Teacher Zhou asked the guard to come and inform the couple to bring the child to Zhou's house for dinner. Shuying was making candied haws for the child.
In the afternoon, she cut a handful of bamboo sticks, used chopsticks to push out the seeds and tails of the washed hawthorns, and strung the big, round hawthorns together.
Five round hawthorns are strung on a bamboo stick. The bright red hawthorns are particularly beautiful.
The Chen family's front yard is particularly lively at this moment, as the three brothers of the Gao family are all there.
The three Gao brothers and Chen Yi all knew that Aunt Yang (auntie) was preparing delicious food for them, and they were all very happy.
Gao Zhi is the oldest, so he let his three younger brothers play while he went back to the kitchen to help Shuying.
It is a very simple task to string together candied haws. Shuying asked him to go out and play. Gaozhi agreed but still stood there to help.
Nowadays, children mature early. Gao Zhi watched Aunt Yang string candied haws and he quickly learned how to string them.
He was not tall enough to reach the stove, so he stood on tiptoe to string the candied haws together, and his hands and feet were quite nimble.
Compared to the fair and plump Chen Yi, the three brothers of the Gao family are more in line with the characteristics of this era. They are very thin and skinny. The eleven-year-old Gao Zhi has not yet grown tall and looks like a child of eight or nine years old.
She felt as if Shuying was a child laborer, so she went to the main room and got a small stool for Gao Zhi to stand on.
"Thank you, Aunt Yang!" Gao Zhi said.
The two of them spent half an hour stringing Tanghulu. Seeing that it was getting dark outside, she had to make dinner first, and Tanghulu would probably be made after dinner.
Shuying remembered that there was a watermelon at home that had not been cut yet. While Gaozhi was still stringing candied haws, Shuying prepared to take out the watermelon that she had bought at the market two days ago from the well and let the children taste it first.
When we went to the backyard, Gao Xiang, Gao Yuan and Chen Yi were washing hawthorns in a wooden basin.
The three children chattered as they washed and played with the water.
Gao Yuan was bragging to Chen Yi that he had delicious steamed buns stuffed with meat in the evening: "Boss, do you want to come to my house for dinner? I have steamed buns, the same kind you gave me last time. They are so delicious!"
Chen Yi said with a cold face: "I don't want it. Your steamed buns are definitely not as delicious as mine. My aunt's cooking is delicious!"
Chen Yi was so proud that he counted on his fingers what delicious dishes he had eaten in the past few days. Gao Xiang was drooling just by hearing it, not to mention Gao Yuan, who was drooling too.
Gao Xiang said: "Aunt Yang's dishes are so delicious and fragrant! My mother's dishes are terrible! My father and I don't like them!"
Gao Yuan nodded in agreement with his second brother, and also discussed with Chen Yi whether he could be allowed to taste any delicious dishes Aunt Yang cooked in the future.
Chen Yi didn't reply. Gao Yuan kept calling "Boss" "Boss" with his dark little face hovering in front of Chen Yi.
Chen Yi nodded reluctantly: "Okay! Then you can secretly stand at the door of my house! I will give you a taste! Only one bite! My family is also very poor!"
Tree Shadow: “…”
Gao Xiang: “…” Why is his brother so shameless?
Gao Xiang interrupted and continued, "Brother, my father told my mother to ask Aunt Yang for advice when making steamed buns. Last time Aunt Yang was here, my spicy chicken was delicious!"
Gao Yuan squatted down and nodded immediately: "My steamed buns must be delicious! Just like yours!"
"Auntie!"
"Aunt Yang!"
The three little ones spotted the shadow of the tree and shouted in unison.
Chen Yi quickly stood up and rushed to Shuying. Shuying was quick to grab him. He was soaked all over, his face was red, and water could be squeezed out of his clothes.
Shuying even wondered if the child had just taken a shower, as Gao Yuan was all wet. Fortunately, Gao Yuan got some water on the corner of his clothes, which only wet a small area on his chest, while the rest of his body was dry and comfortable.
Shuying didn't allow the three children to play in the water, and asked Gao Xiang to go to Gao's house next door to get clothes for Gao Yuan. It just so happened that the two children were taking a bath at her house.
Gao Xiang also listened to Shuying's words and ran home immediately.
Shuying prepared warm water, stripped Gao Yuan and Chen Yi naked, and let the two children take a bath in the backyard.
The Gao family uses odorless soap nuts to take a bath, and Shuying gives the two children soap to wash themselves.
Gao Yuan, who had just rubbed out some bubbles from the soap, looked at Chen Yi with wide eyes and said, "It smells so good, Boss, what is this?"
"This is my soap. It smells so good after taking a bath, and it makes your body extra clean!" Chen Yi said proudly as he scrubbed his body.
While the child was taking a bath, Shuying took the watermelon out of the well.
The green-skinned watermelon caused the two children to scream. Gao Xiang, who had just come from next door to get clothes for his younger brother, saw the green-skinned watermelon in Shuying's hand. His eyes widened and his mouth opened wide.
Gao Yuan stared at the green watermelon in the tree's shadow without moving his eyes.
"Auntie, I want to hug a watermelon!" Chen Yi said excitedly.
The shadow of the tree made the two children want to eat watermelon and take a bath quickly.
Chen Yi and Gao Yuan, who had been taking their time taking a bath and playing in the water, stopped playing in the water and took a bath faster.
Gao Zhi, who was in the kitchen, thought something had happened. When he came out and saw Shuying holding a green-skinned watermelon that was neither big nor small, his eyes widened suddenly and he swallowed saliva.
Shuying handed the watermelon to Gaozhi and asked him to take it to the kitchen while she cut it.
"My watermelon! My watermelon!" Seeing Gao Zhi was going to take the watermelon away, Chen Yi became anxious. She ran after the watermelon without even putting on her clothes, and Gao Yuan also followed him.
Shuying hurriedly pulled the two children together, wiped their bodies and helped them put on clothes. Gao Zhi did not take the watermelon to the kitchen, but handed it to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi held the watermelon and said proudly, "My aunt bought me this watermelon a few days ago. It's mine!"
Last time he bought a green-skinned watermelon, and this time he bought another one. Shuying's "generosity" made Gao Zhigao and the two brothers stunned.
Gao Yuan couldn't move his eyes away from the green-skinned watermelon. The last time he tasted watermelon, it was delicious. Gao Yuan gnawed his fingers greedily while drooling: "Boss, the watermelon is delicious!"
Gao Yuan wanted to cry. Why wasn’t he Aunt Yang’s child?
Aunt Yang is good at cooking delicious food and is willing to buy watermelon for the eldest son. Last time, Aunt Yang bought a watermelon for the eldest son.
The more Gao Yuan thought about it, the more jealous he became. Gao Zhigao was particularly envious of both brothers and felt that Aunt Yang was really good to Chen Yi.
Shuying went into the kitchen and asked Chen Yi to bring in the watermelon. She cut it in half and put the other half in the cupboard for the time being.
The other half of the watermelon was cut into pieces and the number of pieces was counted. The children would have dinner soon, so Shuying Ganduan gave each child two pieces of watermelon and put them in a large bowl. Gao Xiangduan then went out to the main room and the children ate together.
Gao Yuan, the greediest one, had already followed his second brother to the main room. Shuying asked Gao Zhi to bring his own children to the main room to eat watermelon.
The three Gao brothers had only eaten something as delicious as watermelon once before, and they couldn't forget it.
Gao Zhi was still a little hesitant. His mother said that watermelons were too expensive and they couldn’t always take advantage of Aunt Yang’s family!
At this time, Gao Yuan took a piece of watermelon and stood at the kitchen door to eat it, and showed off to the two of them how sweet the watermelon was.
Gao Zhi couldn't help it anymore and took Chen Yi to the main room to eat watermelon.
After cutting a few pieces of watermelon for the children, Shuying tasted a piece of watermelon herself. It was icy sweet and especially delicious. She also cut two large pieces of watermelon and put them on a plate, preparing to send them to Gao Tuan and Gao Dasao next door.
Chen Yi took a piece of watermelon with holes in it back to the kitchen, held it up for Shuying to eat, and said in a baby voice, "Auntie, I'll give it to you. It's so sweet and delicious!"
Shuying's heart was filled with warmth, but he couldn't bear to bite the watermelon as it was gnawed by the child and full of holes and dents, all covered with his saliva.
The shadow of the tree let him eat it by himself.
Chen Yi looked confused. The watermelon was so sweet and delicious, why didn’t the aunt eat it?
Chen Yi particularly likes eating watermelon and he eats it with great joy. After eating it, he even wants to look at the other half of his watermelon.
Shuying took it out and showed it to him. Chen Yi felt relieved when he saw that there was still a large part of the watermelon left at home.
Shuying laughed and said to his child, "Tell the three brothers later that Auntie Lu will make the Tanghushu after dinner, and we have to make dinner first!"
Chen Yi took a bite and nodded.
Shuying asked the child to go to the main room to eat watermelon, and she went to the Gao family next door to deliver watermelon. The little guy nodded, but kept following Shuying, acting like her little tail.
Gao Zhi returned to the kitchen and said, "Aunt Yang, there's an uncle waiting for you at the door!"
Shuying simply asked Gaozhi to deliver the watermelon to the Gao family next door.
The person who came to see her was a guard beside Teacher Zhou. Shuying heard that Teacher Zhou invited her and her family of three to have dinner at Zhou's house tonight.
Shuying found out that Political Commissar Ye would bring Ye Shuning to have dinner at Zhou's house.
Shuying guessed that there was a high probability that the two families had agreed to let Zhou Tuan and Ye Shuning meet each other.
She had a good impression of both Zhou Tuan and Ye Shuning, and hoped that the two would meet smoothly. Since Commander Zhou personally asked the guards to come over and call them, she had to give them face. Shuying said, "Okay, we'll be there in a minute! Sorry for bothering you, comrade!"
The guard was a young man, quite shy, with a row of white teeth and a very simple smile.
Shuying called the comrade to wait and prepared to go back to the kitchen to get a piece of watermelon for him to taste.
The guard standing at the door saw several children eating watermelon in the main room and said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law, I have something else to do. I'm leaving first!"
After the guards left, Mrs. Gao came out and called the children back home.
Just then, she saw several children from her family sitting in the main hall of the Chen family eating watermelon. Mrs. Gao was very angry. She thought that the children were helping Miss Yang to wash and string hawthorns, but she didn't expect that they were eating watermelon again.
Sister Yang just gave her family two extra pieces of this rare watermelon. Mrs. Gao didn't know what to say.
Mrs. Gao could only make a few more meat-filled steamed buns and send them to Yang's family later.
Mrs. Gao stood at the gate of the Chen family's courtyard, talking to Shuying and shouting loudly for her children to come home.
The brothers Gao Yuan and Gao Xiang ate two pieces of watermelon with great satisfaction. When they heard their mother calling them, they hurried out.
At the gate, Gao Xiang said, "Brother, do you want to come to my house for dinner?"
Gao Yuan also said: "Boss, we have steamed buns to eat in the evening!"
Mrs. Gao also asked her two sons to take Chen Yi to her house to play, and they would have dinner there soon.
There was usually nothing delicious at home, and Mrs. Gao was embarrassed to let the child go home to eat, fearing that the child would not be used to the food.
But we will make Roujiamo at home tonight because her husband Gao keeps talking about wanting to eat Roujiamo every night and says he hasn't eaten meat for a long time.
Just a few days ago, she spent a lot of money to buy several pounds of pork belly at the market.
Chen Yi hugged Shuying's calf and shook his head, "I'll eat at home with my aunt!"
Shuying smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, it doesn't matter if the child doesn't go. By the way, are you going to start making roujiamo now? I may have to go to Zhou's house for dinner soon. Roujiamo is very simple to make," Shuying told Sister Gao how to make it.
Roujiamo sounds easy to make, except that she doesn't have any spices. Shuying pursed her lips and smiled, "Sister-in-law, I have some spices at home. I'll give them to you. Wait a minute!"
Mrs. Gao nodded in thanks and said, "Sister Yang, I bought some rock sugar this time, and I also added some soy sauce. I just need some spices, so don't take too much!"
Mrs. Gao has been taking advantage of Yang Meizi's family, which makes her feel uneasy.
After returning to the main room, Shuying prepared the spices and wrote down the steps. Mrs. Gao was illiterate, but Gao Zhi was.
After Shuying handed the spices to Mrs. Gao, she also wrote down the steps of how to make roujiamo in great detail. Shuying asked Mrs. Gao to let Gao Zhinian know when the time comes.
"Oh, Sister Yang, how come you are so thoughtful!" Mrs. Gao took the spices and the steps written by Sister Yang, and called her eldest son to come out. Gao Zhi recognized all the words on the paper, and he finally felt at ease.
Before returning to the Gao family, Mrs. Gao gossiped about why the Zhou family suddenly invited her family to dinner, but Mrs. Gao still knew that Master Zhou particularly valued Chen Tuan.
Mrs. Gao was not jealous. Although her husband Gao was also a team leader, he was old and it was already a great achievement for him to be promoted to team leader. If he really changed his career in the future, there would be good assignments for his position.
Therefore, Mrs. Gao is not worried at all about her husband Gao changing his career.
Zhou Tuan and Ye Shuning have not started dating yet, so Shuying is reluctant to reveal too much and says he is not too sure.
Mrs. Gao said, "Okay, then I won't let Chen Yi have dinner at my house!"
The three Gao brothers also asked Chen Yi if he wanted to go to his house to play. Chen Yi shook his head. Shuying told the three brothers that she would make candied haws and send them to them when the time comes.
The three Gao brothers had just eaten watermelon and were not very hungry. They nodded quickly and said, "Aunt Yang, we can make it anytime!"
When Shuying brought Chen Yi back to the Chen family's yard, Mrs. Gao really felt that Sister Yang was too used to her three little brats and was too nice to them.
Ever since Sister Yang lived next door to her house, these three brats in her family have taken advantage of the eldest brother. All the good things Sister Yang made would be sent to them.
These three guys even have watermelons to eat, look how happy these three brats are!
Not long after, Gao Tuan came back and Mrs. Gao gave the last piece of watermelon to Lao Gao to eat.
Gao Tuan was very surprised: "Why is there a watermelon?"
His wife is a thrifty person and she definitely wouldn't be willing to buy a watermelon.
Mrs. Gao quickly told her three brats about how they went to the Chen family next door and ate a lot of watermelons. She said, "These three brats were not polite to Miss Yang at all. They ate whatever she asked them to eat. They thought watermelons were free cabbages!"
Gao Yuan even boasted in front of Gao Tuan: "Dad, Aunt Yang's watermelons are so delicious and sweet. I ate a lot of them, and so did my eldest and second brothers! Aunt Yang is so nice to us, she even made candied haws for us!"
Gao Tuan was a little jealous of the good luck of these three brats. Ever since Chen Tuan's family moved in, these three brats have really taken advantage of them. They even got to eat something as rare as watermelon twice, and they also got to eat candied haws?
Oh, my sister-in-law is so nice to these three boys!
Apart from my brother and sister-in-law, who else would be willing to give such a rare watermelon to three little brats for free and give a piece to each of them.
Gao Tuan now has a very good impression of Chen Tuan's wife.
Gao Xiang also said: "I like Aunt Yang very much. I want to marry a daughter-in-law as beautiful and gentle as Aunt Yang in the future!"
Gao Zhi also expressed his desire to marry a daughter-in-law as gentle and beautiful as Aunt Yang in the future.
Gao Tuan and Mrs. Gao wanted to laugh when they heard the three children's childish talk.
Mrs. Gao said, "It's very hard to marry a daughter-in-law as beautiful, generous and cultured as your Aunt Yang!"
Mrs. Gao now feels more and more that Chen Tuan is very lucky to have married such a wife.
Not only Mrs. Gao thinks so, but Gao Tuan also thinks so now.
When Gao Tuan was eating watermelon, Gao Yuan was greedy again. Gao Tuan let the boy take a bite. When the boy came over, Gao Tuan smelled a fragrance on the boy: "Why is it so fragrant? What did this boy put on his body?"
Gao Yuan said proudly: "My boss and I took a bath with soap! It smelled so good!"
Gao Yuan even let Mrs. Gao smell it, and it smelled really good.
Gao Tuan and Gao Dasao just found out that Yang Meizi actually bought soap to take a bath. Gao Dasao couldn't help but think of how Yang Meizi smelled so good every time she talked to her.
It turned out to be soap.
Gao Tuan and Mrs. Gao were both stunned. This soap was a rare commodity nowadays and extremely expensive. The soap was several large blocks. Mrs. Gao felt painful just thinking about it.
Mrs. Gao said to Gao Tuan, "Old Gao, why do I feel more and more that Miss Yang doesn't seem to be from the country? She's even more particular than the daughters of landlords! She's more generous with her food and daily necessities than the girls in the city! She even bought soap, my God!"
Gao Tuan didn't say anything, but he really felt so in his heart. Let's not talk about the soap, just talk about the watermelon. No matter how generous the sisters-in-law in the military region are, they are not as generous as his brother-in-law.
Gao Tuan really feels that his sister-in-law is different from other female comrades. She is obviously from the countryside, but she is more generous in sewing than girls from big cities. She doesn't look like a country girl at all, and she is much more capable than city girls. Otherwise, how could she have scored 100 in the recruitment examination and even taught in a middle school in a military area!
It was Chen Tuan who had to marry my brother's wife, otherwise which man could suppress such a great daughter-in-law?