Chapter 96: Fine Coarse Grains
Old Hu was a leader after all, naturally holding the advantage of status.
When he said that, Old Wei’s face immediately turned red.
Old Woman Liu looked furious and wanted to say something, but she was held back by the arm by her eldest son Wei Rui standing beside her.
Wei Rui didn’t want to come; he felt it was too embarrassing for family matters to be brought to the Neighborhood Committee.
But Wei Qiang meant to sever ties, and not even mentioning the titles of adoptive father and adoptive mother, he didn’t want relatives like Uncle and Aunt either.
When his father said that severing ties required giving up the job, he said softly, “If it really comes to this, we have to go to the Neighborhood Committee.”
So, the three of them brought Wei Qiang along.
Who would have thought that Wei Qiang had no intention of giving the job; he was playing mind games to get the gold bracelet.
It seemed they had truly underestimated him in the past.
Director Hu softened his tone a bit and said, “Wei Decai, you personally confirmed to Officer Li that you received two gold bracelets from your younger brother. Although it was an entrustment at the end of life, they are still relics from Wei Qiang’s parents. As their son, it’s only natural for him to want one as a memento. What do you think?”
Old Man Wei: “…”
What did he think?
Huang Juan said, “Since you’ve come to the Neighborhood Committee, it proves you trust the organization. So, everyone speak your minds honestly. As long as it’s reasonable, our Neighborhood Committee will certainly support it.”
With Old Huang pointing at Old Man Wei: “You’re the oldest; you speak first.”
Old Man Wei took a deep breath; he realized he’d been tricked by the wolf cub.
But with everyone looking at him, what could he say?
He could only say dryly, “It depends on whether Wei Qiang recognizes me as his dad.”
Lu Qiaoge smiled.
Wei Qiang was probably just waiting for that sentence.
Sure enough, Wei Qiang excitedly lifted his head: “As long as you recognize me as your son, you’ll always be my dad!”
Old Man Wei froze in place.
Before he could speak, Old Woman Liu jumped up high and shrieked, “We don’t recognize you! You were never my son anyway. What dad, what mom? Now that we’re at the Neighborhood Committee, let’s cut ties cleanly. From now on, our Wei family has no relation to you, Wei Qiang!”
Old Man Wei felt something was off, but Wei Qiang still had a paralyzed wife, and now many people knew the truth. So, should they take responsibility or not?
If they did, it felt unfair; if not, it was like now—Neighborhood Committee grannies would criticize them whenever they met on the street.
And importantly, Wei Qiang didn’t actually want to sever ties; he was just putting on a show for them.
He still wanted the gold bracelet and help looking after the home.
Where in the world was there such a good deal?
Old Man Wei felt he’d guessed Wei Qiang’s little scheme.
Thus, under the witness of the Neighborhood Committee’s director and deputy director, Old Man Wei and Old Woman Liu forcefully severed ties with Wei Qiang.
Even Uncle and Aunt had no need to maintain relations.
From then on, it was like a wide road where each goes their own way.
Wei Rui could only put on a helpless expression and say to Old Hu and Huang Juan, “Really sorry to trouble you.”
Then he caught up with his furious parents and left the Neighborhood Committee.
Wei Qiang thanked the Neighborhood Committee cadres afterward, glanced at Lu Qiaoge, nodded gratefully to her, and left as well.
With the excitement over, Sister Qiao quickly pulled Lu Qiaoge to the Residents’ Committee.
They had run to three places that morning, and Lu Qiaoge had made detailed records each time. After balancing the accounts with no discrepancies, and both sides signing, Sister Qiao told them the money would be distributed at the end of June.
This was the most exciting news.
Lu Qiaoge saw there was some for her family too, a total of eight yuan and sixty cents.
But Meng Xia had already turned in all the work a few days earlier.
At home, only Old Mrs. Lu and the sickly Xiao Si remained, and with two more people working, the Lu family had eased up considerably.
Lu Qiaoge felt her pocket; only a few yuan left.
But she wasn’t in a hurry.
She went home. That morning, Su Hui had mixed the mixed flour as she instructed, and by the time she returned at noon, the dough had risen.
There was no yeast at home, but at this time, steamed buns were leavened with dough starter, which worked the same as yeast.
In recent years, with the population growing, steamed buns at the military factory canteen were hard to buy.
So, many households started steaming their own.
Lu Qiaoge wasn’t making steamed buns; she planned to make corn cakes.
The kind with egg whites, white sugar, and flour mixed in, golden corn cakes.
If the food factory application was approved, it couldn’t just be one type of flaky pastry.
But Lu Qiaoge didn’t plan to make anything like the First Food Factory’s products. She didn’t know how to make them but knew how to eat them, so for now, she chose a corn cake suited to the times.
In today’s Jiangcheng, as a major corn-producing area, corn was naturally the most abundant.
For ordinary households now, the best way to eat corn was as big cakes or cornbread buns.
Some also used it to steam puffed cakes.
But no one had seen those golden, chewy corn cakes yet.
They used oil and required eggs too.
It was just that Su Hui was hearing about these corn cakes for the first time. She said to Old Mrs. Lu, “Qiao Ge was still worried about not making them well, but with eggs and white flour added, how could they not taste good?”
Old Mrs. Lu thought that made sense.
But her second granddaughter never did anything without a plan.
Old Mrs. Lu didn’t speak, just watched the two with a smile as they busied themselves.
But mainly Su Hui was doing it, with Lu Qiaoge watching from the side.
When it came time to pan-fry, Su Hui was stunned: “You don’t even roll out the dough? Will this hold shape?”
Even Old Mrs. Lu looked over, saying, “This is the method for big pan cakes… I’ve really never seen pancakes done this way before.”
No one asked Lu Qiaoge where she’d seen it. The few people in the courtyard all stared intently at the five irregularly shaped corn batter blobs in the flat-bottomed pan.
But unexpectedly, when flipped, they were golden and enticing.
Xiao Si couldn’t help swallowing.
So fragrant, they looked so delicious.
The first batch of unfamiliar corn cakes was done.
By the time Meng Xia returned, half a basin of corn batter had already been turned into corn cakes.
Su Hui had a real talent for dough work; once familiar, every corn cake was perfectly round.
Lu Qiaoge took a bite—yes, this was typical coarse grains made fine. It not only solved the flour shortage effectively but also created fragrant corn cakes.
Lu Qiaoge didn’t know about other cities, but in Jiangcheng, nowhere was selling these corn cakes.
It was the Lu family’s first time eating them too.
One bite, and there was no initial scratchy throat feel from usual cornmeal, but instead a chewy, sweet, oily fragrance.
Even though the first try hadn’t quite mastered it, people still couldn’t resist grabbing a second after finishing one.
Su Hui had already noted down the ingredient amounts.
Without scales, she used small bowls and spoons instead.
If the food factory got built, she’d be the head chef.
Admiringly looking at her second sister-in-law, this girl was too clever—even this she could come up with.
She said, “Qiao Ge, next time I make it, I’ll have more experience. Add just a bit more white sugar spoon—everyone loves sweet now. Just ferment the flour to the right point, mainly stir vigorously and evenly…”
Lu Qiaoge felt Su Hui had summed it up perfectly; nothing more to exhort.
She told the family, “You all remember to keep it secret!”
After lunch, Lu Qiaoge rested briefly, then headed to the department store.
She needed to observe the food group up close.
A new month had begun, please keep supporting~
