The sister-in-law said this, and Cui Cui raised her hand to check the ti, and was surprised to find that she had been so engrossed in listening to the radio that it was already eleven o’clock, ti for lunch.
The two quickly said their goodbyes and went back to make lunch.
Ling Chengyan then handed back the bowl of beef to the sister-in-law: "By chance, Beilou Team sent a cow to the collection station after it died, and I bought so to bring back for the kids to enjoy."
The sister-in-law laughed and said, "I gave you a piece of tofu in exchange for such a big piece of beef; this deal is really profitable."
Ling Chengyan also laughed, "Don’t talk like that, sister-in-law, I still have sothing to trouble you with."
"I just knew this beef wouldn’t taste good..."
The two laughed and joked, and Ling Chengyan ntioned wanting to buy so coarse cloth, and Zhao Erni eagerly agreed, "I dare not make promises about anything else, but buying coarse cloth is easy; many families in the village have it stored." She then asked Ling Chengyan about the color, pattern, and other details before carrying the beef to Hongling’s family’s place.
After seeing off the mother and daughter, Ling Chengyan went to ask Xiao Juan and Cui Cui if they wanted beef. Seeing as they had been eating pickles every day and were quite fed up, upon hearing about the beef and finding they didn’t need a at ticket, there was no reason to refuse, so they imdiately spent money on buying a pound.
The two female educated youths hadn’t been able to return to the city yet, and their family’s situation wasn’t good. For the past six months, they had been preparing for exams and hadn’t worked to earn work points. Being able to eat their fill was already fortunate enough, and they couldn’t afford to buy much at just to indulge.
Ling Chengyan gave them two beef ribs, making the two educated youths very happy. They returned ho with the bones and at to make soup to satisfy their craving.
In the anti, Xiaoyu had cleaned up little Shi Tou and washed and hung the dirty diapers, coming over to help Ling Chengyan cook.
Little Xing ran over out of curiosity, looking at the big piece of at in the basin and gasping, "So much at!"
Seeing Ling Chengyan buy such a big piece of beef, Xiaoyu worried and fretted, "There’s so much at, if we can’t finish it, won’t it spoil soon?"
Ling Chengyan glanced at her and with a smile said, "Then you all better eat up, if you finish it all, it won’t have the chance to spoil."
Xiaoyu knew Ling Chengyan was joking with them, but little Xing took it seriously, clutching her belly and furrowing her brows in distress, "The at is too much, even if I try my best, I can’t finish it!"
"Trying too hard is not okay!" Ling Chengyan tweaked little Xing’s nose and laughed, "Hold on, mother will make jerky out of it for you, so you can eat slowly later."
However, before Ling Chengyan could show off her roasting skills, the sister-in-law returned with the at, and the news that Ling Chengyan had bought half a cow spread in the village.
The old school principal and several other families ca to buy at, and Ling Chengyan found it hard to refuse, so she portioned out so at to them.
Unexpectedly, over a hundred pounds of beef was more than half sold.
Ling Chengyan stewed a big pot of at with bones at noon, and chopped up three pounds into minced at. Rarely able to buy beef, how could they not make dumplings to eat?
With twenty or thirty pounds of beef left, Ling Chengyan didn’t worry about it spoiling, cut it into strips, rubbed salt over it, and hung it above the stove. This is ordinary dried at, which can be stored for a long ti; later, when you want to eat it, just wash it with water and stew it in the pot.
After all the chores were done, the fragrance of stewing beef perated the air, and Ling Chengyan poked it with a chopstick, finding the at thoroughly tender, before adding sliced green radish into the pot, and asking Xiaoyu and little Xing to set the table and get chopsticks.
In no ti, the green radish softened, and Ling Chengyan filled a small crock and placed it on the table: "Today at noon, there’s plenty of stewed at, eat all you want."
Xiaoyu looked at the steaming at chunks and quietly picked up a piece of radish to eat.
Ling Chengyan picked out thoroughly cooked at chunks for little Xing, then carried awake little Shi Tou over, broke the bread into small pieces, dipped it in the at broth, and fed him bit by bit. The little one tasted the at flavor and smacked his lips noisily with satisfaction.
Not yet having teeth, but quite vigorous, he swallowed a small piece of bread whole and then reached out with his small hands wanting more at: "Ah... ah..."
The three were amused by the little one, and Ling Chengyan dipped more at broth with chopsticks to let him taste, making little Shi Tou even happier than drinking milk.
After playing with the little one, Ling Chengyan prepared half a bottle of milk for him, coaxed him to sleep, and only then ca back to eat.
But then she saw little Xing’s side noticeably dwindled, and Xiaoyu’s at untouched. Looking at her bowl filled with radish chunks, Ling Chengyan understood and directly scooped half a bowl of at and broth for her: "With so much stewed at, if you don’t eat it heartily, it’ll spoil and be wasted! Eat up quickly!"
Xiaoyu looked at the big half bowl of at in front of her and suddenly her eyes reddened.
"Silly girl, don’t cry, there’s good tis ahead." Ling Chengyan patted her, handing her a towel.
Xiaoyu wiped her face, then asked Ling Chengyan while smiling, "Sis, can I call you ’Sis’?"
Ling Chengyan nodded without hesitation: "Sure!"
"Sis!" Xiaoyu imdiately called out.
Ling Chengyan smiled and responded, not noticing little Xing frowning beside her: "Then, do I have to call Xiaoyu ’Auntie’?"
Ling Chengyan touched the little girl, smiled, and nodded.
"Auntie Xiaoyu!" Little Xing, with no psychological barrier, imdiately called out happily.
Xiaoyu replied crisply, picking a piece of at from her bowl to give little Xing. The two little girls giggled together, one gained a sister, and the other an aunt, as if they had received a huge blessing.
The lunch was not yet finished when soone ca to the door.
An old woman in her fifties to sixties, carried a basket, holding a broken bowl in her hand, accompanied by a black skinny child around five or six years old, who gazed into the room eagerly, lured by the lingering at aroma, and stuffed his hand into his mouth hungrily.
"Kind young woman, have pity on this old woman..." The old woman pleaded woefully upon seeing Ling Chengyan coming out.
Ling Chengyan took the bowl from her hand and went inside to scoop half a bowl of at broth, also adding two pieces of at and a few radish chunks, then placed a big piece of bread on top.
Coming out again, she held the bowl in one hand and carried a small stool, placing it by the door: "Granny, you’ve been walking around for a while, must be tired, have a seat and eat while it’s warm before going out again."
The old woman looked at the drooling child, nodded, sat on the small stool, and took out a pair of chopsticks from under the scraps of bread and cornbread from the basket, first feeding him a piece of at, "Eat the bread with the at, eat plenty."
How could the child wait to bite the bread, quickly chewed a few tis, swallowed the at, and then fixed his gaze on the bowl again.
The old woman did not feed him any more yet, making him eat a few bites of bread, until feeding another piece of at into his mouth, after the at ca the radish, a whole big piece of bread was finished, along with nearly all the radish from the bowl, leaving only half a bowl of at broth.
Watching from the side, Ling Chengyan asked, "Shall I add so more vegetables for you?"
The old woman shook her head with a smile, her gray and disheveled hair bouncing: "Thank you kind person, I can’t be too greedy, if you have water, just add so water for !"
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