Chapter 15 No wonder No wonder
When An Zhixia caught up with her brother, she saw him waving goodbye to a man. Three little kids were following the man's long legs. They were none other than the three little siblings who sold her fish at the market.
"Brother, that is..." She looked at their backs curiously. The man was tall, with his back straight. He lowered his head slightly and listened patiently to the chattering of the three children. His profile was handsome as if carved by a knife. His dark blue clothes were patched up with patches, but it still couldn't hide his coldness and alienation. He was out of tune with the surrounding villagers.
"Didn't you just meet them last night? Fang Yuan, Comrade Fang, those are his three children," An Zhiqiu said, shaking his head and sighing as he shared with the girl the news he had heard from the villagers when he participated in the winter hunt.
"Fang Yuan has been here for more than three years. He was holding a baby, carrying another on his back, and holding another. He had very few luggage, and even the winter clothes were collected by the village chief. He was so pitiful. During this period, he did not send a single letter. Think about it, if all his relatives were not gone, how could they not keep in touch with each other?
Or maybe his wife divorced him and left the kids to pursue her own career.”
The city was in turmoil, how many people didn't make it, how many relatives cut off their ties in order to get out of the quagmire? He couldn't help but get goose bumps all over his body when he thought about it. If she wasn't afraid of being posted on big-character posters, Kang Xiaohua wouldn't be a stepmother who looked sweet but had a bitter heart.
An Zhixia frowned and racked her brains to think about it. The boss also has children? She always felt that she was missing something.
When they got back to the yard, Liu Yiyue and Qi Yunlan occupied a stove each and worked hard to prepare the game they had just received. Wild boars were not as fat as domestic pigs, and after half a winter, they were even thinner. They boiled out the oil, scooped out the oil residue, and sprinkled a handful of white sugar. It was tender, crispy and delicious. For people who lack oil and water in their stomachs, it was a rare delicacy.
The remaining meat is smeared with salt and star anise, then hung on the stove to be smoked. If preserved well, it can be eaten for more than half a year.
The two of them fried the cabbage and vermicelli in the oil in the pot, and then heated up the porridge and steamed buns.
The vacated stove was replaced by An Zhixia and Fei Zheng.
Fei Zheng got half a pound of pork, but the male educated youth who went out hunting each gave her a little, so it was enough to make up a pound. She worked quickly, boiled out the oil, and cooked a bowl of dumpling soup with the oil, adding two slices of meat and a few pieces of oil residue, and lunch was solved.
An Zhixia had a slightly heavier workload, directing her brother to prepare a pheasant, three old hens, two ducks and more than 20 fish with hot water. She followed the local customs and refined most of the fat into oil, diced some of the lean meat and made sauce with soybeans and peanuts, smoked some of it like them, and smeared a little salt on the last part and put it in the cupboard to add to the dishes.
Anyway, every household is eating meat today, so no one needs to be greedy. She makes braised pork and quail eggs, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, steamed rice, and fish soup.
As soon as the food was served, Nie Yichang wandered out. Looking at the golden, juicy, and temptingly fragrant braised pork and milky fish soup, he couldn't help licking his face and walked forward.
"Sister, your cooking skills are so good that you dragged me here," he said, hooking his arm around An Zhiqiu's and said shamelessly, "No, Zhiqiu, we have the intention of sleeping together anyway. For the sake of that can of malted milk, can you let me eat two more times?"
"Didn't you just finish eating?" The friendship between the men quickly warmed up. During the three days of hunting, the two became familiar with each other. An Zhiqiu kicked him unceremoniously: "If I remember correctly, you ate two big steamed buns and a bowl of vegetables. Can you still eat now?"
Nie Yichang continued to lean on his shoulder, wailing in a low voice: "If I knew our sister had this skill and was willing to give up oil, meat and eggs, I would definitely call Lei Zi to join you. I was badly cheated by that woman Chen Sike!"
"I love my own sister, and I can't bear to see her suffer. Take your meat and go away," An Zhiqiu pushed some of the food aside, stuffed it into his arms, and pushed him away with a smile and a scolding.
The brother and sister sat in the kitchen to eat. The braised pork and quail eggs were sweet and soft, melting in the mouth. The pickled cabbage was crisp and refreshing. The fish was only fried a little and then boiled with water, ginger and green onions. The soup was milky white and fragrant. The rice was cooked in a wood stove. The rice grains were crystal clear and fragrant. The braised sauce was poured over it. Half a bowl was eaten.
"Xia Xia, your cooking skills are really great. No wonder Nie Zhiqing shamelessly asked for four more bowls of rice." Considering how closely Nie Yichang and Hang Xianglei were in the same boat, it goes without saying that two of the bowls of rice were cooked by Hang Xianglei.
An Zhixia propped up her chin and watched her brother wash the pots and bowls to digest the food. She nodded and explained, "When I went to collect firewood before, I passed by a state-owned restaurant. The smell inside made me unable to walk. I secretly hid under the window to smell the smell to satisfy my craving. After doing it many times, I became a master of it."
These words made An Zhiqiu feel sad, and he replied in a muffled voice: "Brother will work hard in the future and strive to get full work points..." When he said this, he felt depressed. As someone else's brother, it seemed good enough for him to earn enough food for two people.
An Zhixia smiled and responded: "I know my brother is the best!"
An Zhiqiu blushed and hummed uncomfortably, "After the spring, we will raise some chickens so that we can eat fresh eggs every day. We can kill two of them every month to replenish our bodies. We will also raise two pigs, one for us to hand over and one for us to eat during the New Year.
I often go to the river to catch fish, shrimps, crabs and loaches to satisfy my hunger, and the food is no worse than what people in the city eat.
By the way, I will ask someone to build a stove next to the kitchen this afternoon before the New Year, so you don’t have to queue up to cook..."
She praised him flatteringly, and suddenly the plot in the book came to her mind, and her face turned pale.
The novel follows the relationship and career of the heroine and hero as the main storyline, with several important supporting characters developing side stories. The rest of the characters are not given much attention, and some are simply introduced in one or two sentences.
Fang Yuan did have three children, but unfortunately they all died young. So the heroine was able to put aside her psychological grudges and pursue him, but there was no blood relative in the world anymore, and the boss's heart was as cold as iron, and it was not easy to be moved.
Qi Yunlan has been unable to conquer him for a long time and is harassed by the village scoundrels, so she is ready to use special means to achieve her wish, but she accidentally gets together with the male protagonist. The woman was still courting him a moment ago, but turned around and threw herself into the arms of another man. The boss naturally felt a little unbalanced and paid more attention to Qi Yunlan. He found various advantages of the female protagonist and developed some affection for her.
Just relying on this bit of goodwill, the heroine took advantage of him and lived a smooth life with the hero.
What does the text say?
It is said that Fang Yuan had three children. The eldest boy was trying to catch fish by breaking ice in winter and accidentally fell into an ice cave. By the time the two younger ones called adults, the child had already drowned. The little boy's body was frozen blue and purple, and he was still holding a big fish tightly in his hands. The adults who saw it couldn't help crying.
No wonder, no wonder she kept telling him not to go fishing secretly.
(End of this chapter)
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