After dinner, Yin Xiaoman went to the cafeteria.
In fact, she no longer needs to help in the cafeteria often. After all, after so long, she has learned most of the things she needs to know.
After teaching for a few days and helping to lead those young soldiers, there will basically be no problem.
Unless she picked up something really uncommon, the people in the kitchen would come to her to figure out whether it could be eaten and how to eat it.
But Yin Xiaoman stayed at the seaside until she was seven years old. When it comes to knowing these seafood, she may not recognize them all as well as Uncle Li and the others.
It's just that he has been in the imperial kitchen for a long time, so he has learned a lot. Even if he tries, the food he makes will be much more delicious than those little soldiers.
So now Yin Xiaoman doesn’t go there every day, but he has a very good relationship with the people in the kitchen.
Sometimes, when the young soldiers picked up a lot of seafood, they would send someone to secretly deliver some to her home, so that she would have to make fewer trips and work less hard.
When he heard that she wanted to go to the county town with him, the cook team leader Wang Jun agreed without even thinking about it. He also specifically told her not to run back and forth in the morning, as he would drive his tricycle to pick her up at her doorstep.
After confirming the time of departure with Wang Jun, Yin Xiaoman began to think about what to buy in the county town tomorrow.
Needless to say, you must buy oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.
Wang Jun had just told her about the fine grains. Since the grain stores in the county town had the task of supplying the troops, there would be no need to queue up to buy grain or to limit the amount of grain purchased. As long as he has the supply book or food coupons, he can just bring them back when he goes to buy them.
It’s hard to say how much fine grain you can buy.
Since it was her first time going to the county town, when I asked Yin Xiaoman what she wanted to buy, she actually had no idea. But I still decided to bring more money and prepare more things.
She took out all the money and tickets she had saved in the drawer during this period, and after thinking it over, she decided to go back to the palace.
She wanted to go to her room to see if there was anything she could take out in exchange.
But Mrs. Cui told her that in that seafood market, people basically bartered.
While the children were taking a nap, Yin Xiaoman returned to his house.
She sorted out the unused pieces of cloth in the box and found a piece of white fine cloth.
This was distributed by the palace. It was cotton cloth used to make inner clothes for the palace servants. It was distributed every quarter. She had saved so much that she could not use it all. She tore off two pieces and placed them on the bed, preparing to take them out later.
At this moment, Yin Xiaoman suddenly heard someone talking outside.
Because she had come here many times, this was not the first time she heard the palace servants talking, so she didn't take it too seriously. But as she listened, she heard Lichun's name, which made her stop what she was doing and listen carefully.
"Do you think the Imperial Concubine is deliberately making things difficult for Aunt Lichun? Why are we having shrimp noodles and specifically asking her to make it? We have never seen shrimp before, so where can we find it in the Imperial Kitchen?"
"Who said it wasn't true? It is said that the imperial kitchen's purchasers have all been sent out, and we have been searching for several days but haven't found even a trace of him. Aunt Lichun will have a hard time getting through this test."
"Alas, there is nothing we can do about it. She is the queen. Can she take back what she said? Aunt Lichun is in big trouble now."
The more Yin Xiaoman listened, the more he felt something was wrong. He didn't want to listen any more and decided to go to the imperial kitchen to see if he could find anything. She muttered to herself in her heart and went straight into the imperial kitchen.
What she didn't expect was that Lichun was actually sitting in the room at this moment.
It was already past lunch time and the entire imperial kitchen was empty. She was the only one sitting silently in the hut, with a dejected look on her face.
Seeing her like this, Yin Xiaoman knew that this girl must be completely helpless.
It has been like this since she was a child. Whenever she encountered something she couldn't handle, she liked to find a corner to hide herself and silently digest the frustration in her heart.
Yin Xiaoman looked at her and nodded calmly: "Okay, you really have grown up. You didn't cry even when faced with such a difficult thing."
Thinking of this, she felt sad for a moment - now that her master was gone, Lichun should have no place to cry, right?
Yin Xiaoman began to think about his own inventory, wondering where he could help his apprentice get some fresh shrimp.
She had been to almost all the beaches near the military camp and picked up a lot of shellfish, but she had never seen a single shrimp.
Although Uncle Li can catch a few fish occasionally, I have never seen him catch any shrimps so far.
But Yin Xiaoman felt that there must be shrimps, he just hadn't encountered them yet.
She was going to say hello to Uncle Li when she got back and ask him to find a way to collect some for her, even if it meant paying a little more.
Then Yin Xiaoman suddenly thought of tomorrow's seafood market, and suddenly became more confident——
Isn't it just some shrimp?
With her master guarding the beach, what does Xiao Lichun have to be afraid of?
She glanced at her apprentice again and left quietly.
Before dawn the next day, Wang Jun drove the car to the door of his house, and by then, Yin Xiaoman had been waiting for a long time.
This was her first time riding on this diesel tricycle, and she felt a little curious at first. But when she really sat in the car and it started to hum, she understood that Shen Qingyun's advice yesterday was really good for her.
Sitting in the back of the car, not only were bursts of black smoke with a strong smell of diesel blown towards my face by the wind, but the car was also shaking violently.
Along the way, Yin Xiaoman had to keep holding on to both sides of the car with her hands, for fear that Wang Jun would throw her out if she was not careful.
Fortunately, the car's speed is still acceptable. Mrs. Cui said that it usually takes her almost three hours to go to the county one way, but by taking a tricycle, it only takes more than an hour.
Wang Jun drove the car directly to the back door of the grain store and took Yin Xiaoman to the director's office as if he was familiar with the route.
The director was obviously very familiar with Wang Jun. Without saying a few polite words, he took them directly to the warehouse.
Wang Jun needed a lot of food, and the small tricycle couldn't carry it all, so he discussed with the director to have the grain store's truck deliver it. While they were talking, Yin Xiaoman took out the food coupons and supply book she had brought with her and gave them to the employee of the grain store, asking them to pack up her food first.
It was indeed as Wang Jun said, the grain store could not provide much fine grain. Even with this relationship, what he could sell to Yin Xiaoman in the end was only five kilograms of rice and five kilograms of flour. The rice was quite coarse, and most of it was broken grains.
But despite this, she was already very satisfied. After all, with these, she has a reason to add anything else.
Coarse grains are easy to deal with. She can freely choose sorghum flour, corn flour, and dried sweet potatoes, without having to make rigid combinations like other citizens.
The children at home don’t like to eat dried sweet potatoes, and Yin Xiaoman also has severe acid reflux after eating them, so she simply asked for most of the coarse grains to be corn and sorghum.
After leaving the grain store, the two of them went to the grocery store.
The supply of non-staple food is relatively limited now, and even if you have tickets, you may not be able to buy anything. So people in the county town usually line up in front of the grocery store early in the morning before dawn if they want to buy something.
When Yin Xiaoman and the others arrived, it was already past eight o'clock, almost nine o'clock. How could they buy anything good?
I couldn't even buy a piece of tofu.
After a round of shopping, she only bought a handful of kelp and a bag of fresh shrimps besides the seasonings.
Although the items are not rare, the quality is quite good. The kelp was fat and thick, the shrimps were big, and they were cleaned very cleanly. Yin Xiaoman was very satisfied.
But after running so far, she only bought such a few things, so she still felt a little unwilling. After thinking for a while, he said to Wang Jun, "Let's go to the place where the vegetables are sold and have a look?"
Hearing her say this, Wang Jun was surprised: "Sister-in-law, if there are not enough vegetables at home, there are actually more grown in the camp."
Yin Xiaoman quickly shook his hand, interrupting him before he could finish his words.
She understands that no matter how much is needed, one should not take advantage of the public. Besides, she wasn't that needy.
"I'm just curious. It's my first time here and I want to take a look. It's not like my family needs anything. If you don't think it's suitable, forget it."
"What's wrong with that? I'll take you to see it now."
Hearing her say this, Wang Jun looked relieved. "I think the vegetables in the city are too expensive and not worth it. Also, even though this is a county town, the variety of vegetables may not be as many as in our camp. Also, they are not fresh. You can tell by looking at them. Many of the leaves are rotten."
The two of them talked as they walked to the place where vegetables were sold.
Just as Wang Jun said, there is nothing here anymore.
Even the common vegetables and radishes were only the crooked and cracked ones that had been picked out.
The more Yin Xiaoman looked, the more disappointed he felt.
Fortunately, just as they were about to leave, Yin Xiaoman saw several scattered sacks in a corner inside the counter. There were some potatoes and pumpkins on the ground outside the sacks, which had rolled out of the sacks.
However, these two things have obviously been stored for a long time, and the skin is a bit wilted.
“How do you sell this?”
Yin Xiaoman went forward to ask the price, but was stopped by Wang Jun: "Sister-in-law, this is not fresh, don't waste your money. We also have some grown in the camp, they are almost ripe, in another month, I will send some home then."
This time Yin Xiaoman was very stubborn. He smiled and said to Wang Jun, "Children love to eat it. Buy some first for them to eat and play with." Then he ignored him and went up to the salesperson to ask the price.
Although Wang Jun also didn't understand how this potato and pumpkin could be eaten for fun? But my sister-in-law loves the two children very much, which is well-known throughout the camp.
He has been in the camp for many years. When Dabao’s father was here, he also brought him to the cafeteria to play.
Anyone with eyes can see what kind of life those two children lived in the past and what kind of life they are living now.
So, when he heard his sister-in-law talking about the child wanting to eat, he couldn't even say a word of persuasion.
The pumpkin and potatoes have indeed been stored for a long time, and they are not valuable vegetables to begin with. In addition, seeing that Wang Jun was standing nearby and still wearing his military uniform, the salesperson was very kind and helped Yin Xiaoman to round off the price.
She only paid one dollar for a big sack full of pumpkins and potatoes.
Yin Xiaoman was very satisfied, while Wang Jun, standing beside him, was so distressed that his mouth twitched.
When they came out again, Yin Xiaoman suggested going to the small market that sold seafood.
After hearing this, Wang Jun did not look surprised. It was obvious that he must have experienced this kind of thing many times before.
He just said to Yin Xiaoman: "Sister-in-law, why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me earlier, we should have gone there first when we came. It's so late now, the market should have been closed long ago. Those who really want to buy things usually go there before dawn."
Hearing him say this, Yin Xiaoman suddenly felt extremely regretful.
If it was before, it wouldn't matter whether she went or not this time. After all, she knew that Wang Jun and his friends would come to the county town frequently to buy things, so she could just make an appointment with them next time.
But she happened to have heard about Lichun's incident yesterday, and she had to help her little apprentice no matter what.
Although she didn't say anything, her face clearly showed disappointment.
Seeing her like this, Wang Jun thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, I'll take you there. Just treat it as a guide to get to know the way. At worst, you can come back next time."
At this point, Wang Jun added: "But sister-in-law, I have to tell you first, I can't accompany you to that kind of place."
He tugged at his military uniform and said, "...It doesn't fit. I'll take you to the entrance of the alley and wait for you nearby. Come find me when you come out."
How could Yin Xiaoman refuse?
When we got there, we found out that the so-called seafood market was in a very narrow alley.
The alley is lined with dilapidated houses, which are so crowded together that not even the sunlight can get in.
It was already nine o'clock in the morning and the sun was shining outside, but once you got inside, it was dark everywhere and made you feel wet and cold.
Just as Wang Jun said, the market had already been dispersed by now, and the whole alley was empty with almost no one to be seen. Even the houses on both sides of the road had their doors closed, making it look like an empty alley with no one living there.
She walked from one end of the alley to the other, and apart from the sound of her own footsteps, she didn't hear any other sound around her. As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Yin Xiaoman was extremely disappointed with his trip here.
But just as she was walking back and about to reach the entrance of the alley, someone suddenly slapped her from behind.
The defenseless Yin Xiaoman was so frightened that she almost screamed, and then she heard a soft voice from the side and back: "Shhh!"
She quickly closed her mouth and turned her head away.
Only then did she notice a head sticking out of the window of a house she had just passed.
The window was on the earthen wall facing the outside, it was a bit high and the window was very small. Looking from the outside, you can't see anything except the pitch-black darkness inside.
At this moment, a young man who looked about twelve or thirteen years old was standing at the window with half of his body leaning out.
It seemed that he was the one who patted his shoulder just now.
Seeing her turn around, the young man didn't waste any words and raised his chin towards the bamboo basket in her hand: "What's in it?"
This was the trick that Cui Yan came over to teach Yin Xiaoman before going to bed last night.
She said that everyone who came to trade would bring a basket and pretend to accidentally lift up a corner of the cloth covering it to reveal what you wanted to exchange.
This way, when people see someone they are interested in, they will take the initiative to talk to you.
But today, since she only brought cloth, she simply folded the cloth and put it in the basket.
"Cloth." She answered honestly.
Hearing her say this, the young man showed a disappointed expression, thought about it, and then reluctantly asked again: "Nothing else? Is there anything to eat?"
Yin Xiaoman was moved when he heard this.
She did not reply immediately, but asked, "What do you want in exchange?"
The boy looked at her carefully, as if he was considering whether he could trust her. After a moment, he said to her: "Come in."
After saying that, he retracted his head from the window.
After a few minutes, the shabby wooden door opened a crack, and the boy waved to Yin Xiaoman.
Yin Xiaoman hesitated for a moment, but still walked in.
This is a residential building, and the people living inside are permanent. If anything happens, the police will be able to find it here quickly.
What's more, Wang Jun is not far away. If I don't go out for a long time, he will definitely come to find me as soon as possible.
Worst case scenario, there is still room for improvement.
Therefore, Yin Xiaoman is not very worried about safety issues.
On the contrary, she felt that compared to someone like herself who came from outside and whose identity was unclear, the young man was facing a greater risk.
Seeing her enter his range of activities, the boy looked much more relaxed than before, and there was much less vigilance in his eyes.
"I have fresh hairtail, scallops, kelp, and some crabs, but I want to exchange them for food, not cloth."
"Do you have shrimps? I'll exchange them for eggs." Yin Xiaoman asked tentatively.
When he heard the word "eggs", the boy's eyes lit up: "How many do you have?"
"I have to check the goods first. Take out your shrimps and show them to me." Yin Xiaoman said defensively.
The boy hesitated for a moment before telling the truth: "The shrimps are not good. There are no big ones. We only have some that we plan to keep for ourselves."
"Please take it out and let me see it." Yin Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it exists, who cares about the size?
She was still satisfied with Lichun's cooking skills. As long as the shrimps were fresh, she would naturally be able to bring out the best flavor of the shrimps.
As for the size it doesn't matter.
The boy quickly carried out an iron bucket from the house. It was half filled with water. As he walked, water splashed out from time to time.
He placed the iron bucket in front of Yin Xiaoman and said, "That's it."
Yin Xiaoman leaned over, took a look, and was suddenly speechless and didn't want to say a word.
She felt that the boy must have some misunderstanding about the size of shrimps. How could he despise these bamboo shrimps that were longer than her fingers so much that he was unwilling to exchange them?
So how big is the prawn in his eyes?
"If you want the prawns, come back in a few days. This is all we have today," the young man added with a look of regret.
"I want all of them. How many eggs do you want?" Yin Xiaoman suppressed his excitement and asked in a still calm tone.
"It's up to you." The boy kicked the bucket on the ground with a look of frustration in his eyes.
It was obvious that he was frustrated that he couldn't get a good price for the shrimp.
"You said, if it's suitable, change it."
This was Yin Xiaoman’s first time here, and she had no idea about the exchange standards, so she had to kick the ball back again.
"Then... five?" The boy tentatively gave a number.
After saying that, as if afraid that Yin Xiaoman would go back on her word, she quickly added: "I can also give you another bag of kelp. My kelp is also very good."
Yin Xiaoman took a look at the shrimps in the bucket and estimated that after removing the water, this half bucket would have at least two kilograms. Not to mention a bag of kelp.
You know, she just spent 25 cents to buy a bag of kelp at the grocery store!
No wonder Sister Cui kept telling her to come to this seafood market.
At this moment, Yin Xiaoman only regretted that there were not many eggs stored in her residence in the palace, only twenty. But she was holding only a bamboo basket in her hand. It would have been okay if she took out a few eggs, but it would have been a bit too unreasonable for her to take out some food as well.
She gave all the eggs to the boy, then carried a bucket full of seafood out the door.
The bucket contained four cutlassfish wider than her palm, two groupers, shrimps and kelp. Before leaving, she looked reluctantly at the scallops in the wooden basin at the boy's feet, gritted her teeth, and walked back.
"One dollar, give me all these scallops." She said quickly.
The young man looked at her in surprise, as if he couldn't understand why this woman was so stupid? But I agreed without hesitation.
Yin Xiaoman also knew that this business was not rational. After all, scallops were not rare and one could pick up a few from time to time when going to the sea.
But—she had never picked up anything so big! So many at once!
Although she didn't count them, a quick glance showed that there were at least twenty or so in the pile.
Because the things they exchanged were so many, the boy offered to help Yin Xiaoman get them to the street corner, but she refused.
When the door was opened, the young man finally smiled and said to her, "Sister, my last name is Tao, and this is my home. If you need anything in the future, you can ask someone to bring a message in advance, and I will prepare it for you."
The voice was sweet and obedient, completely different from the cold and cautious appearance just now.
Yin Xiaoman couldn't help but find it funny.
After leaving Xiao Tao's house and turning a corner, Yin Xiaoman made sure that no one else was paying attention and quickly put all the seafood into the small house in the palace, leaving only a grouper and a few scallops in the bamboo basket.
When Wang Jun saw that she only carried out a few things, he knew that the market must be scattered. I was afraid that she would be disappointed, so I comforted her all the way.
But he didn't know that Yin Xiaoman, who was sitting silently in the back of the car, was so happy that he was about to burst into laughter.
After such a long tour around the county, and the long journey, Yin Xiaoman returned home in the afternoon.
The two children, who had been taking a nap, ran out of the house when they heard her come back. One of them obediently brought her some water, while the other ran directly to the kitchen and brought out the food that was kept warm in the pot for her one by one.
Although Yin Xiaoman had made this meal herself last night, and the ones at home only had to heat it up to eat at noon, Yin Xiaoman was still somewhat satisfied when she saw that they remembered to put some food in a small bowl specifically for her so that she wouldn't eat leftovers.
Plus, she was in a good mood because of what she had bought today. So she rubbed the heads of the two children and promised, "Go light up the charcoal basin. I'll roast potatoes and pumpkins for you."
…
After get off work in the evening, Shen Qingyun couldn't resist Ning Gong, who came to see if Xiao Yin had recovered, but actually wanted to have a free meal, so she took him and Mr. Hua home.
As a result, when I was still far away from the gate, I smelled a fragrance that I had never smelled before! The taste was so strange and sweet, with a hint of burnt maltose.
When people smell it, they can't help but salivate.
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