Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Children's Trivia

Changshenggou is still green in late autumn. If it weren't for the chill in the wind, it would not be much different from spring and summer.

“This winter is not cold.”

After digging a few times, Shi Xiangming was so hot that he took off his thin cotton jacket and handed it to Wang Nian who was sitting by the vegetable field sorting bean pods.

"Be careful with your hands." Wang Nian took the clothes and threw them into the backpack. He then reminded her again, worriedly, "If you get hurt, everyone in the factory will criticize me."

Hands that can draw all kinds of mechanical sketches with a pen and complete the polishing of various delicate parts must not be damaged by a few hoes.

"If I can't even do housework..." He raised the hoe high, dug down with it, and then lifted it up again: "What's the point of having these hands?"

Because of the injury, Wang Nian rested at home for more than a month. His stomach grew bigger like a balloon, and the soybeans in the field were dried up by the wind and turned into a pile of weeds.

If you don’t harvest them now… once the bean pods open, you’ll have to lie on the ground and pick them one by one.

So the whole family went out today. Shi Xiangming was the main laborer, responsible for harvesting bean pods and turning the land to prepare for planting garlic seedlings.

The two younger ones moved the bean pods to the edge of the vegetable patch, and Wu Zhenzhen and Wang Nian, who came just to help, tied them into bundles.

"The soybeans you planted this year are really good. They are almost as good as the soybeans grown on the black soil in my hometown."

The aunties who passed by after tidying up the vegetable garden all praised the soybeans.

They also planted soybeans, but the beans they produced were not only dry but also had a stronger bean smell than fragrance.

At first everyone thought it was the bean seeds, but later they found that the soil in the mountains was not fertile enough and no beans could be grown into good ones.

Over time, growing quick dishes became a tacit practice among everyone.

"It looks like I'll have to find a way to get some Chinese medicine residue to fertilize the land next year."

Wang Nian had buried the drug residue in the ground more than once or twice, and as more people had seen it, it was no longer a secret.

The soybeans that have been grown are now displayed here. Anyone who sees them will be moved.

Wang Nian smiled but said nothing.

These ladies always keep whispering in my ears whenever I see them. They either want to learn or they want medicine residue.

Originally Wang Nian wanted to give it to him, but later he found that the place where the medicine residue was buried had been dug up by more than one group of people.

The first group of people took Wang Nian away and found him, but he was taken away again a few days later. This time, they not only failed to find him, but also dug a big hole in the ground.

I repeated this seven or eight times, and the last time I went so far as to flip the potatoes upside down.

Later, Wang Nian simply stopped burying the residue and directly used the water soaked with medicinal materials to water the ground, which was more effective.

As for who took the medicinal residue...just look at whose vegetables are grown better than others and you will know.

"My family is poor... we have no money or tickets to buy medicinal herbs." The short-haired lady sighed while glancing at Wang Nian.

Last year, the tomatoes grown by this short-haired lady were obviously bigger than those next door, but this year the tomatoes are small and cracked.

The effect of the dregs of the herbal medicine once boiled cannot last long. After tasting the sweetness last year, I am scratching my head and cheeks this year...

Wang Nian pretended not to hear, tied up a handful of things and threw them into the backpack nearby.

"There are a lot of herbs on the mountain. If you don't want to spend money, you can go up the mountain and dig them."

"If I knew about herbs, I wouldn't have come to you!" The old lady rolled her eyes, muttered something unclear, and walked away angrily.

"We can't be nice to such a shameless person." Shi Xiangming raised the hoe high and brought it down.

"Mom, what can soybeans do?"

Farm work is an extremely boring activity for children. After Shi Wan put a small bundle of soybeans in front of Wang Nian, she became listless and had little interest.

"Soybeans can be used to make white and tender tofu. They can also be fried, dried and ground into powder to make sweet black sesame dumplings wrapped in soybean flour. They are fragrant and sweet. You can also dip soybean milk in fried dough sticks...tsk tsk tsk..."

The foodie's foodie attribute doubled after she got pregnant. Wang Nian was drooling as he talked about it.

What's more, there were some children who had never even seen the food before, and they were so greedy that they cried and clamored for bean flour glutinous rice balls in the evening.

"Auntie Wang, let me help."

Zhang Liye, who was a few meters away, threw down his own peanuts, ignored his mother's death stare, and immediately turned into the Shi family's little helper.

Since his son was unreliable, Liu Chaoxian could only vent his anger on Zhang Guiqiang, who was as slow as an ox.

"Director Shi has already finished harvesting soybeans and started tilling the soil. Asking you to pick some peanuts is like asking you to die."

Zhang Guiqiang: “…”

Life has been better in the past two years. Zhang Guiqiang eats a lot and moves less. His hair is getting thinner and his belly is getting bigger.

It was really hard for him to bend over for a long time.

"Look at the peanuts you planted. Can you make a plate of fried peanuts to go with wine after peeling them?" Zhang Guiqiang retaliated, deliberately poking at Liu Chaoxian's sore spot.

Liu Chao was so excited that he breathed out of his nostrils, but he couldn't say anything to retort.

This year, my grandmother didn't help with the peanut planting. Wang Nian was too busy with work to remember to leave the medicine residue in the house and it became moldy without being buried.

I wanted to show off my skills...but the peanut seedlings grew lushly, but there were only a few peanuts underneath.

"Wang Nian, do you have any medicine residue? Give me some!"

"It's long gone!" Wang Nian deliberately replied loudly: "I don't have the chance to go to the provincial capital. My family hasn't boiled medicine for more than half a year."

"It's all my fault."

"How about we tie the knot tonight... I'll be pushing tofu tonight."

This year's soybean harvest was impressive, enough for a family of four to eat for the whole year. In addition, a lot of them were dried in the fields and could fall directly to the ground if you knocked on them.

The first batch of freshly-made soybeans must be used to make tofu.

In the past, after the Red Flag Brigade worked together to harvest soybeans, each production team would also get some beans to make tofu pudding.

The fresh bile water tofu pudding is slightly sweet, and paired with homemade glutinous rice cake chili, you can be full just by eating the tofu.

"Sure! Isn't the meat my family bought yesterday frozen in your refrigerator? Just in time for a meat dish for dinner." Liu Chaoxian agreed without saying anything, then shook his head twice and threw the peanut sprouts on the ground: "Dig them all up and that's it."

After saying that, he also dropped his work in the fields and joined Wang Nian's army to harvest soybeans.

"Then let's ask Xiumei and Luo Shunli to split the bill together tonight. It will be more lively with more people."

"Why haven't I seen Sun Xiumei these days?"

Busy with work, children, taking care of the elderly at home and doing farm work, Liu Chaoxian has no time to pay attention to other neighbors recently.

Wang Nian smiled and blinked, motioning Liu Chaoxian to come closer: "She is also pregnant, and the month is one month younger than mine."

Most people try not to tell anyone about their pregnancy during the first three months, and only announce the good news to their relatives and friends after the fetus is stable.

Wang Nian's situation was really unexpected, and he learned the news directly from Zhou Yuying.

As for Sun Xiumei, she only quietly told Wang Nian about her pregnancy after the news of her pregnancy spread.

"Pregnant?" Liu Chaoxian frowned, looked at Wang Nian's rosy face, and was full of confusion: "But why does she look not so good to me... She doesn't look pregnant, but more like... she's sick."

"She had severe morning sickness. I heard that she vomited everything she ate. She couldn't get enough rest at night and had to work during the day. It would be strange if her complexion looked good!"

Sun Xiumei's morning sickness came without warning and was extremely severe. She vomited so often that she could only drink soup to replenish her nutrition.

Luo Shunli goes home after work these days. He can only take leave to work overtime in the R&D group. He planned to go to the health hospital to see a doctor yesterday.

Sun Xiumei had heard from somewhere that morning sickness was contagious, and was afraid that Wang Nian would suffer as well, so she usually avoided him. Naturally, Liu Chaoxian didn't have many chances to see him.

"That was really painful. Fortunately, you are fine."

Liu Chaoxian also vomited when she was five months old, and continued to vomit until she was seven months old, when she suddenly wanted to eat everything.

Looking at Wang Nian again, apart from her belly which showed that she was pregnant, she was no different from before. She was either cooking or feeding chickens, and she envied her spirit.

"Move as much as you can now, so you won't suffer as much when you have children in the future."

At present, the medical level is still at the primary stage. The only way to suffer less is to take care of your body. Wang Nian doesn't want to travel through time and end up with a difficult delivery.

"You're right. Look at Huang Xiaohui... I don't even know what to say about her."

"Speaking of her, I haven't seen her at the vegetable market for a long time. On the day of Li Yan's wedding, Xie Hua went alone and didn't see her."

"That girl is so stubborn. She believes that Xie Hua is the one who treats her really well and she won't listen to anything other people say." Liu Chaoxian curled his lips.

According to the month, Huang Xiaohui is already more than nine months pregnant and may give birth at any time.

The closer you are to giving birth, the more you should go out and walk around, but Huang Xiaohui... just listens to Xie Hua, the "cultured man", and stays at home every day to take care of the baby.

Liu Chaoxian can choose not to associate with Huang Xiaohui, but Sister Xu, her godmother, cannot do that.

Her distant niece Xu Fen had just had an accident, and she was worried that her godson might get into trouble because of childbirth, so she went to visit her first out of concern.

The result was another unpleasant parting. Sister Xu met Liu Chaoxian on the road and he pulled her aside and complained for a long time.

"Sister Xu said Huang Xiaohui is so fat..." Liu Chaoxian raised his hands and measured her size: "It's hard for her to even turn over."

"She may not be unaware that what she did was wrong, but she continued without hesitation." After she bundled the last handful of soybeans and threw them into the backpack, Wang Nian patted the bean pods on his pants and said, "You will have to bear the consequences yourself."

Huang Xiaohui is such a smart person, how could she get a house even if she is single? How could she keep her father's workstation all these years?

She was willing to be led by Xie Hua, and no matter how much others said, it would only make her depressed.

***

The bean pods were spread on the embankment. There were no special threshing hammers used in the countryside, so the only way was to knock them one by one with a wooden stick.

Wang Nian and Liu Chaoxian hid in the corridor, eating grapes while watching the two science and engineering guys busying themselves on the dam.

Liu Chaoxian was so happy that he could not say a word, and laughed at Zhang Guiqiang, saying that he was like an ox going to the fields for the first time.

Wang Nian smiled and spat the grape seeds into the palm of her hand. In fact, she had the same feeling as Liu Chaoxian.

The two old fathers were working hard at the dam, pounding soybeans, while their four children were in the backyard discussing how they would show off later.

Show off...the grapes grown at home.

"Shuwen, Hulutou is always laughing at you. Let's take the grapes to his doorstep and eat them to feed him to death!" Zhang Liye spat out the grape skins into the air and hurriedly stuffed another one into his mouth.

The grape vines planted by the window in the backyard are already full of dark purple berries. Each bunch is as big as Shi Wan's head, which is a far cry from the sour and astringent small berries of last year.

"Auntie Wang Nian is really amazing." Wu Zhenzhen politely plucked a small fruit and stuffed it into her mouth. The taste was as sweet as honey and she squinted her eyes happily: "You have everything in your backyard."

"Sister Zhenzhen also watered the grapes. You also contributed to these grapes." Shi Shuwen said to Wu Zhenzhen before answering Zhang Liye: "Let's go to Hulutou's house and set up a table!"

"Brother, are you going to eat at Hulutou's house?" Shi Wan opened her mouth in surprise.

Shi Shuwen patiently explained to her sister: "The teacher said this is called rhetoric, which means we should bring more food and fill up the table."

"I have dried sweet potatoes at home. I'll steal the candies that my grandma hid, and I also know where the dried biscuits that my dad asked someone to buy from the provincial capital are!" Zhang Liye began to reveal his family's past.

After thinking carefully, Shi Shuwen suddenly stood up and said, "I have to ask my mother first. We can't steal things from home."

Zhang Liye: “…”

"Sister Zhenzhen, has Aunt Hehua beaten you again recently?" Shi Wan asked.

Wu Zhenzhen shook her head: "My mother has no time to take care of me, she is busy trying to please Feng Liang!"

"That's good. It's better than beating you every day. From now on, you can come to my house every day and eat at my house." Shi Wan pouted her lips and imitated Zhang Liye by spitting out grape skins into the air with a "pucker" sound. Then she cried out "ouch" and hurriedly removed the grape skins that fell on her eyelids.

The children didn't understand why Duan Hehua suddenly became very strict with her daughter at the beginning of this year. They only knew that during that period Wu Zhenzhen was beaten for trivial matters, which made them worried.

Wu Zhenzhen nodded with a smile.

She used to hope that her mother would be better, but after watching her every move, Wu Zhenzhen only felt more tired.

Fortunately, Feng Lianshan later found some monk who figured out that Feng Liang was her future support, so he ignored her again.

A moment later, Shi Shuwen ran back to the backyard with a basket and announced loudly.

"Mom told us to go inside and get it ourselves so it won't be wasted."

There was a five-drawer cabinet in the corner of the living room, where Wang Nian usually put the snacks he made. Shi Shuwen led his companions directly over and opened the cabinet.

"What do you have at home..." Zhang Liye opened his mouth into a circle, and after a long while he finally uttered: "It would be great if Aunt Wang Nian was also my mother!"

There are two layers in the cabinet, and the upper layer is filled with glass jars.

Among them were the peanut candies and fruit leather that Zhang Liye was familiar with, and there were also many more pastries and snacks that he had never seen before.

"What is this?"

Shi Shuwen took out a handful of reddish-brown dried fruits from the cookie box at the edge of the cabinet. They smelled sweet.

"Dried pumpkin." Shi Wan answered, "It tastes better than dried sweet potato."

"Sister, go get dad's lunch box, we can use it."

The young boy Shi Shuwen also inherited Shi Xiangming's slight cleanliness obsession, and he picked up the discard basket and complained that it was not clean.

"What is this?"

“Egg crisps.”

"What about this?"

"I just made these rice krispie treats yesterday."

"That's it... It looks delicious."

"That's the jerky my dad asked me to take to the office to eat. We can't take it!"

"Shuwen, take some! I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't have any meat jerky today."

"Well... let's just take a little bit, otherwise my dad will go hungry when he works day and night." Shi Shuwen still remembered the spiritual pursuit that Wang Nian mentioned when he delivered the meal.

"You are my brother from now on. I won't tolerate anyone saying anything bad about you!"

After a quarrel, the cabinet was closed again.

Shi Wan suggested: "Let's go pick some grapes and take them with us, and tomatoes as well."

So everyone rushed into the backyard and picked all the edible fruits and vegetables in the backyard.

After everything was packed up, several people were ready to go.

"Where are you going?"

Wang Nian turned around and saw several children carrying military backpacks, as if they were going on a long journey. Shi Wan even carried a small backpack that Wang Nian had crocheted with some extra wool.

"Let's go play on the seesaw across the street." Shi Shuwen pointed to the small park across from his family's building, a children's entertainment facility that was just built this year and was made entirely of cement.

"You can play, but you can't go into the pond." Wang Nian instructed.

Building a small park is a good thing, but the water level in the newly built large pond is not shallow, and older children are often seen swimming in it, which is frightening to watch.

Zhang Liye immediately patted his chest and said, "We are determined not to get close to the pond."

"Zhang Liye, if you dare to cause trouble, don't even think about getting a penny from the New Year's money this year." Liu Chaoxian raised the stick he used to hit soybeans and threatened him fiercely.

"We won't go in the water." Shi Shuwen also promised, and Wang Nian waved his hand to let them go: "Keep an eye on the two sisters."

"I know—"

Four figures ran away quickly, leaving behind only a string of silver bell-like laughter.

A few people walked through the bamboo forest, walked hand in hand across the road, passed the seesaw and walked across the flowerbed, and arrived in front of the 42nd family building.

All the chicken coops in front of the 42 family buildings were moved away, and several stone tables and benches were built for people to rest.

Several dolls are looking for a place to sit, making sure the gourd head sees them "setting up the table"

"From this position, Hulutou will be able to see us as soon as he walks out the door."

Finally, Shi Shuwen chose the roadside close to the entrance to the family building, and Shi Wan immediately took out a piece of floral cloth from her bag and spread it on the table.

"Today we must let Hulutou know what a good life we ​​are living." Zhang Liye pulled a dried sweet potato from his bag and held it in his mouth: "I put one foot on the flower bed and watched whether Hulutou was at home."

Hulutou's real name is Qian Tiedan. He got the nickname Hulutou because his head looks like a gourd, round at the bottom and pointed at the top.

He and Shi Shuwen had a disagreement because of their names.

One is Tiedan and the other is Shuwen, which sounds like the difference between stars in the sky and cow dung eggs on the ground. Many people compare their names.

Qian Tiedan was so angry that he mocked Shi Shuwen, saying that he was a child without a mother and that having a nice name was useless.

So far...the two of them have formed a "blood feud"

"Hulutou is at home, look..." Zhang Liye pointed to the family building and jumped onto the flowerbed excitedly: "He's out!"

Qian Tiedan was walking up and down the corridor with a child who had just learned to walk.

"Hulutou!" Zhang Liye waved his hand.

"What are you doing!" Hulutou was annoyed by his sister and glared at Zhang Liye unhappily: "I don't have time to quarrel with you today."

"If you hadn't scolded me, who would want to quarrel with you?" Shi Shuwen also jumped onto the flower bed, with his hands on his hips, looking very proud.

"Who told you to say my name is ugly?" Hulutou defended loudly.

"I didn't say that. Go and beat them up if you can."

Gourd head: "..."

Those kids are all junior high school students, there's no way he can beat them!

Having gained the upper hand, Shi Shuwen immediately took advantage of the situation and attacked: "I think you have locked your key in the house and can't get out!"

Gourd head: "..."

"Brother." When he was most annoyed, his one-year-old sister came up to him again, but was immediately pushed away by Hulutou subconsciously.

There was a loud bang and the child's head hit the stove. He immediately burst into tears in pain.

"...",

The crying became louder and louder, and both sides were caught off guard by the current situation.

Shi Shuwen jumped down from the flowerbed first and ran towards the fallen child. As he ran, he made a truce gesture to Hulutou: "Go and see your sister first."

Hulutou finally reacted and squatted down in panic to pick up his sister.

"Where did you hit?"

The child could not speak clearly and was crying with snot and tears all over his face. No matter how Hulutou tried to comfort him, it didn't work.

"What should we do?" Several older children became anxious. They looked at each other and none of them had any idea.

Shi Shuwen was the first to react and asked, "Go find your parents and have a look!"

"My mother went to buy vegetables. I don't know where my grandma went..." Hulutou was so anxious that his eyes were filled with tears. He hugged his sister and burst into tears.

"Brother, let's ask my sister to go to my house so that mom can see if she fell anywhere."

Shi Wan was a soft-hearted person and couldn't bear to see others cry. Seeing her eyes starting to turn red, she could only think of taking the little sister home to ask adults for help.

"Yes, let's go to our house!" Zhang Liye also agreed.

Wow wow wow——

I don’t know what the little girl saw, but she started crying so hard that she was almost out of breath.

Several people immediately decided to take the little girl home to find the adults.

"Thank you." Hulutou wiped away his tears and quickly picked up his sister: "I will never make fun of you again in the future."

The children didn't even bother to tidy up the floral cloth on the table and rushed home in a hurry.

Wang Nian was just cleaning the millstone when he heard the children shouting "Something big has happened" and rushing towards him like the wind.

"What trouble have you guys caused this time!" Liu Chaoxian straightened up and started to curse.

Then several children came running over holding a crying baby. The hands changed several times, and finally it was Shi Shuwen's turn to run to Wang Nian holding the child.

"Mom, can you please check if Hulutou's little sister is hurt?"

"What happened?" Wang Nian quickly put down the loofah, took the child and touched his head: "Can you tell me in detail where you hit?"

"I didn't see it clearly." Hulutou said while crying.

The child was very light, with sparse yellow hair and a little face that was red from crying.

"I saw it, the shoulder is the shoulder." Shi Wan reported hurriedly, gesturing so anxiously that the small fried dough twist that she had just casually stuffed into her bag flipped out and fell all over the floor.

“…”

The crying stopped at this moment. The little girl stretched out her hand towards the small twisted dough on the ground and stammered, "I'm hungry. I want to eat..."

Shi Wan quickly picked up a fried dough twist and handed it to the child.

Then... the child stopped crying immediately, happily took it and started licking it.

Wang Nian opened her mouth and saw that the child only had six baby teeth. She couldn't eat the fried dough twist at all and instead drooled.

"Come hold her, I'll make her some egg soup."

Before handing the child to Liu Chaoxian, Wang Nian touched the child's belly.

As soon as I touched it, I felt the distinct ribs and the flat belly, which showed that it had been hungry for quite some time.

"He looks like he's about one year old, how come he's so young?" Liu Chaoxian held him over and asked in confusion.

Obviously only Hulutou knows the answer.

But now no one has time to ask, so Wang Nian opened the lid of the beehive coal stove, poured in hot water, beat in two eggs, sprinkled some salt, stirred them, and poured them into a bowl.

As soon as the child saw Wang Nian coming over with the bowl, he immediately started kicking his legs like crazy as if he had turned on a motor, and Liu Chaoxian could hardly hold him.

"Let it cool before drinking."

Wang Nian put the bowl in the cold water and swirled it around. After it felt warm to the touch, he picked it up and fed it to the child with a spoon.

The little girl swallowed it down mouthful after mouthful without even having time to chew.

It looks like she is just...crying out of hunger!