Luo Song felt a sense of satisfaction.
To be honest, he had been lusting after Qin Huairu for a long time, but within the courtyard, he had never found an opportunity.
After several years, he was almost ready to give up, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came suddenly.
“This woman truly lives up to her reputation as the courtyard beauty; she’s really something!” Luo Song silently savored the memory.
Yesterday, he had indeed had a good time, almost succumbing to Qin Huairu’s advances, giving her a thorough and satisfying experience.
“I won’t crave this anymore.
If I want her, I can go find her anytime, hehe…” Luo Song muttered to himself, chuckling lewdly.
Everything is difficult at the beginning, but with a good start, endless possibilities lie ahead.
“I just have to be wary of her exploiting me.
I can have the meat, but I can’t let myself be taken advantage of.
I’ll continue to pretend to be poor in the courtyard,” Luo Song thought to himself.
In this era, if you have meat, you have to keep it hidden; you can’t flaunt it.
Luo Song wasn’t a ostentatious person, nor did he have any desire to show off or embarrass himself; he hated being targeted.
So, when he was assigned to the courtyard house and learned it was full of scoundrels, he made up his mind to resolutely join them in their depravity.
Everyone was poor, everyone was morally manipulating each other; you manipulate me, I manipulate you.
Neighbors, isn’t it normal to lend money or food?
It’s not like I won’t pay it back.
Strangely enough, despite Luo Song’s frequent actions, no one thought he was wrong; in fact, he had a good reputation.
Knowing that his parents had passed away, leaving him without elders to guide and care for him, his family was poor, and he had developed extravagant spending habits after starting work that he couldn’t break.
Therefore, besides sympathy, people were willing to help him.
Of course, mainly because Luo Song was trustworthy and always repaid his loans.
If he can’t pay it back next month, he’ll probably pay something back in a month or two at most.
After some discussion and communication, he’ll even offer some compensation.
Otherwise, he’ll probably be completely despised.
Leaving the main road, Luo Song was in a hurry to go home, so he turned around and went to the next village, intending to stop by Zhang Mazi’s house to discuss the furniture-making arrangement.
By the time he returned to Liangjia Village, it was already noon.
Passing by the village head Liang Laosan’s house, Luo Song was stopped.
“Xiao Song, you’ve come at the right time!
I have some good news for you!” Liang Laosan welcomed Luo Song into the main room and told his daughter-in-law to pour him a bowl of hot water.
Luo Song, holding the bowl, blew on the hot water and asked curiously, “Third Uncle, what’s the good news?” Liang Laosan instructed his family to keep watch, then mysteriously approached Luo Song and whispered: “Didn’t you keep asking where we could find piglets?
Our production team has eight.
We can give you a few; you can exchange them with your grain coupons.” Luo Song’s spirits lifted, and he asked softly, “How many can I have?” “Four at most.
Can you eat them all?” Liang Laosan replied.
Luo Song nodded and smiled, “Don’t mention four, even if you gave me them all, I could eat them all.” “I can’t give them all to you, otherwise it’ll be hard to explain.” Liang Laosan breathed a sigh of relief and said: “I’ll give you four.
You give me fifteen yuan, plus a hundred jin of grain coupons.” Luo Song frowned, puzzled, “How big are those piglets?” “They’re all six or seven jin each.
You won’t lose out,” Liang Laosan replied.
“Alright, catch me two males and two females, but don’t get the wrong ones.” Upon hearing that the piglets were that big, Luo Song didn’t haggle and readily agreed.
He then pulled out a wad of cash and coupons from his pocket and counted them out for Liang Laosan.
In those days, supplies were scarce, and many things were priceless; even with cash and coupons, it wasn’t easy to buy anything.
So, given the opportunity, as long as the price wasn’t outrageous, Luo Song wouldn’t let it pass.
Liang Laosan took the money and counted it twice, then instructed Luo Song, “This can’t be publicized.” “I’ll have my eldest son deliver the piglets to your house later.
Don’t tell anyone they were bought from our team; even if you tell, I won’t admit it.” Luo Song chuckled and nodded, “Don’t worry, Uncle, I know what I’m doing.
I’ll be careful even without your reminders.” These were all unplanned purchases; Luo Song had bought them more than once or twice, and was quite experienced.
Back home, Luo Song parked his bicycle and had just washed his face when Liang Laosan’s eldest son arrived carrying two pig cages.
Thinking about it, it made sense; people were running out of food, let alone pigs.
The team probably couldn’t keep them any longer and was thinking of selling them.
Of course, selling them to Luo Song would definitely earn more than selling them to the food station.
That’s why Liang Laosan was willing to work for him.
Luo Song first took the piglets to the woodshed and locked them up.
After Liang Laosan’s eldest son left, he put them into his spatial storage.
The factory manager had asked him to find these piglets for the factory, intending to raise them there and distribute them as New Year’s benefits to the employees.
The factory manager had also promised him a bicycle voucher if he succeeded.
Thinking he could finally have his own bicycle, Luo Song was overjoyed.
After washing and smelling the food to make sure there was no pig manure smell, Luo Song started cooking.
First, he made steamed buns with a sourdough starter.
These buns have a pure flavor, are large and white, soft and delicious, with a rich wheat aroma, and are nutritious and tasty.
Before making sourdough buns, you need to make a sourdough starter.
This is what we often call “old sourdough starter” or “dough starter.” It’s the starter used to ferment flour.
The method for making sourdough starter is to mix flour and water in a 1:1 ratio to make a thin, soft dough.
Then knead it into a soft dough.
After kneading evenly, place it in a sealed bowl and put the bowl in a relatively warm place for 48 hours.
After 48 hours, the dough will develop a sour smell.
The inside of the dough will also have a honeycomb structure, indicating that acid bacteria have formed in the dough.
Examples include lactic acid bacteria, butyric acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria.
Using this dough that has produced acid bacteria, add flour and an appropriate amount of water to start the fermentation process.
For old-fashioned steamed buns to taste good, thorough fermentation is crucial.
Now that the temperature is low, Luo Song can only rely on time to ensure the dough ferments properly.
After setting the dough aside to ferment, Luo Song quickly started a fire and boiled water.
He had three large steamers at home, all of which were cleaned and ready for use.
After working for nearly an hour, Luo Song used ten kilograms of wheat flour to steam 150 large, white steamed buns.
He then spent two hours making several large pots of braised beef and dozens of servings of rice bowls.
The steamed buns smelled wonderfully of wheat.
Since Luo Song hadn’t eaten lunch, he picked up a freshly steamed bun and ate six of them in one go, along with the fragrant braised beef.
“That felt good!” Luo Song let out a long sigh after finishing his meal.
The remaining steamed buns, braised beef, and rice bowls were all stored in his system space.
He could retrieve them whenever he wanted.
After resting for a while, Luo Song continued working.
Looking at the supplies, he took out ten jin of flour.
He also took some cabbage and chives from his space, stir-fried them with pork to make filling, and then made steamed buns and dumplings.
He made fifty steamed buns with cabbage filling.
He made one or two hundred dumplings each with two different fillings.
After the dumplings were cooked, he used two large wooden buckets to hold them, along with the steamed buns, and placed them in his system backpack.
Although he was tired, Luo Song felt very fulfilled.
From now on, he would lack nothing.
Time flew by unnoticed, and evening arrived in the blink of an eye.
As dusk settled outside, Luo Song finished his dinner of scrambled eggs with tomatoes over rice and a few steamed buns.
He had just cleaned the kitchen when he heard footsteps approaching.
“It’s Qin Jingru,” Luo Song thought to himself.
He didn’t go out to greet her.
Instead, he leisurely prepared a basin of hot water, sat down to soak his feet, and waited quietly for Qin Jingru to arrive.
Soon, Qin Jingru arrived.
She was still wearing the same pink cotton-padded jacket she had worn yesterday.
Her little face was flushed from the cold, and a scarf was tied around her neck, making her look rather adorable.
“Xiao Song, are you soaking your feet?” Qin Jingru greeted him with a smile as she entered the kitchen.
Luo Song smiled and nodded, gesturing to the chair beside him, “Sit down, are you cold?” Qin Jingru obediently sat down, smiling as she replied, “It’s alright, not too cold.” “Why are you here now?” Luo Song asked, raising an eyebrow.
Qin Jingru smiled sweetly and said, “A relative got married today, I went to the banquet, and got a few fruit candies, so I thought I’d bring them back for Brother Song to try.” As she spoke, she took two candies from her pocket, held them in both hands, and smilingly handed them to Luo Song.
Instantly, Luo Song was touched.
He asked, “Have you eaten any?” “No, I can’t bear to eat them.” Qin Jingru swallowed, smiling faintly.
Luo Song hesitated for a moment, then took one from her hand, unwrapped it, and fed it to Qin Jingru.
Qin Jingru hesitated, saying, “Brother Song, you eat first, I’m not in a hurry!” “I eat this all the time in the city, I want to watch you eat!” Luo Song said softly.
“Oh,” Qin Jingru replied, glancing at the fruit stand in Luo Song’s hand, then gently taking a piece with her small mouth.
“So sweet!” Qin Jingru said, her eyes squinting, her face full of happiness.
As she spoke, she peeled another candy, intending to feed it to Luo Song.
This time, Luo Song didn’t refuse.
“It’s quite sweet,” Luo Song said with a smile, then asked, “Have you had dinner yet?” Qin Jingru shook her head and replied, “My relatives live quite far away, so I rushed back after lunch.
I came straight here as soon as I got back, and haven’t had dinner yet!” She paused, then smiled awkwardly and said, “Actually, my family hasn’t had dinner for a while now.
For many days, we’ve only had lunch, and it’s not even enough to fill us up.
It’s just watery corn porridge.
If it weren’t for all the supplies you gave us, allowing us to eat so well and avoid hunger, we would have run out of food long ago.” Upon hearing this, Luo Song quickly took his feet out of the basin, wiped them on his trousers, and stood up, smiling: “Then you’ve come at just the right time.
I found some wheat flour, made dumplings for dinner, and there are about ten left.
I’ll give them to you.” Qin Jingru was both surprised and delighted, hesitatingly saying, “Brother Song, you should keep these for yourself.
If I eat them, what will you eat tomorrow?” Luo Song went to the cupboard, took a bowl, and, with his back to Qin Jingru, took out sixteen dumplings from his spatial storage, pulled out a pair of chopsticks, and then placed them in front of her.
“Don’t refuse, these are good things, and they’re still hot.
I wouldn’t normally be willing to part with them, but I’m only doing this because you’re here,” Luo Song said with a smile.
After a pause, he added, “As for what I’ll eat tomorrow, don’t you know how capable your Brother Song is?
Don’t worry, I won’t go hungry.” After several refusals, Qin Jingru finally accepted the bowl and chopsticks and sat down at the table.
“Why don’t we eat together?” Qin Jingru picked up a dumpling, hesitatingly.
Luo Song said irritably, “I told you to eat, so eat!
What are you dawdling about?
Don’t worry about me, I ate a lot tonight, otherwise, there wouldn’t be any for you.” “Okay!” Qin Jingru blinked, shrank her neck, and began to eat slowly and deliberately.
Luo Song looked at her, somewhat puzzled.
Qin Jingru and Qin Huairu, no matter how hungry or how much they craved food, always ate slowly and methodically, never wolfing it down.
Could it be that beautiful women all have a unique temperament and image?
Coming to his senses, Luo Song smiled and said, “You look travel-worn; you must have walked a long way today?” “It was quite far.
I set off before dawn, arrived there to have the meal, ate, and then rushed back.
All the time was wasted on the road,” Qin Jingru replied, nodding as she ate her dumplings.
Suddenly, she remembered something and quickly said to Luo Song, “Oh, right, I heard some news on my way back.” “What news?” Luo Song asked curiously.
Qin Jingru said, “It’s Liang Ladi from your village.
Her husband died of illness.” “Liang Ladi?
Her husband’s name was Peng Jizhong, wasn’t it?
He was a welder at the machine repair shop, a subsidiary of our steel rolling mill.” “Yes, yes, that’s right.” Qin Jingru nodded repeatedly, then added: “Liang Ladi is about the same age as my cousin, but she already has four children.” “With her husband dead, her life will probably be tough!” Luo Song shook his head, “Even if she’s having a tough time, it’s still better than a farmer’s life.” “Don’t forget, she can take over Peng Jizhong’s job, and she seems to have a sewing skill.
As long as she’s not lazy, she has enough resources to raise her children.” Qin Jingru tilted her head and thought for a moment, then nodded, “That’s true…”