"Mommy, rice cakes, I want to eat them! I want to eat them!"
There were still two portions ahead, so Jian Dan wasn't in a hurry. He watched the old man pack the corn in, then turned to ask the mother and daughter...
"Do you add saccharin? If you add saccharin, it's 50%; if you don't, it's 40%."
The mother didn't speak, and the child became anxious, fearing that his mother wouldn't agree.
"I want it, I want it sweet."
Seeing that his mother didn't object, the old man took out a bag of saccharin, poured it in, then covered the stove, placed it on the fire, and started shaking it.
At that time, a pound of rice cost one to one and two cents, and the price of corn was about the same. However, as people in the countryside say, rice was precious, while corn was more valuable. One pound of corn could make a pot of cornmeal porridge, and even more cornmeal.
Moreover, many poor families grind whole ears of corn together when they grind it. Although this is not as fine, it produces a large quantity.
This pot of popcorn requires a maximum of two ounces of corn, costing four cents—the price of an egg. In fact, it's not cheap for farmers.
If you're going to the countryside, and it's your own home, they might pop half a pound of corn into a pot of popcorn for you. If there's any extra corn, they'll just cover the cost, so you don't have to pay cash and might not feel so bad about it.
But today is market day, and unless there are people selling corn, who would deliberately carry corn out of the market?
At that time, both white sugar and brown sugar blocks required sugar coupons, and the price was not cheap, making them impractical for farmers. Therefore, saccharin, which was cheaper and more practical, came into being. It cost one cent for a small packet, and there might not be many pieces, but it was still much cheaper than white sugar when needed.
At times like this, or in the filling of red bean buns, saccharin is mostly used.
As for health, whether saccharin is bad or popcorn contains lead, nobody considered these issues at the time. For them, they were already struggling to fill their stomachs, so anything edible was considered good.
The mother looked distressed for a couple of seconds, but seeing her child's excitement, she probably felt sorry for him too. She didn't say anything to spoil the mood and silently handed over the five cents.
The little boy squatted next to the old man, his chubby little hand supporting his chin, staring intently, as if if he didn't keep an eye on him, the popcorn would fly away.
Jian Dan stood behind her, finding it almost unbearable to watch, and whispered her complaints to Qin Qinghuai.
"Look at your silly daughter, this pot isn't even hers, she's getting more and more tempted."
For an old father, his daughter is a special person—something he can talk about but others can't—but this is a concept that can't be explained to him simply.
"He's just craving it. He probably thinks that watching it a little longer will satisfy his craving. Look at him, he's practically drooling!"
Next, the mother was clearly frugal; she was very distressed about taking those few cents and kept nagging.
"This is too expensive! Four cents can buy three ounces of corn, and you only have this little bit in your pot. It's such a rip-off!"
"Why would you need saccharin? That little bit of saccharin costs only a penny. You spendthrift child, what can't you eat?"
"Why do you insist on eating this? This could be traded for an egg. I'll trade it for an egg and fry it for you with some lard. It'll be so delicious!"
"Hey, more, more! There are several children in the family, this isn't enough!"
The old man was clearly used to this kind of situation; without pausing for a moment, he closed the lid and slowly explained...
"This is the most. Any more than that and it won't produce any flowers; they'll all be dud particles."
The popcorn was ready, and she stretched out her arm to protect it, afraid that someone might come and steal a handful.
"Son, hurry up and pretend, what are you standing there for?"
Although the little one is greedy, she is mostly a good baby, especially when it comes to things from strangers. She won't reach for anything unless the adults say anything. She looks at this and that like a spectator, watching them clean up the net, not even letting go of the few dud particles that haven't broken open. Her little face is a little conflicted.
When it was her turn, she tilted her little face up and said in a serious tone,
"Grandpa, I don't want eggs, I want popcorn! I have five older brothers and an uncle. I want more. Can I not have dud kernels? My fourth brother and youngest brother have lost their teeth, and they can't chew dud kernels."
Several people in line were amused.
The chubby little face was fair and tender, enough to soften anyone's heart. The old man even lowered his voice slightly.
"Okay, do you want to add saccharin?"
The little girl had never tasted saccharin before. She knew what sugar was, but having just seen it, she knew it was sweet. She scratched her head and turned to look at Jian Dan and Qin Qinghuai.
"Mom and Dad, I want something sweet, and my brother likes sweet things too,"
"Okay, okay, I want it sweet."
The child was thinking about his older brother, so the couple naturally wouldn't allow it.
The little rascal is a master of changing his tune. Seeing that his father agreed, and his mother didn't object, and was no longer angry like yesterday, he immediately pushed his luck, holding up two fingers.
"Then I want two eggs!"
The people around him gave him another good-natured laugh.
Two kinds of egg popcorn?
Simple was at a loss for words when it came to how to respond.
It seems that what that mother and son said really resonated with the child; he's even using eggs as a unit of measurement.
Qin Qinghuai opened his mouth, clearly unsure how to respond, but since his son had mentioned several older brothers, he hadn't objected.
"Okay, then two, no, make two batches for us, and put saccharin in them."
"Okay!"
He took out a cloth bag from the basket and filled it halfway with popcorn from two pots. The bag also took up more than half of the basket. The little boy's cotton-padded coat pockets were full. He ate as he walked, occasionally feeding his parents a piece. Crunch, crunch, the little boy was very proud and received many envious glances from other children.
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