Old Mrs. Tian took out two more cabbages and prepared to cook them for lunch.
It just so happened that Grandma Tian made some sweet potato starch two days ago, and then made some sweet potato vermicelli. She added some of the vermicelli when stewing cabbage at noon.
They basically had to rely on cabbage to survive this winter, so the vegetable plots in the garden were planted entirely with cabbage. It took them a whole morning to pull out the vegetables and arrange them separately.
Cabbage that has been frosted is delicious, fleshy and sweet. The sweet potato vermicelli made by Old Mrs. Tian is also very delicious. Tian Tian didn't even have time to eat pancakes at noon, and kept eating cabbage and vermicelli.
After lunch, Tian Lisong rode his bicycle to the supply and marketing cooperative in the town and bought some salt. Old Mrs. Tian and the others also moved the large jar that contained sauerkraut from last year into the house and washed it thoroughly.
While waiting for Tian Lisong to come back with the salt, the family started to get busy pickling sauerkraut.
It is simple to pickle sauerkraut. After washing the cabbage, drain the water and put it in a jar. Sprinkle a thick layer of salt on the cabbage until the jar is full. Then pour boiled water into it, put two large stones on it, put it in a corner and wait for a while before eating.
Although it sounds simple, they still spent an entire afternoon at home preparing the sauerkraut.
After collecting all the sauerkraut, Old Mrs. Tian put the ugly, small radishes and the harvested snow mustard into the pickle jar to pickle them.
After pickling, cut the radish into strips and dry it. It will be pickled radish. You can soak it and then stir-fry it. It is also delicious and goes well with rice.
There are many pickle stalls in Tian Tian's house. There are pickles made with just salt water, jars filled with soy sauce and pickled mustard greens, and jars filled with eight-treasure pickles.
Tian Tian also went out with everyone to dig a lot of gingelly and ground ginger. Ginger generally grows in pine forests. When Grandma Tian was digging gingelly, she also did not forget to dig up a pot of soil to plant green onions.
The green onions in their family were originally planted in the ground and then pulled out and planted in baskets, so that the green onions can be stored for a whole winter.
Tian Tian especially likes the ground rings among the pickles. They are small in size and have a very crispy texture. They make a crunchy sound when you bite them, which is very relaxing.
The busy and rich winter storage life soon came to an end.
The weather turned cold in a blink of an eye. In December, it snowed for the first time in 1973. The snow was particularly heavy. When Tian Tian woke up, she found herself blocked by the snow and unable to move.
I went out and stepped on the snow, and my whole foot sank into the snow.
Tian Lisong and Tian Lilin climbed up the ladder with brooms, lay on the eaves and swept the snow off the roof.
The roof of their house is made of the most common straw, and it would easily collapse if there was too much snow.
Especially since it snowed so heavily last night, who knows if the roof would leak at any time.
Tian Tian and Tian Mu stood in the yard, watching large chunks of snow being pushed down and hitting the ground hard. The snowflakes were also scattered in the air, making it misty and particularly relaxing.
After removing the snow from the roof, Tian Lisong and his colleagues took brooms and prepared to rub the snow out of the yard.
Tian Mu and Tian Zhuo were chattering about making a snowman and didn't let Tian Lisong and the others rub the snow.
The snow started falling yesterday afternoon and lasted all afternoon and night. Tian Mu and his classmates have a snow day today and don't have to go to class.
When Tian Lisong heard what they said, he was happy to do less work, so he sent Tian Lilin into the house to make hemp ropes, and he went to sweep the snow away from the gate.
Tian Tian and Tian Mu were having a great time. They first rolled the snow into a snowball and then rolled the snowball on the ground. They pushed the snowball around in a full circle in the yard and rolled out a huge snowball.
After making this snowball, they rolled another snowball that was a little smaller than this one, and made a slightly dirty snowman. They decorated it with stones and leaves, and put a bucket on the head. The cute snowman was ready, and the snow in the yard was also cleared.
Old Mrs. Tian opened the door and came out to see Tian Tian and the others. "Have you finished building the snowman? Then hurry up and get up to eat!"
It is said that snow can warm the air and melt the cold. They had a lot of fun, but they were also very cold. Tian Tian's hands were numb, so she ran back to the house quickly, holding her hands.
"It's so cold outside!" Tian Tian squatted beside the brazier and warmed herself by the fire.
Tian Lisong, who was lighting the fire nearby, said with a smile, "When I came back just now, I wanted to call you into the house, but I saw you were having too much fun, so I didn't call you."
Tian Mu went over and asked Chen Guihua what she wanted to eat in the morning.
Tian Zhuo snuggled up to Tian Tian and ate roasted peanuts.
"Where is my second uncle?" Tian Tian looked around the house but couldn't find Tian Lilin. On ordinary days, Tian Lilin sat in front of the stove pit in silence and helped to light the fire.
Tian Tian just realized that she seemed not to have seen Tian Lilin since early this morning.
"Your uncle is planning to slaughter a pig in a few days, and asked your second uncle to come over to discuss the matter!" Tian Lisong said.
Although the snow fell a little late this year, the weather turned cold very early. It is already mid-to-late December, and the Gregorian New Year is just a few days away.
"We're slaughtering pigs so early this year? That's great, we'll have pork to eat again." When he heard that there would be pork, Tian Mu stopped pestering Chen Guihua and came over to ask Tian Lisong about the slaughtering of pigs.
"The harvest is good this year. Everyone has been tired after a year, and the four pigs we raised are all quite big. Our team should be able to kill two of them. So we'll give everyone a little in advance to satisfy their cravings," said Tian Lisong.
Tian Lilin is the main pig slaughterer in their family. He is very strong and basically everyone would look for Tian Lilin every time they slaughtered pigs.
Tian Lisong was going to help when the pork was finally distributed.
"That's great! The sauerkraut at home is all pickled, so we can have sauerkraut stewed with pork!" Tian Zhuo cheered.
Tian Tian is also looking forward to it. She likes to eat blood sausage. Although she doesn’t know whether she can eat blood sausage this year, it is also very happy to be able to eat meat.
After waiting for dinner, Tian Zhuo originally wanted to go out and play with his friends, but was stopped by Lin Meiyu.
"I've knitted your woolen trousers for you. Try them on to see if they're too short." Lin Meiyu said.
She thought the weather would be cold after the snow, so she stayed up late last night to knit the trousers and sweater.
"Okay!" Tian Zhuo agreed obediently.
"Mom! Where's mine?" Tian Mu turned and asked Chen Guihua.
Chen Guihua was a little embarrassed. "There's only a little left. Just hem the woolen trousers. I can finish knitting them for you today."
She was too sleepy last night, and thinking that Tian Mu wouldn't go to class today, she took a break and went to bed.
After Lin Meiyu and Chen Guihua washed the dishes, they pulled Tian Zhuo into the house to change their pants.
Tian Tian couldn't help laughing as she watched Tian Zhuo clumsily taking off his heavy cotton trousers like a bear.
"Mom! Are you the one who made Tian Zhuo wear these big cotton pants? It's only a short time now, and you've worn these big cotton pants with loose legs. What are you going to do when the ninth grade comes?"
Tian Zhuo's cotton trousers even had two suspenders on them.
"When the time comes, just put on your woolen trousers, thread trousers, and cotton trousers!" Lin Meiyu said, helping Tian Zhuo put on his clothes and trousers.
Lin Meiyu has a good aesthetic sense. Although the sweater and trousers this time are also in several colors, Lin Meiyu put the different colors together to form a five-pointed star, and the colors are very harmonious.
Not to mention Tian Zhuo who likes Five-Pointed Star, even Tian Tian, who thinks Five-Pointed Star is a bit rustic, likes it a little.
"Stretch your arms and legs and see if there is anything wrong?" Lin Meiyu asked.
Tian Zhuo followed his instructions and did a few squats. He found nothing uncomfortable and said, "It fits perfectly! It's not tight at all!"
"Then put on your cotton pants and go out to play!" Li Meiyu said, patting Tian Zhuo's butt.
"Why are you still wearing cotton pants? You can't even bend your legs with them on. How can you go out and play? Besides, it's not that cold now, so there's no need to wear so thick clothes." Tian Tian said.
She was only wearing cotton pants with a layer of trousers on the outside, but she didn't say she felt cold.
What's more, children's body temperature is higher than that of adults, and they are more likely to sweat when they are playing.
"Mom! I don't want to wear cotton pants either!" Tian Zhuo also said.
He couldn't bend his legs when he was wearing only cotton trousers, and the woolen trousers also tightened his legs and were uncomfortable.
"Okay then! If you don't want to wear it, don't wear it. If you feel cold, come back and put on your cotton pants." Lin Meiyu said when she heard Tian Zhuo said that he didn't want to wear cotton pants.
Tian Zhuo jumped off the kang, pulled Tian Mu and ran out to play.
"You are not allowed to go skating in the river! Come back early in the afternoon for dinner!" Lin Meiyu warned again loudly, not knowing whether Tian Zhuo heard it or not.
"This kid is like that all day long!" Lin Meiyu shook her head helplessly and ignored Tian Zhuo.
It snowed a lot outside today, and Old Mrs. Tian let everyone take a day off. Chen Guihua took this opportunity to quickly knit Tian Mu's sweater and trousers, and Lin Meiyu also took a nap in the house.
Tian Tian brought a bunch of delicious food back to her room, including dried sweet potatoes, dried sand apples, yellow-skinned apples that Tian Tian picked specially, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pears, peanuts, and the sour and sweet water made from the autumn pear paste she had made some time ago using saccharin and apple pears.
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