In front of Yu Wanqiu, Mingxi and Mingnan consciously put away the teasing attitude towards Mingbei at home and watched the movie seriously. Nowadays, the movies shown in the cinema are all patriotic and anti-Japanese movies, and Mingxi watched a lot of them in the military academy. Even some movies have not been released in Beicha yet, he has watched them several times in the military academy.
Mingnan studied very hard this year. He was a young boy who was old enough to eat, so he spent most of the money and food coupons given by his family on food. Mingnan felt sorry for Li Muwu, who had to carry sacks to earn money. He wanted to spend every penny in school, not to mention watching movies. He had never even been to the cinema. Sitting in the long-missed cinema, Mingnan watched the movie with great relish, clapping his legs and laughing from time to time. As for his silly brother, he had long forgotten about him.
Those who have seen it or not all watched the movie seriously, only Mingbei was a little absent-minded. He sat on the chair and secretly glanced at Yu Wanqiu. But Yu Wanqiu didn't even glance at him. Mingbei always thought it was because he was wearing too ugly, so he quickly took off his fur coat and took off his hat and put it on his legs.
Although the cinema had heating, it was a large and spacious place, and the temperature was much lower than the 20-30 degree Celsius at home. Therefore, most people who watched the movie wore fur coats, and some who were too strong to bear the heat unbuttoned their coats. However, Mingbei was the only one who dared to take off his fur coat without fear of the cold.
Zhenzhen's sight was interrupted by the action of him taking off his clothes. With the dim light of the movie screen, she could see Mingbei's hair that looked like it had been chewed by a dog. Zhenzhen couldn't help but cover her face. This hairstyle was simply unbearable and too eye-catching.
Mingbei didn't realize it, he pulled his Zhongshan suit and sat upright on the chair. Zhenzhen was afraid that Mingbei would catch a cold, so she quickly leaned over and whispered in his ear: "It's dark, no one can see you at all, didn't you take it off too early?"
Feeling the cold wind whistling through his cotton-padded jacket and biting into his skin, Mingbei nodded and whispered, "Yes, I do feel a little cold." But he had just taken off his clothes and was too embarrassed to stand up and put them on again. He could only silently cover his neck with the fur jacket and wrap himself up tightly.
Looking at Mingbei's messy hair, Zhenzhen couldn't help herself: "Fourth brother, your hair is already messed up by you like it looks like it was bitten by a dog. After washing your hair and pressing it down with a hat, it looks really ugly no matter how you look at it."
Mingbei was confident about his carefully groomed hairstyle that morning. He reached out and pushed Zhenzhen's chubby little face back, muttering, "What does a little brat know about good-looking or not."
Zhenzhen thought that Mingbei must have used a beauty filter when he looked in the mirror, which was why he was so blind. She didn't say anything more and decided to let society teach him a lesson.
After the movie was over, the lights in the cinema suddenly came on. While everyone was covering their eyes, Mingbei swiftly pulled off his fur coat, quickly smoothed his hair at the temples with both hands, and when Yu Wanqiu turned her head, he smiled at Zhenzhen and asked in a soft voice, "Zhenzhen, are you cold? Do you want me to put my clothes on you?" After saying that, he tugged at his Zhongshan suit, as if he was afraid that Yu Wanqiu couldn't see it.
Zhenzhen looked at him with an expression as if she had seen a ghost. This was only because he was her biological brother, but if he was her cousin or something, she would definitely pretend not to know him.
Yu Wanqiu picked up the water bottle she brought with her and turned around to talk to Zhenzhen, but her eyes were attracted by Mingbei's messy hair. After trying to hold back for a long time, Yu Wanqiu burst out laughing: "Li Mingbei, did a mouse gnaw on your hair? Why are there so many patches? Look at the left side, it's all bald. Did they bite you?"
Li Mingbei's pretended arrogance was instantly wiped out by Yu Wanqiu's laughter. He grabbed the fur hat from the chair and put it on his head. His face turned red and he told the truth honestly: "I cut it by accident."
Yu Wanqiu smiled with her eyes curved, pointed outside and told him: "There is a barber shop next to the supply and marketing cooperative. Why don't you go there to get a haircut later? There won't be any more haircuts in the first month of the lunar year after the New Year." Although Mingbei felt a little embarrassed, he still felt happy in his heart. If he hadn't had his hair cut, he wouldn't have had the chance to say these two words. Although the effect was different from what he imagined, the result was always good.
After leaving the cinema, Yu Wanqiu politely said goodbye to Zhenzhen and her siblings and took her brother home. Mingbei stretched his neck to watch Yu Wanqiu leave, and only turned back when he could no longer see her.
Mingxi stepped forward, hugged Mingbei's shoulders, and said earnestly: "Mingbei, when we get home tonight, I will talk to mom and ask her to stew some pig brain for you. We won't eat any of it, so we'll save it all for you."
Mingbei was still immersed in his own thoughts and didn't react. He subconsciously said, "You really don't want to eat it? Don't fight with me for it later."
Mingnan squatted on the ground, holding his stomach and laughing. Zhenzhen slapped him on the back in annoyance and said, "Stop laughing. Hurry up and take my fourth brother to get a haircut. It will be time for dinner soon."
Nowadays, it is the easiest to cut the hair of a boy of Mingbei's age. A cookie-cutter buzz cut is enough. The barber can do it with his eyes closed. The clippers flipped over Mingbei's head flexibly and shaved his head in less than ten minutes. The barber used a sponge to brush off the broken hair on Mingbei's face and neck, and earnestly instructed him: "This haircut is not something you can learn at home in a day or two. Don't cut it yourself next time. Aren't you afraid of stabbing yourself with the scissors?"
Mingbei looked at his head in the mirror, rubbed his prickly hair a bit depressed, and replied seriously: "Actually, I really didn't think I was ugly before."
The barber was immediately blocked. He glared at Mingbei, then turned around and pushed him aside: "Who's going to get a haircut next? Come here quickly."
There is still more than half a month before the Chinese New Year. Mingxi and Mingnan also shaved their heads. The three brothers looked at themselves in the mirror for a long time. Finally, Mingxi put the hat on his head with satisfaction and looked at his two younger brothers proudly: "You two are not good-looking. You are far worse than me."
Mingnan glanced at Mingxi's back, then quickly stood up, took Zhenzhen's hand and followed him out: "I'm much better looking than Mingbei, his bald head is too ugly."
Mingbei looked at his hair in the mirror, his scalp visible. He was not satisfied with it no matter how he looked at it. He complained to the barber: "My hair is too short. It's not as good-looking as my second and third brothers'."
While helping the customer to trim his hair, the barber replied without even looking up: "You cut your left side bald, so I can only trim it shorter than yours. Otherwise, it will be patchy and it will damage my reputation." He threw the trimmed hair to the ground and glanced at him: "It's okay. No one can tell when you wear a hat when you go out. Your hair will grow longer by the Chinese New Year. By then, your brother's hair will be longer and he won't look as energetic as you."
Mingbei finally became happy after hearing this, and came out happily wearing his hat. The first thing he said when he saw Mingxi was: "Brother, I'm hungry, what are we having for lunch?"
Although the hydrolysis plant is large, there is only one restaurant in the factory. Usually, the factory employees either eat in the cafeteria or cook at home, so this restaurant is basically open to people outside the factory.
Mingxi led his brother and sister in. There was only one waiter sitting at the innermost table reading a newspaper. When he saw someone coming, he immediately stood up and asked with a smile: "Young comrades, would you like to have dinner?"
Mingxi and his friends found a table close to the stove and sat down. After taking off their fur coats, Mingxi asked, "What do you have to eat?"
"We have steamed buns, steamed buns, and pancakes, as well as big pot dishes and stews." The waiter responded quickly.
In winter, there is basically no other food in Beicha except cabbage, potatoes and pickled cabbage. Although this is a restaurant, the stewed dishes may not be as oily as at home. It is a rare opportunity to go out, Mingxi doesn't want to eat the old three dishes again, so he decided to splurge and treat his brothers and sisters to a good meal.
"What's the filling in the buns?" Mingxi asked.
When the waiter heard that we wanted to buy buns, his face lit up immediately: "You guys are in a hurry. Today's buns are stuffed with beef. The factory's purchasing department bought them from Anbei. They said that they happened to see a particularly strong bull fall into a pit and die. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to buy beef."
Zhenzhen had never eaten beef since the 1960s. Thinking of the greasy beef buns she had in her previous life, her mouth watered. She swallowed and asked quickly, "How much are the buns?"
"Twenty cents each plus two taels of food coupons." The waiter finally reacted after saying that. He looked at Mingxi, the oldest of the group, who was only in his early twenties. He hesitated and advised, "Although it's not cheap, it's because it's rare. This bun is full of beef, with no vegetables. If you think it's too expensive, there are also large pancakes and stews."
Mingxi hesitated for a moment after hearing this. Although he received a lot of allowances at school, his training was intense and his appetite doubled. After saving for so many years at school, he only had a few dollars left. But looking at his brothers and sisters whom he rarely saw once a year, Mingxi felt that there was nothing to be reluctant about. Anyway, he would receive allowances and meal tickets as soon as school started, so he would not starve to death.
He counted the money and the province-wide food coupons and put them on the table: "Please help me get ten buns."
"Okay!" The waiter counted the money and food coupons, then looked up and asked, "Want to just eat steamed buns? We have freshly cooked corn porridge. It only costs 20 cents plus 4 taels of food coupons for the four of you."
Mingxi nodded: "Yes, help me get some hot food."
Hot thin-skinned beef buns with big fillings and fragrant and thick corn porridge were soon served on the table. Zhenzhen's mouth watered at the aroma and she immediately picked up a bun. The flour of this era was not as finely ground as in later generations, and it fully retained the inherent nutrients of wheat. Although the color looked a little black, it was full of wheat aroma. When you take a bite, the aroma of the noodles and the beef soup gather in your mouth, bursting with the most delicious taste.
Gently suck the gravy from the bun into your mouth, and take another bite to find it is full of meat filling. I don’t know how the chef cooked the beef, but it not only does not taste hard and woody as I imagined, but is instead extremely delicious and not greasy.
While Zhenzhen was savoring the bun, Mingxi, Mingnan and Mingbei had already finished a plate of buns. Although they did not have as much experience as Zhenzhen, you could tell how delicious the beef buns were by looking at their eager expressions.
After finishing the last bite of the bun, Zhenzhen took out some money and food coupons from her pocket and said, "Waiter, bring me another twenty buns."
The waiter was shocked by her domineering behavior and looked at Mingxi at a loss. Mingxi knew that Grandma Li doted on Zhenzhen. Not only did she give her a lot of New Year's money during the Chinese New Year and other festivals, but she also slipped 1.5 cents from time to time so that she could buy snacks and biscuits when she went to school. Looking at the scattered bills on the table, Mingxi thought that Zhenzhen was just like him, saving money from her mouth, so he quickly coaxed her and said, "If you haven't eaten enough, brother will buy you another one, okay? Why do we need so much? It's not easy to save money. Grandma will scold you when she gets angry."
"These beef dumplings are so delicious. I don't know when I'll be able to eat beef dumplings next time after eating them this time. I'm thinking of buying more so you can make as many dumplings as you want. I'll also bring a few back for grandma and mom to try. They'll all know what beef dumplings taste like."
Mingnan felt warm at heart when listening to Zhenzhen's words, but he didn't agree to buy so many buns: "You don't know how expensive firewood and rice are because you don't run a household. You can buy more than ten kilograms of flour with this money. It's already a luxury for us to eat with Second Brother once, how can we buy so many." He pushed Zhenzhen's money back and took out the money he had saved from his pocket: "I'll buy buns for Grandma and Mom, you take your money back. But you have to give me the food coupons, I've eaten them all before the holiday."
Zhenzhen looked at Mingnan helplessly: "You don't eat well or have enough food when you go to school outside, so save the money and you have to eat when school starts. To be honest, when the old man came back last time, he secretly gave me a lot of pocket money, so just eat." She moved Mingnan's hand that was pressing the money away, and stuffed all the Mao and grain coupons on the table into the waiter's hand: "Don't just stand there, hurry up and serve the buns."
A total of thirty buns were steamed in one pot. Originally, I thought it would be good if they could be sold out in a few days, but I didn't expect that they were bought up by the four brothers and sisters as soon as they were steamed. The waiter brought up several large plates of buns with a smile. Zhenzhen grabbed one and took a bite, but she burped before she could swallow it.
Mingxi smiled and looked at Zhenzhen beside him: "He's already full, but he wants twenty more buns. What a typical example of a person with big eyes and a small stomach."
Zhenzhen tried hard to take another bite, but she felt that her stomach was too full to eat any more, so she handed the remaining half to Mingxi. Mingxi and the others had eaten Zhenzhen's leftovers before, and no one despised her. They took a bite of bun and a mouthful of porridge, and Mingxi and the other two ate two each.
After wrapping the remaining 14 buns with oil paper, the waiter and the chef discussed and generously gave them a small flour bag. Mingxi thanked them and hurried home with his brother and sister.
When Mingbei opened the door at home, he smelled the sauerkraut, blood sausage and bones stewed in the pot. The five beef buns he had eaten at noon seemed to have gone into a bottomless pit and disappeared in an instant: "Mom, I'm hungry."
Seeing that many people came to the west room, Mingxi quietly sent the bag of flour to the east room and handed it to Mrs. Li tremblingly: "Grandma, we brought back some beef buns."
It’s no wonder Mingxi was afraid. Although he was already in his twenties, in front of Grandma Li, he always felt like the kid who always got into trouble and was afraid of being scolded by his grandmother.
Lifting the heavy flour bag, Old Lady Li opened it and took a look inside. Her face suddenly changed. She picked up the pipe from the kang and knocked it on the edge of the kang: "You have so much money that you are burning it, right? Who bought this?"
Mingxi, Mingnan, Mingbei, and Zhenzhen answered in unison: "I bought it!"
Old Lady Li looked at this and that, and suddenly laughed angrily: "You little bastards, you dare to lie to your grandmother, you three boys come over and lie on the kang, I will beat you to death."
Zhenzhen quickly ran over and hugged Grandma Li's arm, rubbing her little face against it, coaxing her softly, "Grandma, I really bought it. Don't you think about it, who else in our family is so brave except me?"
When her granddaughter's soft little hand caressed her chest, Mrs. Li's anger was mostly relieved: "If you want to eat buns, tell your mom. We have flour at home, so why don't you just make them yourself?"
"This is different." Zhenzhen quickly brought the bag of noodles to Grandma Li like she was offering a treasure: "This is beef stuffing. The stuffing prepared by the chef in the restaurant is very delicious. The gravy fills your mouth after one bite. It's so fragrant. I thought that we couldn't just eat such delicious buns by ourselves. We had to let grandma, my father, my mother, my eldest brother, and my sister-in-law have a taste. That's why I bought a few more." Zhenzhen hugged Grandma Li's waist, looked up and blinked her big eyes: "I want grandma to taste all the delicious food in the world."
Zhenzhen's words made Grandma Li feel so touched that she hugged Zhenzhen and smiled happily: "You are worthy of being my favorite baby. I love you for a reason." After kissing Zhenzhen on the forehead, Grandma Li looked at her three grandchildren standing in a row on the ground and scolded them harshly: "You are all grown-ups now, but why are you not as sensible as your sister? Learn from your sister in the future. Don't eat alone, okay?"
Mingxi nodded repeatedly: "Grandma is right. We will definitely buy some delicious food for you in the future."
Mrs. Li felt relieved after hearing this, but she was reluctant to spend money on buying things, so she quickly added, "Just think about your family, you don't have to buy anything, it's too expensive. Mingxi and Mingnan are getting older every year, and buying things and gifts for their marriage will cost a lot of money, you have to know how to live, don't you?"
Mingxi and Mingnan blushed like tomatoes, lowered their heads and responded vaguely. Old Lady Li patted Zhenzhen's little hands and asked her lovingly, "Did your brother and his friends cheat you out of money?"
"No, it was my second brother who bought ten buns at first, and I bought more because I thought they were delicious. My second and third brothers wanted to pay, but I stopped them. They are studying outside and have no money and are hungry, but I don't have to worry about food and drink at home. I can use Huabei if I have money."
Old Mrs. Li smiled and shook her head: "You are still a spendthrift." She got off the kang, pulled a bunch of keys from her waist, opened the box and took out the handkerchief with money: "Zhenzhen, how much did you spend? I'll give you some."
"Forget it." Zhen Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she helped wrap the handkerchief and put it back into the box. "I still have some. I'll ask you for it when it's gone. What will I do if you lose it?"
When Mrs. Li heard this, she paused, glanced at her three grandsons standing aside, nodded seriously and said, "Then let's put the milk in first, so that your brother won't have to spend all his money coaxing you."
The New Year is getting closer and closer. Except for Mingbei who still reads books every day, no one else in the family reads books. Mingxi is in the military academy. Although it is a holiday, he still gets up at five o'clock every morning and takes Li Mingzhong and Tianhu to run around the river. Mingnan is no longer under the pressure of the college entrance examination. He is instantly liberated from the review of the college entrance examination. He takes Mingbei and Zhenzhen to the river every day to play sledding and ice hockey, just like a half-grown child who has not grown up.
After playing for a whole winter, after eating the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the lunar month, Mingdong, Mingxi and Mingnan all took the train back to their respective schools. Mingbei also locked himself in the room and reviewed his lessons over and over again.
After getting used to the lively atmosphere at home, the house became quieter after the three young men left, but they were not used to it. Zhenzhen walked around the house every day and sat next to Mingbei to watch him review his homework. Mingbei really put his heart into studying in order to take the high school entrance exam of the hydrolysis plant. Without Zhenzhen's urging, he just did exercises and memorized the texts over and over again.
Fortunately, the boring days did not last long and the school started. As soon as she returned to school, Zhenzhen sensitively discovered that the school atmosphere had begun to change. The time the teacher spent leading the students to sing red songs and study the Little Red Book had obviously increased, and the newspapers published more and more articles criticizing the decadent bourgeois ideas.
Mingdong's schooling lasted four and a half years. This time he went back to school to complete the graduation procedures and got the work registration certificate for the national unified distribution. After settling on the job, Mingdong immediately sent a telegram to his family. He couldn't find time to go home, so he bought a ticket and went directly to Anbei.
Anbei Agricultural College still attached great importance to Mingbei. Just over ten years after the liberation, there was a severe shortage of good teachers, especially those like Mingdong who graduated from a reputable agricultural university. There were even fewer of them.
The college sent a teacher to help Mingdong get his household registration and transfer his food supply. He was busy all day long. When he finally lay down on the bed in the staff dormitory at night, Mingdong finally came to his senses. From today on, he officially became a teacher at the Agricultural University.
The author has something to say: We went out for dinner together in the evening and then came back to write another half chapter. I will give out fifty red envelopes to everyone tonight. I will find time tomorrow to post yesterday's.
Say Happy Lantern Festival again, muah~~~