Firing the First Shot
Yang Xiu got up a little late. In fact, it was just getting light in the morning, and everyone around me was eager to get up earlier than the chickens.
Yang Xiu saw the light on in the kitchen and thought it was her mother-in-law there. When I entered the room, I found it was Xizi, who was dressing up.
Xizi's appearance is not the round face and thick eyebrows that the elders like. She has a small, pointed face, a pair of round almond-shaped eyes, and her skin is slightly darker due to years of wind and rain. He had just washed his face and there was still moisture on it. He looked at her with his confused eyes, which made people feel sorry for him.
Yang Xiu's voice softened a lot: "Why don't you sleep a little longer? It's still early before dawn."
"How can I really sleep in at your house? Besides, grandma snores so loudly that even if I wrap my head, it still doesn't work. I might as well get up." As soon as Xizi opened his mouth, the quiet atmosphere was broken.
Yang Xiu: ...
Xizi quickly wiped her face and applied oil, then quickly tied her hair into a beautiful bun.
"What can I do for you, sister-in-law? Sister-in-law?"
Yang Xiu quickly came back to his senses and waved his hand, saying, "Take a rest, I can handle it."
"That won't do. How can I stay in your house if I don't work? Don't look down on me for being stupid. I'm very good at work." Xizi was quite proud.
"Who said you have a bad brain? I think you understand everything in your mind." Yang Xiu was caught off guard by this straight ball and could only try hard to smooth things over.
"They all called me a fool and a brainless person. There are some idiots in our team who treat me as a fool, but I'm not really stupid, how could I be fooled by them?" Xizi sneered.
"What are you going to do, sister-in-law? Can I do it with you?"
Isn't it bad to let guests do the work? But he couldn't let Gan Xizi be unhappy... Yang Xiu was in a dilemma for a moment.
Fortunately, Hu Yufeng also came over. After listening to Xizi's words, she asked Xizi to help Yang Xiu exchange noodles.
To mix the dough, you need to add flour to the fermented yeast, knead it into a dough of appropriate hardness and let it rise before use at the market.
Yang Xiu added the noodles and let Xizi start. Xizi was right. The big bowl of noodles had no power to fight back in her hands and was kneaded into a ball.
Yang Xiu's eyes lit up and an idea came to his mind.
After breakfast, Xizi rushed to wash the pot again. The old lady was pushed aside by her and stayed there, watching her washing and waving the rag, smiling.
"Hey Xizi, rinse the dishes again..." the old lady said hurriedly when she saw her wiping them once and preparing to stack them up.
Xizi was puzzled: "Ah... isn't it clean now? You're wasting too much water. Won't my aunt scold you?"
Hu Yufeng who just came in: Is there something wrong with me? You curse me for using water to wash dishes?
Xizi felt no burden: "My mother-in-law would scold me to death if I washed it twice, saying that I would eat it next time anyway..."
Hu Yufeng, who was about to go out, said: It turns out that it is my sister who is sick! ! !
The old lady smiled and replied: "It's okay, you guys are carrying water to drink, we have a well, so we are not afraid."
Xizi's family has to drive a donkey to the ditch to fetch drinking water every day, and they really can't afford to waste it.
Xizi was enlightened when he heard this: "No wonder my sister-in-law poured out the water for washing her face." Then he sighed: "When will our family have a well? It's all my father-in-law's fault. He doesn't care about anything at home and doesn't even know how to dig a well."
The old lady was still smiling.
Seeing Yang Xiu and Hu Yufeng were about to leave, Xizi hurriedly stuffed the rag into the old lady's hand and shouted as he ran, "Aunt, take me with you. I'll go take a look too."
Hu Yufeng raised her eyes and glanced at her: "You can go, but you have to promise me not to run around. If I lose you, where can I find you..."
"No, I won't run. I'm too old to run around." Xizi agreed quickly.
You are such a grown up and you just ran around with others before the New Year...Hu Yufeng was speechless.
Xizi was curious about everything she looked at. Hu Yufeng could only stare at her. Yang Xiu was tired of watching her: "Mom, there are not many people here now, how about you take Xizi for a walk?"
Hu Yufeng thought about it, then grabbed Xizi and went for a walk on the street. Sure enough, when Xizi came back, he no longer had the curiosity he had when he first came. He even said in a flattering way, "Aunt, please sit down and take a rest. I'll help my sister-in-law."
Hu Yufeng didn't believe it: "You can? Don't be silly, these are all for sale."
"I should learn. How can I do it if I don't learn? My sister-in-law is so slow..." Xizi was persistent.
Yang Xiu: "Mom asked Xizi to try rubbing the roots. I think she is quite skillful."
Xizi looked at Hu Yufeng proudly when he heard that, and Hu Yufeng had no choice but to compromise.
Xizi watched it several times before he started carefully. "That's too much force. Be gentler and rub slowly. Oh, right, twist..." Yang Xiu reminded.
The first one succeeded with great trepidation, Yang Xiu fished it out and gave it to her: "This is the first one you rolled yourself, try it."
Xizi couldn't wait to put it into his mouth, and his two round eyes narrowed in happiness.
"Aunt, you take a rest and let me take over." Xizi was full of energy.
Seeing that Xizi was gradually getting the hang of it under Yang Xiu's guidance, Hu Yufeng said no more and let the two of them do their best while she sat there and collected the money.
More people means more hands. The noodles that used to be fried at around 3 o'clock were gone before 2 o'clock today. Hu Yufeng waved her hand and gave each of them two dollars to go shopping.
After a while, the two came back with popsicles in their mouths and one in their hands.
Yang Xiu brought one for Qin Wenli, and Xizi brought one for Hu Yufeng.
Hu Yufeng didn't want to be a spoilsport and took it and took a bite.
"Hiss..." My teeth are so cold. Elderly people can't afford to hurt their teeth! ! !
July 18.
Hu Yufeng found four white hats and washed them clean. Tomorrow the four of them would wear them together. Just thinking about that scene made Hu Yufeng feel excited.
Yang Xiu and Xizi served 5 large bowls of noodles and went to bed early. It would have been necessary to get up early, as they had to get up at 4 o'clock to mix the noodles.
July 19.
At four o'clock in the morning, Li Lanhua gently closed the door and then walked briskly to the next door.
The kitchen of Yang Xiu's house was brightly lit, and it looked like everyone was up.
Li Lanhua took a deep breath and walked in, only to see Yang Xiu and Xizi each kneading a basin.
She quickly apologized, "You guys have all started? I'm late."
Yang Xiu smiled: "It's not too late, we have just started, sister-in-law, you can rub the basin."
Li Lanhua pulled a basin in the direction of Yang Xiu and joined the dough kneading team.
The sky gradually turned pale, occasionally tinged with a little honey-colored glow as the rising sun was about to appear.
The crowing of roosters and barking of dogs in the mountain village draws back the curtain of a quiet night; the hustle and bustle of the world pours in, and it is a brand new day again.
Just after seven o'clock, the four of them had a simple meal and began to wash and get dressed.
Although their clothes were old, they were washed clean. Their hair was tied up and they put on snow-white hats. They tucked their loose hair into each other's hats. They looked at each other and went out with Hu Yufeng in the lead, full of fighting spirit.
They went there today on Qin Wenzhen's tricycle. Qin Wenli and his two brothers had already loaded all the necessary equipment onto the tricycle, waiting for the soldiers to set off.
Chen Xiulian straightened up from the vegetable plot, hammered her waist with one hand, and frowned as she looked at the people going away: This woman still needs to be dealt with, why does she keep following me around every day?
It was only seven forty when we arrived. Liu Yuzhu greeted them warmly and pointed to a few young men to help carry the basin.
After everything was neatly arranged, Qin Wenzhen drove back.
And here is the battlefield of four women.
It's still early and not many people have come. Hu Yufeng cleaned the chopping board and the pot and prepared to start working.
The banquet was scheduled to start at 1 o'clock. Before that, they had to fry the 400 sticks that were a gift from the Liu family.
Hu Yufeng poured oil and lit the fire, and the three daughters-in-law started rubbing the dough together. The chopping board was not big enough, so the Liu family contributed one of their own, and the three of them stood in a shape of a "D".
Several people were watching from a distance, whispering to each other from time to time:
"Where did you find the jade pillar? Judging from the posture, the craftsmanship is probably not bad."
"Yes, look at the white hats they are wearing. They are quite formal. It seems that the people in our village are special."
"You don't know, they are from the same village, just next door to us. The old woman in the lead is Hu Yufeng, don't you recognize her?"
"She... doesn't look like her. When I saw her before, her eyes looked like she was not a good person. No wonder I didn't recognize her."
"People have to make money. Look at this rich man, he's so kind."
"Who says it's not..."
Amid the laughter, smoke rose from the calm surface of the pot. The kind-hearted Hu Yufeng reached out her hand and said, "It's almost 60% done, ready to be put into the pot!"
Reduce heat. She picked up the fried dough twists neatly arranged on the plate and put them into the pot one by one, stirring them with chopsticks from time to time.
Slowly, a rich sweet fragrance spread along with bursts of hot air and sizzling bubbles...
A golden and crispy fried dough twist was taken out of the pot by Hu Yufeng's chopsticks. The aroma was visibly rising in the slightly cool air, and then spread with the breeze, quickly spreading in all directions.
The unique scent of carbon dioxide bombs lingered in the country courtyard, attracting people from all around to come closer.
They had also bought Lao Qin's fried dough twist, but mixed with all kinds of smells at the market, they didn't find it very fragrant.
The air in the mountain village was clear, but the fragrance seemed even more overbearing. Everyone was mumbling and discussing:
"Oh, I've bought this fried dough twist before, but it smells especially good today!"
"Hey, have you tried it? How is it? It looks fatter than what I ate."
"Yes, it's soft and plump, different from the crispy fried dough twist we had before. My teeth are not good, so this is just right..."
"She sells it at the market?"
"Yes, it's all here, and it's selling out very fast. I heard from Yuzhu that it will be served at the banquet today, you can try it then."
"I want to try it now, is this for sale?"
Everyone was discussing it enthusiastically, and some people couldn't wait to have one.
Hu Yufeng smiled and handed over one: "Everyone share and try it. Today, all of them are reserved by the host. They will be on the table later. Everyone, please come find me at the market after you have eaten them. We are at every market."
The small stick was immediately divided up by the people in the front, and those at the back stood on tiptoe to look around, and the place seemed even more crowded.
Hu Yufeng had to come out to maintain order:
"Everyone, please stand back. Be careful of the oil splashing out and getting burned. It will be there for a while..."
She picked up a few and put them on a plate, then walked through the crowd to find Liu Yuzhu.
Liu Yuzhu saw him walking quickly towards him from a distance. Hu Yufeng slowly said, "This is our gift to you on your birthday. I wish you... good health and a long life."
Then he pushed the plate to Liu Yuzhu and said, "Give my regards to the old man. I'm going to get busy now."
Liu Yuzhu couldn't help laughing while holding the plate. Don't listen to the rumors outside. Aunt Hu is a decent person.
Hu Yufeng turned around and let out a long sigh. Oh my god, she had forgotten all the lyrics about the East China Sea and Nanshan that Qin Wenli had taught her.
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