Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Who are you?

"call--"

The front and rear doors of the bus opened at the same time. Amidst all the complaints, Wang Nian finally squeezed out from the front door. The first thing he did after getting off the bus was to let out a long breath.

I finally understood why everyone was carrying cloth bags. During the rush hour on the bus, people were packed tightly together and a cloth bag took up space for two people. I got a lot of cold stares and if I didn't get scolded, it was mostly because of Hu Wenli's tough-looking face.

“I didn’t expect there would be so many people!”

"They are all here to catch the Baoshan Bridge Market before the rain, what else can it be!" Hu Wenli rolled her eyes, folded her hands and urged impatiently: "Hurry up, if you go too late, you won't be able to catch anything."

Most of the people on the bus got off at this station and walked in the same direction in groups of three or four or in large groups.

A fishing village with white walls and black tiles.

The village was completely preserved during the years of war. The bluestone roads meander through the village, and wherever you look, it looks like an ink painting.

"Let's go." Wang Nian took a deep breath and took big steps.

There were not many people in the fishing village, and every household had its doors closed. However, the fishing nets hanging outside the doors showed that people were still living in the houses.

Zhang Hongyan still didn't like Hu Wenli very much and tried not to say anything if possible.

Wang Nian took the initiative to bring up the topic of the cloth bag again: "Do you know the tailor who owns the tailor shop on our street?"

"I've dealt with them a few times, and I found that the old man and the old lady are not good people. They will take advantage of you if you give them a little resistance." Hu Wenli had obviously suffered losses in the tailor shop.

"Then why did you ask me to buy rags there?"

"The people are not very good, but the quality of the fabrics is excellent. They have more patterns and colors than those in state-owned stores, and they are also more durable to wash."

Wang Nianxiao.

"You took my kindness for granted." Hu Wenli suddenly became arrogant and said, rolling her eyes at Wang Nian: "If you don't want to go, don't go."

"You..." Zhang Hongyan hesitated to speak, silently expressing her dissatisfaction.

Wang Nian laughed and patted Hu Wenli's arm: "Who said you don't believe it? Why are you so anxious?"

"I've seen your expression many times." Hu Wenli raised her hands in anger and stamped her feet: "I told them with good intentions, but they turned around and accused me of deliberately hurting people. This is like a dog biting Lu Dongbing!"

Zhang Hongyan turned her head away uncomfortably.

At first, Hu Wenli also said that the old couple who ran the tailor shop on Guanghua Street were not good people, but no one believed her. Later, she blamed someone for deliberately deceiving them.

It seems that Liu Min was the most harsh among them. At that time, everyone said that Liu Min was soft-hearted and would believe anything anyone said.

Now that I think about it...it seems like I really can't blame them.

"Then tell me, aren't you afraid that I will retaliate and scold you for cheating like everyone else?" Wang Nian still smiled.

Hu Wenli snorted and turned away with disdain.

"I understand good and bad words. I was just calculating how much cloth I should buy for the curtains at home. It's not that I don't trust you."

It has been almost four months since we moved in, and we have only bought curtains for a few bedrooms. The several large windows in the living room require a lot of fabric, but that has not been put on the agenda yet.

"If you want to buy curtains, I know a store that does..." Hu Wenli immediately started talking again.

Follow the crowd forward, through the village, and you will see a pier that stretches for several hundred meters.

The dock was filled with noise, instantly drowning out the voice of Wang Nian.

Fishing boats were still approaching the pier. Baskets of seafood were being lifted from the boats onto the pier. As soon as they landed, several people gathered around to grab them.

While Wang Nian was still in a daze, Hu Wenli grabbed her arm and walked towards the shore: "Go there!"

The fishing boat slowly approached the shore.

"Perch..."

The master on the fishing boat had a loud voice and started shouting loudly before the boat even docked.

If you want to buy something, just stay. If you don’t want to buy something, just go to the next place and look for it.

"Are you buying it?" Hu Wenli asked loudly.

Wang Nian nodded: "I'll buy sea bass and crabs."

Sea bass has few bones and tender meat. It is delicious enough just by steaming it. It is suitable for children who are not good at picking fish bones.

Crabs... are what Wang Nian wants to eat.

"Watch me!" Hu Wenli raised her eyebrows.

Before Wang Nian understood what it meant, the next second, as the basket full of tiger shrimps came ashore, seven or eight hands had already reached in.

In a blink of an eye, only half of the full basket was left.

"Come over here to settle the bill." The lady in rubber shoes next to her held a large scale and called on the people who had bought the goods to weigh and settle the bill.

Zhang Hongyan explained: "The prices of seafood at the pier are all the same, so we settle the bill right after we weigh them..."

Not only do they not bargain, but you have to rely on your own ability to get the items. If you are shy... don't come here.

Wang Nian licked his lips to show that he understood, and his eyes were fixed on the basket that was about to be brought ashore.

When they heard the word "bass", they immediately squeezed over, so fast that Zhang Hongyan couldn't react.

Then Wang Nian's voice came from far away; "Zhang Hongyan... do you want some sea bass?"

"Yes!" Zhang Hongyan replied quickly.

Although Wang Nian's height is not noticeable in the crowd, he is very strong... As long as he stands in front of the money basket, no one can squeeze past him.

And next to her was Hu Wenli, a woman who was not easy to mess with. She would curse at anyone who pushed her and her saliva would spray all over that person's face.

The two of them, one literary and one martial, worked together and returned home with a full load before Zhang Hongyan even squeezed in.

"Auntie, let's buy the crabs and then come over to settle the bill." Wang Nianchong counted the bill and the old lady asked the two to divide the bill: "Take as much as you want, and the rest is mine."

The first home appliance I bought when I came to Anhuai was a refrigerator. It was two-thirds larger than the first one, and the freezer was big enough to hold a lot of seafood.

Hu Wenli clicked her tongue twice, and suddenly sighed, "I'll bring a backpack next time. If anyone dares to say something in the car again, I'll scold him to death."

It is faster to pick up the fish one by one and put them into the cloth bag than to just pick them up and throw them into the backpack.

Wang Nian still had time for a minute or two to pick out the big ones, and in a blink of an eye he had picked up more than twenty.

"Hurry up and pick them up. I saw the crab boat approaching the shore." Wang Nian urged with a smile.

Both of them had refrigerators at home, and there were a lot of fish in the backpack, so they each picked five into the cloth bag, and the remaining ten were Wang Nian's.

"Buy less crabs, dead crabs are not tasty," said Zhang Hongyan.

"The swimming crabs have come ashore..." the master shouted.

You have to fight to buy fish, but when you bring up the basket of crabs, no one wants to take them. In the early years, people in Anhuai were not full, so they used crabs to fill their stomachs... They are really scared of eating them.

A few people were able to walk up slowly and squat down to choose.

"Now that crabs are fat, we can make crab roe and freeze it to eat slowly," said Wang Nian.

"Then teach me... I'll buy more too." Zhang Hongyan said immediately. Hu Wenli, who didn't want to buy anything, squatted down and said, "If the crab roe doesn't taste good, I'll say bad things about you."

At this time, marine resources were still quite abundant, and the size of the swimming crabs was almost as big as Wang Nian's face.

Such a big crab is much easier to dismantle than the big gate crab. When Wang Nian saw its huge size, he took a lot more into the backpack.

Sea bass costs 1.2 yuan per pound, while crabs cost only 50 cents per pound.

Seeing the crabs in Wang Nian's basket trying to crawl out with their claws and teeth bared, the old lady kindly offered him a large bundle of straw.

"You guys go buy them, I'll tie the crabs here." The cloth bag Zhang Hongyan brought was too small and was already filled with the two items, so she simply sat aside and helped Wang Nian tie the crabs.

It seems that it is much more convenient to carry it on your back...but I don't know which market sells it.

After walking around again, Wang Nian bought a few pounds of prawns and Hu Wenli grabbed two hairtails, and they quickly returned.

As the number of returning fishing boats decreased, the crowd gradually dispersed, and the few people who remained mostly wanted to pick up leftovers.

The three of them were sitting on the stone steps tying up crabs, and they all raised their ears to listen to the conversation of two older sisters who were also tying up crabs.

"We didn't catch many crabs today." sighed the older sister in the apron.

"How much can you earn?" another person asked.

"Two dollars at most. It would be great if we could get more crabs. The Feixin Hotel is buying crabs today."

"Then the shrimps we snatched won't get into our hands, right?"

"No... Xiaonanmen Road is full of seafood restaurants. If you ask, they will accept the orders, but the price is a little lower."

Wang Nian's heart moved.

"Why don't we go and see if they'll buy it? Maybe we can sell it for a good price." Zhang Hongyan was very interested.

Hu Wenli sneered, her face full of contempt: "How much can you sell that bag of sea fish for? Look at how many fish others have to sell to earn two yuan." She pointed a finger at two large baskets of seafood not far from the two sisters.

The money earned by second-hand vendors is hard-earned, and it is not something that ordinary people can endure.

"I just saw them coming here on a tricycle. They must be trying to save on transportation fare." Wang Nian also burst Zhang Hongyan's beautiful fantasy of making money.

It takes at least two and a half hours to ride a tricycle from here to Xiaonanmen, and there are five or six small things to do there and back, plus there are all kinds of damage along the way, so it's really hard-earned money.

"When I was working, I was always worried about not being able to raise my child, but now that my child is in school... I feel anxious because I have nothing to do."

Zhang Hongyan used to work in the same factory as her husband. Later, because she was bedridden for more than half a year after giving birth to Qiu Shasha, her job was transferred to someone else.

I wanted to raise my child well at home, but life became quite boring once the child went to school.

"At least you still have hope." Hu Wenli threw the tied crabs into the backpack, still with a mocking look on her face: "This is how my life is, I just have to make do with it."

Wang Nian only knew that Hu Wenli was in her thirties, but it seemed that she had never seen any children coming in or out of her house, so the couple should live together.

"Don't you want to have another child?" Zhang Hongyan asked carefully.

Hu Wenli sneered: "You think I don't want to... but I just can't bear it."

"If you can't get pregnant, can't you just adopt one?" Zhang Hongyan pointed at Wang Nian excitedly: "Look at the two children in Wang Nian's family, who can tell they are not her biological children?"

Even though Wang Nian said she was a stepmother, Zhang Hongyan did not believe it and had to ask Shi Wan in person to be sure.

Hu Wenli: “…”

The few people who had been tying crabs spent more than half an hour successfully avoiding the return rush hour and were able to leisurely return to Guanghua Street.

"Lao Zhang, you guys are back from Baoshan Bridge!"

As soon as they came back, the people who were bragging at the door of Zhang Hongyan's house came to greet them and it seemed that they knew where they had been.

"How do you know?" Zhang Hongyan asked.

Those people glanced at Hu Wenli with a half-smile and then laughed in a weird way.

"You are just shy. If you don't want to go with her, just say no! You will regret it if someone harms you."

"Liu Min told you?" Without asking, Zhang Hongyan guessed that it was Liu Min who was gossiping.

Hu Wenli shrugged nonchalantly and rolled her eyes at them: "Why didn't I kill you bunch of hanged ghosts?"

Wang Nian and Zhang Hongyan both believed that Hu Wenli was taking it upon herself to talk about it, and instead of explaining why Liu Min was the one who interfered, she directly mocked others.

But it's really refreshing to see that group of people who are so angry but dare not say anything.

Wang Nian smiled and nodded to a few people.

“Take advantage of the crabs’ freshness and go home to remove the crab meat.”

After saying that, he went into the house with Hu Wenli.

If you want to make crab roe, lard is a necessary ingredient. Fortunately, lard is the main food for every household nowadays, so the refined lard can be used directly.

The most troublesome thing is to remove the crab meat.

"If that crab roe doesn't taste good..."

Hu Wenli had no patience. Just as she was peeling off a few crab legs, her finger was poked by the crab's leg. She grimaced in pain and her face became even more distorted.

Wang Nian saw that she was only making things worse, so she waved her hand and said, "You should go to the vegetable garden and pick some greens. The children will be home from school soon."

Hu Wenli dropped the crab and asked, "Where is the vegetable garden?" Her expression was as if someone owed her money.

Shi Guizhi glanced at him several times, probably wondering why Wang Nian would invite such a person home.

"It's behind the door." Wang Nian took the time to point at the door.

Hu Wenli walked away swearing. Wang Nian and Zhang Hongyan seemed to be used to her mouth and continued chatting while dissecting her legs.

After a few words, the conversation turned to Hu Wenli.

"It depends on the person! You can't just listen to what others say, you have to get along with them yourself."

"I have made many mistakes, and only after I suffered losses did I understand this truth," said Wang Nianru.

If Xu Jie had not told Cui Shulin's crimes himself, no one in the factory would have believed that he was such a beast in human form.

"You learn as you grow older. It takes a long time for a couple to get to know each other's temper."

Shi Guizhi was very deft, and in a short while she used a small spoon to scoop out half a bowl of crab meat and crab roe. Her dexterity made Wang Nian very jealous.

"Speaking of which, Hu Wenli is also a pitiful person..." Zhang Hongyan sighed.

Zhang Hongyan was embarrassed to explain to her face just now that Hu Wenli actually had a son before, but one day when he was ten years old, he never returned home after going to school and just disappeared.

After many fruitless searches, the police said he might have slipped and fallen into the river behind the school.

It was almost seven years later, and the couple gradually came to believe that their child had drowned. They no longer wanted to look for him, so they just continued to live their lives together.

Wang Nian raised his eyebrows in surprise, and suddenly noticed Hu Wenli's figure out of the corner of his eye, and immediately stopped talking.

“…”

It took two full hours, and before my hands started to cramp, all three families had peeled the crabs, leaving enough for tonight.

Zhang Hongyan and Hu Wenli both went back to their respective homes to get the lard.

Shi Guizhi looked at Hu Wenli's back as she hurried away, and muttered to herself: "It would be nice to have a child. Only when you have hope can you be happy..."

Add half of the cooked cooking oil and half of the pork fat into the pan.

First add the scallions and ginger and sauté until fragrant. Then add the crab roe and stir-fry over low heat. When the color turns golden, add the rice wine and crab meat and continue stir-frying over low heat.

During this process, the aroma will gradually spread out, and finally the seasonings are added and the dish is served.

"It looks edible." Hu Wenli said this with a face that looked displeased with everything she saw, but even swallowing a few times was not convincing enough.

"There are still so many crab shells left. Let's have crab noodles at my house for lunch!" Wang Nian suggested with a smile.

Zhang Hongyan nodded: "Then I'll go back and get some noodles, and I'll make the noodles."

"I'm not a stingy person... I have eggs at home."

Wang Nian was reluctant to throw away the crab shells, so after sautéing the ginger and scallions, he added the crab shells and stir-fried them with a ladle of water. Finally, he put a handful of the shrimps he had just bought into the pot.

Soon, a pot of golden seafood soup came out of the stove.

Just as he put the big pot on the stove, he heard the noisy cries of several children outside the door. Wang Nian subconsciously looked up.

His expression froze and he walked straight towards the door.

"Mom, what are you looking at?" Shi Wan followed Wang Nian's gaze curiously, but saw nothing.

"Mom saw the wrong person," Wang Nian smiled and retracted her gaze. Then she pulled out Shi Feiying who was hiding behind Shi Shuwen from behind the door and asked, "Why did you run back from kindergarten?"

"I'll come back for dinner." Shi Feiying shrank her neck and came back quite furtively.

Wang Nian: “…”

"Feiying's pants are torn, and the teacher asked me to bring him back to change his pants." Shi Shuwen turned around and looked at Shi Feiying, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

You can't see anything at the front, but the back of the pants has been worn almost to the point of being transparent, and the color of the underwear can be seen clearly.

"Mom, the teacher said Feiying slid on the slide all morning and was worried that he might have rubbed his butt, so she asked us to check it out." Shi Wan followed.

"My butt isn't broken." Shi Feiying hurriedly covered her butt, fearing that her pants would be taken off and examined in public.

The three siblings all go to school in the same place, with the kindergarten in the middle. The kindergarten classrooms can be seen from the playgrounds of the elementary and junior high schools.

The teacher also knew Shi Shuwen and Shi Wan, and they were stopped by the teacher as soon as they left the classroom.

Shi Feiying had been playing on the cement slide for the entire morning. If she continued to play, not only her pants but also her butt would be bruised.

Wang Nian: “…”

"You will continue to wear these pants to school tomorrow." Wang Nian lifted Shi Feiying's collar, glanced at the other side of the street and then retracted his gaze: "I will deal with you when your father comes back tonight."

When several people walked in, Wang Nian not only did not close the door, but also left it half open.

"Mom, spank me...and don't tell Dad about it."

Mommy could slap her as many times as she wanted, but if Daddy intervened, Shi Feiying knew she would cry herself to sleep tonight.

Wang Nian was too lazy to pay attention to him. He washed his hands and went back to the stove.

This naughty boy is not afraid of being beaten. Only Shi Xiangming can subdue this "monkey"

"Auntie Wang, it smells so good!" When Qiu Shasha returned home and didn't see Zhang Hongyan, she knew she must be next door, so she hurried over without even entering the house.

"We'll have crab noodles for lunch. Go wash your hands and then we can eat." Wang Nian smiled.

"Mom..." Shi Feiying hugged Wang Nian's back tightly and moved closely with her: "I want to sleep with you at night."

Shi Guizhi was busy rolling up her sleeves and washing the hands of Shi Shuwen and Shi Wan, while Zhang Hongyan was also re-combing Qiu Shasha's hair.

Hu Wenli sat on a chair under the eaves and watched silently, looking very lonely.

The simplest way is to cook the noodles, pick them up, scoop a spoonful of crab roe on them, and then add a spoonful of seafood soup and prawns.

"Wow……"

“It smells so good!”

This bowl of golden crab noodles sprinkled with a few scallions undoubtedly has a stunning visual impact.

Several children took their noodles to the yard and sat in a row, while the adults found a place to take their bowls and start eating.

"Um……"

As he took a mouthful of noodles, Wang Nian couldn't help but sigh.

There is no vinegar in the crab roe noodles, and the crab roe only accounts for a small part of the swimming crab, so it is not greasy at all when you eat it, and your mouth is left with only sweetness.

The pepper and rice wine completely removed the fishy smell of the crab, and you can even taste the crab meat on the tip of your tongue.

"I will also cook a bowl of noodles for Mr. Qiu when he gets off work today." Zhang Hongyan said immediately.

Wang Nian suddenly turned his head and looked towards the door.

Could it be that I really saw it wrong just now?

"Mom, I want to eat another bowl!" Shi Shuwen stood up with the bowl.

Fifteen is the age when children grow up. When picking noodles just now, Wang Nian specially used a soup basin, but... it was still not enough.

"I want some too." Shi Wan, who hadn't finished eating yet, immediately said.

"I can still eat two bowls." Shi Feiying, who had big eyes but a small stomach, raised two fingers exaggeratedly: "One bowl is not enough."

"Now I understand why Wang Nian always uses a basket to buy fish. Just considering the appetite of the children at home, no matter how much he buys, it will not be enough!" Zhang Hongyan sighed.

Shi Guizhi understood this deeply and nodded several times.

Not to mention the children, even He Jian, who has never been particular about food, has been talking about food all the time these days.

Whenever he was on night shift, Wang Nianzhun would keep dinner for him, so he never ate in the school cafeteria during the night shift. He would go to the kitchen as soon as he got home.

"You have to eat well to stay healthy." Zhang Hongyan also sighed: "Look at these children, their eyes are sparkling, just like the moon in the sky."

Shi Guizhi was stunned and looked down at her hands.

If Zhang Hongyan hadn't told me, she wouldn't have noticed that her legs, feet and wrists didn't seem to hurt anymore since she moved in.

My husband is cheerful all the time and smiles more often.

"Food is the most important thing for people, do you think it's true?" Hu Wenli slurped a mouthful of noodles and added, "But the key is to cook delicious food. I've been cooking for more than ten years. Have you ever heard anyone praise me like this?"

Zhang Hongyan wanted to say yes, but she couldn't say it out loud.

Qiu Chengjun did say that...but he was just complaining that the pure northerners couldn't even steam a steamed bun.

Shi Guizhi smiled with relief and continued eating her noodles.

After lunch, the children went out to school one after another.

After much persuasion, Shi Feiying finally changed the boy's pants, and the naughty boy went to school happily.

There were several schools at the end of the street. Wang Nian watched them enter the school before turning back.

Zhang Hongyan was washing dishes at the sink. When she saw someone coming back, she hurriedly asked, "Can you make steamed buns?"

"Can."

"Who are you and what are you peeking at someone's door?"

Wang Nian's expression changed and he immediately ran to the door.

Outside the door, two burly men held one of the middle-aged man's arms and questioned him loudly.

"Old Xiao." Hu Wenli called.

Wang Nian, because of the familiar face, also called out in surprise: "Comrade Meng!"

One of these two men was Hu Wenli’s husband Xiao Guohua, and the other was Meng Cheng.

"Comrade Wang Nian!" Meng Cheng had never expected to accidentally meet Wang Nian, whom Zhou Yuying had mentioned countless times.

After the greetings, Meng Cheng pushed the middle-aged man forward.

"He's lurking around your door. Do you know this guy?"

"I don't know him." Wang Nian shook his head. He only took one look at the middle-aged man's appearance and quickly confirmed: "Just now he was hiding across the street and peeking. I'm sure he was looking at my house."

"You haven't said anything yet!" Meng Cheng heard this and used force with his hands.

The middle-aged man was in so much pain that he begged for mercy again and again, and he quickly explained: "I didn't mean to do anything bad, I just took money to help others see what this family does every day..."

"Who is looking for you?" Wang Nian asked coldly.

"It's a woman named Jiang, I don't know anything else!" the middle-aged man confessed honestly.

The woman found her and told her to observe what the family did every day and then tell her truthfully what she saw.

Last name Jiang?

Wang Nian subconsciously thought of someone, but before he could say it, Shi Guizhi called out, "Jiang Feng?"

They couldn't think of another woman with the surname Jiang except Jiang Feng...