Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

By the time Zhao Shanhe rode his old-fashioned bicycle back to Kaoshantun, the sun was already high in the sky.

Although the midday sun in early spring hangs high, it doesn't feel very warm. It shines brightly on the mud-brick houses and wood stacks scattered throughout the village, casting a dry, cool white light.

Before even turning into my own mud-brick courtyard, a rich and enticing aroma of cooking oil wafted into my nostrils.

That was the domineering heat of lard frying in a big iron pot with scallions, sauerkraut, vermicelli, and pork cracklings, which seeped out through the cracks in the mud wall of the courtyard, making people's stomachs rumble with hunger.

The courtyard gate was ajar.

The mud chimney on the kitchen roof was puffing out thick blue smoke, which spread with the breeze, filling the courtyard with the warm, lively atmosphere of home cooking.

"Sizzle—"

The crisp sound of a large iron spatula stirring vegetables came from the kitchen, followed by a woman's quick and efficient call:

"Dazhuang, stop sitting there! Wash your hands and eat!"

"I've reheated the pancakes twice for you; they'll get cold again if you don't eat them soon!"

The room was quiet for a while.

Da Zhuang's voice finally came out in a muffled tone:

"Sister-in-law, you guys eat first."

"I'm waiting for Brother Shanhe to come back."

"What are we waiting for him for?"

Lin Xiu was clearly puzzled; the spatula clanged against the edge of the iron pot.

"He went to the repair shop in the county early this morning. There's a huge amount of work going on there with the vehicles and machines; who knows when he'll be done?"

"Do you really have to wait for him to come back before you eat?"

Dazhuang sat in the room, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, and remained silent for a moment.

"I need to speak with Brother Shanhe about something."

"Let's talk about it when he gets back."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiu finally gave him a serious look.

"What happened?"

"If it's really urgent, don't just sit here waiting. Didn't Shanhe go to the county to repair the factory today? I'll go to the brigade headquarters later and call them to ask someone to call him back as soon as possible."

"No, no!"

Upon hearing this, Da Zhuang quickly waved his hand.

"Sister-in-law, nothing's really wrong, don't worry."

"So what are you doing...?"

Lin Xiu looked him up and down, and felt even more puzzled.

Dazhuang lowered his head, gently tapped the piece of cigarette ash in his hand into the ashtray, and after a moment of silence, said:

"There's something I need to talk to Shanhe about when he gets back."

Lin Xiu understood when she saw that he had gone to such lengths.

"Okay, then I won't ask anymore."

She turned and went back into the kitchen, casually calling out again:

"But you should eat first. There's a huge mess to deal with back home; who knows when you'll be back? Are you really going to sit here hungry and wait?"

"I'm really not hungry, sister-in-law."

"You..."

Before Lin Xiu could finish speaking, the sound of bicycle wheels rolling over the frozen ground suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Niu Niu, who was squatting by the kang (heated brick bed) setting out chopsticks, had the sharpest ears and immediately shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Dad's home!"

The little girl didn't even bother to properly put on her cotton shoes before running into the yard. As soon as Zhao Shanhe pushed his bicycle through the gate, she grabbed his leg, tilted her little face up, and started chattering away, complaining:

"Dad, Uncle Dazhuang has been waiting for you for a long time! Mom called him to eat, but he wouldn't eat, insisting on waiting for you to come back!"

"Yeah?"

Zhao Shanhe looked up into the room and saw Dazhuang peeking out from behind the curtain.

"Brother Shanhe".

Zhao Shanhe nodded, but didn't stand in the yard to ask him what happened. He simply parked his bicycle against the wall and led Niu Niu into the house.

Lin Xiu had already placed the steaming hot pickled cabbage and vermicelli on the kang table, and then ladled out a large bowl and handed it to Zhao Shanhe: "Eat first. You two can talk about anything after you finish eating. We'll have to reheat the food if it gets cold."

Zhao Shanhe took the bowl, sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and first picked up a large chopstick of pickled cabbage and vermicelli and put it into his mouth.

The pickled cabbage is stewed until it's translucent and tender, the glass noodles have soaked up all the oily broth, and there are also crispy pork cracklings mixed in. One bite is both sour and fragrant.

He broke off another half of the still-hot cornbread and ate a few bites with the hot dishes, finally feeling a bit better after his stomach had been empty all morning.

Seeing that Dazhuang was still sitting beside her, Lin Xiu simply grabbed another large bowl, filled it to the brim, and handed it to him: "Here you go. Now that he's back, you should eat, right?"

Just as Dazhuang was about to push, Zhao Shanhe said without even looking up, "Eat yours. If you don't eat, I'm not going to starve with you."

As he spoke, he picked up another mouthful of vermicelli and said while eating, "I haven't had a moment's rest at the repair shop all morning. The axle on Erga's car still needs to be repaired. I spent the whole morning working with Lao Zhou and the others, and I haven't even had a proper meal yet. We can talk about anything after we've eaten. It won't make a difference if we just have a meal."

"Did you hear me?"

Lin Xiu chimed in, "Other people who come home tired after a long morning know to eat first, but you're making things difficult for yourself."

Since things had come to this point, Dazhuang couldn't refuse any longer, so he took the bowl, picked up a cornbread, and started eating.

At this moment, Niu Niu also climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) with her little bowl in her hands and sat close to Zhao Shanhe.

The little girl was chewing her food, but her big, dark eyes kept glancing at Dazhuang. After glancing several times, she finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Uncle Dazhuang, have you gotten into trouble again?"

Da Zhuang paused with his chopsticks, looked up at her, and glared: "When did I cause trouble?"

"That expression was exactly the same as mine a few days ago!"

Niu Niu swung her two little feet, clad in red cloth shoes, and spoke with such seriousness:

"Last time I secretly ate the brown sugar that Mom had left in the kitchen cabinet. I secretly put it in my mouth and didn't dare to chew it. When Dad came back, I huddled against the wall like this, not daring to breathe loudly! Uncle Dazhuang, you must have done something wrong behind someone's back and were afraid of getting a beating, right?!"

"puff--"

Lin Xiugang picked up his teacup and took a sip of water, almost spitting it out on the spot. He quickly turned his face away to wipe his mouth with his apron, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

The half-eaten cornbread in Dazhuang's mouth almost choked him to death on the spot.

He coughed violently twice, his neck and cheeks instantly turning a deep, dark liver color. He frantically rubbed his rough hands against his trouser legs, glaring at Niu Niu with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"You...you little rascal! You're just spouting nonsense! Is your uncle that kind of person? What...what could I possibly be stealing?!"

Zhao Shanhe was picking at the vermicelli in his bowl when he heard his daughter's seemingly logical but ultimately flawed reasoning, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

He casually tugged at Niu Niu's pigtails tied with red ribbons, and chuckled as he scolded:

"Well, Niu Niu, so you were the one who robbed that big chunk of brown sugar from the bottom of that jar the other day? I thought a mouse had taken it, but you've confessed now."

Startled, Niu Niu quickly covered her mouth, her big, dark eyes darting around. She immediately shrank behind Zhao Shanhe, only her doe-like eyes showing, and mumbled indistinctly:

"I...I was just using it as an analogy for Uncle Dazhuang..."

"Alright, eat yours! Can't this delicious sauerkraut stew with pork cracklings shut your mouth?"

Lin Xiu smiled and gently tapped the tip of her chopsticks against the rim of Niu Niu's small porcelain bowl.

"If you say another word, the supply and marketing cooperative won't leave you a single piece of maltose next time!"

Niu Niu stuck out her tongue and quickly buried her little head in the bowl. Holding the rough porcelain bowl with both hands, she slurped up the slippery noodles, no longer daring to make a sound. Only her pair of dark, bright eyes were still secretly wandering over Da Zhuang.

The room quieted down again after the little girl's banter ended, with only the sounds of people chewing on flatbread and drinking hot soup.

Da Zhuang held the large bowl, his ears still red, but he was really being driven by the hunger in his stomach.

With the piping hot, oily sauerkraut soup, he stuffed the whole piece of golden-brown cornbread into his stomach, and even drank the last bit of oily crumbs at the bottom of the bowl clean.

After finishing a bowl of hot rice, a surge of heat rushed to his head, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on the tip of Da Zhuang's nose. His previously tense arms finally relaxed a bit.

Zhao Shanhe finished his last bite and placed the large bowl on the edge of the kang table. Lin Xiu, ever perceptive, reached out and collected the bowls and chopsticks, then took Niu Niu's little hand and led her outside.

"Niu Niu, come with me to the backyard and get two bundles of firewood."

Once the curtain in the kitchen was drawn, only Zhao Shanhe, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Dazhuang, who was sitting on a long bench, remained in the main room.

Zhao Shanhe reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a box of Dashengchan cigarettes, shook out two, and casually tossed one over.

"Clatter".

Dazhuang took it, but didn't light it right away. He just lowered his head and kneaded it for a long time.

Zhao Shanhe took a drag of his cigarette before looking at him.

"Speak up. Just lay it all out. What's wrong? Why are you acting all coy like a young woman getting on her wedding day?"

Dazhuang was silent for a while before finally raising his head.

"Brother Shanhe".

I'd like to borrow some money from you.