newbobooks Chapter 76 Wen Dashan's Request
Chapter 76 Wen Dashan's Request
Besides making jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), Wen Yuxia also had Yang make steamed buns with glutinous rice flour. The fillings for these buns included sweet, savory, meat, and vegetable fillings. The finished buns were then deep-fried until golden brown.
"Auntie, you might not be able to handle running the jianbing guozi and fried cimomo stall by yourself," Wen Yuxia said honestly.
Zhang said eagerly, "I've learned how to make both jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes) and fried cimo (sticky rice cakes). If my sister-in-law is too busy, I can help out."
Wen Yuxia taught them how to make jianbing guozi (Chinese savory crepes) and fried cimo (sticky rice cakes), which weren't available in town. New foods are the easiest to attract customers' attention. Knowing she couldn't handle it alone, Yang readily said, "Let's call Hua Shi, and the three of us can set up a stall together."
Wen Dashan wanted to stay and wait for his grandsons to finish school, but Yang and Zhang were too eager to make money to care about their son who was studying in the county town. The two sisters-in-law hurriedly ran to the outskirts of town to catch a bus back to the village.
"Grandpa, have you been eating well lately?" Wen Yuxia asked softly.
"Good, good, good," Wen Dashan said three times in a row.
Grandpa Wen and Grandma Wen preferred light food. If Wen Linshi added even a little too much chili or salt to her cooking, Grandma Wen would scold her half to death.
Wen Dashan can't live without spicy food, so he can only occasionally go to a small restaurant in town to order a couple of spicy dishes and drink a couple of ounces of liquor to satisfy his craving.
When Wen Yuxia found out, she told Wen Linshi in front of Grandpa Wen and his wife that if she preferred light flavors, she should cook it lightly; if she liked spicy food, she should add more spice.
We need to cater to everyone's tastes; we can't just focus on Grandpa Wen and his wife. Wen Dashan is the head of this family.
From then on, at every meal at the Wen family dinner table, one or two spicy dishes were prepared specifically for Wen Dashan. Wen Dashan no longer needed to go to town to satisfy his cravings, and his life became as wonderful as could be.
The grandfather and grandson chatted idly until Wen Yunhong, returning home from school, shouted, "Grandpa!"
"Grandpa!" Wen Yunhai and Wen Yunqing called out in unison.
"Grandpa Wen," Fu Bao, following closely behind the three, also raised her little head and called out obediently.
Wen Dashan looked at them with affection, "You must be hungry. There are still some glutinous rice cakes in the kitchen. Let Aunt Lu fry them for you."
Hearing that there was something delicious to eat, the children rushed to the kitchen. Leading the way were Wen Yunhong and Fubao, the two little ones jumping high and leaving the Wen Yunhai brothers far behind.
Wen Dashan knew that Wen Yunhong and Fu Bao both knew light-body skills, but he didn't know that Wen Yunhong's pageboy also knew light-body skills. He watched as Nan Yi followed closely behind the two children.
He couldn't help but ask, "Da Ya, where did you find this page? That child seems to know martial arts."
Wen Yuxia smiled faintly, "It was a chance encounter."
Wen Yuxia didn't want to discuss this issue in detail. She hadn't told Wen Dashan about her farm with Wen Yunhong before, and there was no need to talk about Nan Yi being a servant on the farm now.
"Da Ya, can you teach Hai'er and Qing'er martial arts?" Wen Dashan asked shamelessly.
After Wen Yunhai and Wen Yunqing came to the county town, influenced by Wen Yunhong, they studied even harder. Unfortunately, they both grew thinner and thinner.
At first, Wen Dashan thought it was because the academy's food was bad, but later he learned that it was because they hadn't had enough to eat or wear since they were little. He had been thinking about having Wen Yuxia teach the two martial arts for a long time.
Thinking of Wen Yunhai and Wen Yunqing's thin, frail bodies, Wen Yuxia hesitated slightly before speaking: "Martial arts training starts from a young age, with 4 to 7 years old being the best age to learn. My eldest cousin is 15 this year, and my third cousin is probably 13! It would be too difficult for them to learn now..."
Wen Dashan sighed, "I didn't expect them to be like Hong'er, able to easily leap over the courtyard wall, nor did I expect them to be like you, able to take down a wild ox with three punches. I just wanted them to be physically strong so that they could walk out of the examination hall unscathed during the provincial examination."
"Grandpa, if your only request is for them to be healthier, I have a way," Wen Yuxia said with a smile.
Wen Dashan asked curiously, "What's your idea?"
"Keep it a secret".
Since she had nothing better to do, and having already promised Wen Dashan, Wen Yuxia drafted a physical training plan that very evening.
Whether you're herding one sheep or a flock, it's all the same. Wen Yuxia wanted all the other members of the Wen family to participate. "Grandpa, I'll oversee my eldest cousin's training in the city, and you can supervise the training of my cousins in Xinghua Village."
"What? That little brat from Xinghua Village can train too?" Wen Dashan grinned happily.
Wen Yuxia nodded with a faint smile and said, "Okay, let them get up early every day and run two laps around the village, then do 50 push-ups and 50 sit-ups. If conditions permit, let them swim a few laps in the river... After they can run 10 laps, do 200 push-ups and 200 sit-ups, let them come to the city."
After saying that, he handed the written training plan to Wen Dashan, instructing him to go back and increase the training intensity for his cousins every day according to what was written in it.
Wen Dashan held the training plan and looked at it over and over again several times. Then he pointed to a character he didn't recognize and asked, "Da Ya, how do you pronounce this character?"
After repeatedly asking and confirming that he had memorized everything written in the training plan, Wen Dashan smiled with satisfaction: "Da Ya, I'll head back now. I'll come see you again when I have time."
“Okay, Grandpa,” Wen Yuxia instructed Lu Zhigang to lead Wen Dashan’s mule to the door, and then had him load a lot of food onto the mule. Finally, she took out two bolts of fine cotton cloth and placed them on the cart, saying to Wen Dashan, “Go back and have your aunt and uncle make you some new clothes.”
Two bolts of cloth, two colors: the dark blue one is suitable for Wen Dashan and Old Master Wen, while the dark red one is definitely prepared for Wen Linshi and Old Lady Wen.
Looking at the two bolts of fine cotton cloth that Wen Yuxia took out, Wen Dashan thought to himself, "This child may not say it, but she still cares about her great-grandfather, great-grandmother, and Lin Shi."
Wen Yuxia had no idea what Wen Dashan was thinking. If she did, she would definitely cry foul. She had no feelings for Old Master Wen and his wife; she only prepared the fabric for them out of concern for Wen Dashan's future.
As for Wen Linshi, Wen Yuxia still felt grateful to her. When the original owner's parents died, the original owner was only four years old. If it weren't for Wen Linshi and Wen Dashan, the original owner probably wouldn't have survived until Wen Linshi came to take over the body; she would have died long ago.
Wen Yuxia was willing to pay money to redeem Wen Linshi from Chunfeng Tower because of the kindness Wen Linshi had shown to the original owner during the three years after her parents' death.
Wen Dashan drove away with a smile. Every time he came to the county town, he returned fully loaded. It took him two years to go from refusing to accepting and now taking it all in stride.