There weren't many good options before; the best we could do was pickle them with salt, but then the fresh, clean taste of the wild vegetables would be lost.
Now that the Sheng family has a refrigerator, back in the spring, when Sheng Liancheng went into the mountains to pick wild vegetables, Zhang Shuzhen would scald them and freeze them while they were still wet.
Today we took out all the ingredients and made dumplings, so the kids could have a treat.
Frozen wild vegetables, though not as fragrant as fresh ones, are still much tastier than pickled ones.
"Is it delicious? If it is, eat more. I also picked up some dumplings and froze them outside."
I wonder if my third brother will come home for the New Year. If he does, I'll cook some dumplings for him to try.
That's how mothers are; they worry about every single one of their children. No matter what food or drink they have, they always think about their children who are away from home, afraid that their children won't have enough to eat.
Sheng Xiping and the others have all returned, and the house and its surroundings need to be tidied up.
I missed out on things by going back to my hometown this year, and I didn't have time to catch piglets to raise.
Fortunately, the agricultural team slaughtered pigs a while ago, and Zhang Shuzhen managed to snatch some meat. Sheng Xiping also bought some meat a couple of days ago and brought it back, so they managed to get by for the New Year.
It just so happened that Liu Jia, Chen Weiguo, and Wang Jianshe were slaughtering pigs.
Everyone knows the Sheng family didn't slaughter a pig this year. This family gave them 20 jin, that family gave them 30 jin. Goodness, the Sheng family has more pork than they slaughtered themselves.
On the evening of the 26th, Hua Hua returned with her three tiger cubs. Upon seeing Sheng Xiping and the others at home, Hua Hua happily circled around them for a long time.
Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu were overjoyed when they saw the three tiger cubs, and couldn't help but hug and adore them.
However, these three tiger cubs have been born for more than half a year, and Sheng Xinhua and the others have not spent much time together, so they are not very close to the cubs.
They were playing well at first, but as they played, the three tiger cubs got angry and started showing off to the children, hissing and scaring them.
Alternatively, they could circle around behind the children and pounce on them.
Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu were older and not afraid, but Sheng Xinyue and Sheng Xinqi were still young and girls, so they were scared and cried immediately.
Hua Hua was lying at Sheng Xiping's feet when she heard the two girls crying. She immediately got up, went over, and gave the three tiger cubs a few whacks.
Then it growled at the three tiger cubs, behaving like a strict mother disciplining her naughty children.
The three tiger cubs were given a beating and intimidation by their mother, and immediately tucked their tails between their legs, lowered their heads, and dared not be arrogant anymore.
Hua Hua wasn't done yet; she started howling at the three tiger cubs. Sheng Xiping saw this and quickly came over to comfort Hua Hua.
"Look at you, aren't those kids? Are there any kids who aren't naughty? Just teach them a lesson."
After some soothing words from Sheng Xiping, Hua Hua calmed down, lay down at Sheng Xiping's feet again, closed her eyes, and started snoring.
When Sheng Xinyue and Sheng Xinqi saw this, they stopped playing with the little tiger cub and went to find Huahua instead.
Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu, however, liked the tiger cub and continued to play with it.
This time, the three tiger cubs behaved themselves, letting Sheng Xinhua and his brother hug and hold them, and dared not throw a tantrum anymore.
The three tiger cubs have all grown quite large, and the large flower basket that Sheng Liancheng wove is no longer big enough to house the mother and her four cubs.
In the evening, Hua Hua and her four children did not go to the west room, but lay down on the ground in the outer room. Sheng Xiping specially found some tattered burlap sacks for them to put under.
On the morning of the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, the Sheng family had just gotten up and hadn't even had breakfast when they heard the dogs outside barking wildly.
Inside the house, Hua Hua, who had been lying on the ground, was also awakened and began to whimper.
Then, someone called from outside, "Brother Xiping, is Brother Xiping home?"
Sheng Xiping quickly told Hua Hua to take the three tiger cubs to the west room. He closed the door to the west room before walking out.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw several people walking in from outside, looking anxious.
Among them were Wang Jiansheng, Wang Jianshe's younger brother, and Sun Shaoqing, a young man from the forest farm; both were Sheng Xikang's classmates.
"Brother Xiping, can I trouble you with something?" Wang Jiansheng asked hurriedly when he saw Sheng Xiping come out.
"What's wrong? Tell me." Sheng Xiping noticed that the expressions on the faces of the group were not quite right, and knew that it wasn't something important, so he quickly spoke up.
"Brother Xiping, we can't find He Lei. He went out after exchanging a few words with his brother Xiaoshanzi the day before yesterday, and he hasn't come back yet."
We were thinking of going to Songjianghe to look for him, but our forest farm's motorcycle went down yesterday and hasn't come back.
"Brother Xiping, could you drive us there?" Wang Jiansheng then explained their purpose.
"Who is He Lei? I can't remember him." Sheng Xiping frowned slightly. He Lei? He's also from the forest farm?
“Brother, it’s Little Stone,” Sun Shaoqing quickly explained from the side.
Upon hearing the name "Little Stone," Sheng Xiping immediately recognized who it was.
He Lei, the third son of the He family, was nicknamed Little Stone because his name Lei contains three stones. Over time, his real name was rarely used.
Xiao Shitou and Sheng Xikang were classmates and went to high school together, just in time for the college entrance examination in 1978.
However, Xiao Shitou's grades were average, and he didn't get into university.
He was unwilling to give up, so he repeated his studies several times over the years. Sheng Xikang was already working, but Xiao Shitou still hadn't gotten into university.
To be honest, Xiao Shitou's family wasn't well-off. His mother passed away a long time ago, and the four children in the family were all raised by Lao He, a repairman.
The two older sisters got married years ago, leaving only Xiao Shitou and his younger brother Xiao Shanzi at home.
When Xiaoshanzi was young, he had mild polio, which made his legs a little weak. He was also the youngest child in his family.
My father doted on me, and my older siblings indulged me, so I was spoiled and willful from a young age.
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