"You three come here, I've got something good!"
Shen Ning's mysterious expression heightened the three children's anticipation, and they instinctively moved closer.
Her hand suddenly emerged from her pocket, and when she unclenched her fist, several colorfully wrapped candies lay in her palm.
"Here, I went to town today to buy things and got you some fruit candy. One each."
The children's eyes widened in surprise.
Li Jianjun couldn't help exclaiming, "Wow, it's fruit candy!"
Li Jianguo cautiously asked, "Are you really giving these to us to eat?"
"Silly."
Shen Ning ruffled their hair.
She placed a candy in each of their hands. "I bought these specifically for you. Of course they're for you to eat."
They unwrapped the colorful candy wrappers to reveal round candies inside. Putting them in their mouths, the sweetness seemed to reach their hearts, making them squint with happiness.
Xiaohua in particular had always envied Xiao Pang from the village, whose grandmother often gave him white sugar to eat. He would always tell them how sweet and delicious white sugar was.
She had never tasted white sugar before.
Back at her grandmother's house, her grandmother always locked the good food in cabinets and never gave them any. Only once had she found a tiny grain of spilled sugar near the cabinet.
But it melted quickly before she could even taste it!
She never expected that Niang Niang would buy them fruit candy to eat. This was much better than the white sugar Xiao Pang ate, and it even had such beautiful wrappers!
[Ding, Li Xiaohua's favorability +10]
Shen Ning's eyes lit up, once again marveling at how well-behaved her daughter was!
Curving her lips into a gentle smile, she asked, "Is it delicious?"
"Delicious! So delicious!" Xiaohua was the first to respond.
The other two little comrades nodded repeatedly.
"Then you play with your sister for a while. I'll go make lunch."
The three children didn't go off to play but quietly followed behind Shen Ning, watching as she took out the large bag of rice and bottle of oil she had bought today from her backpack.
After eating noodles for several meals, this southerner truly couldn't take it anymore. She needed to eat rice – she simply couldn't go without it.
Though this old rice looked somewhat yellowish, it definitely couldn't compare to the pearl rice or long grain rice sold in the Points Mall. She still needed to earn more points!
She rinsed the rice twice and poured it into the large pot to cook.
Now that she had thirty points to use, she exchanged for three eggs in the Points Mall to make steamed egg custard.
Steamed egg custard made with rice water was the most tender and smooth.
With the meat she had exchanged for last time, she could stir-fry another meat dish to make the meal perfect. She bought two loofahs at the market – it was just the season for them, so it wouldn't seem out of place.
She spent three more points to exchange for a large bottle of soy sauce, totaling seven points used. Her account still had twenty-three points remaining.
She needed to carefully plan how to use them.
She cracked the eggs into a bowl, added a little salt, scooped in a small amount of lard, and beat them with chopsticks until the egg mixture was uniform.
Setting it aside for later use.
She peeled the loofahs, cut them into thick slices, sliced the fatty pork, and cut the lean meat into shreds.
With the ingredients prepared, the rice in the pot had softened. She scooped it out to drain, pouring all the rice water into a large basin.
This rice water was such a good thing!
After all, in these times when poverty was evident everywhere, everything was valuable!
Heat the wok and add oil. First stir-fry the fatty pork until some oil renders out, then add the lean pork strips. Stir-fry until they change color, then add the sliced loofah.
Season with soy sauce and salt. Once everything is cooked through, remove from the wok.
Scoop a ladle of water into the wok, place a steaming rack inside, and add the drained rice.
The rice needed more steaming to be fully cooked.
Mix rice water into the eggs, stir well, and place it next to the rice to steam together!
This series of operations had the three children leaning against the doorframe swallowing hard, their mouths watering.
Instantly, the Fruit Candy in their mouths lost its sweetness.
This was meat!
Being able to eat meat during festivals was already quite a treat!
Could they really eat the meat from this noon meal?
"Hungry? We'll eat soon. Come wash your hands first!"
Shen Ning couldn't help but smile at the sight of these little greedy cats.
She fetched a basin of clean water and brought half a piece of Xiangzao, placing it under the eaves. The three children hesitated, not daring to move.
Xiangzao – such a precious thing, and now it was being offered for them to use?
"Come on, Jianguo, you're the big brother. Help your younger siblings wash their hands properly!"
She served each of them a large bowl of plain white rice – the kind with nothing added, no sweet potatoes, no pumpkin, just pure white rice.
But their eyes were firmly locked on the large plate of loofah stir-fried with meat on the table.
It was full of meat!
Not minced meat, not diced meat, not meat scraps, but proper meat strips!
"Here it comes, be careful, it's hot."
Shen Ning carefully carried the bowl wrapped in a cloth and placed it on the table.
Steaming hot, the tender and smooth Steamed Egg Custard wobbled like pudding. With several cuts made on the surface, drizzled with soy sauce and sprinkled with scallions, the aroma nearly overwhelmed the children.
"Here, try the Steamed Egg Custard I made."
She scooped a large spoonful into each of their bowls and urged them to start eating. "Try it quickly, but blow on it to cool it down first!"
Then she added meat to their bowls.
Their movements were so cautious it was somewhat heartbreaking.
[Ding! Li Xiaohua favorability +10]
[Ding! Li Jianjun favorability +5]
Oh my, it's so easy to gain favor with these little foodies!
"Eat up!"
[Ding! Li Jianguo favorability +2]
Well now!
Shen Ning looked with surprise at Li Jianguo, who was engrossed in eating with his head down.
He showed no expression on the surface, but inside he was quite something else!
In the broken, desolate ruins, a group of soldiers in green uniforms kept searching for something.
"There's someone here! There's still someone!"
After the exclamation, most soldiers rushed over with various tools.
Some dug, some lifted, using all kinds of tools to desperately clear away the rubble on the surface.
"Careful, careful! I can see a hand now!"
Another large stone slab was lifted away. Just when they thought they could rescue the person, with a loud rumble, the entire ruins collapsed again.
"Quick, quick, quick! Bring the machinery! Get the machinery!"
Soon someone came with a jack. After much effort, everyone was losing hope, feeling that the person trapped underneath was likely beyond saving…
Unexpectedly, when they cleared the rubble, a miracle truly occurred!
There happened to be a large pit below, with a stone pillar that had blocked most of the damage.
He was still alive, but a wooden stick had pierced his abdomen, and the blood flowing out had darkened the mud beneath him.
"It's Team Li! It's Team Li! Quick, save him! Save him!"
The medical team members hurried over with a stretcher, conducted a brief examination, and carefully placed him on the stretcher.
"Hurry! Get him to the hospital!"