Chapter 5 Pastries are destined to be the finest and most exquisite.
"Think about it, what delicious food are you going to make? Share some with me, and I'll take you to the music club tomorrow." The kitchen was filled with the aroma of stir-fried minced meat, and Xu Ruwei couldn't help but swallow, her throat feeling sour.
Her life in the music troupe wasn't easy either. Her salary wasn't as high as that of the workers. There were many young women in the troupe who secretly competed with each other, and she had to dress presentably so as not to be laughed at.
Clam oil is something that ordinary families only buy to apply to their hands during the coldest months of winter to prevent frostbite, but the young women in our group buy it regularly to take care of their hands.
Small clam oil costs five cents, medium clam oil costs seven cents, and large clam oil costs ten cents. It's common for people in their group to use clam oil to care for their hands. Many people use up a large clam oil bottle a week, or even two... Although the price isn't high, they spend it bit by bit to maintain a presentable appearance. Before they know it, most of their salary is gone. They look presentable on the outside, but their stomachs suffer.
"I stir-fried some minced meat." Qin Xiangxiang took out a small dish with an unusually affected air, and then found a delicate little spoon that she used to use for drinking coffee. She scooped a small dish of minced meat for herself and tasted it with the spoon.
It tastes really good!
Qin Xiangxiang said bluntly, "It's a pity there's not much, there's none for you. I need to use it to make shumai tomorrow morning."
“Didn’t you want to switch jobs with your aunt’s side? I’ll take you to see a concert-level piano. You can become a piano teacher at the Cultural Palace, and we can practice together on weekdays.” Xu Ruwei said quite proudly. Just like middle school teachers look down on elementary school teachers, these “artistic workers” in the music troupe also look down on the so-called piano teachers who teach elementary school students at the Cultural Palace.
"Thanks, no need." Qin Xiangxiang's glutinous rice was already fragrant. She scooped out a spoonful, stirred it to cool it down, added the freshly stir-fried minced meat, pickled radish cubes, pickled vegetables, and peanuts. After washing her hands, she shaped the rice into pretty little triangular rice balls in front of Xu Ruwei and arranged them on the snow-white fish plate, like delicate little snacks.
To add a touch of decoration, she picked some mint from the windowsill. The tender little mint leaves adorned the rice balls, making them look fresh, pretty, and incredibly beautiful.
She practiced piano from a young age, and her fingers were distinct and white as jade. Because she worked in a textile factory, her fingers, which had touched layers of fine yarn, were always exceptionally soft.
"This looks a bit ugly, but I'll share it with you." Qin Xiangxiang frowned as she stared at one of the small rice balls.
Xu Ruwei was almost laughing in exasperation at her. This petty, fussy little devil! A rice ball that could be eaten in a few bites was twisted into seven or eight small rice balls, not even enough for one bite.
However... ordinary people all have to bow down for a meager living.
She tried to touch it with her hands, but Qin Xiangxiang slapped her and told her to use chopsticks. Xu Ruwei snorted, but still managed to pick up the chopsticks and eat the ugly little rice ball.
Although the method is a bit pretentious, this small ball, wrapped with a little minced meat for added flavor, plus crunchy radish and slightly spicy pickled vegetables, tastes surprisingly delicious, and the glutinous rice is sweet, fragrant and soft.
"You made them too small. This one is tasteless. Can you try another one?"
"Move aside."
Qin Xiangxiang turned her small fish plate away, saying, "These are snacks I'll eat when I turn on the radio to listen to music programs later."
"There's still a bottle of homemade soda left at home, which is just right to go with this."
Xu Ruwei said sourly, "You really know how to 'live frugally'."
Although being a female textile factory worker was hard work, the state-owned factory's canteen had the most variety of food, including all kinds of snacks. Many of these snack chefs had ancestors who used to run stalls near the City God Temple, each with their own unique skills. Not to mention their homemade orange soda, the factory also served refreshing osmanthus and white sugar lotus seed porridge in the summer.
Xu Ruwei felt her mouth water just thinking about it, but Qin Xiangxiang was a picky eater. She said the lotus seed porridge she brought back last year was too sweet and made her son drink it all.
Although Qin Xiangxiang had never tried their soda, if it was something she was willing to eat, it must taste pretty good.
Oh dear, this guy is so reckless, why doesn't he just court death?
Xu Ruwei thought rather darkly that it was fortunate that Qin Xiangxiang married a military officer. This officer did not stay in Shanghai but was assigned to an island. If he had to stay with Qin Xiangxiang every day, he would have been driven crazy by her pretentious behavior.
Once her husband returns, her good days will be over.
Xu Ruwei concluded that Qin Xiangxiang wouldn't dare to divorce her military officer husband; with her temporary worker salary of just over twenty yuan, it wouldn't even be enough for her to eat and wear.
The pig liver was soaking in water. Qin Xiangxiang planned to wait for her family to come back before deciding whether to make pig liver and pork intestine noodles or soup. She prepared her own snacks first.
Qin Xiangxiang pushed open the kitchen door and walked out, only to see her aunt Qin Wenxian coming over with her husband and niece Huo Dongmei. Qin Wenxian was not tall, her hair was tied up in a bun, she had thin eyebrows and eyes, but she looked very shrewd, and she was very eloquent and knew how to handle things.
"Think about it, what are you carrying? Is it for your aunt?"
Qin Xiang thought to herself, "You guys are really being presumptuous. This is for my son to eat..." No way.
She put her things in her room, locked the door, and went to her son's room to entertain the guests.
Qin Xiangxiang's aunt was usually very warm towards her, but she wasn't a good person. She worked as a nurse in the hospital. When Qin Xiangxiang turned eighteen, Qin Wenxian kept urging her parents to find her a boyfriend, saying that no matter how pretty a girl was, no one would want her if she dragged it out too long, and that she was more restless than anyone else... Qin Wenxian acted like she was good to her, saying she would introduce her to a man from a government agency. They arranged a meeting place, but then she would say that the man wasn't coming, or that someone else had beaten her to it, saying that she didn't like her and that she had a bad temper.
She also went around telling people that although Qin Xiangxiang was beautiful, she didn't seem to know how to manage a household and would have a hard time finding a partner.
Later, when Qin Xiangxiang married Li Jianzhi, a handsome and promising naval officer, she shut up what she had been saying.
Although the couple lived apart, Qin Xiangxiang was actually living a very comfortable life. It's estimated that Qin Wenxian couldn't stand it anymore and came to urge Qin Xiangxiang to change jobs.
"Think about it, when do you and Dongmei change jobs and complete the formalities? That way, everyone can feel at ease."
Qin Xiangxiang lazily raised her eyes: "I'm not changing it."
"Why don't you change it? Didn't you really want to be a piano teacher?"
Qin Xiangxiang curled her lip and said bluntly, "Trading a temporary job for my permanent job? Do you think I'm stupid? I won't trade."
"Why aren't you changing it? They're already here—"
Qin Xiangxiang frowned and urged the guests to leave: "Auntie, you should take your people and leave. It's time to go home and cook. I don't want to listen to you. I'm going to listen to a music program later."
"It's really annoying to listen to you talk."
"Don't speak, I can't hear you."
Qin Wenxian was furious at her attitude, but then Qin Xiangxiang looked her up and down and said, "You came empty-handed? You're shameless. You traded a temporary job for my permanent job, and you didn't even bring a few boxes of pastries? You have no manners."
"Auntie, next time you come, bring a few boxes of pastries to our house as an apology. I want to eat those peach shortbreads, sponge cakes, and jujube cakes from the city..."
"If I run into Chef Liao at the restaurant, please bring me another big bowl of shredded pork."
The "dust" that Qin Xiangxiang mentioned refers to the crumbs that fall into the oil when frying glutinous rice cakes. Restaurants sell fried glutinous rice cakes, and they also sell the crumbs scooped out of the pot separately. They collect them, and a big bowl costs one cent. They are fragrant, crispy, and delicious.
Qin Wenxian asked incredulously, "I have to come here to apologize?"
"Otherwise what?" Qin Xiangxiang said naturally, "You are my own aunt. If you ask me to exchange a permanent job for someone else's temporary job, if word gets out, everyone will say you are heartless."
"I'll let it slide since you're my aunt. Next time, bring two boxes of pastries and give me a few extra oil coupons. We're still relatives."
Qin Wenxian was infuriated by her righteous attitude in demanding pastries and oil coupons, and left with her entourage in a huff.
"Auntie, does your hospital still give out qingtuan (green glutinous rice dumplings) in April? Although your hospital's qingtuan aren't very tasty, Qingfeng—"
Before Qin Xiangxiang could finish speaking, she saw her aunt leave with her entourage, and she shrugged smugly. She had seen a tag for "fighting against awful relatives" in the book "Sweet Military Marriage in the 1970s," and she really hadn't expected that anyone would enjoy reading stories about fighting against awful relatives.
Qin Xiangxiang, this little drama queen, isn't afraid of her awful relatives, after all, she herself is an awful drama queen.
Those comments say she's a stupid, vicious, and utterly pretentious person. So what? She just insists on being a pretentious person.
Qin Xiangxiang returned to her room, comfortably turned on the radio, and started tuning in. She planned to listen to English broadcasts when she had some free time that night.
"Mom! Mom! Have you hidden something delicious?!"
Hearing the thumping sound of someone coming upstairs, Qin Xiangxiang wanted to roll her eyes. This troublemaker was back. Her father, Qin Wutong, had brought her son, Li Qingfeng, back. "Bang, bang, bang," he pounded on the door from the outside, knocking off pieces of Qin Xiangxiang's door.
She opened the door in frustration, and there was a chubby little guy outside. The four-year-old was chubby but agile. As soon as he saw the door open, he poked his head out and tried to squeeze inside. Qin Xiangxiang quickly grabbed his clothes.
"Mom bought you pork liver and pork intestines. We'll have pork liver and pork intestine noodles for dinner. The pork liver is soaking in water, so it won't have any fishy smell when we cook it."
"Wow!" The chubby boy opened his mouth, revealing two small white teeth.
He listened to his mother and stopped trying to crawl inside. Qin Xiangxiang carried him out of the room, saying, "Be careful, don't get your head stuck."
The chubby boy was heavy, and Qin Xiangxiang put him down, letting out a sigh of relief. The thought of having three more children in her dreams, despite her being such a troublesome son, filled her with a sense of dread. Li Qingfeng was spoiled rotten by his grandmother, the child's great-grandmother. His mother, Zhou Aodong, had only given birth to Qin Xiangxiang, and due to health issues, hadn't had any more children. His grandmother, Zeng Fengyu, had expressed some dissatisfaction with this.
Zeng Fengyu disliked her eldest daughter-in-law, and her feelings towards her granddaughter Qin Xiangxiang were also lukewarm. She herself had four sons and one daughter, but only raised three sons and one daughter to adulthood. She favored her second son, Qin Songbai, who had given her a grandson. She wanted to live with him, but she always asked Qin Wutong for money and then gave the money to her second son. She would always complain to Qin Wutong and his wife about how hard her second son's life was...
Later, Qin Xiangxiang married a military officer and had a son, Li Qingfeng. Zeng Fengyu suddenly became Qin Xiangxiang's good grandmother, coming to help with cooking every few days and letting Li Qingfeng play with her great-grandson, Qin Yubao.
"Mom, please put a poached egg in the noodles."
"Okay, I'll add two extra slices of pig liver for you."
The Xu and Qin families shared a corridor. Xu Ruwei sat on the edge of the corridor shelling beans and was amazed by what Qin Xiangxiang and her son were saying.
Qin Xiangxiang, you eat meat yourself, but feed your son offal.
This is what a heartless mother is like.
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