Chapter 66: The Birth of Linghua

  For several days, Shen Xiaopang didn't show up again. Lian Man felt a bit relieved and also a bit annoyed. She was relieved because Shen Xiaopang was too troublesome, so not seeing him was a good thing. As for the annoyance, Lian Man thought about it and realized that her handkerchief must have been taken by Shen Xiaopang, and since she couldn't see him, there was no way to get it back. That handkerchief had cost over ten cents at the time, although because she still didn't know how to embroider, she had only sewn along the edges, but it was something she had made herself, one stitch at a time.

  But nothing was more important than picking autumn leaves, and even though she had thought about Shen Xiao Pang for two days, she eventually threw him to the back of her mind.

  After finishing the wheat harvest, they started to reap peanuts. Peanuts are very difficult to collect, even the most meticulous farmers can't possibly put every single peanut into storage, and some will always be left in the soil. One kilogram of peanuts with skin could be exchanged for more than one kilogram of good rice. The children from the 30-li camp eagerly took baskets, holding small hoes or small pickaxes, dispersing to search for peanuts that had fallen on the ground.

  Lian Wan'er was naturally unwilling to fall behind, and every day at dawn, she went down to the fields with Xiao Qi, Lian Zhi'er and Wu Lang to cultivate peanuts.

  Although Lian's family planted peanuts, they were for sale. So far, Lian and her siblings have eaten no more than ten peanuts in total. This is not to say that Master Lian was stingy, but rather it was the norm in the village. In fact, families who gave their children peanuts to eat would be accused of spoiling them and being unable to manage their household properly.

  In the peanut fields of poor families, after a thorough search by their own family members, there are only a few left. However, even among these families, some are meticulous and others are careless. Finding the peanut fields of those careless families can result in a bountiful harvest. Additionally, the fields of the landowners themselves can also yield a substantial amount.

  Even if it's not much, finding some food to fill your belly is also a comfort.

  Peanut harvesting is hard work. To find those peanuts that have been left in the ground, everyone almost turned over the entire field, so it's called "耢". Little Seven likes to eat peanuts. His older brothers and sisters love him because he's young, and whenever they find peanuts, they'll give them to him first. Little Seven is also very considerate, he will carefully eat a small handful, then stop eating.

  The village children picked peanuts, some of which were taken back home. To supplement the family's expenses, some families had a bit more leeway, letting the children or themselves roast and eat them, or taking them to town to sell for candy.

  Now Lian Jia Si Fang has a lot of things to do, and Lian Man Er is in charge. Lian Man Er thinks that since they still have some money left, they might as well keep these peanuts for their own family to eat.

  They went out early and returned late. Xiao Qi and Si Lang had already found a good place, and in one day, each of them could harvest 7 or 8 catties of peanuts. After several days, although their faces were sunburned, their hands were blistered, and their arms and legs ached, but looking at the full sack of peanuts, the excitement in their hearts completely made up for the fatigue of these days.

  The villagers all said that Lian Jia's fourth child was clever and capable.

  Lian Shouxin has been working with Lian Laoyezi in the fields for days. Every night, as soon as he lays his head on the pillow, he falls asleep immediately, and in the morning, he gets up before dawn without anyone calling him.

  Zhang Qing-shan and Li's family sent two old hens, among which the black hen laid an egg on the second day after arrival. Zhang was reluctant to kill and eat it, so he asked Lian Shou-xin to enclose a small fence and raise the two chickens at the foot of the window of the west wing room.

  Lian Man'er and Zhang Shi discussed it and slaughtered the pheasant. The soybeans in the backyard were about to be harvested, so Lian Man'er and Lian Zhi'er picked some tender ones, washed them, and filled a big basket. They also scooped out three catties of white flour, kneaded the dough, and planned to make bean sprout stewed meat huabing.

  Pluck and clean the chicken, cut the chicken into pieces. Heat a large iron pot, add a little oil first, stir-fry scallions, garlic, and fermented bean paste to bring out the fragrance, then pour in the chicken pieces and stir-fry until the oil comes out, then add the cleaned and sectioned green beans.

  Knead the dough into several uniform pieces, roll each one into a thin sheet, brush a small amount of oil on one side, sprinkle with salt and Sichuan pepper powder, fold in half, then brush oil, sprinkle salt and Sichuan pepper powder on the folded side again, and fold once more. The dough is now ready to be made into huabing (a type of Chinese flatbread).

  On the other side, Lianzhi had already stir-fried the bean sprouts and chicken pieces, then added water to the pot. The water just covered the bean sprouts. Lianmiao brought out the flatbread and spread it evenly over the bean sprouts, then covered the pot with a lid. Wulang lit the fire under the stove, waiting until the pot was steaming hot, with thick steam rising from all four sides of the lid. He then added more fuel to the fire and simmered for another moment. The chicken and bean sprouts were now cooked through. By this time, the flatbread had absorbed the flavors of the chicken and bean sprouts, making it even more delicious.

  Lian Wan and a few others were sitting together chatting, waiting for the pot to boil. Suddenly, the door curtain rustled, and Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother jumped in from outside.

  "Are you stewing chicken again?" Shirō said, sniffing his nose.

  "The meat on the upper floor is no longer for sale, it's better than chicken." said Xiao Qi.

  "Man Er, I'll tell you something." Si Lang wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned in close to Lian Man Er.

  "What's up?"

  "That's great! I'll tell you, you have to give me a chicken leg to eat." said Si Lang.

  "What's worth a chicken leg?" Lian Man'er gave Si Lang a white eye, one chicken has two legs, they haven't even eaten it yet, why should they give it to him.

  "Hua'er sister is playing a trick on you." Si Lang said with a sentence.

  "Oh?" Lian Man'er let out an "oh".

  "What's wrong with her?" Lian Zhier hastily asked.

  "Give me chicken legs and I'll tell you." Si Lang glanced at the large iron pot that had already started steaming.

  "She's being naughty, we know that, no need for you to tell us." Lian Man Er said nonchalantly, "Who knows if you're trying to cheat and get chicken to eat."

  Shi Lang smelled the increasingly delicious smell of chicken and became a little anxious.

  "I couldn't deceive you, I heard it with my own ears." Si Lang said, "It was the day Hua Er Jie just came back, she and Lao Gu went to the backyard, saying that some palace flowers were for Lao Gu, fearing you wouldn't be happy, so they gave them to you. Lao Gu was angry and trampled a whole cabbage flat."

  Lian Wan'er's heart skipped a beat as she thought of that day when they went upstairs, Lian Xiu'er staring at what was on her and Lian Zhi'er's heads.

  "They talk behind people's backs, how can you know that?" Lian Man'er looked at Si Lang distrustfully.

  "I was squatting under the cucumber trellis taking a dump when I heard it."

  "Ah!" Little Seven jumped up, "I knew it was you. Why don't you go to the toilet? Learn from the dog! I said why the cucumber frame over there always smells so bad, last time I almost stepped on it."

  "It's none of your business where I take a crap." Shi Rong said with a carefree attitude.

  "Go, go, go! What's with the crap that stinks to death? And you're still talking." Lian Man'er said discontentedly, "Right, you said you were there... Ah, that old lady didn't smell anything and could still let you listen to their conversation."

  "I saw them coming and hadn't even pulled out yet, I was suffocating for a while." Si Lang said, "You still don't believe it, let you two replace Dabo's cooking, also told by Hua Er Jie to Lao Gu."

  No wonder that at that time, even Hua'er didn't dare to offend her face-to-face, and said such ambiguous words. If Lian Xiu'er was clever, she could still insist on letting her and Lian Zhi'er go upstairs to cook, but Lian Xiu'er had a straightforward temper and couldn't hear the crooked thoughts in Hua'er's heart, so she thought Hua'er was speaking for them, and got angry without saying anything. Afterwards, both people must have been very depressed.

  "You said these things, I knew them long ago. Lao Gu listens to Hua Er Jie in everything, not just for one or two days." said Lian Man Er.

  Shi Lang saw that Lian Mian'er was not paying attention, so he wouldn't get to eat the chicken leg. Shi Lang furrowed his brow and slapped his thigh.

  "There's something else you definitely don't know."

  "What's up?"

  "Your mother was tripped by Old Auntie, and that was also because of Hua'er's mischief." Si Lang said with a mysterious tone, covering his mouth.

  This chapter has some ridiculous points, and I couldn't help but laugh while writing it.

  There are pink little shoes, support them. Weak Yan is far behind in the new book monthly ticket rankings and will soon be surpassed by those behind him. Pointing fingers,

  Work hard to decode the second more.