Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

Niu Xiaoyun's eyes were sparkling, full of hope.

Food = having enough food = not being hungry!

Thinking of that scene, she felt full of energy.

"Xiao Yun, land reclamation is not an easy job. It's very tiring! You must be mentally prepared.

If you want to eat your fill, you must first endure hardship. Only hard work will bring you rewards! "

Xiaoyun didn't care about Han Zhaozhao's reminder. "I'm not afraid of hardship, but I'm most afraid of being hungry! Especially at night, my stomach hurts so much that I can't sleep for nights.

Sometimes I was so drowsy that I didn’t dare to really fall asleep, for I was afraid that I would be like my grandmother and never wake up in the morning.”

Niu Xiaoyun's tears fell down, and she choked up as she told Han Zhaozhao the sad story that was buried deep in her heart.

She was raised by her grandmother in her hometown in Henan before she was four years old. Her father was the eldest child and came to Beijing before liberation.

I went to work in a factory. Since I had attended a private school for two years when I was a child and knew a few words, I went from being an apprentice to a skilled worker. After liberation, I became a formal worker in the factory and was evaluated. Only then did I settle down in the capital.

I have three younger brothers and two younger sisters in my hometown, and the burden of life is very heavy.

Henan, my hometown, is a place with a large population and many disasters. It's either a flood this year or a drought next year. The people live a very hard life.

Niu Xiaoyun clearly remembers that it didn't rain that year, the millet and corn in the fields were almost withered, and the porridge at home became thinner day by day.

Grandma would hold her in her arms as she slept at night, humming all night long, as if she was humming a lullaby. She slept soundly, but in the morning her grandma never opened her eyes.

Later, she eavesdropped on the adults' conversation and found out that her grandmother had starved to death.

As she grew older and became more sensible, she had a secret she never dared to tell: her grandmother secretly gave her the porridge she had made that night!

She often wondered, if she hadn't drunk her grandmother's porridge, would her grandmother have survived?

But she didn't dare say it, because she was afraid that her father, uncle and aunt would beat her and hate her!

In fact, she hates herself too!

Why was she so greedy when she was little? Eating that extra bowl of porridge was a trivial matter for her, but for her grandmother, it was a life!

Niu Xiaoyun cried and hiccuped, and the suppressed sadness almost overwhelmed her.

Han Zhaozhao also felt uncomfortable and felt sorry for his little friend!

This child has such a heavy burden on her heart, she is lucky not to have gone crazy. If this happened in the future, Xiaoyun would definitely be diagnosed with a mental illness!

"Xiao Yun, don't blame yourself. Even if you didn't drink that bowl of porridge, your grandma would definitely not survive!

When an old lady passed away, it was definitely not just a matter of going hungry. She must have not eaten much for a long time. She had so many children and grandchildren. Good people always take care of their relatives first and ignore themselves.

She is an adult and has already thought of her fate. If you don't drink the porridge, it won't reach her stomach. Your grandmother will definitely feed it to your cousins ​​secretly.

Alas! When disaster strikes, kind people are the first to be hurt, and only selfish people can survive!

The most important thing to keep your loved ones alive is to have food!

So, Niu Xiaoyun, in order to prevent such regrettable things from happening again, let's work hard to open up wasteland and plant crops after the spring begins!"

After comforting her friend and giving her a bowl of chicken soup for the soul, Han Zhaozhao got up and soaked the soybeans separately.

In the afternoon, Han Zhaozhao went to the post office to send New Year gifts to his grandfather and eldest aunt's family respectively.

Each family received two kilograms of sesame seeds, ten kilograms of soybeans, and two kilograms of jasmine tea. I also packed an extra packet of Qi-boosting and Zhong-replenishing pills for my grandfather, and six pieces of cloth for my aunt's family.

In addition, he wrote a letter to each of them and stuffed it into the package, telling them that sesame and soybeans are new high-yielding varieties that can be eaten or planted, and they can decide how to deal with them based on their own family circumstances.

During the Chinese New Year, buying New Year goods and preparing New Year dinner are not the most important things. The most important thing is giving New Year gifts!

Apart from two relatives in the Northeast, Han Zhaozhao's family had no other relatives to send gifts to.

I don’t have many relatives in the capital, but I do have a few good families to interact with.

Mr. Bai and his apprentice can be considered as having a master-disciple relationship. Han Zhaozhao gave each of them a pair of cotton shoes, two bottles of fried noodles, two big carps, and a basket of pheasant and wild duck eggs!

The old man was also very particular. He did not let her go back empty-handed and gave her a set of golden needles passed down from his ancestors.

It is said that there are only two sets of golden needles left. He left one set for his grandson, and the other two sets were given to Han Zhaozhao.

Now that she has her own golden needle, Han Zhaozhao feels very happy!

In the blink of an eye, it was the 27th, and Han Zhaozhao's family had finished making tofu. They soaked ten kilograms of soybeans and produced thirty-two kilograms of old tofu.

Their family has always used gypsum to make tofu. As people from Shandong, they always feel that brine tofu is not as fragrant as gypsum tofu.

Moreover, according to the old lady, her grandmother was from Tai'an, and her ancestral craft was making tofu.

The legendary Taishan God Tofu is made of gypsum.

The Han family also inherited the Zhao family's craftsmanship and never used brine to make tofu.

"This year's tofu is such a success! Zhao Zhao, the Taishan Divine Tofu that your great-grandmother has been talking about all her life is only as good as this!"

The old lady opened the wrapping cloth and pressed the tofu into shape with her index finger. It was white, tender and elastic, so delicious!

After breaking off a small piece from the corner and putting it into her mouth to taste it, the old lady squinted her eyes and smiled, "If this is not the magic tofu, I can't think of what can be called the magic tofu!

Zhao Zhao, hurry up and hand me the knife. We'll stew it tonight and try it. This tofu is absolutely the best!"

The old lady turned the tofu over, removed the gauze, and used a kitchen knife to cut it into square pieces, each weighing about one pound.

"Go, get a basin and put it in there. Give four pieces to each of Guan Yeye's family, Xiao Sanzi's family, and Xiao Yun's family.

Let them taste the tofu we made this year, it’s so delicious! "

Han Zhaozhao ran from house to house carrying the basin. The three families that received tofu were very happy and gave gifts in return.

Qian Xiaosan's family gave back a yellow croaker weighing more than one pound, and Grandpa Guan gave back half a pound of mutton, which was said to be a gift from his old friend.

Niu Xiaoyun's family gave back a pound of biscuits. Han Zhaozhao knew at a glance that this was the New Year's benefit from Niu Xiaoyun's mother's unit.

During the Spring Festival of 1958, Han Zhaozhao's family did not have a good time!

At dusk on New Year's Eve, the old lady got off work early and went to the street corner alone to pray for the family temple, bringing the paper money, incense and candles that Han Zhaozhao had prepared in advance.

Han Zhaozhao didn't understand where this custom came from. Her family had been to Shandong, Northeast China, and Beijing, and she couldn't tell which place's customs she should follow.

She doesn't need to worry about these things, because her grandma will take care of them anyway!

Please go back home, that is, to offer sacrifices!

Fruits and snacks were placed on the table, and on the eight-immortals table was a tablet written by Mr. Guan.

Other families would set off firecrackers after cooking dumplings, but Han Zhaozhao's family would serve the dumplings before offering them to the gods and then kowtow!

After bowing, the grandparents and grandchildren sat down and ate the New Year's Eve dinner quietly.

Their New Year's Eve dinner was also very sumptuous, with chicken, fish, meat, tofu, shredded radish meatballs and fried celery, making a total of six dishes.

The old lady looked at the dishes on the table and tried to smile, "This year's New Year's Eve dinner is pretty good! Come on, let's eat while it's still hot!"