Chapter 8
Shi An has been serving in the army these years and can only go home a few times a year. In addition to sending his salary and allowance home on time, he always calls home every month to reassure his parents.
This time, Shi An not only called home, but also sent a bulging package home. The postman delivered it to the steel mill during the day, and the security guard brought it to the big yard.
Today, his family has improved their lives. When the security guard came, Gu Mancang was happily eating fried peanuts and sipping wine.
Lin Yao and the other two ran to the rich lady's house next door to see the little rabbits that had just come out of the nest.
When they heard that it was the eldest son calling home.
Gu Mancang's wrinkles at the corners of his eyes narrowed with joy. Although he was naive, he knew to entertain the guests first. "Anzi called. Don't worry, brother. We have wine and peanuts at home. Let's have a drink before we leave?"
The security guard waved his hands repeatedly. "Okay, why are you still being polite to me? The children are waiting. Hurry up and stop wasting time."
Gu Mancang said "Hey", and Zhang Cuilan came out of the kitchen. Handing over a small bamboo basket, he said with a smile, "The tomatoes and cucumbers grown at home are not very good, brother, take them and try them."
It is not convenient to eat vegetables these days. Even in Yunshui County, many families have opened a small vegetable plot in the large courtyard to grow some small green vegetables, radishes, potatoes, etc. to the best of their ability. They don't care how good they grow, but at least they can have vegetables to cook when they can't buy vegetables.
Zhang Cuilan is thrifty in her daily life and is also good at growing vegetables.
She grew up in the village!
How can a country woman not know how to grow vegetables?
This is also one of the reasons why Grandma Gu chose Zhang Cuilan as her daughter-in-law.
Zhang Cuilan knows how to grow vegetables. She fertilizes the vegetable garden at home frequently. The tomatoes grown here are red and sandy, and the cucumbers are fresh and tender, with small yellow flowers on the top. They are fresher than those bought from the grocery store on the street.
The security guard immediately smiled from ear to ear. "Yesterday, the old woman at home was complaining about not being able to buy good vegetables. Now, it's good that you are the one who got the vegetables."
"What's the point of getting the vegetables? It's just a few cucumbers."
"That saves the old man from running errands."
"........."
The security guard carried a basket with a smile on his face, and followed Gu Mancang out of the compound one after the other.
Zhang Cuilan touched the package sent by her eldest son, and her smile deepened.
She went back to the kitchen to work.
After a while, Gu Shidong came back from next door.
The brat was tempted by the smell of the house.
The Gu family kitchen was filled with steam. Zhang Cuilan opened the lid of the steamer. Wow, the meat dumplings smelled so good that it could make people unable to move their legs.
The buns just off the pot were flipping up and down. Gu Shidong was running back and forth in the yard just now, but now he quickly brought a small stool and waited at the door of the kitchen.
Just waiting to eat the first bite of meat dumplings.
After five or six minutes, Lin Yao came back from the rich lady's house, chattering with Gu Chunmei all the way.
The little rabbits in the rich lady's house are cute and obedient. They are short and fat like balls. If they are fed with a piece of radish, they will roll into a white fluffy ball, move their three-petal mouths, and lie flat to be rubbed.
Lin Yao squatted beside them with stars in her eyes.
Gu Chunmei's eyes were also twinkling.
As soon as the two sisters got home, they got together and chattered about raising little rabbits.
Gu Shidong was waiting for his meat dumplings to come out of the pot.
Zhang Cuilan came out and took a look, feeling angry and amused.
Three naughty children, none of them is mature.
The mother came over with the washed cucumber and glanced at her old son, "Be careful, the drool at the corner of your mouth is about to fall."
Gu Shidong chuckled, slurped his saliva, and continued to stare at the steamer.
Ten minutes later, the delicious mushroom meat dumplings were finally served.
Gu Mancang had gone to answer the phone and hadn't returned yet.
Zhang Cuilan muttered something and waited at the door for a while, watching her little son scratching his ears and cheeks in anxiety.
She grabbed her apron and said, forget it, she won't wait any longer.
Anyway, there are enough meat dumplings at home today!
Lin Yao had just put the prepared garlic paste and vinegar on the table, and Gu Shidong immediately picked up a dumpling, dipped it in the garlic paste, and slurped it into his mouth.
The meat dumplings made of Erhe flour have thin skin and fragrant fillings. They are dipped in mashed garlic and vinegar, and they are so delicious when you put them in your mouth.
The Gu family can only eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year or when Gu Shi'an visits relatives.
The dumplings in the past were not as delicious as today.
The whole family ate them with great concentration.
Lin Yao was short of money, and she hadn't eaten dumplings so happily for a long time. She held the chopsticks in her hand and ate them mouthful by mouthful.
Everyone was eating so happily that they almost forgot about Gu Mancang who went to the communication room to answer the phone.
When Gu Mancang returned home, Zhang Cuilan suddenly remembered that the old man hadn't eaten yet!
She rolled up her sleeves, went to the kitchen and got a big bowl of dumplings, filled it up and placed it in front of Gu Mancang, asking him to eat it quickly.
Gu Mancang was a little spoiled.
"For me?"
"What's the matter, you can't eat it?"
Zhang Cuilan looked at him with a sidelong glance.
Gu Mancang grinned happily, "Eat, Cuilan gave me dumplings, I can eat two bowls."
The old couple showed their affection, and Zhang Cuilan blushed and hid back in the house.
Lin Yao smiled at Gu Chunmei.
The heartless Gu Shidong was left to continue slurping dumplings.
Gu Shian called home this time, not only to let his parents know that he was safe, but also to share another piece of news: he would be taking his troops to a local area to carry out a mission in a while, and he would not be able to call home next month.
Over the years, Gu Mancang had gotten used to his son going on missions every now and then, and as a father, he reminded his son to be careful, saying that the mission of the people's soldiers was to protect the country.
The father and son only talked for more than a minute, and Gu Shian hung up the phone in a hurry.
Gu Mancang wanted to go home, but the gatekeeper insisted on taking him with him to have a cup of tea and chat for a while.
The two chatted about random things until the factory leader came to inspect, and then Gu Mancang got away.
After dinner, Gu Chunmei and Lin Yao cleared the table and swept the floor respectively.
Gu Shidong was washing dishes in the kitchen.
Zhang Cuilan and her husband were in the house looking at the package sent by their eldest son.
You wouldn't know how many things were inside until you opened it.
Two canned meats, a pack of biscuits, a can of maltose, a large piece of red silk with peony flowers, a pair of women's leather shoes, and other miscellaneous things, such as food, oil, meat coupons, toothpaste, toothbrush, and towels, all neatly stacked, which was obviously Gu Shi'an's style.
Zhang Cuilan was given three pairs of nylon socks, a bottle of her favorite rancid oil, and a cowhide notebook. Gu Mancang also received two bottles of Xifeng wine specially prepared for him by his son.
Gu Mancang does not smoke, but he likes to drink a little wine.
Although the Gu family lives a decent life, it is not easy to have a good wine. Now you need a wine ticket to buy wine. Where can he, a fifth-level clamper, get a wine ticket?
Only factory leaders and county officials are issued wine tickets by the state.
Gu Mancang can only drink the low-quality local wine brewed by his fellow villagers. It is not good to drink and has no wine taste, but it is better than nothing.
The red silk cloth was prepared for Gu Chunmei's wedding.
Gu Chunmei will be getting married in October this year. According to the custom of Yunshui County, when a bride gets married, her parents have to prepare a piece of festive red silk cloth to be used as a bundle, which will contain the bride's pillowcase, bed sheet, fabrics, etc.
These days, red silk cloth is so hard to get. Zhang Cuilan ran around and went to all the supply and marketing cooperatives in the county to find a piece of red silk cloth for her daughter.
She couldn't get it, but she did have some old coarse cloth spun by old ladies in the countryside. She could spend two cents to ask someone to dye it red, and it could be used.
Zhang Cuilan thought about it and didn't want to let her daughter down.
The daughter only got married once, and her mother said that she would let her daughter marry in a grand manner.
Zhang Cuilan mentioned this to Gu Shian on the phone earlier, and the child kept silent, but remembered it.
The eldest son was not with them, but the child was so meticulous and considerate, and Zhang Cuilan felt as sweet as drinking honey water.
She touched the pair of women's leather shoes, gestured with her hands, and estimated that the shoes were only size 35 or 36. Such a small style...
It was not bought for Chunmei. Chunmei was born with a pair of big feet and always wore size 39. When the old lady in the family was alive, she thought that the child was lucky and had a good hand and didn't need to bind her feet.
Oh, this is bought for Yaoyao.
Zhang Cuilan was overjoyed. Her eldest son was different from the other kids in the compound since he was young. He was just like his father, a taciturn person. When he was in his teens, he was talkative. But since he joined the army, he became even more talkative and could not say a word.
She was so worried about her son marrying Lin Hongna that she could not sleep.
Let's wait for Yaoyao to marry instead. Zhang Cuilan was happy, but she also muttered to herself, as the old saying goes, a domesticated pig will dig up cabbages.
I wonder if this stinky boy can bring Yaoyao back.
After all, the two children only had a wedding and did not get a marriage certificate. Besides, the wedding was also made a mess by the bastard Lin Daguo's family.
Apart from anything else, she really likes Yaoyao, not only because of the friendship they have had for many years, but mainly because Yaoyao's temperament and character suit her taste.
Zhang Cuilan used to think that her son was a blockhead, but now that he has become wise and knows how to buy leather shoes for Yaoyao, her mother's heart is full of joy. She is
also very proud in her heart, because this child is worthy of her and can do things on his own.
Zhang Cuilan happily put away her leather shoes and went to the south room with the shoe box.
She ignored Gu Mancang's calls.
Lin Yao was lying on the bed reading a book. The east wing was clean and cozy for her. The antique wooden bed was covered with a bamboo mat. The pillows and quilt were all plaid with white background and pink flowers. The old-fashioned coarse cloth curtains were also replaced. On the quaint five-drawer cabinet was a small bamboo basket with her daughter's favorite gadgets. There
was a bunch of freshly picked jasmine flowers in a vase in the room, and the fragrance was fragrant.
Zhang Cuilan knocked on the door outside, and Lin Yao answered crisply. No one knew what the mother and daughter said, but Zhang Cuilan couldn't stop smiling when she came out.
Gu Chunmei was sleeping in the south wing next door, with her legs spread out.
Lin Yao glanced at the leather shoes on the ground, held her chin and sighed.
To be honest, she felt sympathy for Gu Shian. Although he was handsome and had a bright future, it was a pity that he was too cold-tempered. In the original book, after Gu Shian divorced Lin Hongna, he was alone until he was old. He
was in his seventies and eighties, but he was still a lonely old man.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
