The pumpkin leaves on the wall were dense and swayed when pulled. The little fat cat's face was squeezed into a funny expression, and when he stepped back, his fur got tangled and he cried anxiously.
Cheng Zheng couldn't help but smile.
But Cheng Yaoyao's coquettish voice was heard in the yard: "Look, Jianjian is stuck again!"
Grandma Xie said, "It's still laughing. Hurry and take it down."
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Wait, let it cry for a while."
I don’t know if the fat cat understood, but he closed his eyes and howled even louder, his little paws paddling vigorously.
Cheng Yaoyao then smiled and said, "Xie Zhao, take it down."
A ladder was leaning against the wall, and Cheng Zheng quickly hid behind a tree. He saw Xie Zhao climb up the wall, rescue the little fat cat from the vines, and carry it down.
There was a burst of laughter in the yard.
Cheng Zheng was momentarily stunned. The Cheng family had never experienced such a harmonious family atmosphere before. He had also never seen Cheng Yaoyao smile so easily and happily, without any gloom.
Jianjian, with messy orange and white fur and a leaf hanging on its head, kept howling in Xie Zhao's arms. Xie Zhao rubbed its head and walked to Cheng Yaoyao's side.
Cheng Yaoyao glanced at the aggrieved Jianjian and said with a smile: "Let's see if you will climb the wall again in the future."
Qiangqiang rushed towards Chengyaoyao and howled loudly. Xie Zhao covered his mouth and was bitten on his finger. Xunxun also hugged Xie Zhao's feet and cried.
Xie Zhao then picked up the little fat dog as well, holding one in each hand to avoid beating it.
Grandma Xie said, "The pumpkin leaves are growing too fast. Why are the vegetables in our garden growing so fast these days?"
Cheng Yaoyao's hands trembled and he looked at Xie Zhao. Xie Zhao said, "I added some bean cakes and buried them in the ground, and the soil became rich."
Grandma Xie nodded, not taking it seriously. She put down the drained glutinous rice and other ingredients and said, "Wash your hands and start making zongzi. Zhao'er, take the two away from each other so they don't mess things up."
The glutinous rice soaked last night is snow-white and puffy, half of which is mixed with red beans, peanuts and chestnuts. The lean and fat pork is cut into small pieces and marinated with cooking wine and soy sauce. Various fillings such as mushrooms, salted egg yolks, and red bean paste are also prepared.
The bamboo leaves before and after the Dragon Boat Festival are four fingers wide, fold the two pieces together, twist and fold them into a bucket shape, fill a third of it with glutinous rice, press a hole with your thumb, then put two pieces of fat and lean pork, press it Salted egg yolk, covered with glutinous rice. Then cover and fold the bamboo leaves, pinch them tightly, and tie them with straw. The straw is soaked in the ash water of vegetation early in the morning and is very flexible. After the rice dumplings are tied, a length will still grow, and ten rice dumplings will be braided into one hanging.
The Xie family made several kinds of zongzi: red bean paste zongzi, pork zongzi, salted egg yolk and meat zongzi, and alkaline water zongzi. Alkaline water zongzi is pure glutinous rice zongzi, boiled in water with plant ash, with a strong alkaline taste, and is delicious when dipped in sugar or soy sauce.
Wrap two strings of rice dumplings and put them in the pot to cook, then wrap the rest.
Cheng Yaoyao can make many kinds of zongzi, including triangular zongzi, square zongzi, ox-horn zongzi, tower-shaped zongzi, and long zongzi. She even suddenly wanted to teach Xie Zhao how to make zongzi. Grandma Xie advised her to give up, but Cheng Yaoyao didn't believe it: "Xie Zhao can do everything!"
Xie Zhao's heart warmed up. He washed his hands and sat obediently next to Cheng Yaoyao. Cheng Yaoyao taught him step by step.
"Stack it like this, and then fold it again... No! Don't use so much force, it will break! Okay, now put a salted egg yolk in it..."
The two of them squeezed together, Cheng Yaoyao carefully adjusted Xie Zhao's gestures, and Xie Zhao carefully looked at her cute face close to him. Grandma Xie pushed Xie Fei, who was staring at her, and said, "Go to the kitchen and see if the rice dumplings are cooked. If they are, take them out first."
Tsk, it's really unbearable to watch.
After teaching for a long time, Xie Zhao finally made a rugged ox-horn rice dumpling.
Cheng Yaoyao said displeasedly: "Not bad, Xie Zhao did a great job wrapping it the first time."
When Xie Zhao heard this, his confidence increased and he picked up the rice dumpling leaf again.
Xie Fei came out of the kitchen and said, "The rice dumplings are cooked. I took them out and put them out to dry. They smell so good."
Grandma Xie said at the right time: "Then don't wrap it, let's eat it while it's hot."
Cheng Yaoyao was the first to respond, pulling Xie Zhao up and running: "Okay!"
The water in the pot turned golden brown and kept boiling. Cheng Yaoyao carefully put a few newly wrapped dumplings into the pot and covered it with a lid.
There were dozens of ox-horn and pagoda-shaped rice dumplings in the large colander. Grandma Xie cut off a few of them with a kitchen knife and untied the leaves. Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Feikun surrounded her, looking hungry. The stubborn one jumped directly onto the stove. Xie Zhao stood aside with a smile and picked up the jumping fat dog.
When the green leaves are peeled off, a burst of hot air and an indescribable fragrance will emanate. When the white air disperses, a white rice dumpling inlaid with red beans and chestnuts will appear before your eyes.
The rice dumplings were small, so I cut them into bite-sized pieces with a knife, and gave them to the children to satisfy their cravings. The sticky rice stuck to the knife and slid off, revealing the salted egg yolk, red lean meat, and white fat. The various aromas mixed together, which aroused my appetite. I stuffed them into my mouth in a hurry, not caring about the heat, and swallowed them whole in a few gulps.
I ate three or four pieces in a row before I took a breath and started chewing carefully to taste the flavor. The alkaline rice dumpling has a unique taste, and the alkaline taste can immediately catch the taste buds. The red bean paste rice dumpling is sweet and not greasy, very suitable for snacks. The salted egg yolk and meat rice dumpling is the best. The glutinous rice is soft and not sticky, the lean meat is fragrant but not dry, and the fat meat is creamy but not greasy. The salted egg yolk is crunchy on the tip of the tongue, and if you are lucky, you can chew the little white core in the salted egg yolk, which is very chewy.
Grandma Xie peeled several zongzi in a row, but they were all snatched away. As she peeled, she scolded them: "You are like children, and you still want grandma to peel zongzi for you."
Cheng Yaoyao obediently stuffed a piece of red bean paste rice dumpling into Grandma Xie's mouth: "Grandma is the best, I will peel rice dumplings for you too."
"Isn't it? You are the sweetest." Grandma Xie said with an impatient look, but her wrinkles were filled with smiles. She liked it most when children surrounded her like this.
A dozen or so zongzi were peeled out and eaten up in one go. Grandma Xie liked red bean paste zongzi, Xie Fei liked alkaline zongzi, Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao both liked salty zongzi. Jianjian ate two pieces of meat zongzi and licked his paws because of the glutinous rice. Xun Xun nestled in Xie Zhao's arms, staring at everyone eating zongzi, drooling.
Because grandma said that puppies under one month old can't eat glutinous rice. His eyes were as red as black beans, and he was so aggrieved that he clenched his paws and prayed hard.
Cheng Yaoyao even teased it with rice dumplings: "Little dogs can't eat it~"
Xie Zhao peeled another salted egg yolk and meat dumpling, picked out the salted egg yolk and fed it to Cheng Yaoyao, and fed the pork to the wailing Xun Xun. Xun Xun quickly bit it, grinding it carefully with his little fangs, and his tail wagged happily.
Cheng Yaoyao chewed the salted egg yolk and said, "Grandma, you saw it this time, didn't you? It wasn't me who fed Xun Xun carelessly, it was all Xie Zhao's fault!"
Grandma Xie said unhappily, "I think Zhao Ge'er will be a spoiled child in the future."
Xie Zhao remained calm as he put Xun Xun down on the ground. The fat little dog was still clinging to his feet, whimpering and acting coquettish, refusing to leave.
Cheng Yaoyao was jealous and pushed the chubby butt with his toes.
Grandma Xie patted Cheng Yaoyao and said, "You provoked it again!"
"..." Cheng Yaoyao hid behind Xie Zhao and said unconvincedly: "You are still used to children!"
Grandma Xie chuckled and exchanged glances with Xie Zhao: "Okay, we are all used to children, but you are not. You will take care of the children from now on, okay?"
Xie Fei chuckled.
"I'll take care of it!" Cheng Yaoyao agreed immediately.
Xie Zhao's aura instantly spread out, extremely hot, and hit Cheng Yaoyao's face layer by layer. Cheng Yaoyao couldn't see his expression from behind him, but he saw that the color of his tan neck gradually darkened, and it was about to emit steam.
Cheng Yaoyao finally realized what was happening and punched Xie Zhao in anger. Xie Zhao looked back at her innocently, and Grandma Xie and Xie Feizhang couldn't help laughing.
After eating the rice dumplings, the family wrapped the remaining ones. They cooked more than 20 rice dumplings and hung them hot on bamboo forks. The green rice dumplings reflected the golden straw, which was very pleasing to the eye.
Grandma Xie looked on with great delight and couldn't see enough.
Cheng Yaoyao held Grandma Xie's arm and watched with her. She asked curiously, "What's so good about this?"
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "In the past, our family was very poor. How could we have the spare money to make rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival? We hadn't eaten any rice dumplings in more than ten years. That year, Xiaopi was only six years old. He saw other children eating rice dumplings and cried because he was so hungry. Zhao'er went out for a few days without saying a word and brought back two rice dumplings with red bean paste. I asked him where he got them, but he refused to tell me. It was not until I was washing clothes that I found that the shoulders of his jacket were worn out. Then I learned that he went to the city to work as a porter for a few days in exchange for two rice dumplings. He was only twelve years old that year..."
Cheng Yaoyao thought about the bloody shoulder of the twelve-year-old Xie Zhao, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed.
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "I haven't cried yet, why are you crying? Don't cry. Life is better now. Look how many rice dumplings our family has made this year? They are all the blessings you have brought us."
Cheng Yaoyao turned away embarrassedly and wiped her eyes. Xie Zhaocai saw her red eyes when he came downstairs, dropped the bamboo pole in his hand and strode over to her: "Why are you crying? Did grandma scold you?"
"No..." Cheng Yaoyao burst into tears when he saw him.
Xie Zhao was so anxious that he hugged her and looked directly at Grandma Xie. Grandma Xie said angrily: "Why are you looking at me? I didn't say anything about her!"
Xie Zhao brought Cheng Yaoyao back to the house and coaxed him for a long time. Cheng Yaoyao didn't say why he was crying, but hugged him and said, "I will make you rice dumplings every year. Make a lot of them."
"Okay." Xie Zhao stroked her back gently, "I'll spend every year with my sister."
Cheng Yaoyao was like a piece of melting rice cake, sticking to Xie Zhao, sniffing the fresh and pure scent of Xie Zhao like a kitten. Xie Zhao lowered his head and kissed the corner of her eyes, and then the tip of her nose. Cheng Yaoyao's cheeks were as red as roses, and her trembling eyelashes could not hide her smile.
"Not crying anymore?"
"I wasn't crying in the first place!" Cheng Yaoyao raised his head when he heard it and was kissed.
There was a sudden knock on the door.
Xie Zhao looked towards the door, and Xie Fei said timidly through the door: "Grandma asked my brother to send some rice dumplings to next door."
He added, "My grandma asked me to come here!"
After saying that, he ran away.
The charming atmosphere was interrupted. Xie Zhao lowered his head and tapped Cheng Yaoyao's face, and his little face became stern again.
Xie Zhao rubbed her cheek and said, "Grandma has her own considerations. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and he is your father after all."
"..." Cheng Yaoyao gritted his teeth and said, "No meat dumplings allowed!"
Xie Zhao laughed softly: "Okay, I'll send you some sweet rice dumplings. Will you come with me?"
"I won't look at that woman's expression." Cheng Yaoyao crossed his arms with a look of disdain.
Xie Zhao said, "I'll be back soon."
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Then you better be careful and stay away from Cheng Nuonuo. I think she was not normal just now."
Xie Zhaodu agreed and walked to the door with Cheng Yaoyao in his arm. He heard Cheng Yaoyao muttering in a low voice: "Dad likes to eat rice dumplings."
In the yard, there was a basket of chicken eggs, duck eggs and mugwort, and Grandma Xie was making salted eggs. She smiled and said, "Yaoyao, you haven't come yet. You said your salted duck eggs are the best, so I'm waiting for you to make them."
Cheng Yaoyao hurried to wash his hands. Xie Zhao got a look from Grandma Xie and went out with his things.
The laughter and fragrance from the Xie family's yard filled the alley and also reached Aunt Yingui's house next door.
Cheng Nuonuo wiped her body with all her strength, applied red medicine to her wounds, and lay motionless on the bed. Wei Shuying clung to the wall like a gecko, exaggerating: "Listen, listen! She's laughing so happily! It doesn't look like something happened at home, even people celebrating a happy event wouldn't be as happy as she is!"
Cheng Zheng said in disgust: "People are celebrating the festival, what are you doing? Come down quickly, it will be embarrassing for Sister Yingui to see you."
Wei Shuying curled her lips and sat on the bedside: "Do you smell the fragrance? Sister Yingui said that they have been pickling meat and chopping stuffing early in the morning to make rice dumplings! Did she call you, her dear father?"
Cheng Zheng felt upset and a little disappointed when he heard this, so he subconsciously took out a cigarette. Then he saw Cheng Nuonuo lying on the bed, and he forced himself to put it back, feeling very anxious.
Cheng Nonuo said weakly, "Mom, please stop talking. The Xie family is living a good life, and Sister Yaoyao is happy."
Wei Shuying became more and more enthusiastic as she spoke: "Hey, she's living a good life, but she doesn't help you at all. Forget it, you two are separated by a layer of belly. But my dear father can't ignore it? Then the old lady of the Xie family started to scold people. It’s a roundabout way of doing things, and there’s no etiquette at all. They eat meat dumplings, and you, my dear father, eat the northwest wind!”
Before she finished her words, a voice came from the door: "Uncle."
Xie Zhao stood at the door with a tall figure, his expression indifferent, and it was unknown how much he had heard. Wei Shuying was a little scared of him for some reason, and she curled her lips and kept silent.
Cheng Zheng said awkwardly: "Xie Zhao, you are here. Come in and tell me what's going on."
Xie Zhao did not enter the house, but stood at the door and said, "Today is a festival, and my family has made rice dumplings. I remembered that you like to eat meat dumplings, so I asked me to bring some over."
Cheng Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then he walked over and took the things from Xie Zhao's hand. Xie Zhao didn't stay for long, and turned and left.
Auntie Yingui also got a zongzi and said with a smile, "This zongzi smells so good. I can tell it was made by Yaoyao the moment I smell it."
Cheng Zheng asked: "Yaoyao's cooking is delicious?"
"Of course not." Auntie Yingui repeated to Cheng Zheng what she had said to Shen's mother, praising Cheng Yaoyao to the heavens: "She is so beautiful and she is also a good cook. She also teaches the children in the village to write, and the children are happy to be close to her! You see, the daughter raised by you, a cultured man, is different! Everyone in the village praises her!"
Cheng Zheng was in a mixed mood. He only knew that his eldest daughter was beautiful and arrogant. It turned out that she had so many advantages that he had never known before.
Auntie Yingui looked at what Cheng Zheng had in his hand and praised: "The Xie family is really generous and polite. Look at all these good things. They are really good to their in-laws!"
Cheng Zheng said: "Isn't the Xie family a landlord? His family is now..."
Auntie Yingui said, "Don't you know? Xie Zhao is now very successful. He drives a tractor and leads the villagers to do things like... greenhouse vegetables. He lives a good life! Speaking of Xie Zhao, he is also a famous Yue Yun in the surrounding villages. In terms of character, he is a perfect match for your Cheng Zhiqing!"
Cheng Zheng was stunned: "Greenhouse vegetables?" This concept is quite advanced, and it has not yet been promoted, but Tianshui Village has already started planting them?
Auntie Yingui kept praising Xie Zhao and Cheng Yaoyao for a long time. She felt that she had accomplished a great deal and happily took the rice dumplings to the kitchen to leave for her grandson to eat when he returned home.
Wei Shuying came to the door and asked, "What did that landlord's son of a bitch tell you? Hey, what are these?"
Wei Shuying took the small basket away. In the exquisite little bamboo basket were four ox-horn dumplings, four pagoda dumplings, a few boiled eggs, and juicy tomatoes and tender cucumbers. The colors matched well and the arrangement was exquisite, just like a small painting.
Wei Shuying was so surprised that her jaw dropped. She sat down on the bed and asked Cheng Nonuo, "There are so many good things in the countryside? These dumplings are made of glutinous rice. In the black market in Shanghai, a pound of glutinous rice costs three yuan. Where does the Xie family get so much money? Why is that damn girl giving money to the man's family?"
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