"It's almost the end of the year, so I made a little extra. They said there might not be any stock for a long time after the New Year, so you should eat it sparingly. Maybe you can last until spring. This is the only thing I can do."
The old man and woman were extremely grateful for these words. Thinking about it carefully, they made sense. Who wouldn't want to make a fortune during the New Year and have a prosperous year?
Although life has been tough these past few years, the hardworking Chinese people have developed the habit that no matter how hard or tiring the year is, it doesn't matter, as long as the New Year is celebrated well.
The elderly couple had their doubts about Xiaojiu's honest yet resourceful nature, and many times they swallowed their words before they could even utter them.
Just then, as the old lady and Xiao Jiu were sorting through the goods and figuring out where to hide them, the old man came swaying over, carrying a small red box about the width of an A4 sheet of paper. He then beckoned Xiao Jiu to sit at the only table.
"Come here, girl, see if you like these. They're just ordinary things, but if you keep them safe, they might become valuable in the future."
After the red box was opened, even though the light was still dim, she was still startled by what was inside.
Although most of the ancient coins are from the Qing Dynasty, the sheer number of them suggests that the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns were not just a legend.
Two jade thumb rings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, a white jade carving the size of an egg, two gilded bronze figures the size of middle fingers, and a gold token with a dragon carved on it. It wasn't big, only the size of a little finger, and it was definitely made of gold, but she couldn't tell what it was for.
A dog pendant made of Hetian yellow jade pebble, a Buddhist seal, a small red glazed ink dropper, six red agate pendants, a double-sided bracelet of eighteen Arhats carved from golden nanmu wood, and a high-relief agate snuff bottle.
It's clear that these things are a mixed bag, somewhat like the old man just grabbed a box and put them in.
Neither Tao Tao nor Ning Meng knew anything about antiques. The reason she could name these things was more like she was a reading machine. As long as she got her hands on them, the corresponding name would come to mind, just like a host introducing an object.
After Xiao Jiu carefully looked through these things, the old man asked cautiously.
"Girl... is that enough?"
I don't overindulge in small amounts of alcohol; I accept whatever people offer me without ever mentioning anything else.
She didn't know the future value of these things, she just felt that she should collect as much as possible at this stage, so she nodded very seriously.
"Grandpa Weng, that's enough! Your face has gotten fuller lately, which is a good thing. You should take good care of it!"
As she spoke, Xiao Jiu stood up, took a tattered cloth from the old man, wrapped the red box in it, picked up the old newspapers she had bought, and went straight home through the back door.
My sister is probably busy with the New Year approaching; it's past six o'clock and she still hasn't come back.
While she was away, Xiao Jiu took a burning red coal briquette from her spatial storage and put it in the stove, then added a black coal briquette.
To save on coal briquettes, my sister always started a fire on the spot, wasting a lot of time on starting the fire. In order to eat quickly, she ate very simply. Judging from the grains she had, she almost never cooked a proper porridge or steamed buns or mantou.
She had put in a lot of noodles before, and now she's cooking more of them, so it seems she's been eating noodles most of the time.
But today, the dough in the bowl has risen. I guess they made it especially because they thought she was coming over, and it's already risen.
Xiao Jiu walked around the room, then took out a pumpkin, chopped it into cubes, chopped a handful of garlic and a small handful of red chili peppers, added a little sesame oil, mixed it all together, and then placed a steamer rack in the iron pot outside.
Roll out the dough, fill it with filling, and in no time, one bun after another is perfectly placed on the paddle, waiting for it to rise a second time.
Once the water boils, place the risen buns in the steamer and start steaming.
While she was steaming the second batch, Tang Cuiju, dressed in her work clothes, leisurely returned home. As soon as she entered the yard, she saw her younger sister busy in the side room. She quickly ran over and exclaimed, "Wow, my sister is so capable! We're in for a treat tonight! Are you on holiday?"
Xiao Jiu nodded. "Sister, hurry up and wash your hands. We won't make soup tonight. We'll just make some oil tea and have a bowl with some steamed buns."
The steamed buns are not made of pure white flour; they are made of sweet potato flour and sorghum flour with a little white flour added. The white flour is added purely to help them take shape.
Therefore, the steamed buns are not white and plump, but dark in color, and they feel a bit hard to the touch, so they can't be considered soft.
But these steamed buns, with their strong regional characteristics, actually whetted the sisters' appetites.
Two steamers of buns were used up to fill them, and the remaining steamer was used to make round, black cornbread.
After opening the lids on the two steamers of buns, I added a briquette to the stove, added water to the iron pot, and waited for the water to boil while the dough rose for a while longer.
The pumpkin buns, with the addition of minced garlic and chili, have a soft texture with a lingering garlicky spiciness that both sisters love.
Xiao Jiu ate three in one go, and Tang Cuiju, who had been busy all day, ate five buns—and these were palm-sized buns!
Only after asking did I find out that she had only eaten a few bites of noodles at noon. "Sis, this won't do. You're being too frugal!"
"Don't lie to me about the alcohol. I know everything. You've probably put in a lot more food and meat for this job, haven't you?"
"The prices of grain and meat these days are astronomical. Besides, the food I eat here isn't bad, so I just want to save as much as possible."
From now on, all my salary will be yours…
Xiao Jiu quickly raised her hand, "Please don't, Second Sister, why give it to me? Give it to the family instead. You can probably guess what's going on with my things. We're all family, so don't be shy. Let's not talk about this anymore. But because of this, we've learned our lesson."
So I'm thinking you absolutely have to take the junior high school graduation exam, you absolutely have to study for it. Even if you don't get an intermediate or higher diploma, you can still use your junior high school diploma to go to night school or something, what do you think?"
"Don't worry, Jiu'er. After this incident, I've realized the importance of a diploma. I also think that if I have the opportunity, I'll try other jobs, such as newspaper distribution or mail carrier. I'm not afraid of hardship, and I will definitely cherish this job in the future. Just don't be so good to your second sister in the future. It makes me feel guilty."
Xiao Jiu didn't like her second sister speaking to her in such a condescending tone. "Sister, we're sisters, right?"
In fact, to this day, they still don't know how she knew.
The Tang family might have assumed that the Tao family told her, and the Tao family might have assumed that the Tang family told her.
No one knew that she knew her identity from the moment she was born.
She had even forgotten when the two families had completely merged into one, becoming indistinguishable from one another.
She called him "brother" and "sister" all day long, and no one noticed this.
So when Xiaojiu asked that question, Cuiju was taken aback at first, and then nodded vigorously.
"Since we're family, why divide things so meticulously? Let's save money together and build a big house in the future."
Cuiju was easily moved to tears, and her eyes were already red. She pursed her lips, held back her tears, and stood up to clear the dishes.
Seeing this, Xiao Jiu opened her bedding, laid out the mattress and quilt, and covered the cotton quilt with the silk quilt that was originally on the bed.
That way she had two layers of warmth. She glanced at her second sister's bed, which was the same, and subconsciously asked a question.
"How are you, Second Sister? Are you cold sleeping at night? Our windows are on two sides, so they don't keep us very warm!"
Although the rear window is higher and not as bright as the front window, having an extra window does affect insulation.
Unexpectedly, after her second sister finished cleaning up, she poured the hot water from the pot into the kettle, which could be used to wash her feet later. She then nodded to her.
Didn't you leave a piece of plastic sheeting on the bed before?
I figured the plastic sheeting was a good size, so I borrowed a ladder and nailed it around the outside of the back window. Before, I could hear the wind blowing in, but now I can't. The only problem is that the room has high beams, so it's not very warm. The blankets you left have been a great help; it's very warm at night now.
Plastic sheet?
That should be a woven bag (similar to a fertilizer bag), except that hers is a bag used to pack seasonings and sweets.
She used a brush and a scouring pad to clean the words on it at the same time. She had only cleaned a few. She had used it to roll up the quilt last time. She didn't expect her second sister to use it to seal the window. No wonder the back window didn't look as bright as before. It turned out that there was a layer of darkness on the outside.
The two sisters now live in the lower bunk, and we've made bed curtains for them and put them under double quilts—it's more than just keeping them warm!
It was dark, and the alley was deep, so despite really wanting to go out for a walk, I gave up for safety reasons.
Tang Cuiju took out what she had learned during this period and asked questions one after another.
While studying, Xiaojiu didn't forget to ask her neighbors, "How are they? Are they all easy to get along with?"
Tang Cuiju shook her head, "Everyone's looking out for themselves. If we bump into each other while getting water in the morning, we just nod to each other."
Some of them work the night shift, some work the evening shift, and the elderly folks in the backyard even built two toilets, one for men and one for women.
One on each side, so no one is bothering anyone else, and we haven't had to wait in line yet, which is great.
Everyone relieves themselves in their rooms at night, and a lot of people have to empty the chamber pots in the morning.
"Are you all really single?" Tang Cuiju nodded and then shook her head.
"Not entirely, right? Take the one next door, for example, isn't it the biggest one?"
The child lives at school and comes home on weekends. The man lives in another city. I've only ever seen their one son; I've never seen any of their other children.
I just arrived and haven't asked around in detail.
But everyone was quite kind and friendly, and no one was the type to take advantage of others.
I sometimes forget to leave seasonings or things out of the house, and nobody steals them.
Hearing this, Xiao Jiu felt relieved. "So Grandpa and Grandma Weng are really capable people. They even chose such reliable tenants."
No wonder they weren't afraid of their houses being coveted. Judging from their behavior, they were all the type who mind their own business and didn't like to meddle in other people's affairs. Although they were aloof, they maintained a good sense of distance. She liked having people like that as neighbors.
It's better than those who are enthusiastic about everything, and if something happens in your family, they'll tell the whole world, right?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com