After saying this, she realized that her wording was somewhat inappropriate.
"Ah, what I mean is, now that you've left that family and started anew in Xihe Village, there's no need to keep thinking about the past. Seventh Sister and Eighth Sister, don't worry about your household registration; there will be plenty of opportunities to handle it later,"
Lao Ba silently stood up, hugged Xiao Jiu tightly in his arms, and then began to sob softly, choking out "I'm sorry."
Gradually, the other sisters also gathered around, surrounding the three youngest sisters in their arms, appreciating their new life, and vowing to live better in the future, not only to ensure that all the sisters have enough to eat, but also to live out their own value.
This Spring Festival was simple and lacked a strong festive atmosphere because my family didn't cook and we all ate at the cafeteria. Even Cuihua and her friends had to go to the cafeteria to show up and try to make their presence felt. Although they were outsiders, they were afraid of being reported because there are always some jealous people who can't stand seeing others do well. So, in this kind of atmosphere, where was the festive spirit of previous years when the whole family would sit together to make dumplings and listen to the radio?
Even the pasting of Spring Festival couplets and the setting off of firecrackers were simplified. Ultimately, it's about spending money wisely, and this money was already incredibly precious under the shadow of drought and early famine.
The Lantern Festival is fast approaching. In previous years, I would buy glutinous rice flour from the market and make dumplings myself. This year, I don't have the money to buy it, and the canteen will definitely not cook for us. They even chose to use black flour dumplings with cabbage and radish filling, which are terribly unpalatable, but at least we can fill our stomachs.
Because each adult only gets twenty portions, children under ten get ten, and children under five get five. Want to be full? Difficult!
Just then, Xiao Jiu delivered the glutinous rice balls, and there were so many that each person could eat ten, a total of eighty. Each one was plump and white, and looked very appealing.
"Sisters, since you all cook it with different fillings, I won't save any. I already have some at home."
After saying that, he skipped away. Lao Ba opened his mouth, looked at the plump, white Yuanxiao in front of him, and felt a lump in his throat. Finally, he gave himself a slap.
"What on earth did I say?! All the good food I've never eaten in my life was given to me by this little sister. What did I say? I deserve to die, *slap slap*"
Seeing that she had been slapped twice, once on the left and once on the right, Cuihua and the others had no choice but to step forward and grab her hands.
"Alright, this matter is in the past, why are you still dwelling on it? Xiao Jiu doesn't mind anymore, so don't blame yourself too much."
“Yes, Lao Ba, it’s normal for you to have these grievances, because you really didn’t have a good life in the past few years. No one will hold a grudge against you for this or bring it up.”
On the surface, it seemed that the Tao family had thought of these things and sent them over, but in reality, not only Cuihua, who knew in advance, but also Cuimei and Cuixiang stared blankly at these icy cold and frozen Yuanxiao.
Because this includes not only Yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls) but also half of Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls), and judging from the craftsmanship of the Tangyuan and Yuanxiao, it is not something that can be made by hand nowadays.
"Hey, big sister, why are these glutinous rice balls so round? They're smooth on top, without any glutinous rice flour. They seem different from the ones over here."
Cuihua also curiously picked one up for comparison, until Lao Wu couldn't help but introduce it.
"Southerners eat tangyuan, while we northerners eat yuanxiao. The round ones are tangyuan. Although they are both made of glutinous rice flour, you have all seen yuanxiao, which are rolled out, while tangyuan are wrapped."
Then, Lao Liu Cui Xiang, who had worked as a chef, gave a more detailed account of the two different foods from four aspects: preparation methods, filling selection, cooking habits, and storage methods.
Only when you cook the glutinous rice balls and glutinous rice balls and taste them separately do you realize where the differences between the North and South are specifically reflected.
So when everyone asked the burning question, "If glutinous rice balls are a southern food, how come they're appearing in the north?"
Cui Mei and Cui Xiang seemed to realize something and quickly covered for their youngest sister.
"Oh, you can buy it. It's not like you can't eat it or can't eat it. Aren't they all sweet? We make them here too. When I was in L City, I saw a restaurant selling a dessert called glutinous rice sweet wine. It had a lot of these little glutinous rice balls in it. It was quite delicious. I'll take you guys to try it sometime."
Did Xiao Jiu's carelessness cause this 'accident'?
No, she just wanted them all to try it; she didn't care about anything else, since some of her sisters were from her hometown anyway.
They would always try to smooth things over for her, after all, these are difficult times, and it would be too hard for her to think about the consequences of even eating something.
She's always been a go-with-the-flow kind of person. After fooling her sisters, she's now trying to fool the Tao family.
She told the Tao family that it was given to her by her sisters, and told her sisters that it was given to her by the Tao family. Cuihua knew this and would cover for her.
By keeping it a secret from both sides, they not only indirectly made Cuihua and her family repay some favors, but also ensured that both sides ate the festive food they were supposed to have, improving the meals for both families. It was a win-win situation.
Fifteen is round, sixteen is flat.
In the minds of northerners, round is Yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls), and flat is Bianshi (flat dumplings).
So although no lanterns were lit on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the two families set off a string of firecrackers together, since they were in the front and back yards, so it was convenient for them to rub against each other.
Xiao Jiu delivered Yuanxiao and Tangyuan at noon, and the two families were able to enjoy Yuanxiao to their hearts' content. They also ate noodles made by the cafeteria instead of Yuanxiao.
By noon on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the canteen had prepared dark-colored dumplings. After eating these not-so-great dumplings, the New Year celebrations were truly over.
Children are gradually returning to school.
Zhou Yue did not return, but he sent a telegram saying that he would go directly to the school to report.
For the past two weeks or so, I was supposed to be with the army after the New Year and then go on a field training exercise, which is why my trip was delayed.
When Cui Mei left, she left several dozen kilograms of grain with Cui Hong and told her to keep it safe. With the money she had given to Cui Hua and the grain stored with Cui Hong, she basically didn't need to worry about the family anymore.
Cuihua knew about Cuimei and Cuixiang's abilities. Cuixiang was particularly good at cooking and worked part-time at a teacher's house at school to earn some living expenses, enough to ensure the two of them had enough to eat. Cuimei would occasionally go to the clinic to help out, and eventually she found herself a part-time internship, earning about ten yuan a month. So, the two of them were the ones she trusted the most.
After the New Year, their most important task came: transferring the household registration of their seventh and eighth children.
Because they needed to transfer the household registration before the spring planting, Cuihua asked Tao Changyi to go to the Zhao family together. Through the Zhao family's connections, they also found the village chief of Nanwa Village.
Using money and grain, they successfully transferred the household registrations of their two younger sisters to Xihe Village.
The village chief of Nanwa Village promised them five catties of millet and two catties of red dates as a reward. With the village chief speaking on their behalf, and considering that they had been missing for so long, they were probably dead. Rather than having their household registration cancelled in the future, they thought it would be better to exchange them for some money and grain!
So, Lao Qi's household registration was eventually processed with ten yuan in cash and five jin of millet to obtain the relocation permit.
The village chief of Zhao Family Village lobbied for Lao Ba's household registration. He didn't want any kickbacks and directly mentioned canceling the registration. A few days later, he found this benefit for them. In the end, the matter was settled with five yuan in cash and three jin of millet.
Considering that both villages had women who had married out, rumors inevitably spread back to Xihe Village. So, the deaf Cuihong took the blind Lao Ba and the lame Lao Qi to grow vegetables and cook for the Zhou and Tao families.
Let's get through this sensitive period first, especially since these past three years have been tough. It's okay if we don't go out.
The drought has caused large cracks in the ground, and the wheat is growing poorly with curled leaves. Each production team is filled with worry, and they are trying to find ways to get manure from the city to strengthen the soil. Some are even planning to use manual methods to carry water from the river for irrigation.
The wells in the Zhou and Tao families still have water, which is enough to grow vegetables, but the drought is getting worse and worse, and things are getting more and more uncertain.
Even if there are dried vegetables stored, everyone wants to eat fresh vegetables. Given this environment, it's impossible not to worry.
Fortunately, Xiao Jiu would occasionally help them out, which allowed the sisters to live a better life than ordinary families.
But Taoyuan Village wasn't so lucky.
First, there was the eldest son's family. Given the criminal investigation techniques and work ethic of that era, they ultimately failed to uncover the identity of the 'unidentified corpse'.
Perhaps the investigation was not thorough enough, or perhaps the filming was poor and the bodies were unrecognizable after being soaked in water; in any case, without identifying them, there was no way to prove their innocence.
The body has already been buried. Based on the existing evidence, if either the father or son steps forward and takes responsibility, they can let the other go free.
Unfortunately, neither the father nor the son was willing to take the blame. After all, neither of them had done anything wrong, so why should they take the responsibility? Taking the blame would just mean admitting defeat.
But the police station can't afford to keep idle people, especially since this family is so stingy and unwilling to contribute a single penny.
They have no evidence to prove that they killed the person, but they also have no evidence to prove that they didn't kill the person.
Regardless, the person was found in their family's outhouse. No matter how much they protested, everyone was sentenced to three years and sent to work on the reservoir dam to experience life.
When Taoyuan Village received the news, they were devastated. They went to the police station to make a scene, but it was no use. They were detained for one night and then behaved themselves.
With the father and son in jail, the eldest branch of the family is finished. Forget about finding a wife, they won't even consider marrying into the Tang family anymore.
It even implicated the other three families.
Tang Youtian's son is young, so the impact is not significant. However, there are five or six children from the other wives who are in the process of getting married. As a result, not only will their future choices of spouses be limited, but they may even end up with unattractive or ugly women. Who wouldn't hate that?
Especially now that the old man has passed away, everyone is clamoring for a complete division of the family property.
No matter how much they make a fuss, it has nothing to do with Tang Youtian, because they have already separated. Whatever you want, they won't give you the person. You're basically leaving with nothing.
Looking at it now, it's actually a good thing, because with more things given up, there are fewer disputes to bother us.
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