The mother and daughter chatted leisurely, discussing how to make work pants, gesturing as they talked. Until Ping’an woke up, Zhou Jiao fed her son and then looked at her watch — it was almost ti to eat, and she looked at her mother with concern.
"Mom, are you hungry? Didn’t you buy so snacks? Have a little first. Do you want to eat als with in the future? There are so many people in the main room, and you’re not used to it. I’ll talk to Mom about it later."
Lin Lishan shook her head, "It’s only a few days, just like this. See how your mother-in-law arranges it. I guess she’ll let eat with you in the room. If you ntion it, there might be a misunderstanding, and that wouldn’t be good."
After speaking, it wasn’t long before Mother Zhang, accompanied by the eldest daughter-in-law Huang Cuilan, brought in the dishes. As soon as she saw Lin Lishan, she said with so embarrassnt, "Sister, I won’t be polite with you. I’ll just let you keep Jiao Jiao company and eat in the room. You look after her; her appetite is too small, make sure she eats more.
Tomorrow we start building the house, I need to be busy preparing als. Those from the village who co to help need to eat a al at our ho. With people coming and going, you eating here is quieter. Otherwise, people co and chat with you, and you can’t eat in peace. I also have no ti to take care of Jiao Jiao; if you accompany her, I’ll be at ease."
Lin Lishan nodded in agreent and took the dishes, "Big sister, this is best. The two of us mother and daughter can eat and chat together. Tomorrow, I’ll help in the kitchen; call if there’s anything."
Mrs. Zhou saw Lin Lishan take the bowls and quickly set the brick bed table on the brick bed, taking the basket that Huang Cuilan was holding, laid out the three dishes from inside, and added soup and two large bowls of rice.
"No need, in the kitchen tomorrow it’s the three of us and my two sisters-in-law, plenty of people. If I get too busy, I’ll call you, no need for formalities. Jiao Jiao, let your mom take care of you these days, I’m afraid I’ll be too busy to think straight."
Zhou Jiao nodded and said apologetically to Huang Cuilan, "Big sister-in-law, you’ve worked hard. Building the yard for us to live in, Xiao Wu and I both haven’t done a thing, and you and big brother are busy inside and out. I feel embarrassed just thinking about it."
"What’s there to be embarrassed about, you two usually help us out plenty. We’re all family, don’t worry about those things, just focus on getting well. Your child’s grandma will feel relieved to go back too."
Lin Lishan looked at the dishes, "Big sister, if you really consider family, next ti don’t prepare so much. There’s too much food, the two of us mother and daughter can’t finish it all, it’s quite wasteful. I’ll eat the sa as you from now on, no need to cook separately. Just keep Jiao Jiao’s recovery als separate, so you don’t have to prepare three separate als."
Mother Zhang laughed, "Just Jiao Jiao’s als are separate, you’re the sa as us, nothing prepared separately. If we’re busy tomorrow, I’ll cook less, you just eat. Serve yourself after eating, I won’t be formal with you."
With that, she waved her hand and pulled the eldest daughter-in-law away.
Zhou Jiao looked at the dishes and knew they were specially made for her mother. She didn’t say anything, knowing she’d cry if her mom had to eat those cornbread buns. Those cornbread buns, she definitely didn’t want to see them.
Lin Lishan ate while murmuring for her to eat more, even if she couldn’t eat any more, she should try hard to eat.
"Jiao Jiao, what does your mother-in-law’s family usually eat? With both at and chicken here. They definitely don’t have all this, and I guess the at all goes into these two bowls."
Zhou Jiao sipped her soup, then quickly put it down, leaned closer to the window, listened to the outside sounds, moved closer to her mom, and whispered, "Hehe, Mom, if you look at my complexion, you’d know. Among the surrounding villages, their condition is considered good. Nowadays, fine grains distributed are exchanged for coarse grains in the city. Even by exchanging for coarse grains, most families eat two als a day, one of which is vegetable porridge.
Their family eats three als a day, in these surrounding villages, it’s considered having family assets. In the morning, cornbread and corn porridge, at noon still cornbread with vegetable porridge, and in the evening, sweet potato rice with a few dishes. Their family does not have a bit of oil in their dishes, and for 365 days a year, it’s all cornbread.
In cornbread, there’s just coarse grain flour, water, and wild vegetables pressed together, and even so, many people envy the Zhang Family for being able to eat enough.
Xiao Wu said his family’s cornbread can change styles throughout the year, but cornbread is still cornbread. That cornbread, eating it scratches your throat, you have to stretch your neck to swallow, or it’ll get stuck.
Hehe, what can you do when everyone eats like this? Although I ate little at the Zhou Family, I didn’t have this cornbread. I ate wild vegetable porridge and sweet potato rice with granny, all soft stuff. Most of the ti I ate at the school cafeteria with Xiao Wu, and he’d occasionally take to eat out in restaurants.
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