The radishes were dried outside, exposed to the wind and sun, and covered with dust.
Chen Jingnian soaked and washed the floor two or three times, then squeezed the dried radish dry and put it into a porcelain bowl, put some salt, and poured some soy sauce and vinegar.
At this time, dried vegetables such as dried radishes, dried eggplants, dried beans and dried cowpeas were used as supplementary vegetables for cabbage and potatoes, and were common dishes for northerners during the winter.
Every autumn, a large number of vegetables are on the market. Women and their children take their vegetable tickets and money to buy them in sacks at the vegetable station, then transport them home and cut them into shreds or strips to dry in the sun. They can be eaten for a long time.
"Write with your hand and read with your mouth."
Chen Jinnian came out of the kitchen and saw that his daughter was wandering a bit, looking out the window from time to time, and he reached out and knocked on the table.
"Sister asked me to read it silently."
"Sister, I won't let you eat fruit every day."
The eldest sister is like a mother, her elder sister Chen Huiling is stricter with her daughter, while Chen Jingnian dotes on her sister in every possible way.
Close the lid of the box, shake the towel, and put it in the drawer.
"Today, the world is divided into three parts, and Yizhou is exhausted..."
Nannan shook her head while talking and writing on the rice plate made of millet.
She is not afraid of her brother, but she is very afraid of her eldest sister, so she has already memorized the poems that her eldest sister taught her by heart. But brother, haha, as long as his eyes are red, everything will be solved.
"Nanny, don't use the Chinese pronunciation of 'er' in our ancient prose. It's for now!"
"Then tomorrow! Giggle, giggle..."
"Make some rice for lunch, make cabbage soup for dinner, and put some pot stickers on it."
Chen Jinnian let his sister laugh for a while before changing the topic.
But his words had no appeal to the girl who had just finished eating the fruit, so the little girl dismissed him with a "hmm".
Pot stickers are large cornmeal pancakes. If white flour is not used, the texture will be very rough, and it will not be as delicious as pastries.
Chen Jinnian, who knew that he had temporarily lost his usefulness, sat across from his daughter and glanced at the room. There were several mirror frames hanging on the dark walls, and many old photos were pinned to the frames.
In addition to these photos, there is a wall covered with various certificates. These are obtained by Chen Huiling, the original owner Chen Jingnian and Nannan. The gold and red certificates can be said to be the best decoration, setting off this old house.
Extraordinarily grand.
This house was originally occupied by the eldest sister and daughter, because the family members got sick one after another, especially after the serious illness that led to Chen Jingnian's rebirth.
After sending my father home, my mother got angry and burned all the clothes and things my father had used. Not only did she burn the walls and floors, but she also dug up mugwort and lit a clothes box, which was so smoky.
a few days.
After his mother passed away, Chen Jingnian decided to use the house where he lived with his parents as a warehouse.
"Brother, I miss my mother."
Nannan suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
"mom?"
Chen Jingnian recalled that after his rebirth, he had checked many times but could not find the city where he had lived for more than thirty years in his previous life. Tears also flowed down his face. He smiled bitterly and said, "I think so too."
The sudden mood swing made him unable to hold back, and tears instantly poured out of the corners of his eyes.
Nannan's grinning mouth closed immediately, as if she had caused a big disaster, she looked at her brother helplessly.
"Axe, is Axe at home?"
"exist!"
The sound from outside the door interrupted the sad atmosphere in the room. Chen Jinnian dusted the corners of his eyes and responded.
"Third uncle, what's wrong with you?"
Chen Jingnian opened the door, and standing outside was a middle-aged man wearing a gray tunic suit with a pen in his jacket pocket.
It was Yan Bugui, the third uncle in the courtyard.
"The uncle wanted to borrow your axe, but my ax was broken into pieces and taken away."
Yan Bugui is originally from Shanxi and speaks with a slight accent.
He was studying mathematics in elementary school. He had a pair of thick-bottomed glasses, and the right temple was broken and had a white thread wrapped around it.
"Okay, I'll get it for you right now."
Chen Jingnian didn't do any work. He turned around and took out the ax from the warehouse and handed it to Yan Bugui.
"I'll pay you back when I'm done."
Yan Bugui had a flattering smile on his face, and a circle of wrinkles appeared around his eyes, making him look a few years older.
"become."
Chen Jingnian nodded, dealt with the third uncle and left, and began to figure out what to do after dinner.
The reason why he thinks so is because he knows that if the third uncle asks to borrow an ax, he must make the best use of it. If he doesn't finish chopping firewood and clean up all the tables, chairs and benches, it will be impossible to return it.
Instead of listening to him banging and banging at home all afternoon, it is better to find something to do to calm down the ups and downs of your mood.
"Nanny, I'm cooking rice."
Chen Jingnian went into the house, opened up the briquettes, and scooped out more than half of the hot water in the pot.
"Brother, I'm not hungry."
Nannan said in a soft voice.
"Big eyes and small belly, he can eat as much as two pieces of fruit."
When Chen Jingnian saw that his sister didn't follow suit, he left only a little bit of the water at the bottom. He poured the leftover noodle soup left over from cooking noodles for his sister in the morning into the pot, and added two spoonfuls of large lumpy rice into it.
The rice was bubbling, so Chen Jingnian took out the briquettes, took out the hot rice, added a ladle of cold water to the pot, and poured some water into the stove pit to extinguish the briquettes.
After eating the rice in a few mouthfuls, the water in the pot was also warm. I washed the dishes and chopsticks with warm water and rinsed them again. Then I heard the sound of banging on the wall from the opposite side.
"Nanny, stop writing, I will take you to dig wild vegetables this afternoon."
Chen Jingnian took off his 70% new green military uniform and put on a pair of blue overalls with patches piled on top of each other, which were severely faded.
The military uniform belonged to Zhao Jianjun's father, and the work clothes were changed into larger sizes by his mother.
It was difficult to change into the men's work clothes. The ones I changed into were large-sized women's clothes. The clothes had a wide open collar and only one top pocket on the left. The pants were still open at the side.
Nannan put down the poplar branch in her hand, put the millet on the plate one by one, and carefully smoothed the rice plate. She said like a little adult: "Brother, mom and sister both said they won't let you."
Go to the wilderness."
"That's not what you said when you asked me to catch ants and butterflies for you. If you don't go, I'll go by myself. Then I'll mix some wild vegetable sprouts with noodles and make pancakes for myself."
"I'll get the bag."
Nannan immediately put away her stern face and showed a flattering smile in her eyes.
Children from poor families become sensible early, and a ten-year-old girl is already considered a big child in this era.
In many families, girls of this age have already learned from their mothers to wash clothes, cook, and do some chores, and are able to take on some of the housework.
But Nannan has been weak since she was a child, has little experience, is relatively naive, and is easily fooled.
Chen Jingnian, who was already a middle-aged uncle, deceived his sister with just one sentence. He shouted proudly, "Go change your pants and put on your mask."
"I don't climb trees."
The little girl grumbled and was reluctant to take off her new pants.
Although only two legs of these pants are new, one is long and the other is short.
Chen Jingnian didn't say anything else and let his sister work hard. He took two leggings and wrapped them around his calves.
He reached out and took off the canvas bag from the wall and put it on his shoulder. After thinking about it, he took out a piece of pea husk from the drawer and wrapped it in the handkerchief.
I poured some hot water into the glass bottle on the cabinet, put the rubber stopper in it and put it in my pocket.
"Brother, wait for me!"
When she saw the delicious food, she started to get anxious. She quickly put on her old khaki pants and put on her small cloth shoes.
Chen Jinnian smiled and took two fine cloth belts and wrapped them around his sister's calves.
He dragged his sister out of the house, took a small shovel from the barn, and also took out a wicker basket.
This wicker basket is my daughter's standard equipment. Her godfather Li Xianwen makes one for her every spring. After being stored for a summer, it lost moisture and cracked in several bends.
Nannan’s godfather Li Xianwen is Chen Jingnian’s fifth uncle, and Chen Jingnian also has a godfather, Zhao Jianjun’s father Zhao Changshun.
Li Xianwen and Zhao Changshun were both comrades-in-arms of Chen Jingnian's father, Chen Jingsheng. The three of them were in the same company when they joined the army, and they had a life-long friendship.
Li Xianwen lost half a leg because of a thunderstorm. The right side of his face was grazed by shrapnel, and most of his cheek was gone. After healing, a dead flesh pimple was left. He has not yet married. Being a godfather to the children of his comrades is his favorite job.
thing.
"Brother, Beng Gongzi, please give me a spanking!"
Nannan secretly touched Chen Jingnian's waist, but was turned around with her head twisted.
"Reach out."
When Chen Jinnian patted his sister's hand down, there was some clam oil on his fingers.
Nannan opened her arms unhappily, and let her brother put the basket belt on her shoulders, and said softly: "That belongs to my godfather."
"That's what I won, and now it's mine."
Chen Jinnian touched his waist, and sure enough, the hem of his clothes was pinned to the wooden handle of the bow. He put down his clothes and pressed a small leather bag in his pocket, which contained some worn bicycle bearing balls.
"The rubber tube was given to you by my godmother."
"That's called a tourniquet. Besides, your godmother is also my godmother."
"My godmother said that she cares about me the most."
"Silly girl, my godmother cares most about my sister. I didn't realize that she even cares about my sister as her daughter-in-law."
"Jian, my brother-in-law is not good-looking."
"Children don't always keep their mouth shut. Haha, don't always listen to your teacher and always tell the truth."
"Brother, when will you take me on the big-braided tram?"
"Waiting for you to take the first place in the district."
…
The brother and sister walked out of the courtyard, and their daughter didn't stop chatting all the way. In order to prevent her sister from finding out the details, Chen Jinnian began to tell her the origins of trams and buses. This chapter has been completed!