Put the remaining broth, without the pork skin, into a separate bowl.

After it cools down completely, you'll get two different flavors: aspic and clear jelly.

After finishing all that, it was getting late, so Zhang Shuzhen said she wouldn't do anything else today and would get some rest.

Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu had long been used to sleeping with their grandparents, and even when Zhou Qinglan came back, the two children didn't cling to their mother as much.

Sheng Liancheng laid out the blankets, and the two children took off their clothes, crawled into the blankets, and went to sleep happily without either of them fussing for their mother.

Zhou Qinglan felt a little disappointed, but what could she do if the child wouldn't look for her? She could only go back to the west room by herself.

The bedding was taken out of the kang (heated brick bed) in advance and placed on the kang, so it wasn't too cold and could be laid directly on the bed.

Winters in Northeast China are cold. When people sleep, they usually tuck three edges of the blanket inwards and make it neat and tidy.

Then put your cotton-padded coat or something similar under your feet to prevent your feet from getting cold at night.

Zhou Qinglan had snuggled into the corner of the quilt and had just taken off her cotton-padded trousers. She was about to take off her cotton-padded coat when Sheng Xiping came in.

As soon as he saw his wife taking off her clothes, Sheng Xiping went over, put his arm around her waist, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Who did you call a female monster during the day?" Zhou Qinglan glared at Sheng Xiping and asked.

"Oh, you still remember? Oh dear, I was just praising you, wasn't I? Female monsters are all quite beautiful." Sheng Xiping hugged his wife and chuckled.

"No, female monsters eat people. Watch how I eat you."

Zhou Qinglan turned around and pounced on Sheng Xiping, opening her mouth to bite him.

However, Sheng Xiping grabbed her and kissed her directly.

"Okay, eat whatever you like, wherever you want," Sheng Xiping mumbled as their lips intertwined.

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month is Lunar New Year's Eve.

As the saying goes, the flowers are similar year after year, but the people are different year after year.

We celebrate the Lunar New Year every year, but the people and their feelings are different every year.

Of course, the most obvious change is in the children. Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu have both grown much taller and more sensible than last year.

Around eight o'clock in the morning, after having breakfast, everyone in the Sheng family got busy with their own tasks.

It snowed last night, and the Sheng brothers' first task was to shovel the snow.

Originally, Sheng Xiping said he wanted to clear all the snow and move it outside. But Sheng Xinhua jumped up and down shouting that he wanted to build a snowman, so the four brothers thought about it and decided that it was fine, since it would make the kid happy anyway.

So, the group gathered all the snow in the yard together and built a chubby, round snowman.

Sheng Xinhua found a straw hat and put it on the snowman. He then asked his grandmother for chestnuts, dates, and carrots to make the snowman's eyes, nose, and mouth.

Then, these mischievous kids even found Sheng Xitai's red scarf from his school days, tied it around the snowman's neck, and cut some carrot slices to use as buttons for the snowman's clothes.

Finally, I stuck the newly made broom from home into the side of the snowman as its hands.

The snowman was finished, and the two children jumped for joy. One went over to hug it, and the other went over to kiss it; they both loved it dearly.

After finishing all that, Sheng Xiping led his younger brothers to quickly erect lantern poles and hang lanterns.

Just then, the paste was ready inside, and the brothers quickly put up the couplets.

This year's couplets were not written by Chen Weimin, but were bought by Zhou Qinglan from Songjiang River.

In addition to couplets, there are also New Year pictures, door gods, kitchen gods, the character "福" (fortune), "出出见喜" (see happiness upon leaving home), "抬头见喜" (see happiness upon looking up), spring strips, and so on.

It's clear that many things are no longer strictly regulated, and some traditional folk customs are gradually being restored.

Above the granary was a sign that read "Granaries Full of Grain," above the pigsty was a sign that read "Six Domestic Animals Prosper," and above the chicken coop was a sign that "Golden Chickens Fill the Shed."

On the wall separating the east and west rooms from the kang (heated brick bed), there were New Year picture dolls pasted on it.

The chubby baby was wearing a bib, either holding a big carp in his arms or riding a big carp, and he had a very cute smile.