Zhenniang, The Three of Us (Part 10)
Jian Yu'an is still trying to make contact with another time traveler, and the business strategy for the village's collective oil mill has been finalized.
Early the next morning, Zhao Zhenniang gathered a few people to buy rice and officially started cooking in a communal kitchen.
Cooking for so many people is no easy task, so the person in charge of the kitchen was assigned three people.
In this life, what isn't for eating?
Those who do manual labor are most in need of food to fill their stomachs. Zhao Zhenniang plans to save more money on food so that even if they don't do anything fancy, they can at least have a meal.
Everyone agrees, of course. We're all eating from the same pot, so we can't skimp on ourselves.
A village collective runs a business and eats together, which seems quite novel to the villagers.
But as long as someone offers them food, they will naturally hold their bowls and wait to eat. Once Jian Yu'an was behind them, it was too late to turn back.
According to Jian Yu'an's plan, she wanted to use that hundred yuan to open a shop.
As modern people, doing business is definitely more comfortable than farming, and in this era, it is necessary to accumulate capital as quickly as possible.
With the ideas she learned in modern times, she could double her money quickly by opening a shop. It would be easy to expand production or build a factory in the future. However, the other time traveler spent the money on food first.
How long will they stay in this village?
Jian Yu'an was completely bewildered, but there was nothing she could do. The money had already been spent, and she had made an agreement with the villagers on how to spend it. What's said is said, and she couldn't go back on her word.
Seeing the reply "can you speak Chinese", Jian Yu'an suppressed his anger and sent Ye Xiqing another note: First of all, I wrote it in pinyin, not English, please take a good look!
Secondly, if there are any major decisions regarding this body in the future, please discuss them with me first. Otherwise, I won't be mentally prepared and it will be difficult for me to cope!
Jian Yu'an didn't pass this note through Aunt Wang, but held it in his palm around noon. After the personality switch, the other personality naturally saw it.
But at noon, it was actually Zhao Zhenniang who went online.
Zhao Zhenniang stared blankly at the note in her hand.
Why did my second sister give her this note? Can't she read?
Fortunately, Zhao Zhenniang was a diligent and studious girl who always asked questions when she didn't understand something.
I slipped the note to my aunt, who was coming to eat right on time, while we were eating.
What do you mean by "Third Aunt" and "Second Sister"?
Ye Xiqing glanced at the note, then put it in her pocket and turned to Granny Wang, saying, "Second Sister has Zhenniang learn to read. She not only likes beautiful women, but also women with talent."
“I told her before that Zhenniang was a talented and beautiful woman, and that’s how I fooled her. Now she’s realized that she’s not what she was promised.”
"We need to get Zhenniang some education, otherwise Second Sister might have to leave soon."
Upon hearing this, Granny Wang suddenly realized what was going on and said that she would definitely tell Zhenniang when she returned!
Then, with a solicitous look, he looked at Ye Xiqing and said, "Third Aunt, how about I make something special for you?"
Ye Xiqing refused without hesitation: "No need, I'm tired of eating rich and heavy food, I want something light."
As for what the transmigrator wrote in the letter, she could take advantage of her second sister's online presence to do it first.
Since she shares the same body with him, she naturally has no choice but to cooperate, whether she wants to or not.
But if she asks for her opinion by writing a letter.
I don't understand that, smida.
...
Ye Xiqing casually replied with "I'll definitely do it next time," without caring whether it was sincere or not.
Anyway, once you set a goal, you have to work on it for a while. The next time is still a long way off, so let's talk about it when the next time comes. For now, let's eat well.
Although they made some money, it was unrealistic to expect them to eat white flour buns every day. When villagers went out to buy grain, they mostly bought cornmeal and buckwheat flour, and only bought a small bag of white flour.
Huang Qiuju is a skilled cook with a clever mind; she'll make sure everyone has a good meal on the first day of the communal cooking.
In the countryside, no piece of land is left idle. Vegetables are planted wherever possible. Now is the season for harvesting vegetables, and there is no shortage of them, especially chives and peppers.
Leave a root of the chives, and you don't even need to plant them yourself. They'll grow back in every nook and cranny next year, and you'll have to cut one crop and another will grow back.
Chili peppers do require more care than chives, but the yield makes up for the extra effort; a small plant can produce several.
Once ripe, pick the leeks and press them together with old leek blossoms to make a sauce. When there are no fresh vegetables to eat, dip them in chili sauce or leek blossom sauce to add some flavor.
It is the most common food and the longest-grown vegetable for ordinary people, and is also known as the poor man's vegetable.
The remaining beans, melons, yams, eggplants, and the like, which are suitable for serving at large tables, are usually sold by the villagers.
Now we don't need to sell anymore; everything is used for the communal kitchen. Everyone grows their own food, so saving money is making money, and Aunt Wang keeps track of it in the books.
Even a clever housewife can't cook without rice. Although I have to cook for several people, I'm not afraid of putting in the effort to cook, but I am afraid of the hassle of organizing it.
The host prepared all the vegetables and rice, and said there was no need to skimp, so naturally I could go all out.
Huang Qiuju chopped up the half-pig she bought, and put all the meat, regardless of whether it was fat or lean, into a pot to render the fat.
Without a refrigerator, meat spoils easily; frying the meat in oil can extend its shelf life.
After pouring the oil with lots of good meat into a jar and sealing it, put all the parts of the pig that can't be separated from the skin and bones into the pot!
The aroma was so enticing that everyone seemed to have their own GPS, flocking to Huang Qiuju's yard to peer inside.
The pot for rendering sesame oil and the pot for cooking rice cannot be used together, as they will mix flavors. So, a new pot was bought and installed in Huang Qiuju's yard, and Huang Qiuju's old pot was also put into use.
A large pot of vegetables and bones were stewed together, bubbling and emitting a fragrant aroma. Huang Qiuju was making cornbread on the side while the pot was still hot.
In this way, the vegetables are cooked and the pancakes are cooked, saving firewood, and the pancakes absorb the oil from the vegetables, killing two birds with one stone.
While stewing vegetables and making flatbread on one side, lard is ladled into the pot over there to grease it, fresh chives are added to make soup, and once the soup is cooked, holes are pierced through a gourd ladle to make a strainer.
Mix buckwheat flour with some wheat flour, knead it into a ladle and rub it vigorously. Another pot of he luo noodles is ready. After it's cooked, I even added half a spoonful of sesame oil.
The villagers couldn't stop drooling; even the landlord himself wouldn't dare eat like this every day, let alone the landlord's farmhands!
Everyone held their pots and pans, eagerly awaiting the meal.
In an era of scarce resources, food was no small matter and could easily lead to conflict. Ye Xiqing, in a moment of inspiration, helped establish a rule.
Children are weak, so if there is meat, children should eat it first, and adults should eat it later.
If there's enough meat, divide it equally. If there's not enough meat, those who didn't get any meat will get priority next time.
Everyone present wanted to be the first to eat the meat, but they couldn't ignore Zhao Zhenniang's words.
The village children were all called over, and when they heard that it was time to eat, they immediately took their bowls and went over.
Huang Qiuju was in charge of cooking, and of course she wouldn't skimp on her own children. As soon as the spoon slid out, she gave Sanya and Wuya each a good piece of meat.
Sanya is ten years old and already quite sensible. Upon seeing this, she quickly grabbed her bowl and ran away, afraid of being discovered, and went inside to eat secretly.
Wuya was too young to understand. She watched her older sister take the food away and chased after her while crying.
Huang Qiuju secretly scolded her little girl, "What a useless girl!"
Turning to the other children, she said kindly, "Kids, eat more meat! Auntie will get you a big piece!"
So what if others see her? At worst, she won't eat the meat. What can others say? Anyway, the good food is all given to the younger ones. It's the master's order!
It doesn't matter how adults argue, but arguing with children is a bit tasteless. The good meat was given to the children, and the rest of the people didn't say anything.
The dishes stewed in the meat pot didn't all taste the same. Although everyone was scrambling for the front row, trying to grab some meat, they didn't actually fight.
Each child gets half a pancake, a small bowl of noodles, and a spoonful of vegetables with meat. Each adult gets one pancake, a bowl of noodles, and some meat and vegetables.
I couldn't wait to get home to eat it, so I squatted in the yard and slurped it all down. I've never eaten such a delicious meal in my life!
Ye Xiqing also received her share. Huang Qiuju wanted to give her more, but Ye Xiqing shook her head and said no, the leader should set an example.
The essence of farm-style food lies in its rustic flavor. Having lived through so many worlds, she sometimes misses the first world, the days of rural life in the 1990s.
Back then, conditions were just like they are now. We had nothing, so we ate whatever we could find, and she never picked and chose what to eat.
She slowly peeled the noodles, biting off half of the small piece of pigskin that Huang Qiuju had secretly buried at the bottom of her bowl. Sure enough, she was still as hardworking as ever.
Eating some he luo noodles in the summer is quite refreshing. Ye Xiqing picked up her bowl, ready to finish the whole bowl of he luo noodles, when suddenly—
There is sand.
Ye Xiqing patiently considered whether to chew the sand and swallow it or spit it out whole.
Finally, she decided—
Auntie, come online!
For the first time in a long time, my aunt logged off while eating.
The most delicious part of the meal, besides the meat scraped off the chicken bones, was after I had been given full access to the rest of the meal, having eaten only half of it so many times.
Zhao Zhenniang immediately forgot to think about why her third aunt had suddenly left, and quickly stuffed all the vegetable pancakes and noodles into her mouth.
As for the sand, I ate too fast, and by the time I realized it, I had already forgotten to spit it out...
Everyone who got their food couldn't wait to stuff it into their mouths, completely oblivious to everything else; all they could see was the food.
When they were almost finished cooking, the three people who had cooked were ready to enjoy their meal.
They expected too few he luo noodles, and by the time they got there, they probably wouldn't have any left. Luckily, they still had enough flatbread. Flatbread with vegetables and a little chili sauce was quite delicious.
Huang Qiuju was in a good mood, and when she was in a good mood, she generously offered to share her family's chili sauce so that the three of them could eat together!
Those who cooked with Huang Qiuju were all people she got along with well, and even those she didn't get along with well, so everyone was happy. Since everyone had food, they didn't care too much about how much they ate.
The three of them ladled out the remaining food and were about to take it inside to eat when a cough suddenly came from outside the door: "Yeah, everyone's eating."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately stood up and cautiously greeted, "Uncle..."
Uncle Zhao entered the room with a cheerful smile, glanced at the stove, and said, "There's still some left, just as I haven't eaten yet."
When the old government was still in power, Uncle Zhao was the head of the local village head. When the new government came, in order to save trouble, many old positions in the area remained unchanged, and Uncle Zhao was still the head of these dozen or so households.
The village head wasn't a proper official position, but he could still contact higher-ups, so everyone in the village treated him with respect. Hearing him say that, they hurriedly said, "Then, Uncle, please eat! Please eat!"
They were full and could let Uncle Zhao eat, but Huang Qiuju hadn't eaten yet. Hearing this, she immediately became angry.
As Uncle Zhao reached for the food bowl, she pressed it down and said with a smile, "I'm sorry, Uncle, there are still three adults left to eat. You'd better come earlier next time."
Uncle Zhao was surprised that someone dared to defy him. He raised his creased eyelids, looked at Huang Qiuju's man, and said slowly, "Zhao Liu, this is your woman."
When Huang Qiuju was with Zhao Zhenniang, her words were as sweet as honey, but her true nature was completely devoid of kindness.
Everyone in the village knows that Zhao Liu is no match for his wife; she is known throughout the village as someone who is not to be trifled with.
It's a shame that Uncle Zhao messed with someone he couldn't afford to offend. After having several children, Huang Qiuju gained weight despite not having much to eat. She pressed her thick arm down, refusing to let him take it, and said with a smile.
"Uncle, no matter who it is, they have to eat if they haven't eaten yet. Otherwise, would you be happy if your niece-in-law starved to death and your nephew remained a bachelor?"
Huang Qiuju stood her ground, but Uncle Zhao was not afraid. He raised his eyelids and looked at Zhao Zhenniang, waiting to see how this young master would react.
Zhao Zhenniang stared blankly at the situation before her. She was someone who feared conflict, and she ran over in a panic.
He gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, looked nervously at the two sides in the conflict, and stammered—
“Uncle, if your family is starving, you should borrow money from me. Don’t beg for food here.”
"Firstly, what we're eating here isn't for any one person, but rather a collective effort. We need to be clear about every penny. Since you didn't contribute, we can't give you a share."
"Secondly, you are quite old and a respected person. It wouldn't look good for you to beg for food in front of a junior."
Uncle Zhao: ...
What?
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