Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Charcoal-grilled crispy braised pork elbow, crispy and soft...
Su Tianli looked at the red mole on Cheng Yu's chin and suddenly remembered something!
Before she was seven years old, she and her third sister stayed in the countryside of their hometown in Shaoguan, living with their step-grandmother, step-uncle, and step-aunt.
At that time, my step-grandmother Liu Fang was a widow with a child, and Grandpa Su was also a widower with a child. After being introduced by someone, they reunited and had another son named Su Dechang.
Shaoguan is located at the junction of Guangdong and Hunan provinces, with a very dangerous terrain.
Guangdong was called Lingnan in history, and officials who came here to serve were said to be "exiled". The real reason was that there were nearly 100 kilometers of majestic mountains at the junction of the two provinces, and the terrain was rugged and the climate was hot and humid, making transportation very inconvenient.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to poor infrastructure conditions, transportation between the two provinces relied only on a low-standard national highway.
This national highway also suffers from collapse accidents all year round...
So, after Su Dejun became an adult, he became a porter and often participated in the cargo-carrying activities organized by the village. Sometimes when the national highway collapsed and the trucks were stuck in Hunan and unable to move forward, the units on the Guangdong side would organize villagers to manually carry the goods from there, bypass the collapsed area, and then load them into the trucks waiting in Guangdong.
Because of his great strength and quick movements, Su Dejun was later spotted by the old director of the Guangzhou Chemical Plant, who recruited him as a worker.
After Su Dejun went to Guangzhou,
The old man, Liu Fang, Sun Shaohua, the son from Liu Fang's ex-husband, and Su Dechang, the son born to the old couple after their marriage, have been staying in their hometown and living a tight life.
But it is said that Su Dejun never sent money back to his hometown to support the family, which made the uncle and aunt of the third room very dissatisfied.
Later, Su Dejun and Tian Xiu got married and gave birth to three daughters...
Su Dejun never complained about Tian Xiu. What if she gave birth to a daughter? He was the boss and didn't care about anything.
But Tian Xiu was very concerned about the fact that she could not give birth to a son. In addition, life was difficult with so many children, so she sent Su Tianli and Su Qianzi back to her hometown in Shaoguan to be raised by the old lady Liu Fang.
Liu Fang is a nice person, and with the old man in charge,
The Su Tianli sisters were treated almost the same as their cousins from the second and third rooms.
But after the old man passed away, the situation became different.
Second Uncle's family treated Su Tianli and her sister well. They thought they were still young and would be full after a few bites of food like feeding a cat. Besides, Su Tianli and her sister were pretty and sweet-mouthed. When they came home after a day of physical work, the two little nieces who could hardly walk steadily kept calling them "Uncle and aunt, you have worked hard", "Uncle and aunt, do you want some water?", "Uncle and aunt, please take a rest"... Who wouldn't be happy!
But Uncle Su Dechang and Aunt Su were very harsh to Su Tianli and her sister.
How harsh is it?
When it was time to eat, Aunt San would let the dog out to scare Su Tianli and her sister. The sisters were so scared that they accidentally knocked over their bowls. Aunt San would then beat them with a rattan stick, forcing them to eat the food that had fallen on the ground. She would also scold them and tell them to go back to Guangzhou and be with their biological parents...
Sometimes Second Aunt couldn't stand it anymore, so she would secretly tell Sister Su Tianli to eat before dinner, so as not to attract Third Aunt's attention.
The third aunt was even more unhappy. She kept scolding the farm workers for not coming back to eat a hot meal yet, while the ones who did nothing at home all day had a meal first! She also scolded the second aunt for being a traitor, and she was so angry that she cried and went back to her parents' home with her little bag.
Step-grandmother Liu Fang also felt sorry for Su Tianli and her sister, so she simply left some food for them and called Su Tianli and her sister to eat after everyone had finished eating.
But Third Aunt still refused to give up. She pointed at Grandma's nose and yelled that her family members were not well fed and that the old woman was biased...
Third Aunt was so noisy that grandma had no choice but to take Su Tianli and her sister to Guangzhou during the Chinese New Year, using the excuse that the family should be reunited.
Su Tianli remembers it very clearly.
She was five years old that year. Her grandmother took her and Qianzi back to Guangzhou.
It was the first time that she had a concrete interpretation of the happy days that Third Aunt had talked about: "Your mother has money to perm her hair, your father has money to wear leather shoes, your sister has money to wear skirts, your family has money to live in an apartment, and all meals are provided by the company, with meat and oil in every meal."
Young Su Tianli was so happy!
She thought that she and her third sister could stay, escape from the sea of suffering, and live a good life...
Unexpectedly, Su Youzi deliberately pushed her and her third sister down the stairs in order to drive them away!
The third sister was too young at the time, so in order to protect her, Su Tianli hugged her with one hand and held the stair railing with the other hand...
Unexpectedly, Su Youzi used the toe of her beautiful and hard leather shoes to crush Su Tianli's hand.
In the end, Su Tianli acted as a human sandbag and fell down the stairs holding her third sister.
However, when Su Tianli went to complain to her parents afterwards, what she got was an angry slap in the face, a kick in the heart, and a hysterical scolding from Tian Xiu:
"You are so vicious at such a young age! Your sister just wore a pair of new leather shoes, but you were jealous and couldn't tolerate it. You insisted on breaking her shoes and hitting her!"
"Now in order to get away with it, you actually framed her and said she pushed you?"
"If she pushes you, she pushes you! Just bear it! You're not dead anyway!" Tian Xiu glared at Su Tianli fiercely.
Su Tianli was stunned.
This was the first time that the young girl faced the evil of human nature.
You know, ever since she could remember, she had been hated and abused by her uncle and aunt.
Her father and mother, who worked in a distant provincial capital, became her most powerful weapons to deal with the bad guys!
But on this day,
What she regarded as the ultimate defensive weapon actually pressed its sharpest beak against her heart quickly, fiercely and accurately, and poked it hard!
Su Tianli was in so much pain that she burst into tears, and she was so angry that she gnashed her teeth!
Su Tianli ran out in anger.
Then...it started to rain heavily.
Somehow, she came to this secret base in a daze.
After a while, a little boy with his hands on his head also ran into the bridge tunnel in panic.
The two of you looked at each other.
The two little soaked rats remained silent.
The rain is getting heavier.
There were lightning and thunder, it was really scary.
Su Tianli suddenly felt very lucky that there was someone by her side, so she didn't have to worry about whether a ghost or a wild beast would suddenly appear...
Around midnight, the temperature was getting lower and lower, and Su Tianli was very hungry.
The little boy took out a steamed bun from his arms.
He carefully peeled off the skin, broke it in half, and handed half to Su Tianli.
Su Tianli hesitated for a long time and took it.
As soon as she took a bite, she noticed a sour taste. She was stunned and turned to look at the little boy.
——The little boy was taking small bites of the steamed bun, as if it was the most delicious food.
The moonlight poured down, illuminating the red mole on his lower left chin, which flickered as he chewed.
Actually, what happened that night happened a long time ago.
Su Tianli had already forgotten everything.
If it weren't for the revisit to the old place,
If it weren't for the red mole on Cheng Yu's chin,
Su Tianli would never think about this.
Now I remember,
Su Tianli was impressed immediately.
It seemed like that day, when she was in the dark tunnel waiting for the rain to stop and the day to dawn.
Suddenly she understood something - from that day on, even though she had both parents, she was already an orphan.
She told herself:
Su Laizi, you are not wrong, but you have to accept the fact: your parents don't love you.
From today on, you have no way out, no one to rely on, and no one to protect you.
You can't rely on anyone but yourself.
Thinking of this, Su Tianli suddenly felt a little sorry for her five-year-old self.
Friends around me are chattering:
"Okay, okay, it's good to know that Cheng Yu already has a place to live... but how does he eat?"
"Isn't there a coal stove at the door?"
"I know, but what I mean is - where does he get the money to buy rice and oil?"
"Then I don't know, go ask Cheng Yu!"
"Hey, he didn't like to talk before, and now he's stupid and even less talkative! Even if I ask him, he can't answer!"
Hearing this, Su Tianli tried hard to recall, is Cheng Yu really not talkative?
It seems so.
When she and he were classmates, he was very young and didn't talk much.
And when she was five years old, on a rainy night on the Spring Festival, she was in the same dark cave with him.
It seemed as if he hadn't said a word.
What about her?
Did she say anything to him?
Uh, probably not.
At that time, she was so young that she could not understand Cantonese at all, but spoke in an obscure country dialect, and was severely ridiculed by Su Youzi.
Su Tianli, who is precocious and already understands the word "dignity", is reluctant to speak easily for fear of being disliked.
In this way, the two abandoned little quails were very depressed and kept silent.
Later, they both felt sleepy, so they huddled together and slept until dawn.
After dawn, Su Tianli returned home and was beaten again by Tian Xiu.
Of course, Tian Xiu actually called her stepmother-in-law Liu Fang, saying that she didn't want Su Tianli and her sister to stay here, and wanted to force Liu Fang to take the sisters back to her hometown.
Liu Fang was silent for a long time, and finally sighed and took Su Tianli and her sister back to her hometown...
Sudden--
"litchi?"
Someone pulled Su Tianli's arm and shook it gently.
Su Tianli came back to her senses, saw Yao Meiyu's face, and heard what Yao Meiyu said: "Lizhi, let's go."
Su Tianli let out an "ah" and was dragged a few steps outside by Yao Meiyu in a daze.
Then Mao Li said to Zhang Wei: "Now that you know his living conditions are not bad, you should be relieved, right?"
Zhang Wei smiled and said, "I'm relieved! I'm just worried about his illness... He can't always be like this, right?" He was still a little worried when he said this.
Su Tianli looked back at Cheng Yu again.
He stood alone at the door of his house, staring in silence in the direction where everyone was leaving.
It makes people sad for no reason.
Su Tianli lowered her eyelids.
Although Cheng Yu's situation is indeed very worrying,
But her current situation was very dire and she really had no ability to help him.
She also remained silent and left with everyone else.
After returning to the main road, Mao Li and Zhang Wei went back.
Yao Meiyu excitedly pulled Su Tianli to go shopping, and said, "Lizhi, if you don't have money, don't ask your mother. It's too much trouble! If you need money, tell me and I will lend it to you first. You can pay me back when it's convenient for you."
Su Tianli smiled and said, "How can that be possible?"
"Why not?" Yao Meiyu pouted. "I did blame you before. I thought you read my message but didn't reply because you wanted to make fun of me!"
"But now the misunderstanding has been resolved! So I declare! You, Su Lizhi! Are still my, Yao Meiyu's, best friend! No doubt about it!" Yao Meiyu said loudly.
Su Tianli chuckled.
She felt warm in her heart.
However, she had to clarify to her good sister, "If I really encounter difficulties, I will definitely ask you for help. But the money that my mother should pay cannot be reduced by a single cent!"
Yao Meiyu tilted her head and looked at Su Tianli.
Su Tianli pulled her to a deserted place and asked in a low voice, "Did you know that the factory is raising funds?"
"I know, my father is the head of the Finance Department!" said Yao Meiyu.
Su Tianli asked: "So, has he completed his fundraising mission?"
"No! My dad has been worried these days. The deadline is coming soon, but there is still a gap of several thousand yuan!" Yao Meiyu was also worried. "He has been anxious to find people everywhere these days... Everyone is jealous of the interest, but the factory is too anxious to get it! The deadline is this afternoon... It's too late! So he has no appetite..."
When Su Tianli heard that there was still a gap, she felt relieved and said, "Ayu, then please help me!"
She took out 600 yuan and handed it to Yao Meiyu. "I want to participate in this fund-raising. Can you ask your father to think of a way to prevent my mother from knowing that this is my money, and also prevent He Wanqian from knowing... It would be best to use your name to raise funds. When the money is returned in the future, I will give you 10 yuan."
When Yao Meiyu saw the thick stack of banknotes, her eyes widened. "Where did you get so much money?"
"Salary!" Su Tianli said truthfully.
Yao Meiyu was stunned. "You saved 600 yuan after working for five years?"
Su Tianli wanted to say that she actually saved more than 700 yuan in three years, but after thinking about it, she nodded.
Yao Meiyu exclaimed enviously, "Then the welfare benefits on your farm are really great!"
Su Tianli nodded seriously - this is true.
Yao Meiyu took the money, counted it carefully, and put it into her bag. Then she took out a notebook and a pen, wrote a few lines, and handed the note to Su Tianli.
Su Tianli took it and looked at it, it turned out to be an IOU?
The amount on the IOU was nine hundred and sixty yuan.
"As for the fund-raising you want to participate in, I heard from my parents that with a capital of 300 yuan, the interest can be rolled up to 180 yuan! I don't remember exactly 180 or so, so I'll just calculate it as 180 yuan. In the future, when both the principal and interest are returned, I'll give you all the money, and then you can treat me to ice cream!"
Yao Meiyu suddenly patted her head and said, "Oh, it's already the end of the year, and there may be no ice cream to eat. Then you can treat me to something else delicious!"
Su Tianli smiled and hugged Yao Meiyu's arm, "Ayu, you are so nice!"
Thinking about it, Su Tianli said, "I'll buy a whole pork elbow and make a crispy pork elbow for you!"
Yao Meiyu asked curiously, "What is crispy pork elbow?"
——Crispy pork elbow is the most popular dish at Farm 109, no doubt about it.
First, braise the whole pork elbow and stew it until it is soft. Then wipe off the moisture on the skin, apply a layer of vinegar, and grill it over charcoal fire. The skin will easily become crispy!
Of course, this process really tests the chef's control over the heat.
When the soft braised pork elbow is roasted until the surface is crispy, brush a layer of honey diluted with water on the surface, bake for another half minute and then take it off.
In this way, the vinegar smell on the skin of the pork elbow has long evaporated, but the skin is crispy and crunchy.
When you take a bite, the pig skin is crispy, and has the aroma and sweetness of slightly burnt honey...
Then there is the fragrant sauce and the pork elbow that is so soft and glutinous that it will automatically melt into a pool of delicious gravy in your mouth!
Yao Meiyu swallowed her saliva while listening, and complained to Su Tianli, "Do you have to wait three months before you can cook for me?"
"You're so annoying! If you have to wait three months before treating me to this, why are you telling me how delicious it is now?"
"I don't care that I paid for the pork knuckle. When will you be free to cook it for me?"
The two of them laughed and joked, and first accompanied Yao Meiyu to the financial department of the chemical plant.
Now Su Tianli is a celebrity in the chemical plant. After all, she just returned from "disappearance".
At that moment, Yao Meiyu went to her father's office and closed the door. Su Tianli stayed in the Finance Department and obediently accepted the questioning of her aunts, uncles, aunts, and sisters...
Of course Su Tianli would not cover up for Su Youzi.
Even when everyone asked her, "Didn't you agree to go to Jiangxi to join the team? Why did you go to the Northwest?"
Su Tianli "explained" a few words for Su Youzi in a grievance and half-hearted way.
Finally, she said tearfully, "It doesn't matter. Mom said that it's the same no matter where you go to work in the countryside. You can live a good life..."
This made the aunts, uncles, aunts, sisters-in-law and sisters in the Finance Department very angry!
Su Tianli listened contentedly as everyone scolded Tian Xiu for a while, then scolded Su Youzi for a while.
She took advantage of this opportunity to observe for a moment and found that He Wanqian was not there, so she asked.
One sister said sarcastically, "She's busy and not here!"
An aunt frowned, "Why is Xiao He always busy? I remember she only came for two days this week..."
One of the sisters-in-law sneered, "So what? He just said he was not feeling well and that's it!"
Someone said, "You feel uncomfortable here and there every day. Why do you still come to work when you are so delicate? Why don't you just go to the hospital?"
Someone else choked back: "It's because he has a good mother!"
Someone said sarcastically, "That's not her mother—"
Just like that, Su Tianli roughly understood He Wanqian's situation. She just smiled and said nothing.
After completing the formalities, Yao Meiyu ran out and rescued Su Tianli.
Su Tianli followed Yao Meiyu to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two sets of clothes and underwear, soap for bathing, shampoo for washing hair, soap for washing clothes, as well as daily necessities such as washbasins and buckets.
The chemical plant is located in the suburbs, and the supply and marketing cooperative nearby... is severely looked down upon by Yao Meiyu, a nurse from the provincial capital.
Her original words were: "This old, dilapidated house can only buy some emergency items! The variety of goods is limited and the prices are expensive!"
"When you're settled, and when I'm on my next shift, I'll take you to the Friendship Store in the city! That's a great place! Although the prices are ridiculously expensive, the items are of good quality and the styles are trendy!"
"If you want to buy cheap things, you have to go to the black market! It's best to go after dark, there are a lot of things and they are very cheap..."
However, the old and dilapidated supply and marketing cooperative that Yao Meiyu looked down upon,
The first impression given to Su Tianli was:
Wow! It's so bustling!
Wow! So cheap!
Wow! It's so big!
…
After Su Tianli finished shopping, Yao Meiyu helped her carry the bags, and the two sisters walked back together.
Su Tianli told Yao Meiyu, "Ayu, you must remember to ask about the house for me."
"Do you really have to rent it?" Yao Meiyu asked.
Su Tianli nodded, "You know the situation of my family. Now it's just a transition... I won't live at home. It's impossible for me to be a long-term worker for them for nothing."
"By the way, don't think I didn't bring any luggage just because I came back from the Northwest with nothing but my transfer order and personnel information."
"I just don't want to take it with me... I've checked in my train luggage, and I think my luggage will arrive in a few days. There are so many things, I don't want to take them home, I want to put them directly in the rented house."
Then Su Tianli talked about her requirements for the house:
At least two rooms were needed, because she had a lot of luggage;
Have a separate kitchen and bathroom;
It’s best to live in a building, which is safer.
Convenient transportation.
Yao Meiyu thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll go back and talk to my sister-in-law and my mother, and ask them to ask around when they go out for a walk tonight."
Su Tianli, "Tell them to avoid asking others and don't let my mother and Su Youzi know in advance."
"Don't worry, I understand!" said Yao Meiyu.
The two little sisters smiled at each other.
Yao Meiyu asked Su Tianli again hesitantly, "Lizhi, let me ask you a question..."
"you say."
"You are in the Northwest...do you have a date?" Yao Meiyu asked.
Su Tianli shook her head, "No."
Yao Meiyu was a little unconvinced, "Impossible? Your company has such good benefits and a lot of money... There must be more men than women on a farm, and you have such good personal conditions, why don't you find a boyfriend? Is it because you don't like him?"
Su Tianli said truthfully: "It's mainly because I don't have time to talk."
Farm 109 shoulders the responsibility of being a national agricultural research base.
It is the white moonlight that farms all over the country yearn for. Usually, it not only has to carry out scientific research tasks, but also has heavy planting tasks, and is also responsible for teaching and display tasks...
To be frank,
The whole farm is like a highly efficient moving machine.
Every employee is a spinning top that can’t be stopped!
Su Tianli was relatively okay, after all, she was in medical work;
Most of the workers on the farm are so busy that they have no energy to take care of other things.
That’s why the welfare benefits on the farm are so, so good.
To sum up, even she, a nurse in the infirmary, was very busy.
The young men on the farm are even busier!
Who has time for love?
Sudden--
Su Tianli was very happy and asked Yao Meiyu with a smile, "Are you dating?"
Yao Meiyu blushed immediately, "...No!"
Su Tianli showed an understanding expression - Oh! That means they are still in the ambiguous stage, not yet in a formal relationship.
"Who is it? Do I know him?" Su Tianli asked curiously.
Yao Meiyu said embarrassedly: "You don't know him yet... When can I introduce you two to each other?"
Then he whispered, "Can you help me with this?"
Su Tianli chuckled, "Okay!"
Yao Meiyu nervously gave Su Tianli a shot of caution, "...First of all, let me make it clear that he is not tall, so you can't look down on him."
"Why would I dislike him? Just as long as you like him!"
"He looks average..."
"As long as you like it."
"He speaks Mandarin very badly..."
"It's OK as long as you can understand it!"
"Lizhi, can you please pay more attention to my affairs?"
"Dim sum? What kind of dim sum! Shrimp dumplings or sticky rice balls?"
"Ahhhhhh Su Lizhi you're so annoying!!!"
The two little sisters were laughing and chasing each other, holding washbasins and buckets.
The old feelings are back!
"litchi--"
Suddenly someone called out Su Tianli's nickname in a trembling voice.
Su Tianli turned her head and was stunned.
The person who called her was a young man wearing black pants and a white shirt.
He was quite handsome, but very thin, looking bony. At the moment, he was looking at Su Tianli absent-mindedly, with bloodshot eyes.
Su Tianli couldn't remember who this person was for a moment.
Until Yao Meiyu beside him called out the young man's name, "...Fu Yan?"
Su Tianli was surprised!
She thought, is this person Fu Yan?
How come he looks completely different from what she remembered?
Five years ago, when Su Tianli was still in school, she had little interaction with Fu Yan.
But in my impression, Fu Yan is very active and likes to participate in various activities.
Because he has a wide circle of friends, a lively personality, and a gentle and handsome appearance;
So he was still the school's high school idol at that time!
It's only been five years since we last met.
The lively and cheerful beautiful boy is gone.
Instead, there is this young man in front of him with a gloomy expression, calm and numb eyes... and seemingly a little sinister, haggard and tired?
Su Tianli stared at Fu Yan for a while, and finally found some familiarity in his facial features.
Yao Meiyu quietly tugged at the corner of Su Tianli's clothes, then greeted Fu Yan with a smile, "Hey Fu Yan, why are you here? Don't you have to go to work?"
After all, it’s not time to get off work yet!
Fu Yan pretended not to hear.
He looked straight at Su Tianli.
As if I didn't know Su Tianli,
It was like Su Tianli was someone he hadn't seen for many years but was very important to him.
After a long while, Fu Yan finally raised his leg and walked towards Su Tianli.
But he only took one step and then stopped, staring at Su Tianli with a pair of red and turbid eyes, his dry and white lips trembling, as if he wanted to say something.
Then--
Fu Yan suddenly shook a few times, slowly closed his eyes, and fell limply to the ground.
Su Tianli was stunned.
For a moment I didn't know what was going on.
Yao Meiyu was also stunned and confused.
After a moment, Su Tianli came to her senses first and exclaimed, "Someone fainted!"
They are both nurses.
Almost at the same time, the two of them threw away what they were holding and ran towards Fu Yan together!
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