Chapter 80: Cornmeal Pancakes, So Fragrant! Scared the Horse to Death!

After finishing the chestnuts, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian returned to their space.

Ming Dai was thinking about which vegetables to plant, where to place them, and how to maintain the right temperature and humidity.

Meanwhile, Zhou Sinian followed behind her absentmindedly, lost in thought.

Once Ming Dai had her plan in place, Zhou Sinian had also decided on what they would have for lunch.

“Cornmeal pancakes, so fragrant!”

Ming Dai smirked. “I knew it! As soon as I heard the captain mention it, I guessed you’d want to eat this!”

She clapped her hands and stood up. “Alright, let’s have that. I’ve been wanting to try it too.”

Ming Dai went to the storage room and found a bag of golden cornmeal. She poured it into a bowl, added hot water to scald the flour, and kneaded it into a dough, letting it rest.

Once the dough had properly risen, she brought it out of the space and asked Zhou Sinian to heat up the large pot, coating the bottom with a thin layer of oil.

Ming Dai took palm-sized portions of the dough, flattening them onto the hot surface. She flipped them occasionally, and soon, a whole batch of golden cornmeal pancakes was ready. The crispy, slightly charred crust gave off a mouthwatering aroma.

Zhou Sinian couldn’t resist grabbing one. The heat made him wince, but the taste was incredible—sweet with a hint of smokiness.

Ming Dai also took a bite. It was soft and delicious, truly satisfying.

As they continued eating and cooking, they ended up making an entire basket full of pancakes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, loud knocking came from the back door of their yard.

Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian exchanged glances before getting up to open the door.

When they opened the door, no one was there. Ming Dai leaned out and spotted someone standing in the distance—it was Liu Laosan.

Liu Laosan waved at her, and Ming Dai walked over.

“Xiao Ming, the package for him has arrived this month.”

The meaning behind his words was clear.

Ming Dai did a quick calculation. It was indeed about time. Last month, as soon as they had returned, the brigade leader had sent the package over right away.

She took the package and handed it to Zhou Sinian, who had followed her outside. Zhou Sinian weighed it in his hands, squeezing it lightly.

Liu Laosan hadn’t wanted to come, but there was no one at the brigade office. He also didn’t dare take the madman’s package home with him, so he had no choice but to deliver it himself.

As soon as he handed it over, he was ready to leave. But Ming Dai called out to him, “Grandpa Laosan, wait a moment! I just made some pancakes—I’ll get you a couple.”

The moment he heard there was food, Liu Laosan immediately turned back. “Alright, I’ll wait then.”

A seasoned bachelor like Liu Laosan had never been one for politeness. He had thick skin and always put his own enjoyment first.

Ming Dai took Zhou Sinian back inside, wrapped two steaming-hot pancakes in oiled paper, and handed them to Liu Laosan.

He took one and immediately took a big bite, leaving behind a mark where two of his teeth were missing.

“Alright, I’m off! If you need the cart, just come find me!”

With that, he turned and walked away, finishing both pancakes as the cold wind whipped around him—leaving only a small piece for the horse waiting at the alley entrance.

Pancakes were best enjoyed hot!

By the time Liu Laosan departed, someone else had just arrived at the educated youth quarters—it was Hou Wei.

Returning from outside, he spotted Ming Dai at the alley entrance and greeted her.

Ming Dai nodded in response, but Zhou Sinian only shot him a cold glare—so intense that Hou Wei froze on the spot, not daring to move.

Ming Dai found this odd. Zhou Sinian had always ignored these people and rarely paid much attention to anyone.

Once they got home, she asked him about it.

Zhou Sinian pointed at the courtyard wall that connected to the front yard. “He’s been crouching there several times, always when we’re cooking.”

After saying that, he exaggeratedly flared his nostrils and took a dramatic sniff, mimicking Hou Wei in an exaggerated and comical way.

Ming Dai burst into laughter. “As long as he doesn’t come inside, just ignore him. But if he dares to step in, beat him up! Just don’t kill him.”

Zhou Sinian happily nodded—this was something he was good at!

They opened the package. It was the same as always—a bag of rice and a few canned goods. Zhou Sinian put everything away in the cupboard.

Ming Dai decided to stir-fry a dish to go with the cornmeal pancakes.

Winter meals needed to be warm and hearty. She took out a pound of pork belly from storage, sliced it up, and had Zhou Sinian fetch a large Chinese cabbage from the cellar. He washed it thoroughly, cut the stems into thin slices, and tore the leaves into small pieces.

She poured a small amount of soybean oil into the pan. Once it was hot, she added the pork belly, frying it until the fat was rendered. Then, she tossed in ginger and whole garlic cloves, letting the aroma bloom. She added two spoonfuls of soy sauce and two spoonfuls of vinegar, and in an instant, a rich fragrance filled the entire kitchen and drifted outside.

The educated youths in the front yard smelled the delicious scent in the air and swallowed their saliva, once again sighing about how the “madman” was eating meat again.

Meanwhile, Hou Wei crept closer, pressing himself against the wall, trying to get as close as possible in a desperate attempt to absorb more of the aroma than anyone else.

As Zhou Sinian stepped outside to fetch firewood, he sensed something unusual near the wall. He climbed up to take a look and saw Hou Wei huddled there. Taking advantage of the moment when Hou Wei lowered his head, Zhou Sinian swept the snow off the wall, letting it fall perfectly into the back of Hou Wei’s collar.

“Ah! Damn it, that’s freezing!”

Hou Wei jolted from the icy shock, shivering violently. He staggered as he tried to run back, his legs nearly giving out, causing him to stumble in a zigzagging path.

Zhou Sinian picked up a small wooden block and flicked it with precision, striking Hou Wei right on the shin.

Pain shot through Hou Wei’s leg, and he immediately tripped over his own feet, face-planting into the snowy ground.

By the time the others in the front yard heard the commotion and came over to help, blood was already smeared all over his chin, staining his collar. He was so frightened that he burst into tears.

It was Fang Mingyang who finally fetched some water for him to rinse his mouth. That was when they realized—he had fallen and bitten through his lower lip.

Because of that wound, Hou Wei struggled with eating for an entire year. No matter what he ate, it just didn’t feel right, and he lost a significant amount of weight—he truly became as thin as a monkey.

It also made him too scared to sneak around the back courtyard again.

After listening to Zhou Sinian’s recounting of the incident, Ming Dai gave him a big thumbs-up.

There were quite a few male educated youths living in the front yard, but because of Zhou Sinian, most of them kept their distance from her. She thought that was a good thing.

The only one who didn’t know his place was Hou Wei.

Whenever Zhou Sinian wasn’t around—which wasn’t often—Hou Wei would take the opportunity to talk to her. He would hint that Zhou Sinian was unreliable, calling him a madman, and suggested that she move to the front yard and partner up with him instead.

Hah. He wasn’t a good person at all. He was just trying to manipulate her with food, thinking she was young and easy to deceive.

She had seen how he bullied the honest Qin Fangfang and the meek Cai Mingcheng, using his status as an older educated youth to push them around. Just because she didn’t speak up didn’t mean she didn’t notice.

If he dared to play any more tricks, she’d let Zhou Sinian knock his teeth out!

At noon, the pot of braised pork belly with cabbage and vermicelli completely satisfied both of their appetites.

They each took a bowl of the hearty stew, pairing it with cornmeal pancakes as their staple.

With their heads down, focused solely on eating, they both felt that life was truly wonderful.

In the afternoon, Ming Dai decided not to go up the mountain. The days were short in winter, and people here tended to finish their tasks early. Going up the mountain at this hour would seem suspicious.

She remembered telling Aunt Huang last time that she could help her exchange some goods. Now was a good time to visit, and she could also borrow their cart.

She opened her wooden kang cabinet and took out half a bag of peach crisps and traditional pastries that she rarely ate. She also packed Zhou Sinian’s favorite pine nut candy and sugar-roasted chestnuts, placing them in a basket.

After thinking for a moment, she added two new illustrated storybooks.

Then, she called Zhou Sinian to put on his warm cotton shoes, and the two of them headed toward the brigade leader’s house.

In the afternoon, the wind had calmed significantly, and more people had gathered at the village entrance for idle chatter. As Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian passed by, the bolder ones openly stared, while the timid ones quickly turned away. Only the young children, lost in their excitement, ran after them for a short distance before eventually stopping.

When they arrived at Aunt Huang’s house, the door was open, so Ming Dai pushed it aside and stepped in.

The courtyard was empty—only the horse in the stable was leisurely munching on beans.

Every time it returned from pulling a cart, it was rewarded with beans.

Now, as it heard someone enter, it lifted its head to take a look.

And with just that one glance, it immediately spun around in place, executing a perfect 180-degree turn on the spot.

Ming Dai stared in astonishment at the stable, watching the enormous animal whip around in an instant. She couldn’t believe that such a massive creature could be this agile.

The horse’s round backside was now facing them directly, confirming that she hadn’t imagined things.

What’s wrong with this horse?

Perplexed, she continued toward the main house, while Zhou Sinian, reluctant to look away from the horse’s odd behavior, followed her inside.

Only after they were out of sight did the horse cautiously peek around, ensuring they were truly gone. Then, it resumed its meal, its ears twitching occasionally as it remained on high alert. If it weren’t confined by the stable, it probably would have bolted.

The horse thought to itself: Last time, I nearly ate myself to death. Not falling for it again this time!