Zhang Da and Gouzi each pushed a cart to Zhuang Keqing's house. When they passed by Aunt Li's house, they happened to see Liu Zhuzi making rattan baskets in the yard. Seeing that Gouzi was too weak to push the cart, he came to help him.
"Girl Zhuang, what did you do when you brought a waterwheel back again? Your Uncle Liu was confused."
Liu Zhuzi had already seen the things on Zhang Da's cart. He had just stabilized the cart and came over to take a look.
Qin Manzhi thought that it was almost time for her daughter to return, but as soon as she heard the news and went out, she saw two carts parked in her small courtyard.
There were one large and one small. She remembered that the small one belonged to the Zhang family. The big one was brand new and had a small water wheel on it.
She had seen a waterwheel before. There was one in the village before she got married, but that one was several times larger than this one. The village diverted river water for irrigation.
A few people stood in the small courtyard, and with the parked trolleys, it was suddenly packed. And that day, the sun was getting brighter in the afternoon, so Qin Manzhi invited them to go in first, have a rest, drink some water, and talk slowly.
Zhang and the others hadn't eaten lunch yet. They were tired and hungry, so they stopped being polite and followed him directly into the house.
Zhuang Keqing didn't forget the little gift for Aman. She found a vine from the kitchen, collected the wooden toys, and sent them to the little guy's bed. She let him play with them by himself first, and used a pillow before coming out.
and a quilt around him to prevent him from rolling out of bed.
After making arrangements, she entered the main room and asked Zhang Da and the others to sit down and wait for dinner to begin later.
"I just had lunch at home, so I won't eat anymore." Liu Zhuzhu was too embarrassed to eat, so he just took a bench and sat on the side without serving the table.
Zhuang Keqing didn't force them, she just let them rest first while she poured some drinks to quench everyone's thirst.
"Mom, has the rice been cooked at home?" When she came to the kitchen, she saw that her mother was still busy on the stove, so she was willing to help.
"It's stewed. There's a big pot. It's enough for you to eat. There's also some brine left over from before. I stewed the tofu and mixed some tofu skins with the big bone soup base to make a soup." Qin Manzhi stretched out his hand.
He put his hand away from her and said, "The kitchen is hot. Grab your bowls and chopsticks and go out quickly. The food will be brought to you right away."
Zhuang Keqing then sent the bowls and chopsticks over, brought up the sour fruit drink from the well in the backyard, carried it to the main room, and poured it for several people.
After working hard for most of the day, I finally had a comfortable drink. Not to mention Gouzi, even Zhang Da felt that this sour drink was refreshing and quenched his thirst. It slid from the mouth to the stomach and relieved his own heat.
"Sister-in-law Qin's sour drink is really as delicious as before." Liu Zhuzhu sat on the side and took a sip from the bowl, squinting his eyes as he sipped.
"It's getting hot today. The silly boy will wake up from his nap later. Uncle Liu, please bring some back for him to drink."
If it hadn't been for the help of Aunt Li's family yesterday, she, Zhuang Keqing, wouldn't have been able to stand here with her head and tail intact. Seeing that the other party liked this drink, she couldn't wait to fill him up immediately and send it to his doorstep.
Liu Zhuzhu nodded and continued to drink from the bowl without being polite to her.
"Soup is here."
Qin Manzhi brought a basin bigger than her face into the house, put it on the table first, and then returned to the kitchen to continue serving dishes. After that, she stewed the water, cooked tofu, tofu skin soup, and mixed dried tofu on the table one after another.
A big bowl of brown rice came, and the dog's eyes widened due to the aroma.
The bowl of sauced pork he had eaten in the town before was already a delicacy to him. Unexpectedly, the food at Ke'er's sister's house was so delicious that he was speechless. If he hadn't kept his mouth shut now,
I’m afraid the saliva will flow all over the table!
Sitting Liu Zhuzhu saw a bowl of brine, and he also laughed: "Sister-in-law Qin, your brine is really good. Even the one in my family who has a mouthful of it can't even throw away his chopsticks."
Qin Manzhi thought that when she praised her, she was praising her own daughter, and she felt proud in her heart: "That's all I have for today, otherwise I would have to ask you to take some back."
Liu Zhuzhu didn't come here specifically to beg for anything, and waved his hand to express that he didn't need it. But Zhuang Keqing took the conversation, and the little girl was very enthusiastic: "Uncle Liu, I'm going to the town to deliver goods in the next few days, so I can go to the meat shop."
Shop, you can tell me which ones you like when you get there, I’ll make more of them, and it just so happens that my mother likes them too.”
Qin Manzhi felt much more at ease when she saw that her daughter was much more considerate in what she said and did than she was.
The three of them were talking, Zhang Da was sitting on the side and listening, hesitating to move his chopsticks. But Gouzi couldn't wait any longer. He was already hungry, his belly was deflated, and he was dizzy. At this time, he didn't need help from others, he just filled it by himself.
A big bowl of rice, a piece of tofu and put it in your mouth.
"Hoo! It's hot! It's hot!" Although he shouted that it was hot, he still swallowed it whole until the tofu slipped into his gullet, and he was beating his chest because it was so hot.
"You boy, there is no shortage of food in the family. Why are you yelling like this? It's a joke." Zhang Da frowned. Although he said this, he also handed over a cool drink so that his son could drink it.
Relieve heat.
"Eat this brine first. It's cold. Eat as much as you can."
Qin Manzhi was also a mother, so she felt sorry for her child. As she was talking, she took a pair of chopsticks and gave Gouzi a piece of pig liver.
It is oily and fragrant, with a reddish-brown color. It looks very appetizing, not to mention the strange fragrance that penetrates the nose in waves.
The dog didn't even think about it, so he just put it into his mouth and chewed it twice. It was so beautiful that he even closed his eyes.
Zhang Da was really embarrassed to see his son looking so ungrateful. He smiled awkwardly at the others and was about to pull Gouzi's ears.
"Uncle Zhang, would you like to try it too?" Zhuang Keqing didn't give him a chance, picked up a piece of large intestine with his chopsticks and put it in his bowl.
The girl caught something, and she couldn't let go of it. Zhang Dada withdrew his hand, temporarily stopped trying to teach his son, and looked down at the brine.
This, isn't this a pig in water?
And it’s the large intestine!
This large intestine has the most fishy smell. If it is not processed properly, it will always smell like pig feces. Even if my mother is so frugal, she would rather spend more money to buy ribs during the Chinese New Year instead of buying this thing back and wasting the seasoning and firewood.
.
But, the thing in the bowl didn't smell like anything, but it smelled like oil.
"Zhang Da, you have to try this large intestine. It's more fragrant than other kinds of intestines!" Liu Zhuzhu saw his hesitation about whether to eat or not. He was almost dying of anxiety and wished he could take his own life instead.
With such encouragement, Zhang Da finally put the large intestine into his mouth.
It's soft and chewy, with bursts of fat inside. But it doesn't taste greasy at all. Instead, the mellow aroma of oil fills your mouth, mixed with the taste of bean paste and unknown spices, even after you swallow it.
, there is still a hint of sweetness in the mouth.