Lu Zhenping rode his bicycle ho with Lu Mingkai, who had a sour expression on his little face the entire way. As they neared ho, he hurriedly tugged on the man pedaling in front.
"Dad, should we tell Mom?"
"Of course, what’s there to hide? If we don’t ntion it now, we’ll be in trouble once your mom finds out later."
Hearing his dad say this, Lu Mingkai’s face grew even gloomier.
As the early winter afternoon darkened, Shen ng yawned and lifted the lid of the pot; the at had stewed until it was falling apart, so she doused the still-burning fire a bit.
Steaming buns made from a dough of wheat and millet flours sat atop the coal stove, with sweet potato tea simring beneath them.
This would be all for dinner. She didn’t have the ti to prepare the sauce for the marinated vegetables, so everything ca from her storage space. She fished out a few sheep and pork intestines from the pot, sliced them up, added so pig cheek, seasoned them, and divided it all into three bowls. Though not a lot, it was certainly enough to give away.
When Lu Zhenping, with Lu Mingkai drooling in anticipation, entered the yard, he suddenly rembered that morning when Shen ng asked him to bring back so cypress branches from the county. Preoccupied with the Shen Family’s affairs, he had completely forgotten about it.
"What are you standing there for? Just in ti you’re back, help deliver this basket of food. One bowl for Jinghao, one for Changhong’s house, and one for Uncle Guai and Aunt Juying. This is the offal I’ve just marinated and seasoned, perfect timing since by the ti you’re back, Mingyang and the rest should be almost ho and ready for dinner."
"Okay!"
As Lu Zhenping left with the basket, he breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Shen ng seed to have also forgotten about the cypress branches.
"When you co back, bring so cypress branches, we need them for smoking at. Just looking at you I can tell you forgot. It’s only been a few days and my words an nothing to you? I tell you in the morning, and by afternoon you forget. What can I rely on you for in the future?!"
Lu Zhenping: "...."
I really didn’t an to, your words definitely matter!!!
After Lu Zhenping left, Lu Mingkai toddled over to Shen ng, swallowing saliva.
"Mom, what delicious food did we make?"
Shen ng scooped her child up into her arms and planted a kiss on his little face.
"Mom made so marinated offal, does it sll good? Do you want so?"
"It slls good, I want so!"
"Alright, sweetheart, sit down and Mom will fish out a piece of at for you to try."
"Mmm hmm!"
The little guy wiggled down from his mom’s arms and scurried to sit on a stool by the low kitchen table, hands neatly on his knees, waiting patiently for his bite.
Shen ng couldn’t help but be amused by him.
She fished a piece of pork cheek, marbled with fat and lean, from the pot, placed it into a small bowl, and poured over a bit of the marinade.
"Ming Kai, try the marinated at. If it’s too salty, tell Mom and I’ll get you a bun."
"Okay."
Ming Kai clumsily grasped the at with his chopsticks and took a bite; the delicious flavors filled his mouth, and his eyes squinted with satisfaction. Shortly after, the courtyard door burst open as Mingyang, Mingliang, and Ming Fang stord in. Upon entering the kitchen and seeing Ming Kai stuffing at into his mouth, their hearts imdiately soured with envy.
"Mom, I want to eat too, I want to eat the sa at as my brother."
"I want so too, I want so at."
"Mom, what did you make, it slls so good, I could sll it from far away. When I ca back just now, I even saw two people squatting at the corner eating their al, perhaps they were tempted by the sll of our at to find it goes well with their food!"
The children had all co ho, and Shen ng just lifted the lid off the pot, took a clay basin and dished out all the stewed food inside. It was all inexpensive stuff, too wasteful to throw away, so Mom used so star anise to make the stewed dishes. Mom will first pick so for you all to try, then later we’ll mix it with the sauce and have dinner.
"Okay!"
Each of the three children held a bowl and waited in front of the stove. Shen ng had no choice but to find so chopsticks and picked a piece of at for each, adding a bit of stew sauce, too. She was worried that the kids couldn’t eat too salty, so she didn’t add much salt.
She mixed a dish of lamb and pork intestines, one not spicy, and a dish of pig’s ears and pork head at to be a bit spicier, and there was also a plate of stir-fried bok choy in the coal stove to cut the grease.
She took the stead buns out of the stear and began to prepare for the al.
When Lu Zhenping ca back carrying a bunch of cypress branches, Shen ng and the others had already started to get ready for the al. He clicked his tongue, put down the cypress branches he was holding, and carried the basket into the house.
"Try this, today you ran to my parents’ house for , and it was a lot of effort. I got a bottle of alcohol for you, just right for you to have so tonight to relax."
As soon as Lu Mingkai heard her say this, his big eyes imdiately looked towards his own father, while the latter stayed composed, passing the basket to Shen ng.
"There are eleven eggs and a handful of Golden Monkey milk candies in here. Chang Hong’s mom gave five, Uncle Guai gave six, and Jinghao gave the milk candies. I couldn’t be bothered to refuse them, so I just took them."
"It’s okay, we visit each other often. Right, you went to my parents’ house, how is the house building coming along? Also, Xiao Bin said sothing about finding a wife, how is that going?"
Lu Zhenping glanced at her, drank a shot of white liquor, took a bite of food, and then began to speak.
"The house is basically built. The weather has been good these past few days, it’s dried nicely. Dad, Mom, Big Brother, and Second Brother have all moved into the house. It’s just that Xiao Bin’s room hasn’t been built yet."
"Huh? What does that an? Who builds a house and leaves it half-done? Xiao Bin’s room is supposed to be the biggest in the house, and he’s already talked about marriage, why isn’t the room being built? Next year, who knows, he may be getting married!"
Lu Zhenping took a stead bun and took a big bite.
He didn’t say anything. Lu Mingkai, who had been silently and diligently eating, muttered softly,
"The wedding can’t go on. Dad ssed up Uncle’s marital affairs."
Shen ng zipped her gaze over to Lu Zhenping, her eyes filled with question marks.
"This girl isn’t suitable to get married into the family. Today, Mingkai and I went over just in ti. Xiao Bin and that girl were settling the engagent, and that girl’s parents want Xiao Bin to separate from the family. That room that hasn’t been built would beco independent for them. After getting married, whatever they earn would be theirs. They wouldn’t have to pay back the construction costs of the house. Besides that, at the wedding, they want a dowry of US$ 166, a bicycle, a Shanghai brand watch, and all the furniture has to be made beforehand. And that’s not all, today, those twenty-so relatives who went to the Shen family’s house each have to be given 50 cents for travel expenses. During the wedding, the girl’s nephews and nieces, as well as her external nephews and nieces, each have to be given a pair of Jiefang shoes."
Shen ng: "...."
"You thought that was it? There’s more. We have to arrange a job for Xiao Bin’s older sister and brother-in-law, which ans us two, for the girl’s brother. And her younger brother has to follow to the army to beco a soldier. Only after these matters are taken care of can they get married."
Shen ng: "...Wasn’t it said that the girl is pretty nice?"
"Yeah, she’s quite a well-behaved girl. I asked her what she thought, and she said she, a girl, doesn’t have the final say and has to listen to her parents."
Shen ng: "...."
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