Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

The old lady was an expert in straining vermicelli. When a scoop of wet vermicelli was almost finished, she didn't need anyone's help. She scooped a large piece from the big basin beside her with her other hand, and put it into the colander with one hand, and then strained out the next scoop of vermicelli.

Han Zhaozhao is in charge of not only making noodles but also watching the fire. If the fire at the bottom of the pot is too low, he needs to add more firewood. If the fire is too big, he needs to sprinkle more firewood. He also needs to pour cold water into the big pot to bring it to a boil.

Xiao Sanzi pinched a piece of vermicelli and stuffed it into his mouth, and couldn't help but exclaimed that it was delicious, "Grandma Han, this vermicelli is really delicious, meaty, smooth, chewy, and has a sweet taste!"

The old lady smiled and said, "The vermicelli we make at home doesn't contain alum, so it looks a little black, but it tastes the best.

After I finish the work, I'll fry some chili oil for you and give each of you a bowl of hot and sour noodles to try.

I guarantee you will want to eat it again and you will never forget the taste! ”

The children were all drooling at what the old lady said. It tasted delicious just thinking about it, and it would definitely be even more delicious when they actually eat it!

Everybody worked very hard and in perfect harmony, and by eleven o'clock they had finished filtering out and hanging up the twenty kilograms of flour and dough balls.

The remaining vermicelli ends were just right for mixing with hot and sour rice noodles. The boys and girls were all given a bowl.

Han Zhaozhao was afraid that there wouldn't be enough to eat, so he fried a large plate of peanuts and added it to each bowl.

Xiao Sanzi screamed, "Oh my god! This food is too luxurious. I have never eaten noodles with fried peanuts in my life!"

Everyone lowered their heads and slurped the food without opening their eyes or raising their heads. It was so enjoyable!

By the time we finished washing and packing up, it was almost half past eleven, and everyone went home to sleep.

It was too late today and Han Zhaozhao was not hungry, so he did not enter the space and went straight to sleep on the kang.

As soon as I got on the kang, wow! It was so hot!

The big stove was connected to a fire wall and two kangs. The fire had been burning for half the night and the temperature in the room was about 25 or 26 degrees.

Han Zhaozhao tossed and turned on the kang, and after about an hour he finally fell into a drowsy sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, there was a thick layer of ice on the glass windows.

Crystal clear, like feathers, pine needles, snowflakes, icebergs... in various shapes, shining through with sunlight, dazzling!

She used her fingers to draw on it: smiley faces, five rings, glaciers, sunflowers, little yellow ducks, Teletubbies, SpongeBob SquarePants...

After a while, the ice flowers began to slide down, and when the sun shone on them, they would soon melt!

Grandma's voice can no longer be heard in the yard; the old lady had gone to work long ago.

After Han Zhaozhao got up and washed up, the first thing he did was to run to the yard to touch the vermicelli.

It has frozen into pieces, and when you tap it with your fingers, it makes a "clang clang" sound.

She was having breakfast when Niu Xiaoyun came to her house again.

"Zhao Zhao, are the vermicelli dry? Can we collect them now? I'll help you collect the vermicelli."

Han Zhaozhao: This kid is really anxious!

"Have you had breakfast? Sit down and eat some more."

Niu Xiaoyun climbed onto another chair and leaned over the table to take a look at Han Zhaozhao's breakfast: a bowl of millet porridge, a plate of pickled vegetables with eight spices, and only half a multi-grain steamed bun left in the dry food basket.

He swallowed his saliva and shook his head decisively, "I've eaten it. My mother also cooked porridge."

Han Zhaozhao understood. Mother Niu must have only prepared the thin food and not the dry food. Niu Xiaoyun was not full.

"Don't worry if you come to my house and pretend, there are hot buns in the kitchen.

The millet porridge is gone, I'll make you a bowl of fried noodles with oil, with some pickled vegetables, which are not bought, but pickled by my grandma herself."

As he spoke, Han Zhaozhao picked up the basket of dry food, went to the kitchen, and came back to take out five large steamed buns made of mixed grains from the space.

"Eat it, there are five left, you will definitely be full!"

“No need to stir-fry the noodles with oil, just pour me a bowl of plain water.

It’s not that important. It’s good enough to fill your stomach. Why would you need anything dry or drink?

Zhao Zhao, why did you take them all out? I'll just eat one, and you can save the rest for lunch!"

Otherwise, Han Zhaozhao likes the Niu family, because they are people who understand the ways of the world and know when to advance and retreat. Such people will make each other feel comfortable if they get along for a long time!

"Let's eat! There's some at home. I've just been tinkering with food at home these past few days.

I have already steamed a pot of steamed buns, which is enough to eat before the New Year. I will steam another pot on the 28th, so that I can eat it until the 16th of the first lunar month.

By the way, what have you been doing these days? Have you been to the New Year market?"

Niu Xiaoyun was not polite either. She poured herself a bowl of boiling water from Han Zhaozhao's bowl, picked up a steamed bun and took a bite, then used her chopsticks to pick up a pickled cucumber twist from the pickle plate, held it in her hand, and started eating it, taking a bite of the pickle and another of the steamed bun.

After swallowing it, he poured out his mouth and said, "Why go to the New Year's market? We don't have any money.

A few of us would pick some people every day to queue up at the grain store to buy food, and to queue up at the supply and marketing cooperative's grocery store to buy New Year's supplies.

There are not enough people to work, and there are too many people to eat! During this holiday, the four of us brothers and sisters were all at home, and the food in the grain jar was emptying quickly.

My sister and I have been in charge of cooking these days, and we have dared to dig for food again.

It's strange that the more people there are, the bigger their appetite is. You haven't seen that when we eat in our family, it's like a scramble for food.

If you eat a little slower, there will be nothing left in the pot. Oh, I'm so worried about my parents. There are a bunch of gluttons at home. How much food did they eat to raise us from childhood to adulthood?

I see my parents have been trying to eat less these days and have left all the food to the four of us, so I don’t dare to add more food.”

Han Zhaozhao was silent. What could she say? Now every family was on rations, and she didn't dare to take out the food she had in her space to show her kindness.

This is just the beginning. This year, society is stable. People don’t have enough to eat, but they are not hungry either. Every family is the same. They have a goal in mind and live a good life.

Han Zhaozhao is worried about the coming drought. Can she really be so cruel as to watch her friends starve to death?

She's not sure!

If it were when she first came here, she could say with certainty that she was a cold-hearted person who cared about no one except herself.

But now, after a long time of contact, people will develop feelings for each other. She feels sad for them just thinking about it.

Back then, she said she was tough, but she was also the kind of person who would cry just by reading a novel!

People who are familiar with her say that she is a woman with a hard mouth but a soft heart.

How much would she change if she changed the era and identity?

Han Zhaozhao secretly made up his mind! He would find a way to help the two families next year.

After dinner, Niu Xiaoyun rushed to help Han Zhaozhao wash the dishes and clean the kitchen.

Seeing her picking soybeans, he also took a stool to help her pick them, "Zhao Zhao, these soybeans are really good, do you want to grow bean sprouts?"

"Grow some bean sprouts to eat, and prepare the rest to make tofu!"

"Where did your family get so many soybeans? You can make 20 to 30 kilograms of tofu, and your family definitely can't finish it.

Zhaozhao, I'll go home and ask my mom to give me a few pounds of tofu for the New Year!

The tofu your grandma makes is delicious, even better than the one bought at the grocery store!"

"Okay!" Anyway, there is a grinder in Han Zhaozhao's space, so grinding soy milk is not difficult.

She planned to make a few more tofus. Apart from those to eat during the New Year, she would keep the rest in the space. She wanted to eat fermented bean curd and stinky tofu, so she made more. The space had a preservation function, so the food could be stored for one or two years.

"You can just come and get it when the time comes. Xiao Sanzi has helped my family a lot, so I'll give him a few pounds as well.

Isn't this soybean good? I bought it at the New Year's Market. I heard it's a new variety with a high yield.

I saved more than ten pounds of seeds for bean seeds. After the New Year, I will plant them on the reclaimed land. My grandmother said that soybeans and sesame seeds can be grown in virgin land, so I have also asked someone to buy sesame seeds.

Next year we should work harder, put in more effort, and grow more food, so that we won’t have to worry about going hungry in the fall.”