Chapter 9 Envy
Song Lubai hummed a song as she walked home today.
When Lin Dahai returned home with his head down, Song Lubai, who was cooking at the door, greeted him in a good mood.
"Uncle, you're back quite early today."
Her tone rose naturally, and it was clear that she was in a good mood.
The two had a minor disagreement the day before yesterday, and have basically ignored each other for the past two days.
Lin Dahai never expected that Song Lubai would greet him in such a cheerful tone today.
If I ignore it, the neighbors will hear it and it won't be good; if I do talk to them, I'll feel uneasy.
He coughed and grunted an "uh-huh," then asked rather unenthusiastically, "Has your mother come back yet?"
Song Lubai nodded. "She went to the store to buy things."
Seeing that she was in a good mood, Lin Dahai didn't want this person who was just freeloading at home to have an easy and happy life.
“He’s idle all day and doesn’t even ask which factory is hiring. He’s unwilling to go to the countryside and doesn’t think about finding a job. He’s wasted his time going to high school. Old Wang’s third son has already found a job and started handing over his salary to his family last month. He takes all his money home as soon as he gets his salary.”
Feeling annoyed, Song Lubai said, "My teacher found me a job, and I'm going to start working right away."
Lin Dahai finally deigned to look her in the eye and asked, "What company do you work for? How much do you earn a month?"
"The subdistrict office, I don't know how much it costs."
When the topic of money came up, she paused for a moment and then asked, "If I were to start working and receive a salary, how much would I give to my family each month?"
She was determined that if he asked for too much, she wouldn't hesitate to go to her mother and talk behind his back.
Lin Dahai sat down, poured himself a glass of water, and after drinking it, smacked his lips and said, "We'll talk about it when your mother comes back."
Anyway, he doesn't really take charge.
Other girls hand over all their wages before getting married, and only stop receiving them after marriage.
He knew that if he dared to do that, that shrew Zhang Lan would make him lose face and be unable to lift his head.
With Zhang Cui's permission, some wheat flour was added to the cornmeal porridge, making it smoother than usual.
The temperature was just right during the day, the dough rose well, and the steamed buns were very soft and fluffy. With watermelon sauce and soybeans, and a bite of smooth porridge, coupled with her good mood today, Song Lubai ate to her heart's content.
She ate happily, while the twins sniffed the smell of scrambled eggs in the hallway, their faces looking utterly miserable.
"Dad, Mom, when can we have scrambled eggs?"
Zhang Cui glared at Lin Heping and said, "You should be grateful to have this to eat. Ask Xingchun what people in the village eat every day."
Liu Xingchun tightened her grip, then smiled nonchalantly and said, "There are several kinds of wild grass growing in the field now, such as lamb's quarters, shepherd's purse, and lichen. We usually eat sorghum flour buns with wild vegetables. If the chickens lay a lot of eggs, we'll stir-fry a couple of eggs with the wild vegetables. It's so delicious."
Upon hearing the word "egg" again, Lin Jianshe and Lin Heping both swallowed hard.
Liu Xingchun continued, "Before, the wild vegetables hadn't grown yet, so we could only eat pickled vegetables at home. But our pickled vegetables weren't as oily as yours, Auntie, and they didn't taste as good."
She looked at Song Lubai and said, "Speaking of which, I envy you. You grew up in the city, so your skin is naturally whiter than mine, and you eat better than people in the countryside no matter what."
The "aunt" Liu Xingchun was referring to was naturally Zhang Cui.
Zhang Cui isn't Liu Mei's mother-in-law in the traditional sense; by age, she should be called "auntie." But since they're related, she can't be called "grandma," so she has to be called "auntie."
Liu Xingchun's honest manner made Zhang Cui less prejudiced against her because of her identity as Liu Mei's niece.
Zhang Cui nodded, "Life in the city is much better than in the countryside, but everyone earns money with their own hands. It doesn't matter if things aren't good now, take it slow, and everything will be alright in the future."
After finishing a large steamed bun, Lin Heping took another one. The watermelon sauce in his small bowl was almost empty. He opened his mouth and said to Song Lubai, "Sister, squeeze out some more sauce."
Song Lubai: "I forgot to mention, the sauce in the jar is all gone, so we won't be able to eat it anymore."
The two boys stared wide-eyed.
"No way..."
Not only are we unable to get eggs, but even the watermelon sauce beans that we're all so tired of eating are gone.
Lin Dahai, who had been eating in silence, looked up and said, "Make more this year, preferably enough to last until June or July of next year."
If you use too much sauce, you'll eat less vegetables and spend less money.
Watermelon and soybean sauce is made by simmering watermelon pulp and soybeans together, adding scallions, chili peppers, seasonings, water, and oil until it becomes thick. If stored properly, it can last a long time.
In winter, we basically only have cabbage and radishes to eat. After the New Year, there are at least two months of food shortage, and you can only buy dried vegetables, tofu and bean sprouts at the grocery store.
For ordinary families, the best way to get through this period is to make fermented soybeans.
The watermelon sauce with soybeans is salty, savory, slightly spicy, and a little sweet. Anyway, Song Lubai likes to eat it. It's very delicious when sandwiched in a steamed bun.
After finishing the meal, Lin Jinyao insisted on washing the pots and pans.
The dinner prepared for Liu Mei was a bowl of noodle soup.
The noodles were broken into small pieces, an egg was added, along with some wild vegetables, a little salt, and two drops of cooked soybean oil. It smelled delicious enough.
This kind of noodle soup doesn't have to worry about getting soggy, as long as it doesn't get cold.
Song Lubai was in a good mood today and wanted to go for a walk after eating.
“Come on, I’ll go with you to deliver it.”
Liu Xingchun, carrying a lunchbox, said, "Auntie, you can rest at home. I know the way. I'll stay there tonight and share a bed with you."
Lin Jinyao blinked, "I want to go too. Take me with you, and we'll come back together later."
Zhang Cui said, "The three of you go together. It will be completely dark by then. Lu Bai, you and Jin Yao can come back together. We'll deliver the food again tomorrow morning."
Speaking of delivering meals, Zhang Cui was actually a little unhappy.
Liu Mei's hospitalization will definitely cause her family to lose some food, but she can bear it.
But then another woman, Liu Xingchun, arrived. She brought only a dried rabbit, but no food or food coupons.
She didn't care about rabbits, but the city's food rations were rationed.
She can tolerate it for two or three days, but not for longer.
No one's grain comes from thin air.
We just hope Liu Mei can be discharged from the hospital soon and go home to recuperate.
The last rays of the setting sun were swallowed by the deep blue, and the evening breeze in April no longer carried the chill of early spring.
Song Lubai happily imagined the days when she would receive her salary, listening to Lin Jinyao and Liu Xingchun talking.
"Dog Egg caught a grasshopper in the field before, and the roasted leg smelled amazing..."
Liu Xingchun's words also whetted Song Lubai's appetite. She licked her lips and asked, "Does it really smell that good?"
Liu Xingchun nodded vigorously, gesturing with her fingers to show how long the grasshopper's legs were and how fragrant the lean meat on the legs would be after roasting.
"Although there's not much meat, it's incredibly delicious even without salt."
Lin Jinyao grabbed Liu Xingchun's sleeve and said loudly, "When Mom gets better, I want to go back and roast grasshoppers and catch small fish in the water..."
The three of them were talking quite loudly when they bumped into Ma Xiaohe, who was pushing her bicycle back home, at the corner.
A tall man in a green military uniform was following next to Ma Xiaohe's bicycle.
"Lu Bai, where are you going?"
"Go to the hospital to bring food to my sister-in-law. She just gave birth to a baby boy."
Ma Xiaohe smiled and said, "Congratulations! I have a day off tomorrow. Let's go out together. We've already made plans."
After they agreed, they each went their separate ways. Once they were a distance away, Liu Xingchun said sincerely, "Auntie, I really envy you."
You're doing so well, you can easily find a partner from the city. You probably don't care about someone like Li Guangming, right?
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