At the critical moment, Xie Fei cleverly expressed her loyalty: "No! I only recognize you, Sister Yaoyao!"
Cheng Yaoyao glanced at Grandma Xie with his peach blossom eyes and said smugly: "Others may not think so."
Grandma Xie slapped her back and scolded her with a smile: "Don't be so rude! They came to my house to propose marriage, and I was supposed to chase them away?"
"It hurts!" Cheng Yaoyao groaned and hid back while holding his arms.
Xie Zhao stood up suddenly, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the sly smile on Cheng Yaoyao's face, and slowly sat back down. Stubbornly, she tried to yell "hmm", but Xie Zhao covered her mouth. This was a matter between women, and men could not get involved.
Xie Fei quickly protected Cheng Yaoyao and pouted at Grandma Xie: "You should just get out! They are so annoying. They always say that Sister Yaoyao you will not come back after going to Shanghai, and they insist on telling those people to brother. Sister, it will be great if you come back!"
Cheng Yaoyao raised the corners of his lips: "I want to see who dares to come to my house."
Grandma Xie picked up the spatula and put the marinated meat into the pan to fry, saying, "No, no! Seeing how beautiful you are, which matchmaker would dare to come to your house?"
Xie Fei and You Rong nodded vigorously: "How can they compare with Sister Yaoyao!"
Grandma Xie was so angry that she poked her finger on Xie Fei's forehead and said, "Who am I doing this for?! Zhao Ge'er has been settled, but don't I still have you? Isn't it for you that I don't want to offend the matchmaker?"
Xie Fei blinked her innocent little eyes, and suddenly she cried out "Ouch!" and covered her face: "Grandma!"
While frying the meat, Grandma Xie muttered: "Why are you shy? Speaking of the young men in the village, the second son of the Party Secretary is really good. It's a pity that he is a few years older than Xiaopi. Alas, I don't know where Xiaopi's marriage is yet."
Cheng Yaoyao said protectively, "This is a new society, Xiao Fei is still young! Besides, those matchmakers can't tell Xiao Fei about a good marriage, why bother with them! The next time they come to our house, I'll let Jianjian bite them out!"
Just as Xie Fei was about to thank Cheng Yaoyao, Cheng Yaoyao continued, "I'll find a good one for Xiao Fei later!"
"...Sister Yaoyao, you are not a good person either!" Xie Fei was so angry that she complained to her brother, "Brother, look at Sister Yaoyao!"
Xie Zhao looked at Cheng Yaoyao's cocky face, smiled slightly, and said to his sister soothingly: "Sister Yaoyao was joking with you."
Cheng Yaoyao smiled wickedly: "I'm not kidding. Our little girl is pretty and capable, but not everyone is worthy of her."
Xie Fei's face turned red, and she pouted as if she was about to cry. Cheng Yaoyao said hurriedly, "Okay, okay, I won't say it anymore, okay? There's nothing to be shy about. I'll make you something delicious later, okay?"
Xie Fei was immediately coaxed.
Grandma Xie chuckled and shook her head: "You two should get your tempers even!"
"It smells so good." Cheng Yaoyao moved to the side of the pot.
Today, my grandmother was very happy and fried half a pot of golden and crispy vinegar meat. The aroma could overturn the roof. Vinegar meat needs to be fried twice. The first time is to fry slowly over low heat, so that the vinegar meat is the most tender and juicy. The second time is to fry quickly over high heat, so that the skin is crispy and the gravy and aroma can be fully locked in the meat.
The vinegar meat had just been fried for the first time. Xie Fei and Xie Zhao didn't say anything, but Cheng Yaoyao asked greedily, "Can we eat it now?"
"Okay, okay, I'll give you the first portion." Grandma Xie picked up a piece and put it into Cheng Yaoyao's mouth, "Eat slowly."
Cheng Yaoyao was hungry. She took a quick bite. The crispy skin cracked and the boiling gravy immediately splashed into her mouth. She burst into tears: "Wow... hot!"
Xie Zhao immediately rushed over and pinched her chin: "Spit it out!"
Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were also busy around. Cheng Yaoyao's eyes were red, and she was breathing in with her mouth half open. Xie Zhao held her chin with his big hand and said, "Spit it out."
"Hmm..." Cheng Yaoyao took a breath, and the vinegar meat rolled back and forth on his tongue a few times before he finally forced himself to swallow it.
Grandma Xie quickly poured a glass of cool water and said, "You cat tongue! Are you burned?"
Cheng Yaoyao's tongue and throat were burning, and the pain was even worse after drinking the cool water. He took the opportunity to drink several gulps of spiritual spring water before he breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay."
Grandma Xie wiped her hands on her apron anxiously and said, "How about applying some medicine?"
Xie Zhaoan soothed her, "I'll check her out. It's okay."
Xie Zhao led Cheng Yaoyao to the yard and held her face in his hands: "Open your mouth and let me see your tongue."
Cheng Yaoyao raised his head and opened his mouth for him to see. The winter sunlight was bright but thin. Xie Zhao took a closer look in the sunlight. Cheng Yaoyao showed no signs of injury except for a little redness on the tip of his tongue.
Cheng Yaoyao stuck out his tongue and asked vaguely, "Are you done?"
Xie Zhao reached out and touched it lightly, but Cheng Yaoyao bit his fingertips and said fiercely, "What are you doing?"
Xie Zhao's eyes flashed with confusion. Cheng Yaoyao shook his head and struggled to get out of Xie Zhao's hand: "I said it's okay, right? The meat is actually not very hot."
The corners of Cheng Yaoyao's eyes and the tip of his nose were still red. Xie Zhao said calmly, "I'm glad you're okay. Eat slower next time."
Cheng Yaoyao made such a mess that Grandma Xie was scared. After frying the vinegar meat for the second time, she let it sit for a long time before letting them eat it: "Eat slowly, eat slowly, it's hot!"
Cheng Yaoyao, Xie Fei, and Xie Zhao gathered in front of the stove, each using a pair of chopsticks to eat the pickled pork from the basin. There were also a few pieces of meat in the stubborn little plate, and they ate with noisy voices, their furry tails flapping happily on the ground.
The originally large kitchen was crowded with children and became noisy. Grandma Xie smiled until her eyes narrowed and said angrily, "Okay, the vinegar meat won't taste good if left over anyway, so let's finish it while it's fresh!"
Cheng Yaoyao picked a bunch of perilla leaves from the yard, dipped the vinegar pork in the Korean spicy sauce made by Grandma Xie, wrapped it with perilla leaves and stuffed it into Grandma Xie's mouth, saying cutely, "Grandma, try it. Is it delicious?"
The basil leaves are fragrant and slightly spicy, and the slightly sweet chili sauce relieves the greasiness of the vinegar meat. The three blend into a wonderful delicacy. Grandma Xie chewed the vinegar meat and nodded: "Delicious!"
Xie Fei also followed suit and wrapped one, saying admiringly: "How did Sister Yaoyao come up with the idea of using perilla leaves to wrap meat?"
Grandma Xie said with a smile, "This is the Korean way of eating. When I was a kid, my Korean aunt loved to wrap barbecue with perilla leaves. How did Yaoyao know this?"
Cheng Yaoyao rolled his eyes and said, "When I was on a business trip with my father, I saw others eating like this."
"No wonder." Grandma Xie smiled, "Yaoyao always cooks dishes that we have never seen before."
Most of the vinegar meat was eaten, and everyone was too sick to eat. Grandma Xie said simply, "Then don't cook. I'll make a bowl of dough and roll out the dough to make dumplings later!"
Cheng Yaoyao brewed a large pot of grass seed tea, and everyone went to the yard to bask in the sun and drink tea to relieve their greasy feeling.
Cheng Yaoyao walked around the yard with her hands behind her back, like a leader on an inspection tour. She had been away for so long, but the yard was still as clean and full of life as she remembered.
In the vegetable garden, the tomato and cucumber vines had withered. However, the Chinese cabbage and mustard greens were growing lushly, and the green onions, ginger, and coriander were also green. There was also a bunch of sweet potato vines, which Xie Zhao said were specially left for her to eat.
Before Cheng Yaoyao went to Suzhou, he bought a group of chicks. Now they have all grown into half-grown hens. Only one little rooster with a red crown is full of energy and very arrogant. The other hens stay in the chicken coop, but this little rooster flies out and runs around the yard, even with its wings spread out, fighting with the stubborn ones.
This is the chick that Cheng Yaoyao loves the most. He even dyed a tuft of red hair on its head to make it easier to identify. Unexpectedly, it grew into a rooster.
Grandma Xie was sewing the sole of a shoe and said, "No wonder she's so energetic, it turns out she's a male!"
Xie Zhao said: "It's good to have a rooster, which can hatch chicks."
Cheng Yaoyao nodded proudly: "That's right! When the chicks grow up, they can lay eggs, and the eggs can hatch chicks. There will be an endless supply of chickens and eggs."
Grandma Xie laughed and said, "That's too much! I'm already bothered by just a dozen of them."
Xie Fei said, "Auntie Yingui next door has more than thirty of them! She even has ducks!"
During the casual chat, Cheng Yaoyao learned that the village has quietly changed in the past few months. Every household in the village has started to catch chickens and ducks to raise. The earliest family to raise chickens has already started to pick eggs, and can pick more than ten eggs a day, which makes up for a lot of famine. Some people secretly plant peanuts and cotton in their private plots, and the inspection team also turned a blind eye to it - Taoan Village is much more exaggerated than them. Taoan Village suffered heavy losses from floods last year, and the village brigade opened a mill to learn from Bashang Village to sell tofu and press oil. Why can other villages make money, but their Tianshui Village can't? In such a competitive spirit and comparison, the village has maintained a delicate peace.
Cheng Yaoyao vaguely remembered that the private land contract system was only in these two years. Before the torrent of the times arrived, there were already specific and subtle signs in the countryside. Farmers are not lazy. Chinese farmers have the most hardworking character. Once they are given the opportunity, they will definitely use their sweat and hard work to exchange for rich rewards from nature.
Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were more curious about Cheng Yaoyao, especially Xie Fei, who kept asking Cheng Yaoyao about her filming: "Sister Yaoyao, when will the movie be shown?"
"After filming the movie, we still have to edit it, do the post-production soundtrack, and send it out for review. The earliest we can do that will be spring," Cheng Yaoyao said with a smile.
Xie Fei said with longing: "Will your movies be shown in our village? No, by then I will be working in the city and can go to the cinema to watch movies!"
Cheng Yaoyao said, "I don't know." The film might not pass the review. The subject of the film was very risky. Director Rong had several arguments with his superiors in order not to change the script. In the end, he filmed two versions of the ending just to pass the review.
Seeing that Cheng Yaoyao was not concerned about the movie, Grandma Xie breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Whether it can be released or not, making a movie is also a way to broaden your horizons. But didn't Yaoyao go to Shanghai to visit relatives this time? Why did he come back today?"
It takes more than ten hours to take a train from Shanghai to Lin'an City. Grandma Xie has been thinking about this matter since a while ago. What kind of trouble could it be that would make the two children spend the first day of the New Year on the train and rush back home?
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaoyao's expression dimmed instantly. He took a sip of tea before saying, "I just...just wanted to come back. Shanghai is boring."
"How can Shanghai be boring?" Xie Fei asked innocently, "Didn't you say that Shanghai has many big shopping malls and many fun things..."
Xie Zhao interrupted Xie Fei and said, "Yaoyao bought a lot of things for you from Shanghai. Go and have a look."
Only then did Xie Fei realize that the atmosphere was wrong. She secretly glanced at Cheng Yaoyao's expression, then stood up to look at the pile of gifts.
Grandma Xie sat next to Cheng Yaoyao and said, "Tell me, why did you come back on New Year's Day? The same goes for Zhao'er! It's all your fault. Why did you bring Yaoyao back on New Year's Day?"
Xie Zhao humbly admitted his mistake: "It's my fault."
Cheng Yaoyao said hurriedly: "It's not Xie Zhao! Grandma, I just don't want to stay in that house anymore."
Cheng Yaoyao said this, burying his face in Grandma Xie's shoulder listlessly. Grandma Xie glanced at Xie Zhao, who shook his head and looked at Cheng Yaoyao with a distressed look.
Grandma Xie was experienced in the world, and after a few slow questions, she got Cheng Yaoyao's words out. When she heard that Cheng's father was firmly against Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao being together, Grandma Xie showed a worried look. When she heard that Cheng Yaoyao ran away from home and came back without saying goodbye to his family, she couldn't help but glared at Xie Zhao sternly.
She held Cheng Yaoyao's thin shoulders and said lovingly, "Your father is in a difficult situation too. He has flesh on both sides. There is no overnight hatred between father and daughter. Let Zhaoge take you to the city tomorrow and call your father, okay?"
Cheng Yaoyao pouted: "No!"
"Don't do that! Grandma will be unhappy." Grandma Xie touched Cheng Yaoyao's long hair and said with a smile: "Your hair is all messy, grandma will comb it for you."
Grandma Xie took a wooden comb and braided a beautiful braid for Cheng Yaoyao. Cheng Yaoyao was very happy and ran into the kitchen with Xie Fei to cook. Seeing this, Xie Zhao also wanted to follow in, and Grandma Xie said, "Follow me!"
Xie Zhao followed Grandma Xie into the east room. As soon as they entered the room, Grandma Xie picked up a feather duster and started beating him. Xie Zhao was hit directly, but he didn't dodge. His narrow, dark eyes looked at Grandma Xie and said, "My sister wants to come back with me."
"Yaoyao is ignorant, and you are also ignorant? You two spent the first day of the Chinese New Year on the train? What would Yaoyao's father think?" Grandma Xie said angrily, "We never do such rude things in our family!"
Grandma Xie kept nagging, "You should have told Yaoyao's family about your relationship long ago. If you put it in the past, it's called a commitment! But our family is in this situation now. I thought that I could come to propose marriage after you got into college. But you actually ran away with Yaoyao! I don't know how worried they are now. If some rascal secretly ran away with Xiaofei, wouldn't we be so worried?"
As Grandma Xie was talking, she became angry again and picked up a feather whisk to hit him. Xie Zhao raised his hand to shield his face and said, "I didn't."
"You're still being stubborn!" Grandma Xie said angrily.
Xie Zhao straightened his back and lowered his eyes, saying, "I told Yaoyao's father."
"What?" Grandma Xie asked in surprise.
Xie Zhao said: "Before I took Yaoyao home, I went to see Uncle Cheng. He knew Yaoyao was with me."
Grandma Xie lowered her feather duster and looked at Xie Zhao. Xie Zhao never lied. Grandma Xie wondered, "What's going on? Did he agree to let you bring Yaoyao back? Is this what a father should do?"
Xie Zhao said expressionlessly: "Uncle Cheng can't take care of Yuanyao right now."
Xie Zhao went to see Cheng's father the day he was released from prison. Cheng's father was with Wei Shuying and her daughter, shopping for dowry in a department store.
He only said three sentences to Cheng's father: "Uncle, Yaoyao is with me, she is safe."
Father Cheng heaved a sigh of relief: "I'm glad Yaoyao is okay."
Xie Zhao said: "I will persuade her to go home."
Father Cheng waved his hands, his voice dry from cigarette smoke revealing fatigue: "She won't listen. The family is in chaos now, and she will be annoyed if she comes back from afar."
Father Cheng took out a cigarette and handed it to Xie Zhao. The two men chatted for a long time. Most of the time, it was Father Cheng who talked about his dilemma, Cheng Yaoyao's life, and the current chaos in the family.
Father Cheng sighed deeply again: "Ah, in fact, it is so good for the family to be harmonious and happy. Yaoyao has been spoiled by me, and her temper is really a headache sometimes."
"She has a good temper." Xie Zhao said coldly.
Father Cheng was stunned and turned to look at Xie Zhao: "Hmm?"
Xie Zhao looked serious: "She may be coquettish, but she is not unreasonable. There must be a reason for her temper."
Is this guy saying that he knows his daughter better than he does? Cheng Zheng was unable to react, and Xie Zhao continued, "Yaoyao was forced to leave this family once. Uncle, do you think that this situation today is Yaoyao's responsibility?"
When Cheng Zheng heard the last sentence, he couldn't help but look away, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Xie Zhao continued, "Yaoyao really cares about you as a father. Last time she heard that you were injured, she cried for a long time."
Father Cheng shuddered, turned his head away immediately, took off his glasses and wiped them to cover up. He suddenly remembered the canned food and letters Cheng Yaoyao sent him from the countryside. Cheng Yaoyao leaned on his arm and called him dad sweetly. When they just returned to Shanghai, their relationship was so good, how come everything turned out like this?
Father Cheng covered his forehead with his hands and said, "I have no choice. Nuonuo is also my daughter. No matter how partial I am, I can't ignore her!"
Thinking of the injustices that Cheng Yaoyao had suffered in this family, Xie Zhao could not feel any sympathy for Cheng's father. He just said, "I will take good care of Yaoyao."
Cheng's father suddenly grabbed his arm, stared into his eyes and said, "Xie Zhao, I can see that you are an upright and self-respecting young man. You promised me that you would never bully Yaoyao!"
Xie Zhao looked straight at Cheng's father without blinking or avoiding his gaze: "Don't worry."
Father Cheng added: "I only agreed to let Yaoyao go back to the countryside temporarily. I didn't agree with what you said!"
Xie Zhao turned and left.
After all, Cheng's father is Cheng Yaoyao's father, so Xie Zhao couldn't comment too much. But after listening to him, Grandma Xie sighed: "How foolish! The chaos in this family is not anyone else's fault, it's all his own fault! As the head of the family, he can neither be faithful to his deceased wife nor truly protect his daughter. He can neither play the string nor educate his concubine's daughter well! He can only play the muddy game between the three women, and he is so foolish that he was blinded by a few words and let Yaoyao suffer all the injustice!"
Grandma Xie was so excited that she started talking about "legitimate and illegitimate". Xie Zhao reminded her, "Grandma, this is a new society."
Grandma Xie realized that she had said something wrong and glared at me: "Why, you are lecturing your grandma! I have been reformed long ago! Get out! I will go make dumplings for Yaoyao. Yaoyao has been wronged."
Grandma Xie felt sorry for Cheng Yaoyao who had been wronged, and was particularly kind to her for a while. She didn't urge Cheng Yaoyao to get up in the morning, which made Cheng Yaoyao so proud that she got carried away for the whole first month of the New Year. This is a story for later.
Today, Grandma Xie took Xie Fei and Cheng Yaoyao to the kitchen to make dumplings. The fillings were prepared earlier, half with fennel and pork, and half with cabbage and mushrooms.
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