That day, I cooked half pure meat dumplings and half sauerkraut and meat dumplings.
Jian Xin's love for meat is not just talk.
Seeing that Jian Dan was going to cook dumplings, she followed without hesitation. There was water boiling in the pot, and she eagerly went over to squeeze into the stove to tend the fire.
My eyes followed Jian Dan uncontrollably as she held up the lid and poured the dumplings into the boiling water. After three boils, she added cold water three times, then used a strainer to scoop them out and poured them onto a porcelain plate printed with bright red peonies.
Mouth secretions have also become more frequent.
First, I boiled the meat dumplings. Then, when the second batch of sauerkraut and meat dumplings floated to the surface, and the meat dumplings had cooled down considerably, I quickly scooped them out, carried them inside, and my little tail followed closely behind.
"Sister, is it ready to eat?"
The little one was so eager! From the moment I explained it simply and started wrapping, she was already drooling. It's quite an achievement that she's managed to hold out until now without drooling.
There were only the two of them at home, and no low table was set up. Xiao Jianxin quickly climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and pulled the low table over. Then she slid down to the floor and came back a little while later with two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks. Her face practically screamed with anxiety.
I was speechless. But of course, the cook wants to see the diners enjoy their cooking. Looking at it this way, I actually became more interested in the dumplings and ladled out two bowls of dumpling soup.
"Alright, let's eat!"
Seeing that it was easy to pick up one piece, the little girl immediately reached for the plate of meat with her chopsticks. The next second, her little mouth was stuffed full, and her cheeks were bulging, like a greedy little squirrel.
"So delicious!"
Her little mouth was stuffed full, and her speech was mumbled; it was so simple it made me want to laugh.
Eat slowly.
She was so focused on eating that her nods were perfunctory; she had eaten dumplings before, after all.
However, at that time, Sheng Zhiyuan was already in a very difficult situation. He was hindered and made things difficult by others at every turn. He dared not spend money even though he had it, and his former friends all avoided him.
They are constantly bullied, humiliated, and vandalized.
Sheng Zhiyuan had no choice but to live a life of hardship, daring not to eat or drink, and his three- or four-year-old child also experienced a lot of the coldness and indifference of the world.
Sheng Zhiyuan felt sorry for his daughter, who depended on each other for survival. He secretly brought back a few dumplings during the New Year to feed her.
When it comes to dumplings, Jian Xin has a special kind of obsession with them.
Eating dumplings reminds me even more of Sheng Zhiyuan.
"Why aren't you eating?"
Seeing the obvious disappointment on her little face, she even slowed down her eating of dumplings, and Jian Dan also stopped eating.
"Are you full? You've only eaten a few? Weren't you going to eat twelve?"
The child let out a big sigh.
"Oh, sister, I miss Dad."
During this time, the girl rarely mentioned Sheng Zhiyuan. This was the most direct time she had ever spoken about him. Her eyes were a little red, but she didn't cry.
Jian Dan was at a loss; she didn't know how to comfort children or how to advise people.
“Dad must like dumplings too. That time he brought back dumplings, he didn’t eat any of them. He gave them all to me and let me eat the dumplings. He just ate cornbread. He said he liked cornbread. I knew he was lying. The cornbread was dry and sour, and it didn’t taste good at all.”
Dumplings are so delicious, how can anyone not like them?
The child kept talking, and the atmosphere of sadness helped to build up the story. In the end, tears still fell.
In the end, the child was only four years old and depended on his father for survival. When he encountered this world and those crazy people, Sheng Zhiyuan tried his best to protect him. He was humble and even disguised himself as a boy. There were always places he couldn't take care of. Hunger and cold were common occurrences. He was also beaten a lot.
The child was so traumatized that he was like a frightened bird; it took him a while to recover after coming here.
At the time, Jian Dan was still a stranger, and she didn't know what the child's mindset was when they interacted for the first few days. Was she scared? Helpless? Or confused?
However, over this period of time, he has become completely dependent on and affectionate towards Jian Zi, even to the point that Jian Wenxiu, who calls himself his uncle, cannot accept it.
Sitting on the warm kang (heated brick bed), eating fragrant meat dumplings, I thought of my father, of the hardships I had endured, of the cold, hunger, and beatings I had suffered. The more I thought about it, the more aggrieved I felt, and finally, with a "waah," I couldn't hold back anymore.
"Waaah, sister, I miss Daddy. When is he coming to pick me up?"
"...I've been good...I miss him so much, I...I haven't even cried, why isn't he coming yet?"
After pausing for a few seconds, she went over and hugged the child, gently patting him, unsure of what to say.
She was entrusted to Jian Dan by her own father. Given the circumstances at the time, and Sheng Zhiyuan's obvious determination to die, Jian Dan actually felt that the chances of him still being alive were probably not high.
But she didn't want to lie to the child, so she changed the subject randomly, making jokes and joking around, and it took her a long time to calm the child down.
After taking a bite of the slightly cold dumpling, tears welled up in her eyes again. Jian Dan's head was spinning; she quickly tried to speak.
"Hey, don't you like the dumplings your sister makes?"
The little girl, with a half-eaten dumpling in her mouth, froze, not even noticing the dumpling had fallen. Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over, and she stood there, dazed.
"I love it! It's all meat, and it's so delicious!"
The little hand drew a big circle, as if afraid that Jian Dan wouldn't believe it.
But Jian Du really did have a skeptical expression on his face.
Really?
"Really, really! You can't lie to kids!"
Simply and reluctantly believe,
"Alright then, I thought you were only thinking about your dad and had forgotten about my dumplings."
Jian Xin quickly shook her hand.
"No, that's not true."
Although the topic didn't stray too far from the main point, the atmosphere was completely ruined, and the tears were gone for good. Nevertheless, I still let out a sigh first.
"These dumplings are so delicious, but Dad can't have any!"
He shook his head seriously, which surprised Jian Dan.
"You...you still want to give the dumplings I made to your dad?"
The little girl stared with wide eyes.
"But I also made some!"
"Which ones were you cooking? They all ended up in your stomach, didn't they?"
"Then, then I'll wrap more later?"
He simply frowned, seemingly considering it for a moment, and looked a little hesitant.
"Really?"
"Really, really, you keep your word!"
"Alright then, make a lot. When your dad or your uncle come over, let them taste your cooking."
Oh, right, and your brother Cheng Chao, isn't that right?
The little girl didn't quite understand; what she wanted to give to her father became something for so many people in Sister Jian's mouth.
However, thinking about these people, the little girl nodded emphatically, clenching her little fist.
"Yes, make lots of dumplings so they can try them. These are the dumplings I made."
"Yes," he said, casually placing two hot items into her bowl.
"Let them see, they can't do it."
The little girl was still a bit surprised.
"They won't?"
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