Chapter 329 Gu Family Finger-guessing Game
Wang Zhi watched Lin Heng walk into the kitchen, turned her head and looked at Xiulan curiously: "Daughter, my son-in-law can cook?"
Xiulan smiled and nodded: "Yes, he cooked almost all the meals when I was pregnant, and they tasted very good."
"What a good son-in-law! You should be nicer to him and stop ordering him around all the time." Wang Zhi said with emotion, holding her daughter's hand.
Nowadays, when men come home, they basically sit with their legs crossed and wait for dinner. Some even ask women to wash their feet for them. A good man is one who can help pick vegetables. Almost no man cooks for his wife, and if he does, he will be looked down upon by outsiders.
Her son-in-law is one year younger than her daughter, but he is so caring. It seems incredible to her. No wonder her daughter insisted on marrying him.
He is very capable. He can make money outside and treat his wife so well at home.
"How could I?" Xiulan said speechlessly.
Wang Zhi shook her head and said earnestly, "I'm just telling you, you should treat him well. He is one year younger than you. You won't find a man like him even if you search with a lantern."
"Okay, okay, I got it, Mom." Xiulan could only nod and agree, thinking that she was not being nice to him. Not only did she do things with him, but she also cooperated with him physically to do a lot of ridiculous things.
After talking about her daughter, Wang Zhi walked into the kitchen and said, "Son-in-law, don't cook anymore. Go out and accompany Xiulan. I'll do it. It's not good for a man to stay in the kitchen every day."
Lin Heng smiled and shook his head, pushing his mother-in-law out: "Mom, just play outside. You finally come to my house, why do I need you to cook? Besides, what's wrong with a man going into the kitchen? Men and women are equal. Just wait outside, mom."
Wang Zhi was pushed out by Lin Heng and had no choice but to be intimate with Xiulan and Xiaoxia. She brought candied ginger slices for Xiaoxia, which she bought with the money she saved from digging herbs herself.
This thing is made with fresh young ginger. It is sweet with the unique spicy taste of ginger. It can help children to relieve cough, warm the stomach and dispel cold. It is a very popular food.
Lin Heng first made a stir-fried ham with sour beans, and then a garlic-flavored river shrimp and a cold cucumber salad. When he was about to make other dishes, his mother came over, looked at him in the kitchen and said with a smile: "You go and have a rest, and leave the rest to me."
"Then I'll help you." Lin Heng did not refuse and said to his mother.
After a while, lunch was ready and a large table of dishes was served. Father Lin also came over with his father-in-law Chen Changxia.
Chen Changxia looked at the large table of dishes and said in shock: "It's Chinese New Year, and the dishes are so rich!"
There were ten dishes on the square table for dining, and they were not just forced together. They were all delicious dishes, including fish and meat.
"Yes, we made too much. If we can't finish it in the summer, it will go bad." Wang Zhi also sighed.
"Then everyone please work harder to help finish the meal." After Lin Heng sat down, he poured wine for his parents and parents-in-law. After everyone took a sip, the banquet began.
There is no doubt that the green shrimp is delicious, and shrimp meat is extremely precious at any time. The taste of the ham surprised everyone, it is much better than ordinary bacon.
"Dad, I want some ham too." Xiaoxia asked for two slices of ham while eating the shrimp.
"For you." Lin Heng picked out hams with a little fat for her.
This ham with translucent fat and rosy lean meat tastes better than the one with pure lean meat. It has a very rich meaty aroma in the mouth. If you taste it carefully, you will find the unique aroma of wild boar meat.
He picked up some for Xiulan, and like everyone else, Lin Heng would unconsciously pick up a few more hams to taste. The whole plate of meat was quickly eaten up, but the good news was that they had fried a pot of it, so they could just serve some more.
After enjoying the food and drink, Chen Changxia shouted with a smile: "Father-in-law, let's have a fistfight."
"Okay, if you lose you have to drink." Father Lin nodded in agreement, and the two rolled up their sleeves and started playing finger-guessing games.
This is a drinking custom popular in Shaanxi, also known as rock-paper-scissors or fist-guessing, especially in rural areas. The rule is that both parties punch at the same time and shout out the number, whoever shouts the number closest to the total number of punches thrown by both parties wins, and the loser drinks.
"Five hands, four fortunes, six great luck, nine long..."
“You lose!”
"Okay, let's do it again. This time, those who come with three words will definitely be blessed with three stars for life..."
As the game of finger-guessing continued, their voices grew louder and louder, and their movements became more and more heroic, like knights brandishing swords. In this poor and backward mountain village, this was one of the men's favorite entertainment activities.
"Come on Lin Heng, let's draw a punch too."
As they drank, father-in-law Chen Changxia pulled Lin Heng in as well.
Lin Heng smiled and waved his hands, saying, "Dad, I'm not very good at this."
Xiulan also dissuaded him, "Yes, Dad, don't get him drunk. He can't drink as much as you do."
She didn't like her parents getting drunk, especially her dad, who would tend to go crazy when drunk, and this annoyed her since she was a child.
"It's okay. I know my limits." Chen Changxia waved his hand and pulled Lin Heng to start playing finger-guessing games.
"Five champions, seven puzzles..."
After calling out twice, Lin Heng said, "Dad, you lose."
Father Chen took a closer look and saw that he really had lost. He took a sip of wine and waved his hand, saying, "It's okay, let's continue."
"good."
…
"Dad, you lost again."
"I'll drink more"
…
"Dad, you lost again."
Chen Changxia stood up and stared at Lin Heng: "What, why do I always lose? Didn't you say you can't play finger-guessing?"
"Puchi~" Xiulan next to them also laughed.
Chen Changxia was even more unhappy: "You're still laughing. You're my daughter. You teamed up to deceive me, right?"
"No, Dad, you were drunk and couldn't see the gestures clearly. My eyesight is good." Lin Heng explained with a smile.
Xiulan also shook her head helplessly: "That's right, Dad, you were just guessing, while Lin Heng figured it out immediately by looking at the hand gestures, how can they be the same?"
Chen Changxia said in disbelief: "Come on, I still don't believe this."
"Dad, let's stop drinking. I really can't drink as much as you. I'll take you for a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon." Lin Heng persuaded. He didn't want to get his father-in-law drunk.
If you have good eyesight, you can see and predict the game of finger-guessing. Basically, you can tell what kind of punch will be thrown by looking at the posture.
Just like playing rock-paper-scissors, when you punch you will unconsciously clench your fist, when you play paper you will loosen your fingers, and when you play scissors you will unconsciously loosen your two fingers.
So even if he can't guess, he can, because he has good eyesight and a quick mind.
Chen Changxia shook his head and said, "How about this, let's play a few more rounds of finger-guessing without drinking. I want to see how powerful you are."
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded.
After a few more punches, Chen Changxia was finally convinced: "You are too unreasonable. Let's eat."
He realized that it was too difficult to win the game of rock-paper-scissors with his son-in-law.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded with a smile. Actually, his father-in-law still had a chance of winning if he hid his hands, but his finger-guessing skills were not bad either. He just didn't like playing it in this life.
After dinner, Lin Heng's father and father-in-law quickly got drunk and became drowsy. Lin Heng helped them to the old house to rest.
After coming back, my mother and mother-in-law washed the dishes. This has become a habit for them.
While they were chatting, Lin's mother introduced to Wang Zhi her experiences of catching scorpions and cicada monkeys. After listening to her, Wang Zhi expressed her desire to go together in the evening.
Then she told Lin's mother some things about her own life and was very envious of Lin's mother's life.
"Mom, why don't you cut some cantaloupe to eat?" Lin Heng walked into the house and said with a smile.
"Those who just ate are not hungry." The two shook their heads.
After chatting for a few words, Lin's mother took her mother-in-law Wang Zhi to visit the breeding base.
Only Lin Heng Xiulan stayed in the room, and Xiaoxia was playing in the yard.
Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said, "How about letting your parents stay here for half a month or a month this time? Let them eat something good to replenish their bodies, and they can also accompany you."
Since marrying him, Xiulan has had very little contact with her parents, and he knows that she actually misses her mother very much.
Xiulan blinked at him, reached out and picked off a large piece of dandruff from his hair, and smiled, "I'm afraid they won't stay that long. They came this time to see me, to keep in touch with their parents, and to borrow money to build a house."
Last year when they went back to her mother's house, Lin Heng's change had a profound impact on her father, otherwise he would not have taken the initiative to come over to play this year.
Seeing that her father also completely approved of the husband she had chosen, Xiulan was still very proud and happy, which showed that she had not chosen the wrong man.
Lin Heng touched her hair, nodded and said, "I know. I'll lend you 500 yuan when the time comes. If it's not enough, I'll add some more. Just help out a little, and your parents won't have to work so hard."
Five hundred yuan is a lot, enough to buy materials to build a mud house. Of course, it does not include furniture and other things.
Under normal circumstances, no one in the countryside these days would lend so much money to relatives, and no one would lend so much money.
Xiulan grabbed his hand and said with a smile: "You are really willing to give it up, aren't you afraid that my parents won't be able to afford it?"
"After all, they are your parents, my parents-in-law. If I don't lend you the money, you will beat me and not let me go to bed." Lin Heng joked. He knew that Xiulan was not the kind of person who wanted to "subsidize" her parents after getting married, so he teased her on purpose.
"Then I'll just beat you to death." Xiulan glared at him, then pinched his handsome face out of dissatisfaction.
"To be honest, this is the first time my parents come here, and five hundred dollars isn't a lot of money for us. It won't be so easy to borrow money from them in the future."
Lin Heng explained that the money had to be borrowed. Although his father was not happy with his marriage to Xiulan, he did not ask for much in terms of gifts and the dowry he gave was quite a bit.
In fact, he did not support borrowing money to build a house. The right thing to do at this time was to do some business. But he couldn't say it, as that would only make his parents-in-law think that he was unwilling to lend money. After all, everyone has different ideas and family situations are also different.
"Actually, my mom told me this before, but I didn't say anything. I have to tell you about the money. I'll listen to you."
Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and said that she knew her parents were in financial difficulty, but the money her family earned was also earned by Lin Heng working day and night in the mountains, and it was very hard work.
She would never give money to her parents without Lin Heng's knowledge. Even if it was money she earned from digging herbs, she would tell Lin Heng before giving it.
For her, the only people she missed in her previous home were her parents, but the most important thing was the small home she and Lin Heng ran.
She knew very well that only this place and only Lin Heng were her true belonging and support, and her parents ultimately valued her brothers more.
"You are such a good wife of mine. Let's let them stay for another half a month before going back. We can get the money then." Lin Heng pinched her face and smiled happily.
"That's fine. Let my mother eat more good food. She has had such a hard life at home." Xiulan nodded in agreement. She felt so sorry for her mother, who had to eat the same dry food as a cow without any oil.
"Don't worry, I'll ask a Chinese medicine doctor in town to come and see our mother in a few days." Lin Heng nodded. It is his duty to be filial to his parents-in-law. Any more would be crossing the line.
Xiulan suddenly remembered something and looked at him and asked, "Have you hidden the ginseng?"
"I put it in the secret compartment inside the bookcase. It's okay." Lin Heng said with a smile. He would certainly not place such valuable things randomly.
"That's good." Xiulan nodded, leaned on Lin Heng and said softly, "I'll sleep for a while. Honey, you can call me later. I can't sleep at night if I sleep too long."
"good."
Lin Heng picked her up and placed her on the chaise longue next to him, then turned down the fan.
While Xiulan was taking a nap, he went out and looked through the dried sweet potatoes that he had dried in the morning.
These dried sweet potatoes will become very elastic in one afternoon. After being exposed to the sun for a while and then steamed, after three steaming and drying process, the dried sweet potatoes will become soft and chewy, and their color will become bright orange-yellow.
"Eat less. Eating too much is bad for your health." Lin Heng patted his daughter's head.
"Then Dad, please help me draw. I want to draw a chick." Xiaoxia said coquettishly while chewing a sweet potato.
"Okay, come in and play." Lin Heng looked at her and said, this year she walked more steadily, always liked to run outside, and her skin had turned wheat-colored.
But he didn't stop them. Playing is a child's nature and just requires proper guidance.
After playing with Xiaoxia for a while, Lin Heng felt a little sleepy and fell asleep while lying on the armchair watching Xiaoxia draw.
When he woke up, he found it was already 3:30 in the afternoon, and he was wearing Xiaoxia's clothes.
After taking a look at the coat covering his body, he said that he felt a little hot, but his daughter's action really warmed his heart.
After taking a look at the drawing, I found that Xiaoxia had finished drawing the chick she had doodled. I went outside and found that she was also sleeping on the sofa.
"Xiulan, get up." Lin Heng shook her and shouted.
"Um~ pull me up."
Xiulan opened her eyes, yawned, and reached out to grab Lin Heng.
"It's three o'clock." Lin Heng helped her up and reminded her.
Xiulan took Lin Heng's hand and asked, "Aren't they back yet, Mom?"
Lin Heng turned his head to look at Xiong Ba at the door. Xiong Ba made two howling sounds, and he turned back and said, "Probably not."
Xiulan nodded and woke Xiaoxia up again. The three of them had just cut a cantaloupe to eat when the gate of the yard was pushed open and Lin's father and Chen's father walked in.
"Dad, come here and eat the melon." Lin Heng called out quickly.
Chen Changxia walked into the house and looked at Lin Heng: "Son-in-law, I heard that you are going to the Black River to catch plum fish tomorrow to raise them?"
"Yes, I was originally planning to go, and it's okay to postpone it for a few days." Lin Heng explained.
Chen Changxia shook his head and said, "No need to postpone. I'm good at catching fish. I'll help you."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
