Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

"My eldest granddaughter brings wine and meat to her great-grandfather; she's truly filial. Have you had breakfast yet? Ask your great-grandmother to make some food. Eat here." Zhao Tingming smiled broadly, in a pleasant mood.

"I haven't eaten yet." Zhao Da'e had come out early because he needed someone's help, and he hadn't had breakfast.

"Wife, cook a few dishes so the goose can eat at our house," Zhao Tingming said.

A voice came from inside the room: "Understood."

Zhao Tingming then led Zhao Da'e into the house, where Zhao Tingming's wife was steaming buns, white flour buns.

Zhao Da'e said respectfully, "Hello, Grandma, I've come to my great-grandpa's house to ask for a meal."

The old woman laughed and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Come inside. I'll cook you some good dishes."

Zhao Da'e and Zhao Tingming then went into the house.

Zhao Tingming took out a handful of candied hawthorns and handed them to Zhao Da'e. They were the kind of candied hawthorns without wrappers, and Zhao Da'e took one and put it in his mouth.

Sugar balls are the kind of food that Zhao Da'e used to crave but couldn't get, but later found to be not very tasty. They're not only sweet, but also a bit salty.

However, in this era, candied hawthorns were considered a luxury. It wasn't a holiday, and ordinary families couldn't afford such a luxury.

Afterwards, Zhao Tingming took out two bags of spicy strips.

Yes, it is indeed spicy strips, but it doesn't have a brand name; it's probably made in a small workshop in the city. Zhao Da'e has never seen such a thing before in Dongtaizi Village. Although supermarkets in the county town might have them, Dongtaizi Village doesn't even have a small shop, so there's no way they'd find something like this.

As for hygiene, this era doesn't even have those special additives; it's not a chemical product, so it's definitely safe. Besides, when you can't even get enough to eat, who has the right to be picky about food?

Zhao Da'e grabbed a spicy strip and started eating it, praising as he ate, "It's so spicy and numbing, so delicious!"

Zhao Tingming smiled and nodded.

Soon the steamed buns were ready, and Zhao Tingming's wife brought them over: "You two wait here, I'll go chop up a piece of pig's head meat, which will be a good snack for your great-grandfather to have with his drinks."

Then they put the kang table on it.

In the north, meals are almost always eaten on a heated brick bed (kang), regardless of whether there are guests or not. This is especially true in winter, when it's freezing cold and people rarely eat on the floor. Of course, this doesn't apply to city dwellers…

Dongtaizi Village isn't large, but it has a few craftsmen. The tables, chairs, and benches used by the villagers are all made by Carpenter Sun from one of the groups above; his craftsmanship is quite good. A simple rectangular wooden board with four legs is all it takes to make a kang table (heated platform table).

Zhao Tingming's table was slightly better than others'; at least it had been painted. It didn't look as shabby.

As for Zhao Da'e's family, only his grandparents' room had a table; Zhao Da'e's room didn't even have a table for eating. Seeing this small kang table, Zhao Da'e thought to himself that he would have to ask Carpenter Sun to make a table for him, so that he wouldn't have to squat to eat anymore.

The table was set up, and soon Zhao Tingming's wife brought out several dishes: scrambled eggs, stir-fried cucumber slices, stewed potatoes, stir-fried peanuts, braised pig's head meat, and a dish of spicy pickled vegetables.

Zhao Tingming warmed half a bottle of wine, and while warming it, he asked, "Big Goose, would you like a couple of cups?"

Zhao Da'e chuckled, revealing two dimples: "How about I risk my life to keep you company and have a cup of wine?"

“My great-grandfather is the village chief, after all. The village chief has spoken, so if I, a mere villager, don’t drink, I’ll be disrespecting him. Come on, great-grandfather, give me a cup.”

The wine cups are local purple clay wine cups. These purple clay cups are very expensive in the south, but they only cost one or two cents each in Dongtaizi Village.