Chapter 89: Guan Yongying's Good News
Chapter 89: Guan Yongying's Good News
Deng Shirong’s family had a very simple and straightforward set of relatives, with no complications whatsoever.
His mother was a common child bride from the Republican era, brought home by his grandmother as an infant to be raised.
Thus, his mother had no significant relatives on her side.
By the time Deng Shirong came around, he only had his sister as a close relative, and the relatives from his late wife’s side were slightly more numerous.
These few relatives were so few that Deng Shirong could list them off the top of his head without needing to write them down.
As for the villagers, there was no need to send out formal invitations; he could simply go door-to-door to inform them. The main list Deng Shirong needed to prepare was for his friends in other villages.
In those days, people’s social circles were largely confined to the neighboring villages. Even Deng Shirong, who was more sociable than the average villager, had only a few friends in other villages. It took him less than an hour to list all the friends he could think of.
He went over the list several times in his mind, ensuring that everyone he wanted to invite was on it. Then, he rode his bicycle to the neighboring Ma Village to ask Deng Yunsheng for help with writing the invitations.
Deng Yunsheng, in his fifties, was one of the few educated men in the village, known for his excellent handwriting. He was often called upon to write invitations for weddings and to pen the Spring Festival couplets.
When Deng Shirong explained his request, Deng Yunsheng readily agreed.
After taking care of the invitations, Deng Shirong turned his attention to other tasks, such as reserving chickens and ducks from the villagers.
Previously, people were hesitant to raise too many chickens and ducks. It wasn’t until this summer, when the news of land reform and individual farming spread, that more people started to increase their livestock. However, the typical breeding time for these chickens and ducks was much longer than the fast-growing feed chickens of later times.
Feed chickens could be sold after just one or two months, but the chickens and ducks raised by rural families took about ten months to a year to mature.
So, for those who only started raising more chickens and ducks this summer, it was still too early to sell them. To buy the dozen or so chickens and ducks he needed, Deng Shirong would have to reserve them from at least a dozen families.
In addition to chickens and ducks, he also needed to reserve two pigs.
He needed so many because not only was his family hosting a wedding banquet, but the bride’s family would also be hosting one. According to the current wedding customs, the food and drinks for the bride’s family banquet had to be provided by the groom’s family. This meant that the day before the wedding, the groom’s family had to deliver cakes, alcohol, rice, pork, chickens, and ducks to the bride’s family.
The exact quantities to be delivered were typically agreed upon through the matchmaker. If the groom’s family couldn’t obtain enough pork, chickens, or ducks, they could negotiate to provide the equivalent value in cash, allowing the bride’s family to purchase the items themselves.
Now, as both the matchmaker and the groom’s parent, Deng Shirong found it a bit awkward to discuss these details face-to-face.
However, while the bride’s family might not bring up these requirements, Deng Shirong knew the rules and felt it was his duty to discuss them. No matter how many tables the bride’s family planned to set, he would ensure they had enough food and drinks, aiming to satisfy the bride’s family.
It was a testament to the challenges faced by both sets of parents during weddings, regardless of the era. The various tasks involved in hosting a wedding could indeed be overwhelming, often leading to significant weight loss for the parents.
Fortunately, Deng Shirong was well-versed in these matters.
After all, in his previous life, he had organized four weddings for his sons, making him extremely familiar with the entire process.
...
At Deng Changfu’s home, Guan Yongying was preparing lunch.
In Shuangwang, the typical diet still consisted of white porridge for breakfast and dinner, with various grains for lunch.
Better-off families might have white porridge for breakfast, grains for lunch, and a proper meal for dinner.
The habit of eating white porridge for breakfast persisted well into the modern era, and the tradition of having grains for lunch continued until the late 1990s.
The grains referred to here were typically sweet potatoes, cassava, yams, and other similar tubers.
For lunch, Guan Yongying was preparing the most common of these: sweet potatoes.
In Shuangwang, sweet potatoes were usually prepared in one of the following ways:
1. Steamed and peeled for eating, which was the most common method in this era.
2. Peeled and used to make sweet potato soup, which was a bit of a luxury since sugar was still quite expensive for rural families.
3. Washed, cut into pieces, and dried. When they wanted to eat them, they could boil a handful with sugar or salt. If they had the means, adding sugar would naturally produce the best flavor.
Fourth, fried sweet potatoes: Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into chunks, saute them in oil, add an appropriate amount of salt and water, and, if possible, a bit of sugar for flavor. Then, simmer the sweet potatoes over low heat until they are tender and the liquid has reduced. This method results in sweet potatoes that are incredibly fragrant and delicious.
Right now, Guan Yongying is preparing the fourth dish—fried sweet potatoes.
On a regular day, Guan Yongying wouldn’t go through the trouble of making this dish. She would simply steam the sweet potatoes and serve them. However, her husband, in-laws, younger sister-in-law, younger brother-in-law, and relatives are all working hard to clear land for an orchard on the hillside. They deserve a hearty, oil-rich meal.
Originally, if conditions allowed, they should have cooked a proper meal, especially since relatives were helping out. But Guan Yongying is pregnant, and during the first three months, the fetus is not yet stable. This is why her family has kept the news a secret. Her husband and in-laws don’t want her to do too much work, so they asked her to simply steam some sweet potatoes for lunch and wait for her mother-in-law to return in the afternoon to prepare dinner.
However, Guan Yongying has been doing manual labor since she was young, so making fried sweet potatoes isn’t much of a challenge for her. She doesn’t find it tiring and decides to prepare this dish.
Soon, the tightly sealed pot began to emit the aroma of sweet potatoes. Guan Yongying listened carefully and, knowing it was almost ready, extinguished the fire. She left the pot covered, using the residual heat to continue cooking the sweet potatoes and keeping them warm so they wouldn’t cool down too quickly.
Fried sweet potatoes are best enjoyed hot.
About ten minutes later, her sister-in-law, Deng Changjuan, returned, drenched in sweat. “Sister-in-law, are the sweet potatoes ready?”
Guan Yongying replied, “I made fried sweet potatoes, and they’re still keeping warm in the pot. I’ll dish out a bowl for you first. Eat quickly and then take some to Dad and Mom.”
Because they needed to work quickly to clear the land for the orchard, Deng Changfu and the others wouldn’t come home for lunch. They would save time by having the food brought to them on the hillside. After all, it’s just sweet potatoes, and they don’t need a proper place to eat them.
Deng Changjuan’s eyes lit up. She had thought they would be having steamed sweet potatoes for lunch, but the fried sweet potatoes were a delightful surprise. She immediately said, “Sister-in-law, you sit down and rest. I’ll do it myself!”
She washed her hands and approached the stove. As soon as she lifted the lid, a thick cloud of steam rose, carrying the rich aroma of oil and sweet potatoes straight to her nose.
Physical labor makes one hungry, and the white porridge she had for breakfast didn’t help. The smell of the sweet potatoes was too tempting. Deng Changjuan couldn’t resist, scooped a bowl for herself, and started eating eagerly.
“Mmm, this is so delicious!”
After devouring three pieces of sweet potato, she let out a satisfied groan and said with a smile, “Sister-in-law, you haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll dish out a bowl for you.”
Guan Yongying smiled. “I’ll do it myself. I’ll also pack the sweet potatoes into a bowl and cover them with a basket so you can take them to Dad and Mom after you finish eating.”
Deng Changjuan nodded and continued to enjoy her bowl of fragrant fried sweet potatoes.
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Sweat, the author has been writing since 2008 and has been at it for over a decade. The author’s lumbar and cervical vertebrae have long had issues, and a few years ago, it became too painful to sit in a chair for long periods. So, the author has set up a small nest on the window sill, alternating between sitting and lying down to write, which helps reduce the discomfort. However, today the lumbar pain is particularly bad, and writing efficiency has dropped significantly. This chapter is all the author could manage today. I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. Once the book is published, the author will strive to update more frequently. Thank you all for your support and donations. We’re just a few votes away from reaching 1,000 monthly votes. If we hit 1,000, the author can participate in a lottery next month. If you have any monthly votes left, please consider supporting us. This month is almost over, so I’m asking for your monthly votes for next month. Next month, when the new book is published, there will be a new monthly vote ranking. We can’t launch on the first day, so we’re already behind other books. I hope you can support us, and if you have monthly votes, please cast them for this book. Once the book is published, we can also try to climb the monthly vote ranking. Thank you all for your support!
(End of Chapter)
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