Chapter 170 I Like a Good Father
Qin Yao was awakened by the aroma of food.
When he got up and looked, he saw three dishes and a soup on the dining table in the main hall, and the sound of cooking coming from the kitchen. Was this an early New Year celebration?
"My dear, you are awake," Liu Ji greeted her warmly, reminding her to wash up with the warm water. "The meal is ready. If you are hungry, we will eat right away. I will fry these meatballs first, and you can eat first."
Qin Yao yawned and subconsciously asked, "Why are you frying meatballs?"
"New Year's Eve is coming soon, let's prepare in advance. You love hot pot, right? I asked Dalang to go to Mrs. Zhou's house to buy some tofu. I'll make some bone soup base and stew the tofu there. It'll be delicious."
Qin Yao poked Erlang, who was practicing calligraphy on an empty seat at the dining table, with her finger, "Did someone curse your father?"
Suddenly became so diligent and sensible?
Before, Liu Ji also did housework and cooked, but he was just like a toad that jumped up and down when poked.
Now I know how to exert my subjective initiative!
Erlang pulled the corners of his mouth and forced out a 'I don't understand' smile, "He was like this when he woke up in the morning. Maybe he really has been possessed by evil spirits."
As he spoke, he pointed to the water on the washbasin rack and the toothbrush with tooth powder already placed on it, "I heard some noise in your room and ran over to prepare it in advance. You are very attentive."
Qin Yao walked over and touched the water. The temperature was just right, relatively hot but not scalding. Washing your face with such hot water in winter was so comfortable.
When Qin Yao finished washing up, Liu Ji rushed in, snatched the wash basin from her hand, took the water out and poured it into the gutter, then put it back and said with a smile: "I'll go get some food, Erlang, go call Sanlang and Si Niang, you'll fall asleep if you continue."
The child is very sleepy, especially in winter, and won't wake up unless someone calls him.
Erlang agreed, packed up his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, took them back to his room, put their things away and woke up the twins.
Dalang bought the tofu and set the table. The family of six sat together and started eating.
The delicious meal made the mother and her two children so enchanted that they all gave Liu Ji a thumbs up.
Liu Ji smiled gently and virtuously, "If it tastes good, eat more. You guys eat first, I'll go to the kitchen and watch the fire."
After saying that, he picked up the bowl and went to the kitchen.
If you want to fry delicious meatballs, you must control the heat well. If you fry them too long, they will become hard, while if you fry them too shallow, the meat inside will not be cooked and you may get an upset stomach.
A qualified meatball must be fried until the skin is crispy and the inside is tender.
Sanlang and Si Niang, who woke up late, watched their father walk into the kitchen as if they had seen a ghost. Sanlang rubbed his eyes and said, "Mother, I dreamed that my father got better."
Si Niang raised her hand and knocked the boy on the head, "Stupid, this is not a dream!"
But Dad seems to have really become different.
"Mom, Dad has become a better person, so please don't beat him, okay?" Si Niang blinked her innocent eyes and asked seriously.
Qin Yao gnawed on the marinated pork ribs and put a big mouthful of white rice into her mouth with her chopsticks. The chewy texture of the rice and the aroma of the meat were so delicious that she wanted to cry.
The food was delicious, so why not make the child happy? He nodded and said:
"Don't worry, Si Niang. Every beating your father received was self-inflicted."
The implication is that it's not that she likes to beat people up, but that some people are asking for a beating.
Si Niang said "oh" as if she understood something, then turned her head and looked into the kitchen through the crack of the main door. The corners of her mouth curled up, supporting her chubby cheeks, "Si Niang likes a good father~"
The old father in the kitchen, with his back to everyone, paused what he was doing and his heart was trembling.
The oil from the pan splashed out and burned the back of his hand. Only then did he come to his senses and continue to fish out the meatballs.
After breakfast, Liu Ji had finished frying the meatballs. He served a bowl of meatballs for the children at home, and covered the rest with a piece of gauze and put it in the cupboard so that it would be easy to take out when he wanted to eat.
The weather is cold, so it can be kept for several days and can be eaten until the New Year.
There are not many vegetables left at home. The few acres of land that Qin Yao takes care of cannot cover the family's consumption. Now there are only two baskets of large white radishes that Qin Yao just harvested from the fields in the yard.
It was her mother-in-law Zhang who helped her grow these radishes, and she only paid a few dozen coins for the seeds.
The most common thing in the house is meat, fresh pork belly, big bone sticks, and spare ribs, which fill the chopping board that is as long as a table.
Liu Ji thought it was not good to eat meat all the time during the New Year, so he came to Erlang uncomfortably to ask for money to buy vegetables.
Erlang did not make things difficult for him. He unlocked the jar, took it out, and gave him fifty coins.
But he had one request, which was that the buyer had to tell him what vegetables he bought and how much each pound cost.
Liu Ji raised his hand as if to give him a slap, and Erlang stopped talking.
"This is outrageous. You talk to your father like that." Liu Ji hummed softly in Erlang's ear.
Erlang immediately stood in front of Qin Yao, using his power to bully others and forced his father to retreat.
"Wait a moment."
Qin Yao called out to Liu Ji the moment he stepped out of the door. He was thinking about how to save a few cents for grocery shopping, but his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He almost thought that Qin Yao saw through his inner thoughts.
I pretended to be calm and looked back, only to find that she was also going out.
"Madam, where are you going?" Liu Ji looked at the rope and bow and arrow in Qin Yao's hand and asked suspiciously.
Qin Yao looked at the mountains in the distance and said, "Let's go into the mountains and get some New Year's goods."
I just happened to be walking through the entire village, and by the way, I wanted to see which house Liu Ji was going to buy what vegetables.
Liu Ji remembered that she said last night that keeping the soap recipe would be useful. Today was not a New Year's Day and they had to go into the mountains to buy New Year's goods. He asked tentatively:
"Who are you going to give these New Year's goods to?"
Qin Yao glanced at him impatiently, and just when Liu Ji thought she would not answer, she said calmly: "Mrs. Ding's knees get cold in winter, and she needs a pair of good knee pads."
Knee pads made of deerskin and hare skin sandwiched together are the best for keeping warm.
Liu Ji then remembered that the Ding family's clan school seemed to be almost completed.
"Is it about Dalang and Erlang going to school? Can the old lady have the final say?"
Qin Yao nodded, "Of course."
Otherwise, why would she try to please an old lady?
Liu Ji rubbed his hands and exhaled, white mist rising, "It's so cold, is there any leather you want in the mountains?"
Qin Yao did not answer, she naturally had her own way.
"I may be back very late, so please urge the four brothers and sisters to go to bed early. Studying at night is bad for the eyes." After giving these instructions, Qin Yao watched Liu Ji and Grandma Wang buy two bunches of vegetables, waved her hand, and went into the mountains.
Liu Ji thought she spoke very late, at most in the middle of the night.
Unexpectedly, he didn't come back until the next morning.
It was still dark, so it was still night, right?
Qin Yao dropped the things on her shoulders onto the open space in the yard.
A dead mountain deer, two half-dead gray rabbits, and a skinny wild goat that was tied up tightly.
This wild goat was a pure accidental find. When she was going down the mountain and passed by a bush, this stupid goat got its head stuck in the bush and couldn't get out even if it kicked hard.
How could Qin Yao let go of such a good thing?
I immediately rushed forward and brought it home. Now we have the main dish for the New Year!
(End of this chapter)