The next day, before dawn, Xu Ning heard the sound of people getting up next door, so she got up too. When Xu's parents saw that she had gotten up, they said, "Daughter, why are you getting up so early? Go back to sleep." Xu Ning said, "Mom and Dad, I'm used to getting up early, so I woke up on time. I'll go make some breakfast, and you can go over after you eat."
Xu Ning first went to the kitchen to add water to the pot. Xu's mother sat there and lit the fire for her. After a while, the water boiled. She poured the water into two water bottles first, and asked the two to wash up. She poured the dumplings that were not cooked last night into the pot. After the two had washed up, the dumplings were out of the pot. Xu Ning served each of them a large bowl of dumplings and two bowls of dumpling soup and placed them in front of them.
Xu Ma said, "Girl, why don't you eat?"
Xu Ning replied, "I'll wait for Xiao An and Xiao Mo to get up and eat together. Mom and Dad, you guys eat quickly."
As soon as Xu's father and mother left, Xu An also got up and saw that her sister was alone, so she said, "Sister, our parents are over there."
Xu Ning said, "Well, let's go back and see if Xiao Mo is awake. If not, don't call him, let him sleep a little longer." He has been locked up with Xu's father and mother for the past two months, and he has suffered a lot. When he was sleeping yesterday, he looked so thin that his bones were just skin and bones.
Xu Ning planned to cook millet porridge for breakfast. The child had a weak stomach and had not eaten well in the past few months, so he needed to take care of it slowly. After the rice porridge was cooked, Xu Ning used the rice soup to steam a bowl of eggs. He also steamed more than 20 dumplings that were not cooked in the morning, so he did not cook any vegetables. After Xu Ning finished cooking, Xu An came out with Xu Mo. Xu Ning saw that he was wearing Xu An's cotton shoes, so he asked them to sit down and eat.
It wasn't very cold yet, so we didn't eat on the kang, but at the kitchen table. Xu Ning had already heated up the kang two days ago.
When the two sat down, there was a bowl of egg custard, a large plate of dumplings, and millet porridge on the table. The two swallowed their saliva, and Xu An smiled and served each of them a bowl of egg custard, and then served them millet porridge after they finished eating. Xiao Mo ate a bowl of egg custard, a bowl of millet porridge, and five dumplings, but Xu Ning didn't let him eat any more for fear of indigestion, but he still stared at the dumplings on the table and couldn't bear to take his eyes away.
Xu Ning smiled and said to him, "You can't eat so much, or your stomach will burst. I'll make you something delicious at noon."
Xu Mo touched his belly and smiled shyly at Xu Ning. After dinner, Xu Ning asked the two to play on the kang.
After cleaning up the kitchen, she looked at the weather outside. She decided not to go up the mountain today. They had almost enough firewood to burn for the whole winter. She picked up the sweater she had just started a few days ago and started knitting. She hadn't knitted a sweater in several years. She had done it for her grandfather when she was in junior high school. After a few rounds, she got the hang of it and became more and more adept at it.
Xu Ning sat on the kang and stretched his shoulders. He put the sweater he was knitting on the kang and looked at Xu An sitting there practicing calligraphy. Xu Mo sat there eating biscuits while watching his brother writing. Xu Ning put on his shoes and went to the kitchen to make a bowl of milk powder for each of them. He asked Xu An to take a rest and drink the milk powder before writing.
I wondered how the kang in the cowshed was doing. Seeing that there was not much water in the water tank, I decided to go get some water and take a look. When I went out, I said to Xu An, "Xiao An, I'm going to get some water. You and Xiao Mo, stay away!"
Xu An said, "I see, sister, we won't go out. Xiao Mo and I will just play at home."
When Xu Ning was passing by the cowshed with a bucket of water, she saw that the door of the cowshed was open. Her father and Uncle Lu were cleaning the cowshed. Her mother and Aunt Lu were not seen. They must be in the private plot in the backyard.
Chen Hongjun was standing in the yard talking to two people who were building a kang in the house. Xu Ning called out, "Uncle Hongjun, are you busy?" Chen Hongjun saw her holding two buckets and said, "Xu Zhiqing, go get some water! Didn't the village chief say yesterday that they needed to build a kang here and asked me to find two people to come over today?"
Xu Ning smiled and said, "Uncle Hongjun's skill in building a kang is beyond reproach. You helped me build the kang, and I started burning it a few days ago. The whole room is warm now, but I haven't even started the fire wall yet."
Chen Hongjun said with a smile, "It's just a skill of making food, and everyone respects it."
Xu Ning continued, "Hey, my uncle is just modest. Uncle, you are busy, I'm going to get some water, Xiao An is still waiting for me at home."
Qin Hongjun said, "Xu Zhiqing, go slowly. It's too early to start the fire wall these days. Start it when it's colder. Otherwise, you will get a sore throat and blisters on your mouth."
Xu Ning said, "I understand, uncle"
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