Chapter 114.2 

At night, they ate stewed lamb. People from the southern region liked to stew lamb with ingredients like carrots, sweet bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find all these ingredients nowadays. Su Xiaoxiao didn’t insist, knowing that good ingredients made the food delicious anyway. She blanched the meat to remove the gamy smell, added some ginger, and put in some red dates, dried longans, and a piece of fruit peel from what they had at home, letting it stew slowly until it became incredibly fragrant.

When the stew was almost done, she went to the vegetable garden to pluck some carrots to add to the stew for another half hour. The soup turned out to be indescribably sweet.

Han Cheng came back on time in the afternoon. As he entered the courtyard, the aroma of the food wafted toward him. The sounds of children’s laughter came from inside the house, and he faintly heard the voice of his son.

Han Cheng walked into the kitchen and saw Su Xiaoxiao and Liang Hongmei busy. “Xiaoxiao, sister-in-law.”

“Brother-in-law, you came back just in time. It’s almost time for lunch,” Liang Hongmei said, looking at the dignified and tall Han Cheng, who looked as tall and sturdy as a poplar tree. She marveled at the strength of their genes; both her sister-in-law and brother-in-law were outstanding in appearance, and all the children in the family were remarkable.

Han Cheng said, “Shall I carry this pot over? Let me do it.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Why don’t you go inside first and check on the kids? If you carry this hot pot and the boys accidentally bump into you, it won’t be good.”

Han Cheng thought about it and agreed. He turned around to go to the inner room first.

“You can tell at a glance that he’s someone who helps with chores every day,” Liang Hongmei commented.

Su Xiaoxiao replied, “This is everyone’s home. There’s no such thing as ‘helping each other.’ Isn’t my brother also working at home every day?”

Liang Hongmei smiled and said, “Your parents are diligent, and the children they teach are also diligent.”

Liang Hongmei’s brothers didn’t work, and before she got married, she used to do most of the work alone. However, after marrying into the Su family, they generally worked together. Recollecting how her previous family disputes almost led to divorce with Su Zhenzhong, she harbored a lingering fear. She reminded herself that she couldn’t afford to make such mistakes again. If she were to go back to when she was an unmarried eighteen-year-old girl, she knew she wouldn’t be able to marry into a good family like the Su family. She secretly reminded herself not to become confused again in the future.

The person that Da Bao and Xiao Bao admire the most is their tall uncle in military uniform. As Su Xiaoxiao expected, the two boys rushed over, scattering the chessboard, to hug their uncle’s legs.

Han Cheng bent down and held one in each hand. The seven or eight-year-old boys were sturdy, and if it weren’t for Han Cheng’s strength, he might not have been able to lift them.

Feeling their weight, Han Cheng said, “You both have gotten heavier and taller.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao wrapped their arms around their uncle’s neck and said. “Uncle, Uncle, we missed you so much.”

Han Cheng put down the two boys and ruffled their hair. “Then stay longer and come help serve dinner.”

Han Cheng went to the kitchen to bring the lamb stew pot, and the three youngsters followed him eagerly.

The shallow clay pot simmered on the charcoal stove, filling the entire house with the aroma of lamb and making the kids salivate.

Su Xiaoxiao added some celery leaves, drank half a bowl of lamb soup to warm herself, then added some soaked dried bean curd and covered it to simmer for a while.

The piping hot, sweet, and milky white soup warmed their stomachs, whetting everyone’s appetite.

Su Xiaoxiao ladled a small bowl of lamb soup with a few drops of clean oil and just a hint of salt, cooling it a bit before giving it to Xiao Roubao. Her sister had a weaker stomach and couldn’t eat these things for now.

The dipping sauce for the southern lamb stew was simply fermented tofu mixed with coriander, scallions, and a bit of sugar. It complemented the lamb’s freshness when dipped lightly.

Su Xiaoxiao asked Liang Hongmei to wash some fresh mixed vegetables to be eaten towards the end of the meal.

The four cubs lined up, carrying their bowls to the kitchen to serve themselves mixed-grain rice, then helped the adults serve theirs.

Han Cheng got up and moved the lid of the pot to the side. Once he sat down, Su Xiaoxiao announced, “Let’s start with the first pot of lamb stew of the winter, kiddos!”

After having drooled over the stewed lamb for a long time, they could finally eat it. The cubs picked up the fat and thin lamb chops with skin and bones, dipped them in a little fermented bean curd sauce, and sent them straight into their mouths.

The cubs were on the verge of being moved to tears.

Fantuan exclaimed, “Mom, this is so delicious! I wish we could have lamb stew every day!”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao looked at each other and said, “Aunt’s food is really great!”

Xiao Doubao, now taking over his brother’s position, declared, “I announce that Mom’s lamb stew is the most delicious in the world~~~”

Liang Hongmei was so impressed by her sister-in-law’s culinary skills that she was rendered speechless by how delicious everything was.

Xiao Roubao finally got to taste his first sip of lamb soup, fulfilling a lifelong wish. From then on, he opened the door to a new world of flavors. Even when eating rice porridge afterward, he would take a moment, making sure there was no lamb soup left before he’d happily devour the porridge. Growing up, he would surely be an extremely clever little guy.
……………………………

The next morning, while Han Cheng hadn’t gone to work yet, Su Xiaoxiao took Liang Hongmei to the market and the black market at the bottom of the bridge. After buying everything, she took her to the deaf-mute weaving workshop and bought a piece of cotton cloth.

This trip widened Liang Hongmei’s horizons significantly.

“I wonder why you guys lack nothing. It turns out there’s such an abundance of material things here. I feel like buying everything I see,”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “This year, things are a bit more relaxed. Last year, it was much stricter.”

Similar to Su Village, there is now a greater variety of items sold on the black market compared to before, with an increased number of chickens and ducks being slaughtered. In this day and age, those who are timid and those who are courageous alike are facing starvation. Su Xiaoxiao suspects that someone might have established a private poultry farm to sell such a large quantity of chickens and ducks, as most households wouldn’t be able to raise such numbers.

Liang Hongmei put forward a bold assumption: “Sister-in-law, do you think if this continues, we won’t need tickets to buy things?”

Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself that in a few years, the market economy would slowly recover. Not only would people no longer require tickets to make purchases, but after the reforms and opening up, the economy started flourishing. The country would only take decades to lay the foundation that Western countries needed centuries for—something to be proud of.

Of course, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t voice out these thoughts. She only vaguely said, “The days will surely get better and better. In any case, let the children study hard. When the college entrance examination is reinstated in the future, they should all go to university and contribute to the country’s development.”

Her sister-in-law and brother-in-law were both knowledgeable and placed significant emphasis on their children’s education. Following their guidance regarding whether the children could attend university would always be the right choice. “Okay, I will definitely encourage my Da Bao to study hard,” she affirmed.

Liang Hongmei took an early train the next day. Besides some food, Su Xiaoxiao asked her to take the piece of cloth back home. She wanted her and her sister-in-law to make new clothes. The fabrics at home were all for men and children. These two sister-in-laws had hardly worn any new clothes.

Liang Hongmei touched the finest cotton cloth she had touched and thought to herself that she wouldn’t find such a good sister-in-law anywhere in the commune.

The cubs went with Liang Hongmei to the train station, and Da Bao and Xiao Bao stayed for the Chinese New Year.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao have strong self-care abilities in daily life. They actively help with various household chores. With these two dependable helpers, tasks like sweeping the floor and chicken coop, feeding the chickens, watering the vegetables, and tending to the fire have become effortless. Apart from Xiao Tangyuan, who requires the care of Su Xiaoxiao for regular milk feedings, his brothers manage tasks such as changing diapers, washing diapers, and feeding both milk and rice porridge.
Why do people always say that raising a child is the most difficult? Her children at home are very sensible, the older ones play and take care of the younger siblings.

Su Xiaoxiao only needs to buy a few more groceries, and add some extra rice and mixed grains while cooking, and she doesn’t have to worry about much else. This allows her to free up half a day to read books. These days are indeed worry-free.