Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

There is nothing wrong with what Xiao Sanzi said. In those days, household registration management was not strict. If you have acquaintances at the police station, you can change your age by just saying a word. If you don't have acquaintances, you can just give him a cigarette and it will be done.

Didn’t people on the Internet say, “Age is not a problem, height is not a distance, region is not a difference, weight is not a pressure, and gender is irrelevant.”

To sum it up in one sentence, as long as both parties are willing, love can do whatever it wants!

Han Zhaozhao frowned, his heart full of worry, "Isn't that too pitiful for Sister Xue Tao? If she marries a bad family, won't her life be ruined?"

Niu Xiaoyun also looked helpless, "Alas, there is nothing we can do about it. Who told her to be born in such a family?"

Xiao Sanzi scratched his head, "Sister Xue Tao is an honest and good girl, can we help her?"

Han Zhaozhao glared and said, "Don't have any other ideas. We don't have the ability to arrange the fate of others.

If we really want to help, we have to ask our parents to help. We all know who the Xue family is. If we get entangled with them, it will cause trouble for our family."

The three friends looked at each other and began to reflect on themselves. They realized that they were too young to consider things comprehensively.

It's true that you have a sincere heart, but you will never think through the consequences.

Just when I was worrying, the door opened and Xiaoliang and his mother came back, each holding a bunch of branches under their arms.

"Is Aunt Shufen off work?"

"Brother Xiaoliang, come and play."

"Aunt Shufen, why are you back so late today? Did you go to collect firewood again?"

The three friends greeted each other.

"Hey, I got off work, and I picked up some when I saw them. Sanzi, Xiaoyun, are you playing with Zhaozhao? Don't leave tonight, I'll make some dumplings for you." Xiaoliang's mother said to the children with a smile.

"No, thank you Aunt Shufen, the meal is ready at home."

Xiao Sanzi and Niu Xiaoyun refused in unison. The supply was tight now, and even though the other party was leaving some food for them, they couldn't be ignorant and eat it.

"Zhao Zhao, don't cook tonight. Come eat with us mother and daughter."

Xiaoliang's mother didn't force him to stay, and said to Han Zhaozhao, "It's just a matter of adding more water, so you don't have to wash the pots and dishes."

"No, I'm going to make steamed buns tonight. If I don't steam them well, the dough will get too hard.

Aunt Shufen, I dug up a lot of wild vegetables today. I'll share some with you, and add some greens."

Han Zhaozhao picked a handful of wild vegetables from the basket and placed them in front of Xiaoliang's door.

"It's really hard for you to dig some wild vegetables, why are you sharing them with my family?"

"Aunt Shufen, the wild vegetables are bigger now. We dug up a lot today, but there are a lot of dry leaves. Please spend more time and choose carefully!"

"Okay, I have nothing to do tonight, so I don't mind eating late or taking up time. Do you have more? I'll help you pick them out."

"No need. I'll let Xiao Sanzi and Xiao Yun divide the rest later and let them take the house to choose for themselves."

"Sanzi, Xiaoyun, what are you playing?" Xiaoliang didn't know what it was like to be sad. He was so happy to see his friends that he ran to the door of Han Zhaozhao's house and walked into the house. "Here, I'll give you this."

When they saw Xiaoliang take out the hairpin from his pocket, the three of them laughed.

Han Zhaozhao and Niu Xiaoyun each picked two and thanked with a smile: "They are really beautiful. Thank you, Xiaoliang."

Niu Xiaoyun chose two ones with green leaves and red flowers. They were very bright. When they were tied on top of her two half-long thick braids, they looked like two colorful butterflies and looked pretty.

Han Zhaozhao didn't cut her hair all winter, so she could just tie it into two small braids and put on two light green hair flowers. She looked in the mirror and felt pretty good.

Xiao Sanzi looked around with a smile, and nodded with Xiao Liang: "It looks good, it really looks good!"

Doesn't it look good? In this era, people dress simply and the colors of fabrics are either gray, black or khaki. Occasionally, a touch of military green appears, which is very eye-catching.

Red, yellow, green and pink are extremely rare. Even when getting married, if the family wants to buy a red wedding dress, they have to prepare it for a long time in advance.

It is not only a price issue, but also due to printing and dyeing costs and technology, the supply and marketing cooperatives have very limited supply.

Especially for the bright red color, families who want to hold a wedding will even start preparing for it a year or two in advance.

Han Zhaozhao went back to the house and found a piece of talc. The four friends drew a line in the yard and played hopscotch for a while. Everyone was sweating.

Aunt Shufen was sitting at the door picking wild vegetables and watching the children play games. Her face, which had grown a little fatter, was full of smiles.

Seeing that Aunt Shufen was about to light the stove to cook, the friends started to disperse.

"Zhao Zhao, do you have any water lumps left? Get me one. I've run out of pickles."

Before leaving, Xiao Sanzi asked Han Zhaozhao for pickles.

"Yes, there are quite a lot. Come on, I'll get you two." Han Zhaozhao was very straightforward. Her family had so many pickles, and there were so many varieties. If she and her grandmother were to eat them all at home, they would not be able to finish them in three years.

"Get me one, too. Your pickles are really delicious, even better than the stews at my house."

Han Zhaozhao smiled proudly, "Of course, I have plenty of spices in my pickle jar. I take them home, cut them into shreds, add some soy sauce and vinegar, and then add some shredded ginger, green onion, coriander, and chili peppers. It tastes better than meat."

Han Zhaozhao washed his hands, wiped off the moisture carefully, took out two bowls from the cupboard, lifted up the one-meter-high pickle jar in the corner, and picked out four pickles weighing about half a pound.

To be fair, Xiao Sanzi and Xiao Yun each got two.

"Don't forget to bring the bowls back later, Sanzi. I remember you took two bowls from my house and didn't return them, right? Send them back quickly, or I'll have no bowls left."

Xiao Sanzi scratched his head and laughed: "My mother just asked me to return the bowl to your house, but I left in a hurry and forgot about it. I will return this and the bowl to you in the evening."

He picked some wild vegetables for each of them, and gave Xiao Sanzi an extra portion, asking him to take it to Grandpa Guan, and then sent them away.

"Xiaoliang, I've opened the pickle jar. Bring me a bowl and I'll scoop out two pickles for you."

"Oh, I'll be right there!" Xiao Liang agreed and went home to get a bowl. "Zhao Zhao, I want a big one." He stretched his neck to look into the pickle jar.

"Who said you're stupid? You even asked for the big one!" Han Zhaozhao laughed, "The big one doesn't taste good, not as good as the small one. Pull your head back and stop drooling into the jar."

Han Zhaozhao was very careful and put enough ingredients in the pickle jar, for fear that raw water and oil would get in and ruin the jar.

"Oh!" Xiaoliang obeyed and went back with the pickles.

After everyone left, Han Zhaozhao prepared to cook dinner.

When I brought the basin over, it was already full. I dug it with my fingers and found that the dough that had risen in the afternoon had expanded into evenly distributed small holes.

A strong smell of grain hits you in the face, with a slightly sour taste of starter.

Spread the dough on the working board and sprinkle some dough on it. Han Zhaozhao grabbed a handful of alkaline dough, which had become damp and lumpy. She rolled it into a thin layer with a rolling pin, sprinkled it on the working board and began to knead the dough.

Adding a little alkaline dough to the leavened dough can neutralize the sour taste of the starter and make the steamed buns sweeter.

After kneading, cover the dough in a basin and let it rise. Then start cleaning the big pot and tidying up the bottom of the stove.

After washing your hands, knead the dough to release the air, divide it into small pieces the size of a fist, knead the dough into buns, and cover them with a steamer cloth to let them rise for a second time.

Add water to the big pot and throw in a handful of mung beans, put the steamer on the pot, cover the steamer with the cloth and start picking steamed buns into the pot.

The rice dumplings were placed in circles with the lid on and kept awake. Han Zhaozhao sat on a small stool in front of the stove and gathered firewood.