Zhang Hongyan also prepared five mackerel for tonight.
Qiao Qiqi thought for a moment. These mackerel were small, and two wouldn't be enough for one person if they really wanted to eat them. So she had to add plenty of side dishes, and that's when she thought of tofu.
“Okay, I’ll call Limin to go check with Old Zhang’s house right now. They should still have some tofu left.” Zhang Hongyan acted immediately, going back into the house to wake up Su Limin, who was still sleeping.
"What time is it and you're still sleeping? Hurry up and go to the east end of the village to see if there's any tofu left."
Su Limin was woken up before she was fully awake, and she was irritable. Upon hearing Zhang Hongyan's words, she immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Does it have to be tofu? Can't we eat something else?"
Seeing that she was clearly being lazy and didn't want to go, Zhang Hongyan immediately used her uninjured hand to pinch her ear, saying, "Just go when I tell you to. Stop talking so much nonsense. Hurry up and go, or the tofu will be gone."
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Mom, be gentle!" Su Limin felt like her ears were about to be twisted off, and finally she came to her senses.
Zhang Hongyan kept twisting her hand until she got to the ground before letting go. "Go quickly, stop talking nonsense!"
Su Limin didn't dare to say anything more. She immediately put on her shoes, not even bothering to comb her hair, and walked outside.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Qiao Qiqi standing in the yard, eating persimmons and looking at her with a half-smile.
Su Limin realized that Qiao Qiqi had heard everything, and she was immediately embarrassed, but she still tried to remain calm and glared at her fiercely, "What are you looking at?!"
Qiao Qiqi raised an eyebrow: "How would you know I'm looking at you if you weren't looking at me?"
This question left Su Limin speechless for a moment.
Knowing that this woman was sharp-tongued, Su Limin gritted her teeth, snorted coldly, and immediately ran away quickly.
Qiao Qiqi ate the last bite of the persimmon, clapped her hands, and began preparing dinner.
She first washed the eggplant and potatoes, then threw the potatoes directly into the pot and added water.
Potatoes don't cook quickly; they cook faster if you put them in water.
Place a lid on top, put the eggplant on it, then chop two chilies and put them in a plate. Add a large spoonful of soybean paste, a spoonful of soybean oil, and two eggs. Mix well and then put it on the lid.
Then bend down and crack six nice eggs onto the plate.
This dish is quite extravagant; if Zhang Hongyan hadn't specifically mentioned that there was no meat available these past few days, she really wouldn't have been willing to use it.
Wipe away the spilled sauce with a dishcloth, cover the pot with the lid, and then you can start the fire.
With Su Limin absent, and Zhang Hongyan unable to use one hand properly, but still able to use the other to start the fire, the task of starting the fire fell to her.
During this time, Qiao Qiqi cleaned the fish, picked a cabbage from the yard, washed it, and then waited for Su Limin's tofu.
Fortunately, the tofu was bought.
After putting down the tofu, Su Limin immediately picked up a ladle, scooped up half a ladle of water, gulped it down, and then said, "This is the last piece left. Luckily I arrived early, or someone would have snatched it."
Zhang Hongyan immediately said, "See? I told you to go and you were still dawdling. If I hadn't urged you, someone would have snatched it from you."
Su Limin choked and started coughing.
Seeing the mother and daughter bickering, Qiao Qiqi immediately heated oil in a wok, sautéed scallions, ginger, garlic, and two dried chilies until fragrant, then added thirteen-spice powder and soy sauce, followed by two ladles of water.
Once the water boils, add the mackerel, tofu, and salt, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Then uncover the pot, put in the shredded cabbage and glass noodles, place the kneaded steamed buns on top, and wait another 20 minutes before eating.
While Qiao Qiqi was washing her hands, Zhang Hongyan asked about the details of her medical visit.
Qiao Qiqi first mentioned Lin Chunying's old ailment, "It's still lumbar muscle strain. I got a plaster for half a month. I'll try it when I get back and see if it helps."
"And what about that child?" Zhang Hongyan asked again.
Qiao Qiqi sighed, "Western medicine can't help, and traditional Chinese medicine says it's mainly psychological. They suggest trying acupuncture, which requires three courses of treatment, each lasting seven days. And it's not certain if it will work. I decided to go on short notice and didn't bring any change of clothes. My family doesn't know either, so I thought I'd come back and discuss it first."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hongyan frowned, but at the same time couldn't help but admire her. "Qin Baojun adopted Qin Huai before, and now you and Qin Huai have adopted these two children. You are both kind people. God will not let you down. Don't worry too much. The children are blessed by the heavens and will definitely get better."
Fang Ke happened to hear this when he came in, and immediately walked in and asked, "Is it that even the county hospital can't cure Xin Xin's illness?"
Seeing that she had returned so early today, Qiao Qiqi turned around, met Fang Ke's serious gaze, and nodded, "The traditional Chinese medicine doctor at the county hospital said that acupuncture can be tried, but he can't guarantee whether it can cure the disease."
"What kind of doctor is this? What if we spend money and he still can't cure me? He clearly doesn't want to take responsibility, so he's saying this on purpose!" Fang Ke's temper flared up immediately.
Seeing that the doctors at the county hospital were so irresponsible, he suddenly said decisively, "Why don't we skip Heilong City and just come with me to Beijing? The doctors in Beijing are amazing; they'll definitely be able to cure Xin Xin's illness."
"!" Qiao Qiqi didn't expect Fang Ke to say that directly.
But Fang Ke had already made up her mind. "I'll go talk to Director Sun right now. Luckily, we still have room in our car. You and Xin Xin can ride in our car to Beijing. I'll accompany you to see the doctor. My mother happens to have some connections at the hospital. I'll ask her to help us find someone. We're sure we can cure Xin Xin's illness."
Hope flickered in Qiao Qiqi's eyes, "Really? Is it possible?"
"Of course I can! Leave this to me! I'll take care of it for you!" Fang Ke said readily.
Qiao Qiqi was surprised by this unexpected joy.
If Fang Ke could really persuade Sun Shengli to take her and Xin Xin to Beijing, then everything would be much easier, at least they wouldn't have to go through layers of introduction letters.
Fang Ke came back because she had been bitten by mosquitoes several times and needed to get some anti-itch medicine. So after she finished talking, she went inside to get the ointment she had left at noon and then hurriedly went back.
Qiao Qiqi had already cooked dinner, so she wiped her hands and went home first.
She thought Fang Ke would come to her house that night to tell her the result, but Fang Ke didn't come even when the moon was high in the treetops.
Qiao Qiqi thought the plan was ruined and went to sleep disappointed.
The very next day, when she was about to go to the Su family's house to cook, a villager suddenly rushed over and said that someone was injured in the field, "The Qin family boy is injured."
The Qin family boy, isn't that Qin Huai?
Qiao Qiqi turned pale with fright and immediately stepped forward to ask, "Where is the injured person now? In the fields or at the brigade headquarters?"
"No, they've already been taken to the town hospital."
Was it so serious that they had to be taken to the hospital?
Qiao Qiqi's legs went weak.
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