Chapter 198 New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, the family gathers around the table for a reunion dinner, eating, drinking, and chatting happily.

Although there were no television programs or even radios in those days, the whole family was quite happy, and they felt very content with their life.

The children were so engrossed in eating these delicious foods that they barely touched the staple foods.

Sheng Liancheng and Sheng Xiping drank three cups of wine, and then stopped. With so much good food and drink to offer, why just drink?

The meal took a while; we finally finished eating at five o'clock.

After everyone had finished eating, Sheng Xiping didn't let his mother move. Instead, he led his younger siblings to clear the table.

Then Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei washed the dishes and cleaned the stove. Sheng Xiping found the meat he had saved for mincing and chopped it into minced meat.

The forest farm has a bathhouse. Sheng Liancheng and his father took a bath on the day they came down the mountain. People in Northeast China rarely bathe so frequently in the cold weather, so they don't need to bathe during the Spring Festival.

As for the others, they all took time to go to the public bathhouse in the past few days.

This shows the difference between a forest farm and an agricultural cooperative. In an agricultural cooperative, they wouldn't have the same conditions; they would have to boil water at home to wash.

Not only is it inconvenient, but it's also not as comfortable as taking a bath in a public bathhouse.

After chopping the meat filling, chop the vegetables next. On New Year's Eve, dumplings are usually made with a mixture of cabbage and radish.

The main problem is that cabbage is too watery and doesn't hold its volume. Adding some blanched shredded radish makes the dumpling filling more substantial and prevents it from becoming watery and sticking to the lid if you wrap it for too long.

In the past, there was a custom that radishes were called "laifu," which sounded like "laifu" (meaning "coming good fortune"), and cabbage sounded like "baicai" (meaning "hundreds of fortunes").

Using these two vegetables to make dumplings on New Year's Eve has a good meaning.

These days, people aren't allowed to be particular about these things anymore. People don't talk about it, but some customs have still remained.

Once the meat and vegetables were chopped, the rest of the work was no longer Sheng Xiping's responsibility; Zhang Shuzhen would have to personally prepare the filling.

Since there was still plenty of time, Zhang Shuzhen wasn't in a hurry. She first kneaded the dough before preparing the filling.

On Chinese New Year's Day, the forest farm had electricity all night.

Around seven o'clock, Zhang Shuzhen prepared the dumpling filling, kneaded the dough, placed a board on the south-facing kang (heated brick bed), and started making dumplings with her daughter.

Sheng Xiping's dumpling-making skills are average, but he can help roll out the dough.

As for Sheng Liancheng, he led Sheng Xi'an, Sheng Xikang, and the others to roast melon seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, and the like.

Why do we have to wait until New Year's Eve to roast sunflower seeds? Can't we roast them a few days in advance and leave them out?

One reason is that there are a bunch of monkey babies in the family, and nuts are the kids' favorite.

If it's cooked up in advance, I'm afraid these little monkeys will sneak up and eat it all before New Year's Eve.

These days, sunflower seeds are a rare treat. People might grow a dozen or twenty seedlings in their garden just to roast and serve to guests during the New Year. Once they're gone, they're gone.

Pine nuts and hazelnuts can be sold for money, and they are also given away as gifts, so we don't keep many for ourselves.

If the children eat in advance, what will we serve them when guests come over?

Another reason is, where do you put the food that's been cooked in advance?

These days, without plastic bags, we just put them in a cloth bag and put them in the closet, but they get damp easily, and the shells get tough.

Most people in Northeast China would put the melon seeds in a cloth bag and place it under the heated brick bed (kang) at the end of the kang. The kang would keep the seeds from getting damp and hard.

However, nuts are high in oil and tend to spoil easily if left warm.

Therefore, most families roast melon seeds or similar things on New Year's Eve.

I just happened to have some free time after cooking it, so I grabbed a handful and started eating it, chatting as I ate to keep myself awake.

Eating dumplings means staying up until midnight, which most people can't stay up all night. Having something to eat helps them stay awake.

A family of eight is eating together, and the dumplings for New Year's Eve and the morning of New Year's Day are to be made together, so dumplings are definitely a must.

Now that the children are older, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei can help with the wrapping, and Sheng Xiping can roll out the dough.

Back when the children were all young, it would take Sheng Liancheng and his wife quite a while to finish making dumplings.

Around 10:30, the dumplings were finished. Two bamboo mats were left and taken to the outer storage room, covered with a clean white cloth. These were to be cooked the next morning.

The remaining few lids are placed on the kitchen counter or stovetop, to be used for boiling water and cooking dumplings later.

"Old Sheng, let's cook dumplings early, don't wait until midnight."

Ever since the eldest brother came back from the mountain, he hasn't had a proper rest. I cooked dumplings early this morning, and after eating, it's time for him to go to sleep.

"Won't all his buddies come over to wish him a Happy New Year first thing tomorrow morning?" Zhang Shuzhen asked Sheng Liancheng, glancing at the clock on the wall.

In the past, Sheng Liancheng required that dumplings be cooked at 11:30 and eaten at 12:00.

But in the last two years, I haven't cared much about those rules anymore. It doesn't matter when I eat, right?

Breakfast is fine too. After eating dumplings, play for a while to help digest before going to sleep.

“Okay, we’ll do it your way.” Sheng Liancheng nodded in agreement.

So, Zhang Shuzhen called Sheng Xi'an and the others to bring firewood and light the stove on the east side to boil water.

The firewood for cooking dumplings during the Lunar New Year is specially prepared.

Find birch shavings that are dry and have a smooth grain, and split them into even, thin strips.

This kind of firewood burns very brightly, making it perfect for quickly boiling dumplings, resulting in delicious dumplings.

Since it's a big pot and there are so many dumplings, if the fire isn't strong enough, the dumplings will soak in the water and eventually the dumpling skins will lose their elasticity, making them taste bad.

As the water boiled, Zhang Shuzhen used a bamboo steamer to put dumplings into the pot, calling out to Sheng Liancheng, "Dumplings are in! Go set off the firecrackers!"

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