Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 57 - Breakfast

We should help out in the kitchen.

That’s a major benchmark for evaluating a daughter-in-law.

You have to be capable in the kitchen and do it well.”

Yang PeiMin nodded and quickly got dressed, tidying herself up.

She followed Zhang Minghua to the kitchen.

“Our relatives, your second aunt and the others, will also be joining as guests.

Later you won’t need to talk much, just let them speak for you.”

In the kitchen, the elder and the third sister-in-law were preparing breakfast.

“Mother, Minmin.”

Zhang Minghua nodded, “Today the Shen family is coming, I reckon they’ll arrive around ten o’clock.

Let’s take this time to teach Minmin a little about cooking.”

Yang PeiMin blinked.

She wondered if this last-minute effort could really work.

She could even see the corners of Li Hong’s mouth twitching.

Perhaps this was a first for her to witness such a scene?

The original host, under Zhang Minghua’s repeated coaxing, had tried cooking before, but that interest lasted only three minutes before complaining about the tiredness and the sting of the smoke in her eyes, throwing tantrums and refusing to cook again.

Zhang Minghua didn’t know what to do anymore.

After all, a girl should know how to cook, otherwise it would be a joke if word got out.

Thinking this, Zhang Minghua hardened her heart, but the original host had her own ways, resorting to feigning sickness, and thereafter would complain about feeling unwell every time she entered the kitchen.

Such incorrigible behavior left the family at their wits’ end, but they were helpless.

Her “attacks” came without warning, with her lying on the ground convulsing.

In her previous life, her grandmother had said it was hard for her to be in school, so she needn’t bother with such chores.

Her Taotao not knowing how to cook wouldn’t matter; she could just find a husband who knew how to cook in the future.

It was during her two years at university that a classmate who rented a room outside kept mentioning how unhealthy and unhygienic it was to always eat out, and even meals in the canteen became nauseating after a while.

So later on, they would pitch in money to buy groceries and cook delicious meals at her place every now and then.

In that environment, Yang PeiMin had indeed learned a few simple dishes like boiling noodles, frying rice, and eggs.

But she wondered if these skills could be of any use at present?

The kitchen now was different from the one in her later life; there was no natural gas or induction cooker, just a big pot heated with firewood.

Based on her previous experience of making a fire, she could light it and get the stove going after some effort, but she wasn’t so confident about stir-frying.

Her left hand, which had been injured before, had also healed quite a lot, leaving some red marks, but it was best not to be submerged in water too much.

Zhang Minghua originally wanted her to learn how to chop vegetables, but seeing her hand, she thought better of it.

“Mother, what dishes are we going to prepare for the guests later?” Yang PeiMin asked.

The kitchen had two large stove openings, one was currently heating water for everyone to wash their face in the morning and to fill up with hot water for drinking, while the other was being cleaned by Jiang Erni.

Zhang Minghua instructed Li Hong to fetch the cornmeal while she replied, “For breakfast, we’ll make corn pancakes and cook some coarse rice with sweet potato porridge.

For lunch, we’ll slaughter a chicken, buy two pounds of pork, tofu, and eggs.

We still have potatoes, cabbage, and dried green beans at home, so let’s figure out how to prepare all that nicely.”

“Later, let’s slaughter the chicken first.

You watch closely and learn how to do it, because soon you’ll have to do it yourself.”

What?

Kill a chicken?

Yang PeiMin shook her head, “No way, I’m not learning to kill chickens.”

“After you get married and become the mistress of the household, you’ll be the only daughter-in-law in the house.

If you don’t do it, who will?” Zhang Minghua persuaded.

Jiang Erni also said, “Minmin, it’s very simple.

You just bleed it, soak it in hot water for a while, and then pluck the feathers.”

“The kids at my house all fight over who gets to do the killing.

Minmin, what’s familiar doesn’t seem new.

You just do it a couple more times, and it will be just the same as everything else.

Your mother is right, the Shen family has few people.

After your brother-in-law returns to the army, you’ll be the one to keep the household running.

Who else is going to worry about things at home and in the fields?” Li Hong glanced at Yang PeiMin and noticed the younger sister-in-law hadn’t worn the windbreaker she mentioned last night.

Yang PeiMin suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.

This was the making of a strong woman.

Seeing her expression and fearing she might back out of the marriage because of the chicken-slaughtering, Zhang Minghua quickly said, “If you don’t want to kill the chicken, then don’t.

I’ll mention it to Xiao Shen.

There are plenty of daughters-in-law who can’t kill chickens.”

“Mom, there should be no problem with the brother-in-law, but I’m afraid the in-laws might have an opinion.” Li Hong, seeing Zhang Minghua’s unconditional doting on her daughter, was speechless and gave her a gentle reminder.

Zhang Minghua shook her head, “The in-laws are kind people; they wouldn’t make things difficult for Minmin over this.”

Li Hong was about to say more, but Yang PeiMin interrupted, “Mom, sister-in-law, you don’t have to worry.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and I don’t think being unable to kill chickens makes me any less of a person.” At this thought, her mood really wasn’t great.

“Alright, let’s start kneading the dough,” Zhang Minghua quickly changed the subject and demonstrated for her, “Kneading the dough requires skill; ideally, you achieve what’s known as the ‘three shines’: the dough shines, the basin shines, and the hands shine.

After that, cover it with a cotton cloth to let it rise for a while…”

Then she let Yang PeiMin have a try.

Yang PeiMin was actually quite interested in this since she loved scallion pancakes, stuffed pancakes, and potato cakes—anything made with flour.

If she learned how to knead well, it would definitely be a great benefit to her in the future.

When she stepped out of the kitchen, she felt like she was about to collapse.

It really wasn’t easy.

By the time everyone started eating breakfast, it was almost eight o’clock.

“Why’s breakfast so late today?

I’m starving,” Peijun, who hadn’t eaten his fill last night, woke up hungry only to find breakfast was more than an hour later than usual, and he couldn’t help but grumble.

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Yang PeiMin felt a bit apologetic, “Sorry, I was helping out today and it took a bit longer.

Hurry up and have a taste; is there any technique that could be improved?”

“You?” Peijun’s eyes nearly popped out as he looked at the unevenly shaped corn pancakes and the porridge that smelled burnt.

He quickly retracted his gaze and twitched the corners of his mouth, “Well, it’s alright.

You didn’t burn down the kitchen, so for that, you deserve some praise.”

“Thank you,” Yang PeiMin graciously accepted.

She urged everyone to eat while it was still hot.

Zhang Minghua’s face was all smiles, clearly very satisfied with her daughter’s efforts.

“This is too salty.”

“This has no flavor…”

In any case, seeing that everyone had finished the food on the table, Yang PeiMin was quite pleased.

After breakfast, everyone cleaned up, and it wasn’t long before the Shen family arrived.