Aunt Zhuang stood up from her seat. "Today is strange. Why are you so busy at night?"
As she spoke, she went to open the door and saw Si Le standing there, panting.
"Xiao Le?" Aunt Zhuang looked at him in surprise.
Si Lechuan's face flushed, "I... I knocked on the door because I saw the light was on..."
"What's wrong? What happened?" Aunt Zhuang asked him to come in quickly.
Si Le stammered, "Do you have..." As he spoke, he walked in and saw a little kid sitting at the table, drinking from a bowl.
"Little Stone!" Si Le ran to him anxiously, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a long time!"
When Little Shitou saw his brother, he was not afraid. He stretched out his arms and softly called out to his brother, asking for a hug.
Si Le picked him up and first smelled the sweet milky scent on him, followed by the fresh and fragrant aroma of rice.
He couldn't help swallowing.
Little Stone held up his dirty bowl and handed it to him, "Brother, eat."
Si Le smiled and said, "Brother won't eat it, Little Stone will."
Aunt Zhuang said in surprise, "Is Xiao Shitou your child?"
Sister Tong made a bowl of dumpling soup for Si Le, "Come sit down and eat, and talk slowly."
Si Le sat down embarrassedly, and Xiao Shitou sat beside him and licked the bowl.
"Little Stone is my brother," Si Le said, "but we don't have the same father."
"My mother found out she was pregnant only after her belly was very big. The man had no children at home. My mother agreed to give birth to Little Stone in exchange for a sum of money. My mother didn't care about him, but the man did."
"Shi Tou was sent away when he was born. I haven't even seen him yet."
"The stone was sent back a few days ago because the man did a DNA test and it said that the stone was not his cub."
"Mom doesn't care about him. The man left him and walked away. I'm the only one who can take care of him."
Si Le scratched his head, "But I really don't have much time, so I asked him to wait for me at the school gate."
"I forgot to bring him food today. He might be hungry."
Aunt Zhuang's eyes were already filled with tears after hearing this. She couldn't help but put the stone in her arms and said, "What a sin! Such a small child still has to go to school."
Ding Sha thought for a while and said, "It's not a good idea. How about this? You can put the small stone here when you go to school."
Si Le was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened in surprise, and then he said a little nervously, "Is it okay? Will it bother you?"
"No trouble." Xiao Jun said.
It’s not a big deal to bring a little kid along.
Si Le touched his pocket and said, "I'll give you the money."
Ding Sha shook his head. "You don't have to give it to me. Just do something for me."
Si Le was curious, "What is it? I will definitely do it!"
"Many students who live in the dormitory have said that they want to order food from us, but we can't count them all. Can you help us count what they want to order specifically?"
Ding Sha thought for a moment and said, "Let them report to you by class. We will deliver them to the door and you can pick them up with the money and the receipt."
"I'll pay you a salary every month."
Si Le nodded eagerly, "I can, I can! I will count them quickly!"
Ding Sha took a stack of cards and handed them to Si Le. "I'll ask Tong Saozi to wait for you at the door during the break two classes in advance. Just give her the list."
Si Le took over a thick stack of cards and was immediately filled with energy.
He will definitely do a good job of the job assigned to him by the boss lady!
The weather was getting colder, and Ding Sha got up early that day. She pulled Xiao Jun to find the old brine that she had asked Grandma Zhang for in the village from a pile of jars.
Wash and cut the fresh white radish, carrots, cowpeas, millet pepper, Hangzhou pepper and green bamboo shoots, and dry them.
I also cut some ginger and garlic and prepared a large handful of chili peppers and peppercorns.
It’s a pity that there is no young ginger to soak now.
Fill the prepared water- and oil-free jar with vegetables, then put in a few pieces of rock sugar, bay leaves and star anise, then throw in the chili peppers and peppercorns, finally pour in enough boiled salt to cover the ingredients, then pour in two spoons of the old brine.
Finally, seal the jar with water and place it in a cool place to wait for fermentation.
Generally, it can be eaten after one week.
It is sour, spicy and crispy, and it is appetizing and goes well with rice.
However, Dingsha is often taken out after being soaked for three days, cut into small pieces, and mixed with chili oil and vinegar. It is very popular when eaten with porridge or rice.
Dingsha’s kimchi is usually a hot-selling item in the shop. It is delicious and free. You can often see tall and strong men from the northwest eating kimchi while pinching garlic and sizzling with a look of satisfaction.
Ding Sha finally said goodbye to morning sickness and began to want to eat everything she saw.
She also swelled up quickly like a balloon, especially her belly, and the whole person looked round.
Xiao Jun obviously suffered from "postpartum syndrome". He had more difficulty falling asleep than Ding Sha, and he dreamed every day that Ding Sha suddenly went into labor.
The whole person looked worried.
Ding Sha is a person who can't sit still. She asked Tong Saozi to buy a bag of chestnuts from the door. When they had nothing to do in the afternoon, they washed, steamed and peeled the chestnuts.
Pour it into a blender together with the milk and blend until it is smooth and free of particles. Then pour it into a small pot with the honey and butter and stir slowly over low heat until it is dry.
Finally, use a mold to press out the pattern.
The freshly steamed chestnut cake is ready.
In the cold wind, taking a bite of the steaming chestnut cake feels like warming up your chest that has been chilled by the wind.
A small warm box filled with sweet chestnut cakes was placed at the door of the store. Not only were the children passing by unable to walk, but even the adults whose children were getting home from school were willing to stop and buy a pound to take away.
"It's delicious, but it's tiring." Mrs. Zhuang rubbed her waist, "I'm exhausted after cooking just a few kilograms."
"We only sell it occasionally. We don't make it often. If we do, make less and we can eat it ourselves." Ding Sha touched the little stone who was chewing chestnut cake obediently beside him.
"I have to go get the list, so as not to delay Xiaole's class." Mrs. Tong picked up a few pieces of chestnut cakes, put them in a box, and hurried to the municipal junior high school.
Ding Sha waited for a long time before he saw Mrs. Tong bringing back Si Le, whose face was bruised and swollen.
"What happened?" Ding Sha was shocked.
Xiao Jun also frowned and stood up, going to the back to get the medicine box.
Mrs. Tong pulled Si Le to sit down, "I waited for a while before I saw him evading and coming over, so I went to the teacher to bring him back."
"What happened?" Xiao Jun asked seriously while applying medicine to him.
Si Le hesitated for a moment and said, "He was beaten by a boy from the next class."
"His family is the contractor of the canteen. Recently, everyone has been asking me to order food. No one goes to the canteen very often, so he came to pick a fight."
Si Le said honestly, "I couldn't beat him, but I scratched his face."
Ding Sha was originally very angry, but couldn't help laughing when he heard this, "You, if you can't beat them, just run away."
Xiao Jun moved more gently, "When you get better, I'll teach you how to fight."
"Okay!" Si Le said loudly with his fist clenched.
Ding Sha couldn't help but pat Xiao Jun, "Why don't you teach me good things?"
Xiao Jun said seriously, "I am teaching him how to protect himself. Otherwise, how can he protect Xiao Shitou in the future? Not to mention protecting his wife."
Si Le interrupted hastily, "I don't want a wife!"
Aunt Zhuang was the first one who couldn't hold back her laughter and laughed out loud.
Then Tong Saozi and Ding Sha also laughed.
Even Xiao Jun showed a slight smile.
Little Shitou didn't know what he was laughing at, so he just followed along and laughed foolishly.
Si Le scratched his head and said, "I don't want a wife."
He really hasn't thought about getting married, he is still young!
Xiao Jun tugged at his short hair and said, "I'll go with you to see your teacher tomorrow."
"Ah? Brother Xiao, where are we going?"
Xiao Jun smiled.
"Go find something to do."