Chapter 282 The Regiment Commander's Wife
In front of the stove, Chen Shaohua was lighting the fire. He had had trouble lighting it before, which resulted in his face being covered in soot.
Song Lubai thought to herself that this child was quite good; even when the adults at home weren't around, he knew how to cook.
The fire in the stove was already lit. She lifted the lid of the pot and saw cornmeal and chopped sweet potato pieces inside.
Seeing the amount of cornmeal, she scooped out quite a bit of water.
Chen Shaohua asked, puzzled, "Isn't it supposed to be porridge?"
Song Lubai said, "You put in too much grain. It's too thick when cooked, so it's not porridge anymore. If you put in more grain, you need to use less water so that you can steam it into dry rice. Porridge is porridge with more water and less grain."
Chen Shaohua learned to cook porridge from his mother and Song Lubai, but after listening to Song Lubai's explanation, he still didn't quite understand.
"How is that porridge made? My family used to eat porridge most of the time."
Song Lubai thought to herself, "That's because your family is well-off. Ordinary families would add more water to save food and drink more water to fill their stomachs."
“The amount of grain and water you just put in will definitely make porridge, but an ordinary family wouldn’t cook that much grain for one meal.”
Chen Shaohua nodded silently, knowing that things were different for them now.
There weren't many vegetables at home, so Song Lubai buried the chili peppers in the stove at the back and roasted them for a while. After the skins were wrinkled and charred, she took them out, cleaned off the ash, added salt, and mashed them in a bowl with a rolling pin.
The sight of the spiked and mangled chili peppers made the three children dizzy.
Chen Jingwen asked doubtfully, "Auntie, is this still edible?"
Song Lubai said, "Why can't we eat it? It's delicious, you'll see in a bit."
She thought to herself that she still had to make the watermelon sauce beans, otherwise, by next spring, before May, there wouldn't be any vegetables for the family to eat.
The rice in the pot was almost cooked, so she moved the pot to the back of the stove to keep it warm, then placed the chipped pot on it and started stir-frying the green beans.
With limited side dishes, I could only smash a couple of cloves of garlic, pour in some soy sauce, add water, and simmer for a while.
While waiting for the food to cook, she took the opportunity to scrub the dirty clothes that were soaking in the basin.
Just as it was time to eat, Zhao Hongyingxiong arrived, strutting around and dragging a child with him.
"Commander's wife, Old Yang's kid was secretly picking melons in the back. He picked the melons before they were even ripe. I saw a few melon pieces smashed to pieces on the ground."
Song Lubai had told Zhao Hongying several times not to call her the regimental commander's wife, but this person had no memory at all.
Song Lubai said to the child, "For the next week, you will have to carry water to irrigate the vegetable garden to make up for your mistake of wasting food."
The child blushed and nervously clutched his clothes, too afraid to speak.
Song Lubai asked, "Did you hear what I just said? You have to carry water for a week as punishment."
The child blushed and nodded obediently.
Zhao Hongying said incredulously, "That's it?"
Song Lubai said, "Let him go. Keep an eye on him for the next few days."
After the child's ears were released, he ran away in a flash.
Zhao Hongying, hands on her hips, said, "What kind of punishment is watering the vegetable garden?"
Song Lubai said, "Tell his parents in a bit that next time the vegetables they get will be reduced by half. Notify everyone that anyone caught stealing or messing with vegetables will have their vegetable distribution reduced according to the severity of the offense. Without rules, there can be no order. From now on, it will be up to you, Comrade Zhao, to maintain discipline."
Zhao Hongying thought this was a good idea, and with her chin held high, she went to the house of the little boy who had been causing trouble in the vegetable garden.
Only the child's mother, Bai Lixia, was at home. After Zhao Hongying finished speaking, his mother pinched the child's ear and scolded him for a while.
Zhao Hongying added, "The regimental commander's wife said that next time the dishes are served, your family's portion will be halved."
Bai Lixia said in disbelief, her lips trembling, "Isn't that necessary? There weren't many dishes to begin with."
Zhao Hongying raised her chin and said, "The regimental commander's wife said that without rules, there can be no order. You don't need to be upset. Just get a smaller share this time, and take good care of your child in the future, and things will return to normal."
Zhao Hongying left smugly, and Bai Lixia started hitting the child.
"I'll teach you to be so cheeky. If you do it again, I'll beat you to death."
Vegetables are so expensive! Is it easy to get a bite to eat? What a brat!
After disciplining the child, Bai Lixia recalled Zhao Hongying's arrogant demeanor. She thought to herself that after being scolded by the regimental commander's wife a few days ago, Zhao Hongying had said in a crowd that the regimental commander's wife looked like that and was definitely not a good person to manage a household. Now, however, she was talking about the regimental commander's wife all the time.
People change so quickly.
However, the regimental commander's wife also has some skills.
Although the regimental commander's wife is young, she has managed to keep someone like Zhao Hongying running around like a madwoman. Yesterday, she was publicly scolded by the regimental commander's wife, but she still acted as if she was proud of the regimental commander's wife.
Over here, Song Lubai opened the steamed rice that had been sitting for a long time and served rice to the three children first.
The crispy rice crust at the bottom of the pot is golden brown, and although it has a slightly burnt taste, it's very crunchy and fragrant.
Song Lubai was quite satisfied with the bowl of pounded chili peppers that looked a bit scary for children. Chen Shaohua took a bite with anticipation, but frowned from the spiciness and refused to touch it again.
As for the two kids, no matter how much Song Lubai tried to persuade them, they wouldn't eat.
The roasted peppers not only had a burnt smell, but their spiciness was also enhanced to an even higher level, and Song Lubai enjoyed them immensely.
After the meal, she took Chen Dongyang to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Today, two more children joined the supply and marketing cooperative's backyard: one is the daughter of saleswoman Li Cheng, and the other is the child of accountant Zhu Ying.
The children were playing by themselves in the yard when Song Lubai went to report to Director Liu about her work over the past two days.
She then went ahead to find Li Cheng.
"Comrade Li, does your supply and marketing cooperative sell any earthenware jars?"
Li Cheng said, "Yes, do you want a big one or a small one? Do you want a better quality one or just something that's okay? What do you want to use it for?"
Li Cheng found a small one with patterns painted on it. "This is for storing tea. It's been sitting here for two years and I haven't been able to sell it."
Song Lubai never expected that the supply and marketing cooperative would have such an ingenious thing.
Earthenware pots were not part of the planned supply; you didn't need a ration coupon to buy them, just money.
She asked, "I don't want this either. I'm buying a jar to store sauce, so it doesn't need to be too big."
Li Cheng searched the storeroom and pulled out a small, earthen-yellow jar, about the size of a basketball, asking, "What do you think of this?"
Song Lubai nodded, "The size is just right, give me two."
Li Cheng said, "One costs four mao, two cost eight mao."
Song Lubai pouted and said, "The price isn't cheap. Every household in my rural hometown has a few of these. If they were four mao (0.4 yuan), they would be like those tea tins in the countryside, not a single one could be sold."
Four cents could buy half a pound of meat, and Li Cheng knew that this stuff would definitely not sell in his hometown.
He laughed and said, "The quality is different. Look at the inside, it's very smooth."
Song Lubai thought to herself, "Even the smoothest thing is fragile." She then asked, "Do you have any soybeans?"
Li Cheng shook his head, "This year's soybeans aren't ripe yet, and last year's are basically all sold out. I guess we'll have some next time we restock."
Song Lubai returned home disappointed.
The vegetables were picked yesterday afternoon, so there was no need to pick them again today. Song Lubai had a lot of free time in the afternoon and went home early to cook.
When she passed by Lao Li's house, she saw several young people trying to push down the newly built courtyard wall, creating a tense standoff with the nearby neighbors.
When the neighbors saw her return, their eyes lit up as if they had seen a savior.
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