Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Dinner at the Zhong Family

The setting sun sat heavily on the river, as if it would sink into the river at any moment.

The little girl held the lunch box tightly in her hands, fearing that the food would spill out. The sunlight stretched her back so long that she looked like an old person walking unsteadily.

After crossing two streets and saying hello to the security guard, the little girl walked into the family compound of the Anhuai City Taxation Bureau.

The little girl had a nice name - Zhong Yan. In fact, it was completely different from what Wang Nian thought. Not only was the Zhong family not poor at all, but they also had this one only daughter.

The Zhong family lives in Room 102 of the cadre family building.

There was nothing planted in the small yard of several dozen square meters except for a few pots of flowers, but there was an old, rusty black bicycle in the corner that was particularly eye-catching.

Zhong Yan walked to the front of the bicycle first, stood on tiptoe, raised her hand to touch the handlebars, and said with a smile: "Grandpa, I'm back from school!"

After saying hello, he turned and went into the house.

Zhong Yan actually doesn't have much impression of her grandfather and second uncle. She only heard from her father that her grandfather was riding this bicycle happily to get a telegram, but ended up learning the news that it was her second uncle who had died. He collapsed on this bicycle as soon as he stepped out of the post office door.

Grandma often talks to the bicycle, and over time, everyone in the family got used to saying hello to the bicycle when they returned home.

As soon as you enter the living room, you can see two black-and-white photos on the five-drawer cabinet. There are always flowers and fruits placed in front of the photos all year round. Only in the month of my second uncle and grandfather’s death will candles and incense be lit every year.

Zhong Yan didn't feel the smoke in the living room was irritating at all. She glanced at the half-open door of the room and put down her schoolbag quietly.

"Mom, where's grandma?"

A woman came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of food. She first answered her daughter's question: "He's sleeping in the room!" Then she walked to the window and opened it.

"This is the lunch I brought for grandma." Zhong Yan handed the lunch box to Zhong's mother.

"What's in the cafeteria at your school?" Mother Zhong was touched by her daughter's understanding. She opened the lunch box with a smile on her face and said, "What's in the cafeteria..."

I couldn't even say what was good about what I brought back. There were shrimps and meat in the lunch box, and judging by the color, it looked like food from a restaurant.

"Where did you get it from?"

Zhong Yan described in detail how her classmates had invited her to a restaurant for lunch at noon, emphasizing how delicious the food was. Her classmates even discussed in class about going there again tomorrow.

"Mom, let's also stir-fry some shredded pork with fish flavor for grandma. She will definitely have an appetite then." Zhong Yan suggested with sparkling eyes.

Looking at her daughter's innocent face, Mother Zhong's skin twitched. She suppressed the urge to ask what fish-flavored shredded pork was. She uttered two vague "hmms" and went along with the question.

She was born and raised in Northwest China and grew up eating black steamed buns. She didn’t know about the existence of such delicious food as meat buns, let alone shredded pork with fish flavor, until she was eight years old.

There were no vegetables and meat for her to learn cooking before, and now the conditions are better...she doesn't have the patience.

"Then let grandma eat prawns tonight." Zhong Yan clapped her hands happily, but worried that her mother would dislike the leftovers, she quickly followed Li Yan's words and explained: "The prawns were not touched. Sister Li Yan said that someone in their dormitory had an itchy face when they smelled the prawns, so all the prawns were given to me."

Like her daughter, Zhong's mother is a kind person. Her first reaction was not to be happy about the prawns, but to ask worriedly why the elder sister named Li Yan ordered the dishes but did not eat them.

"Sister Li Yan said they were almost deceived, and it was thanks to Aunt Wang Nian that they didn't expose the bad guy."

Li Yan was not one to confide in love affairs to a child, so Zhong Yan knew a little, but only a little.

"Who is Aunt Wang Nian?"

"She is Shi Feiying's mother."

"Is that the boy you came back to yesterday and said you corrected the teacher's history mistakes on the first day?"

Shi Feiying's fame is not limited to his classmates. Even their parents had heard of his name yesterday.

On the first day of school, the head teacher originally wanted to teach the children to study hard and serve the country through stories of historical figures. However, Shi Feiying pointed out on the spot that even the name of the hero was written incorrectly.

If the teacher had thanked the student for the correction and changed the name to the correct one on the spot, then the student would have just let it go. Unexpectedly, the head teacher insisted on not admitting the mistake and insisted that the student had learned the wrong knowledge.

The teacher was too embarrassed to admit it, and Shi Feiying was stubborn, so she looked for the Chinese textbook to verify it.

It turned out that Shi Feiying was right. Apart from writing the surname correctly, the two characters in the name were indeed written as homophones.

This matter was not only spread by word of mouth among the students in Class 3 of Grade 1, but even the teacher's office heard the news.

"Shi Feiying was very smart. He also told us a touching story about a war hero writing letters home on the battlefield."

Speaking of Shi Feiying, Zhong Yan seemed to have endless things to say. She spoke a lot with great excitement until there was a sudden noise in the bedroom.

"Your grandma is awake." Mother Zhong pushed her daughter's shoulder and said, "Go and wake your grandma up for dinner. I'll go heat up the food."

My mother-in-law has such a fierce and violent temper that she always falls seriously ill at this time of year. Zhong Yan is the only one in the family who can boldly act coquettishly to ease the old lady's mood.

"Grandma." Zhong Yan called as she pushed the door open.

Grandma Zhong has short silver hair, and all the loose hair in front of her forehead is tucked behind her ears with hairpins. It can be seen that the old lady is a very capable person.

"It's Little Swallow who's back."

Grandma Zhong touched her granddaughter's head lovingly, then walked out of the room holding Zhong Yan's hand.

"Grandma, I brought back a lot of big shrimps today. I'll peel them for you later."

"Grandma's little swallow is the most filial."

Maybe because she hadn't had a proper meal for several days, Grandma Zhong's voice was weak. She only said two sentences before stopping and taking two deep breaths.

Zhong Yan sensibly helped her grandmother to sit down at the dining table and poured her a cup of brown sugar water.

"Grandma, drink it later." Grandma Zhong took the cup with a smile, but she had no appetite. She just turned around and glanced at the two portraits on the wall.

"Mom."

Fortunately, the sadness did not last long. The door was opened again and Mr. Zhong returned home from get off work.

When I saw my mother actually took the initiative to sit down at the dining table, I was surprised and happy. I put down my bag and sat down.

Mother Zhong came back soon with the hot braised prawns and pork head.

"Eat, eat."

"Are there any prawns today?" Mr. Zhong asked happily, and as he spoke he deliberately stretched out his hand as if to grab some food.

"Not only prawns, but also pork head." Mother Zhong laughed.

"You are such a grown-up and still eat secretly." Grandma Zhong really patted her son's hand and handed him the bowl and chopsticks with a smile: "You will not let your child learn good deeds."

"Mom, look, there's some pork head meat." Mr. Zhong took the opportunity to pick up some pork meat for his mother.

It looked like everyone was picking up their own food, but in fact, all three pairs of eyes were looking at the old lady.

Grandma Zhong picked up the chopsticks, and the three of them felt their hearts pounding. They picked up the meat and put it into their mouths, and then they dropped it to the ground at the same time.

Mother Chung picked up some prawns for Chung Yin and reminded her daughter: "Prawns are nutritious, don't be picky..."

My daughter has always been a headache to eat since she was young. I have to urge her hundreds of times before she can finish half a bowl of rice.

The old ones in their family are worrying about their meals, and the young ones are also a cause for worry.

It seemed that today's reminder was given a little early. Zhong Yan not only took the initiative to pick up the shrimp, but also peeled the shrimp and put the shrimp into grandma's bowl, and then licked her fingers.

“…”

Grandma Zhong likes pork head very much. After chewing it slowly and swallowing it, she did not eat the shrimp picked up by her granddaughter, but picked up another piece of pork head with chopsticks.

Mr. Zhong was so surprised that he forgot to continue eating.

"Mr. Zhong, the cooking skills of the restaurant owner are really good." Mother Zhong picked up a piece of pork head with chopsticks for her husband and asked him to taste it. "I think it tastes better than the ones sold in the butcher shop."

The meat skin is very elastic and the lean meat is rich in spice. When you take a bite, two different tastes keep rolling on the tip of your tongue before finally merging into one.

"Mom, can I always have lunch at Aunt Wang Nian's restaurant from now on?"

Zhong Yanxing, with greasy lips and hands, asked eagerly, without stopping peeling shrimps while speaking.

"That won't work. The food outside won't be as clean as the one in school." Mr. Zhong disagreed without even thinking.

Dad Zhong has a rough idea of ​​how many restaurants there are in front of the Eighth Middle School. Those small restaurants focus on delicious food and use all kinds of chili seasonings as if they are free.

My daughter's spleen and stomach are weak to begin with. If she continues to eat oily and spicy food all day, her father is worried that it will make her feel even more uncomfortable.

"But I think it's delicious." Zhong Yan didn't understand why her father objected, and her face wrinkled unhappily: "The food in the school cafeteria is not delicious at all."

"Be obedient!"

"Okay!" As soon as the husband opened his mouth, his mother knew what he was going to say. She raised her hand and waved in the middle: "Is the pork head delicious?"

"It tastes good. We'll buy meat from her from now on," said Mr. Zhong.

"This is the salted pork sold in Auntie Wang Nian's restaurant." Mother Zhong winked at Grandma Zhong again: "Mom, don't you believe it?"

Grandma Zhong ate with gusto, seeming to be chewing with great concentration and enjoyment.

"Auntie Wang Nian's small restaurant is very clean." Zhong Yan continued to speak well of the restaurant: "Shi Feiying also said that the vegetables in the restaurant are all grown by them."

"Did you grow it yourself?" asked Mr. Zhong.

"Yes! There is a large yard behind the restaurant. There are many vegetables and fruits planted in it. I even ate grapes."

After lunch today, Shi Feiying took her classmates to show off her yard.

The children who grew up in the city had never seen such a formation before, and they were all shocked with their mouths wide open and exclaimed.

Shi Feiying picked the only ripe bunch of grapes on the grape rack for everyone, and each person only got three or four.

The sweet taste reminded her of the present.

"Can the house on Guanghua Street have a big yard?" Mr. Zhong was curious.

Guanghua Street is full of factory housing. A family is considered big if they can get an area of ​​30 or 40 square meters. How could they possibly have a yard for growing vegetables?

"Go and have a look tomorrow. If it's suitable, let the girl eat there."

Mother Zhong agreed to her daughter's request.

When Mr. Zhong heard this, he immediately thought it was feasible, and said that he would find a friend to have dinner together in a couple of days and then he could see everything.

"If Yan Zi hadn't brought this pork head back herself, I would have suspected that it was made by your father."

“…”

Everyone looked at Grandma Zhong who was sighing softly. She put down her chopsticks, shook her head and chuckled.

This smile... indicates that the sadness that has shrouded the Zhong family this year is finally over!