Grandma rushed over in a panic, "Xiao An, what's wrong, Xiao An?"
The young man looked up at the old woman, speechless, his face turning pale, looking quite frightening.
The eldest brother and the others didn't look too good, and the father and grandfather were also getting anxious, "What's wrong? Say something!"
The older brother seemed to be holding back something. "He fell asleep, and the roundworm crawled from his throat into his mouth. He was half asleep, chewing on it, and then somehow he woke up and found something in his mouth. He instinctively reached out to grab it and pull it out, and you see, he pulled it out. It made him so disgusted that he was dry heaving!"
After the eldest brother finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Even Xiao Jiu noticed that there were several worms crawling on the floor in the dimly lit room. Feeling disgusted, she immediately turned around and jumped onto her second sister, then turned to shout at her younger brother.
"I told you to drink hot water, not tap water, but you wouldn't listen. Also, do you know you need to wash your hands before meals and after using the toilet? You're still in school, yet you know less than me. See, see, no one's lying to you, there really are bugs. It's disgusting, buddy! Ugh, next time, will they just crawl out of your butt and you have to pick them out with your fingers?!"
Then, the expressions of the eldest, second, and third brothers became increasingly strange. Seeing Xiao Jiu jumping up and down, Grandma couldn't help but laugh.
"You know what, all of them have done this before, pulling roundworms out of their asses. They actually did it. For a while, your eldest brother had nightmares about it and was scared out of his wits."
The older brother's face had changed, and he forced back his nausea, saying, "Grandma, please stop talking."
"How can I not mention this? And you, second brother, when you were pooping, you were halfway through and couldn't poop out, and that worm was hanging in mid-air, curling and twisting. You forgot? You were so scared that you cried your eyes out. I had to use fire tongs to grab it and pull it out by hand. If you guys didn't have these memories, would you have developed the habit of washing your hands?"
Upon hearing these words, the young man was so frightened that he cried and retched at the same time, and even Xiao Jiu herself was a little scared.
"Grandma, I want to take deworming medicine. I don't want to end up like my brother. It's too scary."
"Haha, little Jiu, you're so clean, you definitely don't have any. But you really should take your deworming medicine, look at what you've become..."
Whenever Xiao Jiu recalls that scene, she feels nauseous and cries out to her grandmother for deworming medicine.
Deworming medicine came out in the 19th century and was extremely popular in my country from the 1950s to the 1980s. The key point is that it really could expel worms, and the scene after ingesting it... is simply unimaginable.
Xiao Jiu herself wasn't sure if she had any in her stomach. Anyway, being born in this era, she was bound to be exposed to some pollution, so she not only had to take the deworming medicine, but she had to take it often. Who knew if she would have a terrible experience like Xiao Ge if she didn't take it?
Because of this incident, everyone in the family has become more hygienic. They insist on boiling water before drinking and would never dare to drink tap water again.
People in this era were really healthy; they could even scoop water from a water vat and drink it directly in the dead of winter. She, on the other hand, couldn't drink it.
Also, when she went to school, she always brought her own cup. The school had hot water, but in those days, her older brothers never brought their own cups and drank directly from the well. So, the chances of them having worms in their bodies were much higher.
There are also cases of schistosomiasis blocking the throat and nostrils, which is terrifying.
In short, maintaining good hygiene and not drinking untreated water are the most basic principles for survival in this era.
The deworming medicine wasn't available in town, so my father got it from a doctor at the county hospital. Everyone in the family took it.
After eating, she even bent down and poked at the food with a small twig. Luckily, there was nothing there, but everyone else in the house had some.
This terrified everyone, and daily hygiene, even brushing their teeth, which the older brothers disliked the most, had to be put on the agenda.
Every day, Xiao Jiu soaks some fruit in the space with clean water, one pot after another. It always feels like she has a mental illness, afraid that these things have excessive pesticides. In fact, they are relatively safe, because all the ingredients that enter Wanbang are inspected and qualified before they can enter, which means they meet national standards.
However, she couldn't agree with the food safety issues of later generations. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that her generation grew up eating gutter oil.
Spring is the season for wild vegetables. From the first month of the lunar calendar until July or August, there are different wild vegetables every month.
Last year, their sauerkraut-filled buns sold well, so this year they basically pickled all the Chinese cabbage they grew into sauerkraut, which meant they ate sauerkraut more often at home.
Actually, their area is located in the Central Plains, but their lifestyle is also influenced by the Northeast. For example, they also like to stew in an iron pot, eat sauerkraut, and make twice-cooked pork, dumplings, and steamed buns whenever there is meat.
Because wheat is grown more than rice here, people usually eat a variety of foods, such as noodles, grains, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. In Xiaojiu's opinion, these are extremely healthy foods, much better than the refined white rice and flour of later generations. Obesity has caused many people to suffer from diseases of affluence. Returning to the days of poverty is a way to maintain good health.
In the warm spring of March, the peach blossoms bloomed again. In the blink of an eye, she had been in this family for two years. On the day of Xiao Jiu's second birthday, Grandma specially asked her father to cut some meat.
Here, it's customary to eat longevity noodles on birthdays, so Grandma made incredibly delicious braised noodles (steamed noodles) and also cooked her a pot of shepherd's purse and egg drop soup. The combination of fragrance and freshness made her tummy bulge with joy, and she was practically bubbling with happiness.
These noodles are hand-pulled by my grandma. No one without skill can make them. Just the process of resting, kneading, rolling, and pulling the dough is extremely time-consuming. You can't add too little salt either, so when stir-frying vegetables, I don't add much salt. I don't even dare to add too much salt to the soup, for fear of making people eat too much.
Grandma's effort in kneading the dough reminded Xiaojiu of some methods for making handmade noodles, especially hollow noodles; her skill was truly exceptional.
I excitedly asked my grandma, "Do you know how to make dried noodles? You know, the kind that's hung on bamboo poles to dry in the sun, the kind that can be stored for a long time without spoiling. I heard the old man at the noodle shop mention those noodles!"
The noodle shop owners were an elderly couple who rented the front yard from them. Xiao Jiu often played in the front yard. Because they needed to use the outhouse, the door was always open during the day. Although it wasn't very convenient, the grandparents thought it would provide more fertilizer, so they agreed. Xiao Jiu couldn't argue with that reason and burst out laughing...
So when she found out about it for this reason, Grandma didn't think much of it and instead patted her head.
"You even know how to make noodles? My little Jiu is really a prodigy. I'm not very good at it. Your great-grandparents can make them, and your grandfather can too, but I can't. I don't have the patience to make them either. It's too much trouble!"
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