“Knock, knock, knock…”
Li Hehua had just gotten up and was about to grind soy milk when he heard a knock on the door. He was surprised. Who came so early? It was not yet time for Cao Simei and the others to come.
"Who is it?" Li Hehua walked over and opened the door, and was surprised to see the person coming.
It turned out to be Zhang Tieshan. It was only dawn now. How early had he gotten up?
"Zhang Tieshan, why are you here?" Are you really here to help her?
Zhang Tieshan looked at Li Hehua twice before saying, "Didn't I say I would come to help you in the future?"
Li Hehua: “…” Okay, that’s what he said, and she couldn’t convince him, but there was no need to come so early, right?
Zhang Tieshan walked in from the outer door, "Is Shulin still sleeping?"
Li Hehua nodded, "Let Shulin rest today, let him sleep a little longer, we'll call him when we go to set up the stall."
Zhang Tieshan said: "I will take care of him today, you just need to focus on your work and don't worry about him."
Li Hehua smiled. As a father taking care of the child, she certainly didn't have to worry about it.
Zhang Tieshan saw the stone mill in the yard and the soybeans placed on the side, and he had an idea in mind. Without saying a word, he rolled up his sleeves, pushed the handle of the stone mill and started grinding soy milk.
"Hey, hey, hey, Zhang Tieshan, don't worry, I'll do it myself." Li Hehua hurried forward to stop him. How could he let him do this kind of work?
However, Zhang Tieshan did not stop his movements. The stone mill seemed to have no resistance at all in his hands and it moved very lightly without any effort.
Li Hehua discovered that Zhang Tieshan was really stubborn sometimes. You couldn't persuade him to change his mind. At least he wouldn't listen every time you asked him not to work.
As persuasion failed, Li Hehua had no choice but to go to the kitchen to make something delicious to reward this unemployed worker in his family.
Li Hehua is preparing to make some leek and egg boxes.
First, take out the flour and add boiling water to knead it into dough, then set it aside; wash the leeks, remove the roots, and chop them; then chop the small shrimps bought for dumpling filling, and put them into the oil pan to stir-fry until fragrant.
After all these are done, pour the beaten eggs into the hot oil, fry them and break them into small pieces. Then put the leeks and dried shrimps prepared earlier into the pot, add sesame oil, salt and pepper, and stir well.
Finally, divide the dough into small and even pieces, roll it into thin sheets, wrap an appropriate amount of filling in each sheet, fold the sheets in half, pinch the edges firmly, and pinch out some nice lace.
After it is done, pour oil into the pan, put the box into the pan and fry on low heat until both sides are golden brown and then remove from the pan. The leek and egg box is ready.
Thinking about Zhang Tieshan's appetite, Li Hehua made fourteen at once. She would eat two, Shulin would eat two, and Zhang Tieshan would eat ten. They should be full.
Leek dumplings tasted good but were rather greasy and made one thirsty after eating them, so Li Hehua prepared a bowl of spicy soup for Zhang Tieshan to eat with it, while she and Shulin each had a bowl of soy milk.
After breakfast was ready, Li Hehua cooked some porridge and spicy soup to be sold later. Seeing that it was getting late, she went into the room and took the little guy out of the quilt who was still sleeping soundly. Looking at the little guy's rosy face, she couldn't help but pinch his chubby little cheeks, which felt very good.
The little guy has gained a lot of flesh now. His cheeks originally had no extra flesh at all, but now they are plump. He finally has the fleshy look of a child and looks so adorable.
Li Hehua couldn't help but kiss his little face again, "Shulin, wake up, wake up and have breakfast~"
The little guy was woken up from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes with his little hands and opened his eyes drowsily.
Li Hehua held him in her arms and shook him, "Wake up, mom has prepared breakfast. We are having chive dumplings today. Come and eat."
Shulin hugged Li Hehua and rubbed his neck.
Seeing that he was almost awake, Li Hehua began to dress him, saying to him, "Shulin, your father is here too. Have breakfast with him later. He knows you don't have to go to school today, so he's here to take care of you. So you want to hug him later, okay?"
The little guy stretched his arms and legs cooperatively, and soon he was dressed. He obediently took Li Hehua's hand and went to wash up.
Li Hehua patted his little butt and said, "Go and say hello to Daddy. Daddy is in the yard."
The little guy blinked his eyes, turned around, and moved towards the yard on his short legs.
Li Hehua stretched his head and looked outside, wanting to see how the little guy would greet his father.
The little guy walked slowly to Zhang Tieshan's side, watching his father pushing the mill, without saying a word, just stood aside and watched quietly. When his father stopped to add soybeans, he suddenly moved, pounced on him, hugged his father's thighs and rubbed them, like a kitten.
Zhang Tieshan felt the soft touch on his leg, lowered his head, saw his son, curled the corners of his mouth slightly, and reached out to rub his little head.
Li Hehua couldn't help but smile when he saw this scene.
"Zhang Tieshan, bring Shulin in for breakfast." Li Hehua shouted outside the yard.
Zhang Tieshan carried Shulin on his shoulders and carried him into the main room, then put the little guy on his shoulders and sat him down on a chair.
Li Hehua handed the chopsticks in his hand to Zhang Tieshan, "Hurry up and eat. These ten chive dumplings are all yours. Shulin and I will each have two."
Zhang Tieshan looked at the large bowl of chive dumplings in front of him, a smile flashed in his eyes, and he lowered his head to eat.
Seeing that he had eaten, Li Hehua picked up a box and fed it to Shulin's mouth. Shulin opened his mouth and took a big bite.
Zhang Tieshan finished a box of food, took the little guy into his arms, and said to Li Hehua, "Don't worry about him, I'll feed him, you eat first."
Li Hehua looked at Shulin and saw that the little guy was sitting in his father's arms and blinking his eyes, which seemed to be very well behaved. So he agreed and started eating first. After he finished eating, he had to go and grind the soy milk.
After Zhang Tieshan fed Shulin two boxes, he shook his head and stopped eating, obviously full. He then held Shulin in his arms and started eating with big mouthfuls.
Seeing that the father and son were fine, Li Hehua went to the yard to grind soybean milk. Unexpectedly, the soybeans in the bucket were already ground, so she didn't have to do it. Li Hehua felt that people were really different. In the past, she would have to grind for at least half an hour, but Zhang Tieshan was so good that he finished everything in just a short time, which was really worthy of his strong character.
Li Hehua took the ground soy milk to the kitchen for processing. When everything was ready, it was time to set up the stall.
Zhang Tieshan came in with the used dishes and saw that Li Hehua was almost done. He silently began to put the things he was going to take to the stall on the cart.
With the help of Zhang Tieshan, the stall was set up very quickly today, half an hour earlier than usual. However, as soon as the stall was set up, people came to buy breakfast. Li Hehua did not care about anything else and immediately got busy.
Zhang Tieshan sat on the table holding Shulin, watching the little guy playing with the abacus. This was a toy that Li Hehua brought him before he left, so that the little guy wouldn't get bored. Not only did he bring a small abacus, he also brought a nine-linked ring and a small picture book.
Looking at his son having fun, Zhang Tieshan had to admit that she was very good at taking care of children, even better than his mother, and the child was very happy with her.
I don't know what she did before. How can a woman be so well-educated and knowledgeable, and have superb cooking skills? What kind of family can raise such a good woman?
Gradually, Zhang Tieshan's gaze shifted from the little guy in his arms to Li Hehua who was selling breakfast.
It's really amazing. When you fall in love with someone, your mentality will also change dramatically. She is still the same Li Hehua as before, but looking at her now, he no longer has the previous disgust. Instead, he is full of love. He was obviously disgusted when he saw this body before, but now he thinks she is good in every way and very pleasing to the eye.
It turns out that one's feelings towards a person are based on the heart. He now finally believes that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Just then, the appearance of a person interrupted Zhang Tieshan's thoughts.
"Boss, good morning." Gu Dafeng said as he stood in front of Li Hehua.
Li Hehua paused, then regained his composure and asked with a smile, "What would you like to eat?"
Gu Dafeng smiled and said, "Boss, give me a bowl of spicy soup today, plus a roujiamo and a piece of sauce-flavored pancake."
Li Hehua nodded, picked up a piece of oil paper and was about to wrap the roujiamo, but the oil paper bag in his hand was taken away by a pair of rough big hands.
"You've been working until now, go and take a break, I'll take over here." Zhang Tieshan said.
Li Hehua reached out to take the oil paper bag back, "No, no, you go and accompany Shulin, I'll do this job!"
Zhang Tieshan raised his hand, not letting Li Hehua snatch the oil paper bag back, and said calmly but without question: "Go and play with Shulin for a while."
Li Hehua looked at Gu Dafeng who was staring at her, thought about it and decided not to refuse. She turned around and went to play with the little guy behind her.
Seeing that Li Hehua was obedient, Zhang Tieshan smiled faintly, but when he turned around to face Gu Dafeng, his expression darkened.
Gu Dafeng's heart skipped a beat, and he intuitively disliked the man in front of him.
Why did this man speak to her in such an intimate tone? What was their relationship? For a moment, Gu Dafeng had all kinds of guesses in his mind.
Zhang Tieshan glanced at Gu Dafeng's doubtful expression, lowered his head to pack his things and handed them to him, "Your things are ready, a total of four cents."
Gu Dafeng frowned, took out four cents and handed them to Zhang Tieshan, then without saying a word, took the things and sat down at the table next to Li Hehua, glancing at the table where Li Hehua was from time to time.
Li Hehua felt the eyes on her and pretended not to notice, but she felt very uncomfortable in her heart. She was now somewhat certain that Gu Dafeng really had feelings for her and was not just coming here to eat.
But why? How could she be interested in him? Although she had lost a lot of weight, she was still fatter than ordinary women. Being fat ruined everything. She herself didn't like her current appearance, so why was Gu Dafeng interested in her? Don't men pay much attention to appearance?
If the two people had a romantic relationship and he said he didn't mind her appearance, she would believe it. But the two people didn't know each other, so wasn't it just appearance that mattered? Could it be that Gu Dafeng saw her good character through her soul?
She couldn't figure out why. But she was very clear about one thing, that is, she didn't want to go on a blind date, and she didn't want to get married now, and there was no possibility for her and Gu Dafeng.
Li Hehua glanced at Zhang Tieshan who was meticulously selling her breakfast. She hoped that he could make Gu Dafeng give up, although it felt a bit like she was using Zhang Tieshan...
If Zhang Tieshan, who was selling breakfast, knew what Li Hehua was thinking, he would definitely say that he was willing to let her use him and it would be best to drive away all the men who had feelings for her.
At the same time, two women not far from the stall were looking at this side with ugly expressions.
"Mom, that's really Brother Tieshan. What do you think he means? Why is he helping that woman sell things?" Wu Meizi asked angrily.
Wu Fang's eyes were fixed on Li Hehua who was playing with Shulin, as if she was spitting poison.
Seeing her mother not saying anything, Wu Meizi stamped her feet anxiously, "Mom, didn't Brother Tieshan divorce that woman? Why is he running here every day now, and now he's helping that woman sell things, what does this mean!"
Wu Fang patted her daughter's hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, let's figure it out first. Maybe it's not like that."
Wu Meizi was very anxious, "Mother, how can I not be anxious? Didn't you say you were going to tell Auntie about my marriage with Brother Tieshan? What should I do if Brother Tieshan comes back to look for this woman? Mother, I don't care, I will marry Brother Tieshan. If it weren't for this woman, I would have been Brother Tieshan's wife a long time ago. It's all because of this woman's shamelessness to snatch Brother Tieshan away. I can't let her snatch him away again this time!"
Back then, Zhang Tieshan was handsome, strong, and good at hunting, not to mention making money. There were countless families in the surrounding villages who wanted to make Zhang Tieshan their son-in-law.
Although Zhang Tieshan had no father, only a widowed mother and a younger brother, many families still invited matchmakers to come to propose marriage. The Wu family was the same. Wu Fangshi and Mei Zi's father were also very optimistic about Zhang Tieshan. In addition, their daughter Mei Zi had liked him since she was a child, so they planned to make Zhang Tieshan their son-in-law, thinking that it should not be difficult to make the marriage happen because of the good relationship between their son and Zhang Tieshan.
Who would have thought that Zhang Tieshan would marry Li Hehua before the marriage was even arranged? This made the Wu family extremely angry, and Wu Meizi also cried for a long time.
Now that they had finally waited for Zhang Tieshan to divorce Li Hehua, the Wu family wanted to marry Wu Meizi to Zhang Tieshan again. Although Zhang Tieshan was married for the second time and had a son who was a burden, he was young and strong and good at making money. In addition, Wu Meizi was an old maid who had never married. The Wu family thought that the two were a good match, so they planned to go to Zhang Linshi to talk about it. However, after going there once, Zhang Linshi did not agree immediately and only said that she would consider it.
The Wu family was a little embarrassed, but Wu Meizi kept asking to marry Zhang Tieshan, so Wu Fang promised her daughter that she would make it happen. Who would have thought that when she occasionally came to the town to attend the market, she would see Zhang Tieshan helping out at the stall opened by Li Hehua, and he came often.
How could this not make Wu Fangshi and Wu Meizi anxious and angry?
Wu Fang spat on the ground, "Who the hell is she? She doesn't even look at herself in the mirror. Even a sow is prettier than her. How could Tieshan like her? I think this woman is probably using her son to deliberately drag Tieshan down. After all, Tieshan only has this one child, so it's normal for him to love her a little."
After hearing what Wu Fang said, Wu Meizi's face looked much better, but she was still worried, "But mother, what if this woman keeps using Shu Lin to seduce Brother Tieshan? Then the two of them will really..."
Wu Fang narrowed her eyes and said with certainty, "No, mother said that if I let you marry Tieshan, it will definitely work out. And you forgot that your face was injured by that bitch because you were protecting Tieshan's mother and brother. If your face hadn't been injured like this, you wouldn't have been unable to get married until now. The Zhang family owes us a favor. If Zhang Tieshan dares not to marry you, he is ungrateful!"
When Wu Meizi heard her mother mention this, she reached out to cover the scar on her face, a trace of guilt flashed across her face, "Mom, others don't know, but you know that I'm not trying to protect Aunt and Qingshan, I just..."
Wu Fangshi reached out and held her daughter's hand to stop her from speaking. "As long as you say it is true, it is true. You did have a conflict with Li Hehua when she bullied Tieshan's mother and brother. You were injured to protect them. Don't say anything more in the future, understand?"
Wu Meizi's eyes flashed, and then she nodded firmly.
"But mother, are we not going to do anything now? What if Brother Tieshan is snatched away by someone else again?"
Wu Fang snorted and laughed, "Of course I won't do nothing. Don't worry, let me think of a solution."
Wu Meizi looked at Zhang Tieshan who was busy, her eyes full of affection, and she couldn't help biting her lower lip.
She would never let anyone else take Brother Tieshan away from her again!
Wu Meizi pulled Wu Fang's sleeve and acted coquettishly, "Mother, you can think of a solution slowly, but the most important thing right now is my marriage with Brother Tieshan. Can you tell Aunt about my affairs again?"
Wu Fang frowned angrily, "Do you think I didn't mention it? Didn't I go last time, but your Aunt Zhang didn't agree. She just said she would consider it. It's obvious that she didn't want to agree! Bah, you hurt your face for her, but now you don't agree. You are so ungrateful!"
"Mom, why don't you go and ask her again? Maybe this time she will agree."
Wu Fang had always loved her daughter, so seeing her daughter begging like that, she had no choice but to agree, "Okay, okay, I'll go tell your aunt again that for you, I'll even sacrifice my old face." By the way, she'll also tell her that Zhang Tieshan was helping that bitch here every day, and she didn't believe that Zhang Lin wouldn't care.
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