It was a long walk from the station to the family compound. Tong Xuelu was carrying a lot of bags and was almost exhausted.
She really missed the modern means of transportation, which were convenient and fast to go anywhere.
It seemed that she still had to work hard to make money. Even if she couldn't buy a car for the time being, she could at least get a bicycle to ride.
"Xuelu, you're back?"
Aunt Cai shouted excitedly when she saw Tong Xuelu step into the yard.
Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded: "Yes, Aunt Cai, I stayed at my adoptive parents' house for one night. They didn't want me to leave so soon, but I was really worried about Jiaming and Jiaxin."
Aunt Cai looked relieved: "It's a blessing for the two brothers to have you as their sister! But it's good that you're back. If you don't come back, some people might say something about you!"
Tong Xuelu left less than a day after she came back. After knowing this, some people started to speculate.
Some said that Tong Xuelu ran away because she couldn't stand the hard life, and some said that she came back just to take Tong Mianmian away. Tong Mianmian is small and pretty, and there are many people who want such a little girl.
After hearing this, Aunt Cai was so angry that she started to curse at them on the spot.
Now that she sees Tong Xuelu coming back, can she not sing loudly to slap them in the face?
Tong Xuelu glanced at everyone in the yard: "This is my home. Where else can I go if I don't come back? It's just that my adoptive parents are too reluctant to let me go. They prepared a lot of things for me to bring back. Look, my hands can hardly lift them!"
She stayed in the city last night, firstly to pretend to be sick and send Tong Zhenzhen to the farm, and secondly to let the people in the compound know that the four siblings are not helpless orphans. If anyone wants to bully them, they'd better consider their own weight.
Aunt Cai responded like a supporting actor in a crosstalk: "Your adoptive parents are really good to you. Yes, they have raised you for more than ten years since you were a child. Isn't that like a biological daughter?"
Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded, and took the things into the house.
She took a few pieces of fruit leather and hawthorn slices, asked Tong Mianmian to go next door to play with pig eggs, and rested for a while before washing her hands and making dinner.
Tong's family gave her a pound of pork belly and potatoes, and she planned to make braised pork with potatoes and spicy and sour potato shreds.
She cleaned the pork belly with nimble hands and feet, blanched it in cold water for one minute, then took it out and soaked it in cold water until it was completely cooled.
Then she cut the pork belly with the skin into squares. Considering that Tong Mianmian was small, she cut it a little smaller.
On the way back, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some spices such as pepper and star anise.
After heating the pot, add the spices and green onions, ginger and garlic in cold oil and stir-fry over low heat.
After the aroma comes out, add the pork belly. Stir-fry until the surface changes color, then move the pork belly aside and add rock sugar.
Rock sugar is most afraid of getting stuck in the pot, so keep stirring. After the sugar color comes out, add soy sauce and stir-fry the pork belly aside to color it.
After each piece of pork belly is evenly colored, pour it into a clay pot, add three bowls of water, bring it to a boil over high heat, cover the pot and simmer over medium heat.
It is actually best to stew pork belly over low heat, but it takes an hour to do so, which is not enough time now.
After a while, the aroma of meat gradually wafts out of the pot.
The rich aroma permeates the entire yard, making everyone present swallow their saliva.
The adults could still bear it, but the children couldn't. They ran to the door of Tong's house and gathered around to inhale the aroma.
Some of the younger children rolled on the ground and cried, "I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat!"
The children were ignorant, but the key was that the parents of these naughty children were even more ignorant.
Mrs. Lin came over and said with a grin, "My dear daughter, you make so many delicious dishes every day. Your parents must be very rich, right?"
Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if they are rich or not."
Seeing Tong Xuelu's smile, Mrs. Lin became even more arrogant: "My dear, your meat smells so good. Look, the child is crying because of it. When it's ready, can you give half a bowl to Auntie?"
Auntie Cai next door got anxious when she heard this, but before she could say anything, Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded: "Okay." Mrs. Lin
slapped her thigh and said with a smile: "My dear, you are right. Neighbors should help each other."
Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded: "Auntie, you are right."
Mrs. Lin smiled so much that her mouth almost reached her ears: "Oh, this meat smells so good. Is it almost ready? I'll go home and get a bowl."
"Auntie, wait a minute," Tong Xuelu called her, "Since you are going back, why don't you bring me ten kilograms of rice?"
When Mrs. Lin heard this, she exploded on the spot: "Why should I give you ten kilograms of rice?!"
Ten kilograms of rice cost one yuan and forty-three cents. How can she be so shameless to ask for ten kilograms of rice right away?
Tong Xuelu looked aggrieved: "Didn't you say that neighbors should help each other? I have no rice at home, so I thought of asking you for some."
Aunt Cai finally found the opportunity to speak: "Hey, when you want meat, you say you want to help each other, but when you turn around, you don't give a penny. How can some people be so shameless?"
"..."
Mrs. Lin's face flushed red as if she was a chicken with its neck pinched.
Some people in the courtyard had just heard that Mrs. Lin was going to get a bowl to put the meat in, and they were tempted, and now they all looked embarrassed.
After Mrs. Lin left, Tong Xulu continued to prepare dinner, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
Want to take advantage of her?
Impossible, never in this life.
While the braised pork was still stewing, she peeled the potatoes and cut them into shreds.
She had great knife skills, and the potatoes she cut were all even in size, which made Aunt Cai marvel again.
After Mrs. Lin went home, the more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. She rolled her eyes and went out to Xu's house.
Xu Baigen and Zhou Fang hadn't gotten off work yet, but Xu's mother was at home.
After a while, she came out of Xu's house and spat fiercely in the direction of Tong Xulu.
Bah!
Damn girl, if the Xu family doesn't return her workstation, she'll cry!
Tong Xuelu didn't know what Mrs. Lin was thinking. She threw the diced potatoes into the casserole and scooped out the soaked potato strips.
After heating the oil in the casserole, add the peppercorns, ginger, garlic and green onions and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the potato strips and stir-fry for one or two minutes before pouring the aged vinegar along the pot.
As the sun sets, people are returning home from work.
As soon as they enter the family compound, a strong aroma hits their noses, and everyone is immediately excited.
"Where does the aroma come from?"
"It smells so good, what is this smell?"
"I smell meat, and a special sour and spicy aroma!"
Everyone subconsciously looks in the direction of the Tong family, and when they see Tong Xuelu, they can't help but wail in their hearts.
Tears flow from everyone's mouths -
this life is unbearable.
The two brothers Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin came back last, each holding two bundles of firewood in their hands.
Seeing the smoke rising from the kitchen door, Tong Jiaxin's eyes lit up: "Great, I can finally have dinner tonight!"
Tong Jiaming raised his eyes and glanced at him: "Finally? What did you eat before?"
Tong Jiaxin's mouth was drooling like crazy, and he chuckled twice: "Second brother, I definitely don't mean to dislike that your food tastes like pig food, really!"
Tong Jiaming: "..."
Calling it pig food, isn't that dislike?
Tong Jiaxin didn't see his brother's expression and ran towards the house: "Little sister, third brother is back!"
Hearing the noise, Tong ran out of the house with his short legs kicking.
Tong Jiaxin quickly threw down the firewood and opened his arms to her: "Little sister, Third Brother misses you so much!"
Tong Mianmian ran past him as if she didn't see him: "Second Brother!"
Tong Jiaxin: "..."
The scene was very awkward for a while.
Seeing this, Tong Xuelu's mouth curled up slightly.
The braised pork belly was just absorbing the juice, the casserole lid was opened, and a rich aroma spread in the yard.
Tong Jiaxin's nose moved, and he instantly forgot the embarrassment. The next moment, he appeared in front of the stove, his eyes glued to the braised pork.
The pork belly and potatoes were stewed until tender and crispy, the fat was translucent, the pork skin was shiny, the fried pork was bright and attractive, and the juice was thick and fragrant. It
smelled so good!
Tong Jiaxin glanced at Tong Xuelu and said shyly, "Well, I'll help you bring the potatoes and braised pork in?"
Tong Xuelu said in a faint voice, "Okay." Tong
Jiaxin grinned from ear to ear, picked up the potatoes and braised pork, and shouted happily, "It's time to eat!"
Tong Xuelu followed him with the sour and spicy potato shreds.
After entering, she filled another bowl of potatoes and braised pork, and was about to take it to Aunt Cai next door, but she heard the two brothers of the Tong family talking at the door.
"Brother, don't worry. I just helped her serve the dishes. It was definitely not a betrayal!"
"I was pretending to be nice to her so that she would stay and help us cook. Brother, do you think I'm particularly smart?"
"No."
"How could you not think so?! Brother, your cooking is so bad. If I don't treat her better, what if she ran away with Tong Zhenzhen?"
"Shut up!"
Tong Xuelu: "..."
If Tong Jiaming is a white-cut black, then Tong Jiaxin is a silly white bear.
Such a silly white bear still wants to play tricks on her?
He really thinks highly of himself.
When it was time to eat, Tong Jiaxin was like a person who had been hungry for three days and three nights. He pressed the rice spoon again and again when scooping the rice, poured the red braised pork soup into the rice, and then began to eat it in big mouthfuls.
The rice was mixed with the richness of the soup, and the braised pork was crispy, fragrant and soft, so delicious that it made people want to cry.
Woohoo! It's so delicious!
He has never eaten such delicious pork in his life!
In order to have such delicious meals in the future, he decided to pretend to be better to her in the future.
That's it!
Tong Jiaming ate a little faster than usual, and even Tong Mianmian ate so much that her cheeks were bulging, like a cute little squirrel.
**
After the meal, Tong Jiaxin was kicked to wash the dishes.
Tong Xuelu held Tong Mianmian and sat at the table. She said concisely, "I have received the approval slip for my household registration. I will go to the Public Security Bureau to register tomorrow."
Tong Jiaming: "Yes."
Tong Xuelu asked, "What's the matter with the work station lent to the Xu family? Are they reliable?"
Tong Jiaming said in a low and deep voice, "When my parents had an accident, Brother Xu and the others helped a lot."
Tong Xuelu: "What about you? What are your plans next? Do you want to go back to school to continue your studies, or stay at home to do housework and take care of the children?"
"..."
Tong Jiaming's mouth twitched fiercely, "Of course I want to go back to school, but..."
But he was afraid that he would not be able to keep the money, and what he worried most was that they would be taken back to the countryside!
"It's nothing, but since you want to go back to school, you don't have to go to work starting tomorrow. Remember to write a letter to your hometown in Beihe. Let's go, take me to Xu's house now."
Tong Xuelu ignored his entanglement, and then took Tong Mianmian's hand and walked out.
Tong Jiaming was stunned for a moment, and quickly stood up and followed.
The night outside was floating, and unknown night insects kept chirping in the corner.
The person in front had a straight back, and inexplicably gave people a feeling of dependence.
Tong Mianmian turned around in front and waved at him softly: "Second brother, hurry up!"
"Okay!"
**
Wen Rugui returned to the dormitory from the research room, and Zhou Yan from the next room just came out of the house.
Seeing him grinning, he said, "I've been very busy these past two days. I heard that your husband pretended to be sick and tricked you into going home for a blind date. How was it? Was the girl pretty?"
Wen Rugui stood with his back to the light and curled his lips indifferently, "I don't know."
"So there's no hope again?"
Wen Rugui said, "Hmm."
Zhou Yan sighed when he heard this: "It's really strange that you can't remember people's faces. If I didn't know what kind of person you are, I would have thought you were embarrassing others on purpose."
The moonlight shone down from the eaves, and Wen Rugui's tall and slender figure melted into the light.
Suddenly.
A charming and charming face appeared in his mind, and the tear mole under the snow-white skin was alluring.
Against the backdrop of the red-tiled high walls, the face was extremely clear under the sunlight.
The author has something to say: Wen Rugui: I have prosopagnosia.
Tong Xuelu: No, you don't.
Tong Jiaxin: I am in Cao's camp but my heart is with Han. I endure humiliation for food...
Tong Jiaming: Shut up, stupid people don't talk!
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