Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 260

Zhao Da'e and Zhou Chunwen, the two sisters, were cleaning the windows together, but they were just dawdling.

Meanwhile, Cheng Jinxi was also busy in the inner room. She had prepared some millet to steam some bean buns.

In Northeast China, it's common to steam bean buns and rice cakes in winter. Especially these days, as the Lunar New Year approaches, almost every household steams bean buns, rice cakes, and steamed buns.

For families with good financial conditions, millet is mixed with some wheat flour; for families with less money, millet is mixed with some millet.

Yellow millet is actually just millet.

Millet was widely cultivated during this era.

Because chemical fertilizers were not widely available at that time, the soil in mountainous areas or newly reclaimed land was actually very poor, and the yields of corn and sorghum were pitifully low.

This isn't some fictional world where a few corn and sweet potatoes can feed the people. Sweet potatoes require sandy soil to produce a good yield, and corn needs plenty of water and fertilizer to produce any harvest.

Millet is the only crop with relatively low soil requirements. It can grow crops in gullies or under trees. It's also easy to manage, requiring little additional fertilizer later on; as long as there's soil, it will produce crops.

Of course, if the soil is more fertile, the millet yield will be higher.

Millet is widely grown in Northeast China, and it's somewhat similar to glutinous rice in the south. However, it's much stickier and more glutinous than regular glutinous rice. As for the taste, it's hard to say definitively; it's a matter of personal preference.

Yesterday, Cheng Jinxi used a millstone to grind some millet into yellow millet, also called glutinous millet.

After being turned into noodles, it is called yellow millet noodles.

Because millet is extremely sticky, it's usually better to mix it with some millet or wheat flour, and sometimes cornmeal.

The stickiness of millet has been renowned since ancient times. In ancient times, there are sometimes records of using millet to build walls, and then eating it during times of war.

This is enough to demonstrate how incredibly sticky this stuff is. Therefore, it must be mixed with other foods to neutralize it.

Cheng Jinxi does the task of steaming bean buns every year. She has already prepared the millet flour in advance and added some cornmeal. While kneading the dough, she complained, "Sigh, if only the geese could have a grinder to grind the grain, it would save so much effort."

Zhou Yuren was tending the fire next to the stove when he replied, "It really is tiring to push the millstone."

Yesterday, Zhou Yuren spent half the day pushing the millstone. In the summer, a donkey can pull the millstone, but it's not so practical in winter…

In winter, donkeys are more likely to fall while pulling the millstone... and donkeys will eat a lot more grain when used for work, so Cheng Jinxi decided to have Zhou Yuren push the millstone yesterday.

After all, people need to eat, right?

Since we're going to eat anyway, if we use donkeys, the donkeys will need to eat more. If we use people, the people won't need to eat as much, and when they get tired, they can eat less...

It's a great deal.

Of course, Zhou Yuren could only hide and tend the fire today; just thinking about it made him feel like his back was about to break.

"The roller's shaft was so rusty that it was very difficult to push."

“You said it yesterday… but I didn’t believe you,” Cheng Jinxi said coldly. “No one in the village has ever said that the millstone is heavy, you’re just making a fuss…”

Zhou Yuren: ? ? ?

Everyone in the village uses donkeys to pull the millstone, but I'm the only one who pushes it, so I naturally know which millstone is heavy.

Donkeys can't talk. If donkeys could talk, they would feel even heavier.

However, Zhou Yuren didn't dare to say no to Cheng Jinxi's arrangements. He felt that Cheng Jinxi's behavior had been off lately, so he decided to avoid her if he couldn't afford to offend her. Otherwise, Cheng Jinxi would definitely cause trouble for him.

Steamed bean buns aren't too difficult. The dough is already prepared, and it's actually quite similar to steamed dumplings, except the filling is red beans.

The most difficult part is cooking the red beans.

The heat is very difficult to control. If the heat is too low, the bean buns will taste astringent; if the heat is too high, they will taste bitter.

Zhou Yuren was tending a fire, and the pot was filled with red beans.

Outside, Zhao Da'e peeked out and said to Zhou Chunwen, "Big sister, do you believe me? I have a feeling that my aunt must have overcooked the bean paste this year. It turned out to be terribly awful."

Zhou Chunwen dawdled, stretched, and yawned: "Big Goose, relax. This is all set in stone. Don't fantasize that your aunt can make the steamed buns taste good. Every year it's been a nightmare. It's not like this year will be an exception. Just make do with what you have, and if you don't like it, just eat less."

"But your aunt's steamed rice cakes turned out pretty well; at least the beans didn't burn."

Zhao Da'e was stunned for a moment: "No, big sister. The red beans in that rice cake don't need to be cooked, so they won't get mushy at all."

Zhou Chunwen suddenly realized: "That's right. You're right, my mom is really nothing special... her main skill is cooking bean paste."

While Zhao Da'e and Zhou Chunwen were talking behind Cheng Jinxi's back about how she cooked the bean paste, Cheng Jinxi frowned and pointed at the bean paste in the pot, asking, "No, why did you add more firewood?"

Zhou Yuren, head down, continued adding firewood and replied, "I've been adding firewood the whole time, what's wrong?"

"It's burnt."

"Huh? It's burnt?"

Zhou Yuren then looked up at the bean paste in the pot, and sure enough, it was already starting to smell burnt.

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I'm busy kneading the dough, why aren't you watching?"

"I'm busy starting the fire..."

Cheng Jinxi frowned, displeased: "You're not blind, are you? You managed to burn the bean paste while tending the fire and didn't even realize it. You're really useless at everything..."

Zhou Yuren was at a loss for words, but dared not say anything, so he could only say, "Then let's get it out first."

So Cheng Jinxi used a spatula to scoop the red bean paste into the bowl. However, the bottom of the pot was already burnt, turning into pieces of charcoal.

"You're good at nothing but eating," Cheng Jinxi complained.

Zhou Yuren gave an awkward smile, unsure of what to say.

After finishing the red bean paste, Cheng Jinxi slapped her forehead: "Oh no, I forgot to add sugar..."

Zhou Yuren: "..."

"It's all your fault. You didn't even remind me. I didn't put in any sugar, and you didn't even know."

Zhou Yuren was speechless: There's nothing we can do, Cheng Jinxi's temper has gotten too bad lately, we can't handle her.

It wasn't that Zhou Yuren had a particularly good temper, but rather that he was genuinely at a loss. He couldn't afford to argue with Cheng Jinxi over this, and besides, Zhao Da'e lived at home, so he couldn't argue in front of her. Otherwise, Zhao Da'e would go home and say, "Oh dear, my uncle's family can't tolerate me anymore; every time I go there, there's a fight."

That would be a terrible situation.

So arguing won't work, so you just have to put up with it.

Finally finished cleaning the burnt gazhi, time to wash the pan.

Zhou Yuren got up and went into the house, rolled a pipe, and started puffing on it.

From the outer room, Cheng Jinxi said, "What are you doing inside before the steamed buns are finished?"

Zhou Yuren didn't say anything and continued to puff on his cigarette.

After a while, Cheng Jinxi said, "A whole family of good-for-nothings."

Then I started steaming bean buns myself.

Zhao Da'e nudged Zhou Chunwen from outside: "Big sister, my aunt needs someone to tend the fire."

Zhou Chunwen was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Zhou Chunhong: "Er Ya, go and start a fire for Mom."

Zhou Chunhong hesitated and said reluctantly, "I...I...I...I won't go."

Zhou Chunwen frowned: "What do you mean 'you'? Hurry up and go. Otherwise, I'll tell Mom about Da Hu Zi coming to play with you yesterday."

Zhou Chunhong's face flushed instantly, and she turned around to start a fire for Cheng Jinxi.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Da'e perked up: "Oh my, big sister, my second sister is dating someone?"

Zhou Chunwen rolled her eyes at Zhao Da'e and tapped Zhao Da'e's forehead with her finger: "Da'e, what are you thinking about all day? Your second sister is only twelve or thirteen, what kind of boyfriend is she? She's just experiencing her first love... or rather, that's not quite right. She's too young, it's just that Da Hu Zi likes to play with her."

Zhou Chunhong didn't have much formal education; although she could read, she didn't know many characters. She was still a little girl at that age, and because she had a stutter, she didn't have many friends of her age to play with.

Some time ago, Da Huzi met Zhou Chunhong and started coming over to visit her every few days. The two of them got along quite well.

The fact that they "got along" was somewhat unexpected. Da Huzi was a rather dull boy who spent his days herding cattle and sheep. Of course, Da Huzi didn't know how many cattle he owned; he wasn't good at counting and had never attended school. Zhou Chunhong wasn't very talkative, but when the two went out to play, they got along quite well.

Zhou Chunwen naturally knew this, so he just mentioned it casually without any other meaning.

Two little kids, just beginning to experience romantic feelings, what do they know?

Over there, they were lighting a fire and steaming bean buns, which were almost ready to be steamed.

In winter, I don't know how many times I have to steam bean buns.

Zhao Da'e is almost sick of eating it.

It's cold in the north, so even if you don't need a freezer or refrigerator, food will still freeze if you leave it indoors.

After steaming the bean buns, just find a place to store them. When you want to eat them, you can just reheat them. Some are put in the water tank, some are put somewhere else, anyway, the yard is big enough.

Zhao Da'e didn't eat much that night, and waited until the next day when he arrived at the old house.

Upon inquiring, they learned that the wolves had mostly escaped, and two had been killed. The three Sima brothers had been staking out the area for the past two days but hadn't seen any more wolves. People from neighboring towns said they had seen wolves, so they went to other villages to catch them.

The water tank belonging to Zhao Tingxu was also returned. Zhao Dage was bored, so he fed the dog for a while and then went back to his aunt's house.

There's been a lot going on lately, with Zhao Da'e busy with this and that, but he'll probably have some free time soon, just waiting for his aunt to haul bricks.

As for whether the shredder will make money next year, Zhao Da'e doesn't care.

In other words, it's about finding work for Dad and Third Uncle. We can't let the Zhao family starve, but we also can't let them go hungry.

That's it.

Zhao Da'e quickly washed up and went up the mountain to play with Zhou Chunwen. Having not dared to go up the mountain for several days, they were eager to have some fun now that they were finally out.

Standing on the mountaintop, I watched as someone held a funeral on the other side of the mountain.

Zhao Da'e squinted; it must be that Zhao Tiezhu had finally been buried.

"Sigh, we've been working on this for seven or eight days, what was the point? If it weren't for the cold winter, I think Tie Zhuzi would be stinking by now," Zhao Da'e said with a sigh.

Zhou Chunwen nodded: "So-called..."

Zhao Da'e quickly stopped her: "Alright, alright, big sister, have you been secretly reading books again lately? Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

Zhou Chunwen gave an awkward smile.

"No, that's not it. I was just saying that Tiezhu from your village was probably after some money. Although he didn't get any money in the end, he offended your great-grandfather. So it's not like he got nothing at all."

Zhao Da'e nodded.

Zhao Tiezhu's family was extorting money from the village, and they were even relatives. Zhao Tingming was naturally unhappy, so although he came to the funeral, it was clear that hardly anyone cried during the burial.

It was all their own doing.

After staying for a while, Zhao Da'e felt cold and went down the mountain with Zhou Chunwen.

The following days grew colder and colder, and became increasingly difficult to endure.

When Zhao Da'e heard that Accountant Yao's grandson had been discharged from the hospital, he went home and fell again, breaking his leg once more.

Now, the villagers of Jurenzhangzi Village felt that since Accountant Yao was unwell, they should let him rest. This infuriated Accountant Yao, and he got into a fight with the village chief. Anyway, it was quite a scene.

After Zhou Chunwen finished tidying up the yard, Zhao Da'e also ran over to check on the house and saw that the bricks had been hauled away.

Zhao Da'e was overjoyed to receive bricks and workers for free, without even having to provide meals for himself.

Although Wang Guixiang kept grumbling, "Oh dear, my eldest daughter is hauling bricks to build a house for Zhao Da'e, and I still have to feed her."

As a result, everyone in the family opposed what Wang Guixiang said.

No matter what, there are now some things to do at home, otherwise it wouldn't be right to just sit around and let our savings run out.

Zhao Da'e didn't really want to work. He had done too much work in his previous life, so he wanted others to do the work in this one.

In Zhou Chunwen's words: "The goose has mastered the trick of 'seeking a kindred spirit amidst mountains and flowing water'."

Every few days recently, Zhao Da'e has been bringing Zhao Tingxu a few duck eggs. Although the ducks were given to Zhao Tingxu by his aunt, Zhao Da'e caught them and ate more than half of the eggs, leaving only a few for Zhao Tingxu. As a result, Zhao Tingxu was quite touched and told everyone he met how kind Zhao Da'e was.

The main problem is that the Zhao family really doesn't have much left to brag about; now the trend is to praise Zhao the Goose for being capable...

It doesn't matter.

However, Zhao Tingxu has been quite mentally sound lately, at least he knows to come out and do some work, directing Zhao Tiesheng and Zhao Tiegang to do their jobs.

Of course, Zhao Tingxu didn't do any work either. When it was time to haul bricks, he would get up quite early every day and then arrange for Wang Guixiang to cook, while the Zhao brothers, Tiegang and Zhao Tiegang, would do the work.

Old Zhao's brick-pulling operation completely baffled everyone else in the village.

Especially after bringing back 40,000 to 50,000 bricks, everyone said that Old Zhao's family was really going to build a house. Although Zhao Tingxu knew that this was not true, he couldn't help feeling happy, so he tacitly agreed that his family was going to build a house.

In the past, he was looked down upon because he didn't own a house. Now that he's hauling bricks, people think Old Zhao's family is doing well, and their tone of voice has improved, which makes Zhao Tingxu feel better.

Then I felt even more energetic.

Zhou Chunwen does sometimes admire Zhao Da'e's skills; he can get others motivated to work just by talking. That's really impressive.

Later, Zhou Chunwen realized that he seemed to have been fooled by Zhao Dage as well, and he couldn't be happy anymore: "Dage, why do I feel like I'm being fooled by you every day when I'm working?"

"Come on, you're only working because my aunt tricked you into earning some money to help my cousin get married."