Lin Momo took Lin Cheng out of the shantytown where they were temporarily staying and came to the Chaoyang community next door.
Because it is an old-style house, many places on the first floor of the community have been converted by residents into their own courtyards or practical cement stone tables.
"Dad, look at this." Lin Momo pointed at something on one of the stone tables and said to Lin Cheng.
At this time, there were several bamboo winnowing baskets on the stone table, with some dried grains in the baskets.
"I asked, this is made of millet," Lin Momo explained, and then explained to Lin Cheng seriously: "Just cook the millet first, then add a little flour and press it into a thin piece. When it is a little hard, cut it into small diamond-shaped pieces. Wait until it is completely dried and you can put it away. When you want to eat it, you can fry it in oil, or soak it in noodle soup. It is super delicious."
Hearing Lin Momo's serious introduction, Lin Cheng raised his eyebrows, lowered his head to look at her, and asked with a chuckle: "You know it's super delicious?"
Facing Lin Cheng's question, Lin Momo's face flushed. She smiled at Lin Cheng guiltily and said firmly, "I knew it was delicious."
The conversation between the father and daughter made the audience in the live broadcast room who knew the truth burst into laughter:
Haha, Momo’s dad doesn’t know what happened after he went out today.
I don’t know if Momo really ate it.
Later today, after Lin Cheng went out, Yang Fang from next door came to the aunt's house in the community to get tap water. Lin Momo said she wanted to help, so she brought Lin Momo and her two children over.
At that time, an old family on the first floor was drying the millet pieces while frying some of the dried millet pieces on the earthen stove in the yard.
The aroma of fried millet can be smelled from a distance of several meters.
The old lady saw three children not far away looking at this side with an anxious look, so she smiled and took a few pieces of fried crispy golden millet from the large colander beside her and handed them to the three people.
After eating the gifts, Lin Momo and her friends felt really embarrassed, so they helped the old man take out all the remaining millet pancakes and let them dry. They also asked for advice on how to make these dishes.
Momo: It smells so good, I can’t resist it.
Come on, doesn't our Momo have any face? Hahaha.
…
Here, after being interrupted by Lin Cheng, Lin Momo remembered the important matter she wanted to talk about.
"That's not what I want to talk about." Lin Momo said with a serious face.
"What is that?" Lin Cheng asked patiently, holding back his laughter.
"Our bean curd dregs can also be made into this shape." Lin Momo said, and after a pause, she said as if talking to herself, "The bean curd dregs cakes are so delicious, they will definitely taste good if they are made into thin slices. In this way, even if they cannot be sold on the same day, we don't have to worry about them going bad."
After hearing what Lin Momo said, Lin Cheng thought about it for a moment and gave a positive answer: "Yes."
However, the stickiness of bean dregs is not as high as that of carbohydrate ingredients. If you want to make it into similar block-like slices and ensure that it can maintain its shape after frying and have a certain fluffy and crispy texture, the ratio of bean dregs, flour and starch needs to be determined through repeated experiments.
"Then let's try it tomorrow!"
"good."
When Lin Momo heard Lin Cheng say yes, the expression on her face suddenly became excited.
Just then, two old ladies who were returning from a walk passed by.
Seeing Lin Momo, the two old ladies stopped.
"Isn't this Xiao Momo?" an old lady said with a smile.
Lin Momo turned around, looked at the two, and greeted them politely: "Good evening, Grandma Wei and Grandma Wang, have you had dinner?"
"Eat it, Xiao Momo, have you eaten it?"
"I have. Today we had a bean curd-themed dinner."
"Oh, really?"
…
Lin Cheng, who was standing by, saw his daughter chatting and greeting the two old ladies in a familiar manner, with a hint of surprise on his face: he had only been away for a few hours, why did it feel like this girl had already become familiar with the place
Here, the two old ladies have warmly invited Lin Cheng and Lin Momo to their yard to enjoy the cool air.
Lin Cheng did not refuse, and Lin Momo went back and called the two daughters of Hu Mao and Yang Fang to join them.
Several people came to a small courtyard in the middle of the community.
The yard is surrounded by several old residential buildings. There is a flower stand in the middle with a few trees planted. Surrounding it are some simple benches made of cement and stone piers, as well as some old sofas and old benches.
At this time, many elderly residents or children from upstairs and downstairs came to the yard to enjoy the cool air. The children were playing, while the old men, old ladies, aunts and grandmas sat together in twos and threes, chatting from time to time.
The topics of conversation among these people were nothing more than some interesting things that happened recently, old customs from more than ten years ago, which bad woman appeared in a certain TV series, and some gossips about the private lives of others. Lin Cheng was not very interested in these topics, while Lin Momo beside him was swinging her legs while listening to the gossip with relish.
The eldest daughter of Hu Mao's family was sitting with her younger sister in the crowd, looking somewhat awkward and nervous.
—Before, except for following the adults to the homes of two regular grandmothers to get tap water to charge their phones, they rarely came to the community here, and there were no children here to play with them.
But they were children after all, and they quickly adapted to this environment. They followed Lin Momo and listened to the gossip of the old people with great interest.
I haven't seen this kind of atmosphere for a long time. Someone in the live broadcast room sighed.
I also think that although gossip is boring, this kind of atmosphere feels quite harmonious.
Apart from these decades old small courtyards, it is rare to find such an atmosphere nowadays.
It was like this when I lived in an old house. After dinner, people upstairs and downstairs would come to the yard with their grandchildren to stroll and chat. I thought those people were quite boring at the time, but now when I think back on it, I miss them quite a bit. Unfortunately, this atmosphere no longer exists after we moved to the new community.
I don’t know why, but looking at Lin Cheng and Momo sitting here, even though they are obviously arguing a lot, I feel like there’s a peaceful feeling.
I feel the same way, and suddenly I think it’s good to take my eyes off the phone occasionally.
…
Here, children are just children after all. At first, Lin Momo and Hu Mao's two children could listen attentively to the aunties and grandmas chatting about family matters. But as time went on, several of them sat on small stools, their eyes having already passed through the window bars of a house on the first floor next to them and fell on the TV inside.
At this time, Yang Fang, who had finished her work at home, came over. On the one hand, she was looking for her child, and on the other hand, she also planned to take this opportunity to ask the residents in the community about renting a house.
After asking the time, Lin Cheng planned to go back, but looking at Lin Momo, whose eyes were almost glued to someone else's TV, Lin Cheng had no choice but to hand Lin Momo over to Yang Fang. After saying something to the cameraman who stayed not far away, he went back to their residence first.
When they returned to the shantytown, Hu Mao from next door was very surprised to see Lin Cheng take out wallpaper and wallpapering tools.
"You? Are you planning to put up wallpaper in the house?" Hu Mao asked.
When Lin Cheng came back before, the lights in the nearby community were not on yet. Because it was dark, he did not notice what Lin Cheng bought. Only then could he see the pile of wallpapers clearly with the help of the light.
Lin Cheng nodded: "It will look better after it is posted."
Before, their house was made up of old cabinets and wooden door panels. Each door panel and cabinet was of different sizes and styles, and the walls in the house were also uneven.
Even though Lin Cheng later found colored steel plates with foam sandwiched to smooth the inner "walls", and Lin Momo also tried hard to wipe the walls cleaner, the whole house still looked shabby.
In the past, Hu Mao would not agree with Lin Cheng's approach. After all, they would not live here for too long, and there was no need to go through so much trouble. But after interacting with the father and daughter over the past two days, Hu Mao seemed to understand Lin Cheng's considerations.
"I've just finished my work here and I have to wait until 11 o'clock before I can go out. I have nothing to do now, so let me help you." Hu Mao said.
Huang Yang, who had just finished his work nearby, saw this and came over to help.
The small solar lamp that Lin Cheng had bought before, plus the light bulb pulled over from Huang Yang, illuminated the entire house.
Huang Yang had the tools at home, and he quickly prepared two small buckets of glutinous rice glue.
Lin Cheng and Hu Mao worked together to move the few pieces of furniture in the house outside, and then used sandpaper to sand the "walls" again to increase their roughness.
After finishing the preparations, several people started to put up wallpaper.
Apart from the roll of wallpaper with cartoon patterns, all the other wallpapers Lin Cheng bought were in similar vertical striped styles. There was no need to deliberately match the patterns, so there was not much waste.
The room itself is not big, and with three people working together, they quickly finished wallpapering the entire room.
Lin Cheng did not waste the remaining materials and wallpapers. He wrapped the wooden frame of the bed, which had the rags removed from the outside.
—
On the other side, Lin Momo still remembered the agreement she had made with Lin Cheng: go back after watching one episode.
So after that episode of the challenge show ended, Lin Momo followed Yang Fang back to their residence.
"dad."
"!"
The moment she opened the door, Lin Momo thought she had come to the wrong place. She said "sorry" awkwardly and quickly left the room.
However, the moment she left the room, Lin Momo was dumbfounded again.
"That's right..." Lin Momo muttered to herself as she glanced at the stickers and camera of the "Living with Dad" program crew in the corner of the eaves.
Lin Momo carefully pushed the door open a crack, peeked inside, and then rubbed her eyes hard as if she didn't believe it, trying to make sure if she was seeing things.
At this moment, Lin Cheng's voice with a hint of laughter sounded behind Lin Momo: "It's your home."
"Really?!" Lin Momo looked at Lin Cheng in surprise.
Seeing Lin Cheng push open the door, Lin Momo followed Lin Cheng into the room.
"How come our house has become so beautiful?" She had only been out for a while.
Lin Momo opened her mouth wide and looked around the room, as if she didn't want to miss any details.
Because Lin Cheng did not buy wallpaper of the same pattern, the patterns in every corner of the house are different.
The wall facing the door and next to the bed is covered with cartoon-style wallpaper. The base color of the wallpaper is a light beige with a slight pink tint, and on top are medium-brown lines painted with various cartoon characters in the shape of kittens, squirrels, rabbits, etc.
The other three walls are covered with vertical striped wallpaper in beige, flesh pink, light brown, and beige. Lin Cheng pasted the different colors on the walls in an interspersed manner. Although the colors are different, they do not look abrupt because of the similar tones. Instead, they have a special, vivid and harmonious feeling.
With the decoration of wallpaper, the small house looks particularly warm. If you don’t look outside, you would never think that this is a room in a shantytown.
"It's so beautiful..." Lin Momo said to herself with her mouth still open and a look of disbelief on her face.
At this time, the audience in the live broadcast room had the same idea as Lin Momo:
It really looks good.
When Lin Cheng bought wallpaper before, I was quite worried. I was afraid that he would buy different wallpapers and put them together and it would look weird. I didn’t expect that the effect would be so good.
Haha, it seems that Lin Cheng’s aesthetic taste is still very good.
Looking at this house, I suddenly feel like crying.
Me too, inexplicably touched.
+1
When Lin Cheng was preparing to put up wallpaper, I was actually quite complaining. We would be leaving after a few more days, so there was no need to waste money on wallpaper. It would be better to save the money for living expenses, at least we could relax for the next few days... But after seeing the reaction of the good girl, I seem to understand Lin Cheng's approach.
Me too. Seeing Momo so happy, I also think the money was well spent.
Lin Cheng is trying his best to protect the beauty of this world for his children, even if it's just for a week.
Although I don't have children, I seem to understand the feelings of being a parent. I always want to give my children the best I can.
…
"The remaining materials can be pasted on this!" Lin Momo looked around the room, pointed at the few remaining wallpapers and the "multi-purpose" iron bucket that she was reluctant to sell, and said to Lin Cheng.
"Can."
"Let me do it." With the experience of pasting wallpaper before, Lin Cheng skillfully pasted a circle of cartoon-style wallpaper on the outside of the iron barrel.
"Now this barrel is part of the same series as ours." Lin Momo said.
Lin Cheng chuckled twice and did not correct Lin Momo's inaccurate description.
"Let's go out and wash up."
"good."
After the father and daughter finished washing up, Lin Cheng packed up the tools in the room, threw away the waste and returned to the room. Lin Momo was lying on the bed excitedly, staring at the surroundings, humming the theme song of "Living with Dad" intermittently.
After humming a section of the theme song, Lin Momo began to mumble to herself again.
"Dad, look, this is a cat." Lin Momo pointed at the pattern on the wallpaper next to the bed and said to Lin Cheng.
Obviously, Lin Cheng's response was not needed, and Lin Momo continued to mutter: "That one is a little rabbit, and over there there is an owl, a little sheep, a little hedgehog... They are all so cute..."
Lin Momo's look made Lin Cheng secretly laugh.
But when he saw Lin Momo chattering excitedly and not sleeping, Lin Cheng suddenly felt a headache again.
"Go to sleep well and stop mumbling." Lin Cheng said.
"Well, okay."
Lin Momo finally calmed down, but she couldn't hide her joy on her face.
It was not until Lin Cheng pretended to be serious and said, "I'm going to turn off the lights," that Lin Momo finally calmed down and pretended to lie down and sleep.
Lin Cheng also lay down on the recliner next to the bed and turned off the small solar light beside the bed.
Not long after, Lin Momo reached out and quietly turned on the small light, taking the opportunity to appreciate the room again.
"Lin Momo."
"Well, I'm going to sleep!" Lin Momo turned off the small light quickly.
The house finally became quiet.
However, the silence did not last for 2 minutes before Lin Cheng heard a rustling sound in his ears again.
Just when Lin Cheng was about to put on a "strict father" attitude and teach a kid who didn't want to sleep, he heard Lin Momo call out, "Dad."
Lin Cheng turned his head, and with the faint light coming in from outside, he saw Lin Momo, who was looking at him with her eyes wide open. There seemed to be a smile on Lin Momo's face that she couldn't hide.
"What's wrong?" Lin Cheng asked.
"It's okay." Lin Momo laughed twice.
"Thank you." Lin Momo whispered to Lin Cheng again, then turned over, covered herself with the quilt, and fell asleep obediently.
…
The next day, Lin Momo woke up early in the morning.
Originally, Lin Momo was still a little sleepy, but when she saw the drastic changes in her home, she couldn't bear to sleep anymore. She lay on the bed and began to admire the surroundings.
It was not until she remembered what she had to do today that Lin Momo withdrew her gaze and woke up Lin Cheng beside her.
"What time is it?" Lin Cheng asked.
They didn't have any cell phones or anything else during this week, so Lin Momo didn't know the time, but she knew there were two large cameras in the house that could show the time.
Lin Momo crawled behind one of the cameras to take a look, then returned to Lin Cheng and said, "4:27."
Lin Cheng: “…”
"Today we are going to make bean dregs flakes. We also need to buy a few winnowing baskets like the ones in Grandma Yan's house. We may also need to prepare some other materials so that we can do it again if we don't do it well. By the way, we also need to find a convenient place to dry them. We can build a small platform next to Uncle Hu's earthen stove. The temperature next to the earthen stove is higher, and the effect will be better..."
Lin Cheng didn't open his eyes, but Lin Momo was muttering to herself beside him.
And Lin Cheng was gradually waking up from the midst of such mumbling.
At this time, there are not many people online in the live broadcast room, but there are still some viewers who are online at this time.
Why did Momo get up? So early
Momo and I are different. Momo wakes up early, and I go to bed late.
I was just like the person above. I had just finished the project and was going to watch some good girls before going to bed. But when I got online, Momo's chattering woke me up. Thinking that I still had a lot of work to do, I suddenly couldn't fall asleep.
Haha, we are different. I was just getting ready to get up to catch the early bus, but Momo made me sleepy.
…
I didn’t realize Momo could be so talkative.
Haha, you have the potential to be a chatterbox.
Momo: No, you don’t understand me. I’ve been worrying about this family since early morning.