Chapter 295

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Seven or eight people at one table; aside from those few who didn't eat, the rest all felt these dumplings were truly delicious.

Especially Yao Shoucai, taking a sip of alcohol and a bite of dumpling, eating with great enjoyment.

Normally, since the family's finances were still particularly difficult, Yao Shoucai only ate dumplings during the New Year, and not necessarily with mutton filling.

Today, it was purely an accident that he caught a yellow sheep, which counted as improving their diet.

In the past, if they ate meat-filled dumplings, most were made with rabbit meat.

The problem was that rabbit meat had no flavor.

(The Author has tried it; rabbit meat has almost no flavor at all, no distinguishable taste. You could say it tastes like whatever seasoning you use. So whether rabbit meat dumplings taste good or not.)

Eating rabbit meat dumplings was purely out of necessity. Catching rabbits around Juren Zhangzi was still quite common.

It was only autumn this year, and over more than half a year, Yao Shoucai had actually already caught nearly twenty-something rabbits.

Most were sold; at the market there were people who specialized in buying rabbits, generally ten-something to twenty-something yuan, depending mainly on the rabbit's size.

Larger rabbits were worth more, possibly selling for twenty-five to thirty.

This counted as a relatively considerable income for the family, so even rabbit meat was mostly sold, and they themselves didn't eat much of it.

Yao Shoucai ate with unreserved praise: "These dumplings are indeed delicious."

About the same as during the New Year.

The few people on the other side were also eating quite happily; steaming hot dumplings, oil spurting out with a bite, and the taste was good, so in no time at all, before the dishes had been touched much, a whole steamer of dumplings was gone first.

Yao Lianhua went to the pot and took another steamer of dumplings, and also reminded Yao Shoucai and Su Hui: "Dad, Mom. Eat slowly; eating too much mutton will make you bloated later."

Mutton was indeed like that; eating it made one feel warm in the stomach, and unknowingly one would eat a bit more. But after all, this was meat, and it digested very slowly, so eating too much really would make one uncomfortably bloated.

Su Hui was a straightforward person; she ate the dumplings with relish, her mouth full of oil, and on top of that Chai Mi had secretly given her two hundred yuan, so she was in a good mood and praised Chai Mi: "This thing... how should I put it. Don't look at how anyone can wrap dumplings, but the dumplings Chai Mi wraps are indeed truly delicious. She goes out to set up a stall selling dumplings; it serves her right that she makes money."

The other few people all echoed Su Hui's words, praising Chai Mi as indeed having the makings of a businessperson.

Su Wan, as the mother, also unconsciously became proud.

In the past, she had always been pointed at and gossiped about because she had given birth to three daughters, with people saying she couldn't bear a son and couldn't carry on the family line and such.

Anyway, she had never really heard anyone praise her.

Now, hearing people praise her daughter as capable, Su Wan was extremely happy.

Moreover, Chai Mi had indeed earned quite a bit of money during this period; the money she earned in half a month was enough to equal Chai Youfu's salary for two years. In the Chai family's small circle, Chai Mi had now become especially "formidable."

"Tastes good, right? I've been saying Chai Mi can do anything. She can endure hardship, works efficiently, speaks efficiently, and her dumplings are delicious..."

"Mom..." Chai Xiu suddenly interjected: "What you're saying isn't the point. The point is my sister is beautiful, beautiful and rich. If this were ancient times, my sister would be a young lady from a wealthy family..."

Chai Mi gave Chai Xiu a white-eye: "Hurry up and eat, you can't stop talking even while eating."

Although Chai Mi said this, she still felt quite pleased in her heart.

Life now was so much better than before. Mother Su Wan's mood had improved a lot, and younger sister Chai Xiu's condition was also good; this was probably the life Chai Mi had always wanted.

Just as everyone was praising, Eldest Aunt Su Jin suddenly slapped her chopsticks and scolded Liu San: "You keep making that smacking sound when you eat? No table manners, no sitting manners."

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Chai Mi could actually understand that Eldest Aunt Su Jin's condition was not right; actually, it was to be expected.

Last time at Chai Mi's younger sister's full-moon banquet, Su Jin hadn't come. This time Su Jin came, mainly perhaps because she felt she was getting older, and her second sister lived deep in the mountains, who knew if they'd see each other less and less in the future, so she came to Juren Zhangzi.

But, in reality... Su Jin's own inner problems had not eased in the slightest, and might even have become more serious.

Of course, considering that the one observing the postpartum confinement this time was Yao Lianhua, and not Chai Mi's second aunt's son, Chai Mi had initially thought it wasn't a big problem.

But now looking at Su Jin's problem, it was still quite big.

"Mom... I've always eaten like this..." Liu San's face turned red; he felt his mother had made him lose face.

What eating should look like had no standard; Liu San indeed liked to smack his lips while eating.

This was also innate and very hard to change.

"I'm telling you, and you talk back. Look at how others don't smack their lips when eating..."

"Mom, you've been like this all day..."

Seeing that Su Jin's words were going too far, everyone started to smooth things over.

Su Hui was straightforward; she actually didn't understand why Eldest Sister Su Jin, who had been eating fine, suddenly flew into a rage for no reason, and this anger was unnecessary, so she persuaded: "Eldest Sister... what standards are there for eating?! Eat however you want, look at you, you're being so unreasonable... this isn't someone else's home, it's our own home, eat however you want."

Afterwards Su Hui also backed up Liu San: "Three, just eat yours. Your mom is just full and has nothing to do."

Yao Shoucai drank alcohol happily, not saying anything.

Yao Lianhua, being of lower seniority, also didn't say anything.

Su Wan sat beside Su Jin and pulled her to say some quiet words: "Eldest Sister, look at you, there are so many people here; talking like this makes Three lose face, how bad is that. If you have something to say, say it when you go home; at my Second Sister's home, it's not good to say it like this."

Chai Mi originally didn't want to persuade; actually it was nothing more than Su Jin having another episode, feeling stifled in her heart. One reason was that Su Jin saw Chai Mi making money while her own son didn't make money, making her feel uncomfortable; of course, this reason was just the surface reason.

The deeper reason was that her own son Liu San and his wife had not been able to have children.

As a result, Su Jin still had to come to contribute to the celebration.

Su Jin originally would have had some resentment about this. Plus, seeing everyone praise Chai Mi, Su Jin felt a bit uncomfortable.

So Chai Mi had to persuade.

Not persuading wouldn't do.

"Auntie. Look at you, rushing around all day like this. My cousin is just like that. Why do you bother managing him? Really... eat some dumplings."

"I don't eat mutton." Su Jin indeed hadn't eaten many dumplings; she also indeed didn't eat much mutton.

"Delicious, and you still don't believe me." Chai Mi picked up a broken dumpling into Su Jin's bowl: "Really, look, my mom doesn't eat mutton either, but today she's eaten several. You try one too. Not to blow my own horn, but my dumplings have made so many people cry from how good they are..."

Chai Mi's expression was good, her bearing also fine, not a trace of affectation.

This point, Su Jin naturally also noticed.

Chai Mi indeed simply wanted Su Jin to taste a dumpling to ease the awkwardness.

Of course, since it wasn't her own home either, Su Jin just tasted one bite.

Mmm...

Indeed delicious.

When wrapping dumplings, there was a strong mutton gaminess, but when eating them, not only was there no gaminess at all, they were especially fragrant.

Delicious.

Su Jin ate the dumpling Chai Mi had put in her bowl.

Chai Mi picked up two more, then said half-complaining half-persuading: "Eldest Aunt, you're getting on in years, don't meddle in everything. Eating well and drinking well is the first priority. Times have changed now. Before, everyone couldn't eat their fill. I remember when I was little, at your house's back small window, I'd squat down below and watch you make flatbreads. It made me drool so much..."

Chai Mi thought of her childhood and couldn't help feeling deeply moved.

In childhood, Chai Mi's family was extremely poor.

This was mainly thanks to... Chai Mi's foolishly loyal father Chai Youqing. He spent all day working for Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong, with the result that no one was home to cook.

Farm work in this era was not as simple as in later generations.

In later generations, everyone knows from TV — fully mechanized, especially in the Northeast, all large-scale machinery. Whether staple crops like corn, rice, wheat, or things like sweet potatoes and chili peppers, machinery is mainly used, saving enormous time and labor.

But in this current era it's still manual labor. The only difference from ancient times is chemical fertilizer; the rest is basically the same.

Although theoretically Chai Mi's family had only several dozen mu of land back then, spring plowing used donkeys or oxen, then people had to sow seeds, fertilize, then cover soil.

Covering soil here generally used a wooden contraption, hard to describe; simply put, the operation is pulling a bosa.

Hearing this term, it's definitely an antique.

Summer still needed thinning seedlings, weeding, harrowing, second fertilizing; autumn still needed harvesting, shucking corn, then bringing it home. Corn stalks also had to be brought back, and stubble cleared.

Anyway, the work was extraordinarily, extraordinarily much.

So Su Wan and Chai Youqing not only had no time to coax children, but because they constantly worked for Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong, they had no money either. Result: Chai Mi often sneaked off to her maternal aunt's house when her parents went to the fields.

In terms of relationship, Chai Mi and maternal aunt Su Jin were closer. After all, relatively speaking, little Chai Mi ate many meals at maternal aunt's house.

"I was so greedy back then. Just right, my eldest sister was watching me. Then one day I ate six flatbreads." Chai Mi spoke, then looked at Su Jin: "Eldest Aunt. Whenever, eating is the first priority. You just eat well and drink well. As for the rest, don't worry about it."

The implicit meaning: Liu San and his wife having no children — Su Jin should stop thinking so much about it.

After all, thinking is useless for this matter.

Can't conceive, just can't conceive.

No one can do anything about it.

Result: Chai Mi saying this, Su Jin actually felt a bit wronged, tears looked about to fall. Chai Mi and the others comforted her a while, then she felt better.

Fortunately, Su Jin didn't cry out loud.

Everyone had eaten about enough, plus Su Jin's episode, so it counted as finishing the meal.

After lunch, Chai Mi said she'd go check on Yao Lianhua, so she brought Chai Xiu out.

Mainly because that mood just now was really too stifling; Chai Mi also took the chance to get some air.

"Chai Mi, what's up with Eldest Aunt?" Yao Lianhua frowned and asked.

Today Su Jin seemed off; Yao Lianhua noticed too.

"Nothing... probably just finds Liu San an eyesore." Chai Mi brushed it off: "You know our cousin. Good-for-nothing at everything, number one at bragging. Eating also counts as number one. How could Eldest Aunt find him pleasing?"

Yao Lianhua laughed.

Chai Xiu spread her little hands: "Cousin, Eldest Sister is lying. Eldest Aunt sees other families having kids, Liu San has none, she gets upset. Before going to anyone's gift-giving, Eldest Aunt always puts on this whole act. My sister says at home: your second aunt has so damn many issues, idle with nothing to do, invites Eldest Aunt over to stay a couple nights, pure boredom making trouble..."

Chai Mi gasped, hand grabbing Chai Xiu's arm, rolling her eyes scolding: "No, Xiu'er, are you really full and bored? Whatever words you just blurt out? Honestly... can't let you speak outside from now on."

Chai Xiu didn't mind, just said she knew.

Yao Lianhua frowned, somewhat uncomprehending: "Then... then have Cousin and Sister-in-law gone to the hospital? They've been married seven or eight years, right? Still no kids, should be eighty percent something's wrong. They should get checked properly..."

Chai Mi sighed: "Won't go... Eldest Aunt insists it's Zhang Hailan's problem. What can you do?"

Yao Lianhua immediately understood.

The reality should be Liu San's problem.

Meaning Liu San actually has a physiological issue, can't have kids, but Su Jin's family seeks treatment only for Zhang Hailan — that's been useless effort all along.

But this thing, outsiders can't say it isn't so.

Can't have some idle person looking for a fight, telling Su Jin: hey, your son's no good.

That'd start a brawl for sure.

So this matter has no solution.

Since no solution, Yao Lianhua didn't ask further; asking more would be nonsense.

"Eldest Sister, you've been out several times now. Baby just turned one month, can you manage?"

"Nothing, my mother-in-law's watching. Live close; if anything she'd have called me long ago."

Chatting, Yao Lianhua and Chai Mi arrived at "next door".

Called next door, but actually there's a stretch of road between the two houses.

After all, this is deep in the mountains, originally scattered east one household west one household.

Mountain houses aren't like flatland villages where households sit side by side. Due to uneven terrain, Chai Mi's second aunt's house is at the foot of a slope, dug into the slope and covered over.

Then Yao Lianhua's in-laws' house is on another slope.

Though "neighbors", there's about half a li of road between them.

And Yao Lianhua's house sits higher, mountain on the east side. Relatively speaking, lighting is a tiny bit better.

After all, Chai Mi's second aunt Su Hui's home had mountains to the south and mountains to the north, and hardly ever saw the sun.

Speaking of this problem, it was actually mentioned earlier: back then Yao Shoucai was an Accountant in the brigade, and the house he lived in was actually a warehouse in the village.

As the name suggests, a warehouse was used for storing grain and such.

At this time, for more convenient and reasonable storage, it was built in a shadier place, which led to Su Hui basically hardly seeing the light all year round. Wanting to bask in the sun in winter was difficult.

In contrast, Yao Lianhua's family lived in a more reasonable place.

At least being able to see the sun was good.