In the afternoon, the wind started to blow, and snowflakes began to fall from the overcast sky.

The old village has a large population and many naughty children. People are making noises in one house and laughing in another, and the atmosphere is full of the festive mood.

But once we got back to Niuweiling, it was inevitably deserted.

When Gao Mingcheng returned home, Xiao Xuxu had already woken up and was eating candy.

Many bees found a fruit plate, put a handful of melon seeds, a handful of peanuts, and a handful of candies on it, and then put a handful of oranges and a few apples on it, filling it up, which looked festive.

The oranges were grown on their own trees. When they were sold, some were kept and stored in wooden boxes filled with rice husks.

But after so much time had passed, it was inevitable that some of them would become moldy and rotten, so many people threw away the rotten ones and took out the remaining intact ones.

Looking at the oranges with wrinkled skin, Gao Mingcheng suddenly remembered that he should plant some oranges. Oranges have thicker skins, are easier to preserve than tangerines, and mature later than tangerines. If he planted oranges, he could keep the oranges intact and eat them during the Chinese New Year.

Otherwise, without special refrigerated warehouses, it would be difficult for ordinary people to keep fruits fresh.

When talking about oranges, most people in Jiangxi will think of Gannan navel oranges.

The navel orange in southern Jiangxi is not a local variety, but an introduced variety. As early as 1971, a man named Yuan Shougen went to Shaoyang, Hunan to introduce citrus. As a result, he heard that a new variety "Washington Navel Orange" was introduced from the United States there, but the result was not good. However, Yuan Shougen, who dared to try, brought back 156 navel orange seedlings for trial planting.

After trial and error in planting and careful management, this batch of navel oranges bore fruit. After continuous improvement, the quality of the navel oranges became better and better. In 1977, he sold one ton of navel oranges to Hong Kong. As a result, the whole of Hong Kong was in a sensation. Each kilogram of Gannan navel oranges was sold for 36 Hong Kong dollars, which was much higher than the oranges imported from the United States, and they were sold out in a short time.

It is now the 1990s, so the varieties of Gannan navel oranges should have been improved by now, right?

Gao Mingcheng blinked his eyes, because he didn't pay much attention to this in his previous life, so he was not very clear about the specific situation. However, he often ate Gannan navel oranges and knew that Gannan navel oranges were really delicious. If they were transplanted here, even if the taste was a little lacking, it would be good.

With this in mind, Gao Mingcheng wrote down the task of introducing navel oranges to southern Jiangxi in his little notebook, planning to make time to go to Ganzhou after the spring.

While thinking about these things, Gao Mingcheng suddenly saw Chen Dasong wearing a thick cotton coat and walking towards the chicken coop.

He was puzzled. It was not the time to feed the chickens, nor was it time to keep watch. What was Chen Dasong doing in the chicken coop?

He picked up an orange and peeled it as he walked towards the chicken coop.

The orange peels were casually thrown on the ground. He stuffed an orange slice into his mouth and suddenly felt cold. It was strange to eat fruit in this kind of weather!

He ate the orange in a few bites, and after finishing it, he spit out the seeds.

Gao Mingcheng caught up with Chen Dasong and asked him what he was doing in the chicken coop.

Because it was cold, Chen Dasong hunched over with his hands tucked in. A thin layer of snow had already fallen on the cotton hat on his head.

Seeing Gao Mingcheng, Chen Dasong pointed to the kang on the floor of the chicken coop and said, "It's too cold. We need to light a fire. Light a fire now, and then light another fire before going to bed at night. Otherwise, the chickens will get cold and won't want to lay eggs."

When building the chicken coop, Gao Mingcheng dug a kang on the ground, preparing to burn a fire to keep it warm to prevent the purchased chicks from freezing to death.

It was rarely used after that, but after Chen Dasong figured it out, he started to light a fire in the fire pit in the chicken coop every night when the second snow fell.

Since he started to make fire, the number of eggs started to increase.

In fact, chickens are not very afraid of cold, but in order to resist the severe cold, they will not lay eggs. If farmers want chickens to lay eggs in winter, they must provide comfortable temperature and nutritious feed.

Gao Mingcheng's chickens were not fed much. In spring, summer and autumn, most of them foraged for food on their own in the mountains. They were only fed once a day as a supplementary food.

But in winter, there is little food to eat in the mountains, and the insects in the fields hibernate in the thick soil. Chickens can find little food, so they need to be fed frequently by humans.

Gao Mingcheng stayed in the county most of the time, so he gave Chen Dasong a lot of autonomy. If the chicken coop didn't have what was needed at home, Chen Dasong would buy it and then record it in the account for Gao Mingcheng to reimburse.

For example, feed.

In winter, chop up the old leaves from the vegetable garden, mix them with feed and feed them to the chickens so that they get enough nutrition.

Chen Dasong jumped down to the pit where the fire was burning on the kang and started to make fire and pile up firewood.

Gao Mingcheng walked around the chicken coop and found that the entire coop was covered with plastic sheeting, which could maximize insulation and prevent heat from spreading in the coop.

It's not just the chicken coop. The small room where Chen Dasong lives is also covered with plastic sheeting, leaving only a small ventilation hole.

There was an iron stove in the small room, which was obviously brought by Chen Dasong from home. This iron stove could be used to burn fire for heating and to heat water. When people wanted to drink water, they could have hot water.

Soon, Chen Dasong had lit the fire. After the fire was lit, he could stack firewood. There was a skill to stacking firewood. The big logs and small logs had to be stacked alternately so that they could burn slowly without the need for someone to stand by all the time.

As the fire on the kang started to burn, blue smoke began to rise from the chimney above the chicken coop, gaining a sense of presence amid the white snow.

Chen Dasong stuffed in a complete dead log and pushed it forward with pliers until it reached the top, and then stacked the other firewood on top.

After stacking all the firewood, Chen Dasong said to Gao Mingcheng, "Mingcheng, because we have to burn the kang in winter, the firewood will be used up quickly. I think that by the beginning of summer, all the firewood we collected before will be used up."

Gao Mingcheng nodded and looked at the pile of firewood not far away.

The firewood pile was once as high as a mountain, but now it has become a small hill.

It seems that after the spring, he will have to go into the mountains to get some firewood. He had previously cut down some Masson pine trees in the mountains, and the trunks were prepared to be used to plant Poria cocos. The branches have been cut down and left to dry in the place. When the time comes, he can go into the mountains to bring back the dry firewood.

The snow was falling even harder. Gao Mingcheng said, "Uncle Chen, the fire has started. You should hurry home. It's time to have the New Year's Eve dinner!"

Chen Dasong took another look at the fire, and when he felt that there was no problem, he stood up and said with a smile on his face, "Yes, it's time to eat the New Year's Eve dinner! Another year has passed!"

The two returned home together. This time Gao Mingcheng arrived home first, while Chen Dasong had to walk a little further.

When he returned home, Gao Mingcheng smelled the aroma of meat coming from the kitchen.

The two Maozi brothers were busy the whole afternoon. They first cleaned the cow's internal organs, then cleaned the cow's feet and head, and then put them into a big iron pot to stew.

At this time, the soup in the iron pot made a bubbling sound, and white mist rose up, filling the entire kitchen.

In the basin placed on the wooden rack, there was already a cleaned native chicken.

In addition to the native chicken, there was also a cleaned carp.

These are the main dishes for tonight. Fish is indispensable for the New Year’s Eve dinner, and the carp is the right size, and it is a good omen too, may the carp leap into the dragon gate!

"Maozi, Yangyang, you've worked hard. Take a break and eat some melon seeds and peanuts!" Gao Mingcheng warmly invited them to come over and eat.

But Maozi didn't go over to eat. Instead, he used a spatula to stir the stewing meat in the pot, and then began to prepare to chop the chicken.

It's getting late now, it's time to stew the chicken.

What I am going to make today is ginseng stewed chicken. In addition to ginseng, I will also put a handful of red dates. When it is about to be served, I will add a small handful of wolfberries. Such a pot of chicken soup is guaranteed to be fresh and nutritious.

"We just had it before, and I'm not tired. My sister-in-law said she will be the chef later!" Maozi said with a smile.

He was willing to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, but Xuanyuemei didn't want to delegate it to others. It was inconvenient to take care of the children, so the preliminary preparations were left to the Maozi brothers.

As they were talking, Xuanyuemei came over holding Xiaoxuxu's hand.

Maybe because he is wearing too many clothes, little Xuxu still walks unsteadily. But if an adult holds his hand, he can walk steadily.

Xuanyuemei handed little Xuxu to Gao Mingcheng to take care of. She tied on an apron, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to show her skills.

Maozi did not go down to rest, but assisted Mei at the side. As for Yangyang, he took on the task of making fire!

Looking at the three of them busying themselves, Gao Mingcheng looked down at Xiao Xuxu who was holding his feet. Forget it, he should just take care of the baby!

With the concerted efforts of the three of them, the New Year’s Eve dinner was ready an hour and a half later!

By this time, the sky had already become completely dark. The wind was howling outside, but the house was filled with joy.

"Ming Cheng, it's time to set off firecrackers!" Xuanyuemei reminded.

On New Year’s Eve, firecrackers must be set off before eating. After setting off the firecrackers, the family can close the door and enjoy the New Year’s Eve dinner.

"Okay." Gao Mingcheng stood up, put Xiao Xuxu on the chair, and told him to sit still.

Then he picked up the prepared firecrackers and lighter and went to the yard.

The firecrackers are wrapped in bright red paper, which looks festive. Gao Mingcheng first spreads the firecrackers on the ground, then lights the fuse. Sparks instantly follow the fuse and burn towards the small firecrackers. When the small firecrackers are ignited, they will immediately explode and make a sound.

One small firecracker after another was ignited, and the crackling sound of firecrackers was endless.

After Gao Mingcheng lit the fuse, he immediately stepped back a few steps. When he heard the first sound of firecrackers, he went into the house with confidence. He had to close the door tightly, otherwise the cold wind outside would blow in, making people shiver, and the smoke caused by the explosion of firecrackers would also drift in with the wind.

Listening to the sound of firecrackers, everyone sat at the dinner table.

Gao Mingcheng took out a bottle of ginseng wine he made himself and filled everyone's glasses.

Raise your glass and congratulate.

"Happy New Year!"

Everyone raised their glasses and said with a smile, "Happy New Year!"

After saying the auspicious words, it was time to enjoy the food. Although there were not many people eating, the dishes were quite rich.

Ginseng stewed chicken, braised carp, pork ribs stewed with kelp, pan-fried hairtail, stir-fried beef, stewed ox feet, stir-fried ox tongue, and cabbage moss, eight dishes, symbolizing good fortune in the new year!

This ginseng wine has been soaked for quite some time, so it has a strong alcohol flavor. After taking a sip, many people felt a heat in their bodies, which warmed their bodies.

Yangyang was young, and after he raised his glass to celebrate, the wine in his glass was taken away by Maozi and replaced with a cola drink.

Yangyang also didn't like the spicy taste of wine. He drank the sweet cola, smiling with his eyes curved like a carefree child.

They sat at the table, eating various dishes, while the family's dogs also gathered here, occasionally eating the bones they discarded.

During the Chinese New Year last year, there were only Gao Mingcheng and his wife at home. Little Xuxu was still young at the time, so there wasn’t much to do. This year, with the addition of the Maozi brothers at home, there is more presence and it’s a lot more lively.

People are really greedy. When a large family lives together, they complain about the noise, but when they live alone, they sometimes feel lonely.

After the meal, Xuanmei cleared the dishes and chopsticks, wiped the table clean, and set out some melon seeds, snacks, and tea.

But now everyone’s stomach is full, so we can only look at those things.

Maozi drank a few glasses of ginseng wine and was already a little drunk. He was very interested in talking to Xuanmei about what he saw and heard in Junshan Lake.

He and the monkey were responsible for delivering the goods, but they had also seen the locals catching swans and white cranes, so they described them vividly.

He also talked about how he once went fishing with local fishermen.

"...Such a huge lake, stretching as far as the eye can see! Compared to it, the largest reservoir in our county is just a tiny sesame seed! Not worth mentioning!"

"The fishermen's boats are not very big, and there is a water tank in the cabin. The fish they catch can be placed in the water tank to keep them alive, so they won't die. Some people keep the fish in the water tank all the time, and when they need fish at home, they take them from the water tank."

"They moored their boats together. Every boat is similar. I can't tell them apart. But they can tell at a glance. But because the boats are moored together, some people will steal other people's fish!"

"It's OK if they stole ordinary fish, but if they stole expensive fish, once the thief is found, he will be severely beaten!"

"Their pork ribs stewed with lotus root are really delicious! The lotus root has to be cut into large pieces and stewed for a long time. When it is cooked, the color turns pink. It tastes very soft and sticky when you take a bite!"

"There was also a little girl who seemed to like me and sent me food several times..."

At this point, Maozi laughed foolishly, but his eyes were blurry and he was obviously drunk.

Manyu Mei didn't know whether what Maozi said was true or not, but she thought it sounded very interesting. Everyone has different life experiences, and by listening to other people's stories, she broadened her understanding of the world.

After listening to the story, Xuanyuemei saw that it was getting late, so she went to get hot water for Xiaoxuxu to wash his face and butt, and then took the child to bed.

Gao Mingcheng was left here to take care of the drunk Maozi, and he coaxed Yangyang to go to the toilet to pee, and then washed his face and went to sleep.

The Maozi brothers slept on an old bed, but the bedding was thick, so they made two beds, one from Gao Mingcheng's family, and one that Maozi brought with him. The two brothers slept together, so they didn't feel cold. (End of this chapter)