The small persimmons that ripened during the coldest days of winter received a perfect score from Jian Xin.
Being praised by a little girl without thinking is a simple but very rewarding experience.
Who would have thought that the young lady from her past life could be so down-to-earth? She herself didn't know that she was so amazing, that she could integrate into such an unrelated identity so smoothly.
When I'm happy, I'm in a good mood. In addition to the stir-fried eggs with chives and stir-fried eggs with persimmons that I had planned, I also made stir-fried shrimp with chives, grabbed a ready-made meat dish, and added some fruit for dessert.
Of course, the eggs and chives were the obvious ones. The persimmons, shrimp, meat dishes, and strawberries for dessert were all taken from the farm. Since it was just the two of them at home, Jian Xin wouldn't question what she brought out.
Moreover, Jian Xin is very tight-lipped when it comes to food.
Sure enough, as soon as it was placed on the table, the little girl exclaimed in surprise again.
"Wow! There's so much! It's all delicious! Sister, you're so kind!"
The staple food was rice and millet porridge; I simply placed a small bowl in front of her.
"You little brat, all you do is sweet talk to me!"
"No, that's not true! My sister is the best, the best sister in the world!"
Her little hands waved haphazardly, looking quite serious. She was utterly unable to utter a single, forceful word; she couldn't even pretend anymore. The corners of her mouth were turned up high.
"Stop praising me, hurry up and eat, it'll get cold soon."
She has a well-behaved and cute appearance, her hair has grown quite a bit, and her clothes are newly made. She already looks like a little girl, and the simple upbringing has yielded really good results.
Next came the coldest time of winter, and it was almost the New Year. Cheng Chao didn't come over again, and neither did Jian Wenxiu.
Last year's severe drought dampened the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year, and everyone was just getting by. This year, however, is a bumper harvest year, and the villagers are in high spirits, starting preparations early.
The two sisters, Jian Dan and her brother, were also busy chatting along with the villagers.
Clean the house, wash and disassemble the quilts, and steam the dry food.
In rural areas, once the Laba Festival is over, the New Year is just around the corner. Regardless of wealth, villagers begin to secretly visit graves and offer sacrifices to their ancestors. This is a traditional custom passed down for thousands of years, and it cannot be stopped by simply saying "we cannot engage in feudal superstition and we must break with feudal dross." It is a longing and aspiration etched into the bones of the Chinese people.
Given the recent situation, the commune has held several meetings, and Liu Weimin has repeatedly emphasized: "Be careful, be careful, don't say what you shouldn't say, don't say what you can't say, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."
On the surface, they all obeyed, but every night, after dark, there were always figures sneaking off to the back mountain from outside Jian Dan's house.
Did Liu Weimin not know? Of course he knew; in fact, his family was one of them.
Often, it's just a matter of tacit understanding.
Jian's grandfather, maternal grandfather, and mother are all buried in the capital. As for Jian Liye, needless to say, given her situation, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to say she doesn't believe in ghosts and gods. But when it comes to offering sacrifices, she's a bit confused and doesn't quite believe in them.
Jian Xin was in a similar situation. Sheng Zhiyuan's fate was still unknown, and she couldn't explain things to him clearly. The two sisters could be considered to be in the same boat.
In short, the atmosphere for the Spring Festival in Liujiatun was very good.
On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, after steaming the big white steamed buns, the two sisters had nothing to do for a while, so they simply took Jian Xin to the educated youth compound. They had been lazy and hadn't gone out for a while, and the last time they met seemed to be at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month.
Upon entering the courtyard, they encountered Tang Cui, who was walking out. The two could be considered enemies.
Last time, to settle scores with Jian Xin, Jian quietly and secretly carried out several underhanded tactics. In the middle of the night, when Tang Cui got up to use the night, he kidnapped her to the back mountain and, without any attempt to hide it, perfectly copied and pasted the same movements that Jian Xin had used to throw her onto her.
To put it simply and clearly,
"If you hurt my child once, I'll retaliate three times, as long as you can handle it."
Jian Xin wasn't seriously injured, and if she really wanted to punish her, she could do it—breaking off her arms or legs, or sending her directly for rehabilitation.
But people sympathize with the weak, and that's the prevailing thought now. In the long run, will Jian Xin's minor injuries even count as serious injuries? The tide will definitely turn in Tang Cui's favor. No matter how popular Jian Xin is, or how good her relationship with the villagers is, she won't want to gamble with this; it's not worth it.
So she didn't ask for any compensation, only symbolically letting Tang Cui pay the medical expenses. Suddenly, the spotlight shifted to Jian Xin, the victim, and Tang Cui became a pariah.
For three days in a row, she did the same thing, no more, no less, without bias. No matter how she shook Jian Xin off, she suffered the same pain, only three times as much.
Moreover, the title of "simple yet powerful" is not given lightly.
After three days, although she didn't break any arms or legs or injure any bones, she spent a full five days lying on the kang (a heated brick bed). Only then did the burning sensation in her chest subside a little.
It took another month of rest before he was considered fully recovered.
Now, she has only been recovered for a short time, and seeing Jian Dan, the experiences of those few days involuntarily surfaced in her mind, making her tremble to the bone. Her eyes narrowed involuntarily, her body movements slowed down, and she wanted to take a step back.
Unexpectedly, he glanced at her briefly, didn't even look at her properly, and led the child towards Li Yan's room.
Simple is like this, and so is the little girl, head held high, eyes fixed, walking straight past her.
The two entered the house, and the heavy sound of the door closing startled Tang Cui awake. Her legs felt weak, and her back was covered in a cold sweat.
"Come in, come in! I was just thinking I'd finished everything and had nothing to do, so I came to find you."
There were quite a few people in the kitchen, with Chen Jianguo and a few others moving around, sometimes bringing firewood, sometimes carrying buckets of water, and it all looked quite harmonious.
What are you doing?
It smells fragrant, but I can't quite place what it is right now.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan and the others couldn't help but laugh.
"I went to the commune a few days ago. We happened to see a fat pig coming. So, a few of us pooled our meat coupons and bought a few pounds of fatty meat. We'll use it to make some oil. Animal fat keeps longer and lasts longer, but soybean oil isn't really good for anything."
That's true. Soybean oil doesn't produce as much oil as animal fat, so animal fat is indeed more practical for them.
Jian Dan also peeked out. The little girl was short, and the steam from the pot rushed into her nose. Jian Dan heard a series of gasps and couldn't help but look down. Lin Zhaodi laughed.
"Xin Xin, does it smell good?"
The little girl looked up at Jian Dan, squinted, and inhaled.
"It smells so good, Sister Zhaodi! What is this? It smells so good!"
Lin Zhaodi lifted the pot lid, stirred it a few times, then turned around and took a basin to place on the stove. She used a strainer to block the remaining oil at the bottom, and used a large ladle to scoop out the rendered fat. Once it cooled completely, it could be stored in a jar.
"See that? The meat underneath, once the fat inside dries out, it'll become dry and crunchy, and it'll smell so good."
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