"Er Ya is still young, give her everything so she doesn't get lost."
"Don't worry about your second daughter. She's shrewd. Besides, let her pay for everything herself in the future."
"Yes, I'm just afraid she'll get lost."
"Go to sleep, don't worry about it."
Zhang Hongmei has already woken up and is making delicious food for herself online. She's chopping beef and shrimp into meatballs—it's such a luxury! She learned this dish from her mother when her nephew was still nursing and her mother was trying to supplement his nutrition.
I sneaked a lot of food when I got back; it tasted incredibly delicious.
Even when I cook it myself, it just doesn't taste the same as it used to.
A lot of the crop stalks in the space were used up, freeing up a large plot of land, which was then used to plant peanuts. These are easy to thresh; you can just pick the pods directly.
I had prepared the peanut seeds myself, and I got right to work, but after more than four hours of busy work, I had only planted half of them. I'll wait until I've rested enough before planting the rest.
Lying in the bathtub, I wondered if Er Lengzi's pig-selling business went smoothly. I never expected him to have such connections. It's true what they say, you can't judge a book by its cover.
After getting out of the bathtub, taking another nap, and having a hearty meal, he finally started working.
After finishing planting, they rested for a while before coming out.
Now we don't need to light a fire during the day anymore. We feed the sheep and milk them. I have to treat Er Lengzi and the others to lunch today. I can't be stingy. I should be more willing to ask for help from others in the future.
After thinking for a while, I decided to make meat pies. Liu Erya would definitely be coming over soon, and the two of us cooking together would be faster.
Actually, Zhang Hongmei hated cooking, especially time-consuming dishes. But having no other ingredients, she could only offer her the best she had to thank others.
Liu Erya arrived shortly after, and the two of them each had a bowl of goat milk. Then they began preparing lunch, always keeping track of the other person's feelings regardless of how things went.
The dough for making meat patties needs to be kneaded early and allowed to rest. This makes it easier to work with.
"Hongmei, open the door quickly. It's your idiot brother, Er Lengzi."
Liu Erya ran quickly to open the door, but didn't get a response from Zhang Hongmei.
Er Lengzi came in, followed by three other people.
"Hongmei, this pig weighs 580 jin. The live pig is 55 cents a jin, so it's 319 yuan in total. Here you go, it's all here."
"Wow, it's so heavy. I thought it would be over 400 pounds."
Zhang Hongmei took the money and handed four ten-yuan bills to Er Lengzi. "Brother Er Lengzi, this is for your hard work. Don't refuse, you must accept it. Without you, I might not have been able to make any money. Don't think it's too little." Zhang Hongmei said this mainly to Liu Erya, as she didn't want to create any rift between them over money.
"How could we? Then we won't stand on ceremony. Thank you for your generosity, Sister Hongmei."
"Are you trying to embarrass me? Sister Er Ya, we'll make you some meat pies for lunch. Don't bother me to go to your house to invite you later, okay?"
"Alright, it would be foolish not to come when there's good food. Don't worry, we'll definitely be here around mealtime. We'll head back now."
The four of them all rushed off. "Sister Er Ya, you won't be angry that I'm paying you, right?"
"How could that be? Like you said, we might not even be able to get it back ourselves, let alone sell it for money."
“It’s great that you think that way, Sister Erya. Go tell my Third Uncle to invite him over for lunch.”
“Okay, I’ll go. I’ll also get a few more scallions from home. But the scallions in your yard are growing really well.”
"That's right, these scallions take root and grow well if the soil is well-drained. Here's your 140 yuan, I've given you an extra 50 cents, don't refuse, we don't need to argue over 50 cents."
"Okay, you don't want the extra money?" Actually, she really wanted to return the 50 cents to Zhang Hongmei, but after hearing her words, she remembered that they were friends, so she stopped herself. There really was no need to be so particular.
Liu Erya hurriedly returned, carrying a few scallions and a handful of glass noodles. "Let's use pickled cabbage and glass noodles in the soup."
"Okay, we have some wine at home. We'll blanch some wild vegetables in a bit, and that'll be all done. Oh, and we'll also stir-fry some peanuts and fry some eggs."
"This looks delicious; it makes my mouth water."
The two of them worked quickly together, and by the time Liu Maocai and Er Lengzi arrived, the meat pies were already cooked.
Looking at the table laden with delicious food, and even some baijiu (Chinese liquor), Zhang Hongmei had taken out Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) from her spatial storage. She seemed to have ordered a hundred cases directly from the distillery. She poured the liquor into a bottle at home, thinking, "Better safe than sorry."
“Hongmei, just let me know if you need anything in the future. I’d be willing to work for free just for the food.”
"Dalinzi, do you know how to talk? It should be Hongmei who has something to say. As long as you provide drinks, that's fine."
Liu Maocai laughed along as he watched the group of eighteen- or nineteen-year-old lads joking around.
The meal was a great success, and Zhang Hongmei gained the approval of several young people, who later proved to be quite helpful to her.
Liu Maocai had drunk a bit too much, and Erya took him home. "Dad, Hongmei gave me 140 yuan."
"so much?"
"Yes, we sold a total of 319. Hongmei gave Er Lengzi and the others 10 yuan each."
"That's how it should be; everyone should keep quiet to prevent it from spreading."
"Dad, I'll give you and Mom a hundred, and I'll only need forty to win."
"No need, you can take them all yourself."
"Dad, let's go inside and talk." Er Ya helped Liu Maocai into the house. Li Cuihua, who was making shoes, quickly got down and helped him in.
Er Ya knew that her mother was alone at home, but she still asked, "Mom, are you all alone at home?"
"Yeah, they all went out to play."
The mother and daughter laid Liu Maocai down on the kang (a heated brick bed). Liu Erya took out the 140 yuan from her pocket, counted out ten large ten-yuan bills, and handed them to her mother.
"Mom, I got 140. I'll give you 100 and keep 40."
"Why is there so much money? No need, you can keep it." After all these years, the family only has three hundred yuan, which they managed to save by being frugal and thrifty.
"Mom, here you go. I just told Dad."
Liu Maocai sat up. Although he had drunk too much, he was still sober. "Cuihua, take this. Give it to Erya when she needs money later."
"Okay, I'll keep it for you. Don't worry, Mom will definitely give you this money later."
"No need, Mom and Dad, this money is yours to keep. We'll need it for many more times in the future. My brother should be looking for a wife soon, and that will cost a lot of money."
Li Cuihua burst into tears upon hearing this; her second daughter was so considerate. "You don't need to worry about this. Don't worry, I won't tell the family. You should also keep the rest of the money safe, and don't let your sister find out."
"Okay, Mom. I'll go to Hongmei's house to help her tidy up her things since there's nothing else at home."
"Go ahead. Do more work, Hongmei is a good girl."
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