Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 545 544 Gift
Early in the morning of January 1, Tang Zhitong dreamed of looking for a toilet, and then he had to hold his urine. It was all because he drank too much water last night.

Young people have strong kidney energy and can urinate three feet high when facing the wind. The water column gurgles in the urine bucket.

Student Xiao Wang was simply woken up by the noise.

"So early?" Student Wang rubbed his eyes, turned on the bedside lamp, and glanced at the watch on the bedside. It was five o'clock in the morning.

"Did I wake you up? I'll go slower next time." After finishing his work, Tang Zhitong held the urine bucket with his hands and shook it. Then he covered the urine bucket with a wooden board, put it aside, and got back into bed.

"Here, this is for you." Student Xiao Wang took out a small stone from under the pillow and handed it to her husband with a smile.

"What is it? Jade?" Tang Zhitong took it, looked at it in the dim light of the bedside lamp, and asked.

"Yes, don't you like it?" Xiao Wang replied as a matter of course.

"Thank you. Didn't you say you wouldn't buy it last time?" Tang Zhitong took another careful look. Judging from his jade identification skills, which were not yet fully developed, although it was just a small piece of raw stone, its quality was good.

"Have you forgotten what day today is?" classmate Xiao Wang reminded with a smile.

"Today is Laba Festival."

"Today is your birthday, how could you forget that?" Classmate Xiao Wang gave her husband a health ball.

Tang Zhitong has been dealing with those scraps for a while and even went out late at night. Classmate Xiao Wang was thinking about this and found a colleague a few days ago.

She had a colleague who liked and knew a lot about jade, so she asked him to buy her a small piece.

It’s not cheap, it’s just a small piece, only a few dollars. It’s not expensive either, Xiao Wang can afford it.

"Oh, I haven't had much time with you since I was a child. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have really forgotten about it. It's rare that you are thoughtful, I have to thank you!" Tang Zhitong grabbed the hard jade in one hand and the soft jade in the other, then he moved forward and took a bite.

"Hateful!" Student Xiao Wang lowered his head and leaned into Tang Zhitong's arms to avoid being touched by his stubble. It was a bit prickly early in the morning.

"Hey, wait, I'll light the stove first." Tang Zhitong was no longer sleepy at the moment. He put on his cotton jacket without wearing any cotton pants and got out of bed to make a fire.

Since there was a screen between the bedroom and the stove, Xiao Wang couldn't see Tang Zhitong, so he started fiddling with it for a while, and then there was the sound of a match being struck, and the stove was lit so easily.

In fact, Tang Zhitong pulled out the spare fire from the space and directly put it into the furnace.

You have to hurry up, or your legs will get frozen.

"Silly boy, are you cold?" Student Wang had a slightly innocent expression on his face. He lifted the quilt to let Tang Zhitong in, then leaned close to him and used his body to warm him.

"My heart is burning hot, if you don't believe me, just touch it."

"No, boil some water and wash first." When her husband went to light the fire, Xiao Wang knew what he was planning. Today was his birthday, so she just let him do what he wanted...

The sound of the train station's clock came from afar, "Dangdangdang" six times, which meant it was already six o'clock.

After a while, the train station's clock rang again, only once this time, and the time was already half past six.

"It's all your fault. It's too late." After a quantum entanglement, Xiao Wang pushed away the surrendered Tang Zhitong and prepared to start cleaning.

"You're sweating all over. Lie down and rest for a while. Be careful not to catch a cold. I'll get some water later." Tang Zhitong put his arm around Xiao Wang and held him down.

By the time the couple had finished packing, it was already past seven o'clock. When they arrived at the main room, Eight Treasure Porridge had already been served on the Eight Immortals Table, and Fengzhen and Fengzhi were drinking it.

Fengzhi didn't actually need to get up so early, but she couldn't resist craving for the eight-treasure porridge, so when she heard her sister get up, she quickly got dressed.

"Eanzi, why don't you have noodles this morning?" Seeing the young couple coming in, Zhang Guifang served a bowl of eight-treasure porridge to Xiao Wang, then opened the lid of the pot and put the hand-rolled noodles that had been cut beside it into the pot.

"Okay, thanks, Mom." Tang Zhitong was very moved when facing the two most important women in his life. They both remembered his birthday, but they expressed it in different ways.

In Tang Zhitong's impression, because life was not well off, his family members did not celebrate birthdays very often.

For the sake of those who love you and those you love, you must work hard to keep these prosperous days going.

"Wenwen, we made a lot of eight-treasure porridge this time. I'll serve some out. When you go to work later, bring some to your mother to try." Zhang Guifang said, pointing to the pressure cooker next to her.

"Okay, thanks, Mom." Xiao Wang put down the spoon and thanked his mother-in-law.

"It's not worth it. It's not a rare thing." Zhang Guifang was very humble. In fact, she knew how much ingredients were used in the eight-treasure porridge this time. She didn't expect her son to be able to get so many ingredients.

"Is it delicious? Give me a bite." The noodles were not yet cooked, but Tang Zhitong, with a shy face, moved closer to Xiao Wang.

Since the mother-in-law and sister-in-law were present, Xiao Wang gently pushed Tang Zhitong away with his left hand, then scooped a spoonful with his right hand and handed it to Tang Zhitong's mouth.

"Hmm, it tastes good. It would be better if you add some sugar." Tang Zhitong took a bite. It has sufficient ingredients, strong fragrance, and is cooked into a mushy consistency. The only drawback is that it is not sweet enough.

"It's pretty good already. How much sweeter do you want? There are a lot of problems." Zhang Guifang stirred the noodles and then used the "Advanced Rapid Peeling Technique" on the two cooked eggs next to them.

There is a skill to peeling a boiled egg. Pinch the egg with one hand and break it at the waist. Then, press the egg with your palm and roll it back and forth a few times to make sure that the egg is broken all around the waist. At this time, start to tear off the egg skin from the middle. The egg skin in the middle is not only not easy to fall off, but can also randomly take off one of the two ends of the egg. The rest is also easy to deal with and can be taken off with a pick.

After Zhang Guifang peels the eggs, she puts them directly in the bowl. Then she scoops out the noodles and covers them on top. A bowl of simple birthday and longevity noodles is ready.

Before eating the noodles, Tang Zhitong poured some soy sauce into them, added two drops of sesame oil, and then scooped a spoonful of noodle soup. The fragrance came up immediately.

Fengzhi looked at the eight-treasure porridge in her bowl, and then at the soy sauce, sesame oil and egg noodles in her brother's bowl.

"I'll make it for you on your birthday. Come and drink the porridge. It's good. You only get to drink it once a year." Zhang Guifang promised after seeing Fengzhi's little gesture.

"Okay!" Fengzhi gave her mother a sweet smile, revealing a gap between her front teeth.

When children are losing their teeth, they do so without realizing it and do not feel anything at all, unlike adults. Missing teeth are either caused by accidental collisions, cavities, or wisdom teeth, and each one is extremely painful.

"Mom, you try it too." Tang Zhitong mixed the soup and did not eat it alone. He found a bowl and gave half to Zhang Guifang.

Tang Zhitong couldn't say anything cheesy, so he could only thank Zhang Guifang in this simple way. It's the child's birthday, and it's the mother's hard day.

This is not just talk. Even now, only hospitals in big cities have cesarean section technology. Many places still use natural birth as before.

Natural childbirth is not only painful, but also risky, and it is not uncommon for two people to die in one pregnancy.

That’s why there is a saying: If you have a big butt and a round waist, it will be easy to give birth to a child.

Before about the millennium, having a big butt and a round waist was a recognition of a woman, not a derogatory term.

Nowadays, young women with strong build have priority in choosing a spouse, while those with slim waists will be criticized by their mothers-in-law.

After dinner, Tang Zhitong sent his two younger sisters off and did not go directly to the Post and Telecommunications College. Today's exam was in the afternoon, so there was plenty of time.

Tang Zhitong went to the South Barracks to find Ma Kejian.

Since Ma Kejian was praised and promoted last time, his treatment has also improved. He no longer has to go to prepare food early like the low-level chefs, and can go a little later. But because of this, he usually has to finish serving in the evening before he can leave, and he leaves late.

"Why are you here so early in the morning?" When Tang Zhitong arrived at Ma Kejian's house, Wang Yan had already gone to work. Ma Kejian was eating and opened the door for Tang Zhitong while chewing a steamed bun.

"There is something really going on. It's so damn cold." After Tang Zhitong entered the room, he closed the door, took off his cotton gloves, took the kettle off the stove, and put his hands on the stove to warm them.

It is not accurate to call them cotton gloves because they do not have five fingers.

Many people call it a "hand muff". Tang Zhitong doesn't know when and where it originated. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was equipped with it when it fought against the multinational coalition forces in the north a few years ago. It looks like a cloth bag, and its main feature is that it is thick and has strong cold-proof ability.

Many people do not have such conditions at home, so they make do with the work protection gloves distributed by their work unit.

Labor protection gloves are woven with thick threads and have a certain protective effect, but their warmth retention is poor, but it is better than nothing.

"What's the matter?" Ma Kejian poured a glass of water for Tang Zhitong and handed it to him: "Hold Nuan Nuan."

"Thank you." Tang Zhitong took it and put it aside, then took out the applesauce he made from his bag.

"Why are you bringing food here again? Applesauce? Take it away, take it away." Mark Jian took a look and waved his hands repeatedly.

"It's not for you. I have something important to tell you. No, do you know him?" Tang Zhitong looked at the bottle, then at Ma Kejian, stunned.

"How new! As a cook, it's normal for me to know this thing?" Mark Jian joked.

"Well, that's even better." Tang Zhitong put the bottle on the table. What a gap in information. Mark Jian knew more about applesauce than he did. It was the right decision for him to come here this time.

"Why are you doing this? It consumes a lot of sugar." Ma Kejian asked while eating and watching his childhood friend lighting and smoking.

"I was just thinking about it when I had nothing to do." Tang Zhitong chose to conceal it temporarily and did not tell Ma Kejian the truth.

"You figured it out quite cleverly. Foreigners like to eat this stuff." Mark Jian glanced at the jam. Foreigners not only like to eat applesauce, but also peanut butter, and many of them are allergic to peanut butter.

It is not easy to be a chef in a foreign-related restaurant. Before cooking every time, you have to ask the customers directly what they are allergic to. You have to ask directly. You cannot ask about any dietary taboos because that is too euphemistic.

"Does everyone like it?" With the intention of conducting an investigation, Tang Zhitong asked the audience about their opinions on applesauce.

"It's not that exaggerated. It's usually eaten for breakfast. Many foreigners like to spread some butter on bread. Some spread applesauce, some spread peanut butter. Hey, let me tell you, most of us eat peanut butter diluted, but foreigners eat it dry. How sticky is that in the throat?" While eating, Ma Kejian imitated the foreigners and pretended to spread butter on the steamed bread with a spoon.

"Who knows? Maybe that's how their parents taught them." Tang Zhitong believes that dietary differences are not only caused by living environment, but also by cultural differences and even racial factors.

"Then these parents have quite a strong taste. They also eat caviar, which I heard is made from sturgeon eggs, and it smells really fishy. But that's still considered good. There's also a kind of canned food made from herring, do you know what it smells like? The first time I smelled it, I vomited directly, it's like... like a corpse that has been fermenting for three months and has become stinky." Thinking of this, Mark Jian's face lost some of the boasting, his brows furrowed, and he looked like he couldn't bear to look back on the past.

"No, the ingredients in your restaurant are really weird. Do you also offer this?" Tang Zhitong knew canned herring, which is known as one of the stinkiest foods in the world.

"Of course. Our service tenet is to make guests feel at home. We only allow customers not to order. We cannot have it even if customers order it." Mark Jian looked proud when talking about this. Herring is something that may not be ordered once throughout the year, but it must be always available.

Under the general principle that no matter how trivial the matter is in diplomacy, now everything related to foreign affairs is handled with great care and attention. Many people are proud to serve foreigners and do not feel like they are "kneeling down and licking their boots" at all.

In the final analysis, the country is too poor and lacks the confidence to speak. Only when the economy develops and people's lives improve, this situation will undergo a fundamental change. Of course, even with the support of Oriental 31AG, some people still have weak knees and cannot get up.

"Third brother, try the jam I made and see if there is any difference from the one in your restaurant." Tang Zhitong got back to the point.

"Okay, wait, I'll get a spoon." Ma Jian didn't refuse. He took a look at the chopsticks in his hand, which he had used before. Out of professional habit, he stood up and got a clean spoon.

"This one is a little sweeter." Mark Jian scooped out a little, put it in his mouth and tasted it carefully, and commented.

"Is the applesauce in your restaurant processed by your company?" Tang Zhitong nodded and continued to ask.

Tang Zhitong knew that the food he made was too sweet and he did it on purpose because in his impression, sweetness is the taste of happiness. Only when the economy develops to a certain level will this kind of sweet food appear for ordinary people to enjoy.

But it is not yet time to use sugar to ease social conflicts. The status of workers in various countries is steadily rising.

Last July, there was a famous debate - the Kitchen Debate, which caused a great response around the world.

Tang Zhitong has read relevant reports and, from the perspective of someone who has experienced it, this was a beneficial communication.

It is precisely because of this mutual comparison that workers on both sides have the opportunity to improve their treatment.

"I've bought it before, it was quite expensive, now restaurants make it themselves. It's not difficult to imitate," Ma Kejian said frankly.

"There's no difference in taste between the imitation ones and the ones we make ourselves?" Tang Zhitong asked for confirmation.

"What's the difference? Anyway, I haven't heard anyone ask this question since I came here. Why are you asking this?" Ma Kejian looked puzzled.

"Hey, I want to give you a small gift." Tang Zhitong said with a smile, pointing at the applesauce.

(End of this chapter)