Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

In the evening, the family ate hanging pancakes with vegetable leaves from the vegetable garden. It was the first time for Zhang Xiuhua to see green vegetable leaves being used to make wraps. She had always thought that only lettuce could be used to make wraps.

The hanging pancake is wrapped with green vegetables, fried shredded potatoes, and paired with pickles. It is salty, fragrant and crispy.

The children ate with relish, even Zhuzhu grabbed the shredded potatoes with her little hands and stuffed them into her mouth.

At night, when the children were asleep, Zhang Xiuhua brought the washed and cut sweet potatoes into her room, then entered the space and smashed them with tools.

This space has a very special place. If she takes out the wall breaker, she will enter again in a blink of an eye, and there will be another wall breaker in the space.

Of course, if you take something into the space, it won't grow. For example, if she takes the radish she grows in the field into the space and then takes it out to eat, it won't grow back. It will only transform into something that already exists in the space.

After beating it into residue, she had to wash it twice with water, trying to wash out as much powder as possible, and then put it aside to let it settle.

The temperature here at night is only around ten degrees. It's not freezing, but it's not hot either. It's just the right temperature.

Early the next morning, Zhang Xiuhua began to pour out the water in the bucket, then pour more water, stir it again, and let it continue to settle.

While she was busy, the child stood by and watched, "What is this?"

"Sweet potato flour. It can be made into delicious food." Zhang Xiuhua didn't have to work today, so she went into the mountains with the children to pick up branches.

Jidong still has to stay at home to watch Zhuzhu and do his homework.

Youcai jumped up excitedly, "Aunt Zhang, I'll take you to pick mountain reds. There are so many more if you go further in."

Shanlihong is similar to hawthorn, but slightly larger in size. It also tastes sour and sweet. Many candied haws are made with Shanlihong.

Zhang Xiuhua smiled and nodded, "Okay. If you pick a lot, I'll make candied haws for you."

Baolin's eyes were surprisingly bright, and he circled around Youcai, "We must pick more mountain reds."

Yaoyao had never eaten it before, so she asked her, "Is it delicious?"

"Of course it's delicious. It's sour and sweet. It tastes better than meat."

Upon learning that it tasted better than meat, Yaoyao immediately stared at her brother eagerly.

Youcai suddenly felt a huge pressure and said, "I'll try my best."

He was afraid that the mountain reds would be snatched away by the children in the village.

Zhang Xiuhua was carrying a backpack. Some of the other children were in front of her, some were behind her, and the one in front was Youcai, who was leading the way.

"Can we just pick up firewood outside?" Zhang Xiuhua didn't want to walk too far.

Youcai shook his head and said, "All the firewood outside has been picked up by the villagers. Let's go inside."

He looked up at the towering trees and said, "I can also cut branches from the trees, but this tree is too high. I dare not climb it."

Zhang Xiuhua also looked up and it was indeed very high, even if she used tools it would not be possible.

After walking a little further, Zhang Xiuhua saw a lot of fallen firewood. These were branches blown down by the strong wind. Some were rotten, and some were still branches, but they could be burned after a while of wind.

She had the children gather the branches into piles, and then she tied them together with ropes.

The children were reciting Shanlihong songs, but they had to listen to her, so they stopped and Zhang Xiuhua soon got a bundle of firewood.

Zhang Xiuhua asked the children to go find some fruit first, and she took Jilin back first.

Jilin also wanted to follow his brothers and sisters, but he was too young. What if these children were careless and lost him again? It would be difficult to find him in the forest. Zhang Xiuhua firmly disagreed.

I don't force it if I have talent.

Zhang Xiuhua told Baolin to follow Youcai closely, "You are unfamiliar with this place, so don't run around."

Baolin was so anxious that he went to find the fruit and nodded in agreement.

So Zhang Xiuhua took Ji Lin out of the forest and returned home along the same route they came.

She went back and forth three times like this, carrying the firewood three times, and was so tired that she couldn't straighten her back. If she continued to carry it, she was afraid that her waist would break, so she had to slow down. In fact, she could use the space to transport it, but after thinking about it carefully, she gave up. It's easy for people to go from frugality to luxury, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. When she got used to using the space, she would think of the space first when transporting firewood in the future. It's okay once or twice, but it will always be exposed if it happens too many times. No one is a fool.

She also had a little thought: she couldn't give others the impression that she was very capable, lest all the housework be thrown to her. Then she would have to be a nanny for six children, and she would be exhausted!

She was sorting firewood when the carpenter brought her the finished table.

Zhang Xiuhua thanked him and asked him, "Can I cut down the crooked trees in the forest?"

The carpenter nodded. "Sure. We cut down trees that don't grow tall to burn. In a couple of days the village cadres will organize the members to go to Yongding Village to buy coal."

Zhang Xiuhua's eyes lit up. She thought that the unified sales and purchase was implemented at that time, and the rural people could not buy coal. She was a little curious, "Why go to Yongdingzhuang to buy it?"

"Yongding Village is right next to the Second Mine, and a lot of coal can leak over there."

The miners all looked for farmers from nearby villages. Of course, they could also secretly get some coal themselves.

Zhang Xiuhua asked him how much it cost.

"If you go to a regular coal factory, you need a coal ticket and it costs eight yuan a ton. If you go to Yongding Village, you don't need a coal ticket and it costs fifteen yuan a ton. When the production team organizes you, you can just go with them." He suddenly looked around and said, "Your family doesn't have a cart? Then wait until other families have bought theirs, and then you can go with other villages to buy."

Zhang Xiuhua was worried that there would not be enough coal to buy later, so she said, "I will find a way."

It was definitely too late to order a cart now, but she could borrow some from somewhere else. Other villages also needed to buy coal, so there was no way. She set her sights on the farm.

There are harvesters on the farm, and there must be carts. Most of the people on the farm are educated youth, and there are also labor reform personnel.

After sending the carpenter away, Zhang Xiuhua went into the mountains for the last time to collect firewood. This time she had more time, so she looked for her child first.

She searched the forest and met many children from the village, but she couldn't find any talented people. She was afraid that she would get lost again if she went on, so she turned back, picked up some branches, tied them up, and carried them back home.

She heard Youcai's signature loud voice before she even walked into the yard.

"We can't eat it all. We need to save some for making candied haws."

The children laughed and said, "No. There are so many, we can't finish them all."

Zhang Xiuhua went in carrying firewood. There were several bundles of firewood piled in the yard, some big and some small. It seemed that they were brought back by the three children.

Youcai saw her coming back and immediately came over to her, "Aunt Zhang, let's make candied haws."

Zhang Xiuhua took one and tasted it. It was sour and sweet, white inside and had a hard texture.

Youcai wanted to grab a few for her, but she waved her hand and said no, "They are too sour and will make my teeth ache."

She asked Youcai to wash it clean and then put it in the yard to dry the moisture on the skin.

After dinner, she began to teach Youcai how to make candied haws.

The operation looks simple, but you need to control the heat precisely. If the heat is too high, it will easily burn, and if the heat is too low, the sugar will not stick.

After the syrup is ready, you have to work fast. Youcai was so tired that he didn't even have time to wipe the sweat off his forehead. In the blink of an eye, the syrup turned red.

By the time he finally finished making three strings, the sugar inside was no longer usable.

"You can only use a small pot for this. A big pot is not convenient to operate." In the countryside, there are large iron pots that can steam rice for a family of ten. It is not convenient to boil such fine sugar in such a large pot. Zhang Xiuhua's space does have a small pot, but she can't explain it when she takes it out.

Youcai wiped the sweat from his forehead, scooped out the sugar water, and it took shape in a short while. The children had a rare chance to eat candy, and even though it was a little burnt, they still ate it happily.

The pot that has just been used to boil sugar is the most difficult to clean. It took Youcai a lot of effort to clean the pot and then boil the second pot of sugar.

This time I made progress compared to last time and hung four candied haws.

Zhuzhu couldn't eat it now. The other five children each got one. Zhang Xiuhua decided to leave the remaining two for the two children's teachers.

Zhou Pandi and Li Xiaoying did not expect an extra gift. They were flattered and refused to accept it. Sugar was very expensive at that time. Their brigade only received two kilograms of sugar coupons every year, which were all divided among the cadres. Zhang Xiuhua must have bought the sugar at a high price on the black market. How could they accept it?

"Take it. It's not easy for you two girls to come here from other places."

She insisted on giving it to them, and the two of them couldn't refuse, so they accepted it.

Zhang Xiuhua asked them if they wanted to buy coal.

When talking about this, the two of them were filled with sorrow. "We would buy it, but we don't have that much money. More than 20 people can only put together one car. We only burn coal when it's the coldest. Usually we just use firewood and corn cobs."

Zhang Xiuhua suddenly said, "Why don't you two live in our house? I'll let Baolin sleep with me, and you and Yaoyao can stay in the same room. You can also teach the two children in my house. I won't charge you for heating."

The main reason is that the winter is too cold here, so the school closed early for the winter vacation. Leaving two teachers at home is just right for them to give extra lessons to the children.

Zhou Pandi and Li Xiaoying looked at each other and thought it was a good idea. "Okay then. Let's come over. But we won't charge you for the extra lessons."

Taking advantage of others and charging them money is a crime without conscience.

Zhang Xiuhua did not refuse, but asked the two people, "Do you know anyone on the farm? Can you introduce me to someone? I want to borrow a cart from them."

Zhou Pandi actually knew them. She had dealt with those people before, so she immediately decided, "I'll help you borrow it."

Zhang Xiuhua didn't expect the other party to be willing to take care of everything, so she smiled and thanked him, "Okay. I'll wait for your good news."