Chapter 515: The Gossip-for-Survival System (14)

She made a Lenin-style jacket for herself out of turmeric-colored fabric; eight feet of cloth is definitely more than enough for a thick autumn and winter coat, so she would see about making a vest later, which would also look very stylish worn over a white shirt in the spring and autumn.

The next day happened to be a rest day, and she sat at home, clicking away on the sewing machine.

After finishing his milk, Xiao Shitou fell asleep in his cradle; his soft, pink face was white with a rosy glow, and one could no longer tell at all that he had been a premature baby.

Last week, Xie Yang carried him to have a six-month-old baby checkup, and the doctor said his development had caught up to children of the same age; naturally, rolling over and crawling should also be put on the agenda.

Therefore, after giving him a full-body massage recently, she would let him practice rolling over on the kang for a while and try to crawl a few steps.

After his "exercise," Xiao Shitou drank his milk and fell into an even sounder sleep.

"Sister Yang Yang."

Zheng Miaomiao, having finished her homework with nothing to do, walked over holding two apples to watch Xie Yang make clothes.

She handed an apple to Xie Yang, took a bite of the one she kept for herself, and took the opportunity to chat about the recent situation in the Dazayuan.

The place with the biggest changes was naturally the Feng family.

"Grandpa Feng is still lying in bed unable to move; my dad says it's a minor stroke. Luckily, his mouth isn't crooked and his mind is still very clear, it's just that he can't move and can't speak fluently."

"His two sons and one daughter, apart from coming a few times right after he was discharged, look like Grandpa Feng owes them something every time they visit; their faces are as long as a horse's. I haven't seen them come by lately; it's all Feng Daniang taking care of him by herself."

"Sister Yang Yang, I'm planning to write a report letter. Do you think anyone will accept it?"

Zheng Miaomiao chattered on while munching on her apple.

Writing a letter to report Grandpa Feng's children for neglect was something she had wanted to do for a long time.

The gossip from Grandpa Feng's house had helped her extend her life for twenty-five days, back and forth; she wanted to do something for the old couple, at the very least, she couldn't let those ungrateful Wolf children of his get off easy.

Xie Yang thought for a moment and asked, "Have you sounded out Grandpa and Grandma about this?"

"Ah? Does this need their opinion? I originally wanted to report it anonymously and not tell anyone... hehe, except for you, Sister Yang Yang, we're good sisters, I know you won't tell."

"..."

Xie Yang didn't know where this child got such strong trust in her.

But in light of this trust, she didn't hesitate to offer a few pointers:

"I don't mean for you to ask directly, just probe their attitude toward their children—whether they are completely disappointed or still harbor illusions. You are helping out of kindness, but I'm afraid Grandpa Feng and his wife might not appreciate it and might instead resent you for affecting their children's future."

"... N-no way, right?"

Zheng Miaomiao was dumbfounded.

She hadn't thought of this layer at all.

She really couldn't stand the way Grandpa Feng's children were acting, which was why she wanted to report their neglect and fight for the rights the old couple deserved.

After being told this by Xie Yang, she suddenly hesitated.

"Sister Yang Yang, I'll go back and think carefully about how to do this."

"Wait for me a moment."

Seeing her little face looking so discouraged, Xie Yang took down the Chinese sausage hanging from the beam in the storage room and cut a piece for her: "The sausages I stuffed at the beginning of the month are ready to eat. I'll give you a piece; steaming them, or steaming them with eggs or cabbage is quite good, and they are also very fragrant when cooked with rice."

Seeing the sausage, Zheng Miaomiao instantly forgot she had just been feeling dejected, her eyes lighting up:

"What a beautiful sausage! Thank you, Sister Yang Yang! But I can't take your food for nothing; wait for me a moment, I'll go get you two goose eggs."

The young girl hurried home and came back holding two large goose eggs.

"Sister Yang Yang, I'll come back to play with you this afternoon; I'm going to go help my mom cook now."

At this moment, Grandma Xie returned home to cook after chatting with her old friends and, hearing Zheng Miaomiao's words, asked with a smile: "Miao Miao knows how to cook now?"

This young girl used to be in poor health, and her family wouldn't let her into the kitchen; this was something everyone knew.

Zheng Miaomiao stuck out her tongue; the original owner didn't know how to cook, and neither did she—she used to eat at the Canteen.

"... Not yet, but I know how to eat, hehe. Goodbye, Sister Yang Yang, goodbye, Grandma Xie, here I come, claypot rice!"

"..."

The Xie Family also made claypot rice for lunch.

Xie Yang was the one in charge of the cooking.

Grandma Xie had never heard of claypot rice and didn't know how to make it.

But after watching her granddaughter do it once, she understood: "So it's just steaming the rice and the food together! Simple! Grandma will do it from now on!"

"..."

The grandmother and granddaughter each ate a bowl of claypot rice.

Before steaming, she brushed the bottom of the bowl with oil; once the rice was cooked, she took one bowl down and continued steaming the other until a crust formed before turning off the heat.

Grandma Xie had bad teeth and couldn't chew the crust, so she ate the soft, glutinous rice. Xie Yang liked the crust, so she let it simmer for a while after turning off the heat, making the crust even more golden and crispy.

On top of the distinct grains of rice lay red sausage, yellow-and-white soft-boiled eggs, tender green asparagus, and jade-white bean sprouts, emitting an enticing, savory aroma.

Grandma Xie was eating claypot rice for the first time and praised it repeatedly:

"It's simple to make and tastes delicious; the person who thought of this divine method is truly clever!"

"It's a pity Xiao Shitou is still too small and can't eat such fragrant... what kind of rice?"

Xie Yang: "Claypot rice."

Fearing that Grandma Xie might actually feed the little cousin adult food one day, she hurriedly educated the old lady:

"Grandma, Xiao Shitou is a premature baby, so he adds solid food later than the average child. He only started adding rice cereal this month. The doctor said to add a few spoonfuls of rice cereal between his two morning milk feedings, and after he adapts, we'll increase it to the afternoon feeding. He can't eat anything else yet."

"Grandma knows, otherwise how were your dad and your little uncle raised?"

"..."

That's not the point; I'm afraid you'll be in a hurry to let the little cousin experience the delicacies of the world.

As the grandmother and granddaughter chatted while eating, the postman's voice rang out from outside:

"Old Lady Xie! Old Lady Xie, there's a letter and packages for your family. There are two packages, so I brought them directly to you to save you from going to the Post Office to pick them up."

The postman lived in the Dongfu Hutong across the way; he was on his way home for lunch and dropped off the mail for the surrounding residents along the way.

Today I discovered that the Xie Family at Xifu Hutong had two exceptionally large parcels; thinking that their family is truly pitiful, with only the old and the young left, I found a sturdy rope, tied the two parcels together, hung them on the back seat of my bicycle, and brought them over together.

The ride here was quite strenuous because the parcels were so large that they were dragging on the ground while mounted on the back seat.

"Thank you, Xiao Zhu."

Grandma Xie handed the mail carrier an apple.

She noticed that her granddaughter did not seem to like eating apples.

Xie Yang: It's not that, I have small Australian apples; the apples at home should be left for you to eat.

The old lady didn't know that; seeing that the apples at home would have their skins shrivel if they weren't eaten soon, she gave one to the kind-hearted Xiao Zhu.

He originally only needed to deliver a thin parcel slip, but seeing that her family had only the old and the young, he kindly helped deliver these two large parcels to the door; this kindness must be acknowledged.

If she and her granddaughter had gone to the Post Office to pick them up, she wouldn't have known how to carry them back.

Xie Yang: I could carry them back with one in each hand.