To please others? It's better to please yourself.

In winter, it gets dark early. Shen He didn't stay long. The two of them opened the gate, exchanged a few words in the courtyard, took some freshly steamed buns and bean buns, and left.

As soon as Xu Jing'an stepped outside, she saw Shen He's nearly new black bicycle leaning against the wall.

It's said that this car is so sturdy that "even if someone damages it, the car will still be there!"

The frame is large and the front crossbar is high, making it difficult for short people with short legs to straddle it.

When learning, you have to fall countless times. Short people can't even touch the ground with their toes, and some can't even reach the foot pedals.

As Xu Jing'an saw Shen He off out of the alley, the cold wind blowing in her face made her shrink her neck even more.

Before they knew it, their wedding day arrived on the 15th, which happened to coincide with a factory ideological meeting. All the workers in the factory sat ramrod straight, and not a single one dared to whisper. So the two of them had originally agreed to hold the wedding during their lunch break.

To everyone's surprise, after the meeting, the factory gave each worker 2 jin of Guoguang apples, 3 jin of local apples, and 5 jin of Xuehua pears from W County. The entire factory was overjoyed to receive these perks.

So when Shen He picked up Xu Jing'an, the two of them rode bicycles, wearing green military uniforms, with big red flowers on their chests, and five catties of apples and pears tied to each side of the handlebars.

The cold wind kept blowing into my neck and sleeves, and my cheeks were so cold that they turned into two patches of red from the cold. If my hand accidentally touched the bicycle, I felt a sharp pain in my heart.

It will make you truly understand what it means to be thoroughly chilled!

They attracted envious glances from passersby along the way.

Upon arriving at the Shen family home, before anyone could even exchange a few jokes with the young couple, they noticed the fruit on the handlebars. Immediately, relatives and friends began asking where they had bought the fruit, completely forgetting about the bride and groom.

When they found out it was a winter benefit from the steel mill, everyone was incredibly envious.

Hearing the praise from those around her, Shen's mother smiled even more brightly.

Although she was unhappy at the time because her daughter-in-law's family asked for too much betrothal gift, they also gave a lot of dowry!

The house was filled with things: from large pieces of furniture, sewing machines and six thick quilts, to small items such as flashlights and fabrics, as well as a yard under the daughter-in-law's name.

Don't let the small size of the yard fool you; finding a decent house these days is incredibly difficult! It costs at least several hundred dollars, not to mention the difficulty in finding a seller.

The daughter-in-law has a good job, her family lives far away, and her mother-in-law has two sons and two daughters. They all say that the daughters are like their mothers and will definitely be able to have children. In addition, her cousin personally introduced her, and her son also likes her. The couple has also met the mother-in-law. She is reasonable and loves her daughters. There is no daughter-in-law who is more perfect and fits Shen's mother's wishes.

The two stood in front of the octagonal table, holding their marriage certificate, and held their wedding ceremony in front of Chairman Mao's portrait.

The long table next to it was covered with precious books, badges, red notebooks, washbasins, towels, fabrics... all of which were gifts from relatives, neighbors and colleagues.

The couple first sang a revolutionary song, then recited two instructions, and finally bowed three times—first to the leader, then to the revolutionary masses, and finally to each other as husband and wife.

After the ceremony, candy was distributed to neighbors, relatives, friends, and children. Amidst the children's laughter and polite blessings, everyone dispersed and went home to their own business. After all, they had to go to work in the afternoon!

The next day, I saw my son get up early to wash the sheets again, but the smile on his face was impossible to hide.

Mother Shen smiled knowingly.

During the Spring Festival, the chives Xu Jing'an planted hadn't grown yet, but the other garlic sprouts and greens were ready to eat. Although there weren't many, they still made up a few dishes. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Xu Jing'an took charge of cooking.

"What are we having for dinner today?" Shen He asked, leaning closer to Xu Jing'an.

"Noodles, how about that?" Xu Jing'an asked with a smile.

"Sure, why not?"

At lunchtime, each person had a large bowl of mixed noodles, and most importantly, there was a large bowl of braised tomatoes and eggs in the middle of the table.

The sweet and sour aroma wafted towards us.

"Tomatoes?" "Oh my god! Where did they come from?" The family looked at Xu Jing'an excitedly.

"Where did it come from? Don't tell me yet, it'll get cold if you eat it quickly," Xu Jing'an urged hurriedly.

All that could be heard was the sound of slurping; the whole family was stuffed.

"Jing'an, where did you get these tomatoes? I didn't notice them." Shen He asked.

"Now you can tell us, right? Tell us quickly," Shen's mother asked anxiously.

"Of course you don't know, we hadn't even met when I made tomatoes."

Xu Jing'an turned to Shen's mother and said, "Mom is usually too busy to take care of it. You'll understand as soon as I explain. It was stored in a glucose bottle."

"Oh~" Mother Shen understood.

To be able to eat tomatoes in winter, you need to use glucose bottles meant for intravenous infusions. Summer is the cheapest season for tomatoes; large ones are five pounds for ten cents, and smaller ones are eight pounds for ten cents.

Wash the glucose bottles thoroughly, sterilize them by boiling them in a pot for about an hour, and then let them air dry with the opening facing down.

Blanch ripe tomatoes in boiling water, peel off the skin, cut them into chunks, and stuff them into a jar. Don't fill the jar too full. Seal the jar tightly with the rubber cap. Insert a sterilized needle into the cap and steam the jar in a pot for about half an hour. Remove the needle, seal the hole with wax, and let the jar cool completely before storing it in a cool, dry place.

In winter, when all you have is cabbage, radish, and maybe a potato, tomatoes are a rare treat.

Throughout the winter, the dishes consisted of sauerkraut with boiled pork, stewed cabbage with tofu, stir-fried cabbage with pork, cabbage with pork and vermicelli, vinegared cabbage, sweet and sour cabbage, and cabbage and pork dumplings. The only difference was that the cabbage was replaced with radish.

It's easy to imagine how rare and delicious these tomatoes are in winter!

"Tomatoes are easy to get, but glucose bottles are hard to come by. I've been saving them for so long and I only have less than 20," Xu Jing'an said helplessly. She added that she usually doesn't eat them because she has so few.

The family decided they had to find some more bottles this year, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get through the long winter!