Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The little man held a big round bun in his mouth...
After Jiang Dong's mother called Xia Li into her room, she said, "Xia Li, I don't care what you want to do by coming back this time, but if you say you still want to take my grandson away, that's impossible. This is the grandson of our Jiang family. Since the child was so young at the time, and you, as a mother, ran away, this child has nothing to do with you. I think you probably know everything about Jiang Dong, otherwise you wouldn't have chosen to come back at this time. How about this, when Jiang Dong comes back, I will let him divorce you. I am his mother, he has to listen to me, and our family will not bother you anymore." It can be said that Jiang Dong's mother's words were without reservation, and she said everything she should and shouldn't say.
She sighed deeply and looked at Xia Li with a lonely expression. The energetic Jiang Dong's mother in the past seemed to have grown old.
Charlie said awkwardly, "Mom, what are you talking about? That's not what I meant."
Jiang Dong's mother: "Xia Li, if you still call me mom and remember how good I was to you before, then go." Our Jiang family temple is small and cannot accommodate a big Buddha like you.
Charlie: "Mom."
"What else?"
"At this hour? Can we still catch the bus?"
“…”
Jiang Dong's mother didn't know either. She only knew that they usually had to wait early when they were preparing to take the bus the next day. It was normal to wait an hour or two in advance, otherwise the bus would not wait for anyone.
At this time, it would not be appropriate to force Charlie to leave. She is a single woman and she would feel bad if something happened on the road.
There was no way, Jiang Dong's mother said nothing, she waved her hand and lifted the curtain and went out. The soup in the pot was almost cooked, she had to go and check it quickly to make sure it didn't overflow.
Xia Li looked at Jiang Dong's mother and smiled secretly. She followed him shamelessly, "Mom, I'm here to help you too!"
Jiang Dong's mother paused, and then walked faster.
Xia Li walked into the kitchen despite her disgusted look. Jiang Dong's mother had spent a long time in the backyard in the afternoon steaming buns. She steamed two baskets of buns, more than twenty in total, enough to eat for several days.
Now that the soup for dinner is ready, all that’s left is to figure out what dishes to cook with it.
At this time, there wasn't much good food to eat in the countryside. Fortunately, the countryside was spacious, and Jiang Dong's mother found some unplanted areas along the wall where vegetables and grains weren't grown, sowed some seeds, and eventually managed to harvest some pumpkins, winter melons, and loofahs, enough for daily meals. Perhaps the seeds, soil, and water were good, so the harvest was quite good. There were a lot of old pumpkins piled up on top of the Jiang family's chicken coop; they were durable and could be stored for a long time.
Tonight's dishes weren't any different just because Xia Li was staying. Jiang Dong's mother didn't even bother to cook a few delicious dishes for Xia Li's benefit; she didn't even scramble the eggs. She simply cut open an old pumpkin as usual, removing the seeds from one half for cooking and setting the other half aside for the next meal.
Then cut it with a few bangs, peel the pumpkin skin, wash it and prepare to put it in the pot later.
Xia Li sat by the chopping board, feeling a little unhappy. Just eating pumpkin? But she never complained when someone else cooked. Besides, Jiang Dong's mother was a neat person. She kept the kitchen clean and cooked neatly. She had never been picky before, and she certainly wasn't now.
Jiang Dong's mother had previously said that she was good to him, and Xia Li had acknowledged her. But this wasn't just because Jiang Dong's mother was different from other rural mothers-in-law at the time. While she was a good person, she also needed Xia Li's daily cooperation. Otherwise, why was Ma Lijuan always less favored by her mother-in-law than she was?
She is just a little lazy on weekdays. As long as it does not involve work, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have never had a quarrel.
Jiang Dong's mother kept her cooking simple. Back then, there weren't many other seasonings at home; the main ingredients were oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. She placed the pot on the stove, scooped a spoonful of lard into the pot, and once the oil was hot, added chopped garlic for flavor. She carefully controlled the heat, stirring the garlic a few times to avoid burning it. Then she prepared to rub the chopped pumpkin on the chopping board.
Before she could move, a small basin filled with pumpkins was handed to her from her left.
"Mom, are you ready to put the vegetables in? Here you go." The chopping board was far away from the coal fire, and Xia Li very tactfully put the cut pumpkin into the basin to save Jiang Dong's mother the trouble of getting it later.
Jiang Dong's mother glanced at Xia Li and reached out to take it. She had complicated feelings about this daughter-in-law.
Xia Li helped pass the food and didn't move aside. She stayed around Jiang Dong's mother and said, "Mom, I miss your cooking so much when I'm out here. Your cooking skills are really good. You see, we don't have many seasonings at home, but the dishes you cook are as delicious as those sold in other restaurants."
At this time, praising someone for cooking as delicious as in a restaurant is a very high compliment. Anyone who can open a restaurant must have some skills.
Jiang Dong's mother didn't believe Xia Li's words. She asked back, "Can the dishes I cook at home be as delicious as those made by chefs in other restaurants? Xia Li, don't lie to me. I'm not stupid." Jiang Dong's mother said this as she added a spoonful of salt to the pot and stir-fried the pumpkin a few times to mix it well. "Also, you still miss my cooking? You've eaten all kinds of delicacies outside, right? How can you still miss my country food?"
After saying that, Jiang Dong's mother glanced at her.
Xia Li thought to herself that her mother-in-law was really angry and kept taunting her: "Mom, why don't you believe me? I really miss you when I'm out there."
Jiang Dong's mother thought: You just like to say nice things all day long. You really want the food I cook, but you still run out anyway.
She continued to look at the pot. The fried pumpkin should be not too hard and a little soft to taste good.
Xia Li opened a jar in the kitchen and took a look, then returned to Jiang Dong's mother. "Mom, I have a favor to ask of you. Look, in all these years, Jiang Zai has never eaten a dish cooked by his mother. Can you give me this kitchen later and I will cook a dish for Jiang Zai?" She forced a smile.
When Jiang Dong's mother heard this, she got the excuse, "You still know that you are the biological mother. The child is so old, and you haven't cooked a dish for the child that I told you not to cook..." She wanted to continue, but when she saw that Xia Li didn't argue abnormally, and her face was full of regret and sadness, she couldn't say any more.
She sighed deeply, then turned the food in the pot over again, scooped it out into a large bowl, put it aside and covered it, then left without saying anything.
Seeing that she was the only one left in the kitchen, Xia Li suppressed her emotions.
She walked straight to the jar, opened it and put it aside, grabbed two eggs from it, then reached in and took out two more eggs.
I thought two would not be enough.
Charlie looked around the kitchen, walked to the cabinet by the wall, opened it, and took out a large deep plate.
Hey, that's just right.
Today, she steamed some egg custard for Jiangzai. Poor Jiangzai, he had never tasted his mother's egg custard before. She was the best at making this dish, with the perfect taste and perfect timing. Jiangzai's father had only had the pleasure of trying it once before, and he never forgot it.
In the east room, Jiang Erdong was sleeping, propped up against a pillow, still in his daytime clothes, lying on the bed. Ma Lijuan sat at the end of the bed, half-sitting, not daring to move, and occasionally glancing at her husband's expression.
Until she heard her mother-in-law's voice outside, saying that it was time for dinner, she whispered to the bed, "Erdong, get up, mom is calling us to eat."
She shouted twice before Jiang Erdong hummed in response.
Jiang Dong's mother brought the dishes to the table. Just as she put them down, she looked up and saw two people slowly coming out of the room, lifting the curtain. She was unhappy today and scolded them, "I've called you several times and the meal is ready for you, but you won't come out even when I called you. If you don't even run to eat quickly, what else can I expect you to do?"
Jiang Dong's mother's main responsibilities now are taking care of the children and cooking, while the second son and his wife are responsible for the farm work. Jiang Dong had already made it clear to his family that all the land would be given to the second son, and the crops would go to his mother and him, with the rest going to the two of them.
Ma Lijuan was speechless today. Normally, she would have made some excuses, but today she went to the kitchen quietly to serve food.
Now they had their meals in the yard. After everyone was seated, Charlie sat down at the table with a plate in her hands.
As Charlie sat down, everyone's expressions changed, but Charlie only focused on her son.
Meanwhile, Ginger had grown a little more reserved.
The little man took a big round steamed bun and put it to his mouth, chewing it slowly. He didn't even raise his eyes, but stared at his bowl, as if there was meat in it.
Jiang Mingming just got home in the afternoon, but he didn't even go inside the house. He went out to play and came back at dinner time. He was sitting between Jiang Erdong and Ma Lijuan, also chewing a big steamed bun, and waving chopsticks to pick up vegetables and stuff them into his mouth.
After all, he is a child with parents protecting him. Look at his tiger spirit.
This comparison makes her Jiangzai look even more pitiful.
At this moment, Xia Li's maternal love overflowed. She spoke softly and gently to Jiang Zai on her right: "Jiang Zai, Mommy just made this for you. It's delicious. Come and have a look." She took away the plate covering the egg custard, and the fragrance hit her nose as soon as she opened it.
Jiangzai seemed to smell something and couldn't help sniffing his delicate little nose, but he still didn't look up.
But Jiang Mingming across from her hadn't just smelled it; he'd seen it, too. Xia Li always considered appearance first when cooking, before anything else. She'd used a knife to slash the golden, fluffy egg custard diagonally into small diamonds, dripping in the sesame oil and soy sauce that the Jiang family wouldn't tolerate, and sprinkled it with finely chopped scallions. It looked incredibly delicious.
Jiang Mingming wanted to eat it immediately, but since it was served by the woman sitting opposite him, he didn't dare to act rashly. He looked at his mother eagerly and said, "Mom, I want to eat egg custard."
The Jiang family is not one that mistreats their children, so they naturally make egg custard for their children, but only once every ten days or half a month. As long as it is edible, who would add sesame oil, make lines on it, or add chopped green onions?
Jiang Mingming had naturally never seen so many varieties.
Ma Lijuan didn't want to confront Xia Li at the moment. She said unhappily, "If you want to eat, ask your grandma. Asking your mom is out of the question."
Jiang Mingming looked at his grandmother again: "Grandma, I want to eat that." He pointed with his finger.
Jiang Dong's mother watched Xia Li scoop egg custard into Jiang Zai's bowl with a smile on her face, with no expression on her face.
This bowl would require two or three of her eggs, enough for the family to eat for two days. She was also thinking of exchanging them for money later. She couldn't let Xia Li enter the kitchen again tomorrow.
The egg custard was scooped into Jiangzai's bowl. The child was still chewing on the steamed bun and was hesitantly placing the spoon in the bowl.
Xia Li said in a sad tone, "Jiang Zai, Mommy is sorry for you. This is the first time I cook for you, Jiang Zai. It's all Mommy's fault. Jiang Zai doesn't want to talk to Mommy and doesn't want to eat the egg custard Mommy made. If Jiang Zai can give Mommy a chance and eat a little, Mommy will definitely be very happy."
This was the method she used to deal with Jiang Dong in the past. Since he was his son, the method would probably apply to him as well.
Jiang Zai didn't dare look at Xia Li at first, but when she heard her say she was sad, she quickly raised her head to look at her. When she heard her say she wanted to eat some egg custard, she was happy. She quickly picked up the small spoon, scooped a mouthful from the bowl, put it into her mouth, swallowed it, and hurried to look at her again. Sure enough, she was smiling again.
Then, his little face also smiled slightly, without him knowing it.
Xia Li struck while the iron was hot, "Mom has made a lot more, Jiangzai, can you have some more, please?"
Jiangzai heard it, hesitated, and then nodded gently, pursing his little lips.
Xia Mingming was unhappy across the table, but Xia Li didn't want him to disturb the warm moment between mother and son, so she scooped two or three spoonfuls for him because he was still a child.
"Be good, Jiangzai, eat more. Mommy is so happy to see you eating so much." As she said this, she also touched the child's hair twice.
Seeing that the child was eating so happily this time that he had no time to resist her, Xia Li was happy and thought that her son was actually quite easy to coax.
As soon as she was happy, she praised Jiang Dong's mother, "Mom, the steamed buns you made with firewood are so delicious, so sweet. I don't think you put any sugar in them, so how come they are so delicious?"
Despite her dissatisfaction with Xia Li, her words hit a nerve. Jiang Dong's mother was also very proud of her steamed bun skills. This was a family tradition, unknown to her two daughters-in-law. Everyone who had tasted her steamed buns said they were delicious. Otherwise, her two young grandsons would have finished one each.
Thinking back to the past, Jiang Dong and his brother also loved to eat. Thinking of Jiang Dong, she felt bad again, and the food in her mouth seemed to have no taste.
"Eat it. If it tastes good, eat more."
Jiang Erdong and Ma Lijuan looked at each other without saying anything.
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