and found her appearance particularly endearing. "It's alright, I'll stay with you."
As she spoke, she went to the kitchen, grabbed a basin, and then took bowls to measure out enough for three people.
"This is half a bowl of rice for one person. I have a big appetite, so I fill a whole bowl with raw rice," Lin Chaosheng chuckled.
"It's alright, you should eat more. You're a great contributor to our family," Liang Mei quickly said.
Liang Fu echoed her sentiments from the side.
Then Lin Chaosheng poured water into the tank, saying, "Just insert your index finger into the water, making sure it's not more than half a finger's width above the water."
Liang Mei looked at Lin Chaosheng with admiration, "Chaosheng, you're really amazing!"
"Isn't it all because I have such a good wife like you?" Lin Chaosheng pinched Liang Mei's cheek with his wet hand.
Liang Mei slapped the hand away, her face flushed, "You're never serious!"
Lin Chaosheng wanted to continue teasing Liang Mei, but Liang Fu couldn't stand it anymore and irritably walked out of the kitchen, saying, "I'll go wash the vegetables."
Seeing this, Liang Mei quickly scolded Lin Chaosheng, "Look at you! Your sister is right here, can't you set a good example?"
Lin Chaosheng nuzzled Liang Mei's face, "I was wrong, honey. I'll cook for you right now to make up for it!"
He then poured water into the pot and started a fire.
Then he turned around and went to chop firewood in the yard.
On the other side, Lin Shansheng arrived home and showed Zhao Shufang and Lin Shanhai his brother's spoils of the day.
Zhao Shufang patted Lin Shanhai's shoulder with pride and joy, "Look at him, look at the old man! Look at our child, how successful he is!"
Lin Shanhai couldn't withstand Zhao Shufang's slaps and quickly dodged, saying, "Alright, alright, Chaosheng is promising, so don't hit me like that!"
Zhao Shufang glanced at Lin Shanhai, then hummed a little tune as she went to the kitchen to get a bowl of flour.
Seeing his parents looking so healthy and happy, Lin Shansheng was overjoyed.
My parents used to go hungry every day and worry about my older brother. They were always frowning and their health was not good.
Ever since my eldest brother became capable, my parents' complexions have improved significantly.
He was deeply moved and rushed forward to help, saying, "Mom, let me help you!"
"Good boy, Mom is making you big steamed buns today. Hurry up and take some to your brother." Zhao Shufang was very happy to see her youngest son being so diligent and capable.
Zhao Shufang clasped her hands together, looked up at the sky with gratitude, and said, "God, I am so grateful to you for giving me two wonderful sons!"
After speaking, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, as if wiping away all the pain of the past.
"Mom," Lin Shansheng said, seeing Zhao Shufang crying, he quickly tried to distract her, "I don't know how to make steamed buns yet, can you teach me?"
Zhao Shufang was overjoyed and said, "Okay, okay, Mother will teach you right away."
Soon, the mother and son had kneaded the dough and were waiting for it to rise.
Lin Shansheng then helped chop firewood to prepare for cooking.
Lin Shanhai straightened up from washing vegetables and looked at Zhao Shufang with a smile, "Old woman, could you make me some chive dumplings sometime?"
Zhao Shufang slapped him on the head. "Go to hell! You're so old and all you think about is food. How come you haven't eaten yourself to death?"
Seeing his parents so energetic and still bickering with each other, Lin Shansheng felt a surge of happiness.
Lin Chaosheng's side had already started steaming rice and was preparing to stir-fry vegetables.
The aroma of rice wafted out from the chimney, and the villagers immediately caught the scent.
In those famine years, the aroma was so enticing that everyone's mouth watered.
Although the Xiao family was eating the meat they had brought back a few days ago, they were also tempted by the aroma of the rice.
After all, they've lived to this day and have barely eaten rice a few times.
"Brother Lin is really amazing. He led the villagers to hunt a wild boar a few days ago, and today we're even eating rice!" Xiao's father exclaimed.
“That’s right,” Xiao Laoda continued. “I will definitely keep a close eye on him from now on. If he goes hunting again, I will definitely go with him and get a share of the spoils.”
Everyone else in the village ran out and crowded around his house, smelling the aroma of the rice.
"Damn it, when will I be able to eat rice?"
"Someone as useless as you, you think you can eat rice?"
"Who the hell are you calling useless? I'll go hunting tomorrow, and I'll squat in front of your house eating rice, making you drool!"
Lin Chaosheng and Liang Mei and Liang Fu were completely unaware of the argument outside; all they knew was that they were extremely happy.
Today's meal included meat, vegetables, and rice—something they wouldn't even dare to dream of at night.
The three of them were carrying the stir-fried dishes out when Lin Shansheng arrived carrying a large steamed bun.
"Brother, this is what Mom made for you. Try it and see if it's good." Lin Shansheng handed the steamed bun to Lin Chaosheng.
Looking at the round, plump white steamed buns, the three of them couldn't stop swallowing their saliva.
"We just finished cooking rice. Pack some rice and vegetables and take it back to your parents." Lin Chaosheng hurriedly went into the kitchen and lifted the pot lid.
The steam from the pot, carrying the aroma of rice, wafted onto Lin Shansheng's face. "Brother, did you make this?" Lin Shansheng asked in surprise.
"Why can't I do it?" Lin Chaosheng looked at his younger brother with amusement.
Lin Shansheng shook his head and said, "Brother, I admire you even more now!"
"Alright, hurry up and pack it up. Aren't you hungry yet?" Lin Chaosheng said, picking up the bowl and chopsticks to pack it up.
Lin Shansheng looked on with longing, wishing he could eat it all right now. "Hurry, brother, why aren't you hungry? I'm starving!"
Lin Shansheng hurriedly ran home with the packed food in his hand.
"Come on, let's eat too." Lin Chaosheng served Liang Mei and Liang Fu each a bowl of rice. "Perfect, I'll have this big steamed bun."
After the three of them sat down, they began to eat heartily.
"By the way, Xiaomei," Lin Chaosheng took a bite of his steamed bun, "I want to discuss something with you."
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