Dinner time is the busiest time for the Song family, especially today when they are making pork dumplings, the whole family is busy preparing.
Chen Xiuxiu kneaded the dough, Sun Suyun chopped the stuffing, Yang Yulan added fire and started the pot, and Feng Guizhi also went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, preparing to stir-fry a side dish first.
Song Jianshe was holding his daughter Tiantian in his arms, playing with some other children in the yard. Song Aiguo and Song Aimin went to their private plots to plant corn.
After a while, the vegetables were fried and the dumpling wrappers were rolled out. Feng Guizhi was still the one who mixed the filling. After everything was mixed, she moved a stool and started wrapping the dumplings with the other wives.
Yuanbao ran in with Baoya and watched Feng Guizhi and the others making dumplings.
Just watch her pinch the dough with one hand and scoop the stuffing with the other, and with just a pinch of both hands, a dumpling is ready. The white and plump dumplings are placed on the grate, with bulging meaty bellies, which look very beautiful.
Baoya opened her eyes wide, and it felt like she hadn't even seen a single dumpling clearly. She tilted her head and blinked blankly.
Yang Yulan couldn't help laughing when she saw her little appearance, and reached out her flour-covered hand to touch her little face.
Then, a little white flour appeared on Baoya's fair and tender little face.
"Sister Xiaobao, there is flour on your face." Yuanbao pointed at Baoya's face and was amused. Then he picked up some flour from the side with his finger and smeared it on the other side of Baoya's face.
Baoya reached out and wiped it twice, then started laughing too.
In just a short while, two more rows of dumplings appeared on the grate, all of them were white and plump.
Seeing that the plate was about to be full, Feng Guizhi called Yang Yulan, "Old Third, go boil some water and prepare the dumplings."
"Hey." Yang Yulan stoked the fire and poured two large scoops of water into the pot.
After the water boiled, Feng Guizhi carefully held the sieve and started to put the dumplings in.
"Yuanbao, you and Baoya go and call your uncle back for dinner."
Yuanbao responded and took Baoya to the private plot.
"Sister Xiaobao, why did grandma call you Baoya just now? Is your name Baoya?" Yuanbao asked on the way.
Baoya nodded her little head. Her name was Baoya.
"But I still like to call you little sister."
Baoya tilted her head. She also liked hearing them call her Little Sister Bao. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know how to say it, so she didn't say anything in the end.
Called Song Aiguo and Song Aimin
Afterwards, Yuanbao dragged Baoya all the way home. When they got home, the pork dumplings were just out of the pot.
“Wow, we can eat dumplings now!”
The table and benches were set up, and even Song Jianye, who had been in the house all the time, rarely came out.
After all, today is the first day of recognizing Baoya, so Song Jianye specially washed and tidied himself up, changed into clothes that he didn't wear often, and came out to have a meal with everyone.
This is the first time the whole family has gathered together in recent days.
Each person was given a bowl of dumplings. Feng Guizhi also prepared a dipping sauce and added a dish to the meal. It was truly a feast that was even more sumptuous than during the Chinese New Year.
"Today we really benefited from Baoya's success." Song Jianshe said with a smile.
"That's right, dumplings are only eaten during Chinese New Year."
"I also have to congratulate my third brother and his wife for having a new little one."
Song Jianye and Yang Yulan kept smiling. They were happy to have such a daughter.
"Come here. I don't have anything good to give to my niece. I found four or five of Yun Duo's old clothes, including short jackets and long sleeves. Take a look and don't be disgusted." Chen Xiuxiu held a few folded clothes and gave them to Yang Yulan.
Yang Yulan quickly waved her hands: "Sister-in-law..."
Before he could even say anything to refuse, Chen Xiuxiu shot him down: "Alright, I'm giving it to my niece, so you can't refuse it. Besides, it's not a good thing, so take it."
Yang Yulan had no choice but to accept them all. Before she sat down, Sun Suyun came over with the things.
"I don't have much to give you. This is a little coarse cloth given by my parents. Keep it for Baoya."
Li Qingyan also took out half a can of malted milk and gave it to Yang Yulan. "The girl is too thin. Let's make some for her."
Yang Yulan was holding a bunch of things in her arms, and her heart was also filled with things. Looking at her sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law, she felt a little sore in her eyes.
She really married into a good family. Her husband was kind and caring, her mother-in-law was sensible, and her sisters-in-law all got along well. Now that she had a good daughter, Yang Yulan really felt that she had no regrets.
"You've all given it, so it would be unreasonable for me, as a nurse, not to pay for it. Make a pair of shoes for the girl tomorrow when you're not busy."
"Thank you, Mom." Yang Yulan wiped her eyes and said with a smile.
"Okay, it will get cold if you don't eat it soon. Let's eat quickly."
The whole family started eating. The dumplings were thin-skinned and rich in filling. Every bite was filled with a rich broth, which made people exclaim in satisfaction.
Song Jianshe ate a dumpling in one bite and couldn't help sighing
Said: "Alas, I have been staying at home for the past few days and I am reluctant to leave. I feel that if I continue to eat like this for two more days, I will gain several pounds of weight."
Li Qingyan laughed at him: "Pigs can be sold for money if they grow meat, but what's the point of you growing meat?"
The whole family laughed.
Baoya was not very skilled in using chopsticks, and the dumplings were too big for her to pick up, so she could only put her face close to the bowl and take a small bite.
She must have eaten dumplings during the Chinese New Year last year, but she couldn't remember the taste. After trying these dumplings now, she just thought they were incredibly delicious.
The minced pork filling was different from the pheasant she had eaten before. It was more tender and fragrant, with a rich meaty aroma that made her lick her lips after she finished eating it.
Today's dumplings were a feast for everyone.
After dinner, the kids all ran out to play, while the adults at the table were still sitting in the house.
Feng Guizhi asked, "Have you chosen a name?"
"It's decided. Let's call her Yunlai. Mom, what do you think of this name?" Song Jianye thought about it for a whole day and looked up the dictionary before he found this word.
"Yunlai, Yunlai, Songyunlai..." Feng Guizhi repeated it silently several times, smiled, and thought that this was a good name.
It just so happens that the eldest daughter is called Yunduo and the third daughter is called Yunlai, which is great.
Li Qingyan smiled and said, "That's a good name, but which character is it?"
"The one under the grass radical."
“That’s a good word.”
Hearing what the fourth daughter-in-law said, Feng Guizhi made the decision: "Okay, let's call her Yunlai, from the third family. Tomorrow you can take the girl to register her household."
"Why."
After saying this, Feng Guizhi thought about what happened yesterday and said, "I heard that girl's voice yesterday. She's not mute. You two should talk to her more often and see if you can get her to speak."
When these words were spoken, several people were a little surprised: "Can you speak?"
Baoya has been here for so many days without saying a word, and they all think she is mute.
Feng Guizhi nodded: "I did hear her speak, but there might be some reason why she didn't speak."
When she said this, everyone thought of Chen Fengxia and immediately understood. With a mother like that, it wasn't surprising that she couldn't speak after being brought up.
It was gradually getting dark, and everyone went back to sleep.
After Baoya and Tianen fell asleep, Yang Yulan looked at their sleeping faces, pondered for a while, and said to Song Jianye:
"Let's get them another little bed tomorrow for the two of them to sleep in."
Before, because we didn’t know when Baoya would find her parents, we didn’t think too much about it. The four of us squeezed into one bed, with Baoya and Tianen sleeping at the other end.
But now Baoya is their daughter and she won't leave, so their family of four certainly can't sleep in such a crowded place anymore.
It would be better to get a small bed for the two children to sleep in as soon as possible.
Yang Yulan didn't say it, and Song Jianye really hadn't thought of this. Now that he thought about it, he decided to start preparing tomorrow.
Yang Yulan was also busy. She altered and patched up the clothes that Chen Xiuxiu brought according to Baoya's size. The clothes, which were not very old to begin with, looked like new after mending them.
Yang Yulan picked it up and smiled with satisfaction. Seeing that it was getting late, she quickly packed up and went to bed.
The next day, Yang Yulan took half a day off and took Baoya to the brigade headquarters to register her household registration.
When she returned home for lunch at noon, she heard that Yang Yulan had finished her work, so Feng Guizhi went into the house and took out all the candies that Song Jianshe had bought.
"Everyone grabs some and puts it in their pockets, and gives it to everyone when they go to work in the afternoon."
Chen Xiuxiu, Sun Suyun, and Yang Yulan each grabbed a handful and put them in their pockets. After they had finished, Feng Guizhi stuffed two into each of the younger children's pockets.
"Eat it yourself."
"Thank you, grandma." Song Yuanbao couldn't wait to peel one and put it in his mouth. It was so sweet.
Song Tianen and Yun Duo also peeled one, but Song Tianen gave his to Baoya. Baoya opened her mouth and ate the candy, it was so sweet.
Then she peeled one and gave it to Song Tianen, and carefully put the remaining candy in her pocket, reluctant to eat it.
Then he patted his pockets with his little hands and smiled sweeter than sugar.
........
After work in the afternoon, Feng Guizhi stuffed a handful of candy into the mouth of Mrs. Sun next to her.
"Hey hey?" Mrs. Sun was stunned when she saw the candy in her hand.
"Thank you for taking a trip yesterday, aunt, to have some sweets."
Mrs. Sun accepted it with a smile and put all the candies in her pocket without tasting any of them, thinking of taking them back for her grandson.
"I see you have a granddaughter now, and I'm happy that your wrinkles are gone."
As the saying goes, if you take someone else's candy, you must say something that others like to hear.
"I'm definitely happy to have such a wonderful granddaughter."
When the people around saw Feng Guizhi stuffing candy into Grandma Sun's mouth, they all came over.
"Isn't it? That girl is so pretty, so fair and tender. No one in the surrounding area is prettier than her."
"If you ask me, Aunt Guizhi is really kind. To be honest, if this happened in our family, we probably wouldn't do it to this extent."
"Yes, they say good things happen to good people. I think the Song family is not far from turning their fortunes around."
Feng Guizhi listened with a smile on her face and stuffed a few candies into each of them.
Although their words were full of flattery, they might actually be right. The Song family's fortunes are about to change.
Mrs. Tian over there looked at the group of people surrounding Feng Guizhi, her face drooping again.
Seeing Feng Guizhi handing out candies to them, he wanted to ask for some, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He could only watch from the side in anger, secretly cursing those people for being so shameless as to lie for a few candies.
But she heard that Feng Guizhi spent ten dollars to buy a girl yesterday, and she was a silly one.
She thought Feng Guizhi might be stupid, otherwise how could she spend ten dollars to buy something that would lose money.
A little girl, not only dumb but also stupid, how much can she ask for in betrothal gifts when she grows up and gets married? After raising her for so long, it's not even enough to cover the food expenses.
After cursing a few more times in her heart, Mrs. Tian turned around and went back to work.
After work in the evening, Feng Guizhi returned home and was about to kill the fish to make fish soup, but was stopped by several children.
"Grandma, let's not eat fish for now. Let's eat it later." Song Yuanbao said with his head raised.
Baoya next to her also looked at her eagerly with her dark eyes wide open.
"What's wrong? Why don't you want to eat fish again?" Feng Guizhi was puzzled.
"There are only two fish left. If we eat them, they'll be gone. Let's keep them and let them have little fish to eat. That way we'll have plenty of fish to eat."
Feng Guizhi was amused, but she didn't expose the truth. She just said, "Okay, then we won't kill the fish today."
The little ones immediately jumped up with joy.
After dinner, Feng Guizhi remembered that she had not collected the eggs yet, so she went to the chicken coop to collect them. She found eight eggs!
Old Song's family has five chickens, four hens and one rooster. Usually they lay three or four eggs, but today they doubled.
Feng Guizhi frowned and thought again and again. She clearly remembered collecting them yesterday, but now she was unsure when looking at the eight eggs in her hand.
Could it be that he really forgot to collect it yesterday? Feng Guizhi thought about it for a while, then turned and went into the house.
Just as I put the eggs away, Song Jianshe came over and asked, "Mom, how many cicada shells have you collected?"
Feng Guizhi went over and found it. She picked it up and weighed it, estimating that it must be more than one kilogram.
These days
The children in the family often went out to look for them, and brought back a lot every day, and gradually saved up so much.
Seeing that there were already quite a few cicada shells, Song Jianshe said, "Third brother has also woven a few straw mats these days. I plan to go there the day after tomorrow morning to see if I can sell them."
Feng Guizhi nodded and said, "You decide."
.......
During the day, Baoya and the others went out to look for cicada shells. After this period of time, they had become somewhat familiar with the method. Before long, the little ones had collected quite a few.
When they found it, Song Tianen and Yuanbao each caught two cicadas. The cicadas that had been chirping non-stop just now immediately became silent after being pinched.
The two men shook their hands and the cicada still didn't chirp. Curious, they held the cicada and began to study it.
Song Tianen took one for himself and gave the other to Baoya. He then moved closer to try to entice the cicada to continue chirping, but the cicada did not move and did not make a sound.
However, children are very playful. After a while, Song Yuanbao saw a cricket jumping past his feet, and his attention was immediately attracted by it.
Holding the cicada in his left hand, Song Yuanbao followed the cricket's chirping. Seeing that it stopped moving, he immediately lunged forward and covered it with his free right hand.
"What are you doing...Yuanbao?" Song Tianen asked curiously as he saw Yuanbao lying on the ground.
However, Yuanbao was now carefully opening his hand to see if there was a cricket inside, and had no time to answer him.
He squinted one eye and took a closer look, then slowly opened the lid with his hand. As a result, the cricket inside jumped out and ran away during this gap.
This really frustrated Yuanbao. He got up and caught up with the cricket, calling for Song Tianen to come and help:
"I'm catching crickets, Fifth Brother, come and help me catch them."
Song Tianen immediately went to help, and Baoya followed suit, holding a cicada in her hand and standing aside to watch them catch crickets. Yunduo was not interested in these things and went to the side to continue looking for cicada shells.
After being besieged by two people, the cricket finally failed to escape and was caught by Song Yuanbao.
"I caught it!" Song Yuanbao looked at the cricket in his hand and excitedly showed it to Song Tianen.
"Wow!" After all, he had his help, so Song Tianen clapped happily.
Song Yuanbao turned around and handed the cricket in his hand to Baoya: "Little sister, hold it for us first, we will go catch a few more."
But in Baoya's hands
Song Tianen took the cicada when he saw it. Now his hands were empty, Baoya took it carefully, holding the cricket in his palms with his two small hands, feeling a little nervous and excited.
The cricket chirped in her palm, and she could feel its thin whiskers moving.
Song Yuanbao and Song Tianen continued to catch crickets. Baoya followed them carefully, holding the cricket in her hand.
After a while, the two men caught five more crickets.
After the three of them had been playing with the crickets for a while, Song Yuanbao suddenly had an idea: "Fifth brother, do you think these crickets are edible?"
Song Tianen was surprised: "Ah? Eating... eating crickets?"
Baoya on the side also widened her eyes in surprise, and looked curiously at the cricket in his hand.
"Yes, although there is less meat, it is still meat." Song Yuanbao poked the cricket with his hand, his saliva almost flowing.
Ever since he had eaten pork dumplings two days ago, he had been craving meat. Not only him, but Song Tianen and Baoya also secretly swallowed their saliva when they heard the word "meat", and couldn't help but think of that delicious pork dumplings.
"But...but...can crickets be eaten?"
"Should... maybe..." Song Yuanbao was a little unsure, but he turned around and thought: "Didn't grandma say before that some people eat tree bark when they are hungry? If tree bark can be eaten, crickets should be edible too. Let's roast them and give them a try."
Song Tianen was immediately persuaded, and the three little ones started to think about how to roast the crickets and eat them.
Song Yuanbao went to find a branch and strung the two crickets he caught on it. Song Tianen followed suit and strung three crickets on it as well.
Baoya looked at them, then looked at the cricket in her palm. In the end, she didn't do anything and just held it carefully in her palm.
But--
"How can we roast without fire?"
Song Tianen also frowned and began to think, then said: "I know...I know, there is fire at the bottom of the pot...I can start a fire..."
Song Yuanbao thought it was true, so the three children told Yun Duo about it and ran back home. When they went into the kitchen, they saw that the fire under the pot was out, but after blowing on it for a while, there were still some sparks.
Song Yuanbao used flammable wheat straw to start the fire, and after a while it really started. The three children built a small fire outside the yard.
After the fire slowly started burning, Song Tianen was responsible for adding fuel to the fire, Song Yuanbao was responsible for roasting, and Baoya was still holding the crickets with her two little hands, so she just watched from the side.
Three little ones sticking out their butts
Sitting around the small fire, we watched the branches with crickets on them being slowly roasted over the fire.
After a while, a burnt smell with a hint of meaty aroma wafted out.
"Smell, the smell of meat~"
All three of them smelled it, and their eyes suddenly brightened. They sniffed and sniffed a few more times.
Seeing that the crickets were almost done, Song Yuanbao picked up one and slowly brought it to his mouth. It was gone in two bites. After all, a cricket was only that small, just enough to fill the gap between his teeth.
However, although it is a little small, you can still taste a little bit of meat flavor.
"Is it...delicious?" Song Tianen and Baoya both blinked and looked at him.
"Hmm! Smells good, there's meat!"
The crickets they caught were roasted, but two of them were burnt. As for the remaining three, Song Tianen tasted one and the remaining two were eaten by Song Yuanbao.
After tasting a little bit of meat, although they felt a little unsatisfied, they didn't dare to eat any more.
At this moment, Song Tianen suddenly remembered that there was a cicada in his pocket and hurriedly took it out.
He looked at the cicada and asked hesitantly, "Then... can cicadas be eaten...?"
The three of them stared at each other, and after thinking for a long time, curiosity overcame their fear and said, "How about we try roasting one too?"
Then, soon another aroma of burnt meat wafted out.
Song Yuanbao swallowed his saliva, but was a little scared and didn't dare to eat it. Then Song Tianen became the first person to try it.
Song Tianen took his first bite and found it crispy, delicious, and full of meat. He concluded:
"It tastes better than crickets...crickets!"
"Really?" Song Yuanbao roasted another one and tasted it, and found that it was indeed better than crickets.
But they didn't dare to taste more, so after stomping out the fire, they ran back to the basin to look at the fish. Baoya ran a few steps, then looked back at the small fire, returned and stomped on it several times before running away.
.......
After another busy day at work, Chen Xiuxiu prepared dinner while Feng Guizhi carried a hoe and went to her private plot.
Baoya saw this and followed, holding Feng Guizhi's clothes and walking towards the private plot together.
There was only one last bunch of corn left in the field, so after planting it they could take a break. So Feng Guizhi didn't delay. She hoeed the ground while Baoya tossed the corn kernels, and they finished planting before dark.
Feng Guizhi pulled Baoya home and said, "When the corn grows in two months, I'll make corn porridge for you."
Baoya licked her lips and nodded her head.
My stomach is full after a meal, and when I go back to sleep
After waiting, Baoya discovered that there was a small bed in the room, placed horizontally at the end of the big bed.
The small bed was about one meter wide, with a reed mat that Song Jianye had just woven underneath and a clean sheet on top.
"Dad made a small bed for you. Baoya and brother can sleep in the small bed from now on, okay?" Yang Yulan said softly.
Song Tianen responded happily, "Okay..."
Baoya also nodded happily.
At night, the brother and sister slept on their own beds, and it took them a long time to fall asleep because of their happiness.
However, Baoya had another dream today, but this time the protagonist in the dream was not her, but——
The author has something to say: By the way, I really ate it when I was a kid... I thought about how delicious the baked food on TV was, so I tried it on impulse.
Now, _(:з」∠)
Thanks to the little angel Xiao Weixiya for irrigating 3 bottles of nutrient solution;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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