Double Life: My whole world is you

Cheng Qiao and Cheng Zhu picked out the things in the basin that they had brought back, poured some water into the bucket that she had carried, and found the towels that grandma had prepared for them in the bag. Although they were cut from old clothes, grandma had washed them clean.

Cheng Qiao instructed Cheng Zhu to use a dry towel to wipe the dust off the table and bench first. She then wiped it two or three times with a wet towel, and finally wiped it again with a dry towel. The table in the living room was cleaned. It was getting dark, so the floor could not be cleaned today.

They changed a basin of clean water and came to the room where they lived. This room was adjacent to the living room and had more than ten square meters. On the left side of the door was a white table with peeling paint. The table had two layers, one was a cabinet without doors, and the other was a cabinet with doors. The table also had a panel, which could be used to place things or as a study table. Cheng Qiao opened the cabinet with doors first. She felt a little thing running out. She was startled and quickly grabbed Cheng Zhu. Cheng Zhu laughed at her for being timid. There was no way. She was most afraid of cats and mice since she was a child. In the end, she decided to clean the top and Cheng Zhu would clean the bottom. Next to the table was a bed with a wooden board, and behind the bed was a table with a cabinet, a gray chair, and two chairs with half of their legs broken. This was the sleeping room, and they quickly cleaned it up. After changing the basin of water, they went to the next room. The next room was very long, twice as long as the bedroom. Opposite the door of this room was a row of old white-painted cabinets and two large barrels. Cheng Qiao remembered that there was also a sewing machine. These were Cheng Ma's dowry. Unfortunately, they were not at home all year round, and the sewing machine was stolen. Also stolen were the black and white TV that Cheng Ma wore when she got married, as well as several sets of quilts at home. These were the only valuable things in the house. There was no other way. The next year, Cheng Ma took a set of quilts from her grandmother's house, and she would carry them back every time she went to her grandmother's house. After cleaning up the big room inside, they prepared to put away the things they had brought back. Although there were three rooms, only the living room and the two rooms they lived in had simple flooring and imitation porcelain scraped.

They first opened the basket they brought back. Grandma put two cement bags inside, and then put a layer of white waterproof transparent bag on the bottom and top. After opening several layers, they took out rice, noodles, flour, rice noodles, oil, sauce, vinegar, salt, MSG and other seasonings. In the innermost part, there was even washing powder, dishwashing liquid, soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush. When they were about to open the second basket, Cheng's mother came out of the kitchen and smiled, "No need to open this, we will carry it directly to the kitchen to prepare the New Year's goods!"

Although grandma would give them some fried food every year, Cheng's mother would still go home and fry and stir-fry them herself. She said that this was what the Chinese New Year felt like.

Cheng Qiao and Cheng Zhu carried the food into the kitchen, and Cheng's mother carried the table to the kitchen. Just a few steps into the kitchen, Cheng Qiao heard her sneeze three times. She frowned slightly and said, "Mom, why don't we fry today? Boil some water to soak your feet and go to bed early. We will get up early tomorrow to fry."

"I don't have time tomorrow." Cheng's mother said, "Tomorrow morning I have to go to your uncle's house for New Year's Eve dinner, and in the afternoon I have to clean the house and wash my hair and take a bath. In the evening we will watch the show together."

"We won't be having the New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow morning." Cheng Qiao replied with a slight frown. She sat at the stove and prepared to light a fire.

"Qiao, it's New Year's Day, don't get angry with them." Cheng's mother said earnestly, "No matter what, they are your relatives."

"They are not." Cheng Qiao tried several times but failed to light the fire.

Cheng's mother put down the work in her hands, went upstairs to get a few old books and started to add water. However, Cheng Qiao's fourth-grade books were so damp that the words could not be seen. Looking at the small flame that was finally lit, Cheng Qiao quickly tore off a few more pages and threw them in.

After the fire was lit, Cheng's mother quickly put two bundles of straw in. The bundles of straw upstairs were the ones Cheng's mother cut around the house last year. After the straw was lit, Cheng's mother put a few gray-black woods beside it in, "As long as the wood is lit, it will be fine." The wood was picked up by Cheng Qiao and Cheng Zhu after the old house collapsed a few years ago.

"Mom, sit down and rest for a while. My brother and I will do whatever you need." Cheng Qiao pushed Cheng's mother down again when she was about to get up.

Cheng Ma sneered, "What can you do?"

In fact, Cheng Qiao can make fried radish balls, lotus root dumplings, and bean fruit. He learned by himself during the months of being locked up due to the epidemic. He can even make fried dough sticks, fried twisted dough sticks, and fried pig ears. In the family group, several aunts and uncles share their delicious dishes every day. Whoever tries out a recipe will make a video to teach you how to make it step by step. My brother has tried out various shapes of buns...

"Mom, I know." Cheng Zhu said, "My sister and I will cut the radish and lotus root first, and you can do it later, okay?"

"Mom, yes, we have no problem with these." Cheng Qiao also quickly assured.

"Okay, fine. Che." Cheng's mother sneezed again. When she saw the two children looking at her, she quickly explained, "This is your grandma thinking about me."

Cheng Qiao glanced at her without replying. She thought about letting Cheng's mother drink more hot water after the water was turned on...

Cheng's mother boiled water and cleaned the pot twice. After the pot was heated to boiling, she found the small black sand that her grandmother had prepared for them, added some salt and stir-fried it until the black sand jumped up. Cheng's mother poured in the raw peanuts in the shell and stir-fried them together. After a while, she could smell the fragrance of peanuts. Cheng's mother tasted them while frying them. After eating a few times, she smiled and called Cheng Qiao, "Qiao, the peanuts are cooked."

Cheng Qiao likes peanuts the most among all the fried food. She stopped shaving half of the radish and took the peanuts that Cheng's mother had put aside. She ate them while praising her mother, saying, "My mother's fried peanuts are the best."

Seeing that she couldn't stop eating, Cheng's mother smiled and said, "Eat more, or you won't be able to eat anything else later."

"Okay." Cheng Qiao responded vaguely and threw a handful of peanut shells into the stove.

Cheng Ma then fried rice cakes, rice bubbles, and sweet potato cakes. Although the quantities were not much, Cheng Ma was always happy to make them.

After frying the snacks, Cheng's mother scooped up the small black sand and put it aside to dry. After cleaning the pot again, Cheng's mother put some rapeseed oil in it. After the oil was cooked, Cheng's mother put the chopped lard in it. Cheng Qiao exclaimed, "Mom, there are lard residues?"

"Yes, lard residue is also your favorite." Cheng's mother said kindly.

"Yes! I haven't eaten it for a long time." Later, everyone said that lard is high in calories and cholesterol and is bad for the body. Cheng's mother almost never bought lard, so she hasn't eaten lard residue for a long time.

Cheng's mother didn't buy much lard, so after two large bowls, she only fried half a bowl of lard residue. Cheng's mother added some salt and thirteen-spice powder, stirred it, and handed it to Cheng Qiao. Cheng Qiao happily took it, picked up the chopsticks and ate it. It was fragrant and crispy, with a little oil taste. "Mom, it's really delicious. It tastes like when I was a child."

"If you like it, eat more." At this time, Cheng's mother scooped up the lard and put it in a large stainless steel bowl. She was going to make radish balls.

"Sister, leave some for me." Cheng Zhu shouted after cutting the last piece of tofu.