Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 865, 864 "Coral" Cucumber

Xiao Wang took half a day off. After leaving the municipal maternity hospital, she did not return to her workplace but went straight home.

When Tang Zhitong returned home from the Post and Telecommunications Institute, she saw her classmate Xiao Wang clutching his stomach and laughing, while Fengzhi next to him looked at her sister-in-law, who was laughing so hard she was spitting out tears, completely bewildered as to why she was laughing.

"What's wrong? Take it easy." Tang Zhitong quickly went over to pat Xiao Wang on the back to prevent her from laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

"See for yourself." Xiao Wang paused laughing, handed the test paper to Tang Zhitong, and then continued laughing.

The test paper was Fengzhi's Chinese language quiz, the kind that had already been graded.

The elementary school questions weren't too difficult, and the couple could easily act as teachers to help correct them. On weekdays, if Fengzhi had any questions she didn't know how to answer, she would ask Tang Zhitong, Xiao Wang, or Fengzhen for help, depending on who was available.

Tang Zhitong took the test paper, glanced at it, and his gaze fell on a question marked with a red cross.

The question asked students to write the antonyms of the following characters and words. Fengzhi got the question wrong by writing the antonym for "生" (sheng).

Tang Zhitong's first reaction was "death." In life, nothing is more important than life and death.

But Fengzhi wrote a pinyin at the end – shú.

"They say 'cooking raw rice into cooked rice' is a done deal, but I don't know how to write 'cooked,' so I just wrote the pinyin. Brother, is 'cooked' wrong?" Fengzhi was completely baffled. After school, she took her test paper back to her sister-in-law for judgment. As soon as she expressed her thoughts, her sister-in-law laughed and couldn't stop laughing.

"That's true. Just tell your teacher tomorrow that the question was marked wrong." Tang Zhitong laughed. Sure enough, in the eyes of a foodie, there is no such thing as life or death, only whether it is cooked or not.

After receiving her brother's approval, Fengzhi took back her test paper and happily went back to do her homework. Before leaving, she couldn't help but glance at her classmate Xiao Wang, still not understanding what her sister-in-law found funny.

"Since you got mental illness, guess what? Hey, you're much better! Okay, stop laughing, or you'll really become mentally ill." Tang Zhitong teased Xiao Wang again when she saw that she was still laughing.

This teasing made Xiao Wang laugh even harder.

"You're such a grown man, yet you still talk so incoherently." Zhang Guifang smiled as she criticized her son, handing him a letter: "It was just delivered today."

"Hey, it's Brother Ma San here. I guess it's a recipe." Tang Zhitong took it and looked at the handwriting, and he immediately knew what it was.

Upon opening the letter, sure enough, it contained detailed instructions on how to prepare coral cabbage.

Remove the root from a frost-bitten cabbage and keep only the core. Slice each cabbage stalk thin by making a flat cut from the root towards the leaves to make it easier for the flavors to penetrate.

Then cut the cabbage leaves vertically into strips about the thickness of chopsticks, arrange them on a plate, and sprinkle with salt to draw out the water.

While the cabbage is rinsing off excess water, prepare the other ingredients: slice the soaked shiitake mushrooms, scallions, and peeled ginger; and diagonally cut the dried chili peppers into small pieces.

Next, blanch the shiitake mushrooms until cooked, change the water and bring to a boil, then boil white sugar. Don't be afraid to add too much sugar; use one pound of sugar for each head of cabbage. Boil until dissolved, then pour into an empty bowl and let cool.

While the sugar water is cooling, take out the cabbage, squeeze out the water, and rearrange it. Then, evenly place the shredded shiitake mushrooms, shredded scallions, shredded ginger, and dried chili pepper pieces on the cabbage strips.

Add one or two ounces of white vinegar to the sugar water, stir thoroughly, and pour evenly over the dish.

Then heat oil in a wok, using a 1:2 ratio of peanut oil to sesame oil. Once hot, add Sichuan peppercorns and simmer until fragrant. When the peppercorns turn black, turn off the heat, remove the peppercorns, and pour the oil evenly over the dish.

Marinate at room temperature for three hours, or in winter for six hours, then plate and serve.

If pickled in winter, it can be kept for three days; if pickled in summer, it is best to eat it on the same day.

"Hey, Brother Ma is so thoughtful. He knows we don't have any cabbage right now, and he said this method of pickling cucumbers will work too." Tang Zhitong laughed when she saw the end of the letter. Ma Kejian wrote that when making it for home, you don't need to be so strict. As long as it's roughly the same, it's fine. There's no need to plate it. If you don't have cabbage, you can pickle some cucumbers to satisfy your craving.

"Brother, can we eat coral cabbage now?! Coral cucumbers are fine too! Our cucumbers are all grown!" When Fengzhi heard Tang Zhitong mention cabbage and cucumbers, she immediately remembered the state banquet dishes her brother had mentioned a while ago. She stopped doing her homework and ran over to tug at her brother's clothes, pleading.

"You're just making trouble for your third brother. He serves important people, so don't cause him any trouble," Zhang Guifang said, having understood what was going on.

Tang Zhitong didn't refute it when he heard it, he just chuckled. This was indeed trouble for Brother Ma. Brother Ma's recipe was very detailed. Even if you have no cooking experience, you can make it pretty much the same by following the steps.

"Sister-in-law, do you want to eat?" Seeing that her mother was a little reluctant, Fengzhi quickly called for reinforcements. Although she didn't know why her mother had said a while ago that she wanted to save some fine grains for her sister-in-law, she knew that as long as her sister-in-law nodded, the dish would be a sure thing.

"I'm afraid this isn't a good idea; there's a lot of sugar in it." Xiao Wang quickly glanced at the letter, not paying much attention to the instructions, but focusing on the amount of white sugar used.

"Anyway, it won't be a waste. We can just dip the steamed buns in the broth and eat them." Tang Zhitong could tell that Xiao Wang wanted to try it, so he made the decision immediately: this dish had to be made!
As a half-baked cook, Tang Zhitong knew that simply using salt to draw out the water from the cabbage was not enough to make it release all its moisture.

Making such a dish, with its sugar and oil, Tang Zhitong didn't notice how much soup or broth was left on the plate when he was having a state banquet in the auditorium. It didn't taste that sweet or greasy either. He figured that the scraps wouldn't go to waste and that someone would eat them.

Thinking about it, the chefs in big companies these days are really well paid; even the leftover scraps from cooking can provide energy.

"Oh~ We're having state banquet food! Brother, start cooking now! I'll go pick some cucumbers!" Fengzhi bypassed her mother and directly negotiated with her brother.

"Hey, it wasn't for nothing that you wrote the antonym of 'raw' as 'ripe'. Go pick some, but only the big ones, leave the small ones." Little Wang gagged again last night, so since she wants to try it, let's arrange it, even if we eat a little later tonight.

While Fengzhi was picking cucumbers, Tang Zhitong first took out some shiitake mushrooms to soak. These shiitake mushrooms were the same ones her uncle had given her before, and they were no longer available in Beijing.

Onions and ginger also need to be prepared. Zhang Guifang helped peel the ginger while telling her son about what she had seen and heard that day: "The neighborhood distributed spoons today, one for each household, and told us to eat salt according to the number of people, one level spoon per person per meal."

"Where's the spoon?" At home, they always use a spoon to estimate the amount of salt, taking only a spoonful at a time. Tang Zhitong was surprised that the neighborhood was being so considerate, even giving out spoons for free. She was quite curious.

Our family's spoons are porcelain, and they seem to cost only a penny or two each. They're even older than Fengzhi.

"It's in the salt container," Zhang Guifang gestured towards the salt container.

"Let's stick with the old ones." Tang Zhitong glanced at the salt shaker, where the spoon lying next to the ladles was the one the street vendors had given out.

The spoon was tiny, reminding Tang Zhitong of the small spoons sold in the plum powder and peach essence sold at the corner store outside his school when he was a child. Not only did they look alike, but their crudely made appearance was also similar.

“Okay.” Zhang Guifang unusually didn’t respond to the neighborhood’s call. Firstly, she was used to using a spoon, and secondly, with the coarse salt her son brought back, the family didn’t lack salt at all, so there was no need to be so frugal. As they were talking, Fengzhen came home from school. Key schools are different from ordinary schools. Occasionally, teachers would hold a small class after school to patiently explain the parts of the test that students made many mistakes, free of charge.

"Sister, I want to eat some sticky candy." When Fengzhi saw Fengzhen return, she immediately threw down the pencil she was holding.

"You just ate it yesterday, so don't eat it today. Just have it every few days to satisfy your craving, okay? Be a good girl." Fengzhen ignored her sister's attempts to please her and patted her head as a response.

Tang Zhitong sprinkled salt on the cucumbers while secretly laughing. Giving Fengzhen the right to distribute the maltose was a good decision. It not only gave her a sense of participation but also cultivated her sense of planning and improved her standing in Fengzhi's eyes.

Except for white vinegar, I have all the ingredients I need to make "coral" cucumbers at home. However, white vinegar can be replaced with regular vinegar, it just means you need to add more of it.

Although the color of the dish wasn't as bright as the one served in the hall, it was just for our own consumption, so no one complained.

While Tang Zhitong was boiling sugar, Zhang Guifang's eyes twitched. She finally understood why her daughter-in-law said "there's a bit too much sugar." It wasn't just a bit too much; it was far too much!

Her family only has a small ration of sugar each month, and sometimes they can't even buy it. As a result, it's only enough for one dish? She doesn't even dare to imagine how much sugar is used in state banquet dishes. This is just too disregard for sugar!
Tang Zhitong had no idea what his mother was thinking, and he was busy working on the side.

By the time the cucumbers were almost pickled, it was already 9 p.m. This dinner was a bit late, and the anticipation was high.

Although it was Tang Zhitong's first time making this dish, fortunately, the tutorial provided by Brother Ma was detailed, and there were no major mistakes. The whole family enjoyed the meal, and even Xiao Wang ate more than usual without experiencing morning sickness. It was worth it!

After dinner, the young couple returned to their room. Tang Zhitong remembered that Gu Yong had asked her and Xiao Wang to have dinner together, so she asked, "Hey, did you reply to Liu Yue's letter?"

"Not yet, what's wrong?" Xiao Wang was a little absent-minded. Dr. Lü's words from today were still ringing in her ears, and her husband had performed wonderfully today. She hesitated, wondering whether she should bravely take out the glycerin.
"I ran into Yang Ge today. He said he wanted to get together. Let's talk to Gu Yong and Ma San Ge, set a date, and then tell him. Is Liu Yue about to give birth? Is it still possible to set a date before her due date?" Tang Zhitong really missed instant messaging tools at this moment. She could create a group chat, and everyone could announce when they were free, and the gathering could be arranged.

But right now, the fastest way to communicate is by phone. Even so, Tang Zhitong finds it too slow. After making three or five calls, it can take half a day to get a result, since not everyone has a phone with them and often they have to leave a message.

The gathering wasn't something to rush into, and leaving a message on the phone might lead to different opinions from the person answering, which could have a negative impact. Writing a letter was the safest option.

"I'll write to Yueyue tomorrow and ask her. Let's respect her opinion for now," Xiao Wang replied after thinking for a moment.

"Okay, there's no rush. It would be even better after the baby is born. We can treat it as a wedding banquet." Although the wedding banquet would have to wait a while, Tang Zhitong felt that everyone could accept this plan.

"Well, it's getting late, let's go to sleep, we have to go to work tomorrow." Xiao Wang got up to get water to wash his feet.

"You sit down, I'll do it. Did you go to see Dr. Lü for a check-up today?" Tang Zhitong was perceptive and prepared the foot bath water before Xiao Wang could, adjusting the temperature and bringing it over.

"Hmm, everything seems normal." Xiao Wang took off her socks, first tested the water temperature with her toes, and then put her two slender feet completely into the water.

"Didn't you say anything?" Tang Zhitong pulled over a chair, quickly took off her shoes and socks, and put her feet in to join in the fun.

"He just talked about some things women should be careful about," Xiao Wang rolled her eyes at her husband, deliberately avoiding the topic.

"Oh, are there any precautions? Do you need my cooperation?" Tang Zhitong rubbed Xiao Wang's feet with his feet, sometimes pressing down on Xiao Wang's feet, sometimes clamping her toes, having a great time.

"There's nothing for you to do. Just wash your feet properly, you've made a mess of water, and your socks are all wet." The husband tickled the soles of his feet, and Xiao Wang instinctively tried to dodge, but the foot basin was so small that water splashed out with every splash.

"You have to wash them no matter what. Let me wipe your feet, you lie down first, I'll wash them." Tang Zhitong didn't mind at all. She herself wished she could sprinkle some cool water in the room to cool it down. There was no fan or air conditioning, so sprinkling some water would help take away some of the heat.

Seeing her husband wash her socks, Xiao Wang became even more hesitant...

Wednesday, September 6th.

Tang's breakfast today was quite substantial; the staple food was steamed buns, and the side dish was the "coral" cucumber dish made last night.

As Tang Zhitong expected, under the influence of sugar and after a night of osmotic pressure, the cucumbers released even more water.

Soup and broth are not only delicious when dipped in steamed buns, but they can also be poured into a bowl and made into a soup to satisfy your cravings.

This time, the "coral" cucumbers were not reserved for Chunshu Hutong. Zhang Guifang was thinking of doing this, but Tang Zhitong stopped her.

In his letter, Mark Jian said that it's best to eat it on the same day in the summer. Right now, neither of them has a refrigerator, so who knows if it will spoil by noon?

If we make Director Ye have diarrhea, would that be considered poisoning?
At noon, Luo Zhiping returned to his dormitory covered in sweat, not from rushing, but from the heat.

Tang Zhitong waited until he finished eating before pulling him outside to ask about Lu Yan's situation.

"The surgery went very well. This morning, Dr. Lü came over for another check-up and said I could come home to rest. He prescribed some medicine and discharged me," Luo Zhiping said gratefully after leaving the hospital.

"Okay, then I'm relieved. Let Xiao Lu stay in the dorm for the next few days. If the teachers or classmates ask, just say she fainted due to menstrual cramps, went to the hospital, and the doctor diagnosed her with anemia. He told her to rest for a couple of days and replenish her nutrition." The dorms are all eight-person rooms, so there's not much privacy. If she behaves strangely and lets the cat out of the bag, things will get tough. After all, gossip can sometimes be deadly.

"Thank you so much, Teacher Tang. You've really helped us a lot this time." Luo Zhiping was extremely grateful, almost saying he'd appreciate it if he didn't mind...

"Alright, we're classmates and colleagues, we can't just stand by and watch. But you guys better watch out in the future, don't pull this kind of stunt again."

"No way, I wouldn't dare do that before I got married." Luo Zhiping shook his head like a rattle drum.

The blind scraping without pain relief left a deep impression on Lu Yan. This pain led her to transfer this vivid memory to Luo Zhiping. Holding her boyfriend's hand, she gritted her teeth and said: "If you ever try anything mean to me again, I'll cut your hair off!"
For the sake of a happy life in the future, temporary forbearance, hibernation, and sacrifice are necessary. Luo Zhiping is prepared to be a monk for a few years.

"That's good. Don't forget the pain once the wound has healed." Tang Zhitong patted Luo Zhiping on the shoulder, speaking earnestly.

As for whether they can do it, Tang Zhitong is not optimistic, since everyone has been through this age group.

In the prime of youth, there are no online games or novels to pass the time; only studying and romance can provide that dopamine rush of pleasure that few can resist.

"Hmm, I won't dare." Luo Zhiping shook his head, it was unclear whether he meant he didn't dare or he couldn't do it.

Tang Zhitong smiled and stopped trying to persuade him. They were all adults; it was enough to stop there.

(End of this chapter)