Zhou Quan gestured to his younger brothers, "Just leave me in the yard to get some sun. If you're sleepy, go back to your rooms and get some more sleep!"
The two brothers put their eldest brother down on the windowsill in the yard and squatted down beside him. The three brothers watched their sister-in-law busy in the kitchen.
"Big brother, can your sister-in-law cook?" Zhou Lei asked Zhou Quan in a low voice.
"Brother, how did your sister-in-law get you into the bathtub last night?" Zhou Lin asked.
The two brothers transformed into curious children, their minds brimming with questions.
"What are you asking? Hurry up and get some water for your older brother and help him wash up." Old Man Zhou walked over with a stern face, scolding the two ignorant brats.
Zhou Quan glanced at his father silently.
The reason he took so long to go to the toilet was because as soon as he got there, his father chased after him and started yelling at him, asking if he had bumped his wife into the bathtub and broken her head, otherwise why was his daughter-in-law's head tied up?
Zhou Quan could only suppress his urge to urinate and give his father a good explanation. Only then did Zhou's father realize that his wife had fallen and hit her head three days ago when she fainted. As a result, she had removed the cloth strip tied to her head so that they wouldn't worry.
Old Man Zhou also felt that this daughter-in-law was truly intelligent and kind.
The two brothers quickly went to fetch water, helped get a cloth, and helped Zhou Quan wash his face and hands.
Meanwhile, Li Mai had already started a fire in the kitchen and heated a pot of water.
No matter what breakfast you're making, starting with hot water is always the best approach.
"Where do we keep our rice and grain? What do you usually eat for breakfast?" Li Mai came out, saw his brothers in the yard, and walked up to Zhou Quan to ask.
“Mother usually cooks porridge and makes some pancakes in the morning. Zhou Lei, take your sister-in-law to the grain store and see what she needs,” Zhou Quan instructed Zhou Lei.
Zhou Lei responded and left.
Li Mai followed Zhou Lei to the grain shed on the west side. The shed was not big. Against the back wall was a wooden shelf with several half-sacks of things on it.
Below the shelf were several smaller porcelain jars.
Several large urns were placed against the south and north walls.
"Sister-in-law, this is millet, this is white rice, this is corn, the first one here is wheat flour, the second one is cornmeal, and the third one is sorghum flour. These are what Mom usually uses for cooking."
"Also, in these small jars, this one contains mung beans, this one contains cowpeas, this one contains black beans, this one contains white mung beans, this one contains sesame seeds, and that one contains millet. These are all grown on our land. There isn't much; every year, my parents keep some for their own consumption."
"As for those on the shelf, they are seeds left over from last autumn, after we planted them this year."
Zhou Lei very considerately introduced Li Mai to him.
Li Mai nodded, noticing that the Zhou family's grain shed was quite well-stocked, indicating that their family was doing quite well in the village.
However, when Li Mai came over with a basin to scoop out flour to make pancakes, she found that everything inside was almost empty after she lifted the lid of the jar. The jar of white flour was completely empty, and she estimated that there wouldn't even be enough to scoop out a bowlful. It looked like it wouldn't last for more than a few days.
It seems that after the autumn harvest, the jars and earthenware pots would be filled with a year's worth of grain, but by the time the following autumn harvest came, the grain would be almost gone.
It's June now, which means we're almost running out of food.
During this period, she remembered hearing her teacher say that the ancients referred to it as the time between harvests.
However, breakfast for the family still needed to be made. Li Mai knew how to cook, and besides, the original owner also had memories of cooking.
After thinking about it, Li Mai decided to follow their usual eating habits and cook porridge and make pancakes.
I don't know what kind of porridge they used to cook, but Li Mai scooped out a spoonful of mung beans, a little corn, a little millet and sorghum, and a little rice.
Go back to the kitchen, find the stone mortar and pestle, and use it to crush the mung beans into small pieces, and also crush the corn into small pieces, so that the porridge will cook faster.
She gathered all these ingredients into a half-bowl, poured them into a pot of boiling water to cook porridge, then mixed in cornmeal and sorghum flour to make a little over a bowl. She went back to prepare to make pancakes.
Seeing an egg in the kitchen, she cracked one into the dough, poured in some of the half-bowl of oil left over from yesterday, and then kneaded the dough with warm water.
"Sister-in-law, we have brown sugar and white sugar at home, would you like some?" Zhou Lei was sent by his older brother to ask at the kitchen door.
His mother used to make them sugar pancakes.
"Do you have any scallions? Just one scallion will do, no sugar."
After kneading the dough, she set it aside, covered it, and let it rise for a while.
She decided to make scallion pancakes, but decided against making sugar pancakes; she had children at home, so she'd save those for later, remembering that sugar was very expensive in those days.
"I have one!" Zhou Lei quickly went to the patch of land near the gate by the east wall and pulled up a scallion.
"Okay, thank you!" Li Mai took it and said thank you, then continued to work with her head down.
Chop the scallions into scallion flowers and put them in a bowl, then add a little oil and a sprinkle of salt to season them slightly.
After preparing everything, Li Mai observed the Zhou family's kitchen. It was clear that it had been used for many years. Zhou's mother had raised five children, and this kitchen must have been with their family for over twenty years.
The kitchen isn't big. Opposite the entrance is a stove with two burners, one in front and one in back. Further inside, by the window, there's a cabinet and a stovetop that seems to be unused, where you can chop vegetables, knead dough, and roll out noodles.
A large cutting board and a small cutting board stood against the wall above the stove. Li Mai picked one up and used it based on her own instincts.
To be honest, these conditions are much better than the original owner's family's.
However, these conditions are incomparable to those of the era in which Li Mai lived.
However, this era and that era had one thing in common: food shortages. They faced the constant threat of hunger.
While waiting for the porridge to cook, she went for a stroll in the yard and saw that Zhou Quan was sitting quietly in a chair, looking up at the sky in a daze. She stared at him for a moment, then turned her head away.
Suddenly, she felt sorry for him.
At twenty-two, he should be in the prime of his life, full of vigor and ambition. But because he couldn't move his legs, he could only sit in a chair and waste his time. It was really a pity.
Hearing footsteps, Zhou Quan snapped out of his reverie, sat up straight, and met Li Mai's pitying gaze. A sudden pang of pain shot through his heart.
What is she thinking? Is she pitying herself?
The two stared at each other for a few moments before Zhou Quan subconsciously turned his head away to avoid her gaze.
He didn't want to see the pity in her eyes.
Li Mai sensed it and turned back to the kitchen.
Zhou Quan's gaze turned back to her after she turned away, silently watching her back. This time, he had a strong belief: he wanted to heal his leg, he wanted to stand up!
He wanted to be a normal man, to stay by her side, and to transform the pity in her eyes into admiration for him.
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