At the No. 1 canteen of the steel mill, Aunt Zheng finished washing several baskets of vegetables and finally got a break.
Compared to Aunt Zheng, Sha Zhu was much more relaxed.
Sha Zhu sat on a stool, his legs crossed, sipping tea from his enamel mug with a contented look on his face.
However, there were scratches on Sha Zhu's face, left by Jia Zhangshi's claws.
And Sha Zhu had kicked Jia Dongxu, leaving him with a painful limp.
Pua'd by the old lady and Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu foolishly apologized to the Jia family.
"Zhuzi, you're not young anymore. It's time to find a partner. You can get married next year," Aunt Zheng said to Sha Zhu with a smile.
Sha Zhu was now 17 years old.
Getting married at 18 wouldn't be too late.
Of course, it was also acceptable to wait a few years.
Jia Dongxu, for instance, had been over 20 when he got married.
"I'll think about finding a partner in a few years," Sha Zhu blushed, a little embarrassed.
Aunt Zheng had merely spoken out of kindness.
As for introducing a partner to Sha Zhu, Aunt Zheng wasn't a matchmaker and didn't know many girls.
After a while of leisure, Sha Zhu started his busy work.
He was responsible for making the big pot dishes.
He tossed the heavy iron wok back and forth, showcasing his strength.
The wok was heavy by itself, and it was filled with vegetables. Sha Zhu could flip it with just one hand.
Someone was behind the stove, tending the fire.
In this era, coal was considered luxurious, and natural gas was out of the question.
Usually, they burned dried grass and firewood.
Therefore, the factory had staff who were responsible for procuring firewood and splitting it.
Every day, the factory consumed a large amount of supplies and burned a significant amount of firewood.
Coal was also used.
For Sha Zhu, cooking a big pot dish was a breeze.
He skillfully prepared the dishes in a series of steps.
As time passed, he finished pot after pot of food.
He had to change the dishes every day. If the menu stayed the same, the workers would complain.
However, the ingredients were limited to potatoes, radishes, and other basic vegetables.
With the limited ingredients, Sha Zhu couldn't create too many variations.
At this time, Aunt Zheng, with nothing else to do, started washing diapers for Zheng Aimin.
Before she finished washing, Zheng Aimin got hungry, and a female chef brought some rice porridge to feed him.
Working and taking care of a baby at the same time, Aunt Zheng realized it wasn't too difficult, especially since the child was well-behaved.
Compared to Bang Geng, Zheng Aimin was much easier to handle.
With the factory's electric bell ringing, workers soon arrived at the canteen with their lunchboxes.
As more workers arrived, some started talking about Aunt Zheng.
Now, many people in the factory knew that Aunt Zheng was Yi Zhonghai's ex-wife and that she had married a worker from the lumber mill.
Yi Zhonghai hadn't remarried yet.
Therefore, many people felt sorry for Yi Zhonghai.
As for Aunt Zheng, her reputation wasn't very good.
...
After work, Aunt Zheng took Zheng Aimin home.
No. 91 courtyard, Nanluogu Xiang.
Ma Chenggong hadn't returned yet.
An hour later, Ma Chenggong was still not back.
"Is he working overtime at the factory?" Aunt Zheng wondered.
Ma Chenggong worked at the lumber mill, and while they didn't work overtime every day, it did happen occasionally.
Now, Ma Chenggong wasn't just supporting himself anymore. He had a wife and child, so if there was an opportunity for overtime, he would definitely take it.
Another half hour passed before Ma Chenggong returned.
His army green satchel was bulging.
He opened the bag, and besides his enamel mug and lunchbox, there were two cans of malted milk.
"Malted milk?" Aunt Zheng was surprised.
Malted milk was a luxury item at the time, not only expensive but also difficult to find, even with money.
Aunt Zheng wasn't without money, and she had considered buying malted milk, but it was unavailable.
Therefore, when Ma Chenggong suddenly brought back two cans of malted milk, Aunt Zheng was surprised.
What surprised her even more was that the two cans were of different brands.
One can was Le Kou Fu, which was easier to find with a bit of luck.
But the other can was Ovaltine.
Ovaltine malted milk had been produced abroad for some time, but it wasn't sold in China yet.
Therefore, getting a can of Ovaltine was no easy feat.
It was an imported product.
Ma Chenggong explained with a smile that he wanted to give Zheng Aimin some extra nutrition. He asked his comrade for help to buy a can of Le Kou Fu, but his comrade went above and beyond and managed to find a can of Ovaltine as well.
The two cans of malted milk together were definitely not cheap.
Aunt Zheng then opened the Le Kou Fu malted milk and made a bowl for Zheng Aimin.
As for Ma Chenggong and Aunt Zheng, they couldn't bear to drink it themselves.
Zheng Aimin didn't expect Ma Chenggong to bring back two cans of malted milk.
However, it was an upgrade in his diet.
Malted milk was certainly better than rice porridge.
Ever since moving out, he hadn't had the chance to drink... ahem, Qin Huai Ru's...
Every day, it was just rice porridge, and he couldn't stand it anymore.
While not milk powder, malted milk was a good substitute.
A bowl of warm water, two scoops of malted milk powder, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.
The scent of malted milk made Zheng Aimin's mouth water.
When he tasted it, he found it delicious.
Ma Chenggong then hid the malted milk, just in case any neighbors came over and saw it. It wasn't good if others knew they had something good.
Any family with good stuff would hide it.
Some elderly people had good things they were reluctant to eat, so they hid them, but over time, the food went bad.
Others had apples, and if one apple went bad, they would eat the bad one. This was how they ended up eating spoiled apples.
It was hard for people living in this era to understand why someone would let good apples spoil and then eat them. They would only think the person was crazy.
In reality, it was full of helplessness.
Looking back at the pre-liberation era with modern eyes, there were many things to criticize. Similarly, looking at the present with the eyes of several decades later, there were also many things to criticize. As times changed, so did people's perspectives.
Seeing his adoptive parents reluctant to drink the malted milk, Zheng Aimin didn't act overly filial by insisting they drink it.
After all, it would be abnormal for a baby to be too filial.
So, Zheng Aimin didn't act overly precocious.
He was just a bit more obedient than other babies.
...
No. 95 courtyard.
Yi Zhonghai was anxious because Bang Geng had a fever.
Jia Zhangshi blamed Qin Huai Ru for not taking good care of the child, and Qin Huai Ru felt wronged.
Qin Huai Ru also had to do housework, so she needed Jia Zhangshi's help in taking care of the child.
However, Jia Zhangshi didn't take care of the child attentively, and with the cold weather, Bang Geng caught a cold.
As a result, Jia Zhangshi blamed Qin Huai Ru for not taking good care of the child.
Qin Huai Ru had taken the child to the hospital.
"The fever has gone down," Jia Dongxu said, sitting on the kang, noticing that Bang Geng's high fever had subsided.
Hearing that Bang Geng's fever had gone down, Jia Zhangshi, Yi Zhonghai, and Qin Huai Ru all breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that the fever had gone down.
"Dongxu, we're running low on cornmeal. You go buy some tomorrow," Jia Zhangshi suddenly turned to Jia Dongxu.
Before Jia Dongxu could speak, Yi Zhonghai, with a smile on his face, said he still had some and could bring over 2 jin of cornmeal.
Qin Huai Ru immediately thanked Yi Zhonghai.
2 jin of cornmeal might not be much, but grain was precious in this era.
In the countryside, a few jin of cornmeal could even be exchanged for a bride.
Yi Zhonghai had never stopped helping the Jia family.
It was said that Yi Zhonghai had given the Jia family over 100 jin of cornmeal over the years.