Spicy potato chips
Hu Yufeng cuts the tofu into evenly thin slices. The royal pot cook was puffing and pulling the bellows.
Seeing the smoke rising, Hu Yufeng put the tofu slices into the pot one by one, turning them carefully with chopsticks.
Soon the aroma of beans mixed with the aroma of oil wafted out of the kitchen.
Qin Xiaoqin, who was lying on the kang in the main room, twitched her nose and got off the kang to put on her shoes.
"Mom, what are you frying?" Qin Xiaoqin came over
"Stand back, be careful of the oil splashing on you..." Hu Yufeng turned the tofu and reminded her daughter.
Qin Xiaoqin took a closer look and suddenly had an idea: "Mom, can you fry some potato chips for me?"
"How did you do it?" Hu Yufeng asked.
"Just cut the potatoes into thin slices, fry them in a pan until crispy, sprinkle them with chili powder and salt and mix well. It's delicious..." The pregnant woman wanted to eat it as soon as she heard it, and her saliva was watering.
"Okay, then you cut it and I'll fry it for you..." Hu Yufeng agreed readily.
Qin Xiaoqin didn't want to do it herself. When it's cold, potatoes are like lumps of ice and your hands will feel numb when you hold them in your hands.
She looked around and saw her mother was busy frying tofu and the old lady was busy making a fire. No one seemed to be willing to help her.
She had no choice but to pick up two potatoes and peel them reluctantly.
"Cut two more, there are still Yu Yu and Shu Shu." Hu Yufeng emphasized when she saw that she only took two.
"My hands are so frozen. If you want to eat it, wait for her mother to come back and cook for her..." Qin Xiaoqin didn't want to peel more, as her hands were about to be frozen off.
"Listen to what you say, are you speaking human language? You are an aunt and you only think about eating..." Hu Yufeng was angry.
The old lady glanced at her granddaughter who had a sullen look on her face and said, "Give it to me, Xiaoqin. I'll peel it."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoqin immediately stuffed the potato basket to the old lady and watched with a sullen face and her arms folded.
The old lady peeled the potato slowly and pointed at it, saying, "You cut it. I can't cut it the way you said..." The old lady didn't really not know how to cut it. She was just afraid that if she cut it too thin or too thick, her granddaughter would scold her again.
Qin Xiaoqin took the potatoes with a sullen face and started cutting them into slices.
After frying the tofu, Hu Yufeng waited for a while. When she saw that she had finished cutting it, she took it and started frying it.
Following Xiaoqin's instructions, Hu Yufeng fried the potatoes until both sides were golden brown, then took them out to drain the oil, poured half of the potato slices into a small bowl, and handed them to her daughter:
"You can choose whatever flavor you want..." I'm pregnant and I can't figure out my taste.
Qin Xiaoqin's expression then relaxed. She took the bowl and added seasoning into it.
Seeing her eating chili peppers like crazy, Hu Yufeng's eyes twitched and she couldn't help but advise her, "You're pregnant, eat less chili peppers. Eating too much is not good for the baby..."
Qin Xiaoqin just wanted to have a bite, so she didn't listen to her mother's advice. Hu Yufeng could only persuade herself that out of sight, out of mind.
She shouted towards the door: "Yuyu, Shushu, come to the kitchen..."
The two children were playing in the west room. When they heard their grandmother calling, Qin Yu put on shoes for her younger brother, put on her own shoes, and ran over.
"Grandma, you called us? What for?" Qin Shu asked.
As soon as Qin Yu entered the room, she saw her aunt holding a bowl and eating, but she didn't say anything and was looking at her grandmother.
"I fried some potato chips and asked you two to eat them. Come, try them first and see if you want some pepper and salt."
The two children each reached out and took a piece and put it in their mouths, chewing it with a "crunch, crunch" sound. Qin Yu nodded to her grandmother: "It's delicious, you eat it too, grandma."
After eating a few slices, the two children saw that Qin Xiaoqin's potato chips were bright red, so they also wanted to add seasoning.
Hu Yufeng added a little chili and salt, stirred it up and down a few times, and handed it to the two children.
The two children first gave a few slices to the old lady and Hu Yufeng, and then they ate the potato chips with relish.
*
As soon as Qin Wenli and his two companions returned home from the market in the afternoon, the two children couldn't wait to greet them.
Wait for them to unload their things and get on the kang to warm themselves up. Two children came over mysteriously with plates in their hands:
"Mom, Dad, please have something delicious..."
"Yo...what is this? Where are you from?"
Yang Xiu picked up a piece and asked, "My grandma fried potato chips, they are delicious, you guys should try some..."
The two looked at each other, reached into their mouths, and with a crunching sound, the spicy and burnt aroma spread in their mouths.
It was indeed delicious, and they both picked up the second piece at the same time.
"Have you given it to your Aunt Xizi?" Yang Xiu asked, thinking of Xizi.
"Eat, let me serve it to Aunt Xizi first, this is for Mom and Dad..." Qin Yu remembered her mother's teachings: if there is delicious food, serve it to the guests first.
So she divided the rest into two plates, gave one small plate to Aunt Xizi first, and then gave the other plate to her parents.
"So good..." Yang Xiu couldn't help but move her daughter's head.
Qin Yu pulled her mother's hand away: "This is the new hairstyle Sister Fangfang gave me, Mom, please don't mess it up..."
Yang Xiu looked at the little girl's four pigtails and couldn't help but grin, "Okay, okay, I won't move..."
*
The couple stopped after trying it for fun. The two children thought that their parents didn’t like it, and happily took the rest and sat aside to eat it.
Yang Xiu pondered for a while and said to Qin Wenli, "How about making spicy fried dough twist?"
As expected of a couple in the same bed, Qin Wenli instantly understood what his wife meant: "Wrap the small fried dough twist with chili powder?"
"It's not just chili powder. I'll try it when I have time to see if it tastes good..."
After his hands and feet were warm, Yang Xiu got off the bed and walked towards the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Hu Yufeng had already kneaded the dough and was waiting for Yang Xiu to roll it.
Yang Xiu took it over, and Hu Yufeng peeled two potatoes while asking:
"How's business today?"
"It's fine, Mom. The weather is good, there are many people at the market, and we have fried all the noodles we brought. I have the money..."
Yang Xiu stopped and prepared to take out the money. Hu Yufeng stopped him and said:
"You put it in there first, and give it to me after dinner. I don't have anywhere to put it right now..."
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiu continued rolling the noodles and told her mother-in-law about setting up the stall:
"Granny Gu was the first to buy today, so I bought two more..."
Hu Yufeng listened attentively and nodded in agreement from time to time.
"Mom, I ate the potato chips you made for Yu Yu. Do you think it's possible to make the fried dough twist spicy?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Yufeng looked up at her daughter-in-law who was rolling the noodles seriously, and sighed in her heart: What a talented person! The whole family is eating it, yet she is the only one who thought of this.
What can be done about Hu Yufeng, the daughter-in-law who is fully focused on developing new products? Of course I fully support it!
Hu Yufeng's voice was kind:
"Don't worry, try it. If you need anything, ask Wenli to buy it. If it tastes good, we can have more new varieties..."
"Okay, Mom..." With the support of her mother-in-law, Yang Xiu felt relieved.
*
Dinner was hand-rolled noodle soup.
Qin Xiaoqin ate half a bowl of potatoes in one breath. Her stomach was not only bloated but also burning.
Yang Xu advised her to eat less noodles, but she got annoyed by the advice. He turned around and sat down with a sullen look on his face, picking up his meal and concentrating on eating.
Hu Yufeng felt worried when she saw her daughter acting like this just one day after arriving.
But the real worry comes at night.
How to sleep!
There are only three kangs in the house where people live permanently.
The kang in the main room is the largest, and that's where Hu Yufeng and her husband live. The west room is occupied by Qin Wenli and his family of four. The small room at the entrance is occupied by the old lady and Xizi.
Where do Qin Xiaoqin and her husband sleep?
Hu Yufeng thought for a moment and said, "You, Xizi, your grandma and I, the four of us, sleep in the main room, and your father and Yang Xu sleep in your grandma's room?"
Qin Xiaoqin was unhappy: The old lady smelled like old people, and Yang Xu would definitely not want to sleep with her. But it was difficult to say it out loud, so she had to show her displeasure to her mother.
Hu Yufeng was so angry that she almost died: "How about we switch it up, the four of us sleep in your grandma's room, and Yang Xu and your dad sleep in the main room?"
Qin Xiaoqin was still unhappy: She didn't want to sleep in the old lady's room. Besides, could that small kang accommodate four people?
This is not okay, and that is not okay either. Hu Yufeng said angrily:
"How about I go out with your father to find a place and vacate the main hall for you?"
Qin Xiaoqin's eyes flickered, and Yang Xu quickly stopped her: "How can we let you go out? We can just squeeze in together..."
How to squeeze?
Qin Wenli still couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Mom, the kang in the main room is big, you, Xiu'er, Xiaoqin and the two children can sleep there. My dad and Yang Xu can sleep in our room..."
Qin Xiaoqin still curled her lips when she heard this, but she also knew that this was the best option, so she didn't make a fuss anymore.
Hu Yufeng and Yang Xu both breathed a sigh of relief.
The kang in the main room is a long one, which can easily accommodate six or seven people.
Because of the discord between her sister-in-law and her husband, Hu Yufeng separated her daughter from her daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, the night passed peacefully.
The next day was also a good day. Qin Wenli got up early and ground tofu with Qin Shengtian. Xizi helped Yang Xiu cook.
Hu Yufeng had nothing to do for the time being, so she took out her needle and thread.
Qin Xiaoqin was still sitting on the kang wrapped in a quilt. Just ask her what she does now.
Hu Yufeng said, "Your brother rides his bicycle back and forth every day, and his knees are most likely to get cold. I'm going to make a kneepad with some old cotton and rabbit fur."
Qin Xiaoqin said sullenly: "Mom, you are so obsessed with me. You always think about my brother. Why don't you make one for Yang Xu..."
"I can do it. Ask Yang Xu if he can guide you. If he does, I will do it..." Hu Yufeng asked back.
Of course I won’t bring it. Yang Xu doesn’t like it.
But Qin Xiaoqin was still not convinced: "They just set up a stall, how much money can they make? Mom, why don't you make knee pads for him? Let Yang Xiu do it..."
Hu Yufeng felt that she and her daughter could not stay together even for a moment longer. What's going on? I used to have endless things to say, but now every word I say sounds harsh.
Little did Qin Xiaoqin know that she was also feeling aggrieved: What's going on? The two of them used to play crickets together: Qin Wenli and Yang Xiu. Now not only does she refuse to cooperate, she is also forbidden to play crickets! ! !
She was annoyed when she saw that her mother seemed to have been brainwashed by Qin Wenli's family!
The same thing happened to Yang Xu. It was a cold winter morning, but instead of staying up on the kang, he had to go and grind tofu.
Just wait and see, if your hands get frozen, your mother-in-law will nag you.
*
Putting Qin Xiaoqin aside, Qin Wenli quite likes his brother-in-law Yang Xu.
Although she is from the city, she is a little pampered. But he is good at work, learns quickly, and loves reading as much as I do.
At this moment, Yang Xu didn't feel cold at all. He followed the donkey in circles and chatted with Qin Wenli enthusiastically.
Qin Shengtian didn't understand either, he just stood there smoking and looking into the distance.
"Brother, do you guys go there every day to set up stalls? What if your stalls at the market are occupied by others?"
"If you take it, you can take it back. We were taken away once too..."
Qin Wenli described how domineering that man was and how decisively his mother took action.
Hearing this, Yang Xu took a breath and said: Oh, setting up a stall is so dangerous!
Upon hearing this, Qin Shengtian took a few puffs of his cigarette and crushed the cigarette butt with his feet.
I went over my recent conversations with the old men in Murakami, and well, I didn’t say anything that shouldn’t be said.
He quickly got up, picked up two buckets of soy milk and went home.
It's so scary, this old woman is so fierce! ! !
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