Chapter 79 Chapter 79 Eating Potatoes
"Ah? There is such a rule?"
Ning Shixia was frightened. She was afraid that her parents would be arrested. "Then I won't tell anyone outside that I help my parents with work at home. Brother, we will do it quietly. We won't work outside anymore. We will only work at home."
Zhao Ruyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Working for your own family doesn't count as employing child labor."
"Yes, there is no need to be so careful, right? We work for the family, and if mom and dad don't pay us, they don't consider us as employed." Ning Shiqiu gave his understanding.
Zhao Ruyue was stunned. "It seems that this explanation cannot be used. Anyway, family members working for their own family is considered housework, and relatives occasionally helping out is not considered child labor. But we can't hire Silian to work like we hired your eldest cousin."
After she explained it this way, the three children finally understood.
Zhao Silian felt a little regretful. If she could come to work, she wouldn't have to go hungry.
Her uncle and aunt were not at home yesterday and today. They went to her aunt's parents' home for a banquet. The journey is far, so they will not be back until tomorrow.
Her father spends all day either drinking at home or drinking at other people's houses and ignores her.
Zhao Silian didn't eat much yesterday and just had some water. Her father only gave her fifty cents to buy a bowl of boiled rice noodles today.
The rice jar at home was empty, without even any rice bran to feed the chickens.
Because her uncle's family was going on a long trip, they locked all the food in the cupboard in the room to prevent it from being eaten by mice.
When Zhao Silian returned home, she didn't know what to eat to fill her stomach.
Zhao Ruyue was worried that Zhao Hongli would rely on her, so she didn't dare to help Zhao Silian openly.
Otherwise, if Zhao Hongli knew that she had someone supporting her outside, it was possible that he would no longer care about her food and clothing in the future.
Even if outsiders help Zhao Silian, they can only help her for a while, not all the time.
Zhao Hongli must be forced to take on the responsibility of raising the child.
Zhao Ruyue said to Zhao Silian, “Silian, when you pack the rice noodles and go back, don’t tell your dad that you worked for me to make up for the one dime that was missing. Just say that I kept a record of it and will go to him to collect the money when I have enough.”
Zhao Silian didn't understand why her cousin Ruyue asked her to say that, but she knew that her cousin would not harm her. No matter who she was, she was much better than her biological father.
Zhao Silian nodded solemnly and said, "I remember it."
In the kitchen, the steamed buns made by Ning Shaoxian came out of the pot. There was a small piece of dough left over, so it couldn't be made into hot dog buns. So Ning Shaoming kneaded it and made it into ordinary round steamed buns.
Zhao Ruyue gave the steamed bun to Zhao Silian: "Eat it before you go back."
Zhao Silian took the steamed bun and said, "Thank you, Auntie. I won't tell anyone about eating the steamed buns here when I go back."
"That's right, so smart!" Zhao Ruyue nodded with satisfaction, thinking that if this child didn't go astray, he would not be too bad in the future.
She remembered that she had seen Donglan mark out two areas in the vegetable garden to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are not yet ripe, but they can grow potatoes for two seasons.
The first potato harvest is in June and July, which is about this time.
"Si Lian, do you still remember where your vegetable garden is?"
Zhao Silian quickly swallowed the steamed bun in her mouth and replied, "I know. I went with my mom when she was growing vegetables before. The one on the left is my uncle's vegetable garden, and the one on the right is my family's vegetable garden."
"Yes, I remember when your mother went to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes, you went with her. The potatoes you planted should be ready to be dug now.
Sweet potatoes will not mature until August, which is when you are on summer vacation. You can go to the vegetable garden to dig some potatoes after school today. If you don’t know how to cook them, you can come to my house to learn. I will teach you some simple ones and you can eat them in turn. ”
"That's great!" Zhao Silian didn't know this and was very surprised to hear Zhao Ruyue say this.
She originally thought that when she got home from school and there was nothing to eat at home, she would go to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables and cook them to fill her stomach.
But it’s easy to feel hungry if you only eat vegetables, so it’s much better with potatoes.
She took out a pen and paper and asked, "Aunt Ruyue, can you teach me now? I can write it down and do it directly when I get home. Otherwise, I will have to trouble you again. After school, you will be busy here too. I am embarrassed to bother you when you are so busy."
Zhao Silian couldn't wait to go back and dig some potatoes to cook.
She was embarrassed to say that although the steamed bun was quite big, an ordinary child would definitely be full after eating such a big bun, but she had been hungry for a long time and had a big appetite, so she could only feel half full after eating one steamed bun.
She originally wanted to go back and drink more water to fill her stomach, but now that she had potatoes, she wouldn't have to go hungry anymore.
However, Zhao Silian only knows how to cook potatoes, and she wants to learn more.
"No problem." Zhao Ruyue told her some simple ways to eat potatoes, including boiled potatoes, steamed potatoes, baked potatoes, salty mashed potatoes, sweet mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, potato omelets, potato vegetable pancakes, and fried potato cubes.
It also talked about how to store potatoes and the precautions that sprouted potatoes should not be eaten.
Zhao Silian was so happy that she helped her wash two more basins of dishes before going home, and Zhao Ruyue couldn't stop her.
She brought home some boiled rice noodles. Zhao Hongli was rarely drunk. Seeing that she only spent fifty cents to bring back a bowl of boiled rice noodles, he was very proud of his own cleverness.
But when Zhao Hongli heard Zhao Silian say that Zhao Ruyue would pay the bill and come to him to collect the money when she had collected one dollar, his face instantly turned gloomy.
He cursed, "Bah! They are relatives, but the richer they are, the more stingy they are! They are so narrow-minded, I don't think her family can make a fortune! Don't buy things from her house anymore, or she will make a penny from us!"
When Zhao Silian heard him swearing, she couldn't help but shrink her neck and try to reduce her presence as much as possible.
Seeing and hearing him cursing Zhao Ruyue who had helped him out of kindness, he felt uncomfortable and wanted to refute but didn't dare.
Until Zhao Hongli said that next time I must not go to her house to buy things and should go to other stores.
Zhao Silian couldn't help but say, "I went to all the other stores and asked, but no one would give me credit. Only Cousin Ruyue was willing to let me buy on credit for 10 cents."
After she finished speaking, she saw Zhao Hongli's distorted expression and was so scared that she turned around and ran away.
She was worried that he would be chased out and beaten, so she looked back carefully while running. To her surprise, her father just scolded her and did not chase her out to beat her. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly found a place to hide.
Zhao Silian didn't know that Zhao Hongli was busy drinking and had never had a proper meal. Even if there were snacks, they were just a accompaniment to the wine.
What's more, he and his drinking buddies didn't have much money and couldn't afford good food. The side dishes they had were usually just a plate of peanuts or fried fish, which were not enough to fill their stomachs.
He hadn't had much solid food in his stomach for a long time, and the long-term effects of alcohol made him have no strength to chase after her. His hand was shaking so much that he even grabbed the chopsticks. He could only eat the boiled rice noodles that Zhao Silian brought back, thinking that he would deal with her after he was full.
However, as Zhao Hongli was eating, he felt like drinking again, so he poured himself a glass and drank while eating.
As I ate and drank, I was drunk again without realizing it.
After getting drunk, he remembered that his wife had run away with someone, and he was busy cursing his wife and the adulterer, who he didn't know, and his wife's family. He had no time to think about dealing with Zhao Silian.
After he passed out drunk, Zhao Silian dug up several potatoes, washed them, went back to the kitchen through the back door, steamed the potatoes, cut them in half, sprinkled some salt on them, blew on them, and took a bite of the hot potatoes.
After eating two big potatoes, she touched her stomach and felt so full that she wanted to cry.
The next day she got up early and cut a lot of green onions and coriander from her own vegetable garden. She knew the rice noodle shop would need more of these.
He washed all the green onions and coriander thoroughly, and before Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming opened the door, he quietly put them at the door and ran away.
Zhao Ruyue vaguely guessed who put it there and wanted to give her something else as compensation, but she didn't find it after several attempts, so she had to ask Ning Shiqiu to take care of her more in school.
Her mother's affairs caused a sensation in the town, and Zhao Silian would be affected to some extent at school.
"If someone bullies Silian, help her if you can, but don't join others in isolating her."
Ning Shiqiu felt helpless when he heard his mother's instructions. What happened to Silian's mother happened so long ago. Isn't it a bit late for his mother to say this now?
"Mom, Silian and I are friends. If she gets bullied, I will definitely help her. Have you forgotten that we used to live next door to each other and were childhood friends? How could I join others in isolating her? She didn't do anything wrong."
“…”
Zhao Ruyue once again realized that she was indeed too slow. They could handle the child's affairs well by themselves, so she should stop interfering: "Look at my brain, I forgot that you are also good friends. You are doing well, keep it up."
Ning Shixia raised her hand: "And me, I am also good friends with Sister Silian and Sikui!"
Speaking of Zhao Sikui, she felt a little sad: "It's a pity that Sikui was taken away by her mother. I haven't seen Sikui for a long time and I miss her a little. Mom, will Sikui come back?"
Zhao Ruyue shook her head: "I don't know either."
Zhao Sikui never came back in her previous life. She was too young when she was taken away. When she grows up, her memory of her hometown here will probably become vague, or even completely forgotten.
It’s better not to come back, otherwise Zhao Hongli might stick to him and he won’t be able to get rid of him.
"What are you talking about? Come and try this egg cake." Ning Shaoming came in with a plate of egg cake and asked them all to try it.
Zhao Ruyue saw the white egg cake and asked with a smile, "Failed to beat the egg whites again?"
"Yeah, I think we still need to buy a refrigerator. The meat will easily go bad if left like this in the summer. It seems we can't save this money." Ning Shaoming took Ning Shichun to try to make cakes several times in the past few days.
He wanted to try to see if the egg whites could be whipped without refrigeration, but the temperature was too high now and it was really hard to whip the egg whites without refrigeration. He had only succeeded twice, and Ning Shichun had never succeeded once.
Since the egg whites failed to be beaten successfully, Ning Shaoming had to add flour and sugar and steam them in a pot to make egg cake.
The egg cakes are sold in the store, but the sales are average. Sometimes they can’t be sold out, so they just share some among themselves.
There was not enough brown sugar at home today, so Ning Shaoming tried adding white sugar to part of the dough, so part of the egg cake was pure white today.
"This is the first time I've eaten egg cake made with sugar," Zhao Ruyue pinched one and took a bite, "It tastes pretty good."
Ning Shaoming had been tired of eating it these past few days, so after hearing what she said, he took a small piece and ate it: "It's really good, and the taste is quite different from the brown sugar egg cake."
When Ning Shixia heard her father mention the refrigerator, she swallowed the egg cake in her mouth and asked, "Dad, what do you want to freeze in the refrigerator? I can ask Sister Silian for help. Sister Silian has a refrigerator at home."
Zhao Ruyue said in surprise: "I heard that her grandmother and uncle brought people to her house yesterday to mediate the conflict between them. After the mediation, it seemed that they took away a lot of things. Wasn't her refrigerator moved away by her grandmother's family?"
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