Liu Jiandong quickly backed away, "Why is she crying?"
An'an was still half asleep and didn't recognize that this was Aunt Tian's house when she woke up. Plus, Song Qing wasn't around, so she looked aggrieved.
"She had just woken up and was recognizing some people."
Song Qing dressed her and carried her outside, where An'an regained consciousness. "An'an, this is your uncle, quickly call him uncle."
An'an was stunned before he could even call Liu Jiandong. How could he be an uncle when he was only a teenager?
Although according to seniority, the child should indeed call him uncle.
An'an didn't say anything and was still sizing up Liu Jiandong. Song Qing came into the room to pour her some water, and Liu Jiandong took the opportunity to teach her to change her way of addressing him.
"I'm not much older than you, just call me brother."
An'an sat on a bench in the yard, and Liu Jiandong simply squatted down in front of her. "Call me brother, and I'll hunt rabbits for you to eat when I have a holiday."
The boys in the village are mostly free-range, skilled at everything from climbing mountains to trees, and Liu Jiandong is no exception. Growing up so close to the mountains, they can easily hunt a rabbit.
Aunt Tian was carrying a basket back when she heard Liu Jiandong's words and slapped him on the head.
"Get lost, you piece of trash! If she calls you 'brother,' then what does your cousin call me? Did you do what I asked you to do?"
Liu Jiandong covered his head and jumped up. An'an secretly laughed a few times, which he noticed, but he didn't dare to do anything out of line with his mother.
"I've already told my dad and my brother, and I've bought the meat."
Aunt Tian handed him the basket she was carrying, saying, "Then go boil some water and pluck the feathers off this chicken."
After saying that, she turned to An'an and asked gently, "Do you want a shuttlecock? I'll have your uncle make one for you with chicken feathers."
An'an nodded excitedly and followed Liu Jiandong to watch him pluck chicken feathers. Song Qing couldn't just watch, so she wanted to go and help.
“You don’t need to go, he can handle it by himself. Or you can help me peel some corn.”
The two chatted while peeling corn in the yard. Aunt Tian had just seen the meat that Liu Jiandong had bought.
"It's a good thing this kid isn't completely stupid; he still knows to go buy it early in the morning."
Aunt Tian's family lived some distance from the county seat. Liu Jiandong and several of his classmates lived nearby. They had arranged to travel together in the morning. When they arrived in the county, it was still not long after dawn. He told his classmates to go to school first, while he ran to the meat station.
At that time, the meat station had just delivered the pork, and he bought a piece of meat directly. He also saw that the pork belly and pig liver were sold together, so he also bought some. These did not require coupons and were not expensive, but you could only buy them if you went early in the morning.
After buying the meat, I took it directly to the school and borrowed the security guard's basket to put it there. I brought it back after school.
After Song Qing finished preparing the meal for Aunt Tian, she hurried home to call Lu Yang over, as it was almost time.
When Lu Yang returned, he saw a large lock on the gate and wondered why Song Qing had rushed back.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Where is An'an?" He looked behind Song Qing but didn't see An'an.
"At my third aunt's house, my third aunt invited us to her house for dinner."
Since it was Lu Yang's first time visiting someone, he shouldn't go empty-handed. Song Qing remembered that Aunt Tian had mentioned Uncle Liu liked to drink, so she thought she would bring some wine with her.
The supply and marketing station didn't have much liquor, so they bought two bottles of Tongzhou Laojiao, each white porcelain bottle costing 3.8 yuan.
"I've been so busy I've forgotten everything. We should have taken our fish over too." We were planning to eat it today.
When Song Qing brought Lu Yang to Yanghe Village, Aunt Tian's husband and eldest son had already returned.
"Old Liu, this is my niece Song Qing, and this is her husband Lu Yang."
“This is her daughter, An’an.” An’an chimed in from the side, and Liu Jiandong chuckled and flicked her little braid.
Liu Jianqiu and the others returned a little earlier and had already met An'an. They laughed when they heard what she said.
The atmosphere was just right, and Aunt Tian quickly introduced them to each other before urging them to eat.
Today's meal was exceptionally lavish, featuring pheasant stew with vermicelli, topped with steamed buns made by Aunt Tian.
A dish called "Golden Coin Eggs" is made by frying eggs, then cutting them open and stir-frying them with various spicy sauces and side dishes. The sour and spicy flavor, soaked in broth, is particularly appetizing.
I made sweet and sour pork with the pork I bought today. I also made spicy stir-fried dried rabbit with some fried tofu and potatoes—it was incredibly delicious!
I also stir-fried a plate of leftover sausages from the Lunar New Year, and finally made a seaweed and egg soup. The small eggs were home-caught, and the seaweed was dried seaweed I bought.
The rice is just boiled rice.
At noon, there was a little bit of sour soup left, which was given to An'an, who slurped it up nonstop while holding the big bowl.
"Why did you buy such expensive wine? There are plenty of cheap liquors that cost five or six mao." Aunt Tian looked at the two bottles of wine and felt a pang of heartache; they cost almost eight yuan in total.
"We knew that my third aunt's husband liked to drink, so we bought some."
Uncle Liu was a heavy drinker, so Aunt Tian didn't let him drink much. She only poured him a small cup and then took the wine away.
"This isn't enough. The wine's gone before it even reached my throat."
"All you ever do is drink, drink, drink. You have to go to work tomorrow."
However, she still took out the ordinary white liquor from the room. There was only a little over a finger's width left, and Uncle Liu didn't dare to say anything more. He was already grateful to have something to drink.
"There are good things about expensive wine, but none of them can compare to Yanghe wine that our village brews itself. It's a pity that they don't brew it anymore."
Uncle Liu held his wine glass and reminisced about the past. Lu Yang hadn't drunk any wine tonight since tomorrow wasn't a holiday. He and Liu Jianqiu occasionally echoed Uncle Liu's words.
Song Qing told Aunt Tian stories about her mother's hometown. As for Liu Jiandong, he and An'an chatted happily. The atmosphere in the room was harmonious. After they finished eating, it was completely dark outside.
"Oh dear, it's so late. Why don't you stay here and heat up the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room so you can make do for the night?"
It was still a bit cold late at night, but Song Qing didn't agree. The whole family had eaten their fill and could walk back.
There was only one bicycle at home, so when Aunt Tian saw this, she asked Liu Jiandong to go out and borrow another one. He took his brother, and Lu Yang took Song Qing and her daughter, and they took them back to the family compound.
Inside the house, An'an, holding a shuttlecock made of pheasant feathers, lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) rubbing her stomach and asked them when they were going to the zoo.
"You have a good memory; you still remember the zoo."
With An'an eagerly anticipating it, Lu Yang's vacation finally arrived, and Song Qing got her up early that morning.
"We'll have breakfast in the city. Let's go to the zoo first, and then we'll buy some things."
There are only three buses a day from the camp to the city. In order to catch the bus, Song Qing grabbed some pastries, put his ticket in his pocket, and hurriedly ran to the road outside.
An'an held her mother's hand and kept peeking out to look at the road, while Lu Yang held a water bottle full of water in his hand.
"The car hasn't arrived yet, let's eat something first."
They brought some jujube cakes they had bought at the supply and marketing cooperative. They cost less than one yuan per pound. They tasted sweet and sour but not greasy. An'an ate a few pieces, but Song Qing didn't touch a single one.
She was feeling carsick, and eating made her feel even worse, so she figured she might as well wait for more than an hour.
"Mom's car is here."
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