Lunch was noodles, a mixture of cornmeal, sorghum flour and soybean flour. It tasted rough but was very filling.
The vegetables are round eggplants that have just grown in the small vegetable garden. Due to lack of water, the eggplants are very small.
Chop the eggplant, boil it in water, add salt and soybean paste, add half a pot of water, and cook it into eggplant soup.
Each person had a bowl of hand-rolled noodles in eggplant soup. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal, even the youngest Weicun had a small bowl.
Eggplant and onion are the things Zhang Weifang hates to eat the most. Looking at the black eggplant, she could only stuff it into her mouth in big mouthfuls, not daring to chew it hard and just swallowed it directly.
By the end of the meal, I just felt my stomach was full, but I didn’t dare to recall the taste.
After lunch, everyone chose to take a nap. The cool cave and the scorching sun outside were like two completely different worlds. Everyone had to cover themselves with blankets when sleeping at noon for fear of catching a cold.
After waking up from their afternoon nap, the adults took a glass of water and went outside to chat under the black date tree. The children had already run away.
Zhang Weifang sat in the shade of the yard, enjoying the tranquility of the afternoon.
After a while, she went back to the room and took out the sewing basket, and turned her shorts into underwear. She had no skills and just sewed randomly based on her feeling, so the stitches were very messy.
An hour later, a pair of unsightly underwear was formed. It looked too ugly and not symmetrical in front and back. There was no elastic band at the waist, so she sewed two straps that could be tied together as a belt.
Zhang Weifang was not satisfied with the results of her work, but she was too embarrassed to ask others for help, and her mother and sister's needlework was also average.
Many people think that people of this era are good at sewing, but that is not the case at all. In the 1960s, families were so poor that they couldn’t even afford cloth, so how could people make clothes?
However, every household can make shoe soles, twist hemp ropes, and sew quilts.
As for making clothes, few people can do it unless they have learned it specifically.
Zhang Qiao Na is still wearing old-fashioned slanted-collar clothes. She makes her children's pants herself, and asks others to sew their clothes because she can't do it herself.
Dinner was still the usual rice soup with steamed bread. Today, Zhang Weishuang even indulged himself with a cucumber salad, which was already a high-end meal.
There wasn't much nightlife at night, so everyone just sat in the yard to cool off and then went to rest.
Ten days passed slowly like this, and the work in the fields was basically done, so everyone had some free time.
That day, Ruyi, the sister-in-law from next door, came to chat with Zhang Qiao Na, and the conversation turned to Zhang Weifang.
"Aunt Qiao, Weifang is old enough now. Are there any rules at home?"
As soon as Zhang Qiao Na heard this, she understood that this meant she wanted to introduce someone to Wei Fang.
"There's no such thing as a rule. I can't arrange work for the time being, so Weifang is just helping out at home."
In fact, Zhang Weifang does nothing at home, and Zhang Qiao Na is just trying to gild her daughter's image.
These days, when Zhang Weifang wanted to clean the house, he was directly driven out by Zhang Weishuang. When he wanted to sweep the yard, Zhang Weiren snatched the broom away.
As for heavy work like carrying water, carrying coal, and pouring coal ash, it was not her turn.
In this family, Zhang Weifang is almost being raised as a young lady. No one in the family says anything to her, and her other brothers and sisters have no objections. Even the five-year-old Zhang Weibao gives in to her.
Zhang Ruyi didn't think much about it and directly stated her purpose:
"Aunt Qiao, do you know Dr. Wang's family over on the north slope? His eldest son is 21 years old and just got back from the army. He's a tall and handsome young man. Would you like to meet him for our Weifang?"
"Is this the home of Dr. Wang at the village health center?"
"Yes, auntie, his family is well off. They have four sons and two daughters. The second and third sons are married, and the eldest son was delayed because of his military service."
Zhang Qiaona thought about it and realized that Doctor Wang's family conditions were indeed good. The village health center was managed by Doctor Wang. Being a relative of the doctor would make it convenient for her family to take care of any headaches or fevers.
Zhang Qiao Na felt that they were a good match in every aspect, so she agreed to meet him.
Zhang Weifang was very happy when she knew she was going to have a blind date, as she could finally complete her mission.
The next morning, Zhang Weifang was woken up by her second sister.
"Sister, you have a blind date today, so get up early and dress up."
"Okay, got it." Zhang Weifang muttered reluctantly, took a look at the system time, and found that it was only 6 o'clock. Is it necessary to be so early?
I got up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and had breakfast, and it was only 7 o'clock when I finished all the work.
Zhang Weifang even took a mirror to look at herself today. The blurry mirror surface showed a pretty and cute little round face.
Her eyes are also round and a little deep. When she smiles, they sparkle like a blooming sunflower, gentle and sunny.
The skin is not very fair, it is more brown, but very tender and smooth.
18 years old is the best time for a girl. When she raises her hands and looks up, she is full of radiance and is in her prime.
Zhang Weifang has two pigtails, and her shiny black hair sets off her round head, making her look radiant.
Her hair is long and thick, reaching her waist. Zhang Weifang loves and hates her hair. It looks good, but it is too troublesome to wash.
It’s okay in the summer, but in the days when there were no hair dryers, washing hair in the winter was really a torture.
Zhang Weifang decided to go to the hairdresser to cut her hair in a few days. She still liked neat short hair.
Now there is not even shampoo, and people use alkaline noodles to wash their hair. However, the smooth alkaline water makes the hair feel rough. Zhang Weifang always feels that her hair is not washed clean.
Besides, alkaline noodles also cost money. Zhang Weifang only washed her hair once every three days, which made her family feel strange, after all, she used to wash her hair once every seven days.
Zhang Weifang couldn't explain much, so she could only cut her hair short. At least short hair would use less water when washing.
She wore a floral cotton shirt, black straight-leg pants, and a pair of black cloth shoes. This was what Zhang Weifang wore at school today, something she usually didn't dare to wear.
At around 9 o'clock, Sister Ruyi walked in with a tall boy.
The boy was at least 1.8 meters tall and was wearing a military uniform that was 70% new. His arms swung back and forth as he walked, and he looked very energetic.
"Aunt Qiao, this is Dr. Wang's eldest son, Wang Chongming."
"Hello Aunt Qiao, my name is Wang Chongming, I'm sorry to bother you today." Wang Chongming was polite and courteous.
Zhang Qiaona, a rural woman, had never heard such words before. She immediately felt very comfortable, smiling from ear to ear, and was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
"Zhongming, you look so energetic. Come and sit down. I'll call Weifang out."
Zhang Weifang had heard the noise in the yard a long time ago. When she heard Zhang Qiao Na calling her, she walked out of the cave directly.
The clean and pretty girl immediately attracted everyone's attention. Wang Zhongming's eyes flashed with satisfaction and he sat up straighter.
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