Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Waiting for Xingxing to Retire Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Waiting for Xingxing to Retire If I cannot support you in action, I must at least do so in spirit.
Bai Zhi—how much more I’ve come to like her lately, I want to snatch her away to my home.
So, she walked over to Bai Zhi and gave her a solid pat on the shoulder, accidentally hitting the basket on her back—ouch, that hurt.
But she couldn’t let it show, she had to endure it.
Bai Zhi turned around to see Bai Fei with an odd expression on her face, looking as though she was smiling, yet were there tears in the corner of her eyes? What was going on?
“Sister, don’t be scared. I’m here with you, I’ll protect you.”
The corner of Bai Zhi’s mouth twitched, even if only for an instant, which Bai Fei still managed to catch. She immediately pouted and stared at Bai Zhi, huffy.
“What, you don’t believe me, do you? Have you forgotten how I protected you last night? You ungrateful thing, hmph!”
With her hands on her hips and a tsundere expression, Bai Fei looked just like the auntie when she talked about her.
“Cousin, I just can’t bear to hear the word ‘sister’ right now. It accidentally reminds me of… not that. Bai Xixi just makes me feel sick.”
Thinking about her theories, which always revolved around living in her own world, as for listening to others,
“I won’t listen, I won’t listen, I’m deaf to everything. I’m the only one who’s right.”
It was both speechless and utterly nauseating.
“Right,”
On hearing this, Bai Fei too felt she couldn’t face those words anymore.
“I’ll just call you by your name, you call me ‘cousin’. Don’t call me ‘sister’ because it makes me feel sick too.”
Bai Fei felt that she could no longer bear the word ‘sister’ either.
They looked at each other and burst into laughter, then took out the baked potatoes they had. Though cold, and the skins were hard and slightly yellow—definitely not burnt.
Taking a bite, the soft texture was absolutely delicious.
Snacking on them, they carried the bamboo shoots back home.
When they reached the doorstep, Bai Fei quietly put the other half of her potatoes in her basket, suddenly making Bai Fei’s life feel so heavy.
But that Bai Zhi who was just striding so confidently…
How weak I am.
Bai Zhi got home, emptied out the bamboo shoots, removed all the uncleaned husks, and began washing them.
After washing, directly into the big pot they went, water was added, and she started to boil them.
Bamboo shoots can’t just be fried or cooked directly, they must first be boiled, which can also preserve them for a long time.
Fresh bamboo shoots can be braised, fried with meat, or even used in cold salads—when it comes to cooking them, there are countless ways that can capture your tastebuds.
A whole big pot, Bai Dan was astounded when he saw it.
“Xingxing, how did you manage to gather so many, aren’t you tired? Don’t do so much, if you want bamboo shoots, Grandpa can go collect them for you. Why did you go, how tiring.”
Lately, Bai Dan had taken a large order since it was time to harvest the corn, many people needed their drying mats replaced, so he was very busy chopping bamboo and weaving every day.
“Grandpa, it’s fine, this is nothing; I found it quite easy.”
Indeed it was, the original owner, in order to save time, would carry loads heavier than this on her own.
They say, if you see a ‘grass mountain’ from afar, it was sure to be the original owner carrying pig grass back home—showing just how strong the original owner was.
After all, didn’t you see her carrying not only her own but Bai Fei’s share back home without any trouble?
“Talking nonsense, how can this not be heavy?”
Bai Dan glared at Bai Zhi, how could this child be so honest as to follow along? They were supposed to go have fun, but instead, they ended up bringing back so many bamboo shoots.
“Grandpa, can I carry less next time, is that okay? You go rest, Grandpa, I’ll cook, how about we have braised bamboo shoots?”
Bai Zhi took out all the cooked bamboo shoots, then filled another pot with cold water and poured the bamboo shoots in—it would keep them fresh for a few days.
Bai Zhi also packed some into small round drying mats; under the sun tomorrow, as the water evaporated, they would turn into dried bamboo shoots.
She grabbed a few potatoes to braise with the bamboo shoots; braised dishes didn’t necessarily need meat—as long as it was potatoes braised with bamboo shoots, that was a great combination.
Heat oil, sauté green onions, ginger, and garlic; add bamboo shoots first, followed by potatoes.
Homemade chili oil, dry chili, Sichuan peppercorns, and soy sauce, then add water and start to simmer.
Once the potatoes were cooked, begin to thicken the sauce, then add MSG and green onions at the end.
Spicy and numbing, full of flavor. The freshness of the bamboo shoots, the softness of the potatoes, topped off with that numbing spice—the spicier it got, the more addictive it became.
Then steam some eggplant for a cold dish and stir-fry some cucumber to round out the meal.
Bai Dan set a small table in the courtyard; Bai Zhi brought out the dishes, and grandfather and granddaughter sat down to eat and chat.
“Grandpa, let’s deliver the goods tomorrow afternoon. Once we have money, I’m going to buy you a tricycle, then we’ll also be part of the ‘car-owning class.’”
Bai Zhi felt it wasn’t just a dream—a tricycle should only cost a few hundred yuan, something she could definitely afford after a few months of hard work.
“No need, Grandpa will buy one tomorrow—I’ve been meaning to for a while but just never did. Once I have it, I’ll be able to haul even more stuff to sell.”
Bai Dan was munching on bamboo shoots while sipping his liquor. His teeth were still strong, so eating anything was never a problem, and anything Xingxing made was simply delicious.
“Grandpa, you…?”
Are you really that wealthy?
“How come you think Grandpa has no money?”
Bai Dan, seeing her shocked expression, chuckled and stroking his beard, slowly began to speak.
“Don’t just see your Grandpa as a craftsman—I actually receive subsidies, you know?”
Grandpa looked at Bai Zhi mysteriously, but as for what kind of subsidy, he wasn’t willing to elaborate.
Bai Zhi was stunned—subsidies, at this time?
“Grandpa, were you a soldier before?”
Bai Zhi remembered that where she lived in reality, there was an old soldier who had been to war. After coming back, he didn’t take a government job but went back to farming—could Grandpa be one?
“Yes, your Grandpa used to be quite something. Later, Grandpa thought it would be better as a craftsman, not to cause any trouble for the country, and so I started selling bamboo—thus Grandpa has money.”
Otherwise, how could Bai Zhi’s fine have been paid off so easily?
But not many people knew; Bai Dan wasn’t one for gabbing. People had assumed Bai Dan had merely gone out to scrape a living.
“But that’s Grandpa’s money…”
Bai Zhi frowned, not fooled—she knew Grandpa was doing it for her.
How come he never thought of buying a tricycle before, but now he was keen on getting one?
“What, you don’t trust your Grandpa? Or you don’t want Grandpa to have an easier time? Grandpa’s money is Xingxing’s, and in the future, Grandpa is counting on Xingxing to take care of him in old age.”
Could Bai Dan not see what Xingxing was thinking?
She just didn’t want to use his money, she wanted to earn her own. Such serious thoughts for someone her age—all because of that despicable man. Once again, Bai Dan felt the urge to stir himself into action.