After listening to gossip for a while, Deng Qingling and the others went back to cook dinner.
Even when they returned home, they heard the follow-up gossip.
From now on, Uncle Sheng will send five dollars back to the countryside every month as a tribute to the two elderly people.
Originally, when his sister-in-law heard that Uncle Sheng received a subsidy for going to college, she asked him to give five dollars to each elderly person every month for pension. However, the elderly person felt sorry for her youngest son and decided to only give two dollars, so that she could explain to her other two sons.
The feelings between people are also mutual.
Although Uncle Sheng also felt sorry for his parents, he would have no source of income in the future.
Then he said he would send back five dollars every month.
Five dollars is enough for two elderly people to eat and drink for a month in the countryside.
If a family is very frugal, the whole family will spend less than five dollars a month.
So five dollars is enough.
For dinner, Deng Qingling simply cooked a pot of pumpkin, then steamed a plate of egg custard, and finally served it with corn and multi-grain rice.
Because we had eaten meat at noon, dinner was very simple.
Anyway, as long as I can eat my fill, that’s enough.
After dinner, Deng Qingling told her mother-in-law Liang Xueying about Chen Xiaomin's family's plan.
Then Liang Xueying said that she would go and check tomorrow. She had planned to buy two more clay jars for pickling vegetables, but now was just the right time, so she didn't have to go to town to buy them herself.
Because both adults and children in the family like to eat sauerkraut, sauerkraut beans, sauerkraut bamboo shoots and the like, Liang Xueying makes a lot of pickled and dried vegetables every year.
Guo Jianjun and his wife would always pack a lot of pickled cabbage and dried vegetables back to the county town. Even when Guo Yu was too busy to come back, they would often ask Liang Xueying to send them to her.
It’s no secret that the sour dried bamboo shoots she makes are very delicious. The bamboo shoots are soaked in sour water and then taken out and dried. These dried bamboo shoots are much more delicious than those dried in other places.
The same goes for dried mustard greens. First, marinate the mustard greens with salt for a few days, then take them out to dry in the sun, then marinate them for a few more days before taking them out to dry. Such dried vegetables are very delicious when paired with chili peppers. They are sour and spicy, appetizing, and chewy, and really go well with rice.
(The author himself likes to eat it. Dried vegetables and pickled sauerkraut are a perfect match with corn soup.)
During the lean period, people in the countryside had to live on pickled mustard greens.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
There was nothing to do at the end of the year. Firewood for the winter had already been found, and the woodshed was full.
Deng Qingling simply took the children to the threshing ground to learn how to ride bicycles.
In fact, Guo Haochen had said a long time ago that he wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle, but Deng Qingling didn't teach them because she thought they were still young and not tall enough.
After all, bicycles back then were very tall, not as small as bicycles of later generations, so I waited until now to teach them.
Even now, they are not tall enough and need to stretch their feet over the bicycle tripod to learn to ride a bicycle.
Guo Youxing knew that the children wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle, so he tied a shoulder pole to the back seat of the bicycle so that Deng Qingling could hold on to it.
When children first start learning to ride a bicycle, it is inevitable that they will fall.
Because it was cold and they were wearing thick clothes, even though they fell at least ten times, it didn't hurt much.
When Deng Qingling saw that Guo Haochen was riding steadily, she secretly let go of his hand from behind. Before he knew it, he had learned how to ride.
Then he walked around the threshing ground two or three times in a row.
If Guo Haoxi hadn't asked him to come down quickly, Guo Haochen would have wanted to go around a few more times.
However, Guo Haoxi didn't know how many times he fell when he was learning. He often pedaled the bicycle chain half a circle and could never complete a full circle.
Seeing that his second brother had been hogging the bicycle for so long and still hadn't learned how to ride it, Guo Ninghuan protested.
When my eldest brother was learning just now, it didn’t take this long.
Just by watching them ride, she wanted to learn how to ride a bike as soon as possible.
"Brother, it's my turn to learn. I've been standing by and watching for a long time." Guo Ning said happily with a pout.
Originally, Guo Haoxi wanted to learn more, but when he saw his older sister looking at him with resentful eyes, he agreed.
"All right."
There was a hint of loss in Guo Haoxi's tone.
"It's okay. Learning to ride a bike is not that easy. You will get it after a few more attempts. It's just right for you to take a rest first." Deng Qingling heard his disappointment and comforted him in a gentle tone.
Guo Haoxi nodded and replied, "Yeah."
When Guo Ninghuan was learning to ride a bicycle, Deng Qingling and Guo Haochen supported her on both sides.
With two people supporting him, Guo Ninghuan rode steadily and didn't fall much.
When he saw that Guo Ninghuan could complete a full circle, Guo Haochen let go.
Deng Qingling only let go of her hand when she was completely familiar with it and didn't need anyone's help.
Soon, Guo Ninghuan's silver bell-like laughter could be heard in the threshing ground, clear and melodious, and everyone passing by was infected by her happiness.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hey, Huanhuan has learned to ride a bike!
"Can you give Auntie a ride to the commune? Then Auntie will buy you some meat buns." A passing woman joked.
"Aunt, I just learned to ride a bicycle and I can't carry anyone yet, so I can't take you to the commune." Guo Ninghuan lowered his head as he said this.
With her small body, she can't even carry people!
She was destined not to be able to eat the meat buns bought by her aunt.
Seeing Guo Ninghuan's droopy head and lack of energy, Deng Qingling guessed what she was thinking. "It's okay. Wait until you grow up and then take your aunt to the commune."
As for the meat buns, I will go to town in a few days and buy some other things to celebrate the New Year.
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