Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 848-847 It's raining.

When Xiao Wang came home from get off work, Tang Zhitong had already picked and washed the vegetables in the yard, planning to pickle them in a jar.

Some people say that the brine in the kimchi jar needs to be changed frequently, otherwise nitrite will accumulate. Others say that the brine can be reused, and the older it is, the more fragrant it is, and the shorter the time it takes for the flavor to develop.

Tang Zhitong felt that this thing was similar to the old soup and could be reused.

With supplies in short supply right now, and brine containing not only bacteria but also salt, it's unlikely anyone would change their brine every year, since salt also costs money.

Back then, Grandma Tang never changed the brine she used to pickle salted eggs; she would just keep adding cooled boiled water and salt.

Tang Zhitong didn't change. As for the nitrite buildup, it can be eliminated by reducing the amount consumed at each meal, allowing the liver to metabolize it.

"Sister-in-law! My brother bought melons and apricots!" Fengzhi was the person in the family who most eagerly awaited Xiao Wang's return from get off work, without exception.

Fengzhi got out of school early and saw melons and apricots on the table when she got home. Each fruit had a unique aroma. She glanced at them, washed them, drooled, and swallowed, but she didn't eat them.

It wasn't that she didn't want to eat, but Zhang Guifang was forcibly preventing her from eating.

"Sister-in-law, have an apricot!" With her sister-in-law back, everything was fine. Fengzhi picked up a washed apricot and handed one to Xiao Wang. As long as her sister-in-law took one, she could naturally take one and eat it herself.

"Mom," Xiao Wang greeted her mother-in-law first, then patted her sister-in-law's head twice, "I'll wash my hands, you eat first."

Fengzhi naturally wouldn't dare; her family still had basic manners, and she could distinguish between the princes and princesses.

"When did you get back?" Seeing her husband, Xiao Wang was very happy. She put her hand into the basin, turned to face her husband, and her eyes turned into crescent shapes.

"I got home around three o'clock. Hurry up and try it, or Fengzhi will jump up and down." Tang Zhitong laughed. She didn't seem to be a very ambitious person. She spent eight hours a day at school or work, and the rest of the time she stayed at home with her classmate Xiao Wang, enjoying three meals a day. She was very happy.

Fengzhi had been eagerly waiting for these words. As soon as her sister-in-law finished wiping her hands, she immediately handed her the apricots over, then gave the apricots in her other hand to her mother. She then ran to the table, picked up an apricot, and popped it into her mouth.

After taking a bite, Fengzhi was quite satisfied with the taste. While chewing, she retorted to Tang Zhitong without much confidence, "I didn't jump up and down."

"You should try some too." Xiao Wang took the apricot but didn't eat it first. Instead, she held the apricot to her husband's lips.

Tang Zhitong stopped stuffing vegetables into the kimchi jar, opened her mouth and took a bite. The Yubada fruit flesh was not crisp, but very juicy, and there was no residue after chewing a couple of times: "Not bad, you can eat it."

Yubada apricots are delicious, and although Fengzhi is small, she eats them the fastest. After finishing one, she immediately picks up a second one.

"You can't eat any more after you finish this. Have your sister-in-law take the rest to Jingmin." Seeing how much her daughter loved to eat, Zhang Guifang was afraid she would eat it all, so she reminded her.

"Mom, let's eat it ourselves. That brat is always causing us trouble. We're not giving him any." Upon hearing that her mother-in-law wanted to share some with her family, Xiao Wang immediately refused.

"Did Jingmin make you angry?" Tang Zhitong noticed a hint of annoyance in Xiao Wang's tone when he mentioned Jingmin.

"How did you know?" Ms. Wang was a little surprised when her husband asked her this, as she thought she had concealed it well.

"Does your hand hurt?" Tang Zhitong turned his head and winked at Xiao Wang with a smile. You can't sleep in the same bed with two different kinds of people. Although he didn't know why his brother-in-law had offended his wife, he was sure he would get a beating.

"I was a little embarrassed at the time." In front of his mother-in-law, Xiao Wang felt a little embarrassed. What family doesn't want a gentle and virtuous daughter-in-law?

At home, Xiao Wang is usually very good-natured, but she easily loses her temper when she goes back to her parents' home. Her husband knows this, but her mother-in-law doesn't.

Seeing that his mother-in-law was still a little curious, Xiao Wang simply told her the whole story: "Yesterday I took the cicada nymphs over, and Jingmin complained that you didn't keep your promise. He said that you made an appointment with me to go fishing on Sunday, but you always stand him up."

"He's just a kid, let him talk. In the end, I'm the one who's busy and doesn't have time." Tang Zhitong understood this. Which child doesn't have a playful heart? They look forward to it for ages, only to find out on Sunday that they've been stood up. Anyone would feel upset in that situation.

"That's not a question of whether work or play is more important. Jingmin just can't distinguish between primary and secondary issues." Little Wang was unwilling to spoil his younger brother like that. A sapling won't grow straight if it's not pruned, and constant tolerance will only make him more unreasonable.

"Give me the apricot pit, and you can have another one." Zhang Guifang didn't interfere after hearing this, but simply handed her daughter-in-law an apricot in exchange for the apricot pit in her hand.

Zhang Guifang knew what she was doing. Yesterday was Sunday, and her in-laws' mother should have been home. If even her own mother didn't care, it wasn't appropriate for her, as the mother-in-law, to say anything.

"Alright, it'll be ready to eat in three to five days. Eat a little at a time, as this stuff isn't good for your health if you eat too much." Tang Zhitong turned the bowl upside down on the jar, then poured cooled boiled water into the groove and sealed it.

My brother-in-law can take the beating; he's tough and used to it. If he doesn't get beaten up every three to five days, he'll probably be itching for a beating.

"Mom, shall we eat this with soybean paste tonight?" As the height of summer approaches, the vegetables in the yard are also entering their peak production season. After pickling the vegetables, there are still some cucumbers, bok choy and the like left. Tang Zhitong has been cooking enough vegetables at the farm these past few days and wants to take a break.

“Okay, this soybean paste isn’t too hard to eat. I’ve eaten more than half of it recently.” Zhang Guifang had no objections. She wasn’t used to it when she first started eating soybean paste, but after eating it three or five more times, she not only got used to the taste but also found it very fresh. When stir-frying vegetables, she would add a small half spoonful to the pan, which not only saved her from salt but also made the food taste better than the diluted yellow soybean paste from the grocery store.

"Then let's make another batch. I saw that Wenwen already bought the batch, so let's make a few more pieces this time." In Northeast China, soybean paste can be used to make everything.

Pick the greens, wash them, dip them in sauce, and crunch them up; add a spoonful to stir-fries and stews, and they taste incredibly delicious; even eggs and duck eggs can't escape the clutches of soybean paste. Stir-fried eggs with soybean paste is a common dish in Northeast China, but it's rare to see outside the region.

“Then we need to buy more salt, we don’t have enough at home. The grocery store also only sells one jin (500 grams) of salt per household per month, they won’t sell more.” Upon hearing that she needed to pickle soybean paste, Zhang Guifang forgot about collecting apricot pits and quickly found her money and grocery voucher, planning to prepay next month’s salt ration before the grocery store closed.

"Mom, you don't need to go. What can one pound do? I'll try to use my connections." Tang Zhitong quickly interrupted. One pound of salt for making soybean paste was indeed not enough, and their family would need more than one pound for the next month's cooking. "How can that be? You're a cadre; you have to be mindful of your image." Zhang Guifang disagreed with her son trying to use his connections. They had worked hard to build a good reputation in the neighborhood, and it wasn't worth ruining it over a few pounds of salt.

"Emm... how about this, let's make do for a few days, and when I get back from the meeting, I'll ask a friend to buy some salt." Tang Zhitong had originally planned to use the excuse of going to the grocery store to steal some salt from her spatial storage, but since her mother disagreed, she decided to wait a few more days, since it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

“Okay.” Zhang Guifang thought about it and realized that her son made sense, so she put the food certificate and money she had taken out back.

Tang Zhitong had a much easier time tonight, eating vegetables with soybean paste. While Zhang Guifang was making tiger-head shoes, he took the apricot pits that Xiao Wang and Fengzhi had left over to dry on the windowsill.

Although apricots are classified as Category III goods, apricot kernels are classified as Category II goods because they can be used in medicine. After eating apricots, few families are willing to throw away the apricot kernels. They will dry them in the sun, and once they are completely dry, they will knock them with a small iron hammer. They will either sell them or peel off the outer skin of the kernels and give them to their children as snacks.

Years later, there will be a drink called Almond Milk, which was once very popular and can still hold its own in the era of beverage explosion with its unique flavor.

Fengzhen returned a little late. In addition to the two jade apricots that Tang Zhitong had left for her, Tang Zhitong also opened a melon to share with her.

Before coming here, Tang Zhitong would peel the melon first and then scoop out the pulp, only eating the flesh in the middle. But now, peeling is out of the question, and scooping out the pulp is also out of the question, because the pulp is sweet, and even has a higher sugar content than the flesh!

Wash the surface clean, cut it in half with a knife, one half for each person, and eat it raw without spitting out the skin.

"Brother, my essay was praised by the teacher!" Fengzhen told Tang Zhitong while munching on a melon.

"Hey, your teacher has a good eye. Great job, keep it up!" Tang Zhitong was also happy to hear this news, after all, he was the one who helped his sister outline the structure of the essay.

The melons were an old variety and not very sweet. After each person finished a slice, they still wanted more. While Zhang Guifang was outside watching the stove, Tang Zhitong opened a few more.

"You don't know how to manage money. Melons can be stored for a while, so it's better to keep them to satisfy your cravings." When Zhang Guifang came in, she saw her children eating melons again. She didn't take the one her son offered, wanting to save it for them to have more.

"Hehe, one slice each, no fighting." Tang Zhitong forced the slice onto his mother's plate. This wasn't like the difficult times of their earlier years. Back then, whenever there was a little snack at home, the elders would save some for the siblings. Their parents would only take a bite at most, and if they were given more, the children would say they didn't like it...

Once this piece is eaten, that's it, because Zhang Guifang has already put the rest away, planning to have her daughter-in-law take it back to her parents' home tomorrow.

Under Zhang Guifang's arrangement, the children washed their hands and ate, eating vegetables dipped in soybean paste with steamed buns.

"Mom, when was the vegetable garden watered? After dinner, I'll fetch some water to water the garden." I've been working on the farm these past few days, so the task of fetching water at home has mostly fallen on Zhang Guifang. I won't be home for the next ten days, so she'll probably have to do it again. I have some free time today, so I'll take on as much as I can.

“No need. I just went out and saw that the north is getting overcast, and there’s a northerly wind. I reckon it’s going to rain soon. Let’s wait for the rain. If it doesn’t rain, we can water it tomorrow morning.” Zhang Guifang declined her son’s offer.

"It's cloudy?" Since there was no back window in the main house, Tang Zhitong couldn't see the sky to the north. Even with the lights on inside, he couldn't tell the change in the outside light. Hearing this, Tang Zhitong was startled and rushed out of the main house with a steamed bun in one hand and some vegetables in the other.

Standing in the courtyard and looking north, the sky to the north was already covered with dark clouds. Even people who don't know anything about meteorology would get the impression that "it's going to rain heavily."

"What's wrong? Did you forget to take something?" Seeing her husband hurriedly heading out, Xiao Wang got up, walked to the door, and asked through the bamboo curtain.

"No. The wheat on the farm hasn't been threshed yet, and this will delay things for several more days. I don't know if it will get wet." Tang Zhitong shook his head, hoping that the rain would come later today. Wheat that gets wet is basically ruined, and it will show signs of sprouting in three to five days. The farmers will have nowhere to cry.

“Isn’t there someone on duty at the farm? They must have seen it in this weather. They’re probably harvesting right now. There’s no use worrying. It’s so far away. By the time you get there, they might have already finished harvesting. Come in and eat.” As she spoke, Xiao Wang lifted the bamboo curtain to let her husband in.

"Sigh, let's eat." Out of sight, out of mind. Faced with a natural disaster, Tang Zhitong was helpless. Even if he rushed over immediately, he couldn't use his cheat code in front of everyone.

As if aware of the farmers' hardships, the dark clouds that loomed over did not immediately bring rain.

After Tang Zhitong finished eating and wrote a thank-you letter to Ding Hui, large raindrops began to fall in a steady patter.

The raindrops pattered against the roof tiles, making a clanging sound, as if countless beans were falling from the sky.

Knowing that her husband was in a bad mood and that he had been working hard at the farm recently, Ms. Wang took him to do a set of exercises to loosen up his muscles and bones.

The health exercises do indeed have the effect of relieving fatigue. After completing the whole routine, Tang Zhitong felt refreshed and lay sprawled on the bed, feeling incredibly comfortable: "I finally understand why young people like the weather of 'rain pattering on banana leaves'."

"What's wrong?" Xiao Wang leaned gracefully against the headboard, upside down. In her eyes, her husband was suspended in mid-air, as if the whole world had been turned upside down.

"Hehe, the sound of the rain hitting the roof and the ground outside will perfectly cover up your whining." Tang Zhitong winked at Xiao Wang.

Tang Zhitong once played Tetris. The game is different when it has sound effects and when it doesn't. Back then, he didn't want the teacher to find out, so he could only play it on silent, which reduced a lot of the fun.

The situation is similar when playing games nowadays. The average living space per person is only three or four square meters. A courtyard may have three to five households, or even more than ten. The sound insulation is poor. If there is any noise from the neighboring house, the neighbors can hear it directly without even putting their ears to the wall.

Rain is different. Under the cover of rain and thunder, people can do things they wouldn't normally dare to do. Andy did just that in "The Shawshank Redemption," escaping prison by breaking through the sewers during a thunderstorm.

"Ugh!" Xiao Wang bent over, dangled his legs, and used them to hold the pillow in front of his face, using it as a shield to block the two people's view.

Seeing Xiao Wang pretending to be an ostrich, Tang Zhitong absolutely loved this kind of weather. It would be even better if the wheat in the threshing ground were already covered up...

(End of this chapter)