Chapter 29 Laba.

On a cold morning, it is undoubtedly a blessing to be able to drink a bowl of sweet and hot mutton soup with chopped green onions after waking up and washing up, and to suck a piece of mutton from the mutton bone.

He Susu ate all the mutton on the mutton shank bone and sucked up the rich bone marrow. She looked up and asked her mother, "Mom, you guys also had mutton shank bone soup, right?"

This time the soup is made from pure lamb shank bones. There is no white radish or anything like that. Just some green onions and ginger for flavoring and removing the fishy smell. It is already very fragrant.

Mother He nodded: "They all drank it, including the children. I used three lamb shank bones to cook a big pot of soup."

Everyone drank the soup, but there were only three lamb shank bones, so the daughter definitely left one for her. She originally wanted to give the remaining two to the eldest and second oldest sons who were more tired from work, but they didn't want them and said they wanted to leave them for her and the old man to replenish their bodies.

The eldest and second daughters-in-law had the same idea. He's father and mother were pleased and did not refuse. Each of them gnawed a lamb bone and ate it even cleaner than their daughter.

After breakfast, He Susu basked in the sun in the yard. The sun in winter is comfortable, and it warms the body, making the whole person feel lazy and comfortable.

Guifang and the other two went to school, and the two younger ones were playing in the yard. Seeing that their aunt was in a good mood, they ran over and acted coquettishly, saying that they wanted to give her a back massage and bring her water to drink.

He Susu saw through their thoughts. Since she had just exchanged for milk lumps yesterday, she was willing to help them. After drinking a glass of water and enjoying the two little guys patting her legs and back, she went back to the room and got two milk candies to share with them.

Guimian and Kejie immediately jumped up excitedly: "Thank you, aunt!"

They didn't save the candy for later, so they immediately tore open the candy wrapper and stuffed it into their mouths.

Around ten o'clock, the sun gradually became warmer, so He Susu stopped basking in the sun and instead hid in the room.

She took out a milk lump from the storage compartment. It was about one and a half fingers wide, like a small round ball. She could already smell the milky fragrance when she held it in her hand.

It has a strong milky flavor when you put it in your mouth. Unlike the hard toffee, the milk lumps are soft and elastic. They will change shape when you bite them. You can slowly taste the sweetness that gradually permeates your entire mouth.

He Susu tasted it slowly, and the milk pimple in her mouth gradually became smaller and finally melted in her mouth. It must be said that the taste of milk pimples is indeed better than milk candy, and what makes her even more excited is the nutritional value mentioned in the detailed introduction.

It’s a pity that I can’t take it out for my mother to try now. I can only wait until I go back to the county town to get mutton and mutton bones, and then bring back this pound of milk lumps.

According to the detailed introduction, milk lumps are a specialty of the north, so when the time comes, just say they were sent back by classmates or relatives.

The leisurely days in winter pass quickly. As the old saying goes, after Laba, it is the New Year. Laba is highly valued here. Factories with better welfare in the county will give festival gifts to workers. No matter in the county or in the countryside, people with or without conditions will gather some beans and rice to make Laba porridge.

The He family did the same in the past. They didn't go out of their way to buy things. They just took whatever was available at home and exchanged some with their neighbors, and they could cook some Laba porridge together.

When He Susu was browsing the shopping system before going to bed last night, she unexpectedly discovered that the system also made recommendations based on the time. As soon as she opened it, she saw the Laba porridge ingredient package ranked first.

When you click on the details page, you can see that it has the most complete ingredients for Laba porridge, including rice, coix seed, red beans, lotus seeds, peanuts, glutinous rice, red dates and black beans.

This package of ingredients for Laba porridge is probably a holiday gift that can only be given by state-owned factories in the county. Ordinary people cannot get such a complete set of ingredients.

Such a material package can be exchanged for only 1 diligence point, and it weighs 800g, which is enough to cook at least two or three meals.

He Susu generously exchanged two portions, planning to keep one for herself and give one to her elder sister.

This is a good opportunity for me to send out the three articles I wrote recently.

Knowing that Susu would go to the county town to submit her manuscripts and would also visit her eldest daughter, He's mother prepared half a jar of pickled cabbage and pickled radish.

We have enough pickled vegetables at home, but my eldest daughter probably hasn't prepared anything. She has to live on these few vegetables in the winter, so she needs to supplement her income a little.

He's mother hesitated again: "If you take the ox cart to the county town, you will have to walk. Wouldn't it be a bit heavy to carry half a jar of things? How about I ask your brother to send it over later? Anyway, you go to the county town to work every day."

Recently, many women in the village are still jealous, saying that her family is capable. After her daughter went to class for the first half of the year, she found an opportunity to send her two sons to work in the county town. Even if it was only in the first month of last year, they could earn some money to support the family.

When He's mother heard it, she pretended not to hear it. After all, she had her eldest daughter to help her and was lucky.

He Susu shook her head: "Mom is fine. It's just a small half jar of stuff. I can carry it easily in the backpack. According to my sister's previous rest days, she should be resting at home today. I will go directly to her house to find her."

Anyway, she was going to deliver the Laba porridge ingredients to her elder sister, so it was a good opportunity to deliver the pickled cabbage. If her elder sister wasn't at home resting, she would go to the meat processing factory to look for her.

Seeing her daughter say this, He's mother agreed.

The next morning, after breakfast, He Susu went to the village entrance to take the ox cart, carrying a basket filled with half a jar of pickled cabbage and pickled radish.

Perhaps they were going to buy beans to cook Laba porridge, so there were quite a few people riding in ox carts today, and one of them happened to be my aunt-in-law Wu Hua.

Wu Hua happily pulled He Susu to chat about family matters: "Susu, I haven't seen you for a long time since you went to work. It's cold now, so you can rest at home and look for a job after the New Year. I went to the county town today to buy some red beans and red dates to cook Laba porridge. Is your family ready?"

He Susu smiled and said, "Aunt, my family hasn't bought the ingredients for Laba porridge yet. My mother asked me to buy these when I went to the county town this time."

There were rice, mung beans and glutinous rice at home. He's mother originally wanted to exchange one or two of them with Aunt Zhang next door. However, He Susu took the initiative to take over the matter and said that she would buy them when she went to the county town. This Laba porridge is only drunk once a year, so it cannot be easily dealt with.

He's mother was still feeling strange, as she had never seen her daughter so interested in eating Laba porridge before. Since she was so interested, He's mother just went along with her and gave her two yuan to buy the ingredients. If she had extra money, she could just buy whatever she liked.

Wu Hua was indeed a talkative person. She kept talking all the way and always managed to turn to another topic after finishing one. He Susu only had to answer according to her words.

After killing time chatting, they soon arrived at the county town. After getting off the ox cart, because of the matter of buying ingredients for Laba porridge, He Susu had to follow Wu Hua into the supply and marketing cooperative.

She made the excuse that they bought different things and walked away from Wu Hua. After the other party couldn't see her anymore, she turned around and walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative and went to the post office.

This time, all three articles were submitted to a family in the alley and stuffed into an envelope. He Susu told the staff the submission address, watched them put stamps on it and put the postmark on it, and then paid the money neatly.

Then she walked to the steel plant's staff quarters, and on the way she transferred the bag of Laba porridge ingredients from the storage compartment into the backpack.

"Sister, are you home? I'm Susu."

"Yes, yes, I'll open the door right away."

He Xiuxiu was very happy to see her younger sister when she opened the door. She welcomed her into the house and asked her to sit down. "I'm taking a break today. I was wondering if you would come to see me."

He Susu smiled: "We two sisters are thinking alike. I was thinking that you would take a break today, so I came to the county town."

She talked about going to the post office to mail her manuscripts.

He Xiuxiu nodded: "That's good. You can find something to do at home to write articles so you won't be so bored. It would be even better if you can earn some royalties."

She knew that her younger sister often came to the county town to buy things, and from time to time she would buy meat to bring back for her parents to eat. It was always good to have more money in hand.

He Susu took out the things in the backpack and gave them to her: "Mom heard that I was coming to the county town, so she took out half a jar of pickled cabbage and pickled radish for you to eat."

He Xiuxiu took it and said with a smile: "Mom is always thinking about me."

He Susu said as a matter of course: "You are her daughter, so mother must be thinking about you. Don't worry, we have pickled a lot of cabbage and radish at home, enough to eat until the beginning of next spring."

The Laba porridge material package was wrapped in oil paper. She handed it to her elder sister and said, "This is the various beans I bought at the supply and marketing cooperative for cooking Laba porridge. I also bought one for you."

She dared to say this because the supply and marketing cooperative actually sold every ingredient in the Laba porridge ingredient package.

"Why spend this money?" He Xiuxiu took it and opened it, and was surprised to find that "you bought quite a complete set, rice, glutinous rice, mung beans... exactly eight kinds. Even though the quantity of each one looks quite small, together they make up one and a half kilograms."

He Susu smiled: "It's only enough for two or three meals, and it will be finished soon."

"It seems that we are blessed this year for Laba Festival." He Xiuxiu said with a smile. In previous years, the family cooked Laba porridge just for the sake of eating, and rarely bought all eight ingredients.

"I've counted the days, and the next time I can rest will be around the New Year, so I might as well wait until the second day of the New Year and then go back with my family. Here are four boxes of canned meat and two boxes of canned fruit that I've saved up over the past two months. You can take them home and eat them."

He Xiuxiu went to her room and took out a package for her younger sister. When she saw that her younger sister didn't take it, she smiled and said, "Don't worry, there is food at home, and Haohao and Juejue are not treated badly."

He Susu then reached out to take it: "That's good, thank you, big sister."

The two sisters chatted for a while. He Xiuxiu originally wanted to keep her younger sister at home for dinner, but if she didn't catch the ox cart back at around 11 o'clock, she would have to wait for the one in the evening. Since her younger sister wanted to go home early, she had no choice but to go with her.

After sitting with her eldest sister until almost eleven o'clock, He Susu walked out of the steel plant's family compound carrying a backpack filled with six cans of food. She did not even think of going to the steel plant to see her eldest and second brothers, but went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative.

She had gone to the meat processing factory before because she had something to do during the break. Her eldest brother and second brother worked in the steel factory workshop, so it was not easy for her to see them whenever she wanted, but they could see each other every day anyway.

With my brother-in-law working in the steel plant, my older brothers can be taken care of if anything happens.

The ox cart was already waiting at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. He Susu paid two cents and got on. This time there were already three or four people on the cart, so she couldn't choose a good seat and had to sit anywhere.

Seeing this, Wu Hua switched seats with others and came over: "Susu, have you bought everything? I just went to buy some things and you were nowhere to be seen in the blink of an eye."

He Susu nodded: "Aunt, I have bought everything. I am going to sit at my sister's place for a while. I just came back."

Wu Hua nodded: "No wonder, hey, let me tell you..."

He Susu had no choice but to continue chatting with her aunt-in-law all the way.

After getting off the ox cart at the village entrance, she walked to a deserted place and used her mind to transfer two pounds of pork from the storage compartment and put it into the backpack.

The mutton and mutton shanks that I exchanged before were taken home and eaten in two batches. The soup cooked with the mutton shanks tasted really good and might really provide some nutritional supplements. My family members looked much better during that period.

Although the shopping system can still exchange for mutton and mutton shanks, He Susu didn't dare to exchange them and take them home. Mutton and mutton shanks are hard to come by, and it would be rare if they could be bought often.

When they got home, the second sister-in-law was already cooking in the kitchen. He's mother hurried over to help her daughter take the backpack. She was not surprised to see two pounds of pork in it, as the pork was almost finished at home, so she would give the money for buying meat to her daughter later.

But the oil paper package, when I opened it, I saw rice, mung beans, red beans... scattered here and there: "Susu, you bought all these, this is the first time that our family has all eight kinds."

He Susu said casually, "I thought I'd go to the supply and marketing cooperative, and if there's anything available, I'll just buy some, and I can cook two or three meals."

Mother He nodded: "Very good."

During the day, the two neighbors came to her house to exchange beans. She exchanged what she had at home, thinking that her daughter would buy it back, so she didn't ask for it. The other party might feel bad, so he went home and got her some pickled cabbage, saying that it was pickled with chili peppers and tasted very good, and asked her to try it.

On the Laba Festival, the He family ate an unusually simple but varied meal. A pot of Laba porridge made from eight ingredients was cooked until the beans were soft because they were afraid they would be too hard. He's mother was kind enough to add some brown sugar to increase the sweetness, which made it smell even more fragrant.

When He Susu woke up and washed up in the morning, she was surprised to see Laba porridge for breakfast.

He's mother explained: "I thought that the ingredients you bought could be used to cook two or three meals. It would be boring to eat Laba porridge after Laba, so we might as well start eating it in the morning."

He Susu smiled helplessly and started to taste the Laba porridge.

The porridge was still warm, and one spoonful could pick up several ingredients. Because most of them were beans, the grains were distinct, but they were soft and a little sweet when you bite them gently. Maybe it was because it was boiled for a long time, the rice milk and bean paste were boiled out, and the porridge was thick when mixed together.

The taste is completely different from the usual white porridge, and it tastes quite good.

Mother He said proudly, "This time the Laba porridge has enough ingredients, and I put some brown sugar in it on a whim. Your father drank two bowls in a row, and the children also praised it for being delicious."

It’s not like before, when we had to beg them to drink the Laba porridge after cooking it, as if we were forcing them to do something.

He Susu nodded in agreement: "It is indeed delicious. You are smart to add some brown sugar. It tastes even better with a little sweetness."

Every household drinks Laba porridge on this day, and the He family drinks it three times a day.

In the morning and at noon, we just drank Laba porridge and didn't cook anything else. Only at night, thinking that Brother He and Brother He must be starving after a day's work, I fried some more meat slices and pickled cabbage.

The pickled cabbage was sent by the neighbor next door. They said it was made with chili peppers and finely chopped red peppers mixed in. He Susu quite liked it and found it very appetizing.

Others couldn't help but use their chopsticks to pick up more food.

He's mother thought that the pickled cabbage with chili peppers tasted better than her own, so she decided: "Next year when we pickle cabbage again, we'll buy some chili peppers and chop them up and put them in, it will be more flavorful!"

The days approaching the end of the year passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the 25th day of the lunar year, the day for slaughtering pigs.

The pigs raised in the village are fed with grass cut by the villagers every day, which is why they are so fat. Every year before the autumn harvest, a pig is killed and distributed to the villagers to replenish their fat and water, so that they will not fall down at the beginning of the autumn harvest due to lack of fat in their stomachs. This year, because it rained before the autumn harvest, we didn't have time to kill the pigs.

After informing the commune of the number of pigs required, the remaining pigs would be slaughtered on the twenty-fifth day of the lunar year and distributed to the villagers. If the He family did not have a third son who was a soldier and sent meat coupons and a little girl who had a way to buy meat, then like most people, they would look forward to having meat these two times every year.

Because one less pig was slaughtered in the autumn harvest, one more pig could be slaughtered at the end of the year, which meant more meat would be distributed to each household. The news excited the villagers, and now they gathered in the village to dry the grain with smiles on their faces, waiting to be distributed the pork.

Every year, He's mother would come to line up and wait for the pork she was given, and other family members who were interested would come to join in the fun. Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe would basically come along for the exciting event of distributing the meat, not to mention the children.

This year He Susu also came to join in the fun. She had not been out much since the weather turned cold, so she wanted to come and see the village being lively, and also wanted to record the joy of the villagers sharing meat so that she could write an article and submit it when she returned.

More than a dozen strong men from the village came out with three pigs. The butcher who was specially invited had already prepared the tools for slaughtering pigs. They started slaughtering one pig after another. There was also boiled hot water nearby waiting to wash the pigs and scrape off the hair.

No one felt the bloodiness, all were eager to eat meat.

The accountant was also present, ranking each household in the village according to the centimeters they earned and taking into account the weight of the three pigs to calculate how many pounds of meat each household would receive.

Soon the first pig was processed, cut into several parts and put on the chopping board, and the people in the queue were told to come and pick the pork.

The amount of pork each household can get is fixed, but these days the best pork is the fat, and the worst is the lean meat that can't be rendered into oil, and the liver. Those who line up first can choose the good parts, while those who line up later can only take what others have left.

He's mother arrived early and was at the front of the line. She had already thought about what she wanted to change and was looking forward, wishing it would be her turn right away.

He Susu followed beside her, also looking forward curiously. After so many years of slaughtering pigs in the village, this was her first time to join in the fun.

In the past, when exchanging pork in the shopping system, she only needed 2 points of diligence to exchange 1 jin, and she could choose any part of it. So far, she has only exchanged pork belly, 30% fat and 70% lean hind leg meat, and ribs.

Soon it was He's mother's turn. The person distributing the pork looked at the book and said, "Your family can exchange for three pounds and eight ounces of meat. What do you want?"

He's mother said quickly, "I want one and a half catties of fat and two and a half catties of pork belly."

Fat can be used to make lard, which is very fragrant when used for cooking, and it can be considered meaty, and there are also lard residues that can be eaten. As for pork belly, it has both fat and lean meat, and it is delicious no matter how it is cooked while frying to produce oil.

Because her daughter has a way to buy pork, she will definitely have to buy some more during the long New Year holiday, but at this moment, He's mother is still very happy when she looks at the pork that is about to be distributed.

The village has been raising these pigs for a year, just for this moment.

The person who was dividing the pork was quick and picked the corresponding part. After weighing it and confirming the weight, he called the next one.

He's mother put the fat and pork belly she had received into the bamboo basket she was carrying and called her daughter home.

He Susu was also happy when she saw the pork that was worth nearly 8 points of diligence. She followed her mother away and could hear others asking what part of the meat they wanted. It was undoubtedly all fat.

As soon as she walked out of the team, she ran into Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe. Knowing what they were thinking, He's mother showed them the meat in the bamboo basket and said, "It's beautiful. Let's go home quickly."

Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe were naturally happy to accept the proposal.

As for the children, they can join in the fun if they want, because they will go home for dinner at a certain time anyway.

On that day, the aroma of pork wafted through every household in the Qinghe Production Team. Even the most frugal people could not help but cut a small piece of meat and stir-fry it for their family members to taste.

The He family naturally fried some pork belly that night. There was no need to close the kitchen door for fear that the aroma would drift away. It was a very free and comfortable time.

After slaughtering the pigs and dividing the meat, it seemed like the New Year was really approaching.

He's mother was thinking about what she needed to buy for the family, and she also had to carry the gifts for her three daughters-in-law who were going back to their parents' homes on the second day of the New Year. The family also had to prepare some return gifts for the eldest daughter when she returned.

After He Susu found out, she said, "Mom, you must know best that there are so many things to buy. I'll go with you to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy them."

Mother He thought about it and nodded: "Okay."

When she rarely went to the county town, she would often ask Susu to buy what the family needed when she went to the county town. It was estimated that she would only go to the county town once a year to buy things during the Chinese New Year.

Because the eldest and second brothers He still rode their bicycles to work, He Susu and her mother had to go to the village entrance to take a ox cart into the county town.

After getting off the carriage and entering the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town, He's mother went to each counter to buy things with a clear purpose. She brought various tickets and money and bought things in a sweeping manner.

He Susu followed her and helped carry things.

The soy sauce and salt at home were almost used up, so I bought a new bottle of soy sauce and some salt. I bought a pound of paper candy, a pound of red shrimp cakes, a pound and a half of jujube paste cakes, a pound and a half of mung bean cakes, a pair of red paper couplets...

The candies were for the children and for entertaining guests, and the pastries were intended to be given as gifts to the three daughters-in-law as they would be taken back home on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

When they were almost done, He's mother said, "There are only a few things left, so I can buy them myself. Susu, go get the meat from your classmate first, so she won't have to wait too long."

To eat until the New Year, the pork prepared for the large family was naturally not enough, so she had to buy more. This year, she got more money, so she planned to let her three daughters-in-law bring a pound of meat back to her parents' home, so that they would be happier.

He Susu: "Okay, then you take your time, I'll go find my classmate to get the meat first."

She put the things in her hand back at the counter where she bought the bicycle. The salesperson had taken the vanishing cream she stuffed into her pocket and was willing to help her. Otherwise, with so many things, He's mother really couldn't carry them all by herself.

He Susu walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative and randomly chose a direction to walk towards an empty alley. On a whim, she transferred the things in the storage compartment into the backpack.

She had exchanged all of them yesterday. Three pounds of pork belly and one pound of spareribs were kept for her family to eat, and another three pounds of pork belly was kept as a return gift. There was also a four-pound chicken, which was already slaughtered when it was taken out. And two pounds of mutton and two pounds of mutton shank bones.

This time, the exchange for mutton still comes with mutton shank bones, but it's not as affordable as before, only one pound of mutton shank bones. After all, thinking about the taste of stewed mutton with radish and boiled mutton shank bone soup, He Susu still exchanged.

She deliberately killed some time, leaving enough time to go back and forth to find her classmates, and then walked back to the supply and marketing cooperative. As a result, she did not find her mother after walking around, so she had to wait at the bicycle counter and chat with the equally bored salesperson.

"Susu, I didn't expect you to be faster than me." He's mother came back.

He Susu: "Where have you been, mother?"

Mother He pointed to the small net in her hand and said, "After I finished shopping here, I thought about going to the grocery store and bought two crucian carps."

It’s a pity that the fish died a long time ago, otherwise I could have taken it home and kept it in a bucket and eaten it during the Chinese New Year.

She wanted to ask her daughter about buying meat, but there were so many people around and it was difficult to bring it up, so she had to wait until she got home to ask.

So the mother and daughter carried a bunch of newly bought things, waited for the ox cart that came from the village, and got on it to go home.