It was dark outside, and the house was also pitch black, with only a sliver of dim yellow light leaking through the crack in the door.
It sounded like the faint sound of bellows being pumped.
"Snap—tap—Snap—tap—"
The highly rhythmic sound gave Li Xiangdong an indescribable sense of security.
Li Xiangdong nestled in his warm bed, stretched comfortably, yawned widely, and after a while, finally sat up.
I slept so well that night.
Li Xiangdong opened the door and went into the kitchen, where he saw Grandma Jiang cooking.
The flickering flames seemed to leap out of the stove as the bellows were pushed and pulled, and wisps of steam rose from around the large iron pot, like white mist.
Grandma Jiang had a gentle expression. When she saw Li Xiangdong get up, she smiled and said, "Did you get a good night's sleep?"
Li Xiangdong took a small stool and sat down next to her. "What did you cook?"
"Cornmeal porridge, steamed vegetable dish."
What kind of filling is it?
"Chives, of course!"
Li Xiangdong stopped talking and quietly watched Grandma Jiang tend the fire.
Soon the food was cooked, and Grandma Jiang turned off the heat. "Let it sit for another ten minutes before opening the lid."
Li Xiangdong returned to his bedroom, fumbled for the light cord by the wall, and then pulled it.
The incandescent light bulb in the center of the room was instantly turned on, filling the entire room with a warm, white light.
Li Xiangdong shook off the blue floral coarse cloth quilt he was using, folded the two long sides together, then folded it again and again, and it became a rectangle.
He placed the quilt on the stack of quilts on the kang (heated brick bed), threw the pillow on top, and then set up the kang table.
Grandma Jiang carried the thrush into the house, placed it on the cabinet, filled the water trough with water from the long-spouted kettle, and added golden millet to the food trough.
After doing all that, almost ten minutes had passed. Grandma Jiang lifted the lid of the pot, and a burst of hot steam rushed out.
Li Xiangdong took the pot lid from Grandma Jiang's hand, first shaking off the steam before leaning it upright against the wall.
As the heat dissipated, a circle of cylindrical white flour cakes was coiled on the steamer.
Grandma Jiang first sprinkled some water on the tarpaulin, then used a spatula to scrape around the edge of the pot to separate the white flour cake from the pot wall before taking the whole dish out.
You can't eat it like that; you have to put it on a cutting board and cut it into small pieces before you can eat it.
Li Xiangdong cut it open with a cleaver, revealing layers of green filling in the middle of the white dough, which smelled especially delicious.
The methods for making vegetable rolls and meat rolls are the same: roll the dough into a large round sheet, spread the seasoned meat or vegetable filling on it, wrap it layer by layer into a cylinder, and then steam it until cooked.
Li Xiangdong first took a piece of the vegetable dish and ate it, exclaiming, "It's delicious!"
Seeing him laughing and slapping himself while eating, Grandma Jiang was surprisingly not disgusted by his unseemly eating manners. Instead, she found her apprentice particularly adorable.
"Take these to your third sister's house! Then come back for dinner."
Grandma Jiang picked up a plate of vegetables and asked Li Xiangdong to deliver it to Li Ying's house.
She made too much this time, and the two of them definitely couldn't finish it all, so she wanted to share some with her best friend.
Li Xiangdong was quick on his feet, and when he carried the plate to Li Ying's house, the vegetables were still steaming hot!
Pushing open the door, I saw that my third sister's family was having dinner. As soon as Daxia saw Li Xiangdong, she let out a "whoop" and pounced on him.
Li Xiangdong quickly placed the plate he was holding on the kang table, took Daxia with both hands, and hugged her in his arms.
Li Ying exclaimed in surprise, "What brings you here so late at night?"
Grandma Hong said with a smile, "Did you go to your master's house?"
"Yes, she made some vegetable dumplings and asked me to bring them over for you to try!"
Third sister's husband, Hongshui, quickly gave up his seat, saying, "Xiangdong, sit here! Daxia's mother, quickly bring another set of chopsticks and a bowl!"
Li Xiangdong stopped Li Ying, "Third sister, third brother-in-law, I won't be eating at home. My master is waiting for me!"
Are you going home tonight? Or are you staying overnight?
"I'm not leaving. I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning!"
"Okay, we'll come find you after we finish eating!"
Li Ying didn't stop him much. She put the vegetables from the plate into her bowl and then put a plate of the stewed potatoes, green beans, and meat she had made that day into Li Xiangdong's bowl to take back.
Daxia clung to Li Xiangdong's neck and wouldn't let go, so in the end Li Xiangdong had no choice but to carry her on his back and take the stew back to Grandma Jiang's house.
Grandma Jiang smiled as soon as she saw Daxia, "Little girl, you're here?"
"Hey, you're here! Come on, have some porridge!"
Daxia spoke like a little adult, making the two of them laugh out loud.
Li Xiangdong placed a shallow dish of vegetables on the table, then added stewed potatoes, green beans, and meat. Grandma Jiang chopped some pickled cucumbers, sprinkled sesame oil on top, and then each person had a bowl of golden cornmeal porridge.
Li Xiangdong gave Daxia a small spoon, told her not to burn her mouth, and then started eating by herself.
Daxia was clearly well-educated; she ate very politely, and there wasn't a single grain of rice on the table, her clothes, or the corners of her mouth!
Before the three of them had finished eating, Li Ying and Hong Shui helped Grandma Hong over.
The three men sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) watching the other three men eat. They chatted and laughed as they ate, and the sounds of their conversation carried far away, which put Yan Guohui, who was standing outside the door, at ease.
It seems that Grandma Jiang is in a good mood today!
If I were to tell this story, I hope I wouldn't get scolded by Grandma Jiang.
Yan Guohui kept encouraging himself, and with the spirit of "what's the harm in sticking your neck out or not," he pushed open the door in one go!
"Eating?"
Hong Shui was positioned directly opposite the door. He saw Yan Guohui first and immediately stood up to greet him, "Captain!"
"Why!"
Yan Guohui, wearing a padded jacket and with a pipe tucked diagonally at his waist, walked in.
Li Ying also quickly greeted him.
Grandma Jiang lowered her head and drank her porridge, acting as if she didn't see him at all.
If possible, Yan Guohui also didn't really want to see Grandma Jiang.
"Hey, Auntie, are you still eating?"
Grandma Jiang remained silent, so Grandma Hong tried to smooth things over, asking, "Has the brigade leader finished eating?"
"I'm done eating, I'm done eating."
Yan Guohui sat on the chair that the floodwaters had given him, sighed, and said with a worried look, "Auntie, I know you don't want to talk to me, but I have no choice!"
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
What happened?
Grandma Hong said with a smile, "Yingzi, is there still water boiling in the pot at home? Hurry up and go home to check!"
As they were talking, Li Ying picked up Da Xia and was about to leave.
Yan Guohui stopped Old Mrs. Hong, who was about to get off the kang (a heated brick bed), "Auntie, don't go. Please help me persuade her. I've been so worried these past two days that I'm about to lose all my hair."
It turned out that Yan Guohui received a notice from the county three days ago that a researcher from the province wanted to visit relatives in Quanshui Village and asked him to help coordinate.
Yan Guohui knew who the researcher was as soon as he heard it.
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