Zhao Ming and Jiang Xiaodong were more reserved and just looked at Taohua and smiled. Xu Guoliang, Sun Yutang and Qian Liang were smooth talkers and flattered Taohua non-stop, saying nice things to her, as if they wanted to recognize Meng Taohua as their ancestor.

When Taohua was not at home, how miserable was their life? They worked from sunrise to sunrise, carrying manure, plowing the fields, digging the ground and sowing seeds. They were exhausted. When they got home, they ate salted radish and porridge. In the evening, they could have a dry meal, which was either potatoes or radishes. The sausages and dried meats they brought from home were eaten up long ago. They were hungry but had no oil or water, so they could not work hard and were more easily tired.

As soon as the little ancestor came back, they lived a life like a god, with meat and oily food every day. They worked with great energy during the past two days, and when they got home from work, their bodies were no longer sore all over as usual.

Thinking back to the time when Taohua was at home, even if she didn’t cook with them, she would always cook some fresh dishes for them to taste. Even if there was no meat, just ordinary pickled cabbage and dried vegetables, she could always make them delicious.

So what Qian Liang said is right, some people are born with good fortune, they are born to cook delicious food, just like the ancient legend of turning stone into gold, she just takes a handful of wild grass and cooks it casually, and it tastes very good! For example, these two days, Taohua dug up wild vegetables, whether she stir-fried them or mixed them with cold dishes, everyone ate them and they tasted really good, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth;

Taohua then asked Qian Xiaoyun, He Huijuan or Jiang Limei to make it. She also taught them how to make it step by step. However, the food still had a bitter taste. It was not extremely unpalatable, but it was indeed unpalatable.

That's how big the difference is.

Xu Guoliang, Qian Liang and others earnestly hoped that Taohua would not leave home too soon, and that she could stay one more day so that they could have more delicious meals during this high-intensity labor season.

Just as they wished, Meng Tao stayed at home in Linshui Village for more than a week. Since she didn't have to go to work, she had free time to cook, so she simply cooked with the educated youth. They could eat Meng Tao's meals every day, which made the educated youth happy. They went to work in the production team actively and went home quickly after work. Once home, they rarely went out. Those who didn't know would think that there was some treasure hidden in their home.

In the eyes of the educated youth, peach blossoms are still a treasure, but this treasure does not belong to them, so they have to protect it well. It is good to spend more time with it.

Meng Tao temporarily acted as Fire Cat, only taking care of everyone's lunch and dinner, but not breakfast. Although she was not in a hurry to go to work, she also had things to do. Don't ask what she was busy with, she was busy anyway.

During the week at home, her schedule was packed. She would go out after breakfast, sometimes come back for lunch, sometimes not, but she would always be home around four or five in the afternoon.

So she has time to cook dinner, and lunch is usually prepared the night before or morning of the same day. Before they get off work at noon, Taurus helps light a fire so that they can heat it up and eat.

The meals Meng Tao prepared for the educated youth were more food-efficient. She prepared dinner with great care, but lunch was a bit more casual, consisting of steamed multi-grain buns and millet porridge. The side dishes were mixed wild vegetables and fried dried radish. The hens raised by the educated youth were now very good at laying eggs, and were also under Meng Tao's care. Unlike Qian Xiaoyun who saved eggs, Meng Tao would just cook all the eggs she picked up for everyone.

At first, Jiang Limei questioned that eating this way was too extravagant and wasteful. What should she do if her rations were all gone and it was not time to distribute them? As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Guoliang and Sun Yutang squeezed her out and told her not to eat and to cook.

Zhao Ming also said that it didn't matter if the rations were finished, he brought some national food coupons and money from home to use as a buffer.

Jiang Xiaodong and He Huijuan also had food coupons and money, not to mention Qian Liang and Qian Xiaoyun. These two were actually descendants of capitalists, and although they had nothing else, they had enough money and coupons. They just didn't dare to spend them normally because they didn't want to reveal their identities and be discriminated against.

Jiang Limei felt a little aggrieved, she was just giving a kind reminder.

Since the educated youth could figure it out on their own, Meng Tao didn't say much. If there was a disagreement, she could just quit her job as a temporary cook. She, Jinniu and Xiao Wangcai could eat better.

For five or six days in a row, Meng Tao and Bao Dongmei went to Daqing Mountain every day and carried back a basket of fresh wild vegetables, fresh mushrooms and bamboo shoots every day. Xiao Wangcai also satisfied his hunting addiction and caught wild rabbits and pheasants almost every day. As a result, the Meng and Bao families had meat to eat every day and their living standards were very good. Even Zhou Cuiling's family benefited from it. Every time she came to Meng Tao's house, she would bring back a chicken or a rabbit.

Meng Tao and Bao Dongmei also went to the wild pear forest. Meng Tao brought a large piece of clean and transparent film and spread it under the pear trees. Then he shook the branches and collected two large cloth bags full of pear blossoms. He and Bao Dongmei each carried a bag down the mountain. Fortunately, they were not heavy. When they returned home, they threw the bags into the space away from people. Then they went to the county winery to make pear blossom wine.

We also came across patches of wild strawberries on the mountain. Their scientific name is raspberry. Bao Dongmei kept saying that this is called April bubble, which is sour and sweet and delicious. Look at it, it has so many fruits, but it's a pity that they are not ripe yet. If the sun is stronger, they can be eaten in about ten days.

More than ten days later, Meng Tao didn't know if she would have time to go up the mountain to pick the berries. These small berries were also loved by snakes, rats and birds. Wouldn't it be a pity if they got there first? Meng Tao still remembered that she had promised to bring wild strawberries to see Xiao Mingming. She also liked to eat them. So while Bao Dongmei wasn't paying attention, she used a hatchet to dig up three or four bunches of wild strawberry plants with many fruits and full grains, and threw them into the space, intending to plant them in the cracks under the stone platform. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about when to pick them when they were ripe, so that she could give them to Xiao Mingming and eat as much as she wanted.

On the evening of Qingming Festival, Meng Tao carried a bamboo basket with some prepared offerings in it, including incense sticks and yellow paper bought from the black market, and went up the mountain to pay homage to Grandpa Meng.

Jinniu followed with a crutch. The educated youth also wanted to go with them, but with so many people they would be conspicuous, so Zhao Ming was chosen as the representative to accompany Jinniu to prevent him from falling.

In those days, superstitious activities were not allowed. Although no family in the countryside would give up ancestor worship, only one or two people would go quietly, shovel some soil on the ancestral graves, and then return quickly. It was impossible to make the Qingming ancestor worship like an outing as done in later generations, with the whole family going out, and the more people there were, the more prosperous the family would be.

If you are reported, you will be in trouble. The superiors will immediately send a working group to ask the brigade to hold a meeting to criticize and educate you. In serious cases, you will be taken to the commune for further study until you recognize your mistakes.

So it’s better to keep a low profile and avoid trouble.

(End of this chapter)