Chapter 499 Moving the Oil Jar

The two little ones slept soundly until everyone finished eating and cleaned up, at which point they woke up.

Just in time, the steamed egg custard and millet porridge I made for them were still warm in the pot. I changed their diapers and quickly fed them a little.

After the two little ones finished eating and played for a while, Zhang Shuzhen and Aunt Li boiled a pot of water in a large pot, poured it into a large basin, and gave the two children a bath.

It's Chinese New Year, so we're all about getting rid of the old and welcoming the new.

Adults go to public bathhouses to shower, but the two kids are too small to take to the bathhouse, so we just shower at home.

The heating is working really well, and the underfloor heating is burning really hard, so the room is warm and cozy, not cold at all.

The two little ones took off their clothes and put them in the big aluminum basin. They really got to work, splashing their chubby little arms in the water and kicking their little legs. The two little ones were having a great time and laughing.

Who wouldn't want such a cute little guy?

Zhang Shuzhen, Zhou Qinglan, and the Sheng Yunfang sisters worked together to wash the two children clean, dried them with towels, wrapped them in blankets, and carried them to the kang (a heated brick bed).

Then, powdering, dressing, and putting on diapers were all done in one go. Wu Yuhua and Feng Shuyan hardly had to lift a finger, and the two little ones were clean and smelled wonderful.

But the dumplings for New Year's Eve must be made properly, neatly and orderly, like gold ingots, so that children can't just reach out and mess them up.

Sheng Xiping, who was sitting on the sofa chatting with his father and brothers, heard this and quickly called his daughter over.

Those who are clean and have the means can wash once a week, while those who are not clean or don't have the means can wash once a month, which is normal.

The forestry bureau has a staff bathhouse, and the unit provides bath tickets, so people bathe more frequently.

This year, our family is all here, with more than ten people eating together, so we definitely can't make too few dumplings.

While Zhang Shuzhen was directing her daughters-in-law to boil water and cook dumplings, she suddenly noticed a large oil jar on the stove.

Sheng Liancheng led his sons to the courtyard to distribute paper money and set off firecrackers.

So he called his two daughters over and asked them to move the oil jar.

After the dumplings were made, they were taken to the kitchen, the heated brick bed was cleaned up, and then everyone ate sunflower seeds while watching the Spring Festival Gala.

This year marks the fourth Spring Festival Gala, and watching the Spring Festival Gala on Lunar New Year's Eve has become a habit for most viewers.

Fat is animal fat, also known as lard.

"Alright then." The two little girls remembered, so they stopped making a fuss and went to the kang (heated brick bed) to coax their younger brother and sister.

In 1986, the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar, the opening medley of songs was followed by a crosstalk performance titled "Talking about Tigers in the Year of the Tiger."

"You two just went to the bathhouse the day before yesterday, what are you doing here now?"

"Go play somewhere else. We'll be chopping filling and making dumplings soon, so don't make a mess." Zhou Qinglan glared at her daughter.

After the show ended, while the Peking Opera and songs were being performed on stage, Zhang Shuzhen urged everyone to finish wrapping the last piece of dough.

Next to the door of the outer room, there were several cardboard boxes containing fruit that Sheng Xiyun had brought over.

Before the Lunar New Year, the processing plant distributed employee benefits, and Sheng Xiping asked Sheng Xiyun to send a truckload of apples over. He had some left over for his family to eat with their children.

With something delicious to eat, the two girls didn't want to work anymore. They each grabbed two pieces, snuggled up next to their father, and ate contentedly.

The actor who later said "I've missed you all so much!" as soon as he stepped on stage entered the national audience's view from that year onwards, and appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage for more than 30 consecutive years.

"Aren't there still frozen pears and persimmons in the storeroom? Go pick some up and let them thaw before eating them later." Sheng Xiping then instructed his son to fetch the fruit.

On the morning of the 27th, Zhou Qinglan specially took the two girls to the bathhouse to take a bath. It's only been a few days, why are they taking baths so frequently?

Sheng Xitai was quite skilled; he wielded the knife with both hands and chopped the minced meat in no time.

Zhang Shuzhen also instructed Sheng Xitai to chop the filling, as the young man was strong and chopped the filling quickly.

Zhang Shuzhen, along with her three daughters-in-law, two daughters, and Aunt Li, worked together to make dumplings.

After the dough was kneaded and rested for a while, and the dumpling filling was prepared, around six o'clock, a cutting board was placed on the kang (heated brick bed) in the east room.

The two girls, Sheng Xinyue and Sheng Xinqi, also wanted to make dumplings and eagerly gathered around the work surface, but Zhou Qinglan chased them away.

At 8 o'clock sharp, CCTV's Spring Festival Gala began. The whole family stared intently at the TV, even the person making dumplings became distracted.

When making dumplings, there aren't many rules. The kids are happy to help, so just give them some dough and they can make a couple of dumplings however they like.

The men were ushered to the sofa, where Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang held their own children, chatting and comforting them.

Then I took out some snacks from the cupboard, such as fruit, chocolate, melon seeds, pine nuts, and raw nuts in their shells, and coaxed my daughters to eat them so they wouldn't cause any trouble.

Moving a large oil jar on New Year's Eve is called "moving meat," which sounds like "moving into marriage."

"Grandma, I want to take a bath too!" The two girls, Xinyue and Xinqi, were so envious when they saw this that they insisted on taking a bath as well.

These two little girls are always up to something.

Fortunately, there were many people working, and in a short time, they had made five or six trays of dumplings.

"Go ask your dad for some good food. Don't just stand here staring. It's New Year's Day, and we can't let you waste the dumplings on New Year's Eve."

In rural areas, where there are no public bathhouses and the rooms are very cold, people might only take a bath during the Lunar New Year, just to get through the winter.

On New Year's Eve, there was another meal of dumplings. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Shuzhen went with Aunt Li to knead the dough.

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