Chapter 96

Old Hu was, after all, a leader and naturally held the advantage of status.

After these words, Old Wei's face turned red instantly.

Mother Liu looked resentful and wanted to say something, but her arm was pulled by her eldest son, Wei Rui, who was standing to the side.

Wei Rui didn't want to come; he felt it was too shameful to bring family matters to the neighborhood office.

But Wei Qiang's intention was to sever ties; he didn't want the title of foster parents, nor did he want the relatives of uncle and aunt.

When his father said that to sever ties, he had to give up the job, he whispered: "If it really comes to this, we have to go to the neighborhood office."

Thus, the three of them brought Wei Qiang here.

Who could have imagined that Wei Qiang had no intention of giving up the job at all; he was playing a trick to get the gold bracelet.

It seems he had really underestimated him in the past.

Director Hu softened his tone and said: "Wei Wei Decai, you personally confirmed to Officer Li that you received your younger brother's two gold bracelets. Although this was a deathbed entrustment, those are still the relics of Wei Qiang's parents. As a son, wanting one as a keepsake is perfectly reasonable. What do you think?"

Old Man Wei: "..."

What did he think?

Huang Juan said: "Since you've come to the neighborhood office, it proves that you trust the organization. So, everyone, speak your minds. As long as it is correct, our neighborhood office will definitely support it."

Then Old Huang pointed at Old Man Wei: "You are the oldest; you speak first."

Old Man Wei took a deep breath; he could see now that he had been played by the wolf cub.

But everyone's eyes were on him; what could he say?

He could only say dryly: "That depends on whether Wei Qiang recognizes me as his father."

Lu Lu Qiaoge smiled.

She guessed Wei Qiang was waiting for these words.

Sure enough, Wei Qiang raised his head excitedly: "As long as you recognize me as your son, you will always be my father!"

Old Man Wei froze in place.

Before he could speak, Mother Liu, who was jumping mad, said in a shrill voice: "I don't recognize you! You were never my son to begin with. What Dad, what Mom? Now that we are at the neighborhood office, let's make a clean break. From now on, our Wei family has nothing to do with you, Wei Qiang!"

Although Old Man Wei felt something was off, Wei Qiang still had a paralyzed wife, and now many people knew the truth, so should they care or not?

If they cared, they weren't reconciled; if they didn't, it would be like now, where they could be criticized by the neighborhood committee aunties on the street.

And an important point was that Wei Qiang didn't actually want to break ties; he was doing it on purpose for them to see.

He still wanted the gold bracelet and still wanted to help look after the family.

Where in the world could there be such a good thing?

Old Man Wei felt he had guessed Wei Qiang's little thoughts.

Thus, under the witness of the two directors of the neighborhood office, Old Man Wei and Mother Liu firmly severed ties with Wei Qiang.

There was no need to maintain the uncle and aunt relationship either.

In any case, from now on, they would each go their own way.

Wei Rui had no choice but to put on a helpless look and say to Old Hu and Huang Juan: "I'm really sorry for making you worry."

Then he chased after his furious parents and left the neighborhood office.

As for Wei Qiang, after thanking the neighborhood office cadres, he glanced at Lu Lu Qiaoge, nodded gratefully at her, and left as well.

The show was over, and Sister Lu Qiao hurriedly pulled Lu Lu Qiaoge to the residents' committee.

Running to three places in one morning, Lu Lu Qiaoge made detailed records for each. After reconciling the accounts, there wasn't a single error. After both sides signed, Sister Lu Qiao told them that the money would be issued at the end of June.

This was the most gratifying thing.

Lu Lu Qiaoge saw that there was money for her own family, totaling eight yuan and sixty cents.

However, Meng Xia had handed over all the work a few days ago.

With only Old Grandma Lu and the sickly Xiao Si left at home, plus two more people working, the Lu family's situation had eased significantly.

Lu Lu Qiaoge felt her pocket; there wasn't much money left.

But she wasn't in a hurry.

She returned home. In the morning, Su Hui had leavened the mixed flour as she had instructed, and when she returned at noon, the dough was ready.

There was no yeast at home, but people used a dough starter, which served the same purpose as yeast.

In recent years, with the population increase, it had become difficult to buy steamed buns from the military factory's large canteen.

Therefore, many families started steaming their own buns.

Lu Lu Qiaoge didn't make steamed buns; she planned to make corn cakes.

The kind of golden corn cakes made with egg whites, white sugar, and flour.

If the food factory application were approved, it couldn't just have one type of small shortbread.

But Lu Lu Qiaoge didn't intend to make the same type of food as the First Food Factory. She couldn't make it, but she knew how to eat it, so she temporarily chose a corn cake suitable for the current times.

In Jiangcheng today, as a major corn-producing area, corn was naturally the most abundant.

In the homes of ordinary people, the best way to make corn was into large flatbreads or steamed corn buns.

There were also those who used it to steam sponge cakes.

But she hadn't seen that kind of golden, bouncy corn cake yet.

This required oil and eggs.

It was just that this was the first time Su Hui had heard of this kind of corn cake. She said to Old Grandma Lu: "Lu Qiaoge was worried about not making it well, but it has eggs and white flour in it; how could it not be delicious?"

Old Grandma Lu thought this made sense.

But her second granddaughter didn't mess around; she always had a plan.

Old Grandma Lu said nothing and just watched the two of them fussing with a smile.

But it was mainly Su Hui doing the work, with Lu Lu Qiaoge watching from the side.

When it came time to pan-fry the cakes, Su Hui was stunned: "You don't even need to roll the dough? Can this hold its shape?"

Even Old Grandma Lu looked over, saying: "This is the way to make large pancakes... I'm really seeing this kind of pan-frying for the first time."

No one asked Lu Lu Qiaoge where she had seen it; the few people in the courtyard were staring intently at the five irregularly shaped corn batters in the frying pan.

But unexpectedly, when they were flipped over, they were golden and enticing.

Xiao Si couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

It smelled so good, and it looked so delicious.

The first batch of unfamiliar corn cakes was done.

By the time Meng Xia returned, half a basin of corn batter had already been fried into corn cakes.

Su Hui had a talent for flour-based foods; after getting the hang of it, the corn cakes were all very round.

Lu Lu Qiaoge took a bite. Hmm, this was a typical example of making fine food out of coarse grains. It not only effectively solved the problem of having little flour but also developed fragrant corn cakes.

Lu Lu Qiaoge didn't know about other cities, but she hadn't seen this kind of corn cake for sale anywhere in Jiangcheng.

The Lu family was also eating it for the first time.

One bite down, and there was no feeling of the cornmeal scratching the throat like usual; instead, it was fluffy, bouncy, sweet, and fragrant with oil.

Although it wasn't mastered perfectly the first time, it still made people want to reach for a second one after finishing the first.

Su Hui had already noted down the quantities of ingredients used this time.

Without a scale, she used small bowls and spoons instead.

If the food factory were built, she would be a master chef.

She looked at her second sister-in-law with admiration; this girl was too smart to have thought of even this.

She said: "Lu Qiaoge, I'll have more experience next time. We can add a little more sugar; people love sweet things now. As long as the dough is leavened to the right degree, the main thing is to stir it evenly..."

Lu Lu Qiaoge felt Su Hui's summary was very on point, and there was nothing else to advise.

She said to her family: "Remember to keep it a secret!"

After lunch, Lu Lu Qiaoge rested for a while and then ran to the department store.

She had to observe the food group at close range.