Chapter 29: Sand-grown Bean Sprouts The old man also drank two small cups, and from time to time he looked at the time on his watch. This little life was so wonderful, with meat and wine. Who can live like this? It is still my eldest grandson who is capable. The pressurized well next to the house was enough to make the villagers envious for a long time, not to mention other things. Now when he goes out, a lot of people praise Yimin for being sensible, filial, and capable. The old man is happier to hear this than to praise himself. You all go and be envious! After eating, he would take a walk around the village. Everyone must know that his eldest grandson bought him a watch as a reward from the director of the steel plant. "Uncle, what time is it now?" Zhou Yimin's third uncle stared at the watch on the old man's wrist. Before this, only the captain's family had a watch in their village, and the villagers would ask the captain if they wanted to know the time. Now, not only his nephew has one, but the old man has one too. Every family has two watches. Who can compare to this? It would be nice if he could wear it when he goes out for a walk.
"Half past twelve." The old man glanced at the hands on his watch again. He could tell the time easily. Zhou Xuqiang sighed in his heart: Yimin is really willing to give up! He heard that although the watch ticket for the old man's watch was a reward from the leaders of the steel plant, it still cost 120 yuan to buy it. 120 yuan! Even if his family emptied their pockets, they didn't have that much money. Even if he had it, he wouldn't be willing to spend it on a watch. However, his nephew bought a watch for his grandfather without even telling him in advance. "Just eat, why bother about the time?" Grandma couldn't stand the old man's boasting. Wasn't that watch bought by her eldest grandson? Without her eldest grandson, you would have to eat steamed bread, not to mention the watch! The old man chuckled, took another bite of the chicken leg and chewed it slowly. Zhou Yimin was a little impressed when he saw everyone eating chicken. They ate it so cleanly that a fly would slip if it stood on it, and some small bones were even eaten into their stomachs. The most powerful one is Uncle San. I have never seen him spit out a bone. He was the least thorough in chewing, and he would spit out all the bones, no matter how big or small. If anyone else had eaten like this, they would have been scolded and ordered to pick it up and continue eating. After eating, the old man couldn't sit still and went out for a walk. In his words, he went out to digest the food. But his real intention was tacitly understood by everyone, and they gave him face and didn't expose or point it out. Lai Fu and his two siblings went out to have fun, preparing to catch the mouse. They couldn't let other people in the village get there first. Aunt San went home to continue making clothes. Zhou Yimin felt a little sleepy. He was used to taking a nap in his previous life, so he went back to his room and lay down. When he woke up, he saw his grandmother fanning him. "Yimin, are you awake? Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Grandma said kindly. "Grandma, you should take a rest too! Don't worry about me." He said helplessly. I looked at the time and realized I had slept for less than an hour, which was a bit short. But I went to bed early last night and my sleep and sleep schedule was pretty regular, so I didn't need to sleep too much during my nap.
In fact, for people who are used to taking naps, they will feel more energetic after dozing for half an hour. "Grandma is not sleepy." The old lady smiled. Old people sleep less, but they just don’t have as much energy as young people. After getting up, Zhou Yimin wiped his face with water and prepared to get some sand, bury some soybeans in it, and grow some bean sprouts to eat. Bean sprouts can be grown in water or in sand. Zhou Yimin prefers those grown in sand, as they taste more refreshing, sweet and crispy. It is very simple to grow bean sprouts in sand. Just bury the healthy beans in the sand, keep them away from light, water them regularly every day to keep the beans in the sand moist, and you can eat them in a few days. When the grandmother saw her eldest grandson taking soybeans, she asked if he was hungry. In grandma's world, she will always feel hungry. Zhou Yimin didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Grandma, I'm not hungry, I just want to grow some bean sprouts and dig some sand later." "Want to eat bean sprouts? Okay! If you want to eat, we'll give you some. Grandma will ask Lai Fu and the others to go dig sand." The old lady was very obedient to her grandson. If the old man wanted to use beans to grow bean sprouts, she would definitely scold him. "Laifu, Laifu!" The old lady began to shout loudly outside the house. Zhou Yimin did not stop them. After all, digging sand was not a hard job. It would be better to let Lai Fu and the others do some work so that they would not have to run around everywhere. He found an abandoned wooden box at home that he could put the buckle on. Lai Fu heard the call and ran back with his brothers and sisters. When he heard his aunt asked them to dig sand, he took the tools and went without hesitation. There were three of us when we went there, and a group of friends when we came back, and we made a huge pile of sand. Zhou Yimin bought a bag of fruit candies in the store. "One for each person, don't fight over them. If anyone fights over them, there won't be any left in the future," Zhou Yimin told them. The little ones knew the rules and lined up to receive their gifts, with happy expressions on their faces. "Eat it all, don't take it home." Zhou Yimin said to the girls. At that time, the phenomenon of favoring boys over girls was very common. The candies in the girls' hands would most likely be taken away after they took them home, so Zhou Yimin let them all eat them. He had heard before that the girls could only eat a few of the peanuts and melon seeds he distributed. All the children held the candy in their mouths and were reluctant to bite it. Moreover, they licked the candy wrappers several times and were reluctant to throw them away. Candy wrappers are one of the important assets of children, just like glass beads, cigarette cards, etc. in later generations. A little guy swallowed it accidentally, was stunned for a moment, and then burst into tears. Zhou Yimin was sweating profusely, but he didn't want to divide it, otherwise it would be unfair to the other children. Just swallow it! Isn't it all in your stomach? "Don't cry, or you won't have it next time!" The boy immediately stopped crying, and he was able to control his tears very easily. If Zhou Yimin hadn't seen the tears still on his face and his red eyes, he would have suspected that he was crying fake tears.
"Okay, let's go play!" Zhou Yimin spread a layer of sand on the open space in his grandmother's vegetable garden, covering an area of about one square meter. He scattered the beans, spread another layer of sand, and then watered it, making sure it was thoroughly wet. Finally, he put the wooden box on it. Get it! As soon as he returned to the room, his grandmother made him a bowl of sugar water and asked him to drink it quickly. Then I heard my grandfather's angry voice outside: "Who threw my box into the vegetable garden?" Zhou Yimin: “…” Grandma, why didn't you remind me? The old lady was justified and scolded back: "What use is your broken box for other than covering bean sprouts for my eldest grandson?" When the old man heard it, he realized it was his eldest grandson who did it. That's fine. "I've wanted to throw away that broken box for a long time." "Grandpa, I'll ask someone to make a new one for me some other day." Zhou Yimin said quickly. He didn't realize that as long as something is kept at home, there is no such thing as "discarded" and it is all useful. (End of this chapter)