Having seen so much simple elegance and knowing that she didn't care about these things, the old lady still couldn't help but ask: whether it's fabric, pastries, or daily necessities, not to mention other people's, even if they were in her possession, she would consider them valuable.
For an elderly couple like them, their retirement benefits are actually quite good, but compared to Jian Dan, she might not be so willing to give up her retirement.
Not to mention, things here are different from those in Beijing; some things are hard to buy even if you want to.
Seeing that the old lady was telling the truth, and it didn't seem like sarcasm or mockery, Jian Dan felt slightly relieved and went along with the explanation.
"Yes, they're all good stuff. I had some connection with his child before. The girl lived with me for a few years. Now, her family feels bad about it and sends her things from time to time. His family is well-off. This time, they sent more because they're going on a long trip and said they won't be able to come back for a while."
The items are good, but Mom, look, there's only so much fabric, and what about the food, malted milk powder, canned goods, and sugar? There are only two of us, two mouths to feed. How can we eat more and wear more clothes?
Brother Huai is packing up here. We're thinking of keeping some for ourselves, and we'll bring you some of the rest later.
"Mom, it's perfect that you're here. See if you can use anything. If you don't take it, we won't be able to use it either, especially the food. It has an expiration date, and if we can't finish it, we'll have to give it away."
That's a bit of an exaggeration. Everyone would keep such good things hidden away. Take food, for example. Actually, at this time, there's really no such thing as an expiration date.
Take malted milk powder, for example. It's a rare and precious item in ordinary households. Even if it's opened, people are reluctant to add more than a spoonful. They save it for the elderly and children to nourish their bodies. If it's spilled on the ground, the children will immediately crawl down, pick it up, and put it in their mouths, still covered in dirt, and they'll eat it with smacking lips.
This shows how rare this thing is.
The old lady knew that she wouldn't have needed these things before, as the logistics department would provide some benefits and it would be easy to buy whatever she needed.
But after coming here, to be honest, even though it's just a change of scenery, it has had a significant impact on my life, especially on small things or seemingly insignificant matters. In other words, only those who are truly suffering know the real impact.
However, she wasn't the kind of mother-in-law who exploited her daughter-in-law. On the contrary, she was a former leader, and whether intentionally or habitually, she always unconsciously considered the bigger picture and the plight of the soldiers who were suffering even more. There were things she just couldn't bring herself to say.
“Daughter-in-law, Mom knows you’re a good person. This food won’t keep, so Mom will take some back with her.”
The fabrics and clothes are fine to keep. You can keep them. It's just the two of you now, and the baby is due soon. After the confinement period, the baby will grow rapidly, and you'll need these things a lot.
Listen to me, save the good stuff, save as much as you can.
Jian Dan simply couldn't refuse, so she looked to Qin Qinghuai for help, only to see him also shrugging helplessly, leaving her no choice but to agree.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. But you should take more of this malted milk powder, canned meat, and milk powder. Not only do you and Dad need to nourish yourselves, but the children are also growing. It's not right for Uncle San to give away all the food he can't finish and leave them to watch. Don't you think so?"
Don't even think about saving us any money. You've seen it yourself, all this stuff has been bought. Summer's almost here, and it'll spoil even faster in the heat. Tell me, if it goes bad and tastes off, it's better to eat it now, right?
The old lady wasn't stupid; she naturally knew that she was saying that on purpose. Putting aside everything else, no matter how hot it was, even in the dog days of summer, the cellar was like a refrigerator; there was nothing that could be stored there.
However, since her daughter-in-law had persuaded her to this extent, the old lady didn't say anything more. She took out some more food and said that what she said was quite true. The appetite of the five children in the family was not small.
"A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home." The youngest, Qin Heng, is a little less likely to go hungry, but the four older ones are at the age where they can eat a lot. This is the kind of food they have here, and it's the lean season, so there's a lack of oil and fat. The children are very active, so they get hungry even faster.
They're all her grandsons, so of course the old lady feels sorry for them.
"Daughter-in-law, thank you, and on behalf of your elder brothers, thank you for thinking of your children and marrying you. It's a blessing from our Qin family's ancestral graves."
She didn't care whether it was smoking or not; the main thing was that the old couple treated her well and hardly interfered in their lives. She believed in reciprocating kindness tenfold and was willing to live in harmony with them.
The old lady picked out a few items, and the two of them stuffed quite a bit more into her bag. In the end, Qin Qinghuai carried all the things back, along with a bundle of cloth. He complained about it as soon as he got back.
"We haven't treated these children badly, so why do they act like wolves are eyeing meat whenever they see food?"
He may be complaining, but he also feels sorry for his own nephew.
"Hey, wife, tell me, all year round, the only thing we can make a little money from is slaughtering a pig. This is life..."
Last year, before the Lunar New Year, a pig was slaughtered, and each family received a share of the meat. Those who were frugal would render the fat into oil, which would be used by the whole family for the next year, so it had to be used sparingly.
Moreover, there aren't many vegetables available to eat this season.
Jian Dan looked at the mess on the floor, feeling confused, and yawned.
"What to do then? If we don't have enough lard, we'll use soybean oil! And the soybean residue after pressing the oil can be used to feed the pigs. It's said to be a particularly good feed, and pigs will grow fat after eating it."
For Qin Qinghuai, a typical city kid, everything in the countryside was new and needed to be learned from scratch. Hearing something that sounded promising, he grabbed his little stool and came over to learn more.
"Wife, tell me, how is oil pressing done?"
I blinked briefly to hold back the tears that were forming. I thought back for a moment and realized that there was no oil pressing in Liujiatun. The main problem was the raw material. Not many people in Liujiatun grew soybeans; they were usually kept to make soybean paste.
Moreover, compared to the rural people's obsession with grain, the oil yield of soybeans is really low. Oil is a luxury for them. They would rather wait until the meat they receive during the New Year to get some oil.
"Oil extraction? I've never seen that before. But you can go in and look for it when you have time. It's definitely there, but it won't be the primitive kind. As long as you can find a suitable explanation, that's fine."
Last year, a lot of soybeans were planted in the experimental field here. Apart from the cooks who took some to make soybean paste, and a few family members who came to exchange some to make soybean paste, the rest are still stored in the warehouse. They haven't figured out how to deal with this stuff yet. It's a good stuff, but we also need to know how to make it, right?
Someone in the mess hall can sprout bean sprouts, and the canteen has started serving them recently. But with so many soybeans, bean sprouts can't be the main dish, can they?
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