Zhang Jinbao cooked a pot of rice and stewed a large pot of dried meat, sauerkraut and vermicelli.
Seeing that the fire in the stove was still strong enough and the pan was still shiny with oil after frying the eggs, I simply fried a bowl of pickled shredded radish with dried chilies.
The army is still good. There is plenty of cabbage, radishes and leeks to store, so we can eat them until new vegetables grow in summer.
It would be great if it rained. Wild vegetables would grow in the woods outside the compound. I could pick them, wash them, chop them up, and make dumplings. Also, the locust trees on the way from the compound to the division headquarters have already budded. When they bloom, I can pinch off the tips of the trees to make pancakes.
Zhang Jinbao happily brought all the food to the dining table, waiting for Zhang Xiuying to call Jiang Lan back, and for Jiang Yonghua and Jiang Jun, father and daughter, to come back so that they could start eating as soon as they entered the house.
These dishes are what the two sisters Danier like to eat. They will definitely be very happy when they come in later.
When Jiang Yonghua's bike stopped at the door, Jiang Lan had already rushed to the door: "Dad, sister, you're back! My uncle made something delicious, it smells so good!"
Jiang Yonghua smiled and touched Jiang Lan's pigtail: "Okay, you should eat more later."
Jiang Lan hunched her shoulders and snuggled up to Jiang Yonghua as they walked into the house. "Dad, look, we've already eaten this several times when we were at grandma's. You and mom should eat more later."
Jiang Lan's characteristic is to read people's expressions and try to please her parents in order to gain their attention and love.
Jiang Jun walked into the house and called out "Uncle", but looking at Zhang Xiuying with a long face, he couldn't bring himself to call out "Mom".
Thinking of Jiang Yonghua's instructions on the way, he hardened his heart, first said the word "Auntie" in his mind, and then said the word "Mom" out loud, thus completing the task assigned by Jiang Yonghua.
In an emergency, let's just deal with it this way.
After washing his hands and sitting down at the dining table, Jiang Jun smiled and praised: "Uncle, your cooking skills are getting better and better. I can smell the fragrance from the street outside."
Zhang Jinbao was cheerful. He first picked up a large piece of meat for Jiang Yonghua and Zhang Xiuying, then a piece of meaty bone for Jiang Lan, and finally an egg for Jiang Jun. "Daniel, your birthday is in two days. Your uncle has to go to work and can't cook for you, so I'll celebrate your birthday today!"
Jiang Jun looked at his uncle in surprise, almost in tears. It must have been his grandmother who told him that no one in this family had ever celebrated a birthday. "Thank you, uncle!"
Jiang Lan immediately shouted, "I want to celebrate my birthday too! Mom, why haven't I celebrated my birthday? When is my birthday?"
"Why didn't you celebrate your birthday?" Zhang Xiuying scolded, "Your birthday is October 9th, and Mom always cooks egg noodles for you!"
Jiang Lan continued to shout heartlessly: "I want to eat pork stewed with vermicelli on my birthday, just like my sister!"
Jiang Yonghua was slightly moved and sighed secretly. He had just told his daughter not to be angry with Xiuying, but now it seemed that he was wrong. It was all his wishful thinking that Xiuying would change for the better. "Xiaojun, Dad forgot your birthday. I'll make you egg noodles on that day."
Adults get a meal on their birthdays, and children get two eggs on their birthdays.
Celebrating a birthday always requires a sense of ritual in order to respect the hard-earned process of life.
Jiang Yun smiled and said, "Thank you, Dad. I'm still young, so I don't need to celebrate my birthday."
Zhang Xiuying realized that she had let herself get away with it again. She glared at Jiang Jun fiercely and picked up a piece of vermicelli noodles for Jiang Lan with her chopsticks. "Hurry up and eat yours. Your uncle said you liked this when he was cooking."
Zhang Jinbao looked at Jiang Jun's rosy face and ate slowly, trying not to touch Zhang Xiuying's minefield. Such a good girl should be loved by her grandmother and uncle: "Daniel, after dinner, write a letter for your uncle and send it back. Your grandfather and others will be talking about it."
"Okay, uncle, I miss them too."
"Uncle, I want to go too. I'll go during the holidays."
"Okay! Let's go in the summer. Let your uncle take you fishing and picking mushrooms. Liu'er is waiting to take you out to play."
The uncle and nephew were so happy that they wanted to talk more, but Jiang Yonghua took the lead and started eating: "Everyone eat, we will make dumplings later."
Jiang Yonghua doesn't like people talking while he eats. Everyone just picks up food and drinks soup, and there is only the sound of slight chewing on the table.
Jiang Jun was tired from playing basketball, so he ate half a bowl of rice. After he was full, he began to feel sleepy.
He opened the door of the hut, took his toothbrush holder, towel, and change of clothes, and went to Jiang Lan's room to wash and change clothes. He said hello to Zhang Jinbao who was chopping pickled cabbage and vermicelli in the kitchen: "Uncle, the door is open. I'll carry your bag in for you."
Zhang Xiuying heard Jiang Jun lock the door, then went to the hut and started rummaging through things.
Jiang Jun thought that since her father and uncle were at home, Zhang Xiuying would not dare to make a fuss. Besides, Zhang Jinbao had stayed in her room for a few nights and never touched her things, so she neglected to leave her novels, textbooks and courseware in the drawer without locking it.
After she changed her clothes, she heard Zhang Xiuying's voice coming from the small room. She hurriedly opened the door and rushed out: "Dad, she went to my room to tear up the book again."
Those were questions she had worked so hard on. It was okay to tear them up and do them again, but it would take time to make up for it.
Jiang Yonghua was kneading dough while chatting with Zhang Jinbao. Upon hearing this, he didn't even bother to wipe the flour off his hands and walked towards the backyard: "Xiuying?"
Zhang Xiuying was like a victorious rooster, with torn books and notebooks at her feet and a sweater half-knitted in her hands.
Gray-blue wool, beautiful jacquard pattern, this is what Jiang Yun knitted for Jiang Yonghua. She spent a long time thinking about the pattern before designing it. She asked Bai Xiuzhen for advice on the size and number of stitches before she started. This pattern is both yarn-consuming and time-consuming. She has been knitting for almost a month to only knit this little bit.
She watched Zhang Xiuying pull out the knitting needles and throw them on the ground, pulling the wool with one hand. The sweater, which was already about a foot high, was torn in half in a blink of an eye.
Before Jiang Yun could rush over to snatch the sweater away, Jiang Yonghua was already one step ahead of her. He raised his hand and slapped it on Zhang Xiuying's face.
Suddenly, everyone inside and outside the room was stunned.
Jiang Yonghua, who never hits anyone, actually did it!
Zhang Xiuying's face was covered in flour. She stared at Jiang Yonghua in disbelief: "Xiao Jiang, you dare to hit me?"
Jiang Yonghua was furious. Xiaojun had been making him proud outside, but now Xiuying had come back and was tearing him down. How could he teach his daughter to be filial to her parents? Without a second thought, he slapped her.
Jiang Jun felt bad for his books and sweater. Seeing that Jiang Yonghua was about to be defeated by Zhang Xiuying's tears, he immediately squatted down, picked up a handful of papers, and cried out in a sobbing voice: "Dad, all my answers are torn into pieces. I can't put them together. What should I do?" He continued to hit her, and it was best not to stop: "Look, the questions on the test paper are torn to pieces!"
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