Chapter 4

Shang Nanchen touched his nose and said guiltily, "I'm alone here, and I eat in the cafeteria. I haven't lived in this house much in the past six months. I only asked someone to buy it when I was going back to pick up the kids and bring you here."

"Shang Nanchen, are there enough quilts at home?" Jing Xian suppressed her anger when she spoke.

She was afraid that she would not be able to control her strength and would beat Shang Nanchen to death.

It doesn't matter if the man she found with great difficulty is defeated, but she will be the one who suffers in the future.

"Yes, they are all new. I specially asked someone to prepare them. How about you go up and take a look?" Shang Nanchen opened the curtain and his eyes fell eagerly on Jing Xian.

Jing Xian felt that she needed to take a look.

The quilt and mattress were indeed sufficient, even though they were army green, not bright red. She still felt it necessary to praise him.

After Tiedan and Fusheng got off the car, they asked Jingxian to hurry up and get on the kang. The two children were very well behaved. They sat at the head of the kang and looked at Jingxian in unison. Their well-behaved appearance was particularly pleasing.

Jing Xian couldn't help but soften her heart no matter how cruel she was. She smiled and asked, "Are you hungry? Can we eat together later?"

“We can eat anything.”

After a day and a night of getting along, Tiedan and Jing Xian became familiar with each other, but his relationship with Shang Nanchen was still unfamiliar. Fusheng was relatively introverted, but he still nodded obediently and agreed with his brother's meaning seriously.

"Okay, I'll light a fire first, we'll eat first, and we'll look at the rest later." Jing Xian was about to get firewood, and when she walked to the door of the outer room, she saw Shang Nanchen coming in with firewood.

"The shed next to the front room is full of firewood. The pine branches are collected from the mountains and can be used to start firewood. They are very useful. I took time out of my schedule to collect these branches and wood in the past six months." Shang Nanchen was a little nervous, which was rare for him.

He interpreted this feeling as a guilty conscience.

Although the girl couldn't wait to get married and escape from that home, it's not like she couldn't find a more suitable partner. If she stayed in Sheng City, her salary would be eighty-one per month next year, and it would continue to rise. If she followed him to the army, not only would she have no job, it would be very difficult for her to even go out.

The house lacks everything including firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea.

"Make a fire."

Jing Xian opened the lid of the water tank, which was full of water. She scooped a ladle of water to wash the pot, and put the cakes directly into the pot while the water was heating. The kang in the west room was not heated, and it was very cold inside. There were a lot of radishes piled in the corner of the room, and a layer of soil was buried. A few potatoes were piled on the other side. There were also a few frozen hairtails and some cabbages.

To be honest, it looks like a lot of food, but it is not enough for a family of four to eat through the entire winter.

There was not much food.

Half a bag of sorghum, a bag of millet. Not much flour, only three pounds. There was quite a bit of cornmeal. Seeing these things, Jing Xian was no longer so angry. She took out a big radish, cut it into strips and put it in the basin. She also took out the food she brought and put it in the bowl rack, and put the clothes in the cupboard.

Shang Nanchen shouted from the outer room: "The water is boiling."

"knew."

Jing Xian said she knew, but she didn't come out.

Shang Nanchen just kept on lighting the fire and didn't go in to call for help.

"Both of your clothes are torn and too small. I'll ask your dad where to buy clothes later, and buy you two pairs of autumn clothes and pants to change into. I'll also make you two a pair of cotton pants." Jing Xian looked at the torn cotton shoes on the ground, gritted her teeth and said, "I don't know how to make cotton shoes. If I find suitable ones, I'll buy you two new ones."

Goudan and Fusheng had never been treated like this before, and the two kids were very excited.

"Mom, can we really wear new clothes?" It was the first time that Fusheng took the initiative to talk to Jingxian.

"The cotton padded jackets you are wearing are not new..."

Jing Xian was halfway through her words when she realized what the shy little boy had shouted. She suddenly raised her head and looked at Fusheng. Fusheng's clear eyes were filled with joy, and he was looking at her happily.

For a moment, she seemed to have found a sense of belonging.

In this world, she is needed and liked by others, not hated by everyone.

"It's winter vacation now.

You will also go to school at the beginning of the year. When the time comes, I will ask your father to prepare small military school bags for both of you, okay?" Jing Xian's eyes were a little hot. She was not an emotional person, but after receiving the child's true love, her heart could not help but be overjoyed.

She lived in the hard and simple 1970s.

It’s not the end of the world where people eat each other.

She doesn't have to wake up at night or fight for a bite to eat every day.

Now, as long as she works hard, she can live a good life. She may not eat well enough, or wear good clothes enough, but she can see hope.

"Can my brother and I both have it?" Fusheng asked with his head tilted, his long eyelashes trembling slightly, showing that the child was extremely uneasy inside.

“Both.”

Tiedan came over and said uncomfortably, "Mom, I will take care of you in your old age!"

The kid didn't even dare to look at Jing Xian.

When Jing Xian heard the greeting, the smile on her lips spread to her eyes. She raised her hand and rubbed Tiedan's head twice, then looked at Fusheng who was looking eagerly, paused and rubbed his head as well.

"Mom has been waiting for that day."

Jing Xian walked out of the room with tears in her eyes.

She actually doesn’t care whether her children will recognize her or not, but the moment her children recognize her, the satisfaction she feels is indescribable.

Shang Nanchen had very good ears, so he naturally did not miss the conversation in the room.

He secretly looked at Jing Xian's expression, but was given a cold stare.

"Burn a fire!"

Jing Xian frowned and looked quite serious.

She opened the pot and took the hot cakes to the inner room. Shang Nanchen came in with a table in his hand, put it down and went out. Jing Xian put the cakes on the table, and the two children came down to get the bowls and chopsticks.

No one in the family is idle.

Jing Xian put the shredded radish in the pot and cooked it, then sprinkled some salt and poured a little vinegar. The clear radish soup tasted very fresh, and it filled a whole bowl.

Once it’s on the table, you can eat.

Jingxian took out the egg sauce and diced meat with pickled vegetables and poured them on a plate. This was the family's late lunch.

"Let's just get by for lunch. I'll go out and see what I can buy later. It would be great if I could buy some meat."

Shang Nanchen said: "Meat should be out of stock now, but fish can be bought."

"Then go buy a fish."

Jing Xian thought of the end of the world, when some women without superpowers were guarding a small stove with coal briquettes burning in it. On top of it were boiled tea eggs, meatballs, and vegetable skewers. That woman was exchanging food for crystal cores for her son.

Jing Xian wasn't sure whether there was coal now, and was afraid that she might say something she shouldn't, so she didn't mention the coal.

After dinner, the two children also wanted to go with Jingxian and the others.

Just as the family of four walked out, the door of the house on the right opened and a woman in her thirties walked out.

"Just now I saw smoke coming out of the chimney and knew that Captain Shang was back. This is..." Ma Shufen looked at Jing Xian curiously.

Shang Nanchen said: "This is the sister-in-law of Battalion Commander Zhang Liansheng, Ma Shufen. Sister-in-law, this is my love Jing Xian."

"Sister-in-law." Jing Xian called her generously.

"Are you going out?"

Ma Shufen was stunned when she saw the children beside them. Everyone in the army knew that Shang Nanchen was divorced and that he was going to get married this time. But she didn't expect that the two children couldn't catch up with the children who grew up in the village. Not only were they dark and thin like skinny monkeys, but their eyes were also particularly big and scary.

Looking at her age, she is not very old. Although she is thin, she is as beautiful as a flower and is not much worse than the main pillars of the art troupe.

How can a little girl like this, who can barely lift a hand, be good to someone else's child if she becomes a stepmother?

No wonder people say that if you have a stepmother, you will have a stepfather.

These two children will suffer in the future!

Jing Xian smiled and said, "Well, there's nothing at home, let's go buy something."

"There's nothing to sell right now, but there's a market tomorrow. You can get up early and go to the market." Ma Shufen had been here with the army for a long time, and she knew more about the situation here than Jingxian did, so she was happy to do a favor.

You can go to the grocery store and maybe buy something there.”

"Thank you, sister-in-law. I'll go check it out right away." Jing Xian thanked her.

Ma Shufen actually came out just because she heard some noise. When she saw someone, she said a few words to him, then closed the door and went back to her room feeling satisfied.

The wind outside was as sharp as a knife and there was not many people outside.

Even if they met, Jing Xian wouldn't recognize her.

The distance from the family compound to the grocery store is not far, and it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.

There was really nothing in the food factory at that time. Jing Xian walked to the meat stall and found that there was no meat on it. There were only some pig offal. When Jing Xian saw it, her eyes lit up.

"How much are these?" Jing Xian led the two children forward to ask the price.

The pork seller said, "No tickets needed, these are 50 cents a pound."

"Then I'll take them all. Do you have any bones?" Jing Xian looked back and saw nothing.

She didn't hold out any hope, she just asked casually.

Almost no one buys bones these days.

The butcher took out several bones from under the stall and put them on top: "How much do you want?"

This posture!

Jingxian likes it.

At the end of the world, she had learned some skills from an old man, and before he died, he left her the recipes passed down from his ancestors. At the end of the world, she couldn't even have a home-cooked meal, so the old man dictated them to her, not caring whether she could remember them or not, and just kept repeating them as a thought.

Jing Xian had never eaten any of the things the old man mentioned. She was starving. She had never eaten anything when she was alive, and after she died and reached the end of the world, there was nothing good for her to eat.

She tried hard to remember everything the old man said.

I wonder if she still has the memory in her next life?

If there was, she would try out everything the old man taught her.

Among them, the soup made from big bones has the most uses. Big bone soup is delicious even with noodles, radishes, and green vegetables, even without adding anything except salt.

In this time of material shortages and most people suffering from malnutrition, buying large bones to make soup is the most appropriate choice.

"I want to buy some bones."

The meat on the bones was left by the pork seller, who intended to take it home for his family to eat. If it could be sold this time, it would all be given to Jing Xian.

Jing Xian asked Shang Nanchen to carry the bag and go back, thinking that when she came back tomorrow, she would buy some pig offal or big bones or something.

In winter, the temperature is minus twenty degrees Celsius.

Not to mention leaving things outside, even if you leave them in a room without a kang, they will all freeze into ice and won't go bad at all.

Passing by a stall, Jing Xian saw someone selling sauerkraut and bought a lot of it.

There was no such thing as clothes and shoes. But there was fish. In addition to hairtail, there was also yellow croaker. The yellow croaker was not very big and was not expensive. There was also the small black carp. Jing Xian could not name it, but she knew it was cheaper, so she made up her mind and bought a lot of it without hesitation.

Many ways to eat fish have already come to her mind.

Fish balls, fish cakes, chopped pepper fish head, braised, steamed, grilled...

There are hundreds of ways to eat it, and she is already swallowing her saliva.

The fishmonger had never seen Jingxian buy so much before, and couldn't help but say, "You bought so much, it will be a waste if you can't finish it when you get home, right?"

“I can finish it.” If others can’t finish it, it might be because the food is not tasty.

In the village, there are schools of small wild fish in the river, but no one eats them. They are not oily and have a strong fishy smell. No one in the village eats them, but some children will pick them up and eat them.

If she had come here in her previous life, she would not even look at the fish.

But she also experienced the end of the world and met that lonely old man.

Shang Nanchen carried a large bone in one hand and a basket of fish in the other. Jing Xian carried the pig into the water herself and bought all the seasonings. The seasonings were not expensive and quite complete, with onions, ginger, garlic, star anise, pepper, bay leaves, and cinnamon.

Seasonings are commonly used and will not go bad if you buy them and leave them alone.

Jingxian bought a lot of everything, causing people around her to look at her frequently. When she passed by the pickled cabbage stand, she bought a lot of pickled cabbage.

The two children carried the seasonings, Jing Xian held pickled cabbage in one hand and pork offal in the other, and walked out contentedly.

The whole family came out of the grocery store and met a lot of people on the way.

Zhao Xiuzhi saw them enter the house, come out of the yard, and look inside through the front door, but unfortunately the door was closed and she couldn't see anything. A daughter-in-law also came over from the grocery store carrying something, and when she saw Zhao Xiuzhi, she asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, who was that little girl just now? Is she the sister of our business leader? She's really pretty, no worse than the pillars of the art troupe!"

"What girl? That's the wife that the head of the merchant group found. I didn't expect that she was divorced and would specially find a younger one." Zhao Xiuzhi's eyes were full of contempt. She always felt that all men were of the same character and were not good people.

Even though he already has a wife, he still thinks about his concubine.

It's different now. If you don't allow concubines, people will get divorced. They don't want to be married to an old woman, so they will find someone young and beautiful to marry.

Wang Hongmei was surprised and asked, "Is it my daughter-in-law?"

But this expression is very meaningful.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xiuzhi smelled something and lowered her voice to ask, "Do you know something?"

Wang Hongmei pointed her mouth towards the front door of the Shang Yingzhang's house and said gloatingly, "This daughter-in-law is a mistake! She only has a pretty face, but she is weak and frail, nothing at all. She doesn't know how to live at all. She went to the food factory and bought all the pork bones! That's not all. She also bought the yellow croaker and the broken Spanish mackerel that few people eat here. People who can't afford meat buy some to make ends meet. She bought a whole bag! She also wanted to buy bags of peppercorns, star anise and other things. If this isn't a waste of money, what is it?"

Zhao Xiuzhi's eyes sparkled, and the smile on her lips grew bigger and bigger. She deliberately said, "No way?"

"We also bought a lot of pig offal. Who would eat that? People who live a decent life wouldn't buy these lousy things." Wang Hongmei said with disdain, and thinking it was about time, she went home.

Zhao Xiuzhi did not go in, but walked towards the crowded area in front. As soon as she entered, she said, "Have you seen the young wife of the business leader? She is so pretty, but unfortunately she doesn't know how to manage her life. Everything she bought is..."

But one evening, everyone in the military region knew that Captain Shang had married a beautiful but blind, spendthrift wife.

Jing Xian, the prodigal daughter-in-law, left the pig offal on the floor of the outer room, found an enamel basin and placed it on the floor, and instructed Shang Nanchen: "Do you know how to clean this up?"

Shang Nanchen watched the pig go into the water, was silent for a moment, and said loudly, "Yes!"

You have to learn it even if you don't know how.

She doesn't look like someone who would clean up.

"Okay, you clean it up."

The offal should be eaten with salt water, which can last for a long time. It is just right to heat more water and heat the kang at night.

Jing Xian watched the two children curiously standing by, and did not urge them to go to bed or go out to play. If they went out to play without clothes, they might be bullied by other children. The two little brothers were too thin and looked easy to bully.

If you take good care of your children this winter, they will have a good winter. Eat more nutritious food and gain some weight, so you don't have to worry about being bullied when you go to school next year.

The water was heated, and Shang Nanchen began to wash the pigs.

Jingxian bought some pig intestines specially. They were hard to clean and would taste terrible. The old man taught her how to handle them, but she couldn't waste the flour easily, so she had to use another method to clean them.

After processing the pig's large intestine, she poured out the water from the sauerkraut she bought and put the processed pig's large intestine in to soak.

No more hot water.

Jingxian started to cook the big bones.

After being rinsed with water, it is cooked in a pot with the meat still on top.

When the pot was opened and the aroma of meat came out, the two children sniffed in a cowardly manner.

Jing Xian didn't mind abandoning the two children: "The meat isn't rotten yet. I'll give it to you two when it's rotten."

"Mom, can I sit here and wait?" Fusheng took a small stool and sat outside the fire pit, saying obediently, "I can light a fire."

Tiedan saw it and also moved a stool over: "Mom, my brother and I are making a fire together. If there is no firewood, I can go get some."

The two children's little thoughts are so cute.

Jing Xian naturally would not refuse: "I'll leave this matter to you two! Use a high fire for the first hour and a low fire for the second hour. Do you two know how long an hour is?"

"have no idea."

The two children shook their heads in unison.

Jing Xian didn't have a watch either. She pointed at the man working with his head down and said, "Ask your dad!"

Fusheng swallowed his saliva for food, and took the initiative to move to Shang Nanchen's side and asked, "Dad, how long is an hour?"