Chapter 46 Watermelon.
He Susu woke up from her nap and opened the shopping system out of boredom. She couldn't help laughing at the first glance.
This shopping system is really good at guessing people’s minds. I just made some rice dumplings this morning, and the first thing recommended on the homepage is rice dumplings. I was planning to say they were salted egg yolk and meat rice dumplings.
She looked at the details and found that the ingredients of the rice dumplings produced by the shopping system were much richer than those made by the Women's Federation in the morning. In addition to mung beans and peanuts, the pork belly was two fingers long and had distinct layers, as well as red beans, chestnuts and salted egg yolks.
The salted egg yolk is taken from the egg yolk inside the salted duck egg. When you recall the crunchy salty taste in your mouth, you can imagine how delicious this zongzi must be.
What's rare is that there is a promotion for exchanging zongzi. Zongzi should be quite big, there are only three in one jin, and now you can get one jin for free when you exchange two jin, and you need 3 points of diligence to exchange one jin of zongzi.
In the eyes of most people, a pound of zongzi is definitely not as good as a pound of pork belly. But thinking of the rich ingredients in zongzi, and the Dragon Boat Festival, He Susu felt that it was still necessary to spend her hard work points to redeem it.
She directly exchanged two kilograms of zongzi, but when she put it in the storage compartment, it showed three kilograms. She thought about finding a chance to bring it back home to eat when she returned to the county. Thinking of this, He Susu thought about her parents in her hometown again. They probably hadn't eaten zongzi yet.
He Susu thought about it for a moment. Since she was the one who usually communicated with her family through letters, she might as well say that she had made some rice dumplings and wanted them to have a taste of them, so she could send some back for her parents.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this method was feasible. She had never sent food to her parents since she joined the army. He Susu simply exchanged two kilograms of rice dumplings from the shopping system. When the time comes, she will directly send three kilograms of rice dumplings back to her parents, and her brothers and sisters-in-law can also try them.
Three pounds and nine dumplings are definitely enough for adults, but children can save some for themselves. If the number is too large, it would be hard to explain, after all, the dumplings are made with such good ingredients.
After thinking about these things, He Susu smiled and started to swipe other items to see if there was anything that could be exchanged.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day to go to the county town to buy things, and He Susu followed her third sister-in-law as usual.
Su Yu saw that her aunt loved to go out and play, and it was boring for her to stay in the army all the time. It would be nice for her to go to the county town for a stroll from time to time, so she didn't say much.
Dabao and Erbao have been in the army for so long. They were obedient and went to Mrs. Chen's house to play a few times before, but this time they insisted on going to the county town with us.
Dabao complained: "Mom, we have been in the army for so long and have never been to the county town. You used to take us to the county town to watch movies and buy toys, but here we have nothing!"
Erbao echoed his brother: "Yes, we also want to go to the county town to play and go shopping with you. We can also help carry things!"
Su Yu was not willing to agree. She and her sister-in-law were going to buy food for the next ten days and do some serious work. There were many people in the county town, and they were not familiar with it. If they could not take care of Dabao and Erbao, and they were accidentally taken away by the kidnapper, she would cry to death.
"No, at least we can't take you to the county town today. Wait until your father takes a break next time, and there happens to be a car going to the county town, then we have three adults to take you to the county town to play." Su Yu refused in a tone that did not allow for negotiation.
Seeing that Dabao and Erbao's eyes were red and about to cry, she softened her tone and took a step back to discuss, "You two go to Sister Chen's house and play, and I promise to buy something for each of you. Tell me what you want, and I'll agree to anything that's not too much."
Dabao is old enough to read people's expressions. He knows that no matter how much he makes trouble, his mother will not take him to the county town. He might as well ask for something good. So he tried to hold back the tears that were about to fall from his eyes and said, "Then I want a tin frog. The supply and marketing cooperative should have some for sale."
Erbao immediately said what he wanted: "Mom, I want fifteen marbles."
He secretly praised himself for being smart and asked for something different from his brother, so that he could borrow his brother's tin frog and play marbles with him.
Su Yu agreed to all of them: "Okay, take your kettle and go to Sister Chen's house."
Dabao and Erbao then obediently held their small kettles and went to the door opposite. There was no sign of crying on their faces, and the corners of their mouths were stretched almost to their ears.
He Susu and Su Yu took a bus to the county town and went to the grocery store first as usual.
Su Yu bought half a duck weighing about three pounds, two pieces of tofu, a piece of yam, and two tomatoes. Seeing that there were fresh shrimps that were not expensive, he bought another pound.
He Susu rarely saw winter vegetables for sale, so she simply said, "Sister-in-law, why don't we buy some winter vegetables and stew them with pork ribs at home? This dish is so delicious, my parents loved it when we were back home."
Su Yu had never eaten braised pork ribs with winter vegetables, and there was not much meat in the ribs. She found it hard to believe that her mother-in-law would be willing to use a pound of meat ticket to buy pork ribs.
But the sister-in-law would not lie to her. Since the braised pork ribs with winter vegetables could make the mother-in-law ignore the fact that there was not much meat in the ribs and buy them to eat, it must taste really good, and the winter vegetables are not expensive.
She nodded: "Okay, then buy some more winter vegetables."
After coming out of the grocery store, Su Yu originally wanted to ask her aunt to go with her to the slaughterhouse to familiarize herself with the route. If she married Cheng Shi in the future, she would always have to go there to buy meat for her family, and she might not have to come to the county town to buy vegetables every time.
But when she heard that she wanted to go to the department store to buy things, Su Yu swallowed the words in her throat and decided to take her there next time.
He Susu did have something to buy. She didn't have many hair bands, and the two she brought from her hometown had become loose because she wore them every day. When she took off her hair band in the shower last night, the rubber band inside broke.
If there was only one hairband left, she would always wear the same hairband for her dark hair, which would make her look dull and boring. She was too lazy to redeem such a simple item in the shopping system, so she waited until she came to the county town today to buy it.
The supply and marketing cooperative was where she got off the bus just now. She wanted to use the excuse of going shopping to take out the things in the storage compartment, so she might as well go to the department store to buy them.
Arriving at the department store, He Susu went straight to the counter selling hair ties. She looked around and saw that there were many styles of hair ties. She first picked a simple red hair tie, then a green bow hair tie, and then saw a blue wide cloth headband with a bow in the middle, so she simply took one.
He Susu seemed to have aroused her shopping potential at this moment. She picked out a lot of hair bands that caught her eye. Then she picked out a white hair band with yellow sunflowers and a red hair band with a large intestine pattern.
"Comrade, how much are these?"
The salesperson took a look, added and subtracted some numbers and gave a number.
He Susu was still able to accept this, and even thought that these hair bands were pretty and cheap, so she paid for them promptly.
After stuffing all the newly bought hair bands into her clothes pockets, He Susu walked around again before leaving the department store.
She found an empty alley and moved the rice dumplings she had exchanged earlier. She put three pounds into a backpack to carry home later, put three pounds into a package to be sent to the post office back to her hometown, and then took a pound of apples and a watermelon and put them in the backpack.
She and her two children both loved the mangoes she brought home last time, but eating too much of that mango can cause dampness and heat, so she didn't dare to exchange it. But this watermelon was on sale, and it only took 1 point of diligence to exchange for a three-pound one, so He Susu exchanged it without hesitation.
He Susu had never eaten watermelon before, but she knew that watermelon chilled in the well was juicy and sweet, and was a good way to cool off and quench thirst in summer.
Fortunately, she had just inquired in the department store and found that they occasionally sold watermelons, but there were not many of them, and they were often sold out as soon as they were put on the counter. He Susu felt relieved when she found an excuse to buy watermelons.
This time she even brought a piece of cloth to cover the backpack, so others couldn't see what was inside unless they lifted the cloth.
After making sure that the apples, watermelons and three pounds of rice dumplings could be stuffed into the backpack, she temporarily put the watermelons and apples into the storage compartment to avoid being too tired to carry them, and then she picked up the backpack and carried the package to the post office.
This was He Susu's first time at the post office in the county. Most post offices in China were decorated in a similar way. She talked to the staff inside through the small window: "Comrade, I want to mail a package."
He Susu handed over the package containing three pounds of rice dumplings, added a mailing slip, and paid the money. She thought that in a few days, her parents would receive the rice dumplings she sent.
She walked all the way back to the supply and marketing cooperative, and when she was almost there, she transferred the apples and watermelons from the storage compartment into the backpack. Her shoulders suddenly felt a lot heavier.
"Sister-in-law, I'm back. Did you buy the rice dumplings leaves?" He Susu saw Su Yu, walked over and asked.
Su Yu shook her head and said helplessly: "I asked around, but no one sold zong leaves. Since I couldn't make zongzi, I didn't buy glutinous rice or peanuts."
On the Dragon Boat Festival, the supply and marketing cooperatives sell zongzi leaves, and some farmers nearby pick the leaves and come to sell them. After the Dragon Boat Festival, the leaves are worthless, so naturally no one comes to sell them.
Su Yu was just glad that she didn't buy glutinous rice, peanuts, etc. first and then buy the rice dumplings leaves, otherwise it would have been an extra expense.
The promise to Lianzhou and Dabao and Erbao to make rice dumplings is going to be ruined.
He Susu came close to stand beside Su Yu, lowered her voice and said, "I just ran into someone selling homemade rice dumplings. I heard that the ingredients were quite rich, so I bought a few to try. It doesn't matter if there are no rice dumplings leaves, at least there are rice dumplings to eat."
Su Yu was pleasantly surprised. She didn't expect her aunt to be so lucky. She could only sigh, "I didn't expect that someone would still make zongzi and sell them at this time."
He Susu smiled and said casually, "Maybe there are many people who didn't get to eat zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival and are missing the taste of zongzi. I heard from those who bought them that the zongzi made by this family is very fragrant. Let's go back and try it."
Su Yu nodded: "Okay, then let's just steam some rice dumplings for lunch."
He Susu was looking forward to how delicious the rice dumplings with salted egg yolks would be, and she agreed immediately.
Soon the car arrived, they got in, and returned home half an hour later.
It was only when the young aunt took off the basket on her back and lifted the cloth covering it that Su Yu could see clearly: "This is... a watermelon? You actually bought a watermelon!"
Su Yu had never eaten watermelon before, and only with her memory from the future could she recognize this round ball-shaped fruit as a watermelon. Recalling the cool and sweet taste, her whole body seemed to cool down.
He Susu nodded: "Sister-in-law, you have good eyesight, it's a watermelon. I happened to come across the last watermelon when I arrived at the department store, so I quickly bought it. Later, I heard others talking about it and realized how delicious this watermelon is. I also bought a pound of apples."
Su Yu made arrangements: "We don't have a well here so we can't chill the watermelon. If we soak it in water, it won't have the chilling effect. We can just put it in the kitchen so we can eat it whenever we want."
Perhaps it was because of the surprise of the watermelon, when Su Yu saw that the "some rice dumplings" her aunt mentioned turned out to be nine large rice dumplings, she was surprised for a moment, but quickly accepted it.
My sister-in-law must really like eating rice dumplings, which is why she bought so many.
Dabao and Erbao heard the noise and returned home. They first circled around the watermelon out of curiosity, then cried out that there were so many rice dumplings that they could eat for a long time. Then they took their beloved tin frogs and marbles from their mother and immediately sat on the ground to play with them.
He Susu turned on the electric fan, sat on a chair and waited for the heat from her body to slowly dissipate.
Su Yu also sat down to rest for a while, drank a glass of water and went to the kitchen to work. Lunch was simple, just five steamed dumplings and a plate of stir-fried vegetables.
The vegetables in the vegetable garden are growing well and will be ready to be picked and eaten soon.
After He Lianzhou came back and took a bath, the family sat around the table to eat zongzi. After being heated, the aroma inside the zongzi wafted out, and it smelled very fragrant, even more fragrant than the zongzi they had eaten before.
Su Yu smiled and said, "Susu, it seems that the person you bought the rice dumplings from did not deceive you. The rice dumplings taste good and must have rich ingredients."
"Of course, I won't be fooled." He Susu replied. She tore open the thin cotton thread that tied the zongzi, and then opened the zongzi leaf along the veins, revealing the diamond-shaped glutinous rice ball dyed slightly green inside.
Pick up the bowl, use chopsticks to pick up a large piece of meat dumpling and take a bite. The glutinous rice on the outside alone is very salty and fragrant.
As you continue eating, you will find soft and delicious chestnuts, crunchy green beans and red beans, soft and crispy peanuts, and large pieces of pork belly marinated in oil. Finally, you will eat the salted egg yolk, a yellow ball hidden in the slightly green glutinous rice. Its crunchy texture and increasingly salty taste make the nearby glutinous rice even more delicious.
Su Yu also ate the salted egg yolk: "This zongzi is really rich in ingredients. It's amazing that you can wrap zongzi in it at this time of year. And the egg yolk tastes like the yolk of a salted duck egg."
He Lianzhou nodded: "This zongzi is really fragrant, and the taste is also richer. It should cost a lot of money, right?"
He Susu finished the whole zongzi with satisfaction, and the taste left on her tongue made her savor it. When she heard the third brother asking about the price, He Susu nodded: "The man sold three for two yuan. I saw many people rushing to buy them, so they must be good, so I bought them."
Pork is only 87 cents per pound, and three of these zongzi cost two yuan, which can be considered a sky-high price. But He Lianzhou and Su Yu, who have tasted the delicious zongzi, can't say that the zongzi is not worth the price.
Su Yu sighed: "This price is quite expensive, but it's acceptable to eat it occasionally."
He Lianzhou nodded: "Indeed, if we make zongzi ourselves, I'm afraid we won't be able to gather so many ingredients."
He couldn't help but recall the aroma of the rice dumplings. Whether it was chestnuts, mung beans, red beans, pork belly, salted egg yolks or glutinous rice, the rice dumplings made with so many ingredients were really delicious.
Dabao and Erbao didn't care what their parents and aunt were saying. All they could think about was "These rice dumplings are so delicious" and they ate the dumplings with their little mouths smacking.
Fortunately, the zongzi was big enough that they were almost full after eating one, so they didn't have to ask for more. They all heard that three zongzi cost two yuan, which meant that they just ate one each...
Dabao tried to count on his fingers in his mind, but couldn't figure it out. He probably ate... a little more than 60 cents.
Erbao was calculating in his mind until his head was dizzy, but he still couldn't figure it out, anyway, it was a lot of money.
After eating the rice dumplings, the stir-fried sweet vegetables also tasted very good. The He family had a very satisfying meal.
There was something delicious at home, so Su Yu naturally didn't forget her aunt's boyfriend, not to mention that her aunt paid for the zongzi. She originally wanted to cook an extra one at noon and ask her aunt to take it downstairs for Cheng Shi later.
But the sister-in-law said that it was not necessary for the time being. She would inform Cheng Shi in advance and ask him to save some space in his stomach so that he could enjoy the rice dumplings and avoid being too full.
Su Yu found it funny after hearing this, so she decided to let her aunt-in-law decide the matter between the young couple, and she would only be responsible for helping to steam the rice dumplings.
When I woke up in the afternoon, I felt hotter than ever before. In fact, the third floor is a good floor for the He family. If they live lower, the heat from the ground will rise up, and if they live higher, the heat from the sun will come down directly, which is also uncomfortable. The third floor is just right in the middle.
It would be a waste to leave the watermelon at home uneaten, so He Susu immediately suggested: "Sister-in-law, why don't we open the watermelon and eat it on such a hot day?"
She naturally had the final say over the watermelons her aunt bought. Su Yu also felt that this afternoon was particularly hot, so she smiled and said, "Okay, then we'll start eating watermelons."
Then he stood up and went to the kitchen to cut watermelon.
He Susu was very curious and followed him in. Dabao and Erbao followed in like little tails. They had never seen such big fruits before.
Su Yu knew how to cut a watermelon from her memory of the afterlife, and besides, it was the same way to cut melons and fruits in general. Fortunately, the kitchen knife at home was sharp enough, so she picked up the kitchen knife and cut along the middle line of the watermelon, and the round ball instantly became a half ball, and then she cut the half ball into six wedges.
He Susu looked at it and realized that the inside of the dark green watermelon with stripes was actually red, dotted with sesame-like seeds. Only the thin rind was as light as white with a hint of green.
Dabao and Erbao opened their eyes wide, looking as if they had learned something new.
Su Yu gave them to her sister-in-law and two children: "Eat one petal each."
He Susu held a slice of watermelon in her hand and returned to the living room, where she sat down to eat it. She took a bite of the red flesh of the watermelon, and her mouth was filled with the sweet watermelon juice. Even though it had not been chilled, it was still icy cold, cooling directly from her throat to her stomach, dispelling the heat from her body.
She even had to be very careful when eating watermelon to avoid the juice from slipping onto the ground or staining her clothes.
He Susu enjoyed the food bite after bite. She didn't expect the watermelon to be so delicious. Her hard work was really worth it.
Su Yu was also eating watermelon, the long-lost cool and sweet taste, the watermelon juice went down like sugar water, the watermelon flesh was crunchy and delicious. When she was cutting the watermelon, she found that this watermelon had a rare thin skin and thick flesh, which was a bargain for them.
The eldest and second child had their mouths full of juice while eating. Although they were very careful to avoid letting the juice get on their clothes, it was inevitable that it would drip onto the ground.
Recalling the sweet watermelon juice, the two were reluctant to drink the bright red and clear watermelon juice on the ground. It would have been so nice if it fell into their mouths.
He Susu finished one slice of watermelon first, and couldn't help but take the second slice to eat. This watermelon is really a good thing to cool off and quench thirst in summer, and it is more enjoyable than drinking mung bean soup.
Su Yu then ate another slice of watermelon, feeling refreshed all over. The watermelon juice not only cooled her down but also quenched her thirst, just like drinking a whole glass of water. It was very comfortable.
When Dabao and Erbao saw that their mother and aunt had eaten two slices of watermelon, they followed their example and stretched out their short little hands to touch another slice of watermelon. When they saw that their mother did not raise her hand to stop them, they quickly put the slice to their mouths and started eating.
Su Yu calculated that there was enough watermelon to share, so she didn't stop the two children from eating.
She said, "There are still four petals left. It won't be a problem to keep them until the evening. It's just right to give two petals to your brother and Cheng Shi."
He Susu nodded: "Okay, I'll take it downstairs for Cheng Shi to eat when we go for a walk in the evening."
She was still savoring the taste of the watermelon, and now she felt cooler and no longer felt hot, and her heart was calmer. After chatting with her sister-in-law for a while, He Susu simply went back to her room, sat at the desk and continued writing.
Maybe it was because she felt good after eating so well, her thoughts became clear at this moment, and she could be said to be writing with divine power, pouring her ideas into the tip of her pen and writing them down on the letter paper through literary description.
Of course, this kind of sultry weather would not last long, and He Susu wrote within her own comfort zone. She stopped writing after writing about 2,000 words.
She looked out the window and saw that it was getting late, so she put down her pen and put away the article she had written for the time being.
After dinner in the evening, He Susu stood on the balcony and waited for a while, then she saw Cheng Shi appear downstairs. She hurried to the kitchen, took out the two slices of watermelon that she had left for him, and prepared to go downstairs with the garbage in her other hand.
He Lianzhou ate two slices of watermelon when he came back from training. The cool and sweet watermelon juice relieved his fatigue and thirst after training. He praised the watermelon and said it was delicious. He told He Susu to buy another watermelon next time she saw someone selling watermelons, and he, as her brother, would pay for it.
He Susu came downstairs and saw Cheng Shi, and hurriedly handed him two slices of watermelon: "I was lucky enough to buy a watermelon when I went to the county town this morning, and I specially left two slices for you to try."
Cheng Shi took it and said, "Watermelons are indeed hard to buy. I only bought one by chance a long time ago."
The two simply walked to the path across from the main road and found a stone chair to sit down. Cheng Shi handed a slice of watermelon to He Susu, who shook her head, "No, I ate it this afternoon. Eating too much watermelon can make you feel cold, so you eat it."
Cheng Shi then started to eat. The watermelon was as delicious as ever, with a lot of juice. It filled the tip of the tongue with one bite. It was not only sweet but also very cool, making the whole person feel refreshed.
The wind blew gently, ruffling the hair in her temples. He Susu raised her hand to tuck the hair that had drifted to her mouth behind her ears. She looked up and realized, "This seems to be the place where we first met. You saved Erbao here."
Cheng Shi nodded: "Yes, it's here."
He Susu suddenly became interested and asked, "What was your first impression of me?"
Cheng Shi looked at her sparkling almond eyes and said frankly what he felt at the time: "I was stunned for a moment. I felt that this woman was very beautiful and full of energy."
He Susu happily shook her pigtails hanging on her shoulders, and frankly said, "When I first saw you, I was thinking how could there be such a handsome soldier. He looked so handsome in his olive green uniform, which was very much in line with my aesthetic."
The two smiled at each other, both feeling lucky that they happened to catch each other's eyes, which led to their blind date and current relationship.
When they were about to part, He Susu told Cheng Shiming to eat less for dinner that night, and she bought some salted egg yolk meat dumplings, cooked them and brought them down for him the next night.
The next evening, when Cheng Shi ate the salted egg yolk meat rice dumpling that Susu had praised several times, he naturally thought it was delicious. The ingredients were rich and the taste was layered. The salted egg yolk was the finishing touch, which enhanced the taste of the whole rice dumpling.
It was hot in June, and even hotter in July. The electric fan at home kept turning during the day, and people would sweat and have to change clothes if they moved a little. Not to mention the afternoon, even in the morning, there were fewer children playing downstairs.
One day, after dinner, He Lianzhou told his family, "Xiaoyu, Susu, I have been notified that I will be on a mission tomorrow. If I am fast, I will be back in two or three days. If I am slow, it may take ten days, half a month, or even a month."
This was also his first mission after his wife and children joined the army.
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