"Go, go," Xu's mother muttered softly, not even looking up, continuing to focus on the task at hand. Her hands skillfully and deftly cut the ginger into strips, then put the ginger into the pot to boil.
After a few minutes, she stirred the ginger soup with a spoon and took a sip. "Shhh~ OK, OK, spicy enough, and flavorful enough."
Then, she filled four bowls with ginger soup and brought them to the living room. In the living room, Cheng Jiawen and Xu's father were soaking their feet. Xu's mother walked in with the ginger soup and handed a bowl to each of them. "Come on, drink some ginger tea quickly, don't catch a cold."
"Okay." Cheng Jiawen and Xu's father responded in unison, then carefully took the bowl of hot ginger soup. They picked up the bowl and slowly put the ginger soup into their mouths.
However, the moment the ginger soup entered their throats, their expressions simultaneously turned extremely grim, their brows furrowed tightly. It was as if it wasn't a bowl of warming ginger soup, but rather some bitter, unpalatable liquid.
"Hiss~ Old woman, you put all the ginger in the house, it's so spicy." Father Xu said incoherently while sticking out his tongue which was spicy.
Xu Qianjiao saw that Father Xu was having such a hard time drinking the ginger soup. She felt like she didn't know whether to drink it or not. Mother Xu saw her hesitation and glared at her. Xu Qianjiao quickly smiled at Mother Xu, picked up the bowl and took a sip. "Hmm~ It's so spicy."
She finally understood why Father Xu had that expression. The ginger soup was spicy and bitter. In order to save sugar, Mother Xu probably didn't add any sugar at all.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Xu's mother rolled her eyes speechlessly, "How can it be effective without adding more ginger? Some people are talking so much after drinking it, hurry up and drink it."
Seeing the expression on Xu's mother's face, Mr. Xu didn't dare to say anything more. He quickly picked up the bowl and drank slowly.
Seeing that he didn't say anything else, Xu's mother ignored him and turned to Cheng Jiawen and said, "Jiawen, drink more. Don't be like your father. He is so old but still afraid of spicy food. If you catch a cold, he will be the one to suffer."
"Okay, Mom, I will."
Seeing Cheng Jiawen drinking ginger tea obediently, Xu's mother nodded in satisfaction, "Okay, after soaking your feet and drinking ginger tea, go to bed early. I'm going home too."
"Okay, Mom should rest early too."
"have to."
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Time flies by, day by day. The morning sun shines on the earth, bringing a new beginning, while the arrival of night heralds the end of the day.
Time flies by, never stopping for anyone. The clock's hands tick, as if urging us to cherish every moment. Days slip by unnoticed, sometimes so fast that we are caught off guard.
In the blink of an eye, it is the 28th day of the lunar year. The 28th day of the lunar year is the day to clean up the mess. Today is the day for everyone to clean up.
Every household gets up early in the morning and starts washing and cleaning, preparing to welcome the New Year.
Cheng Jiawen and Xu Qianjiao were woken up early by Xu's mother. As soon as they got up, Xu's mother assigned them tasks.
Xu Qianjiao was responsible for wiping the kang, bed, furniture, etc. with a rag, Cheng Jiawen was responsible for cleaning the ceiling, sweeping the floor, and sweeping the yard with a broom, while Xu's mother and father went to clean the cellar and kitchen.
Everyone divided the work and cooperated well, having a great time.
Xu Qianjiao was wiping the kang bed with a rag while Cheng Jiawen was sweeping the ceiling. Suddenly, Xu Qianjiao felt a puff of dust coming towards her. She touched her face and found her hands were covered in dust. She quickly said, "Cheng Jiawen, be careful! Don't sweep the dust onto my head."
Cheng Jiawen silently changed direction, "I know, I know, wait until I finish sweeping before you wipe it, otherwise you will sweep the dust off and make it dirty again."
Xu Qianjiao rolled her eyes and said casually, "Okay, then you sweep first, and wipe the kang bed while you're at it. I'll go out and wipe the other things."
After saying that, she ran away quickly. Cheng Jiawen looked at her from behind and shook his head helplessly, "You're being lazy again~ Lazy~"
There is strength in numbers. The Xu family cleaned up the house in just one morning.
Several people stood in the yard, looking at the brand new yard, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Okay, now that we've finished cleaning, let's start putting up the couplets. Jiaojiao's wife will put up the couplets in her room, and we'll put up the couplets on the front door." Mother Xu said as she took out the couplets from the room and handed them to the two of them.
Cheng Jiawen took the couplet and said, "Okay."
They carried a stool into the room and cooked some paste with rice. Cheng Jiawen stood on the stool, holding the couplet. "Is this okay?"
"A little to the left... No, no, a little to the right..." Xu Qianjiao was standing below and directing, sometimes left, sometimes right, making Cheng Jiawen sway back and forth.
"Is it okay?" Cheng Jiawen asked helplessly, his hands limp from standing on the stool.
Finally, Xu Qianjiao nodded, "Okay, okay, that's it."
Hearing her say yes, Cheng Jiawen immediately put up the couplet with his quick eyes and hands, not giving her any time to regret. He thought to himself: "Huh, it's finally put up. It was not easy."
The two of them struggled for a while before they finally put up all the couplets in the room.
They carried the stools back to the front yard and had just sat down for a while when Cheng Zhaodi came.
Cheng Jiawen frowned calmly, his expression not showing at all, and asked with a smile on his face, "Why are you here, Zhaodi? Is there something your grandma wants to talk to me about?"
Cheng Zhaodi nodded honestly, "Fourth Uncle, Grandma said that you and Fourth Aunt will go home for dinner tomorrow night."
Hearing this news, he felt a little irritated and embarrassed. He was thinking about how to refuse when Xu's mother suddenly said, "Jia Wen, then you should go back and eat tomorrow night."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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