"Oh, oh, oh, don't cry, my good grandson. Bad little chicken, you scared my good grandson. We'll slaughter it for meat when it grows up."
Liu Chunmei came out and saw the baby crying, her heart aching. She wanted to slaughter the little chicks for meat.
The baby pouted but said nothing. Chen Hao, however, trotted over happily.
"Grandma, make roast chicken, roast chicken is delicious."
Hearing her brother's words, she thought of her own fluffy little chicken back then, and then thought of the fragrant roast chicken.
Her little chicken was originally so cute, but roast chicken was really delicious. The baby didn't know which to choose, and she couldn't help but cry even harder.
Looking at her lively children, Shen Xue was both amused and helpless, and could only continue to coax them.
Liu Chunmei finished preparing the meal, and only then did the baby stop looking so wronged. She ate the meat her mother fed her, bit by bit, as if to turn her sorrow into appetite.
Chen Yang looked at the wine vats his father-in-law had placed in the main hall. Some of them contained lees, exuding a wine aroma.
Chen Yang wanted to lift the lid, but his father-in-law quickly stopped him.
"It's not time for the wine to be ready yet. If it's exposed to air now, the wine will go bad."
Chen Yang knew nothing about winemaking. He only knew that his father-in-law used a traditional method for making grain wine, brewed with glutinous rice.
The first step was to soak the rice, then steam it, let it cool, ferment it, add yeast, and put it in sealed wine vats to await fermentation.
This was merely his father-in-law's improved home-style method, and the wine could be ready in about half a month.
However, the rice wine produced this way was definitely different from the authentic white wine on the market.
Rice wine was slightly sweet when drunk and didn't cause a headache, unlike white wine which burned like fire in the throat. But this stuff had a strong aftereffect. You might feel nothing after drinking a bowl or two, but when the aftereffect kicked in, you'd be too dizzy to even get out of bed.
Chen Yang wasn't particularly interested in the wine his father-in-law brewed. He had his eye on the lees left over from the winemaking process.
The fish that had died on the way to collecting fish before had all been dried into jerky. Chen Yang's family now had tens of thousands of pounds of dried fish stored.
In his previous life, there was a popular canned dish called "lees fish" all over the country. Chen Yang had tasted it before, and it was quite delicious.
The main ingredients for this lees fish were dried fish and lees. Now that the ingredients were available, he wondered if there was some secret recipe that could make the normally ordinary lees and dried fish combination so delicious.
If this product could be successful, it would provide another sales channel, whether it was for his father-in-law's long-cherished ancestral business of winemaking, or for the promotion of fishery aquaculture in the commune and even the entire Liuhe County.
If the lees fish could be developed into a complete industrial chain, a factory could be built to directly create employment for the surrounding villagers. Chen Yang also wanted to try to make delicious lees fish.
"Dad, when your wine is ready, save the lees for me. I have a use for them."
Chen Yang reminded his father-in-law. Although Shen Futang didn't know what Chen Yang wanted the lees for, he certainly wouldn't waste them.
Nowadays, grain was precious. Even the lees from winemaking, when boiled with water, could be eaten.
At worst, even if people didn't eat them, there were still livestock. But since his son-in-law had a use for them, he would definitely keep them.
"The first vat should be ready to produce wine in about three to five days. I'll check then, take out the wine, and keep the lees for you."
The first vat of wine was brewed around the time Chen Yang and his family went out. It had been almost two weeks, and in a few more days, the wine should be ready.
"Daddy, what do you want Grandpa's lees for? Can lees be eaten? Are they delicious?"
The baby's lips still had a grain of rice on them. Hearing Chen Yang ask about the lees, she trotted over, wrinkling her little nose as she smelled the wine vat. But she wasn't as tall as the vat, and even on tiptoe, she couldn't reach the lid.
"Little lees cannot be eaten, or you'll get drunk."
"Daddy will make lees fish for you. Lees fish is delicious."
Chen Yang wiped the rice grain from the corner of the baby's mouth and ate it himself.
"Cherish every grain of rice, for every grain is the result of hard work." Even though their family was now well-off, Chen Yang would not waste food.
"Yan Yan, Hao Hao, have you finished your meals?"
"Remember to cherish food and don't leave leftovers."
Looking at his son and daughter, Chen Yang, for the first time in a while, lectured the children.
These days, the two little ones had eaten a lot of delicious food with their grandparents. Chen Yang didn't know if they had wasted any, so he decided to use this opportunity to educate them.
The children, who were just over two years old, were not very old, and couldn't understand many things. But they were not too young either, and some basic principles needed to be taught to them.
"Daddy, I ate everything. Yan Yan is the most obedient."
Hearing his words, the baby quickly ran over, climbed onto the table, picked up her small bowl, and indeed, not a single grain of rice was left.
"Yan Yan, you're so good. Only ask Mommy to serve you as much as you can eat, and children who don't waste food are good babies."
"Daddy will reward you with a kiss."
Chen Yang hugged the little one and gave her a sweet kiss. Perhaps the little padded jacket didn't understand the meaning of wasting food yet, but as long as she knew that not wasting food would earn her praise from Daddy, that was enough.
When she was a little older, Chen Yang would naturally teach her the meaning of not wasting food. Of course, the best way would be to take the children through the actual process of sowing, harvesting, threshing, and cooking.
This would allow them to experience the hardships of farmers and understand the meaning of "cherish every grain of rice, for every grain is the result of hard work" more profoundly.
However, all this would have to wait until they were older. They were too young now.
"Daddy, I finished eating too."
"I always eat everything."
Chen Hao also brought his small bowl over. Seeing that the bottom of the bowl was licked clean, he also gave his son a kiss.
"Good boy, you're both Daddy's good babies."
"My only requirement for you is to eat until you're full and eat well, but don't waste food. Children who don't waste food are good babies."
Watching Chen Yang educate the two little ones, Shen Xue tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, a satisfied smile on her face.
What she loved most about Chen Yang was his knowledge, culture, and sense of reason.
Watching him educate the children made her very happy. She hoped her children would grow up to be like their father.
To be a cultured and well-behaved person.
"Daddy, I will definitely eat obediently and not waste food."
"Daddy, actually I could eat another bowl, but I didn't. So I saved even more."
The baby's answer was relatively normal. Hearing Chen Hao's words, Chen Yang almost burst out laughing at his own son.
This "could eat another bowl" joke would never be over for his son. Not eating meant saving a bowl, and he couldn't fault this logic.
"Silly boy, it's okay to eat until you're full, but don't stuff yourself. If you eat too much, your stomach will hurt. Not wasting food is fine, I didn't tell you to go hungry, understand, little silly goose."
He patted his son's little head. This little guy could always eat another bowl, and he didn't know how big his little belly actually was.