Chapter 66 New Year's Eve [VIP]

On the noisy market streets, the hawkers' cries were buried in the dense crowd.

There was a long queue in front of the pork shop. People who usually couldn't afford to buy pork on weekdays would buy a kilogram or two during the Chinese New Year even if the price went up.

When it was finally Huang Xing, Huang Mei and Miao's turn, the three of them pointed directly at the pork belly and spare ribs on the chopping board and bought ten pounds each.

Now that I have money, I will do my best to provide for my family.

"How much are those pig heads under there?" Huang Mei asked, pointing at the pig heads under the chopping board that no one was interested in buying.

Miao and Huang Xing were whispering to each other, saying that the eldest sister was thoughtful and bought the pig's head home to offer to the ancestors during the New Year.

Let the ancestors know that life at home is getting better and they will continue to bless them next year.

But they didn't know the rules in the city. During festivals like the New Year, the pig heads for sacrifice had to be ordered in advance, otherwise they would not be available for purchase.

However, the shopkeeper told the three that there would still be some left when the market closed on the last day, and he could prepare as much as they wanted.

"Then leave three for us, and Manager Huang from Huang's Supply and Marketing Cooperative will come and pick them up when the time comes." Huang Mei calmly took out the money from her pocket.

How could Huang Xing and Miao let her pay alone? The three sisters-in-law pushed the bill back and forth in front of the shop, and finally each paid for their own bill.

After buying the chicken, duck, fish and meat, the three of them placed the food in the inner room of the supply and marketing cooperative and planned to go to the clothing store to buy a new set of clothes and shoes for their family.

Seeing that there were many people in the shop, Miao stayed to help her son entertain the customers and asked Huang Mei and Huang Xing to help him buy some good clothes.

In the clothing shop, the two sisters not only bought new clothes for their family members, but also bought hair ornaments for the girls and felt hats for the boys.

Sweet candied melons, festive window decorations, and bags of gifts to take home.

On New Year's Eve, Huang Dongsheng closed his shop, exchanged New Year's greetings with the shopkeeper and his clerk next door in advance, then took the pig's head that his family had ordered and returned to the village in an ox cart.

As soon as the ox cart entered the village, the children's cheers could be heard from a long distance away.

Ever since the school was on vacation, the children in the village have been having fun playing around after finishing their homework.

Some were playing hopscotch by throwing sandbags in the drying yard, some were playing "Eagle Catches Chickens", and the older boys were sliding down the hillside.

The children played so hard that their cheeks turned red and they didn’t want to go home. Laughter and joy filled the entire village. Every day at mealtime, you could hear the adults in each family shouting for their children to come home for dinner.

"Brother Dongsheng, come and have a spinning top competition with us later!" It was getting dark when the little boy Luo Dunzi ran past the gate of the Shen family holding a spinning top and shouted to Huang Dongsheng who had returned.

Before Huang Dongsheng could respond, the kid ran away and disappeared.

"Cousin, Wenying, look what this is." Huang Dongsheng carried the pig's head into the kitchen and deliberately pushed it in front of the two of them, trying to scare them.

Chen Yao, with a meatball in her hand, couldn't take it. Knowing that the boy had bad intentions, she turned around and shouted outside: "Dad, Dongsheng cousin is bullying us!"

Huang Xing was frying meatballs at the stove to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner and had no time to care about the children making noise.

When Shen Yao shouted, Shen Qingshan immediately put down the paste in his hand and went to the kitchen.

Yang Jizong was one step faster than him. He took the pig's head from Huang Dongsheng's hand and put it into the wooden basin. He picked up the clothes on the back of his neck and threw him out of the Shen family yard.

"Uncle, if you don't care about him, he will bully me!" Huang Dongsheng shouted at Shen Qingshan in the yard while clinging to the fence door.

It was a rare occasion for Shen Qingshan to defend Yang Jizong. "Who allowed you to bully my daughter? If it wasn't New Year's Day, I would have beaten you up. Go home quickly. Your parents are waiting for you, you idiot."

"Uncle, why are you making indirect accusations?" Huang Dongsheng hummed and stamped his feet outside the door, made a face at Yang Jizong, picked up his pig's head and ran back home.

Shen Qingshan was amused by the naughty boy. When he turned around, he found that Yang Jizong, who had been pasting window paper-cuts with him, was nowhere to be seen.

No need to guess where others are now.

At this moment, Yang Jizong was squatting beside Shen Yao, dealing with the bristles and blood on the pig's head.

Yang Wenying disliked her brother very much and wanted him to take the matter outside to be dealt with, but her brother pretended to be stupid and refused to listen.

Chen Yao rolled the meatballs, her eyes occasionally moving to Yang Jizong. She had to admit that a man who worked hard was still very attractive.

After Yang Jizong finished processing the pig's head, Chen Yao secretly fed him a fried meatball when he stood up. A light instantly flashed in his eyes.

"Zi'an, put this pig's head on the altar in the main room, and we'll eat later." Huang Xing picked up the meatballs from the pot, and when she turned around, she saw a pair of claws touching the fruits of her labor.

"Mom, oooh - it smells so good, I couldn't help it." Chen Yao giggled, not only feeding Yang Jizong one pill, but also stuffing one into Yang Wenying's mouth to block her mouth.

So when Huang Xing turned around, she saw the three children's mouths were stuffed with meatballs.

The two siblings didn't have time to swallow it, their cheeks flushed with shame, and their hearts were pounding. In their entire lives, they had never experienced cheating on food and being caught by their elders.

Huang Xing glanced at her daughter, then at the two siblings, and smiled from ear to ear, "Go, go wash your hands, let's go!"

Yang Jizong was shy and fled with the washed pig's head in his hand.

The Shen family's altar table not only offered pig heads, but also sugar-coated melons, cakes, tofu with the word "Fu" (good fortune) attached to it, bean curd sheets, bean sprouts, etc.

He knelt down on both knees and kowtowed, "Dad, Mom, Grandfather, Grandma, Wenying and I are still alive, and the Shen family treats us very well."

After bowing, turn

The smell of food wafts through the courtyards of every household in the village, and people go home to eat when it’s time for dinner.

Chen Yao threw the bamboo joints into the charcoal brazier under the corridor. Listening to the sound of firecrackers, her family's New Year's Eve dinner officially began.

Braised pork elbow in oil, steamed pork with rice flour, pickled fish, four-happiness meatballs, chicken stewed with mushrooms, cold pork skin jelly, dried bamboo shoots and old duck soup, sweet and sour spare ribs, cold bean curd sheets, and tofu with green onions.

Ten dishes on the table also mean perfection.

Huang Xing brought the steamed jujube flower buns into the house and closed the door.

There were candlesticks on the altar, and Shen Qingshan led everyone to kneel down.

Light incense to pay respect to heaven, earth and ancestors.

After the worship, the family sat around the square table. The couple took out the new clothes and shoes they had bought for their three children and said, "May you have peace, happiness, and success in the coming year."

Chen Yao held the clothes in her hands and thanked her parents. She also took out the purse she had made by herself and gave it to her parents.

Shen Qingshan's purse was embroidered with towering mountains; Huang Xing's was embroidered with plum blossoms. Although the stitching was crooked, the couple held them in their arms as if they were treasures.

The brother and sister also prepared return gifts for their elders, a knee pad from Yang Wenying and a wind collar from Yang Jizong.

After returning the gifts to their elders, the three of them looked at each other.

Chen Yao coughed lightly and took out two purses and gave them to the brother and sister. "I'm not good at sewing, please don't despise me."

Yang Wenying took it with both hands and said with a smile: "I like it very much, what about you, brother?"

"I like it too." Yang Jizong stroked the jade ruyi embroidered on it. There were also his words embroidered on the back of the purse. No one else had words on it, but he did. How could he not be happy?

Chen Yao breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the two of them accept it.

Afterwards, Yang Wenying gave her a handkerchief embroidered by herself, and Yang Jizong gave her a handwritten book.

When the book was taken out, everyone was stunned.

Why send books during Chinese New Year? Shen Qingshan was quite unhappy.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Yang Wenying secretly pulled her brother's sleeve. Why send him books during the New Year? Who likes to read books during the New Year?

After all, it was the New Year, and Chen Yao didn't want to refuse Yang Jizong's kindness, so she took his book, put it aside and thanked him.

Huang Xing took in the atmosphere at the table and immediately said, "Eat first, the food is getting cold."

"Yes, let's eat first." Shen Qingshan picked up some meatballs for his wife and daughter.

As soon as she heard that the meal was about to start, Chen Yao couldn't wait to pick up her chopsticks and put the meat in the bowl into her mouth, "Wenying, you guys eat too."

The brother and sister couldn't help but drool. Even though they had eaten better food before, they didn't know where to start with the dishes on the table today.

"Eat, Wenying, your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs, eat quickly." Chen Yao served the food to Yang Wenying.

Yang Wenying took a bite. The ribs were stewed until they were soft and the flesh and bones separated immediately in her mouth. She dipped the jujube flower steamed bun in the soup. This New Year's Eve dinner was so delicious that it made her dizzy.

Chen Yao was enjoying the big pork elbow when her mother took out the wine she had bought in the city.

"Mom, why is there still wine? What kind of wine is this? Can I try it?"

Huang Xing saw her daughter's curiosity and took out five large bowls, pouring one for each of them. "This is muddy wine brewed from grain. Everyone, have a try."

Chen Yao sniffed it and found no strong smell of alcohol, nor was it spicy, so she raised her large bowl and invited everyone to drink together. "Dad, Mom, Wenying, Zi'an, I wish us all good health and happiness in the new year."

Chen Yao's sudden action made Shen Qingshan's eyes moist.

Shen Qingshan was afraid of losing his composure, so he quickly raised the bowl and drank it all, his mind and eyes filled with his wife and daughter.

He hopes that his future life will be like this, drinking and eating meat, with his wife and daughter always by his side, and the whole family living happily.

Slurp——

Chen Yao ate a mouthful of meat, a sip of wine, and a bite of jujube flower steamed bun, and ate it so deliciously.

The brother and sister were also very tempted by her.

Huang Xing looked at the three children beside her and said, "Eat slowly, we still have more dumplings to eat."

Everyone laughed, thinking that the good days had just begun and they would get better year by year.

After eating the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sat around the charcoal brazier and chatted. They couldn't sleep to celebrate the New Year, but Chen Yao couldn't resist drinking.

Yang Jizong was telling everyone interesting stories from different places. Chen Yao was already dizzy. Her head tilted and almost leaned on his shoulder, but she was woken up by her father.

"Ayao, don't sleep. We still have to eat dumplings later. You can rest after eating the dumplings!" Huang Xing coaxed her daughter.

Chen Yao managed to finish her New Year's dumplings, and was then helped back to the house by Yang Wenying, who let her sleep right away.

Yang Jizong helped Huang Xing clean up the dishes, boiled a pot of hot water and placed it on the stove to warm it up, then went back to the house and lay down.

Chen Yao woke up with a dry mouth. The room was pitch black and she couldn't see her hand in front of her. She was afraid of waking up Yang Wenying, so she lay in bed for a long time before putting on her jacket and pants and getting up to find some water to drink.

But the water in her room was too cold, so she planned to go to the kitchen to boil a new pot.

Yang Jizong, who was sleeping next door, woke up when he heard the footsteps. He lit the light and pushed the door open. Their eyes met, and they went into the kitchen one after the other.