"Okay, how about you help Mommy eat them later?" Standing by the oil pot, she didn’t dare let the children get too close. She had only called them over because she was afraid they’d get bored.
"I’ll help Mommy pass the fried dough twists." Xiuxiu wasn’t content with just being a foodie; she wanted to be Mommy’s little helper.
"Then I’ll help Mommy tend the fire." With Grandpa not at home, they didn’t have to practice writing. It was great.
Zhengyang couldn’t hide his thoughts at all. Bai Jiu rubbed the top of his head. "Alright, just don’t burn the pot later."
The two children were growing more and more endearing to her.
It didn’t take long for the mouthwatering aroma to drift out of the house. Even across the courtyard, Bai Jiu could hear the neighbors scolding and beating their children. But what did that have to do with her? The scent of the fried dough twists was impossible to hide.
When Father Bai returned, the aroma in the house gave him the illusion of stepping back in time. In the past, the family would always prepare a feast of food for the New Year. But then came the difficult years...
"Grandpa’s back! Mommy, Grandpa is back!" Zhengyang, who had just come out to fetch firewood, cheered happily when he saw his grandfather.
"Slow down, slow down. There’s snow in the yard, be careful not to fall." Watching his grandson rush over like a cannonball, Father Bai’s heart felt as sweet as honey.
"Grandpa, I’ll help you inside." Zhengyang was a sensible and well-behaved child. He wasn’t going to crash into his grandfather; he stopped right in front of him.
"Alright." Father Bai smiled and held his hand out to his good grandson. "What delicious food is your mother making? It smells amazing."
"Mommy is making fried dough twists today. She said they’re for Eldest Uncle’s wedding."
"That uses up a lot of oil. Only your mother would be so generous with it." Father Bai’s heart twitched at the mention of frying dough twists.
"Mommy said it’s not a waste. Since she’s making them for the family to eat, it’s not a waste." Zhengyang didn’t understand the fuss, merely repeating his mother’s words.
Entering the kitchen, Father Bai saw the floor covered with so many things that there was barely any room to step. Half a pot of oil was sizzling on the stove. Now, Father Bai’s heart didn’t just twitch—his whole body ached.
"Jiu, you didn’t use up all the oil in the house, did you?"
Bai Jiu’s hands were covered in flour. Hearing her father’s question, she didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. "Dad, we buy things to eat them. Don’t feel bad about it. After all, it’s all going into our own stomachs."
"That makes sense, but it’s still too extravagant." He just couldn’t bear the expense.
"How is it extravagant? Didn’t Mom bring back some distillers’ grains yesterday? I’m planning to make crispy fried pork later, too. Dad, you came back just in time. Help Zhengyang tend the fire. With both stoves going, we’ll get this done faster."
Father Bai wanted to persuade her otherwise, but his daughter had always been headstrong. He probably wouldn’t be able to talk her out of it anyway. Forget it, as long as the kids were happy. Life was better for the family now. If the children wanted to eat, let them eat. It wasn’t a big deal.
"Alright, Dad will help right now."
With Father Bai’s help, Bai Jiu worked even faster. Before long, she sent Xiuxiu out of the kitchen; it was easier to work unhindered.
Since the oil was already heated, she didn’t want to waste it, so she fried some lotus root patties and meatballs as well. These things could be kept for a long time. Once deep-fried, they could simply be taken out and heated up whenever they wanted to eat them.
"Dad, I didn’t have time to cook a proper lunch. Let’s just eat noodles." Time flew by, and by noon, Bai Jiu had finished preparing all the fried dough twists, meatballs, and pork. She just had to wait for them to cool down to store them for later.
"I’ll go out back and pull up a yellow-heart cabbage." In the winter, the vegetable patch out back only had some yellow-heart cabbages left. After a frost, these cabbages took on a sweet flavor that everyone loved.
"Okay, pick a big one so we can have some for dinner, too." Fresh greens were scarce in winter, making yellow-heart cabbage an indispensable staple at every meal.
"Okay."
During lunch, Bai Jiu asked about Bai Xinghua’s job. Father Bai didn’t hide anything and recounted the situation to her.
"It seems the factory management has a new perspective on our family now. That’s good." Bai Jiu was very satisfied with the results of her actions.
"Your older brother and younger brother have both stabilized. Now you’re the only one left. Your mother plans to let you take over her position, and she and I can just enjoy our retirement at home from now on." Father Bai casually mentioned what he and his wife had discussed.
"We can talk about Mom’s job later. I’ll see if I can buy a position. If I can’t, I’ll just go back to the village. I can make a living anywhere, anyway." She couldn’t put pressure on her parents.
Hearing that she still intended to return to the village, Father Bai grew unhappy. "That won’t do. Your mother and I won’t have peace of mind if you go back alone with two children." He wouldn’t allow it.
"Dad."
"Say no more. Either you buy a job, or you take over your mother’s position. In any case, returning to the village is out of the question." In the past, he would have been eager for her to go back to the village so she wouldn’t be implicated by the family’s troubles. But things were different now. The family’s circumstances had improved, so how could they leave out their daughter, who was a great contributor to it? Their family wasn’t the kind to leech off their daughter.
Bai Jiu closed her mouth.
No one could say for sure what would happen with the job situation, so it was best to ask around. It seemed she would have to go out and look around during the New Year.
"Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you, Dad," Bai Jiu appeased him.
"But Dad, my letter of introduction is about to expire. I plan to head back to the village tomorrow. You can watch Zhengyang and Xiuxiu at home. I might stay in the village for a night." Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.
"How about letting your older brother go back with you?" Father Bai was worried about her traveling alone.
Bai Jiu shook her head. "No need. It’s the end of the year, and his workplace is busy." If her older brother went with her, how could she take things out of her spatial dimension for Uncle Wu and the others? It was much more convenient to go back alone.
"Taking one day off won’t hurt." In the past, Father Bai definitely wouldn’t have said such a thing.
Bai Jiu still refused. "No, Eldest Brother is getting married during the New Year. He’ll be plenty busy then. Dad, I’m really fine." She knew her father was just worried about her.
Father Bai dropped the subject, deciding to discuss it further once everyone returned home in the evening.
Hearing that their mother was heading back to the village, Xiuxiu and Zhengyang actually wanted to go along. However, the snow outside was heavy, and the roads were treacherous. Their mother definitely wouldn’t take them back. But it didn’t matter if they couldn’t go back themselves—they could have their mother take things back for them, right?
"Mommy, when you go back tomorrow, can you bring presents to Brother Aiguo and Brother Gouwa for me?" Xiuxiu had already divided her things into three portions. One portion was for Brother Gouwa, and one was for Brother Aiguo.
"Me too! I have presents too."
"Alright, get them ready, and Mommy will take them back for you tomorrow." She didn’t mind parting with the items as long as the children were happy. Besides, whether it was Aiguo or Gouwa, she was quite fond of both kids.
Today was a good day.
Not only did the family have no worries about food and drink, but the work of the Bai brothers had also earned their leaders’ recognition. There was no need to mention Bai Xinghua; his captain had directly recommended him for an administrative position. Bai Xingguo had also been called in for a meeting by his director today.
"Xingguo, you’ve been working at the factory for seven or eight years now, haven’t you?" The director was a short, plump middle-aged man who looked shrewd at first glance.