The next day.
After breakfast, Su Li sat at the door of the main room, basking in the sun while knitting a sweater. Today was a good day, the sun was shining brightly. Over the past two days, they had distributed food, meat, and money, and it had been a lively occasion.
Today is also an important day. A craftsman came from the county and is helping the villagers make vermicelli.
People who have a lot of sweet potatoes at home will make some handmade vermicelli by themselves, wait for it to snow and freeze it, and then take it out to dry in the sun when the weather is good. After a few days of drying, it will become crispy and can be stored and eaten whenever you want.
Old Xie’s family also made a lot of sweet potato noodles, and were waiting for craftsmen to go to the countryside to make them into vermicelli.
Xie Xu, Xie Zhengyang, Xie Zhenghe and a few others carried the sweet potato flour from their homes to the threshing ground, where a large pot had been set up and the vermicelli from several families had already been prepared.
They were waiting in line behind me.
Pan Yumei and Liu Pozi each came to Su Li with a basket to chat.
"Hey, Xiaoli, why are you sitting in the wind? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Su Li smiled and said, "It's okay, ma'am. It's sunny here and warm, so comfortable."
"Okay, just sit for a while. We'll have to go inside later."
"Well, I'll listen to you."
Pan Yumei was sewing a shoe sole. "Third sister-in-law, this little sweater you knitted is so beautiful. How did you knit it with this stitch? You can even knit a puppy on the sweater."
"If you want to learn, I'll teach you later."
"Okay," Pan Yumei said with a smile, and took the needle to scratch her temples twice, and then continued to sew the soles of shoes. "I just heard that there are a lot of people putting down fans in the threshing ground. I don't know if it can be done in one morning."
"Really? I see Zhenghe got a lot of sweet potato noodles, so I'm sure we can get a few more vermicelli this morning. We still have some old vermicelli at home, and Laifu and Xiangzhi are craving for pork stewed with vermicelli, right? Let's make some tonight."
"Okay, mother. Speaking of meat, why did you give me so much meat? Including a pig's front leg and such a big piece of fat pork, it will produce a lot of oil."
Su Li smiled. When she told Xie Zhengchuan about dividing the meat last night, she really didn't think of sending some to Xie Zhenghe's house. It should be Xie Zhengchuan who thought of it himself. She always forgets about it after getting pregnant. Think about what people say about pregnancy making children stupid, isn't it?
"No, sister-in-law, if you can't finish the pork legs, you can make them into bacon and stir-fry them. The lard residue is delicious with sugar and salt. Give some to the children as snacks, and make dumplings with the rest. Oh, it's so delicious just thinking about it."
After Su Li finished speaking, she was stunned for a moment. She now felt that she had been assimilated, and the words she spoke became more and more earthy.
"Yes, I am so fragrant. There are no relatives to visit at home, so I just need to send a pound of sugar to my eldest sister and second sister. The harvest in their village was not good this month, but fortunately their production team planted sugarcane and sold it for a lot of money. Every household also received some bonus."
Su Li was silent for a moment after hearing her say this. She had met both Pan Laidi and Pan Pandi before. They both had good personalities and habits, especially Pan Pandi, who had a cheerful personality. She liked her very much. She really didn't expect that the bad bamboos of the Pan family would produce some good bamboo shoots.
"Sister-in-law, are your elder and second sisters good at sewing?"
When Pan Yumei talked about this, her eyes lit up. "It's good, how could it not be good? When I was a child, my elder and second sisters did all the sewing and mending at home. They wove cloth, made shoes and embroidered clothes, and made clothes and quilts. They knew everything. They taught me everything."
At the end, she sounded a little lonely, "It's a pity that I didn't have good parents. We were poor at that time. My parents were lazy, and there was no food at home. My eldest sister was only sixteen years old, but they arranged for her to become a nun. When my eldest sister's family married her, they carried a basket of sweet potatoes and twenty kilograms of grain noodles, and there was no food for the banquet. My eldest sister and brother-in-law just walked home, and they kowtowed to their grandparents on both sides, and that was considered a family. My second sister was seventeen years old, and my parents disliked her for always being opinionated, so they asked for ten yuan and thirty kilograms of grain noodles as a betrothal gift. My second brother-in-law had set his eyes on my second sister for a long time, and borrowed money from everywhere to marry her, and took her away on a flatbed cart, alas~"
Su Li didn't say anything. This was a drawback of this era. It was basically the same in rural areas, especially in families with many girls. The money earned from the betrothal gifts would be used to help the boys in the family get married.
Sensing that the atmosphere was a little tense, Pan Yumei smiled and said, "It's good. Life is getting better and better now. My eldest brother-in-law and second brother-in-law are both honest people. Although they are not good at talking, they are good to them. They didn't touch them at all when it came to marriage. It's pretty good."
"Yes, I heard from mother before that she suffered a lot in the past. The day after she gave birth, grandma made her work in the fields and didn't let her take care of my eldest brother. So mother is now very nice to her daughters-in-law. In a sense, we are enjoying the good life."
Mrs. Liu also said, "Isn't it? Your mother-in-law is really a good mother-in-law. There are not many such mothers-in-law in this area. The second day after the daughter-in-law enters the house, she must be given a warning to show her authority and let them know who is the boss in the family."
"Hahaha, but you are also a good mother-in-law."
"Yes, you too, are both good mothers-in-law."
The three women were chatting and laughing while they were working.
At noon, Xie Zhenghe returned home with a cart full of vermicelli. Pan Yumei had already prepared the meal. She had boiled lard residue sprinkled with sugar. The children each ate a few pieces, and she specially left a few pieces for Xie Zhenghe.
"I'm back, come and try it, I gave you a little sugar, it's just right for you to eat."
Xie Zhengchuan put the vermicelli on a wooden stick and hung it on a rope. Seeing Pan Yumei coming over in an apron and holding a bowl, he clapped his hands and said, "Eat it yourself. Why are you leaving it for me?"
Pan Yumei saw that he was thinking about herself first, and her heart was sweet. "I ate it, the child and mother ate it, but you didn't. Come and try it."
"Mmm, hiss~ Really sweet and crispy, I miss you so much."
The two of them looked at each other with a smile. Pan Yumei felt embarrassed when he looked at her. They had been married for so long, and he always looked at her like this. It made her blush. She turned her face away and looked at the flatbed truck.
"There are so many vermicelli noodles. Our family can't eat so much. We should send some to my third brother's home."
"Zhengyang delivered thirty kilograms."
Pan Yumei glanced at him and said, "Zhengyang's gift is Zhengyang's gift, and our gift is ours. It's different. Third brother and his wife have helped our family a lot, and they don't ask for anything in return. They always think of us when they have something to give, so we have to think of them too."
Xie Zhengchuan also said this. He had already thought about how much he wanted to give. Then he touched his head and looked at Pan Yumei with a smile, "Hey, I'll listen to you."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Pan Yumei was still very shy. She hit Xie Zhenghe and said, "Silly boy, now that it's done, go call the children to eat. It's freezing cold. Don't go out to play in the afternoon. Don't get frostbite."
"Okay, I'll go call them later."
"I made pickled cabbage and pork stewed with vermicelli for lunch. Laifu and Xiangzhi have been craving for it for days. I'll make dumplings for them in the evening."
Xie Zhenghe hugged her head and kissed her, "Thank you for your hard work."
Pan Yumei was startled by him and quickly turned to look at the main room. She saw that Granny Liu was missing. She was really scared. But her life now is so good. She has a beautiful, ventilated and spacious house, a husband who loves her, two such good mothers-in-law around her, and children. She doesn't have to worry about food and drink. Her life is getting more and more promising.
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