Chapter 332: Bastard
The weather turned cold suddenly.
It was so cold when I went out this morning that I couldn't even stretch my arms out.
Wei Yang dug a cellar in the corner of the yard in advance, specifically to store cabbages and radishes for the winter.
Song Lubai thought that the vegetable planting team's large fields could distribute a lot of vegetables to each household, but in reality, it was not as much as what was divided equally in her group's small vegetable garden.
The vegetables harvested by the vegetable-growing team were not all distributed; a small portion was sent to the warehouse to be prepared for the various companies.
Cabbage and radish are both vegetables that can be stored. In addition, green onions can also be stored for a long time.
When December arrives, the house will be as cold as an icebox, and it will be impossible to sleep without burning coal in the stove.
For Wei Yang, the furnace was easy to obtain, but the coal was not.
Our family needs two stoves, and we use twice as much coal as other families.
Fearing there wouldn't be enough coal, he went to the construction team and brought back a lot of scrap wood.
Wood scraps are scraps discarded from building houses; they are small in size and have completely lost their function as roof beams.
Wei Yang hauled several cartloads of things home, and finally a neighbor couldn't help but ask him what he planned to do with them.
The cotton stalks piled up in Song Lubai's yard were for burning; the neighbors had also brought back quite a few. The dried cotton stalks were easy to light and burned for a long time, so there was no need to look for wood.
Wei Yang said, "In winter, we need to burn stoves in the house, and we can't get much coal, so we can only burn these scraps of wood. While it's not too cold yet, everyone should go and collect some."
Although these pieces of wood produce smoke when burned, they are quite durable compared to cotton stalks.
In the eyes of the neighbors, Wei Yang was a thrifty man. From the day he and Song Lubai got married, the neighbors had never heard the two of them argue. The women at home would always say, "Look at Commander Wei..."
The pickled cabbage at home turned out fine, and on the day the jar was opened, Song Lubai invited Master Zhai over again.
The jar was opened, and an indescribable smell wafted out. Master Zhai sniffed and said, "It's not spoiled, it's fine."
Master Zhai picked up a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks, cut a strip on the cutting board, put it in his mouth to taste, nodded and said, "This is the taste. My pickled cabbage isn't ready yet this year. When you make it again, just follow the steps I taught you before. If you forget, come find me again. If mold spots appear in the jar, you must throw it away. When I was a child, there were people in my area who couldn't bear to throw away spoiled pickled vegetables and ended up eating themselves to death."
Song Lubai was startled and remembered this point very well.
She also tried a piece of chopped cabbage, and the taste was so strong that she almost threw up.
Master Zhai said with a smile, "It's best not to eat it like that. Rinse the vegetables with water before chopping them, and the taste won't be so strong."
Song Lubai asked, "Can we put chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns in it when pickling?"
Master Zhai said, "Sure, some people do it that way where I'm from, but you have to add chopped chili peppers. You can't put in as much salt when pickling the vegetables, because the pickled chili peppers and cabbage can't be washed; they're meant to be eaten directly, so you can't put in too much salt..."
Song Lubai listened attentively and decided to try pickling some cabbage with chili peppers in a small jar over the next couple of days.
After Wei Yang finished his work, he handed Master Zhai a cigarette and smoked one himself.
After talking for a while, Master Zhai glanced in the direction of the house outside the courtyard and lowered his voice, saying, "There's a young man named Zeng Jie from the Armed Forces Department who scared Chen Yu last time. These past few days, Chen Yu hasn't dared to stay in the canteen alone, nor has she dared to walk alone..."
What Master Zhai didn't mention was that Chen Yu screamed loudly, crying and shouting, which startled those of them who arrived later.
Song Lubai said that Chen Yu had been acting strangely these past few days, and her condition was similar to when she first arrived.
"How did Zeng Jie scare her?"
Master Zhai said, "I don't know either. Zeng Jie said that he went in to talk to Chen Yu for a few words, and then I don't know what happened, Chen Yu started to go crazy."
Wei Yang slammed his cigarette butt on the ground and said, "I'll have to trouble you to tell Zeng Jie when you get back that he should stay away from Chen Yu in the future."
Song Lubai also said, "Chen Yu has been afraid of being alone since she was a child. She is very timid. I heard that she was haunted by something when she was a child."
Master Zhai suddenly realized, "No wonder! No wonder she screamed so loudly that day, almost lifting the roof off the building, like there was a ghost in the cafeteria. We need to find someone to take a look..."
Looking for someone? What kind of person? Someone who knows about feudal superstition!
Wei Yang coughed lightly, and Master Zhai chuckled awkwardly, "What I mean is that this isn't good for her either; it's probably because her birth chart is too weak..."
Song Lubai's lips twitched slightly.
"Someone examined her when she was little, and she said she would get better as she grew up and would gradually get better. There's no need to go to a doctor specifically for her. Just don't startle anyone again."
Master Zhai didn't say anything more, which was quite tactless.
He wasn't the only one who saw Chen Yu's condition that day; everyone had their own thoughts, including Master Zhai. When he heard Song Lubai say that, he actually believed it.
The jar of pickled cabbage was opened, and Song Lubai took out two cabbages and put them in a bowl, then asked Chen Shaohua to take them to Zhao Hongying first.
When Zhao Hongying received the cabbage, her mouth was practically crooked from smiling.
She knew that some people were saying behind her back that she was the commander's wife's lackey, but it was a fact that the commander's wife treated her well, and it was also a fact that others would treat her politely because of her relationship with the commander's wife.
Song Lubai would keep an eye out for things that others couldn't buy at the supply and marketing cooperative. If Song Lubai had apples and pears at home, she would also give some to Zhao Hongying's child. There were countless small things like this. Today, she even delivered sauerkraut to Zhao Hongying's family. Zhao Hongying had taken so many advantages from Song Lubai. She was happy even if others called her a lackey!
She couldn't let anyone else take her place, even if it meant being a lackey.
After putting the cabbage in her own bowl, Zhao Hongying followed Chen Shaohua to Song Lubai's courtyard.
"Once my radishes are pickled, I'll bring them over for you to try. I have a lot of dried chilies at home, and I'm planning to make spicy dried radishes in the next couple of days. Do you want to make some? I'll share some chilies with you."
Song Lubai put more cabbage into two bowls and asked Chen Shaohua and Chen Jingwen to deliver them to Deng Hong's house and Yang's house.
Sister-in-law Yang is Secretary Feng's wife, and the two can talk to each other when they meet.
The child took the bowl and left. Song Lubai said, "Can you give me some? I want to try making some hot and sour cabbage."
She didn't plan to make much; she just intended to pickle a cabbage in a small jar to try it out first.
Zhao Hongying is from the Sichuan-Chongqing region. She likes to add chili peppers whenever she cooks. This year, she dried some chili peppers herself. Upon hearing this, she simply nodded and said, "Okay, let's make some together in the next few days."
Seeing Song Lubai preparing to cook, Zhao Hongying asked again, "My sewing skills are pretty good. If you need to stuff cotton into your clothes, just come to me."
Taking advantage of others isn't Zhao Hongying's style; she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she took too much. She'd be happy to do anything for Song Lubai.
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