Siheyuan: Cooking journey

Chicken stewed with potatoes, served with steamed corn bread, tastes really delicious.

He Yushui's face turned red as she ate, and she felt very happy.

But He Yuzhu felt uneasy while eating, and kept wondering whether Ran Qiuye was waiting at the bus stop again.

After thinking about it, I always feel like something is hanging in the balance, and I feel uneasy.

No, I have to go and see.

He Yuzhu thought of this and set off without further delay, leaving behind a sentence:

"I'm full, please eat slowly."

"We're eating, where are you going?"

He Yushui shouted in confusion, but when she saw that he had already ridden away on his bike, she couldn't help but pout, feeling that even the stewed chicken didn't taste good anymore.

Humph, if you ignore me, I won’t be polite and will eat it all.

……

People were also eating in the next room.

Wowotou, a few peeled white steamed buns, pickled cabbage, and boiled water.

Steamed corn bread made of pure corn flour is a coarse grain.

The steamed corn bread just out of the pot will break into crumbs when you bite it, and it will easily get stuck in your throat when you swallow it.

Three and a half steamed buns of white flour were saved.

Qin Huairu didn't eat it herself. She gave one to Banggeng, one to Xiaodang, and one to her mother-in-law. She planned to soak the remaining half and give it to Xiao Huaihua.

She was chewing the steamed bun and found it delicious.

The whole family lived on that little salary, and she felt that having steamed corn bread to eat was better than going hungry.

Food is rationed every month: 28 kilograms for adults, 14 kilograms for children, and workers can get more, 32 kilograms.

The total food in the family was only 102 kilograms, which was not enough to eat. We had to either borrow food coupons or buy meal coupons from the factory, and we had to rely on our uncle for help to just get by.

Now, I work in the cafeteria and have two meals a day.

Adults eat two meals a day, which means sixty meals a month. Each meal weighs four ounces, so 24 kilograms of food can be saved.

From now on, the monthly food ration will be enough to eat.

Steam some extra steamed buns in the morning and bring them to work, and save the rest for the children.

Whether it is pure white flour steamed buns or steamed corn bread mixed with white flour, they are much better than pure corn flour.

Qin Huairu was thinking in her mind. Seeing her mother-in-law sitting at the table with a stern face and a pout, not eating, she felt puzzled.

"Mom, why don't you eat?"

"What should I eat?"

Granny Zhang slammed the table and said unhappily:

"You said you had no money, so where did these white flour buns come from? You need to explain clearly. I feel uncomfortable if you don't explain it clearly."

Isn't it you who spent the money?

What do you mean by saying this now?

Qin Huairu felt aggrieved and subconsciously clenched the corner of her clothes. She lowered her head and silently ate the steamed bun without responding.

She wanted to say that she was transferred to work in the canteen and the steamed buns were saved, but she suddenly remembered that she had such an unpleasant argument with Deputy Director Li today, and wondered if she would be transferred back to the workshop when she went to work tomorrow.

Only then did she realize that she was happy too early.

For a moment, I was filled with worry.

The steamed corn bread became increasingly difficult to swallow.

"Grandma, why do you care so much?"

Banggeng glanced at him expressionlessly, chewing his steamed bun and mumbling, "It's enough to have something to eat. In the past, Shazhu sent me steamed buns and meat a lot, and you ate a lot, and you didn't complain about the dirt."

"How can that be the same? When adults are talking, children should not interrupt."

Granny Zhang said angrily, "Shazhu is just stupid. If he wasn't stupid, why would he send so much food every day? He doesn't have any purpose, he's just stupid. Others are different. They must have some purpose. Who would be willing to send these white flour buns if there is no benefit?"

As he said this, he glanced at Qin Huairu with disdain.

Qin Huairu continued to eat her steamed bread silently without saying anything.

Granny Zhang snorted in dissatisfaction. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she glanced at the white flour buns, swallowed unconsciously, picked up the buns and took a big bite, saying unhappily:

"I don't know how he gets along with people. He offended everyone. Shazhu used to send food to me every day, but now he hasn't been seen for a long time."

There was silence at the dinner table and no one paid any attention to her. Grandma Zhang was so angry that she took another big bite of the steamed bun.

For a while.

Xiao Dang sniffed and said in a childish voice, "Oh, what smells so good?"

"Maybe Shazhu is stewing chicken."

Grandma Zhang also sniffed it, looking unhappy.

"This idiot Zhu is the same. Eating in the cafeteria every day is not enough. He has to eat at home. It's not like he has nothing to eat. He used to send us the delicious food he made. Now he stole the chicken from the cafeteria and only cared about himself. He didn't even think of sharing some with us. He is really not considerate."

Qin Huairu frowned slightly.

She knew that He Yuzhu did not steal the chicken from the kitchen.

Before, she wanted to secretly take a chicken home, but He Yuzhu said that the vegetables had to be clean and the chicken had to be saved for a big pot dish tomorrow.

She felt quite regretful at that time, but now she feels fortunate that she didn't take it, otherwise she would not have been able to pass the factory gate today.

"Let's eat our own food. Don't talk nonsense. It's not good if others hear us."

Qin Huairu hesitated for a moment and reminded.

"Humph……"

Grandma Zhang glared at her in dissatisfaction, slammed the table and said:

"Banggeng, Xiaodang, do you want to eat chicken? Go to Shazhu's place and bring the chicken over when he isn't paying attention. He's an adult and he won't argue with you kids."

Qin Huairu was a little hesitant.

This kind of thing had happened before, and He Yuzhu really didn't say anything.

There has been no meat in the house for the past two months.

It's a good thing that the children can eat chicken.

In the end, Qin Huairu didn't say anything to stop them. She was just worried about the cafeteria. She also thought that when He Yuzhu found out about what happened at the door tomorrow, he would probably understand that it was a misunderstanding and might look at them differently. She could also take the opportunity to chat with them in the evening when he returned the plates.

"Xiao Dang, let's go."

Banggeng obediently pulled his sister out. He often did this kind of thing. He would just take the food and run away, leaving his sister there to cry.

It’s just that my neighbor hasn’t cooked anything special in the past two months, so I haven’t had the opportunity to do this.

Just as I was about to open the door, it was pushed open.

Second uncle Liu Haizhong walked in with flour in one hand and a chicken in the other, smiling and bowing to greet us:

"We're having dinner right now, what a coincidence."

"Second uncle, what can I do for you?"

Qin Huairu looked at Liu Haizhong curiously.

Carrying the chicken and the noodles, she was confused for a moment.

If it was an old man, she would definitely think it was sent by someone.

But the second uncle is as stingy as the third uncle. They live in the same yard, but they have hardly interacted with each other for such a long time.

"It's like this. I ran into Deputy Director Li when I was leaving get off work. He said that your family is having a hard time, so he asked me to send you a chicken and five kilograms of flour on behalf of the factory to show my concern."

Liu Haizhong said with a smile on his face.

Qin Huairu was completely stunned.

Is there something wrong with Deputy Director Li’s brain?

After such a big unpleasantness, now they are sending chicken and noodles as a gift.

"Second uncle, did Deputy Director Li really ask you to deliver it?"

Qin Huairu was confused and full of doubts, and couldn't help but confirm.

"Yes, yes, Deputy Director Li asked me to send it."

Liu Haizhong bent down and nodded, with a smile on his face:

"Qin Huairu, this is it. When you see Deputy Director Li, say a few good words for me, especially mention the chicken and noodles I sent you. Otherwise, Deputy Director Li will think I'm corrupt."

In this way, he was not worried at all that Qin Huairu would not understand. Even if Qin Huairu did not understand at the moment, when the time came, she would tell Deputy Director Li, and Deputy Director Li would naturally know whether the gift had been delivered or not, and would understand the intention.

Liu Haizhong was secretly proud. This was political acumen. There was something else behind his words, and it was full of hidden meanings...