Chapter 10
Although Lu Che didn't say anything, that look in his eyes had frightened the four of them so much that their hearts were trembling, and they even quickened their pace.
But even if they sped up, it was already late when they arrived at the county town, and the pork in the supply and marketing cooperative had been sold out as expected.
Zhu Xia and the others didn't care because they had never thought about buying meat, but Jiang Yao wanted to buy it.
The Lu family was not well off, but Mrs. Lu still made egg soup to express her welcome. She planned to make some delicious food tonight to treat them back.
The only items left on the pork stall were some offal, pork bones and pig trotters, which were not popular. Jiang Yao didn't mind them and spent fifty cents to buy a pair of large pig trotters and a few large bones.
I bought a lot of meat for the price of one pound, and I could save meat coupons. It was such a great deal.
"Yaoyao, why did you buy so much? Can you eat so much by yourself now?" Zhou Qiong asked.
"She must want to invite the Lu family to eat together." Zhu Xia said unhappily: "Yaoyao, I know your family is well off, but you can't be too generous. Now that you've started, aren't you afraid that they'll rely on you in the future?"
"No." Jiang Yao said with certainty: "When I arrived at the Lu family today, Grandma Lu treated me to egg and sugar water. They come from a poor family and have a hard life, but they are not the kind of people who like to take advantage of others. I will be staying at their house for a long time in the future, so I have to establish a good relationship with them first."
There was one thing Jiang Yao didn't say, which was that she had just offended the boss and she had to apologize no matter what.
This morning, Lu Qing brought sweet potatoes to Jiang Yao, and everyone was envious. Unexpectedly, there was something better to come. They also arranged for the egg syrup, and there was really nothing to say.
After leaving the pork stall, everyone continued to wander around the supply and marketing cooperative, buying what they needed. Jiang Yao had enough money and bought two pounds of flour, a bag of White Rabbit candy, a can of malted milk, and condiments such as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.
It was quite enjoyable when she was buying things, but it was a bit miserable when she was going back. The total weight of the things in her two hands was nearly ten kilograms, and it was really hard to carry them for an hour.
Fortunately, Zhu Xia and the others didn't buy much, so everyone helped her carry a little, so it wasn't so miserable.
As they left the downtown area of the county and headed towards the Qingyuan Production Team, a fifty-year-old woman suddenly came out and walked up to Zhu Xia, asking in a low voice: "Girls, do you want eggs? Fresh and fat, one cent each."
As the old lady spoke, she lifted a corner of the pig grass on top of her basket, revealing the white eggs.
Jiang Yao took a look and couldn't tell if they were fresh or not. They were medium in size, but they were worth the price. Zhu Xia bought three for each of them, as a snack to satisfy her cravings.
"Yaoyao, why don't you buy some?" Wen Qian asked, "In this weather, you have to finish your pig's trotters today. The eggs can still be kept for a few days. I just shook them and they are very fresh."
"I know." Jiang Yao said, "The Lu family usually takes eggs to the market to sell. They sell to anyone anyway. If I want to eat some, I can ask Sister Qing to exchange them. I am living under someone else's roof now. An egg can make the relationship between the two sides more harmonious. Why not?
In fact, everyone understood her reasoning, but the farmers they faced were different from the Lu family. If they wanted to change, they could do so, but they were afraid that they would be blamed if they changed once. They could afford to change an egg every day, but their wallets couldn't. They were not Jiang Yao.
At this point, Zhu Xia thought of the four chickens at the educated youth camp and asked, "I've asked other people for their opinions on the chickens, and they all want to sell them and share the money. To be honest, the villagers who are willing to take us in are more or less interested in us because we get food subsidies every month and we come from the city, so they think they can get some benefits from us. If anyone brings chickens over, won't they just become fat chickens waiting to be slaughtered?"
"I agree." Zhou Qiong and Wen Qian both raised their hands in agreement.
"Jiang Yao, what do you think?" Zhu Xia asked.
Jiang Yao thought for a moment and said, "Sell those four chickens to me. I'll pay you whatever the market price is."
"You don't have to worry about the Lu family if you buy it..." Zhou Qiong stopped talking halfway and said, "You can raise it. The Lu family has a very high level of ideological awareness."
“…”
After returning to Qingyuan Village, they first went back to Lu's house together, firstly to help Jiang Yao send the things back, and secondly for Jiang Yao to give the money for buying chickens to Zhu Xia.
Jiang Yao originally planned to let them in to take a look at her room, but they were still intimidated by Lu Che's "reputation" and stayed outside obediently waiting for her to take out the money.
The four chickens at the educated youth's point were considered fat, each weighing about three pounds, and four chickens cost twelve yuan. Twelve people shared it, so each person got one yuan. Jiang Yao kept her own piece and gave Zhu Xia eleven yuan, asking her to share it with other educated youth.
"I'll deliver the money door to door later." Zhu Xia promised and then reminded: "You'd better take the chicken back today. Although no one should dare to steal the chicken, there is no one living in the educated youth site now. At night, someone might really steal the chicken. If someone steals it and you don't catch them, crying will be useless."
"I understand." Jiang Yao nodded, "It's getting late, you should go back and cook."
After they left, Jiang Yao turned around and went in to deal with her pig's trotters and bones.
The Lu family was a wealthy family in the past, and they had two kitchens. In order to make it easier for Jiang Yao, Lu Qing cleaned the small kitchen near her room for her to use.
Although it was a small kitchen, it was bigger than the kitchen in the educated youth camp, and the stove was well built. It was said that this kitchen was used by the long-term workers who lived in the Lu family. It was no wonder that Mr. Lu was generally respected by everyone because he was so attentive to the servants.
Jiang Yao was just about to fetch water to wash the pig's trotters and bones when she remembered that there was no running water and that she had to go to the well to fetch water. In the past, the task of fetching water was taken by male educated youth in turns at the youth camp, but now that she was here, she had to rely on herself.
She looked at the huge water tank in the corner and was immediately discouraged. But no matter how much she tried, the meat would go bad if she didn't take care of it.
Jiang Yao walked to the water tank resignedly, raised her hand to open the lid of the tank, and tried to estimate how many times she would have to fetch water.
This was a big deal, the water tank was full of water.
Who did this? Jiang Yao had the answer in the next second.
He does good deeds without leaving his name. He indeed has the temperament and potential to be a business tycoon.
With water, Jiang Yao could cook happily. She boiled a pot of water, blanched the pig's trotters and bones together, and then processed them separately.
She originally wanted to make pork trotter with ginger, but she didn't buy much sugar today, and the vinegar was aged vinegar, not sweet vinegar. She estimated that even if she put all the sugar in, it wouldn't be sweet enough, so she made braised pig's trotters instead.
The marinade is the same as the last time when we braised pig intestines, but last time the pig intestines were served with sauerkraut, this time the braised pig's trotters are served with some radishes for a better taste.
She didn't buy any radishes today, but there were some in the Lu family's vegetable garden. Lu Qing had said before that she could pick any vegetables in the garden, but it would be embarrassing to do so, so she planned to pick them first and report tonight.
After turning the stove for braised pig's trotters to low heat, Jiang Yao put on a thin open-front shirt and a straw hat and went to pick radishes. Unexpectedly, as soon as she walked into the vegetable garden, she saw Lu Che picking vegetables.
Thinking of being caught gossiping this morning, Jiang Yao still looked embarrassed. But she couldn't run away now, otherwise she would look even more guilty. She walked over and said in a flattering tone, "Um... I want to borrow two carrots, is that okay?"
Lu Che didn't respond to her and continued picking vegetables silently with his back to her.
What a stingy man!
Jiang Yao complained in her heart but didn't dare to say anything. She stood there watching him pick vegetables, hoping that he would change his mind later.
But she was fascinated by it once she saw it.
Lu Che was still wearing a patched cloth outfit today, a sleeveless shirt on the upper body and a pair of cropped pants on the lower body, revealing a pair of arms and a pair of calves. He was not strong, but his muscles were clearly defined and he was full of strength.
The sun was scorching above his head and beads of sweat were sliding down his muscle lines.
Jiang Yao felt that she was too thirsty, otherwise she would not be able to help swallowing when her sweat dripped into the soil.
"What are you standing there for? The radish is over there, and you can't pull it out by yourself. Wait for me to help you?"
Lu Che turned around unexpectedly, with the same annoying expression and tone as always, but Jiang Yao no longer had the heart to complain. She only felt ashamed for the behavior of swallowing just now.
"No...no need, I can pull them out myself." Jiang Yao immediately lowered her head and walked towards the radish field on the side.
Jiang Yao's grandmother used to grow a yard of vegetables. She would grow anything that could survive. She was often dragged out to pick vegetables, so when she faced a vegetable field, she would not be confused about the five grains.
The Lu family's radishes were very big, so Jiang Yao only needed to pull two. Seeing that Lu Che hadn't finished yet, she said, "I'll go back first. Thank you."
Lu Che continued to work hard and ignored everyone. Jiang Yao was used to it and walked back with a carrot in one hand.
But she had just walked a few steps when she found purslane on the side. She immediately had an idea to drink purslane bone soup tonight. Purslane is very effective in removing dampness, and the soup boiled with it is very suitable for drinking in this hot and humid weather.
"I'd like to dig some of the purslane over here, too." After being snubbed so many times, Jiang Yao didn't bother to ask politely and directly put forward her idea.
She thought she wouldn't get a response from Lu Che this time, but he suddenly raised his head and said, "Wait a minute, I'll dig it for you."
"……oh."
Jiang Yao had no idea what he was doing, so she just stood there obediently, waiting for him to come over and dig.
The rhizome of purslane has the greatest medicinal value. Jiang Yao thought that tonight's soup was for six people, so she waited until Lu Che dug six roots and asked him to stop. "That's enough. Thank you."
As she said this, she was about to pick up the purslane on the ground, but Lu Che grabbed it first and said, "I'll take it back for you."
"..." Was he suddenly enlightened and trying to be a gentleman? No, the radish in her hand was much heavier than the purslane head.
Without giving Jiang Yao any chance to ask questions, Lu Che took a big step forward and she immediately trotted after him.
Back in the small kitchen, Lu Che showed no sign of stopping. He filled a basin with water and washed the purslane's head, then filled another basin with water and washed it again.
Now, the purslane heads that were originally covered with mud have been washed clean. Lu Che chopped them into small pieces with a knife and finally put them in the basin. He said to Jiang Yao, "Be careful when you pick them up later. There are thorns on them."
After saying this, he turned and left the kitchen.
Jiang Yao didn't come back to her senses until his back disappeared around the corner.
The boss's tone and expression were all like frost in June. If she thought he was worried that she would be pricked by the thorns of purslane, and he helped her pick, wash and chop them, would she be considered self-indulgent?
No matter whether Jiang Yao was overthinking or Lu Che was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, she would make the soup and stew the pig's trotters and treat the entire Lu family to a good meal.
In the evening, Lu Qing came back from work and was about to cook when Jiang Yao called her, "Sister Qing, I have prepared everyone's meal. You don't have to cook. We can eat when Lu Che comes back."
"That won't do." Lu Qing quickly evaded the question, "How can I let you spend money? Just eat it yourself. I'll make it quickly."
"I made a lot. Even if you stuff me like a duck tonight, I still can't finish it. You guys can just help me out. In this kind of weather, it will go bad and have to be thrown away."
Jiang Yao half threatened and half acted like a spoiled child. Lu Qing had no choice but to let her do what she wanted. However, when she paid the rent, he refused to take it no matter what. "Yaoyao, you can live in this house with peace of mind. I said I won't charge you rent, so I won't charge you rent. Don't mention this again in the future. I'm afraid others will find out and use it to make a fuss."
"Okay." Jiang Yao took the money back. She knew what Lu Qing was worried about, so she stopped forcing him and secretly thought that she would give them more food subsidies in the future.
As soon as Lu Che opened the gate of the yard after work, he was greeted by a mouth-watering fragrance.
He remembered this fragrance. He had smelled it in Jiang Yao's small kitchen at noon today. He didn't expect it to drift to the front yard at night. What delicious food did this woman make? The fragrance made him even hungrier.
Thinking of his own dinner, he suddenly felt it was tasteless. He wondered when he could let his family eat such delicious food?
Before he came back, he washed the mud off his body at the riverside. Now he was sweating again when he got home. He washed his face and hands before walking towards the main room.
"Uncle, you're back... Sister Yaoyao is treating us to dinner tonight." He had just stepped over the threshold when Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin rushed towards him, hugged him, and looked up at him with a look of flattery.
He looked up and saw Jiang Yao already sitting in the main room, looking at him with a smile.
Lu Che turned his head away and sat down at the dinner table with an expressionless face, surrounded by the twins.
The old lady and Lu Qing knew his temper, but it was hard to refuse Jiang Yao's kindness. The old lady didn't emphasize that Jiang Yao invited her to dinner, but just said, "Everyone is hungry, let's eat."
Although Lu Che didn't say anything, he only ate rice and vegetables during the meal.
"Uncle, why don't you eat pig's trotters? The pig's trotters made by Sister Yaoyao are especially delicious. I have never eaten such delicious pig's trotters." Zhou Yang asked while chewing on the pig's trotters.
Hearing this, Lu Che said calmly, "Pig's trotters are for women to eat. You are a man, don't eat so much."
"Why? Pig's trotters are so delicious." Zhou Yang, who had always been taught by his father and uncle to be a man, felt a little embarrassed.
"Yangyang, don't worry about eating it." Jiang Yao suddenly said, "In my family, pig's trotters are made for men to eat."
Lu Che was sneering at Jiang Yao's nonsense in his heart, when suddenly there was a pig's trotter in his bowl. He looked up and saw Jiang Yao smiling and saying to him, "Eat it, big pig's trotters are only for men."
“…”
The meal was enjoyed with gusto and in harmony.
Especially the old lady, she couldn't remember how long it had been since she had eaten such delicious food.
In fact, compared to many old ladies in the village, she lived a very good life. Let's not talk about the past. Now her youngest daughter Lu Yuan married to Hong Kong City and sent her money every month. Lu Qing married an officer and lived a smooth life but never forgot her as a grandmother. Although Lu Che worked hard and didn't make much money, he always gave her the good things.
But with the previous experience, she still lived a tight life, fearing that others would be jealous. She saved all the money Lu Yuan sent back, intending to give it to Lu Che as a gift in the future. She also didn't spend much of Lu Qing's money, fearing that she would be inferior to her grandson-in-law.
"Yaoyao, thanks to you, we are eating like it's Chinese New Year today." The old lady took Jiang Yao's hand and said, "If you have any difficulties in the future, you must tell us, don't be polite. My old bones are useless, but Cheche can do it."
Lu Che: “…”
"Grandma Lu, you're too polite." Jiang Yao said, "But I really need help with something now."
"What is it? Just tell me."
"I need to take back some chickens from the educated youth camp to raise, but... I don't know how to catch chickens."
"That's easy." The old lady waved her hand, "Chech is the best at catching chickens, let him go."
Lu Che: “…”
The author has something to say:
Lu Che: My first date with Yaoyao was to catch chickens?
Xiaomi: It’s good to catch chickens. It’s easiest to cultivate JQ when the moon is dark and the wind is strong.
Lu Che: It seems pretty good.
Xiaomi: How can it be wrong if it's my mother's? It just smells like chicken shit.
Lu Che: ...
There are 100 red envelopes to be given out in this chapter, first come first served!
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