1986: Old Stories in Northeast China

Chen Tiezhu was determined to make a delicious meal for his daughter, but after searching the house for a long time, he was dumbfounded.

There was not a grain of food, but there was a small pile of potatoes, a few radishes, a few cabbages, and a small bundle of onions.

Only then did he really understand how fucked up "Chen Tiezhu"'s life was.

After tossing around for so long, it was getting dark. Pulling the light cord, looking at the house without any changes, he could only grin bitterly.

I don't know how long I have owed this electricity bill, and the electricity has been cut off.

Fortunately, there is still a flashlight, which can barely fool around today, but the dry battery is a little low in power.

Unscrew the back cover of the flashlight, pour out the dry battery and then throw it around. After installing it again, the brightness has obviously increased by one level.

"Doudou, today Dad will take you to eat meat, let's go to shoot the sparrows." Looking at the flashlight, Chen Tiezhu's eyes also had a glimmer of light.

House sparrows are the common name in the Northeast. They are also called home thieves because they often steal food in the yard.

Today, Doudou's dinner will fall on them.

"Lighting the house sparrow" means the literal meaning.

After dark, house sparrows will find a place to rest, and these firewood piles in the countryside are the best place. As long as you are quick enough, you can catch it when it is confused by the light, and it will be OK.

Holding Doudou out, a gust of cold wind swept over, and Doudou's little arms hugged him tighter.

Now is not the era of climate destruction in the future. Even if it is just winter, it is still very cold. Otherwise, Doudou's little hands and face would not be so chapped.

"Be good, Doudou. When Dad has money, I will take Doudou to buy new clothes and make Doudou wear warm clothes." Chen Tiezhu coaxed.

Doudou didn't say anything, but just put his little face close to him.

Although she didn't know why her father was like this today, she could feel that her father seemed to like her and didn't scold her or beat her.

Coming to a pile of firewood, Chen Tiezhu searched with a flashlight.

"Dad, Dad..."

Seeing a sparrow hiding in the gap, Doudou became nervous.

Chen Tiezhu reached out and grabbed the first one.

After catching a sparrow, Doudou became excited.

Bravely took the flashlight from his father and tried to search for the sparrow.

Where is Chen Tiezhu?

He also gradually "sunk" and "lost" in Doudou's "Dad"...

He walked around the village and caught 23 sparrows.

"Okay, let's go home and burn the sparrows for my eldest daughter."

Looking at the spoils in his pocket, Chen Tiezhu was also very happy.

This is now. When he was alive, let alone catching so many, even catching one was very painful.

"Dad, how do you cook sparrows?" Doudou asked curiously.

"To cook sparrows, you put them in the stove. After cooking, remove the feathers, and they will be burnt and fragrant when you eat them." Chen Tiezhu said with a smile.

Even before he ate them, Doudou's face was full of greed.

Perhaps for many rural children in this era, this is a familiar taste, but the little guy has never tasted it.

Back home, he carried firewood to boil water, and this time he boiled the pot in the east room.

It should be said that although Chen Tiezhu is a lazy man, he also has the instinct to survive. Although there is basically no food at home, there is no need to worry about firewood.

The reason why the east room was burned is that the house layout of Erdaoling Village is slightly different. The house construction here is influenced by the traditional culture of the Manchu people - the west is more precious.

His house has a layout of four rooms, with a door in the middle as a kitchen, two rooms in the west room and one room in the east room.

The house is smaller, and it is warmer to burn the kang.

The water in the pot boiled, and Chen Tiezhu used a stick to stir the fire in the stove. He carefully selected thirteen sparrows and buried them in the ashes, and kept the rest for Doudou as breakfast.

As for him? He had given up eating.

How could he eat radishes, cabbages, potatoes, green onions, etc.?

"Come, Dad will wash Doudou's hands and face first, and then he won't fan them." Chen Tiezhu said after he finished.

Doudou nodded obediently.

Under the weak light of the flashlight, a faint smile bloomed on Doudou's little face.

"It hurts..."

As soon as the little hand was put into the water, it encountered a wound, and the little guy hurriedly took it out.

"Be good, it only hurts for a while. Soak it, it will heal faster." Chen Tiezhu coaxed.

Doudou stared at the basin for a while, and finally nodded obediently, and put his little hand into the warm water again.

Even though it still hurt, the little guy didn't take his hand out.Come out.

Seeing the little girl's strong appearance, Chen Tiezhu's heart surged with sourness again.

What a good and good daughter, the ex is really not a human being.

To be honest, without his care, Doudou is really a lousy child. How can a little kid who is more than three years old take care of himself?

Simply changed the big basin and gave Doudou a good bath.

There was no shampoo, so I found a small piece of soap. I didn't care how long it had been there, anyway it could be used.

When bathing, Chen Tiezhu was in tears.

Not only the wrists, Doudou's body also had many purple and blue spots, which were all caused by the ex.

After taking a bath, Doudou finally looked like a child. Because it was warm, Doudou's smile bloomed a little wider.

"My eldest daughter is really good, let's eat roasted sparrows." Chen Tiezhu said with a smile.

"Yeah, let's eat sparrows."

Doudou echoed with a cheerful voice, stretched out her little hand, wanted to hug, and immediately retracted it.

Chen Tiezhu picked her up directly and touched her little nose.

Doudou was so happy that she squinted her eyes. This was a happiness she had never experienced before, which made her a little greedy.

"Uh..., the fire is a bit high."

Holding Doudou in his arms, Chen Tiezhu was a little embarrassed when he looked at the sparrows he had dug out.

He had never done such a job before, and the fire was not controlled well, so three sparrows were burned to charcoal.

He chose a good one, pulled off its head and pulled apart its outer hair, and the unique fragrance of the roasted sparrow wafted out.

Doudou stared at the roasted sparrow with big eyes, smelled the fragrance, and couldn't help drooling at the corners of her mouth.

"Hahaha, you are just a little greedy cat. Come, have a bite." After cleaning the internal organs, Chen Tiezhu brought it to the little guy's mouth.

"Ah..."

Doudou opened his mouth wide.

A whole sparrow was stuffed into his mouth. Although it was a bit difficult to chew, Doudou found it more and more delicious, and the smile on his face became bigger and bigger.

"Dad, dad, it's delicious."

After swallowing it, Doudou couldn't wait to express his opinion, and licked his lips with his little tongue.

"My eldest daughter is really amazing, give me another one."

Seeing the greedy look of the little guy, Chen Tiezhu also sent the second one he had prepared to her mouth.

What surprised him was that Doudou stretched out her little hand to grab the sparrow and put it to his mouth, "Dad, eat it, it's delicious."

"Yeah, dad, eat it." Chen Tiezhu's eyes were wet again.

The little guy was obviously very hungry and greedy, but he was still thinking about his unreliable father. This unreliable father was everything in the little guy's world.

Very sad.

Burning sparrows should be very fragrant, mixed with the salty and bitter taste of tears in his mouth, Chen Tiezhu didn't taste anything. But every cell in his body told him that it was really fragrant.

How old is the little guy, and he was full after eating nine sparrows. After a day of tossing and turning and just taking a hot bath, she hugged his neck and began to doze off.

For her, this may be the most delicious meal she has ever eaten in her memory.

The east room was simply tidied up and the bedding was brought over.

Just when he was about to add more fire to the stove, Doudou opened his eyes and grabbed his hand tightly.

"Doudou, sleep well, Daddy will accompany Doudou." Chen Tiezhu coaxed.

The little guy closed his eyes, but his little hand still didn't let go.

"Ah..., poor little guy."

Chen Tiezhu sighed in his heart and had to think about the future.

People in the village often go hunting in the mountains, and there are three step-claws at home. Can I try it myself?

But hunting... is just a way to make a living.

What happened when I was about to be hit by the motorcycle? How could I push Zhang Guangyou away?

I don’t have that much strength.

Damn it.

Chen Tiezhu was thinking, and the scenery in front of him changed rapidly, making him burst out a swear word.