"Big sister, does Pingyang Town still sell candy?" Bai Ruchuan, the first to receive candy, looked at the two pieces of old-fashioned wrapped candy in his palm with great curiosity, saliva nearly dripping, yet he couldn't bring himself to eat them.
"Yes! Besides candies, there are plenty of delicious things. Wait until big sister has money, I'll buy some for you to eat!" Bai Xue said with a heavy heart.
"Big sister, we're not kids anymore. Let's buy candies for the younger siblings when we have money!" Though Bai Ruchuan had longing eyes, he still spoke sensibly.
"You are all kids! Come on, Xiao Shan, Xiao Yun, Xiao Xia, eat up!" Bai Xue distributed two candies per person as she spoke.
Then she took two candies, unwrapped them, walked to the bedside, and without waiting for Bai Daliang and Wang Cuihua to react, placed one candy in each of their mouths.
"Xiao Xue, Dad doesn't eat candy, you have it yourself!" Bai Daliang tried to take it out of his mouth.
"Mom doesn't eat either! Keep it for you kids!" Wang Cuihua said the same.
"You both need some sugar, don't spit them out! Eat them all! Dad, you heal faster with sugar, Mom, it helps your milk come quicker!" Bai Xue ordered firmly.
Her words stopped both from spitting out the candy.
Bai Daliang remembered Bai Xue saying that without sugar, his wound would heal slowly, which would cost more money.
And Wang Cuihua, worried about not having enough milk, paid attention to the benefits of sugar, not caring about anything else.
Bai Xue herself took another candy and tossed it in her mouth, instantly feeling sweet inside, her mood improving accordingly.
Looking at the children, faces full of joy as they sucked on the candy.
Bai Xue sighed that happiness in this era is so simple, a satisfying meal, a piece of candy can make them happy for a long time.
"Alright, who will help me start the fire? I'll cook some white noodle dumpling soup for you!" Bai Xue, seeing the happy family, couldn't resist adding another layer of joy.
"Me, me, me! Big sister, I'll start the fire!" On hearing about white noodle dumpling soup, Bai Ruchuan was the first to stand up, mumbling with eagerness.
"I'll start the fire too!" Bai Rushan hurried out without delay to bundle firewood.
"Big sister, we'll help you as assistants!" The four little ones were over the moon with excitement. With delicious food, they didn't even ask where it came from.
But though they didn't ask, Wang Cuihua couldn't be fooled.
"What white noodle dumpling soup? Where did you get white noodles?"
"Dad, tell Mom what happened, I'm going to cook now!" Bai Xue left the explaining to Bai Daliang and happily carried the cloth bag out.
"Daliang, what's going on?" Wang Cuihua looked at Bai Daliang.
Between them lay two newborns, who these days had been drinking rice soup with sugar, sleeping especially quietly, not crying or fussing.
"It's like this: Xiao Xue saved an old lady who fell in Pingyang Town and took her home. To thank her, the family gave a lot of good stuff! These candies came from them! And they gave her a job too, checking in on the old lady in town every other day, paying her ten yuan a month!" Bai Daliang explained as he understood it to Wang Cuihua.
Wang Cuihua initially didn't react much, but felt happy by the end.
"Good people have good returns, now it's great! Our Xiao Xue doesn't have to work daily, facing the soil anymore, wonderful!"
"But the reference letter is a tricky thing! Now, not working in the winter is fine, but after the new year, during spring planting, it will be hard to manage." Bai Daliang sighed.
"Take the kids to see the brigade leader and explain, the brigade leader is a kind person, he won't trouble the kids." The couple discussed.
Meanwhile, Bai Xue's brothers had bundled firewood and brought it in, Bai Xue took out two basins and poured white noodles into them. In one basin, she poured only half a catty, while in the other, about one and a half catties. She put the rest away and took out a pound of pork belly, putting it along with other things into the cabinet.
"Big sister, putting it in the cabinet isn't safe!" Bai Ruyun, thinking carefully, immediately reminded.
"Don't worry! Those folks won't dare come by lately!" Bai Xue reassured, taking out a kitchen knife.
"Big sister, it's pork! You even bought pork back?" Except for Bai Ruyun, the other three were already drooling at the sight of pork.
"Yes! Tonight, I'll make pork dumpling soup for you! Now get up, don't block big sister from working!" Bai Xue took the knife, and cut the nearly frozen hard pound of pork into two.
"Xiao Yun, you chop up this half into stuffing for mom to have dumplings later!"
She knew there was a custom where after giving birth, doing dumplings for the mother is said to be a way of sealing the bones.
"Alright, big sister!"
Bai Ruyun obediently took up the knife to chop the stuffing.
Among these three sisters, none lost to the others in cooking and fire-making, all very efficient.
Busy together for a while, they finished a meal they'd never had before.
Steaming hot and aromatic pork dumplings, pork white noodle dumpling soup wafting enticing scents.
"Alright, big sister will serve the dumpling soup! You set the table!" Bai Xue hurriedly found the big serving bowl to dish out the dumpling soup.
The white noodles were softer, half a catty of pork belly was sliced and thrown into the pot to fry for fat, adding seasoning and water, boiling, then the dough was pinched into pieces and thrown into the boiling fragrant soup to cook.
The siblings, who had never eaten like this before, were almost drooling.
Once the meal was on the table, the siblings had already set the low table with bowls and chopsticks waiting.
"Mom, these dumplings are specially made for you, pure pork filling, for sealing your bones! Eat more!" Bai Xue placed a big bowl of dumplings in front of Wang Cuihua.
Actually, if there were cabbage or something at home, she could've made more dumplings so the whole family could eat them, but thanks to Grandma Bai, the home-grown cabbage and potatoes were all taken away, leaving only preserved pickles and two catties of soybeans that she carefully hid for seeds.
"Mom won't finish all these, you eat too!" Wang Cuihua pushed the dumpling bowl slightly.
"Mom! Eat them as I said! We're eating white noodles too! There's plenty of meat in it! Big sister put a whole half a catty of meat in! It pained me!" Bai Ruyun, more stable than Bai Ruxia, patiently addressed her concern as Bai Xue shredded the meat, constantly saying it was enough!
"Good kids! If you're given to eat, eat it! Eat heartily! Big sister won't let you go hungry anymore!" Bai Xue lovingly patted her head.
Everyone got a large sea bowl of white noodle dumpling soup; it would be more delicious with beans, but the supermarket had them, regrettably without an excuse to bring them out.
With their dumpling soup in front, everyone savored the aroma lovingly, but Bai Ruchuan ate hurriedly without minding the heat.
"Little Chuan, eat slower! It's hot! If it's not enough, I'll give you more from the bowl!" Bai Xue watched Bai Ruchuan amusingly, then added a dumpling to Wang Cuihua's bowl and one to everyone's bowls, "You just taste it first, when big sister goes to town, she'll find a way to get more delicious food for you!"
Throughout, Bai Daliang silently observed his eldest daughter with slightly red eyes, throat choking.
As a father, he couldn't provide enough to feed the children properly, eating white noodle soup and dumpling soup was owed to the eldest daughter's efforts, leaving him feeling a bit uneasy.
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