Xiao Jiu noticed that every time her father came back from vacation, he would buy dozens of kilograms of grain and put them in the cellar. Their family had also built a cellar in the corner of the front yard to store grain. In order to prevent the grain from getting moldy and spoiled, they probably had to go down and check it often, and rummage around with their hands to make sure that the grain at the top and bottom had not spoiled.
Xiao Jiu didn't mix his own grain with the grain at home at this time, because he was worried that it would spoil if stored in the cellar.
However, there wasn't enough space in the house to store it, and we also had to be wary of rats. In fact, there was corn piled up in every room. When the weather got cold, we had to shell the corn almost every day. After the autumn harvest, the corn was brought home and dried in the sun. We would then store it again after the first frost and wait for the weather to get cold so that when there were many people in the family, we would shell the corn by hand, which was very hard work.
Farmers are reluctant to waste a single grain of food, including my father, who tries his best to improve the problem of moldy and spoiled grain.
Therefore, he buys cheap and long-lasting dry food, such as sorghum, millet, corn, buckwheat and other grains.
Grandma would dry and preserve sweet potatoes and potatoes whenever possible, and grind them into powder whenever possible.
She never saw the elderly people idle; they always seemed to have endless work to do.
Every time, she felt embarrassed to sneak into her space to eat. In fact, apart from being able to openly provide her family with more meat protein during the autumn harvest, she hadn't really eaten much herself. At most, she would grill a few large shrimp to satisfy her cravings when no one was around.
Looking at the food stored in his space, not to mention rice and wheat flour, there was corn, millet, black rice, red rice, buckwheat, barley, red beans, soybeans, black beans, mung beans, oats, sorghum, kidney beans, broad beans, and many other kinds of food. He had to find a reason to take them out, and he couldn't let anyone find out, because if he was found out, it would be completely inexplicable.
She felt that this famine was indeed an opportunity for her to show her abilities, but now was not the time to do so. If the food her father had stockpiled spoiled, she could still find a way to exchange it for her own.
My father buys all his grain at high prices on the black market, so he doesn't dare to buy too much at once, only carrying back twenty or thirty catties at a time.
The entire Tao family, including the Tang sisters, lived a frugal life, because many people in these two families knew how terrible this famine was. Although it was not as bad as the one in the early 1940s, it was still not to be underestimated.
It only took one month to jump from 1956 to 1957.
Before the New Year, Tang Cuixiang went to the school with Tang Cuimei and asked the principal for a junior high school exam paper. Unexpectedly, her level was at the level of the second year of junior high school. This was without having read any books and taking the test blindly. The principal was very happy and immediately arranged for her to study in the second semester of the second year of junior high school after the start of the new semester. However, he did not mention the matter of reducing or waiving tuition fees.
Ultimately, it's because Tang Cuimei was the principal's family's savior. If Tang Cuixiang weren't, the principal wouldn't have the power to waive tuition and meal fees for just anyone. He had a family to support. Fortunately, Tang Cuixiang didn't dwell on this.
She figured out how to earn her own tuition.
Before the Lunar New Year, someone in the village got married, and all the older women went to help. Tang Cuixiang also went, representing Tang Cuihua's family. She didn't say a word, but just demonstrated a few down-to-earth home-style dishes, which amazed the villagers. When they tasted the food at the dinner table, they were impressed.
Wow, that was absolutely amazing!
In this era, ordinary people get married by finding help themselves. It's usually their own wife or the aunties and grandmas from the neighborhood who come to help. It's rare to hire a professional chef to cook. Only wealthy families can afford to hire a chef.
So no one expected that this seemingly unremarkable little girl would have such abilities, and someone immediately sought out Cuixiang for a talk.
Cuixiang doesn't like to talk about money, but people often repay her by treating her to a meal. This girl is also smart. The most important thing in the early stages is to build up her reputation. Once she has a reputation, she won't have to worry about not being able to negotiate a price in the future.
As for now, whether to give more or less, or to give at all, is entirely up to the host.
Of course, before talking to someone, she would first learn about their character and sound them out. Only if she felt they weren't stingy would she consider taking the job. If the other party's tone was unpleasant, or if they didn't mention payment at all, she would find an excuse to decline.
Having worked in the culinary world for so many years, she certainly has the ability to read people's expressions.
As for Cuihua and the others, they also benefited from Cuixiang's presence and ate meat twice before the New Year, each time brought back by Cuixiang from a banquet.
This was agreed upon beforehand. It was fine not to pay, but after the meal was cooked, she had to pack up two lunchboxes of food and bring them back, and the host was not allowed to interfere.
Since she had already brought two lunchboxes, Cuixiang wisely refrained from eating there after cooking and went straight home with the lunchboxes.
If Cui Mei still can't see through this incident, then she wouldn't be worthy of being a proper time traveler.
However, she didn't say anything. After all, she had experienced this herself, so what was there to disbelieve?
It just feels like God really favors this family. Cuihua is a reincarnated person, and she's a transmigrator, so another one has appeared. This is rare in any transmigration novel, right?
Unfortunately, this family has too many people to support and burden, and two of them haven't been found yet. If it weren't for one or two people with formal jobs to support them, to be honest, it would be very difficult for Cuihua to maintain this family on her own!
Thankfully, these sisters are all very shrewd and insightful, unlike the girls of this era who are honest and hardworking but never think of themselves. In the end, they are sold by their parents, married off, and still have to try to send things back to their parents' home. Those Voldemort-like women deserve to be disliked and treated badly by their husbands' families after marriage.
Such examples exist in almost every village; she has heard countless gossips. Therefore, Sister Cuihua took the lead in giving the sisters an independent space and the opportunity to be in charge independently. This was a rare opportunity, and she cherished it very much.
Even more free and energetic than in her previous life, Tang Cuimei had unconsciously integrated herself completely into her life.
The Tang family didn't buy meat for Chinese New Year this year because they knew Tang Cuixiang was going to school, so they planned to save the money for her tuition.
Fortunately, Cuixiang didn't let her sisters bear the burden alone. She brought back two boxes of meat on her own, one box of braised pork and the other box of pork strips, both of which were good cuts of meat with a good balance of fat and lean. They ate these two boxes of meat and vegetables from New Year's Eve until noon on the third day of the Lunar New Year. They ate half of each meal and ate it for four meals, finally satisfying their cravings.
On New Year's Eve, Tang Cuilian also went home for the holiday, bringing two pounds of steamed egg cakes as a New Year's gift.
Speaking of the months she worked as a temporary worker, she earned fifteen yuan a month. She spent five yuan on herself and brought the remaining ten yuan back to her older sister to save.
She was very happy to learn that Lao Liu had been found, and she discussed with her eldest sister about paying Lao Liu's tuition.
Tang Cuixiang didn't want to owe them too much either. "Eldest sister, third sister, don't worry, consider this money a loan from me. I will pay it back when I earn money in the future."
Cuihua's smile faded slightly as she stared at Tang Cuixiang and asked, "Have you not treated us like your own sister since you came back?"
Cuixiang could tell from Cuihua's expression that Cuihua had misunderstood her.
"No, eldest sister, just by looking at this face, we sisters can't deny our kinship. The reason I'm being so distant is because I'm going to study, and I'm still taking your hard-earned money. I don't have the ability to earn money myself right now, but I don't want you to give without receiving anything in return. So I wanted to tell you that I will pay back this money, and not only will I pay it back, but I will pay it back double or even more. I will never let others look down on us again."
Cuihua felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this, realizing she had been overly sensitive, and quickly comforted Cuixiang.
"I'm sorry, I'm just worried that you didn't grow up with us and won't develop any feelings for us. I'm worried that one day you'll fly far away and no one will remember who we are."
Tang Cuimei and Tang Cuixiang exchanged a quick glance; this was clearly describing them as students!
It's not hard to understand. In this day and age, let alone their younger sister who was found outside, even biological children might not return to the countryside if they become successful. It's just that they are considering practical issues, and there's no right or wrong, nor is there any implication about them. Therefore, Cui Mei and Cui Xiang expressed their thoughts.
"Sisters, please don't worry. I will always remember where my roots are, and I will never forget who pulled me out of the fire and who helped me with food and tuition. This place will always be my home, and you are my only family. This will never change."
Tang Cuixiang is not good with words, and she expressed herself in a straightforward way: "After I start working and earn money, I will send half of it back to help with household expenses."
Tang Cuihua was both amused and exasperated. "Cuixiang, how old are you? You're already talking about work. No rush, no rush. Fine, I trust you, okay? You'll both be settling down and starting your own families in the future. You can't drag your families down. Be careful that your future sons-in-law don't look down on you. I can't be a burden to you."
marry?
Tang Cuixiang was speechless. She was a man in her past life, a man! In this life she is a woman, and she's being asked to marry a man?
Forget it. Just thinking about that scene makes her hair stand on end. She's a real man and doesn't want to experience being dominated.
But she couldn't explain that much to her other sisters, so she simply didn't bring it up and let them talk. Anyway, marriage was impossible; she would never get married in this lifetime.
However, they have been with the Tang family for some time now, and it is clear that these girls are kind-hearted, hardworking, and capable. Most importantly, they are all in good physical condition. No matter how tough life gets in the future, they will be able to make a name for themselves.
Generally speaking, hardworking people are usually lucky, especially since a production team will be established next year. Given how capable these girls are, they should at least get eight work points, if not ten.
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