"I can smell the fragrance outside." Zhou Yiding came in with a fish head, sniffed, picked up a fried golden sandworm and put it in his mouth. It made a crisp sound and he nodded as he ate. "It's delicious, crispy and tasty."
Zhou Huaian and the old man also came in. "Let me try it!" He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. "It's delicious! It's delicious. Grandpa, why don't you and mom eat it?"
Mother Zhou picked up the pottery bowl and said, "How can we eat together in front of the stove? I'll bring it to the table and we can sit down and eat."
"Pour some wine for Grandpa and the old man!" Yang Chunyan said as she took out a wine jar and a small bowl from the cupboard. "I have already mixed the chili powder. Sprinkling some on top will make it taste better."
Zhou Huaian picked up the jar and the small bowl, "Ding Ding Cat, eat the sandworms first, and marinate the fish for a while before cooking."
"Here I come!" Zhou Yiding put the fish meat and fish head mixed with wine and salt on the stove and went to the table.
A few children also came over, and everyone gathered around the table. Dozens of sandworms were killed in a short while.
"It's delicious!" Zhou Jiakang licked his fingers, "Aunt, let's go catch it again tomorrow!"
Zhou's mother patted him lightly and said, "Even if it tastes good, there's no reason to eat it every day. Go wash your hands quickly."
Zhou Huaian drank the last sip of wine, "Ding Ding Cat, I'll help you chop the chili peppers, and you can make the chopped pepper fish head."
"I'll go wash the fish!" Zhou Yiding and he started working separately.
Mother Zhou took the chili peppers out of the vegetable basket and said, "It's getting cold, so the chili peppers don't bear fruit anymore. There are only a few on each plant. If Huang Caigou hadn't asked for them, I would have pulled them all out and planted other vegetables."
Zhou Huaian said: "I think the price of chili peppers these days is higher than before!"
"It can be sold for 25 cents per pound." Zhou's mother smiled and shook her head. "What's the use of a good price? We can only pick one or two pounds a day at most, plus the ones picked by your third aunt, to make up for the yellow procurement. After a while, the white frost will start to appear, and the seedlings will not bear fruit if they turn yellow."
Yang Chunyan thought of the greenhouse peppers of later generations, "Go buy some tarpaulin and build a shed to keep it warm. It should be able to produce more peppers."
Zhou's mother laughed and said, "Oh my! One meter of oilcloth can buy more than ten kilograms of chili peppers. A piece of land that big would need at least several dozen meters. Tofu is now priced like meat."
The old man said: "In the past, the local landlords used to grow vegetables that were not in season. They used straw mats. They would cover the fields when it was frosty and take them down when the sun came out. I saw the cucumbers they grew blooming and bearing fruit even in the coldest weather."
Father Zhou: "Old man, food that is out of season doesn't taste good, right?"
Old man: "How should I know? It's good enough for us peasants to show you that thing."
Father Zhou: "I will make ten or so straw mats tomorrow and build a small shed to try. If it works, I will make a few more!"
Of course, Zhou's mother was willing to try a method that didn't cost any money. "Okay, I'll try it tomorrow."
Zhou Yiding used scallions, ginger and garlic as the base and placed the broken fish head on top. He heated the oil in a pan, added the minced ginger and garlic and stir-fried on low heat until fragrant. He added the chopped chili peppers and stir-fried quickly for a few times. He scooped up the fried chopped chili sauce and spread it on the fish head.
Add a ladle of water to the pot, place the steaming rack on it and steam over medium heat, and use the pot outside to cook the sauerkraut fish.
After about 20 minutes, he asked Yang Chunyan to turn off the fire in the stove that was steaming the fish and simmer it for a while, then sprinkle chopped green onions on the fish and pour some hot oil on it.
Zhou Huaian picked up the earthenware plate and said, "Here comes the chopped pepper fish head!"
Mother Zhou smiled after seeing it and said, "It makes me hungry just by looking at it. Yiding is really hardworking!" Then she glared at Zhou Huaian and said, "Even if I give it to you, you can't get it to eat!"
Zhou Huaian pursed his lips, "Mom, I've noticed that you've never liked me in all these years."
Zhou Yiding said with a smile: "Second Mother, you and your sisters-in-law cook for the youngest. I have no choice but to learn how to cook myself since I am greedy and no one cooks for me."
Zhou's mother smiled and said, "It would be nice if we can have the wine next year. You can come to the youngest's house to eat before the spring."
"I've been eating here for free!" Zhou Yiding sprinkled a handful of coriander in the porcelain bowl, sprinkled some chili powder, heated oil in a wok and poured it on top, "The pickled fish is ready."
A big fish is cooked into two flavors, chopped pepper fish head and pickled fish, which is delicious and goes well with rice.
Zhou Jiakang put down the bowl and looked at his bulging belly, "My father's food is still the best. My mother's cooking is not as good as my grandma's."
Zhou Xiaoru agreed, "My mom's cooking isn't tasty either."
Zhou's mother laughed and said, "They are so picky. Your husband was lucky to have potatoes to eat at that time."
Zhou Huaian said, "Even potatoes don't fill you up! A few potatoes the size of eggs for one meal, plus no fat in my stomach, I'm already starving before midnight."
The old man sighed, "Yes! During the Great Famine, people in the mountains could still go into the mountains to find something to eat to fill their stomachs. Those who lived in the plains even ate Guanyin soil."
Father Zhou nodded and said, "The children born after the household contract responsibility system have good luck and will not have to worry about having no food to eat."
After hearing this, Yang Chunyan recalled that Zhou Jiakang often said that their generation worked harder but was not as hard as their grandfather's generation.
The old couple made a living by digging in the soil and raised four sons and one aunt. The key point is that all four sons got married.
His family only had a son, they had no car, no house in the city, and it was even difficult to find a wife!
After dinner, the children went home. Zhou's mother and Luo Haili helped to clean up, and everyone said goodbye and left.
From the time Zhou's father arrived to the time he left, he never mentioned that Zhou Huaian asked Xiong Dahai to take money to buy medicine.
Zhou Huaian put the bowl in the cupboard, "Yan'er, the weather forecast says it's going to get colder tomorrow!"
"It will snow heavily in two days. It's time to lower the temperature to freeze the bugs." Yang Chunyan wiped her hands and said, "Let's go and add some straw to Wangcai and Laifu's doghouses."
“That’s great!” Zhou Huaian picked up the flashlight and went out. Wangcai, who was lying on the steps, wagged his tail affectionately at the two of them.
At night, the leashes of both dogs were untied to make it easier for them to patrol their territory.
The two went to the backyard, Lai Fu looked up, wagged his tail and lay down again. When the dog grew up, the doghouse was made of two baskets with leaky bottoms.
Zhou Huaian pulled out a bundle of straw, rubbed it, put it in the doghouse, and pressed it down, "It's thick and will keep you warm."
"The temperature difference after winter is too big. It's very cold in the morning and at night." Yang Chunyan looked at the sky. "It's windy. Will you go to the city alone tomorrow morning or go with Yiding?"
"I'm going alone. Last time when I gave grandpa a fur coat, I saw that the old man was quite envious. This time I wore Uncle Daqing's cotton coat in the forest farm and found it quite warm. I will go to the city tomorrow morning to buy one for my father-in-law and my old man as well."
"I remember there were also military-colored big-toed leather boots with thick wool inside, which were also warm to wear."
"Then I'll go check it out tomorrow." Zhou Huaian shook the water off his hands, walked over and held her in his arms as they walked back, "Finally it's just the two of us."
Yang Chunyan thought about how he had come down the mountain early in the morning and went fishing in the afternoon, "Are you tired?"
Zhou Huaian smiled and lowered his head to kiss her, "You'll know whether I'm tired or not in a moment."
"That's all you know how to say all day long!" Yang Chunyan grabbed the soft flesh around his waist and twisted it in a circle.
"We are a couple, there is nothing we can't talk about!"
Zhou Huaian closed the door of the main room, smiled and took her little hand and walked into the inner room. The rough calluses on his fingertips rubbed against her palms, making her heart numb and itchy.
He turned around and lowered his head to approach...
"Woof woof..." Suddenly, the sound of Wangcai barking wildly was heard outside, and there was also the sound of knocking on the door.
Zhou Huaian frowned, "Who is so ignorant?"
"It's late at night, there must be something wrong!" Yang Chunyan pushed him, "Go and see who is coming?"
"Fuck~" Zhou Huaian opened the door, "Who is it? Coming, coming!" He opened the gate and saw Captain Zhou standing at the door. He was stunned for a moment and smiled, "Uncle Datian, rare guest, please come in and sit down!"
"It's freezing cold. I'll just say a few words and then leave." Zhou Datian walked into the yard. "Secretary Xu and I went to the town for a meeting today. When I got home, I heard from your aunt that you sold a small bottle of medicine to the Xiong family for 250 yuan today?"
Zhou Huaian nodded, "Yes! You also know that bastard Xiong Dahai..."
Zhou Datian rolled his eyes at him, "Do you think that 250 bucks is so easy to get? You bought a small bottle of medicine for only a few dollars, and you sold it to Old Bear for 250 bucks. When Old Bear realizes it and sues you for extortion, what are you going to do?"
Zhou Huaian was stunned, he had never thought of this!
Yang Chunyan was also stunned after coming out and hearing this. After a long time, she had long forgotten that these days were different from later times. If the buying and selling exceeded a certain proportion, once reported, there would be consequences.
Zhou Huaian felt that his knowledge was still too shallow. "The money has been taken. If Lao Xiong really wants to sue me, it will be too late even if I return it."
Zhou Datian nodded. "That bastard Lao Xiong is not a good person. If you go to him to return the money, it will probably be a hassle. Maybe this will just remind him."
Yang Chunyan thought of a solution, "Uncle Datian, do you think we can return the money to the brigade cadres?"
Zhou Datian nodded and said, "Okay! Take the money and go find Secretary Xu immediately. Give him the money and tell him that you are asking Lao Xiong for money today because his family used the plague cattle to blackmail you before..."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Zhou Huaian bowed to Zhou Datian gratefully, "Uncle Datian, thank you for the reminder, thank you so much!"
Zhou Datian patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "We are family, so let's go quickly and don't delay." After he said that, he opened the gate and left.
Zhou Huaian chased him out and said, "Uncle Datian, I'll treat you to a drink someday!"
"Okay!" Zhou Datian waved his hand and strode away with a flashlight.
Yang Chunyan took the money, packed some white hyacinth and codonopsis, and also packed the jujube wine that Yang's father brought, and said, "Let's go!"
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaian pulled her scarf and said frustratedly: "Yan'er, I almost..."
"Fool!" Yang Chunyan held his warm big hand, "You didn't do anything wrong, why are you angry! Besides, we are just ordinary mountain people, it's normal that we don't understand these things!"
Zhou Huaian carried her on his back and held her hand, feeling warm in his heart, "I have too little experience. I will ask Brother Huang for more advice when I go to the county town in the future."
Yang Chunyan glanced at him with a smile, "Well! We can learn as long as we live, and we will make progress together!"
Zhou Huaian took her hand and kissed it, "Yan'er, you are so nice!" (End of this chapter)
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