Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 721 Borrowing a Gun
Boil water in the pot in advance, put the steamer on it, cover it with a steamer cloth, sprinkle with the mixed elm seeds, steam for ten minutes, then remove from the pot, shake and put on a plate, and serve with sauce for dinner.

Xiao Wang mixed the chili peppers, and the others poured the soy sauce.

"Mom, take out some of the soybean paste that Auntie gave me. I'll try making some in the next two days." There are few vegetables now, and it would be a bit greasy to eat only pickles. Tang Zhitong plans to make some soybean paste.

Tang Zhitong remembered that his aunt had told him that making the sauce depended on the date, and the earliest date would be the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. However, he figured that it would get warmer over there later, while it was getting warmer in Sijiu City earlier this year.

If we wait like in Northeast China, I'm afraid the rising temperature will not be conducive to the fermentation of the soybean paste.

"Okay." Zhang Guifang didn't know what this meant, so she just did whatever her son said.

"When the soybean paste is fermented, it will be just in time for the spring vegetables to be on the market. Then there is no need to stir-fry them, just dip them in the sauce and eat them, saving oil." Tang Zhitong took a mouthful of elm seed rice and imagined the days of dipping them in the sauce.

"Brother, is soybean paste delicious?" Fengzhi had never eaten soybean paste and was very curious.

"It's delicious. It goes well with anything. You can even scoop two spoonfuls of it with noodles as a fried sauce." Tang Zhitong had never eaten noodles with soybean paste, but judging from the flavor of soybean paste he had tasted, it should taste pretty good.

"What about the rice with elm seeds?" Fengzhi was not very fond of the rice with elm seeds and ate it slowly.

"You'll have to wait until the soybean paste is fermented and the elm seeds are off the market. Maybe you'll be able to eat them next year." Tang Zhitong pretended not to notice his sister's picky eating and asked Fengzhen, "Fengzhen, does anyone in your school eat wild vegetables, elm seeds, etc."

"Yes, but not much." Fengzhen is older and more sensible than Fengzhi. She was not picky about the elm seed rice and said after swallowing it.

"After dinner, ask mom to make some elm seed dumplings. You can bring them to school tomorrow. Bring a few extra dumplings and share them with Jingying. If you are not full, eat more when you come back." Hearing that someone was eating, Tang Zhitong immediately made arrangements.

Middle school is a small society. Tang Zhitong didn’t want his two younger sisters to give other students the impression that they were well-fed, so they just had to keep their diets average and not act as if they had good food. Occasionally getting closer to the grassroots would help protect them better and avoid making people jealous.

"Yeah." Feng Zhen didn't think too much about it. She just followed her brother's instructions and acted like a good kid.

"Mom, thank you for your hard work. Please make the elm seeds into dumplings. These elm seeds were given to me by a comrade from the Women's Federation. I have to give some to my mother-in-law." After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he assigned work to his mother.

"Then...how about making elm seed steamed buns?" When Zhang Guifang heard that she was going to give them to her in-laws, she felt that elm seed dumplings were a little bit low-brow, so she took the initiative to raise the price by two levels.

"No, just make elm seed dumplings. You don't need too much corn flour, just enough to be able to shape it." Tang Zhitong shook his head.

There are many foods that can be made with elm seeds. In addition to elm seed rice, there are also elm seed steamed bread, elm seed cakes, elm seed steamed buns, and elm seed dumplings.

Among them, only the elm seed dumplings are made entirely of cornmeal. Elm seed cakes and elm seed steamed buns need to be made into shapes, so they have to contain some flour and even eggs. Not to mention the elm seed steamed buns, which are mainly made of flour and two-grain flour.

So when Tang Zhitong heard that Gao Dashan wanted to give him elm seed steamed bread, he flatly refused. It can be said that they were planning to give him the best thing they could give him. The staple food in the steamed bread contained much more than the elm seed rice.

"Okay." The son has become the backbone of the family. Seeing that her son was so persistent, Zhang Guifang didn't ask any more questions and agreed.

Elm seed rice is indeed filling. Except for Fengzhi, everyone else ate four or five bowls, but the amount consumed was less than half of a normal meal.

After dinner, the two children did their homework, Zhang Guifang steamed elm seed dumplings, and Tang Zhitong took Xiao Wang back to the room to do their own things.

"When I was at school today, I had a melody in my mind. I'll hum it and you can see if you can write it down." After returning to the room, Tang Zhitong began to make a kite according to the swallow that classmate Xiao Wang had drawn last night, saying as he did so.

"Do you have an inspiration?!" Xiao Wang was very surprised. It had been so many days and she thought her husband had forgotten about it, so she immediately took out a pen and paper.

"Well, the school said it was going to hold a sports meet, so I thought about having some music to accompany the athletes, and I thought of a piece. You try it." Tang Zhitong cleared his throat and started "thump thump thump".

Having been deeply brainwashed by the magical "March of the Athletes" for many years, Tang Zhitong sang the main melody in one go.

"Play it again." After all, Xiao Wang was not a professional. Since it was just the melody, he did not remember all of it after listening to it once.

Tang Zhitong had no choice but to continue singing “thump thump thump”. Fortunately, he did not sing out of tune, otherwise it would have become a special performance of Journey to the West.

After playing the song several times in a loop, Xiao Wang finally put the song on paper, tightened his pen, and said, "Let me try it again, and you can listen to see if it's correct."

"Yes, I'm all ears." Tang Zhitong stopped the work in his hands, sat up straight, like a primary school student listening to the class attentively.

Student Xiao Wang held the paper in one hand and waved the other in the air, humming the same "thump thump thump" rhythm as her husband.

"You have a very accurate ear, it's exactly this flavor." Tang Zhitong immediately praised after hearing it, without even looking at the music score, as he wouldn't understand it anyway.

"The main thing is that the melody is good and grand! It would be even better if there were lyrics." Student Xiao Wang looked at the music score again, feeling satisfied but also a little regretful.

"There's no way. I really can't remember. No, I can't think of it. When I'm doing handicrafts and my concentration is distracted, my mouth can't keep up with my brain." Tang Zhitong said without meaning to, and immediately tried to make amends.

"It's okay, I'll ask someone later to see if I can fill it in." Student Xiao Wang folded the music score and stuffed it into his bag.

"Huh? Didn't it give it to Editor Yang of China National Radio?" Tang Zhitong was stunned. He had originally planned to throw the song to Yang Lin as if he had handed it over, but he didn't expect that classmate Xiao Wang had such high requirements.

"It's just one song, no one would accept it." After finishing her work, Xiao Wang sat next to her husband and watched him do handicrafts.

"Okay." Tang Zhitong scratched his head. He had originally thought of just dealing with it, but he didn't expect to increase Xiao Wang's workload.

The next day, August 3th.

Since Gao Dashan gave a lot of elm seeds, Zhang Guifang steamed a lot of elm seed dumplings last night, so today's breakfast was naturally put on the table.

Because the elm seed dumplings are mixed with cornmeal, they look bright yellow, which is particularly pleasing to the eye when paired with the green color of the elm seeds.

But you have to be careful when picking it up, as it can be pinched into several petals with a little force.

Maybe it was because she had a very filling meal last night, Fengzhi behaved much better this morning.

The elm seed dumplings made by Zhang Guifang were as big as an adult's fist, and Tang Zhitong ate three of them with pickled vegetables. "Mom, find a bag to wrap them up." After finishing his meal, Tang Zhitong thought about how to send them to Chunshu Hutong, as they were too easy to break.

"The bag won't work. It will break if touched." Zhang Guifang shook her head and began to look around, trying to find a suitable container.

"Mom, just use a bag and eat the broken pieces as elm seed rice." Student Xiao Wang stepped forward and said.

"Yes, it's the same as eating it as elm seed rice. It's just to fool your stomach anyway." Tang Zhitong also advised that the elm seed dumplings should be eaten bite by bite regardless of whether they are formed or not. Don't worry about the shape. If you delay any longer, you will be late for class.

Since the young couple insisted, Zhang Guifang obediently took out the bag.

Not to mention that by the time it was delivered to Chunshu Hutong, the bag had already been broken into pieces before it was even tied.

"If you go to school, I'll take you there. I have the key." Student Xiao Wang looked at his watch and suggested.

"It's okay, let's go together, maybe we can catch up with Director Ye when he goes out." Tang Zhitong shook his head. Even if it was just for Gao Dashan to see, he had to go there in person and explain it clearly to Director Ye so that he would know that it was not a waste of time.

When the couple went out and passed Chongwenmen, Tang Zhitong looked up at the city gate tower. Those ragged figures were no longer there...

Tang Zhitong sighed and said nothing.

When they arrived at the Women's Federation dormitory, Ye Zhijuan had not yet left. Tang Zhitong put down his bag and explained his purpose.

"Okay, I'll thank Master Gao when I go to work later." Ye Zhijuan nodded, knowing what was going on.

In previous years, most of the elm seeds were picked by greedy children, and the rest were mostly blown away by the wind and disappeared. This year is very different. Apart from the few people in the yard who cared about them, the nearby residents did not spare the two elm trees.

She passed by the elm tree at the entrance of the alley every day. She watched the elm seeds grow, watched the nearby children climb the tree to pick the elm seeds, and watched the nearby residents use poles to break elm branches. It may be a little exaggerated to say that few elm seeds fell to the ground this year.

When we got to school, Luo Zhiping came up again and again, and asked Tang Zhitong to come over mysteriously: "Teacher Tang, I heard that there are swans, wild geese, wild ducks and so on in the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace recently. We in the dormitory are planning to go there on Sunday to try our luck. Do you want to go?"

Tang Zhitong was stunned after hearing this. The river opens in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and wild geese arrive in the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The ninth month of the lunar calendar has passed, and it is the time when migratory birds fly north in large numbers. This time, he has really run into trouble.

"What are you thinking about?" Luo Zhiping saw Tang Zhitong in a daze and pushed him.

"Oh, I was distracted. Those things can fly, what are you going to use to hit them?" There is no animal protection law these days, and even if there is, it would be difficult to convict someone. People are really hungry, so the "emergency avoidance" clause is very applicable.

"Hehe, hehe. It's us. I was thinking that since you are an escort, could you carry one out?" At this point, Luo Zhiping embarrassedly made a gun gesture.

"So you are waiting for me here?" Tang Zhitong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was not surprised at all that Luo Zhiping knew his background, but this was not the way to use knowing everything about him!

"I know this thing can't be loaned out, but you can carry it, right? We haven't tasted meat for a long time." Luo Zhiping touched his head and confessed.

"You think too highly of me, don't you? Are you so sure that I can hit him?" Tang Zhitong stroked his chin, considering the possibility of this matter. Migratory birds basically have their own kind on duty to keep watch, and they will fly away at the slightest sign of trouble. It is indeed difficult to perform micro-management under the noses of roommates.

"Of course, you are the anti-corruption hero of our system!" Although Tang Zhitong did not have much confidence, Luo Zhiping was full of confidence.

"Thank you for your respect. If a group of people go to hunt a tiger, it would be courageous. If a group of people go to hunt geese, wouldn't the geese fly away long ago?" Tang Zhitong was not optimistic about Luo Zhiping's plan.

"We will just lie there and make no noise. We won't even frown even if the fire burns us! If you hit us, someone will have to run errands to pick it up, right?" Luo Zhiping promised, patting his chest.

"Hehe, when I was in the Northeast, I followed a forest patrol team into an old forest. Guess who picked up the things the patrol team found?" When Tang Zhitong heard about picking up the things, he recalled his experience of patrolling the forest last year.

"Who?" Luo Zhiping asked cooperatively.

"The hunting dogs are very obedient. Just a whistle or a gesture and they know what to do." Tang Zhitong said with a wicked smile.

"Okay, Teacher Tang, you're calling me a dog in a roundabout way. No, no, we've made a grudge today. If you don't bring a weapon with you, I'll never let you go!" Luo Zhiping pretended to strangle Tang Zhitong's neck and said with bluffing.

"I'll find some time to go back to the office and ask, okay? This is not a matter that I can decide alone. It depends on whether the unit allows it." Tang Zhitong begged for mercy quickly. Since his roommates had said that they would lie down and not move, he had more room to maneuver.

Besides, if a dormitory goes out to hunt game together and catches some wild game, it will probably become a topic of conversation at the class reunion table several years later. For the sake of beautiful memories in the future, this should be done.

"Okay, it's done with your words. Everyone knows that Section Chief Tang has a big reputation in our Municipal Bureau." When Luo Zhiping heard Tang Zhitong agree, he felt that the matter was a sure thing.

"Don't flatter me, I have a lot of face. We definitely can't go to the Summer Palace, it's a scenic spot, let's try our luck in the Old Summer Palace." Tang Zhitong set the hunting address at the Old Summer Palace.

Except for a small part that has been reclaimed as farmland, most of the Old Summer Palace is still overgrown with weeds. I don't know if there are wild mandarin ducks in the grass.

It would be bad if a group of people were lurking in silence waiting for swans, geese or the like to fly by, but were beaten to it by wild mandarin ducks.

Should we startle a flock of gulls and herons or treat it as a free movie?

It really makes people look forward to it... Phew! It's hard to make a decision!

"Okay, Teacher Tang has a weapon in his hand, and whoever has the bigger weapon has the final say!" Luo Zhiping didn't care where to go hunting at all, as long as he could get Tang Zhitong along, the thing would be done. He didn't believe that a tiger-fighting hero didn't have some real kung fu under his hands.

Victory was just around the corner. Luo Zhiping even fantasized about beating down three or five of them. By then, he would lose face and risk being laughed at by his roommates to leave a duck leg for Lu Yan!

"Okay, okay, study hard, or you might fail the midterm exam." Tang Zhitong pointed at Luo Zhiping. This kid spoke without restraint and his words were very ambiguous. Even though he had a big thing, he couldn't use it in this kind of situation. We were not three-year-old children.

"Okay, today is Thursday, and there are still two days left tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Don't forget, we will set off early on Sunday morning." Luo Zhiping counted the days on his fingers, and his excitement and anticipation were evident on the paper.

"Got it. I'll leave early this afternoon and write to you tomorrow." Tang Zhitong shook his head. They were really a bunch of guys who were crazy about meat. However, it seemed that he could improve the food for his family under the name of hunting this time.

(End of this chapter)