Shuiqing is also making tofu balls.

We have a stone mill at home, and a donkey to pull it, so it's easy and convenient to make soy products.

Besides tofu balls, I also fried radish balls and lotus root balls.

Each piece, coated in batter and fried until golden brown and fragrant, is laid out on a bamboo tray to cool, to be enjoyed slowly during the Lunar New Year and the first month of the lunar calendar.

Fan He and Fan Hu would occasionally come over to steal one to eat.

"If big brother knew there was so much delicious food, he definitely wouldn't want to go back," Fan Hu whispered, his cheeks bulging from eating.

Two days ago, Uncle Bai sent someone to pick up my older brother and take him home for the Chinese New Year.

Fan He said nonchalantly, "The Bai family is so big and powerful, what would you like to eat, big brother? There must be plenty of delicious food."

Fan Hu thought about it and agreed.

However, he still thought his mother's cooking was the best!

He wouldn't trade it for anything, no matter how delicious it was.

The two of them were like little hamsters, not only sneaking food for themselves, but also secretly taking it away.

Take it to Ling Ran, Yan Qiuxing, and the others to eat.

Shui Qing chose to turn a blind eye to what the two had done.

Now there is plenty of food, unlike when she first arrived when she was hungry and cold. And since there is only a little food and nothing is wasted, there is no need to be harsh.

The house is stocked with all kinds of delicious food, and the festive atmosphere is getting stronger.

By the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the house was cleaned, all the sheets and blankets were washed, dried and put on, snacks and pastries were stocked up, food for the Spring Festival was prepared, and the rice wine shop was closed until the third day of the Lunar New Year.

The men were responsible for tasks such as killing chickens and ducks, while Shui Qing took Yan Qiuxing back to prepare foods that took a long time to make.

On the 29th, they ate a light meal to fill their stomachs, and the whole family focused on preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner the next day.

The next day.

As dawn broke, a series of thumping sounds echoed throughout Shanshui Village.

It sounded just like a firecracker.

Of course, buying cannons was out of the question; no one in the village was willing to waste that money.

That's the sound of burning bamboo.

The same applies to Shui Qing's family.

Fan Jin got up early, lit a fire, and placed the bamboo, which had been chopped the day before, on the brazier.

A short while later, loud banging sounds also rang out from the branch village of Shanshui Village.

Yan Qiuxing was so frightened that she covered her ears.

The three people from Jianghehu were jumping around excitedly.

Ling Ran looked at the little girl who was covering her ears, and the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up.

Shuiqing was busily preparing food in the kitchen.

The braised food was prepared yesterday and left to marinate in the braising liquid. Before serving, it is heated up, taken out, sliced, and plated.

The old hen is stewed in a large iron pot in the morning, then transferred to a clay pot and simmered over charcoal.

Dry pot duck, boiled rabbit, braised pork, clear soup fish head... one by one they are cooked and then transferred to charcoal fire to simmer over low heat.

Steam was rising from the kitchen.

After setting off firecrackers in the yard, the fire in the brazier wasn't wasted; it was moved to a corner of the dining room to add warmth to the cold house.

Fan Jin brought out a long table and placed it in the courtyard. He then took out paper, inkstone, brush, and ink, and led the six children to write Spring Festival couplets.

"Yanqiu, write the Spring Festival couplets for your room," Fan Jin said with a smile and a warm voice.

After practicing calligraphy every day for more than three months, Yan Qiu's handwriting cannot compare with that of professional calligraphers, but it is elegant and beautiful, and can be considered quite pleasing to the eye.

She was more than capable of writing couplets for her own room.

Yan Qiu suspended her wrist, calmed her mind, and carefully finished writing.

Then she looked up at her father, waiting for his comments.

"Peaceful, simple, and natural, it's already very good." The tall and slender Ling Ran lowered his eyes and commented in a low voice.

Hearing this clearly high praise, Yan Qiu's smile was as bright as the rising sun.

She knew her handwriting wasn't as good as Ling Ran's, but being praised always made her happy.

Fan Jin looked at Ling Ran, slightly surprised.