Chapter 102 Admission to Taozui County No.1 Middle School

Located in the heart of the Central Plains, the area is rich in resources, but most people are not good at cooking and mainly eat noodles.

In the days of oil and salt scarcity, people would rather stew than stir-fry individual seafood, let alone use a lot of seasonings to cook these thorny and meatless river delicacies.

In their view, they would only think about the little bit of food in the river when there was no other food.

Of course, this is experience that Xiaojiu has summarized from his own observations over the years.

Because she watched her grandmother cook fish, she never fried or pan-fried it, but stewed it directly.

At most, I'll add some soy sauce and salt, along with some scallions, ginger, and garlic. I won't add any other seasonings. If someone likes spicy food, I'll throw in some chili peppers to enhance the flavor, which is already considered a great bonus.

The fish prepared this way didn't taste very good, but my family wasn't picky and ate it with great relish.

Besides complaining about the many fish bones, they also say that these fish and shrimp are not satisfying to eat.

As for river crabs, there's hardly any meat; you just crunch and eat them.

Stir-fry the shrimp directly on the griddle until they turn red, then sprinkle with five-spice powder; it makes a great appetizer to accompany drinks.

The river clams did have meat, but it was extremely fishy. Even after being soaked in cooking wine and stir-fried with chili peppers, the taste was still indescribable.

She could tolerate everything else, but it was these crayfish that Xiao Jiu couldn't help but mention.

Under her guidance, Grandma made two flavors: spicy and garlic. The finished products not only received praise from the family, but even Zhou Xing and his brother were amazed that the little thing could taste so good.

In those days when oil and salt were scarce, children loved strong-flavored foods. Even though Grandma kept grumbling that it was a waste of oil and seasonings and not worth it at all, since there wasn't much meat in it, she was happy to see the children eating so happily.

When she had some free time, Grandma once again marveled at how clever Xiaojiu was, saying she was a bright and observant little girl.

Xiao Jiu didn't want her grandma to waste this pot of ingredients, so she said that she had seen someone process these crayfish at a shop next to her dad's shop.

That's why I recalled what others had done and told my grandmother about it. The old lady believed her granddaughter's words without a doubt.

First, clean it with a brush. When stir-frying, add sugar and wine. I must say, if you add too much of these ingredients, it will taste delicious.

Even she, who doesn't usually eat spicy food, ate several. The garlic flavor was also delicious; she hadn't eaten such appetizing food in many years.

After Grandma Zhou from the front yard tried it, she saw that her grandson liked it, so she came over to learn how to make it from Grandma Zhou. She also said that if the two kids catch it again, she would bring it over for them to eat.

So this summer at Xiaojiu, we not only had cicadas, but also crayfish. It's a pity there was no beer or barbecue, otherwise it would have been even more perfect.

Of course, summer also has its troubles; the heat and the biting temperatures are torture for her.

Even if she fumigates the house with mugwort before going to bed, she still can't sleep if there's even a single mosquito at night.

Fortunately, the third sister is a much deeper sleeper than the eldest sister, so when she can't sleep, she hides in a space, and the eldest sister never notices.

Grandma didn't grow watermelons this year, but Grandma Zhou did, and she would occasionally send one over.

People from nearby villages also sell them in town at the entrance, 1,000 yuan per jin (500g). Buying one would cost around 10,000 yuan, because they are all large watermelons weighing over 10 jin.

Grandma would buy a dozen or so at a time, some big and some small. After all, she had many children and also had to return the gifts to the Zhou family, so the more than 100,000 yuan was spent very quickly.

When her family wasn't looking, she would also remove the labels from the large watermelons in the storage space and secretly move one or two of the biggest ones to the cellar.

Surprisingly, everyone could tell the difference. After all, these are sandy potatoes transported from the Northwest, and they taste better than the local ones.

This summer, Ajiu has been sneaking food quite a bit. She can cut a watermelon into four pieces. After waking up from her afternoon nap, she will first hide in her space and eat a quarter of it, scooping it out with a spoon. She enjoys it so much. As a result, she is the one who goes to the toilet the most often.

The third sister is now learning elementary school knowledge with her brothers and is very serious about it. The eldest and second sisters also go to literacy classes in the city whenever they have free time.

Zhao Lingli taught them how to do accounting and keep accounts. Since leaving Taoyuan Village, the three sisters have not only broadened their horizons but also grown up rapidly without realizing it.

Besides learning accounting and bookkeeping from Zhao Lingli, and acquiring many new characters from a literacy class, he also learned about interpersonal relationships while doing business.

Back home, she learned knitting and sewing from her grandparents. Compared to two years ago, she has grown so much. Not only has she regained her confidence, but she is also becoming more and more capable in handling things.

Therefore, the influence of one's family of origin is not unchangeable; it depends on whether you are willing to change.

Diligence and social skills are the only true rules for interpersonal relationships. Mastering the secrets of networking will definitely give you a foothold.

Even Ah Jiu has thought more than once that if it weren't for her clear-headed eldest sister leading the way, the three sisters might not be living such a good life now.

Because the eldest sister had a dream from her past life, she tried to change her fate in this life. Her decisiveness and self-reliance make her a perfect female lead who can turn the tables.

In comparison, Ning Meng, who has an extra advantage and is more educated, doesn't seem particularly outstanding.

It's not that she wants to be a lazy bum, but mainly because she's young, and doing too much would bring her some trouble.

Her family didn't need her to be outstanding, so secretly sending food to them was the only reliable thing she could think of.

As for the rest, let's wait until she's older.

In mid-July, my older brother was admitted to the county's No. 1 Middle School, which is the best junior high school in the county. School started in early August and he began boarding school, so he would come home once a week.

Every time I go, I bring a week's worth of food.

Most families bring some sauces and pickled vegetables, as well as some dry food. If they want noodles, they bring steamed buns; if they want rice, they bring some rice. They put it in an aluminum lunchbox, and the canteen has a steamer to steam it. If they don't want to buy vegetables, they eat pickled vegetables. The canteen also cooks one or two dishes every day.

In short, students in this era had a tough time because their families were already struggling financially, and supporting a student made things even more difficult.

So the children mostly ate pickled vegetables with cornbread. Having something to eat and being able to eat their fill was their basic guarantee.

I don't even dare to think about the others.

Although both parents live in the county town, the school is a closed-campus school that only opens once a week and does not allow students to commute.

Key junior high schools prioritize academic progress, so my grandmother prepared six vegetable dumplings, six multigrain steamed buns, a jar of pickled vegetables, six salted duck eggs, six chicken eggs, plus three kilograms of rice mixed with millet, and also gave my brother 50,000 yuan to buy groceries.

Rice was naturally for him to eat at noon. In the morning, he ate wild vegetable buns with pickled vegetables and eggs. At noon, he ate stir-fried dishes with rice. In the evening, he ate salted duck eggs and multigrain steamed buns.

I must say, this combination is not only enough to eat, but the quality is also good. At least my brother is very satisfied and keeps emphasizing that this is the top-of-the-line option.