Chapter 686 Meat (3)
In the end, Tian Lin couldn't find a place to enjoy the shade. There were too many migrant workers and there were too few shade trees. She could only find a place with few people to sit down and stretch her legs, and seize the time to rest.
No one has a watch, so they all rely on the sun to tell the time. Jiang Feng was sitting on the ground listening to Tian Lin and Xiujuan chatting about home affairs. He heard a clear, sharp whistle and an inaudible shout, and everyone stood up.
Work has started.
At first, when Jiang Feng heard Tian Lin talk about anti-sandbags, he thought their job was just to fight sandbags. After seeing the truth, Jiang Feng realized that anti-sandbags was just a code name, and no one was fighting sandbags at all. Compared with their work, anti-sandbags It's much easier.
Xiujuan carried the sand and soil, and Tian Lin pulled the cart. The two loads of sand and soil were so heavy that Xiujuan couldn't even straighten her waist. She could only bend down and walk step by step, one trip at a time, without stopping.
Tian Linla's cart was loaded with rocks, some large and some small. The road was uneven and had steep slopes. Tian Lin pulled the cart crookedly and had to prevent it from turning into potholes. She stopped when she was tired. Take a breath, and when you're really tired, you'll go get a bowl of water after you finish the job.
Tian Lin and Xiujuan were inconspicuous among the crowd. There were people everywhere, everyone was working, dust was flying, everyone's face was covered with sweat, and everyone's clothes were stained. Different from the extras in movies and TV dramas who act as backgrounds and do nothing but do actions, everyone here is really doing it. The scorching sun is real, the sweat is real, the stumbling steps are real, and the traces left by the cart are real. Traces The footprints left by everyone are also real.
For the first time, Jiang Feng felt the atmosphere of working people.
It’s really an atmosphere of labor, an atmosphere where you feel out of place and guilty if you stop and sit next to it.
It's not lifeless here, on the contrary, it's full of life. Jiang Feng saw many people like Xiujuan, who kept racing against the clock and staggering forward for that slightly slim hope.
Everyone worked until the sun was about to set. The scope of the dam construction was too wide, there were not so many lights, and the ground was littered with scattered sand and gravel. If they worked overtime at night, it was inevitable that someone would be injured.
As soon as Tian Lin went to work, she packed up her things and rushed to Jiang's house - actually there was not much, just a cattail fan, a handkerchief and an empty bowl for drinking water in the cloth bag.
The Jiang family was a little far away from where Tian Lin worked. Jiang Feng felt that Tian Lin had walked very fast and walked for more than an hour. She didn't arrive until it was almost dark. Jiang Feng had never seen the Jiang family's old house. Their family had already moved to a later house when he was born.
As soon as Tian Lin opened the door, Jiang Feng felt an unprecedented visual impact.
Five sizes of fat boys, from big to small, were sitting at the dining table, waiting for the meal to be served.
Jiang Feng could clearly recognize his father. His father must have just entered elementary school at this time. He was not tall and not particularly fat, but in this era when the streets were full of thin people, he should be considered very fat. He looked chubby. And a little cute.
Jiang Jiankang faced the door. When he saw Tian Lin coming back, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs: "Mom, my cousin is back, why don't we start dinner yet!"
"What are you talking about? Your father hasn't cooked the meat yet, so you are the noisiest. You see, the others are not making any noise. Just wait until the meat is out of the pot." The middle-aged woman is already slightly fat. Grandma Jiang, who had lived the life she most wanted to be when she was young, walked out of the room with a rag in her hand. She looked like she was cleaning the room. "Tian Lin, there are two pots of boiling water in the toilet. You can mix it with cold water yourself." Take a shower and we’ll have dinner soon.”
"Okay, Third Aunt." Tian Lin didn't dare to stay in the living room for a long time when she looked dirty, so she rushed into the toilet.
Jiang Feng looked around. The house was not big, just two rooms, with a balcony but very small. There are two beds in one of the rooms. Judging from the clutter of the room, this should be the room of Jiang Jiankang's fifth brother. Although the child is fat, he is still small and can sleep on two beds.
The living room is divided into areas. The area connected to the kitchen has a dining table, and the other area contains a simple small bed. Tian Lin should sleep here during this time. Grandma Jiang is cleaning the room. The three older boys, Jiang Jiankang, Jiang Jiandang and Jiang Jianguo, are drooling at the smell of meat. The two younger ones, Jiang Jianshe and Jiang Jianye, are smelling the smell of meat and eating their hands.
Jiang Feng went into the kitchen and took a look. The kitchen was not big, but it was fully equipped with kitchen utensils. There are several plates of vegetables in the corner, all of which are meat dishes without any green color, braised pork trotters, pot-wrapped pork, braised pork with pickled vegetables and crucian carp soup. There is also a portion of braised pork in the pot that has reached the final stage of simmering. It's an all-meat feast.
Grandma Jiang came out of the room after wiping the cabinet. Seeing her useless sons lying on the dining table, she said angrily: "All of them are like reincarnations of starving ghosts. It's not like you don't have enough to eat on weekdays. Didn’t you eat braised pork for a few days? Jianguo, wipe your saliva from Jianshe and just look at your brother.”
Jiang Jianguo quickly used Jiang Jianshe's sleeve to wipe Jiang Jianshe's saliva. Of course it was him who was drooling, so of course he wiped it with his clothes.
Grandma Jiang didn't see this scene, she went into the kitchen. The small kitchen became a little crowded after two people entered. The old man also felt a little uncomfortable and said, "Why did you come in? I just seemed to hear Tian Lin coming back."
"She's back and she's taking a shower. She's too tired from the dam-resistant job. I guess she won't be able to wear the clothes she has now when the dam is repaired." Grandma Jiang said.
The old man never cared about such trivial matters and did not answer Grandma Jiang's words: "I heard today that the dam is expected to be completed next month."
"So fast." Grandma Jiang was surprised, glanced outside and whispered, "Can you do what I told you last time? Zhuang Jian, this child is in poor health. If Tian Lin can stay in the city and live with them, You can also feel much better during this period. Although Tian Lin is a bit lazy, she is still a bit lazy. She is serious about her work and a nice person. I let her live in our house and she gave me her monthly rice and extra allowance to pay for the rent and food. Didn't the superiors often ask you to cook? Just open your mouth and ask him if it’s okay.”
The old man glanced at the pot: "I've asked about it. This time, the superiors are going to use this incident to set an example. They have repeatedly emphasized that no relationship is allowed and no internal agreement is allowed. Don't think about it."
Grandma Jiang could only sigh and glance at the pot.
"By the way, did you add sugar to today's braised pork?"
Old man:? ? ?
Jiang Feng read from the old man's face that the topic had changed too quickly.
“Why add sugar?”
"It tastes delicious with sugar!" Grandma Jiang's voice suddenly became louder, "Today is Jiankang's birthday. Jiankang likes to eat sweet things, so braised pork must be added with sugar! Jiankang, a child, has liked to eat sweet things since he was a child. He is one year old When you don’t have a few teeth and can only eat some thin paste, you will know how to eat it with the one you brought back from FJ. Add sugar and hurry up. If you don’t add meat, it will be out of the pot.”
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Although the old man felt that what Grandma Jiang said was unreasonable, he still honestly added sugar to the braised pork that was about to be cooked, and let it simmer for a while. It took a little longer before it was cooked.
Grandma Jiang happily brought out the dishes. The five dishes were all meat.
Tian Lin had already taken a shower and changed into clean clothes. When she saw Grandma Jiang coming out, she quickly stepped forward to help her. When she took the plate, Tian Lin looked at the meat on the plate and couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
She has been staying at the Jiang family these days, but has not had a few meals with the Jiang family. Because she has to rush to work every day, she always leaves early and comes home late, and she never makes it in time for meals. Usually the old man gets up early the night before or in the morning to steam some steamed buns or make some pancakes for her, and she eats them while walking. , and the rest is for lunch. Grandma Jiang left some food for her in the evening. The rice was white rice and there were vegetables. It was impossible to keep the meat. It would be nice if there was some broth left.
There are five fat kids in the Jiang family, and three of them are old enough to eat. On weekdays, there is only one plate of roast meat. When it is brought to the table, it is gone in the blink of an eye, and there is no broth left. As long as the old man doesn't hit anyone, Brother can lick the plate cleaner than his face. The old man’s policy in raising children has always been that eating is a blessing, eating as much as possible, and never scrupulously cooking rations. This has also led to the fact that although he and Grandma Jiang’s incomes are not low and they often go out to make extra money, the Jiang family has always been Didn't save any money.
Eat them all.
This advanced lifestyle can be considered quite weird in this era when everyone is cutting back on clothing and dieting.
The old man didn't care whether it was weird or not, he was living a comfortable life anyway.
Tian Lin was stunned.
At first, she thought that Grandma Jiang specially asked her to come back early for dinner and said that today was Jiang Jiankang's birthday. The barbecue at home was a plate of meat.
From Tian Lin's point of view, the only reason for not celebrating the New Year is because it is a very luxurious thing to cook a plate of meat on a child's birthday. You must know that before she was married, the family only celebrated the New Year and celebrated the birthdays of her elders. I can eat meat from time to time, but I can’t eat too much at one time. When they cook a plate of meat on New Year's Eve, Tada Lin, a member of her family, only gets one or two pieces, and it's all lean meat but not the fat meat, which is rich in oil and water. Chop the remaining meat into minced meat and mix it with cabbage to make dumplings. If there is still more, make it into bacon. When the family is craving for meat, put two slices of bacon into the dish to mix in the meat flavor and quench the craving.
Tian Lin suspected that she had worked so hard today that she was hallucinating. What did she see? She saw five large plates of meat!
Five large plates, all filled with meat!
Tian Lin was a little afraid to move her chopsticks.
She didn't dare to move. Jiang Jiankang and the other five boys were unambiguous and pointed directly at the braised pig's trotters. Jiang Jianshe was the youngest. He couldn't speak clearly and couldn't hold chopsticks steadily. He pointed at the braised pig's trotters with his chopsticks and said some incomprehensible words to ask Grandma Jiang to pick up the pig's trotters for him to eat.
"Tian Lin, eat, if you don't move your chopsticks, this good meat will be taken away by these five guys from my family." Grandma Jiang greeted Tian Lin, thinking that Tian Lin was embarrassed to hold out her chopsticks.
"Thank you, Third Aunt." Tian Lin lowered her head and picked up a small piece of lean meat from the pig's trotters.
"You also like to eat lean meat, and so do the boys in my family. Every time your uncle's unit distributes meat in the factory, we both pick the leaner ones and choose the ribs. Others always say that we carry forward our style." Grandma Jiang said with a smile.
Tian Lin nodded. She also felt that Grandma Jiang was promoting her style. Every time a pig was killed, everyone rushed to pick out the big fat meat. The fat meat can be refined into oil and tasted delicious. No one wanted the ribs. In the end, there was nothing they could do. Just want it, this is not to promote style.
"Pork ribs are a good thing. I originally..." The old man wanted to say something else, but thought about it and stopped.
Tian Lin stuffed the meat into her mouth and was so shocked that she couldn't speak.
This expression is very familiar to Jiang Feng. Two months after Jiang Shoucheng was forced by his second aunt to go vegetarian to lose weight, Jiang Shoucheng had this expression when he ate meat. His first reaction was that this was meat, and the meat had this taste, and then he was amazed at the chef's skills. .
A person has been starving for a long time without eating meat for a year or two, and has to do manual labor every day. The stew passed down by the Zhao family is delicious, and it may even be very delicious because the meat is fat and oily.
Tian Lin chewed the meat twice and swallowed it.
She felt like she didn't even taste the meat. Her stomach was so thirsty for meat that it urged her to swallow it, so she swallowed it.
"By the way Tian Lin, did you eat stew when you got married?" Grandma Jiang asked.
"No." Tian Lin shook her head, "Mom and grandma said they would cook stew for me during the Chinese New Year. Make a big pot of it, and it will be enough."
"The stew made by my mother is delicious. The meat is big and fat. Every time I cook it, it is a big pot. Although our Zhao family has little money, the New Year stew is absolutely delicious! My mother even made a special stew on the day I got married. Pot stew, your uncle said it was delicious when he ate it." Grandma Jiang was beaming when she talked about it.
Old man:......
The old man's expression was a bit hard to describe.
"It's a pity that stew is only made on New Year's Eve. We married daughters can't eat it. I haven't eaten it in many years. Tian Lin, this is the ancestral craft of our Zhao family. During the New Year, you You must learn from mom and don't lose this skill!" Grandma Jiang warned.
Jiang Feng:...
Grandma, do you know what you said? ! !
"Yes!" Tian Lin nodded solemnly.
"Eat meat!" Grandma Jiang said proudly.
Tian Lin picked up a large piece of fat braised pork and took a bite.
A little sweet.
Tian Lin thought happily, is this what big meat feels like?
tasty!
Jiang Feng began to be shrouded in fog and left his memory. (End of chapter)