Xu Zhicheng came back, and Xu Dawei naturally couldn't be bothered to stay in the kitchen.
Clamping a dry pipe between his teeth, he sat at the door puffing away, planning to hand over the cooking to Xu Zhicheng, who was only nine years old.
Xu Zhicheng was used to it, too.
To be fair, as a married couple, they were among the finest exemplars of extremity, hands down the oddest of parents, exceptionally unfair to their several sons.
But Xu Niannian was the least qualified to speak up about it.
Because even if these two were extreme to everyone else, they couldn't have been any better to her.
Xu Zhicheng went into the kitchen, where Xu Dawei had already started the fire.
Xu Niannian followed him into the kitchen, which was utterly bare except for a stove and a big iron pot.
This big iron pot served as both the rice pot and the vegetable pot.
It was a dual-purpose pot, there was no choice, they were poor.
Seeing Xu Niannian following him in, Xu Zhicheng asked, "Sis, what are you doing in here?"
Since Xu Niannian had spoken up for him again today, Xu Zhicheng's attitude towards her improved a bit once more.
Xu Niannian rolled up her sleeves, "Helping you cook."
Xu Zhicheng thought he had misheard, and quickly said, "No need, I can do it myself." Could she even cook?
All she ever did was eat and sleep, sleep and eat, the epitome of idleness, she better not waste food.
Xu Niannian glared, "Don't look down on people, I've been studying since I was little, I've read a lot of books, including ones on cooking."
At first, Xu Zhicheng didn't believe her but didn't dare to contradict Xu Niannian either.
However, when Mom finds out later that Sis went into the kitchen, he's for sure going to get beaten again.
Xu Niannian rolled up her sleeves, full of gusto, and looking at the pot on the stove, she suddenly asked, "How do you cook this rice?"
Xu Zhicheng almost choked on his saliva.
Just as he thought, he shouldn't have trusted this lazybones.
It wasn't Xu Niannian's fault, honestly, she really didn't know how to cook something like rice bran.
"I better do it," said Xu Zhicheng.
Xu Niannian could only stand to one side, looking deflated.
If she couldn't make the rice, she could still cook the dishes.
She squatted down, took out the water fungus, and placed it in a wooden basin, intending to wash it clean, while Xu Duoyu squatted obediently in front of her.
After these past couple of days of interaction, Xu Duoyu realized his sister might not be as terrible as he thought.
Just then, Yang Cuihua and Xu Zhiqiang returned as well.
The moment Yang Cuihua got home, she kicked Xu Dawei sitting at the door and asked in a surly tone, "Where's Baby Nian?"
"Inside," replied Xu Dawei, puffing on his dry pipe.
Yang Cuihua made a beeline for Xu Niannian's room. Not finding Xu Niannian there and about to yell, she saw Xu Niannian carrying a wooden basin out from the kitchen.
Her heart instantly trembled, "My Baby Nian, why did you run off to the kitchen, is that a place for people to be?"
Seeing Yang Cuihua return, Xu Niannian was also startled. Hearing her words, she was immediately at a loss for words.
How is it not a place for people? In this household, who hasn't been in the kitchen besides her? As if everyone but her isn't human.
Seeing that she was about to wail again, Xu Niannian quickly stopped her, "I was lying down and felt so uncomfortable, I wanted to move around a bit."
Yang Cuihua was about to say something else when Xu Niannian cut in quickly, "Mom, I just saw that you were too tired, and I thought about making you something delicious to eat."
At those words, Yang Cuihua was indeed caught up in being moved.
She kept wiping away tears, saying her daughter was the best.
Since she didn't wail, Xu Niannian finally breathed a sigh of relief. This old lady really wasn't easy to appease.
When Yang Cuihua saw the watery mess in Xu Niannian's basin, she couldn't help but start questioning again, and Xu Niannian hurriedly explained.
She repeated to her the same story that she had told Xu Zhicheng, and Yang Cuihua was still impressed by her daughter's broad knowledge.
Without a word, Xu Zhiqiang came over, took the basin from Xu Niannian, and headed towards the water well in the yard, "I'll do the washing."
Her hands suddenly empty, Xu Niannian was momentarily stunned.
This younger brother, his speed was maybe a bit too fast. Xu Duoyu had originally followed Xu Niannian, but as soon as Xu Zhiqiang came back, he scampered off with him.
Yang Cuihua pursed her lips, and for a change, she actually praised Xu Zhiqiang, "He does have an eye for what's needed, knowing how to care for his sister."
In the basin along with the watery goo, there were also chives and cilantro, as well as green onions—the things that needed washing had all been thrown into the basin.
And there was a big fellow in the kitchen.
Xu Niannian didn't dare to kill the fish; she only knew how to cook, never how to kill.
So she had Xu Dawei kill the fish.
When Xu Dawei heard he had to kill the fish, he was so scared that his smoking pipe dropped to the ground.
"Niannian, let it go quickly, if you get caught, even dad can't protect you!" Xu Dawei said, face stricken with terror. Yang Cuihua was also frightened.
Xu Niannian had no choice but to again explain things to them.
The spring breeze of Reform and Opening Up had been blowing for two years, yet most people were still very conservative.
Forget about doing business, even raising more than two poultry at home was becoming scary as they feared that this spring breeze might not last and winds might reverse.
After hearing Xu Niannian's explanation, Yang Cuihua asked, uncertain, "Niannian, are you sure it's really alright? Maybe we should just let it go."
"It's fine, Mom, don't worry. Have you forgotten that your daughter is a high school student with broad knowledge?" Xu Niannian patted her chest with a show-offy bravado.
Her mom was swayed by that.
Xu Niannian was the only person in the village who graduated from high school, smart as a whip, and sure enough, Yang Cuihua was quickly persuaded by her words.
Still, worried about gossip, she sent Xu Dawei to kill the fish in the kitchen and even locked the main door tight.
After a while, Xu Zhiqiang had also washed the vegetables.
Xu Niannian wanted to take over the task, but Zhiqiang insisted he would do it, and Xu Niannian didn't want to ruin these good ingredients.
It's not that she didn't trust Xu Zhiqiang's cooking skills, but people of that era were only focused on filling their bellies, not caring if the food tasted good.
After finally snatching away the right to cook, Xu Niannian had to kick Xu Zhiqiang out when he watched from the side.
Xu Zhiqiang wasn't concerned about her; he was worried that if she messed up, the ones getting scolded would still be him and his two brothers.
Xu Dawei had already prepared the fish and was waiting for her to cook. Worried that the smell might spread while cooking, he tightly closed all the doors and windows.
In those times, every household was poor, and eating anything lavish without a legitimate source had to be done in secret, except during the New Year.
The two old hens at home laid two eggs each day, and Yang Cuihua couldn't bear to sell them. She saved them all for Xu Niannian to nourish her body.
Each day, Xu Niannian ate one egg, occasionally two, and there were still more than a dozen left in the egg basin.
In the main hall, Yang Cuihua asked with a worried face, "Niannian, she won't get burned, will she?"