The father and daughter arrived at the state-run restaurant, both feeling a sense of novelty.
It was Jiang Jianguo’s first time there as well. Although he was a bit of a “scoundrel” (a local term for someone unconcerned with social norms), he had never been willing to spend big money to eat at a state-run restaurant.
The pair looked at the daily menu board, which read: “Braised Pork, Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, Shredded Pork with Green Peppers.”
Jiang Tangtang swallowed hard. The food lately had been truly terrible—every day was leafy vegetable porridge paired with sweet potatoes; she felt like her face was turning green from eating them. Her mouth was so bland she could barely stand it. The state-run restaurant certainly lived up to its reputation; the aroma was incredible, and she couldn’t help but drool.
However, she remembered her persona: a four-year-old girl who shouldn’t be able to read. She tilted her head, looked straight at Jiang Jianguo, and asked, “Dad, what’s there to eat? It smells so good!”
Seeing his daughter practically drooling, Jiang Jianguo felt a mix of heartache and amusement. He said, “There’s braised pork, sweet and sour pork ribs, and shredded pork with green peppers. What does Tangtang want to eat?”
Jiang Tangtang wanted meat, so she replied without hesitation, “Meat, meat! Tangtang wants to eat meat!”
Jiang Jianguo nodded and smiled, patted his daughter’s little head, and whispered, “Okay.”
He then turned to the waiter and said, “Comrade, hello, I’d like one order of braised pork, one order of sweet and sour pork ribs, and four taels of rice, please.”
The waiter glanced at Jiang Jianguo and replied expressionlessly: “One yuan and twenty cents, four taels of food coupons, and one jin (500g) of meat coupons. Pay first.”
Jiang Jianguo felt a bit embarrassed. He had food coupons but no meat coupons. He asked the waiter, “Comrade, can I exchange with you for a jin of meat coupons?”
The waiter became impatient: “If you don’t have coupons, move aside. Why are you coming to a state-run restaurant? Don’t waste the time of the people behind you.”
Jiang Jianguo was already used to this kind of rude service, and since others were indeed lining up behind him, he had to ask helplessly, “Comrade, then what can I eat that doesn’t require meat coupons?”
Although the waiter’s attitude was poor, they still replied: “Shredded pork noodles, only twenty cents plus two taels of food coupons.”
Jiang Jianguo had no choice but to order that; at least it had a little bit of meat and didn’t require meat coupons. “In that case, Comrade, two orders of shredded pork noodles, please.” As he spoke, he took out four taels of food coupons and forty cents, handing them over to the waiter.
With the order placed, Jiang Jianguo found a seat with his daughter. They had arrived early, so there weren’t many people yet and there were plenty of tables.
Jiang Jianguo said to Jiang Tangtang, “Tangtang, we don’t have meat coupons, so is it okay if we eat the shredded pork noodles? We’ll come back and have the braised pork next time we get meat coupons.”
Jiang Tangtang nodded obediently, thinking that shredded pork noodles weren’t bad—at least there was some protein. She was craving meat so much.
Lately, she hadn’t had any opportunity to take out items from her space for extra meals, and it was getting harder to endure. In her past life, she had dieted and eaten “rabbit food” to lose weight; thinking about it now, it felt like she had been living in luxury and looking for trouble.
She wanted to eat meat every day now. Thinking of this, she hoped her dear father would step up his game, annoy the people at the old family home a bit more, and get them separated and kicked out of the house soon.
The shredded pork noodles were served quickly. The portion was generous and the taste was decent. The father and daughter started eating without a word. “It’s so delicious,” Jiang Tangtang remarked sincerely.
But despite how good it was, she was stuffed after eating half. After all, she was just a small child. She looked up at Jiang Jianguo and said, “Dad, I’m full.”
Without a word, Jiang Jianguo pulled her bowl in front of him and finished the rest of her noodles, not bothered at all. Since there was meat involved and it was refined flour, even if it had been left behind by a stranger, he would have eaten it without hesitation, let alone his daughter’s leftovers.
The two were satisfied with their meal. Jiang Tangtang thought of Lin Wanting and felt a bit guilty about “eating alone,” so she said to Jiang Jianguo, “If only Mom were here to eat with us. Dad, let’s bring Mom along next time. Mom must love meat, too.”
Jiang Jianguo felt a warm glow of pride. He hadn’t expected his daughter to think of her mother, who hadn’t gotten any meat. Even though he didn’t have a son, his daughter was better than any son.
He could guarantee that the sons of his older and second brothers would definitely not be thinking of their parents when they were eating meat.
Thinking that his wife hadn’t been eating well lately, Jiang Jianguo went to ask the waiter again: “Comrade, I’d like to ask, do you have meat buns? Do they require meat coupons?”
Seeing it was him again, the waiter replied: “No meat coupons needed, one bun is ten cents and one tael of food coupons.”
Upon hearing that no meat coupons were required, Jiang Jianguo immediately said, “Please give me two meat buns. Here is the money and the coupons.” As he spoke, he handed them over.
Then, he realized he hadn’t brought a lunch box, so he asked the waiter embarrassedly: “Comrade, could you please wrap them in oil paper for me? I didn’t bring a container.”
The waiter rolled his eyes at him, rummaged through some things, and handed Jiang Jianguo a piece of oil paper: “Here, take it. This is leftover oil paper from wrapping pastries. Remember to bring a lunch box next time; the state-run restaurant doesn’t provide oil paper.”
Jiang Jianguo smiled, thanked them, and thought to himself, “Even though this Comrade Waiter has a bad attitude, they are still quite kind-hearted. Maybe I could make a friend out of them.”
And so, he whispered to the server, “Thank you, comrade. You are truly a kind person. My name is Jiang Jianguo, and I live in Jiangjiang’o. Our area is near the mountains, so we can often catch wild rabbits and things like that. I was wondering if you might need any.”
The server’s eyes lit up upon hearing this—in this day and age, who isn’t short on meat? She replied, “Don’t be so polite, little brother. I’m likely a few years older than you, just call me Sister Wang. If you have any mountain goods in the future, you can come here and find me.”
Jiang Jianguo smiled and agreed. He then pocketed the steamed buns and prepared to head home with his daughter. After all, everything required ration coupons, and they currently had money but no coupons.
On the way back to the village, Jiang Tangtang, now well-fed, didn’t want to be carried by her father anymore. She skipped along happily by his side.
Her little pigtails swayed, clearly reflecting her current joy.
Seeing his daughter’s happy expression, Jiang Jianguo felt incredibly satisfied.
When they returned to the old family house, the rest of the household had not yet finished their work. Jiang Yaozu was nowhere to be found, off God-knows-where. He certainly wasn’t working, though nobody knew where he had wandered off to.
Jiang Jianguo first put the pocketed buns away in their room, then sat in the courtyard with his daughter to wait for Lin Wanting to return.
To pass the time, they played with the little rabbit they had caught earlier. The rabbit had grown a bit over the last half-month, but it was still very small. It was precisely because it was so small and had so little meat on it that it hadn’t become a meal for the rest of the household, though he suspected they had been eyeing it for a while.
Jiang Jianguo thought to himself that since it was a female rabbit, he wondered if he could catch a male to keep with it so they could breed. When the time came, he could enclose a spot in the mountains and raise them secretly—definitely not letting the people in the old house get even a crumb of profit.
Just as he collected his thoughts, he saw Lin Wanting returning from work. The couple shared one similar trait: they both moved incredibly fast when the workday ended.
Jiang Jianguo quickly pulled Lin Wanting and the slightly confused Jiang Tangtang into their room.
Old Madam Jiang and the others would be back soon. Jiang Jianguo had caused a scene that morning, disappeared for the entire day, and even taken the medicinal herbs and wild vegetables that Old Madam Jiang had already confiscated to sell for himself.
It was easy to imagine that Old Madam Jiang would definitely explode once she returned. They had already had a fight in the morning, and Jiang Jianguo didn’t want to argue again today. The only solution was to hide and pretend not to hear her. Besides, he and Jiang Tangtang were already full, and he had brought big meat-filled buns for Lin Wanting, so there was no need for them to go out to eat.
Thinking this through, Jiang Tangtang couldn’t help but feel like she was watching a show. She really wanted to see Old Madam Jiang standing at the door, screaming in useless rage and feeling completely helpless. It would be so interesting!