Stir-fried water spinach

With the help of his second brother, Song Shixia's pavilion and bread kiln were completed in less than three days. Unfortunately, the bread kiln had to be put into use for a few days.

Song Qiu Sheng even built a chicken coop in the corner of the wall, and Song Shixia simply asked his brother to help buy a few chickens and ducklings from the surrounding villages.

The two little ones liked the little duck very much and each gave it a name.

Song Shixia was a little worried. Once the poultry were given names, they would change from being a dish to being pets, and it would be difficult to slaughter them and eat their meat.

But looking at the eager eyes of the two little guys, Song Shixia gave up and followed them.

They are just two ducks, as long as they are happy.

Song Qiu Sheng simply couldn't bear to watch it.

"You are overflowing with maternal love now. Are you taking care of Dongdong's sequelae?"

Song Shixia forced a change of topic: "How is Dongdong's academic performance? Is there any hope of getting into high school?"

Speaking of this, Song Qiu Sheng felt overwhelmed.

"You were the smartest one in our family, but you didn't like studying and always ranked last in exams. I felt so disappointed."

The younger brother in Song Shixia's memory seemed to be quite smart, so why did he always rank last in exams?

"Isn't Dongdong very smart? The teacher didn't tell me why."

Song Qiusheng sighed: "The teacher said that he is not focused on studying and cannot be controlled."

OK, another rebellious kid. My two kids have to finish high school no matter what.

"Tell him that if he scores last in the final exam, I won't bring him a gift for the New Year."

"He may not listen to you. Since he came home and found out about your marriage, he has had several arguments with his parents. He doesn't know what's going on and thinks your parents sold you out."

Song Dongdong lived in the school dormitory when he was in junior high school. Students from all the villages in his hometown had to go to the town to attend junior high school.

Song Shixia didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Why don't you explain to him that I am old enough to get married. Who would sell their daughter in this peaceful time?"

Speaking of this, Song Qiu Sheng looked like he had something to gossip about.

“Yes.”

Song Shixia brought a small stool and handed the fruit plate to her brother.

Song Qiusheng said disapprovingly: "You are so lazy, you asked me to peel apples for you again."

"I'm inviting you to eat. It's really a pity that my kindness is not rewarded."

Song Qiu Sheng waved his hand and refused: "I don't eat apples. Do you know a girl named Chen Jiao in our village? She is not in the same brigade and is two years older than you."

Song Shixia cracked melon seeds and said, "I know, she is also in this school. Do you see the dormitory building opposite? She lives there."

Song Qiusheng was embarrassed, "You know about her?"

Song Shixia only knew that Chen Jiao was fighting for the top grade in the countryside. "I don't know much. I'm waiting for you to tell me."

"Her sister-in-law arranged for her to meet Zhao Dazhu from our village. Zhao Dazhu appeared to be honest, but he was actually a playboy. He had originally planned to marry Chen Jiao, but he was caught having an affair with the younger sister of Chen Jiao's relative in the woods."

Song Shixia knew that his brother's statement was implicit. Could a man and a woman from the countryside go into a small woods and sow seeds?

"Then why did she get married? Chen Jiao is also a teacher's family member now, and she is a stepmother like me."

"This scandal came to light. Chen Jiao's sister-in-law wanted to marry her to her brother, a bachelor in his thirties who had nothing to do. This almost ruined Chen Jiao's innocence. Chen Jiao made this scandal known to everyone in our village. Chen Jiao's elder brother and sister-in-law were not good people, and her parents were extremely partial to her."

Song Shixia only had an outline of the plot of the book in her mind, and didn't know exactly what Chen Jiao had experienced in the countryside. She didn't expect it to be so terrible.

"It's a bit pitiful, but marrying out of the village is a reward after all the hardships."

Song Qiusheng shook his head in disapproval: "Chen Jiao's two children are difficult to deal with. They often bully their classmates at school. The old couple of the Huo family are often invited to the school to give gifts and apologize."

Song Shixia handed the peeled apple to her brother.

"It's better than staying in the village. The child can be taught slowly. If she stays in the village, her sister-in-law won't like her, and her biological parents will be soft-hearted. Her situation may not be good."

"You're right. I didn't expect Huo Kai to teach at Yenching University."

Song Shixia teased him: "Huo Kai is three years older than you and he can already make soy sauce. Who are you dating, brother?"

Her brother went out to start a business and avoided his parents from seeing him. The children of people of the same age as him in the same village all ran away.

Song Qiusheng bit the apple viciously to vent his anger.

"What do you care about me? Your brother can find anything he wants with this face!" He couldn't help but think of the girl he met by chance in G City.

Song Shixia shrugged: "How dare I control you? My parents will urge you anyway."

"Your apple is quite sweet. Where did you buy it?"

She made up an excuse: "Outside the market, an old lady came with a basket of apples to sell. She said they were grown in her yard."

Song Qiu Sheng had no choice but to give up: "Forget it, I don't think there are many of them grown at home, so I should just sell them once."

Song Shixia: "If you like, you can bring some back home. I bought all her apples."

"Tsk, this family is so lucky to have a man who can make money, otherwise with the speed at which you squander the family money, you'd be starving."

Song Shixia retorted to him: "The northwest wind blowing through our door smells better than that from other people's houses."

Song Qiu Sheng did not refute: "That's right. It's a pity that you don't open a restaurant with your cooking skills. The food I ate at the G City Hotel was not as good as yours."

Song Shixia has no interest in opening a store: "No, I just want to eat happily and don't want to start a business."

Song Qiu Sheng stopped persuading her, saying that he should be grateful that his sister could live a good life and not expect her to make money.

It's raining outside today, so a canopy was built over the bread kiln.

Song Qiu Sheng originally wanted to go to the city to see if he could find a temporary job. He felt reluctant to go back to the village to farm after working hard outside.

The rain prevented him from going out, so he had nothing to do so he helped to tidy up the yard.

Song Qiusheng grabbed a handful of water spinach and walked into the house.

"Your water spinach is old. Eat some quickly. If you can't finish it, sell it."

Song Shixia was worried: "I might be a descendant of Shennong. The vegetables at home grow too fast and I can't eat them all."

Song Qiusheng laughed at her: "Look at how capable you are. If you can't even grow these vegetables well, how can you be worthy of your descendants as farmers?"

She was relieved that her brother didn't suspect anything.

"Then let's eat water spinach and some mustard greens today. There won't be any meat on the table today. Let's have a completely vegetarian feast."

Song Qiusheng didn't care: "I don't mind."

He picked all the slightly older vegetables.

"I'm telling you, can't you plant them at different times? If the vegetables ripen together, the land will rot and it will be a big loss."

Song Shixia clasped her hands together and said, "Brother, please help me take them to the small market to sell them tomorrow morning. My vegetables are so well grown. If I take them to the outside market, they will definitely sell faster."

Before Song Qiu Sheng could help her take it away to sell it, Aunt Feng found her with a mysterious look on her face.

"The vegetables in your garden are pretty good. Why don't you sell them directly to the cafeteria?"

Song Shixia was surprised and asked, "Doesn't the canteen order all the food from outside?"

"I picked a bunch of oilseed vegetables from your house last night. They are both vegetables, but why are yours so delicious?"

Song Shixia didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You are just playing with your mind. Every day at home, besides taking care of the children, I am also looking after the vegetable garden. You think that the food must be delicious because I take good care of it, which creates an illusion."

Aunt Feng was skeptical: "It's possible, but it's really better than the vegetables in my yard. The canteen needs vegetables every day, and your vegetables are definitely good enough."

"Okay, if the cafeteria agrees, I'll have my brother pick them and send them to you tomorrow morning."

Aunt Feng left, and Song Qiu Sheng pinched his chin, looking thoughtful.

"I suddenly realized that you seem to have good fortune. Is this what they call a fool having good fortune?"

Song Shixia chased him away with a rolling pin.

"You are stupid! This is my strength. Don't attribute everything to luck."

Song Qiu Sheng turned the soil in the yard while the soil was soft due to the rain. His sister had an income from growing vegetables in the yard, but he wanted to plant roses in this yard. How much are flowers worth?

He couldn't figure it out.

Song Shixia kept her word and had a completely vegetarian banquet today. Even though it was a completely vegetarian banquet, she never thought of just going through the motions.

Vinegar-fried cabbage, hand-shredded cabbage, garlic-fried lettuce, and stir-fried water spinach are all pure, natural, and green foods.

Song Qiu Sheng smelled the fragrance coming from the yard. Xia Xia was a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. How could such a fragrant smell come from a table full of vegetarian dishes?

When he heard the sound of dinner being served in the house, he washed his hands and returned to the living room. He was dumbfounded. Was this table full of lush green vegetables going to be fed to cows?

Song Shixia grinned at him: "I mean what I say. Quan Suyan didn't lie to you, did he?"

"You are amazing! You are really my sister."

Song Qiu Sheng pulled out a chair and sat down. He had eaten steamed buns soaked in plain water when he was moving bricks at the construction site, and his appetite had been whetted after staying at his sister's house for a few days.

However, when he tasted the greens, he found that they tasted just as good as pickled mustard greens.

"Your craftsmanship is impeccable! I am convinced!"

The two little guys were not unhappy at all when they saw the table full of juicy green vegetables. They just kept eating obediently. However, a small incident happened after the meal.

After lunch, Ji Yang looked at Song Shixia with a serious expression on his face, "Can't your family afford meat?"

Song Shixia pretended to tease him: "What's the matter? What if we can't afford it? We don't know when your father will come back. We may have to eat vegetables all the time recently."

In fact, I ate too much meat in the past few days, so I ate some vegetables these two days to lose weight.

Ji Yang suddenly ran away.

Song Shixia felt puzzled. Could it be that this young man took his own private money?

Facts have proved that Song Shixia was too naive.

After Ji Yang went downstairs, he called his grandmother while they were not paying attention. His grandfather's phone number was written on the table.

"Grandma, can you come over to see us with some meat?"

Han Rong thought she had heard wrongly.

"Yangyang, do you want to see grandpa and grandma?"

Ji Yang repeated: "Grandma, we can't afford meat at home. Can you bring some meat over?"

Han Rong fell into deep thought, wondering where her son spent his salary. Was the family already so poor?

"Okay, I'll come see you when grandma is free. Is your dad home? Why can't we afford meat?"

"Dad is on a business trip, it's... Mom who is taking care of us. We can't afford meat at home anymore." When he mentioned the term "Mom", he lowered his voice for fear of being heard by others at home.

Han Rong heard it all clearly, but she was a little confused. What was going on?

"Yangyang, where did you get your mother?"

Ji Yang confessed truthfully: "It was my mother that my father brought back to us. She cooked delicious meals for us every day. My uncle said that she was wronged at home, and it must be because she had no meat to eat."

Ji Yang described it as a mess, but Han Rong misunderstood his meaning.

She was so frightened that she almost dropped the phone. She instantly thought of her own son deceiving an innocent little girl.

Ji Yang waited for no answer: "Wait, wait, wait? Grandma is talking, did she hang up the phone?"

Han Rong calmed down and said, "Yangyang, grandma and grandpa will come to see you this afternoon. They will bring a lot of meat. Don't tell mom yet, okay?"

Ji Yang finally felt relieved: "I promise to complete the task!" Dad is not at home, he will not let her suffer any injustice, a man should protect a girl and... his mother.