"DouDou, do you know what I'm thinking?" Wang Qiqiang asked softly, his face flushed.
Yuan Doudou nodded without saying anything.
“I know An Rong is still alive. I will take care of myself, don’t worry.” Wang Qiqiang’s thinking was simple: before An Rong returned, he would help her as much as he could.
If Yuan Doudou directly tells him that she doesn't need his help and doesn't want him to get close to her, he will disappear immediately.
Yuan Doudou was somewhat surprised that he knew about this matter, which must be related to her mother-in-law, as she and Zhang Aiju were inseparable.
"Yes, I trust Brother Wang's character." If he were of questionable character, the girls in the village would probably have been corrupted by him long ago.
"Brother Wang, it's your freedom to like whomever you want, and I have no right to interfere." You can't stop someone from liking you.
Wang Qiqiang's heart was pounding, his lips were trembling, and his eyebrows were shaking. It was the first time someone had said such things to him, and he was unable to calm down.
At noon, Yuan Doudou finished picking strawberries and went home first.
Angie stayed quietly by his side, without saying a word.
He stared intently at the strawberries in his mother's basket, thinking of candied strawberries. He wished he could eat one.
Back home, Yuan Doudou first cooked rice. She used regular rice, since it was just the two of them at home, so they didn't need to be so frugal with their food and drink. Besides, with their current circumstances, they could afford rice and wheat flour.
There's some leftover braised pork from yesterday; stir-frying some cowpeas will be enough.
Cowpeas are a high-yield vegetable. In the summer, every household will set up trellises to provide growing space for cowpeas.
Plucking the long, thin cowpeas, washing them clean, and cutting them into thumb-length pieces.
Heat a wok, add lard and garlic slices, then add the cowpea segments and stir-fry. Add salt to taste, add half a bowl of water, cover the wok, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cowpeas should not be eaten undercooked. It is better to cook them until they are very soft than to eat them half-cooked. Like green beans, they can easily cause diarrhea.
While cowpeas were cooking in the pot, Yuan Doudou started preparing strawberries. It was too hot to make candied hawthorns anymore.
Yuan Doudou took a clean earthenware basin, put the strawberries in, sprinkled some flour in, and gently rubbed them to wash away the dirt.
Remove the washed strawberries from the water, remove the stems, and place them on a plate.
Anji was playing hopscotch in the yard when he saw his mother washing strawberries, so he rushed into the house.
"Mother, can I have one?" he asked, blinking his big, round eyes.
Yuan Doudou picked up a clean one and held it to his mouth, "Of course, you can eat as many as you want."
Angie happily ate one strawberry after another; the strawberries were so delicious, sweet and sour.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Anji asked, noticing there were no bamboo skewers, so it didn't seem like she was making candied hawthorns.
"Strawberry jam." With the weather getting hot, strawberries don't keep well, so making strawberry jam makes them easier to preserve.
Angie thought of ketchup. If ketchup is so delicious, strawberry jam must be even better.
"Mother, let me help you."
As he spoke, Angie picked up a strawberry and carefully plucked off the leaves.
In no time, the bowl of strawberries was cleaned up.
The cowpeas in the pot were cooked, so Yuan Doudou turned off the heat. Seeing that the rice hadn't been cooked through yet, she went to cut the strawberries.
Cut the strawberry vertically in half lengthwise, then cut it into small pieces.
After cutting the strawberries into chunks, sprinkle a layer of rock sugar on top, stir, and then place the bowl in a water tank to cool for a while.
It would be even better if there were a refrigerator.
Once the rice was cooked, Yuan Doudou scooped out the top layer, leaving some rice in the pot. She then simmered it over low heat and sprinkled it with white sugar.
After a while, carefully scrape it from the side of the pot with a spatula, and a whole round piece of crispy rice crust will come out.
"Wow, Mommy, you're amazing!" Angie thought it was incredible; his mother knew magic.
Yuan Doudou also saw her grandmother make this when she was a child: rice crust sprinkled with white sugar, which tasted incredibly delicious.
Anji lost his appetite for rice and stared longingly at the sugar-coated rice crust.
"Anji, eat first. You can have the rice crust this afternoon." There aren't many snacks at home, so this will be a good snack that's both delicious and filling.
“Okay.” Angie looked away and focused on eating.
Yuan Doudou picked up a piece of braised pork and some cowpeas for him, saying, "A balanced diet of meat and vegetables is good for your health."
"Mmm, the cowpeas are delicious."
Yuan Doudou saw Anji eating with a satisfied expression and smiled contentedly. She had added soy sauce to the dish, and since the cowpeas were naturally fresh and cooked until soft, they tasted delicious.
It smells even better than meat.
"Mommy, I'm full. Can I have some rice crust now?" Anji put down his chopsticks and looked at his mother expectantly.
Yuan Doudou didn't want to spoil his mood; delayed gratification was a good thing, so she said, "You can eat a little less."
"Great!" He didn't care if he ate less or less.
Yuan Doudou broke off a small piece of the candy and handed it to Anji.
Angie stared at the glistening white sugar on top, her eyes sparkling.
No child dislikes sweets; just reduce their sugar intake and brush their teeth before bed.
Anji took a bite, and it was crunchy and sweet on the tip of her tongue, the sweetness going straight to her heart.
"Mommy, this is delicious, have a piece too." Angie wanted to share the joy of the food with his mother.
Yuan Doudou drank half a bowl of cucumber soup and also ate a piece of rice crust.
She hadn't had any crispy and delicious snacks in a long time, and now, eating the simplest rice crackers, she felt extremely satisfied.
Life in the countryside in ancient times was really tough. Being able to eat some sweet food every day would lift one's spirits.
On a quiet summer afternoon, the village was peaceful as everyone was taking a nap.
The courtyard of the second house of the An family was quite lively.
“An Bihuai, I’ve been married to you for over twenty years and given you three sons. Now that I’m old, can’t I even eat a piece of meat?” Zhuang Shuhui shouted from the doorway.
"Get up right now." An Bihuai was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He had just spent thirty coins to buy her meat yesterday, and now she was having another episode.
The three sons also tried to comfort her, saying, "Mom, if you want to eat meat, just let Dad go buy it. Don't shout."
The whole village could hear her loud voice.
“I’ll make a scene, I’ll let the whole village know how your father mistreated me.” She was the youngest daughter in her family, and they always gave her the best food. But ever since she came to the An family, first her mother-in-law oppressed her, and after her mother-in-law left, her three sons were like hungry wolves, leaving her with nothing good to eat.
An Bihuai jumped up in anger, "Don't you understand that we're broke?"
"I don't care, it's your fault if you don't have money. Why don't you work hard to earn money?" Even a girl like Yuan Doudou can find ways to earn money, but he, a grown man, can't.
Anping was also in a dilemma. He was the eldest son, and his mother wanted to eat meat, so he had to find a way.
"Mother, don't cry, I'll think of something." Anping said, and was about to leave.
An Bihua shouted, "You come back here right now!"
"Dad, Mom just wants to eat meat. Even if our family is poor, we can still afford a piece of meat." At worst, he can go to town to work.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
