Chapter 36
In the end, Shen Jin was unable to learn from Chen Ershan how delicious the Hu Bing was.
Because Chen Ershan is a taciturn person, he just said "hmm" and that was all.
Shen Jin waited and waited, and finally waited for Shen Ning and Sang Luo to come into the house. Shen An came back and continued to hoe the land. He ignored Chen Xiaoya who was following behind Shen An and made him jealous. He pulled Shen An aside and asked anxiously, "Shen An, do you have any more Hu Bing?"
As cousins who grew up together, Shen An knew Shen Jin too well. He knew it was going to end when the little girl mentioned Hu Bing, and it turned out to be true.
After doing this, they said there was no oil residue left today. Can they still get rid of me? Will they come here every day in the future?
Chen An's shoulders slumped as he thought about it. He said with a wooden face, "It's gone. It was just a small piece. It was the lunch we three shared yesterday."
When Shen Jin heard the word "yesterday", he became dispirited and even skipped his lunch.
People at that time didn't eat lunch, at least not in the countryside.
His focus was on the two words "gone".
Shen Jin was listless for a few breaths, then suddenly looked towards the thatched cottage. He became alert and looked at Shen An with bright eyes: "Shen An, did our sister-in-law buy Hu bing today?"
Shen An was so angry that he laughed and corrected: "My sister-in-law."
Shen Jin chuckled: "My cousin's wife."
Shen An was so angry that he ignored him directly: "Without Hu Bing, it would be difficult for us to eat. Who can eat Hu Bing as a meal every day?"
He glanced at the field Shen Jin was hoeing and urged, "It's not much left. Hoe it faster. I'll give you oil residue when you're done. Take it and go back quickly. I don't have any oil residue left at home, so you don't have to come tomorrow."
Yesterday, no, this morning, whenever Shen An said this, Shen Jin would say nothing. Why would he come if there was no oil residue?
But now Shen Jin was unhappy when he heard what Shen An said: "Are you chasing me away? I'll come!"
The eldest cousin's wife actually loved Shen An and Shen Ning so much that she was willing to buy Hu Bing for them to eat. He didn't even know what kind of cake Hu Bing was, but it was a cake anyway, so it must be delicious.
He just squatted here, he grew up here, he just didn't believe that he worked the land every day, and the eldest cousin's wife would not give him something to eat. Chen Ershan and Chen Xiaoya could eat, so there was no reason why he couldn't.
With just a change of thought, Shen Jin had made up his mind. No matter how gloomy Shen An's face was, he just hoeed the ground, hoeed the ground, and worked very hard!
If I can’t compare to Chen Ershan, how can I compare to Chen Xiaoya?
As he was hoeing the field, Shen Jin's nose twitched again and again.
"Chen An, do you smell anything? It smells good."
Chen An was so angry that he tightened his grip on the stone hoe: "This is my sister-in-law's lunch. If you are hungry, go back to your own home and eat."
Shen Jin swallowed, said nothing, and continued to work.
The fragrance became stronger and stronger. Then, Shen Ning came out with a large bowl, squatted by the mountain spring, and did something unknown. After a while, he turned around and went back into the thatched cottage.
Shen Jin felt that his soul was about to follow him into the thatched cottage.
He was digging the ground in a desperate manner. It was not known whether it was only a short while or a long time, but he had cleared a small piece of land. Chen Ning came out again, looking for something on the mountain path.
In the morning, Shen Jin, who had turned her head to Chen Ning and swore that she would never pay any attention to Chen Ning, and would grab two handfuls of oil residue in each hand and eat them in front of Shen Ning for her to see... I really want to follow her and ask her what she was cooking here and why it smelled so good.
I just feel embarrassed.
He was so hungry that he felt the strength in his hands weakened. He couldn't help but get closer to Chen Ershan: "Tell me, does this smell like meat?"
Chen Ershan felt that it was a bit similar. He held back his saliva and nodded calmly. Afraid that he could not control himself, he quickly moved aside and away from Shen Jin.
Shen Jin: "It seems to be more fragrant than meat."
Shen Yin and Shen Tie couldn't help but swallow their saliva: "Third brother, I'm hungry."
"Third brother, I want to eat."
Shen Jin: "I want to eat too."
Chen Ershan: …
Stay away from them without leaving any trace.
The little girl was also greedy, but she knew she was here to help. Her grandmother had told her not to enter Sister Aning's house or ask for food.
She lowered her head and worked hard to dig the soil with a small bamboo stick, loosening the large stones in the soil bit by bit, and then turning them out. Working allowed her to pay less attention to the smell of meat wafting around the room.
Shen Ning came back quickly, and when he got closer, the children could see clearly that Shen Ning was picking a bunch of wild onions.
She washed the wild onions in the mountain spring and soon returned to the hut.
This time, not only Shen Jin, but also Shen Yin and Shen Tie's little heads followed Shen Ning.
Shen An: …
He was a little conflicted.
They are all working here to open up the land for their family, they are so greedy... But that is meat, and the sister-in-law is so tired when she sees it, she needs to replenish her body.
Just when he was in a dilemma, the fragrance in the air changed again. It should be the wild onions that were put down. The already rich fragrance was stimulated by the onion fragrance. Shen An glanced to the side and saw that Shen Yin and Shen Tie were stunned. They stared at the thatched house and swallowed their saliva, and they couldn't even dig with the bamboo strips in their hands.
…
"Second brother."
Shen Ning called Shen An from the corner of the hut.
Shen An felt embarrassed for the first time. At this time, would the eldest sister-in-law still ask him to go in and drink bone soup? Wouldn't this make the little ones cry?
Before he could make things difficult for her, Shen Ning said, “Sister-in-law asked you to come in and help carry two bowls of meat porridge out for everyone to drink.”
Shen Jin and Shen Yin's eyes suddenly lit up. Chen Tie was slower to react, but he finally understood after a beat. He swallowed and subconsciously wanted to put his fingers into his mouth.
The little girl swallowed and went to see her brother.
Chen Ershan was a little confused and shook his head: "No, no, I've had breakfast and I'm not hungry. Besides, my mother said that if we sell the wild vegetables today, she will buy some corn bones to take home."
Shen An is gone.
After a while, the brother and sister each came out with a large bowl. The bowl contained bone broth as the base, and meat porridge made from minced meat and white rice. There was not much, only half a bowl in each bowl.
The three Shen Jin brothers gathered around at once, while Chen Xiaoya went to see her second brother. Chen Ershan was a little at a loss, because meat was a precious commodity, and even if it was corn bones, their family might not buy it once every one or two months.
I want to go back, but the land hasn't been cultivated much yet. If I stay here to cultivate the land, should I eat this thing or not?
A twelve year old boy is not prepared to deal with such a situation.
Before he could think clearly, Shen Ning came over with a bowl in his hand, smiling: "Brother Ershan, little girl, this is yours. We don't have enough bowls at home, so you can only share. Go wash your hands and come to eat. My sister-in-law cooks delicious food."
On the other side, Shen Yin and Shen Tie were very experienced and had already run to the spring to wash their hands together.
Shen Jin wanted to take the bowl of porridge from Shen An as usual. He saw clearly that there was not only rice but also meat in it. White rice, minced meat, and green chopped green onions made his mouth water.
Chen An didn't get used to him this time: "Go wash your hands, otherwise Xiao Yin and Xiao Tie will drink from the edge of the bowl and get a mouthful of mud."
Shen Jin was depressed and looked at his hands: "Where is the mud?"
There is one thing, he just pats it and that's it.
Shen An just looked at him.
Shen Jin: ...The one who has food to eat is the brother.
"Okay, okay, can't I go wash?" He turned around and ran quickly to the spring.
Five people, two bowls, based on blood ties, each family held a bowl and started drinking while standing behind the house.
Of course, on the Chen family side, the little girl can drink first, while on the Shen family side, the three brothers take turns drinking, one sip after another, and no one is allowed to suffer a loss.
Whenever Shen Jin drank too much, Shen Yin would point it out to him.
Shen An: …
"Why are you drinking the porridge so quickly? Your brother will get anxious and drink it fast, and it will be scalded."
Shen Jin wanted to be tough, but it was indeed very hot, so he hummed and grunted, and became much more obedient.
Sang Luo called Chen An and Chen Ning from inside. The brother and sister went in and each got a small bamboo tube of meat porridge.
Chen An pursed his lips and whispered, "Sister-in-law, Aning and I had divine tofu at noon, you can have this."
Sang Luo motioned him to look at the earthenware jar: "That's enough, eat it."
"Are you distressed?" Seeing Chen An's distressed look, he rubbed his head with amusement, leaned closer and whispered: "To make soup with bones, it's just adding two more bowls of water. What's there to be distressed about?"
Shen An shook his head, wanting to deny it but not knowing how to deny it.
It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel sorry. It was more than just adding an extra bowl of water. He looked at the porridge and saw that there was quite a bit of rice. It couldn't be said to be very thick, but it was definitely not watery either. Anyway, it looked good.
He has been through a really hard time in the past few months and attaches great importance to food, but it would be wrong to say that he feels sorry for it. It just happened to be the situation just now, and it seems inappropriate not to give some food.
When he heard Aning say that his sister-in-law asked him to bring food out for everyone, he was happy. When he brought the food out, he felt a little sad, but he was still happier.
But now that the food had been delivered and his sister-in-law still asked him to eat, he felt a little distressed.
Shen An didn't know whether he was willing to give it up or not, so he moved his lips, not knowing what to say.
Sang Luo probably knew that he was worried about the food. Thinking about the days in his original memory, he felt more pity for the brother and sister. He said softly, "Think about it, if you hire someone to build a house, you should treat them well. Just look at the small plots of land that have been cleared in the past two days. If you come across them occasionally, it's okay to be generous and give them an extra bowl of water. When you serve the porridge to them, aren't you also happy?"
Shen An nodded.
Sang Luo started laughing.
There is a reason why he likes this little brother and sister. These two children are not only smart and sensible, but also have a very positive outlook on life, whether they are towards her, their sister-in-law, or towards other people, even Shen Jin, who had not had a very good relationship with him before and was a bit outspoken.
Sang Luo wanted to make the kid relax a little, so she hooked her finger at him mysteriously. When Chen An came closer, she whispered, "Actually, we only put one bone in there, and a little minced meat, just to make it look good. I kept the extra, and the three of us will make porridge for ourselves tonight."
As he spoke, he uncovered the other side of the bowl covered with lotus leaves for Shen An to see.
It’s just a few large bones and a lot of chopped meat.
Shen An's eyes lit up.
Sang Luo smiled softly: "You see, sometimes we have to take favors into consideration, but the good things must be kept for our family."
Shen Ning, who had listened to the whole process, giggled. She had seen that her sister-in-law had left out another portion.
Shen Ning felt that there was no one better than her sister-in-law. In her sister-in-law's eyes, she and her brother were different from Shen Jin and the others, and were closer to them.
This realization alone made her feel filled with joy. Ever since her eldest brother left home, she seemed to have someone to rely on again. It was not like before, when she and her second brother lived in fear and like an outsider in the family.
For the first time, the little girl thought that dividing the family was a good idea.
After the family split up, the eldest sister-in-law was only nice to her and her brother.
As she thought about it, she curved her eyes and smiled.
…
The three Shen Jin brothers were eating outside and were talking about how nice their eldest sister-in-law was.
The three brothers shared one bowl and took turns to eat a bite. In between meals, they could still think of their eldest cousin's wife, who had almost no presence in the past.
All I can say is, the power of delicious food.
This time, even Shen Jin, who still felt a little awkward, nodded.
The eldest cousin's wife was really nice. She was willing to give them meat porridge.
Meat porridge.
It was rare for them to eat meat at home. That was when the lard was made, and the meat her mother bought would contain some lean meat, and only then could you taste the meat.
Shen Jin held the bowl, looked at the small shabby thatched house in front of him, and sighed.
Shen Tie was drinking porridge, and Shen Yin looked at him puzzledly.
Shen Jin sighed: "I envy Shen An and Shen Ning."
It's better to follow his parents than to follow his eldest cousin's wife.
Look, first there is oil residue, then Hu pancake, and then meat porridge.
Why wasn't he separated from his parents?
Why.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
