Chapter 4 Salted Duck Eggs
Jian Feng was in a bad mood, so Jian Li didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Wang Mengmei urged her daughter to go to bed: "Remember to take your medicine before bed!"
Jian Li said "oh".
The Jian family's house was only 30 square meters, and they managed to partition off a small bedroom for Jian Li to live in. Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei put a big bed in the living room and drew the curtains when they went to bed at night.
There was no bathroom at home, so Jian Li carried her basin to the bathroom at the end of the corridor to wash herself.
There were only Jian Feng and Wang Mengmei in the room.
Wang Mengmei was half happy and half distressed: "I told you that you didn't believe me, but you have opened your eyes today. Look at the way Xiangdong and his wife are today, their little thoughts are out of control!"
Jian Feng lowered his head: "To the east..."
The words of excuse were on his lips, but he was too upset to know how to say them.
Everything happened today so fast that it was hard for him to understand.
When Mrs. Liu passed away, he rushed over without saying a word. He first kowtowed three times in front of the body, and then tears fell unconsciously.
What a kind old man he was! Jian Feng couldn't help but feel sad.
The old lady of the Liu family also lost her husband early, but unlike his mother, she chose to live with her son. Liu Xiangdong was young at that time and could not take over, so she took over the work herself.
When her son grew up, she handed the job to him and found a part-time job washing vegetables in the factory kitchen.
After decades of hard work, the old man has gained a very good reputation in the family compound, and many young people come to kowtow, burn incense and give gifts.
There were also a few older sisters of similar age who called their children and grandchildren to come over and cried uncontrollably.
In this mourning atmosphere, Liu Xiangdong came to ask for his advice after crying for a while.
"Brother Feng, what do you think we should do next?"
Jian Feng is the oldest among the five of them, so it is natural for him to step forward when encountering things. Liu Xiangdong came up to ask Jian Feng for his opinion, but Jian Feng didn't care much at first and immediately told Liu Xiangdong how the old man sent it.
"Go buy the ready-made funeral materials and clothes. As for the things to be burned, you can ask your father's elders if they have any advice on burning and burying his body. Also, your father's grave was decided long ago. Do you think you should ask a local celestial being to take a look at where your mother is buried this time..." [Note 1]
"By the way, the weather is hot now, it's best to rent an ice coffin."
Jian Feng was talking until his mouth was dry and he became more and more sad. He barely managed to pat his good brother on the shoulder.
"Dongzi, the old man has gone, you should also look forward."
Zhao Xiaopeng and Xu Jianguo followed suit, all urging Liu Xiangdong to mourn his loss.
Liu Xiangdong was stunned for a moment, his words turning over and over, but he finally said it.
"Brother Feng, I know...but I really can't leave here, how about you guys help me order some funeral materials?"
As soon as Liu Xiangdong said this, Zhao Xiaopeng and Xu Jianguo immediately fell silent, but Jian Feng wanted to agree.
Just at this moment, Wang Mengmei came.
Wang Mengmei called up the wives of each family. On her left hand was Zhao Xiaopeng's wife Wu Haixia, on her right hand was Xu Jianguo's wife Sun Yan, and behind them were Wang Liming's wife and children.
When Wang Mengmei heard this, she knew she had come at the right time.
She interrupted herself with a loud howl and was about to kneel down before the old lady's body.
——When she gave birth, her own mother didn't come to take care of her after giving birth, but the old lady brought her meals for several days. She was willing to do this.
Liu Xiangdong could only interrupt what he was saying and go to help Wang Mengmei with his wife Zhang Qin.
When Wang Mengmei stood up, Liu Xiangdong couldn't finish what he had just said.
They are all married men, and men can borrow money and things from each other with just a few words, but as long as their wives are around, any sensible person will know that what they just said is too much.
Liu Xiangdong winked at his wife Zhang Qin. Zhang Qin rolled her eyes and then put on a face mixed with sorrow to entertain the women.
Zhao Xiaopeng and Xu Jianguo's wife obviously saw what was going on and came here with gritted teeth, but they were very dissatisfied with Wang Mengmei. The two of them usually had a good relationship with Zhang Qin, so the three women gathered together to talk.
Wang Mengmei snorted, and together with Wang Liming's wife Xue Fang, burned paper money for the old lady in front of the coffin.
Wang Liming was not at home, and Xue Fang had no one to discuss things with, so she could only secretly ask Wang Mengmei: "Sister-in-law, how much are you going to give?"
They are all childhood friends. It would not look good if one family gave more and the other gave less.
Xue Fang doesn't like to stand out and just wants to give as much as others give her.
Wang Mengmei calculated the favors in her mind and said, "Give me thirty yuan!"
It was neither too high nor too low. Xue Fang breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that everyone would ask for fifty or one hundred yuan. She was now alone at home taking care of the children. Where could she find so much money?
"Thirty then. I'll wait for it to be delivered tomorrow."
Wang Mengmei appreciated people who spoke their mind like this. If it were the other three, they would definitely start complaining about whether it was too much or too little.
There is no one like Xue Fang, who just asks and never pretends to be sympathetic after asking.
The two of them burned paper in front of the coffin. When most people had arrived, including Liu Xiangdong's old family members, they gave up their seats and stood up to pat their legs.
The relatives from Liu Xiangdong's old family who came were all older, so Wang Mengmei was very relieved. After all, the elders were here, and no matter what happened later, their own family's affairs would not be able to interfere.
But just when she felt relieved, something unexpected happened.
Because it was night, the bell had not yet arrived, but the funeral procession had arrived first. An elder from Liu Xiangdong's old family was in charge of this business, and he brought his family with him. [Note 2]
As a result, in front of so many people, Liu Xiangdong suddenly said that he wanted his childhood friends to carry his mother's coffin.
"After so many years, my mother has already treated you as my own brothers."
Wang Mengmei was immediately furious.
When the old lady was alive, she never said she would adopt a son. Now that she is dead, she asks these unclear people to carry her coffin. What kind of logic is this?
So are they just sworn brothers or just ordinary friends?
Wang Mengmei was very annoyed by what Liu Xiangdong and his wife had done. She grabbed Jian Feng tightly with one hand and stopped him from speaking.
Just kidding, carrying a coffin, Liu Xiangdong is really willing to do anything to avoid paying back the money.
As expected, both Zhao Xiaopeng and Xu Jianguo's wife were unhappy.
It's just that everyone is being polite.
"Let's just follow the rules. We don't mind the formality."
In the end, it didn't work out.
Liu Xiangdong failed to achieve his goal and felt a little embarrassed, so he found an excuse to go out.
The other families looked at each other, and finally it was Xu Jianguo's wife Sun Yan who said something unpleasant.
"I'm really being treated as a fool by others."
They are the only smart couple! They are so shameless just for a little money!
Jian Feng wasn't really stupid, and he figured it out after a quick thought. He immediately felt a heavy feeling in his heart.
He could accept that his childhood friend had become shrewd and mercenary, but he could not accept that the other party wanted to take advantage of everything.
When did Liu Xiangdong become like this?
Jian Feng had originally wanted to help out there, but after this happened, looking at the dismal mourning hall, he suddenly felt completely bored.
So after working there for half the night, he rejected Liu Xiangdong's offer to stay overnight and went home with his wife.
Wang Mengmei could see Jian Feng's disappointment, and she couldn't bear to see him like this, so she told him to wash up and go to bed.
"I have to go to work tomorrow!"
Jian Feng hummed, and as he lay on the bed, his mind was filled with what his girlfriend had said about him at the dinner table tonight.
“People change.”
But when did it change?
"well……"
Jian Feng sighed, as if something warm had also left with the death of the gentle old man.
******
The next morning, when Jian Li got up, her father had already gone to work and her mother had also gone to the market.
Jian Li opened the lid of the pot and saw two steamed buns inside, millet porridge under the sieve, and cucumber mixed in the big bowl.
Jian Li smacked her lips and rummaged through the drawers and found a jar of salted duck eggs that her mother had pickled.
She took one out of the jar and cut it in half with a knife. The bright yellow yolk flowed out and trickled down her wrist. Jian Li quickly used chopsticks to pick up the egg white and yolk of the salted duck egg and put it into the hot steamed bun.
The big white steamed bun was immediately covered with a layer of yellow oil, and a salty aroma wafted over it.
Jian Li took a bite of the steamed bun. The unique pleasure of carbohydrates and fat made her squint her eyes in satisfaction instantly.
Take another bite of the crisp cucumber, refreshing and greasy, a perfect combination.
Jian Li finished a steamed bun with millet porridge. She could still vaguely feel her enlarged stomach growling in dissatisfaction, but she still put down her chopsticks.
She put away the table and started doing burpees, ten in a set. She did three sets and her face was red with exhaustion.
After she had recovered from her tiredness, Jian Li picked up the salted duck eggs. Before leaving, she thought for a moment and found a bag of soy milk powder from under the cupboard.
When she arrived at the market, it was the busiest time in the morning.
Jian Li found her mother's stall accurately. In the morning, some people who came to buy vegetables also bought some steamed buns.
But overall, there aren't too many people.
Ms. Wang Mengmei is always in a good mood and looks cheerful, but when she is in a bad mood, she will scold even the dogs she sees. Now her face is not in a good mood.
Jian Li knew it very well.
It was the same in her last life. This market had just started, and it was not doing well in the first few weeks. Her mother almost gave up.
It turned out to be the largest and busiest vegetable market within a radius of ten kilometers.
But her mother also regretted one thing, which was when she first set up the stall, the market management office came to register and asked about the business scope.
Her mother didn't think much about it at the time and just said she was selling steamed buns. People asked her if she was willing to change her location to an area with more cooked food, but her mother refused, thinking that the location she had chosen was the best.
But this turned out to be a wrong choice.
The cooked food area has a lot of traffic, which is much better than this area. More importantly, her mother doesn't get along with the two vegetable vendors next to her. The vegetable vendors always occupy the road and always squeeze her stall sign. They have been neighbors for many years and have quarreled and fought with both sides several times.
This was also the reason why Ms. Wang Mengmei did not make any money later.
In order to prevent Ms. Wang Mengmei from repeating the same old path in her life, Jian Li plans to give her mother a push.
Jian Li, bearing her mother's "death ray", placed the salted duck eggs on the table and wrote on them with the black fountain pen she brought with her.
"Salted duck eggs—three cents each."
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