Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 431 Northwest Wind

Vermicelli, a food that couldn’t be more ordinary, a food that few young people had ever seen on supermarket shelves decades ago, is now a popular commodity with limited sale and purchase restrictions.

In the following years, even residents of the old city could only buy it with tickets during a few specific festivals, with each person getting 1-2 taels each time.

The reason is that vermicelli is mostly composed of starch, especially after soaking, it can give people a strong sense of fullness.

Zhang Guifang was well aware of the intricacies of this, so when Tang Zhitong asked her to buy some things while they were in stock a few days ago, vermicelli and rice paper became her first choice.

After the steamed buns were ready, Fengzhi stood in front of the pot, eager to try, but was pushed aside by Zhang Guifang.

It’s not because I love my daughter eating it, but because I’m afraid of scalding her.

The steam will cause pain for several days.

The steamed buns or steamed buns should be taken out of the pot and hung out to dry as soon as possible, otherwise they will collapse when exposed to water and will not look good.

If you have an iron hand, you can just pick it up with your left hand, transfer it to your right hand, and quickly place it on the curtain.

If your hands are not strong enough, you will need to prepare a bowl of cold water. Dip your fingers in the cold water, then take the steamed buns or steamed buns and quickly place them on the lid. Repeat this process until all the buns are used up.

The steamed buns and steamed dumplings just out of the pot are dried in different ways. The steamed buns have their round bottom facing up, with the tip of the bun touching the lid, while the steamed buns are done the opposite way.

When Tang Zhitong was young, he asked his mother why this was the case. His mother could not answer him, but only said that it was a rule passed down from the older generation.

At this moment, Tang Zhitong thought of this problem again and guessed that it might be because the bottom of the steamed bun was facing up, so the surface area in contact with the air was larger and it cooled faster.

"Mom, why are steamed buns placed sitting down but steamed buns are placed upside down?" Although Tang Zhitong had his own guess, he still asked Zhang Guifang.

"Why are there so many whys? These are all taught by the older generation." Zhang Guifang didn't even raise her head and continued to pick up the steamed buns. There are two layers in the steamer. After picking up the ones on the top, she has to use chopsticks to pick out the grate and cage cloth, and then pick up the ones on the bottom.

"Okay." Tang Zhitong was happy after hearing his mother's reply. Even though there were decades between them, his mother's reply was almost exactly the same.

"Mom, are they cooked? Can I have a taste?" Fengzhi watched Zhang Guifang take all the steamed buns out of the pot. She swallowed her saliva madly and showed signs of raising her hand to bite her nails.

"Don't eat your nails. Have you forgotten who pulled out worms two days ago? Go wash your hands first." Zhang Guifang hit Fengzhi's hand and reminded her.

A while ago, Fengzhi wanted to eat the pomegranates that Auntie Ma gave her. Zhang Guifang coaxed her into eating two pieces of pomegranate peel, which killed a few insects.

The remaining pomegranate peels were not thrown away. Zhang Guifang dried them up and planned to use them together with pumpkin seeds to repel insects for her children.

In Tang Zhitong's memory, Zhang Guifang always used this method and gave the two sisters food every once in a while.

Fengzhen is better, but Fengzhi is the type of person who is so bold that she doesn't mind being dirty. She even uses a small wooden stick to pick out the bugs. Every time, she gets punished by Zhang Guifang by pulling her ears.

The previous Tang Zhitong was like a piece of wood and didn't care about these things. On the contrary, the Tang Zhitong who came back again and again reminded his family to wash their hands before meals, pay attention to hygiene, and develop good habits.

So, over the past six months, the number of times parasites have been excreted has become less and less, which is a good thing.

After washing her hands, Fengzhi couldn't wait to pick up a steamed bun and took a bite. It was so hot that she inhaled but was reluctant to spit it out.

Tang Zhitong smiled and did not try to persuade her. He saw his own childhood self in his younger sister.

Greed is almost a common problem among children. People who have a comfortable life and have never experienced poverty will not understand this feeling, let alone empathize with it.

Before coming to this era, Tang Zhitong heard her mother talk about an old story, which happened around 70. Her younger brother, who was only about five or six years old at that time, wanted to eat noodles on his birthday, but was dragged out of the house by his second brother by twisting his ears. His ears were cracked and bleeding.

When Tang Zhitong himself was still in primary school, around 90, the living standard in Beijing was similar to that of today's urban areas. Every time the neighbor lady made dumplings, she would lean over the back window sill and call him over to eat.

I just kept stuffing my mouth with food until my stomach hurt and I couldn't sleep at night.

Of course, some people also said that he had no future, but Tang Zhitong's mother never blamed her son and always rubbed his belly.

When Tang Zhitong grew up, he talked about this matter with his parents.

Mother said: Let them talk. Who hasn't had a childhood? It's not like you can just go there and eat as much as you want without being invited. Your living conditions are better now. When I was a kid, I could only eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year, and the dumplings were vegetarian.

Tang Zhitong then asked his father what he ate when he was young.

My father said: Your mother was a rich peasant at that time. She ate cornmeal dumplings on weekdays and dumplings during the Chinese New Year. I can't compare with her. I am a poor peasant. I eat sweet potato flour mixed with wild vegetables all year round.

Although the parents said this, their actions compensated their son for all the deficiencies in their childhood and gave him the best they could.

Tang Zhitong is not an ungrateful person. After he became capable, he did his best to repay his parents. He never missed the twice-yearly visits to the aunt who invited him to eat dumplings.

Then again, is it really shameful to be greedy?
Tang Zhitong didn't think it was shameful. In the days when people were hungry, greed was an instinct deeply rooted in one's bones. What's more, this was in his own home, not like he was throwing a tantrum outside and asking for food.

It is shameful to be unable to satisfy your family's food desires and then blame them for being too greedy.

Zhang Guifang had no preference. In her opinion, no matter how old they were, they were all her children, so she gave one to each of them.

Everyone was satisfied with the food. Fengzhi was struggling with the steamed bun at the moment and didn't even bother to notice whether her brother was the last one to eat.

Zhang Guifang didn't have time to eat herself, and quickly put another pot of steamed buns into the pot.

The weather is cool now, and the steamed bun has opened, so it is easier to eat. Fengzhi's cheeks are bulging. After finishing one steamed bun, she wanted to take a second one, but was stopped by Zhang Guifang.

"These are sent to Jingmin's family. If you want to eat, wait for the second pot." Zhang Guifang pushed her daughter's hand away and said.

"Mom, just try it. You don't need to bring so much." After hearing this, Wang Jingwen took a steamed bun from the lid and stuffed it into her sister-in-law's hand. She then took another one and handed it to her mother-in-law: "Mom, you've been busy for a long time. You should try it too."

"Okay, okay." Zhang Guifang smiled until her crow's feet turned into chrysanthemums. She took the steamed buns and called her son, "Eanzi, take them over later. They taste better when they're hot. Also take half of the raisins you brought back yesterday."

"Raisins? What are raisins?" Feng Zhi heard it and felt that it was something to eat, so she asked immediately.

"Raisins are a kind of snack made from air-dried grapes." Feng Zhen spoke slowly.

"Sister, has our mother ever given you food?" Fengzhi's eyes widened and she showed a hint of grievance when she heard her sister say that.

"Dad bought it before, and you ate it." Feng Zhen knew what her sister meant, so she resolutely fought back against this unskilled provocation. "But I don't remember it at all." Feng Zhi felt even more wronged, as if she had lost dozens of dollars.

"Okay, I'll give you a taste. You're really a troublemaker." Zhang Guifang seemed to have a slight headache. How could she not understand what her little daughter meant?
The reason why Zhang Guifang knew about raisins was because of the few that her husband brought back that time. She only ate them that one time in her nearly forty years of life.

Fengzhi was still young at that time and ate with relish, but she doesn’t have a deep impression of it.

Tang Zhitong’s family’s reaction was not surprising at all. Raisins, which were unpopular in later generations because they were too sweet, are now a rare commodity.

In fact, it is a rare commodity not only now but also two hundred years ago, and most of the time it appears as an ingredient in the “Eight Beijing Confectionery Products”.

During the Qing Dynasty, the "Eight Beijing Pieces" became popular. These snacks are made with eight ingredients, including date paste, green plum, raisin, rose, bean paste, sugar, banana, and pepper salt, as fillings, using oil, water and flour to make the skin, which is then wrapped in the skin and baked.

It is beautifully packaged and sold at a high price. It is used as a gift to relatives and friends during festivals and birthdays. It is similar to the mooncake gift boxes and rice dumpling gift boxes decades later.

As for whether it tastes good or not, that depends on personal opinion. Tang Zhitong thinks it is very average and far inferior to mooncakes.

Zhang Guifang took out the raisins that Tang Zhitong had brought back yesterday from the inner room, along with a bundle.

"Here, shut your mouth. This is all I have for today. Eat slowly." Zhang Guifang didn't know whether this thing could be washed or not. Anyway, she didn't wash it the last time she ate it, so she just pinched a small handful and gave it to Fengzhi.

Then the other younger generations didn't fall behind and each got a little.

"Thank you, Mom. You don't have to take the raisins. Leave them at home. My brother and sister have eaten them before." Wang Jingwen thanked her after taking the raisins. Although she was talking to her mother-in-law, some things were still inconvenient to say directly. Could it be that when her father was alive, he gave a lot of raisins to his old friends in the northwest?

"The ones you have eaten are yours. This is given to you by others. Take it to your mother to try." Zhang Guifang did not listen to her daughter-in-law and there was a hint of pride in her tone.

As a person who came from the old society, she knew very well what it meant to have someone send her something. This was because her son was capable.

In the past, we always gave gifts to others. When did others ever give gifts to us?

While Fengzhi was savoring the raisins, Zhang Guifang packed all the steamed buns into her bag, then found the newspaper and wrapped the raisins in half, and finally handed it to Tang Zhitong: "Anzi, you go over first, see if you can make it in time for lunch."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Tang Zhitong took the bag and happily stuffed all the raisins in his hand into Xiao Wang's hand.

The raisins were heavy, and there wasn’t much at just over a pound, so Tang Zhitong stuffed them directly into his cloth bag, then carried the bag and went out.

In order to keep the steamed buns warm, Tang Zhitong threw the bundle into the space when he went out the door, then rode his bicycle straight to Chunshu Hutong.

Normally, it is not yet cold in the city at the beginning of winter, and a thin cotton coat is enough to cope with the weather.

But as soon as he left the flower market street, Tang Zhitong felt the wind blowing. The breeze whistled past his ears, and his fingers and ears felt obviously cold.

About a quarter of an hour later, Tang Zhitong entered the gate of the Women's Federation dormitory, greeted Grandpa Gao, parked his bicycle at the entrance of the building, and went upstairs on his own.

Ye Zhijuan's house has two households on one floor. It's not heating time yet, so every household keeps their doors closed to keep warm.

Tang Zhitong blew several breaths of hot air into his hands in the corridor, rubbed and kneaded his ears, and when he reached the door, he took out the bag and knocked on it.

"Who is it?" Wang Jingying's voice came from inside.

"Jingying, it's me, your brother-in-law." Tang Zhitong replied, and then there were the sounds of footsteps from inside.

The one who asked the question was Wang Jingying, but the one who opened the door was Wang Jingmin. As soon as he opened the door, he greeted Tang Zhitong enthusiastically, but his eyes drifted to the bag in Tang Zhitong's hand: "Hello, brother-in-law!"

"Okay, go get a small basin. We'll have steamed buns today." Tang Zhitong gave his brother-in-law a slap on the head, then asked his sister-in-law, "Isn't our mother at home?"

"Well, I went to the meeting." Wang Jingying said as she poured water for Tang Zhitong.

"Thank you. Please wash your hands and take out the steamed buns. I won't do it." Tang Zhitong's fingers were cold. He took the enamel pot and covered his hands on it.

"Let me do it, let me do it, I've washed my hands." Wang Jingmin volunteered. He didn't even open the bundle. Instead, he made a hole on the side, took out one, stuffed it into his mouth first, and then used his other hand to slowly pour it into the basin.

"Sit aside, I'll enjoy your meal." Wang Jingying didn't listen to her brother. She came out after washing her hands, pushed him aside, untied the bundle first, then picked up the steamed buns neatly into the basin, and considerately folded the bundle neatly and placed it on the table.

Tang Zhitong covered his hands, drank a few sips of water from the enamel cup, and then took out the raisins from his pocket and put them on the table; "Some raisins, you guys try them."

Since the steamed buns were not that hot anymore, Wang Jingmin swallowed the buns in two or three bites after hearing about the raisins, and hurriedly opened the package, his mouth not idle: "Thank you, brother-in-law, this is delicious! I haven't eaten it for a while."

Tang Zhitong smiled, drank a few more sips of water, put down the enamel cup, stood up and said, "You guys eat, I'll go back first."

Tang Zhitong declined Wang Jingying's invitation to stay for dinner and went downstairs to go home.

When they were in the corridor, Tang Zhitong couldn't help but shake his head. The gap between people is sometimes even greater than the gap between people and dogs.

As a child of the same age, Wang Jingmin knew that raisins were delicious and he had mentioned that he had eaten them a lot before. However, Fengzhi had the first time in her memory to taste raisins. Tang Zhitong believed that most of the other children of the same age in the alley did not know what raisins were.

650 yuan is not enough for a breakfast.

699 yuan is not enough to buy a pair of socks.

Maybe they really think that more than 600 yuan is a small amount of money.

They may really not know that more than 600 yuan is enough to pay for a month's food expenses for most ordinary rural families.

Maybe this is survivor bias.

Maybe they know, but just don't bother to care.

Come from the people and go to the people.

Knowing is easy, but doing is difficult. How easy is that?

On Tang Zhitong's way home, the wind blew even harder.

The northwest wind blew through the gaps in his coat and sweater and hit Tang Zhitong's body, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)