When Grandma got home, she asked her, "Did you hear anything this afternoon?"
Xiao Jiu knew that her grandmother was worried that she had seen something she shouldn't have, since it was bloody, violent, and morally reprehensible. How could she allow her granddaughter to be poisoned by such things?
Xiao Jiu, being quite shrewd, shook her head: "No, what's wrong, Grandma?"
"It's alright, come on, let's make noodles," she said, praising him again as soon as she entered the kitchen and saw the clean vegetables he had prepared.
"Grandma, do you put eggs in the noodles? I found six today!"
"Yes, I want to eat eggs, so you have to put some in. Just put in as many as you want. Do you know how to crack eggs? How about I teach you?"
"Great! Xiao Jiu can not only beat eggs, but also fry them!"
"Oh my, I'm so capable! But Grandma's home, so you don't need to cook. I'll just rest and watch Grandma make you something delicious, okay?"
Xiao Jiu happily took the bowl to the backyard, but instead of using chicken eggs, she took out two goose eggs from her spatial storage.
Goose eggs cost ten yuan each when sold individually, and two goose eggs, when broken up, are about the same size as six chicken eggs.
She wanted to make more, but she was afraid her grandmother would feel bad, so she only used two.
The goose eggshells were put in the warehouse, along with some wet garbage that couldn't be displayed in the open, and later they could be composted and used as fertilizer.
As she sat in the courtyard stirring the eggs with chopsticks, her grandfather and the others returned one after another.
As soon as everyone entered the house and saw her working, they showered her with praise. Her older brother even tried to hug her, but she dodged away in disgust.
"Brother smells bad, go take a bath."
"Hey, you little rascal, you're already looking down on your brother? Fine, just don't come looking for me when you're riding a horse."
Ah Jiu's lips twitched, and she looked like she was about to cry. Tao Zui quickly raised her hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I won't mind giving you all my pocket money to buy candy, let alone riding a horse."
Tao Ran glared at his older brother, "I don't know what you're after. Can't you just talk properly?"
He then turned to Ah Jiu and said, "Once I'm done with these busy days, how about your second brother takes you to buy popsicles?"
"Yay, thanks, Second Brother," Tao Ran said smugly, raising his chin at Tao Zui before grabbing his towel and heading to wash up.
Boys aren't that particular, and the water in the tank had been left to sit in the sun all day, so it wasn't that cold anymore and could be rinsed.
The sisters just wiped them down; it would be safer to boil some hot water tonight and mix it all together for washing.
Ah Jiu knew that her eldest and second eldest sisters had already started their periods, and her aunt had even bought them those purplish-red toilet paper last time.
After arriving at the Tao family, the older sisters were very clean and tidy every day, including at night. Although the third sister hadn't arrived yet, she had already developed good habits. They not only washed themselves but also washed her.
Compared to when I was just born, hearing my older sister instructing that little Cao girl to be hygienic is truly mind-blowing.
How could she forget something so important? She ran into Tang Youtian that day, and it was obvious that the woman in red wanted him to be her scapegoat!
However, she was only two years old and didn't want to voice her guesses, so she thought she would wait until after the wheat harvest and have her older sister go home to sound her out.
As expected, her scrambled goose eggs did not arouse her grandmother's suspicion, but she felt that the egg liquid did not seem as yellow as usual today.
All the eggs in their house were stored in an earthenware jar in the main room. Once it was full, her father would send it to her mother. So, very few people had time to count them every day. This gave her the opportunity to add a few eggs to the jar from time to time. For a long time, no one discovered her secret.
Grandma has pickled all the duck eggs. The duck eggs in her space are all pickled. Some are vacuum-packed, and some are just green-shelled salted duck eggs. She puts the packaged ones aside for now and doesn't eat them. As for the unpackaged ones, she picks out the ones that are similar in color to the ones at home and puts them in the jar whenever she has the chance.
Salted duck eggs cost a thousand dollars each at my mother's shop!
Grandma's hand-pulled noodles are exceptional. She sprinkles a layer of cornmeal or sweet potato flour on the rolled-out noodles to prevent them from sticking together.
Add some chopped scallions to the beaten goose egg mixture, then pour in lard and sizzle. The fragrant aroma will fill the entire yard.
Everyone had worked hard all day and was starving. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Grandma cut up four more salted duck eggs and took out the pickled garlic, dried radish, and pickled cowpeas that she had prepared earlier, arranging them in a small dish as side dishes for the soup noodles.
When we're not working, we only have two meals a day. But because we're rushing to harvest, we've prepared three meals.
Grandma cut the dough into four pieces. If she rolled them all out together, they wouldn't be rolled evenly. She rolled them out in four batches so that they could keep up with the family's appetite. It must have been quite a lot of work.
After frying the duck eggs, remove them from the pan. Then, simmer two tomatoes in oil to make a red sauce. Pour the sauce over the duck eggs, add enough water, bring it to a boil over high heat, and then add the noodles. Just before serving, add the greens, chives, and perilla leaves.
Then came noodles in individual enamel bowls, substantial in size, with more noodles than soup.
When it was Xiaojiu's turn, she only asked for a bite. However, her grandmother specially picked out several duck eggs for her. After Xiaojiu sat down at the stone table, her older brother and sister took turns serving her eggs, which moved her deeply.
"Thank you, brothers and sisters, but I've had enough wine. You've worked hard today, you should eat more."
Today's noodles were made with more wheat flour and less mixed flour, so they were very chewy. Grandma was the last to bring her bowl over. Once everyone was together, Xiao Jiu started flattering her, praising how well Grandma rolled her noodles. Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the backyard, mainly out of consideration for the children, who might overhear something inappropriate.
After the girls boiled water to wash up and the boys went inside to study, Zhao Lingli and Tao Changyi were taken to their grandparents for a talk.
This matter could be considered a big deal or a small deal, since blood was involved, and the Zhang family's behavior was indeed despicable.
So the next day at breakfast, Tang Cuihua and her two sisters, along with the four Tao brothers, were all given a lecture on the most basic values of being a good person by their elders, while Xiao Jiu was fast asleep in bed with his mouth open, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth and occasionally smirking, probably having some sweet dreams!
"Where's Ajiu? Isn't she up yet? Should we take her with us? I'm so worried about leaving her alone at home. What if something like what happened yesterday happens? We'll regret it then."
Cuihua smiled and said, "Grandma, she's still under the influence of alcohol. Look how well she's cleaned the house these past two days. She even did our laundry yesterday, although it wasn't very clean, but the alcohol is still quite potent. There were mosquitoes last night, and even though we're thick-skinned, they didn't bite us, but they bit this child. Her head is covered in little bumps, it's heartbreaking to see. Let her get a good night's sleep! If you're really worried, come back soon."
Upon hearing that Ajiu had been bitten, Grandma, who hadn't brushed her teeth or washed her face yet, spat her morning saliva onto her hand and rubbed it on the bites on Ajiu's face. This was to relieve the itching and kill the virus. Ajiu had no idea; if she did, who knows what expression she'd make when she saw how much she loved her grandma who cared for her so much! Haha~
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