Early in the morning, Wang Yanmei got up and cooked white porridge, using new autumn rice.

The porridge was still simmering on the stove, boiling hot. Everyone took an empty porcelain bowl and cracked a raw egg into it.

The lard from the pig slaughter was placed in a small bowl for easy scooping. It has now solidified and is snow-white in color.

Then use a spoon to scoop a spoonful of snow-white lard.

Then, Xu Fuqiang poured himself a spoonful of white sugar, and Xu Zijun followed suit. Wang Yanmei saw this and couldn't help nagging: "You two should use less sugar. Eating too much sugar is not good."

"Hey, it's New Year's Eve." Xu Fuqiang tried to get away with it by saying it was a good day.

Huo Fengyan didn't know how to eat this, so he just did whatever Zhizhi told him to do.

But looking at the raw eggs in the bowl, I couldn't help but ask, "Eat them raw?"

"No, look at me." Xu Qingzhi held a bowl containing a raw egg, a spoonful of lard and a spoonful of sugar in front of her mother.

Wang Yanmei used a large iron spoon to stir the white porridge in the pot on the stove, and put a full spoonful of porridge into a bowl, which was the amount for a bowl of porridge.

Xu Qingzhi took the wooden chopsticks and stirred the bowl quickly.

The pure white porridge in the bowl was soon stained with light yellow egg liquid. The raw eggs were quickly stirred in the boiling porridge and cooked, mixed with the aroma of lard.

A bowl of white porridge turns into egg porridge in the blink of an eye, and the eggs taste fragrant and tender.

Wang Yanmei shouted, "Xiao Huo, come here."

Huo Fengyan said politely: "Auntie, let uncle and brother come first, I will be the last."

But the enthusiastic Ms. Yanmei would never give in. She directly scooped a spoonful of hot porridge into his bowl and urged him: "Stir it quickly. This egg porridge was something Qingzhi loved to drink when he was a child."

Xu Qingzhi was about to leave the kitchen with the bowl in hand when she heard this: "Mom, I like to drink it now, too."

"Then drink two bowls. You've lost weight recently." Wang Yanmei climbed up the pole.

Xu Qingzhi hurried out, "One bowl is enough. I still need to save some space for lunch."

"Okay, your dad will go to the back mountain to catch a chicken and a fish, and make you a big meal at noon." Wang Yanmei said, scooping hot porridge for Xu Fuqiang and Xu Zijun. Finally, she took out an empty bowl, beat an egg for herself, scooped lard, added sugar, and scooped porridge.

He walked out while stirring the hot porridge.

It was clearly breakfast time, but no one was at the Xu family's dining table.

Everyone carried their bowls of porridge and went to the eaves.

Xu Qingzhi and Huo Fengyan sat on bamboo chairs under the eaves, Xu Fuqiang and Wang Yanmei stood there with steaming bowls of porridge, and Xu Zijun squatted on the ground.

Wang Yanmei couldn't stand his shabby eating habits, so she frowned and made a disgusted "tucking" sound with her mouth. She walked to a wooden bench not far away and hooked it with her foot.

The wooden bench dragged on the ground, making a "chi la" sound.

Wang Yanmei said, "Hurry up and sit down. What kind of person are you? If your dad kicks you in the butt, will you be able to jump out?"

Xu Zijun was too lazy to drag the bench over, so he just squatted. If there was a bench, he would definitely sit down. He still said stubbornly: "No, I can squat steadily."

The porridge was scalding hot and I couldn't eat it at first.

Seeing that Huo Fengyan hadn't moved, Xu Fuqiang called out to him, "Xiao Huo, look at me, this is how you should drink the hot porridge. Use chopsticks to move along the edge of the bowl, blow on it and then you can drink it. This way the porridge won't be too hot."

This is drinking hot porridge, an old experience that has been passed down for decades.

"Thank you, uncle."

Huo Fengyan followed the instructions and took a bite. It was still hot, but not that hot.

Xu Qingzhi said: "Don't learn from my dad. Stir the porridge a few more times and blow on it and you can eat it after a while."

As soon as he started drinking porridge, he immediately looked older.

It was a cold day, and the porridge was boiling hot, and soon it became hot porridge that could be eaten.

Huo Fengyan took a sip and found it as delicious as he expected.

“It’s delicious.”

"Yes, it tastes good, right?" Xu Qingzhi took a sip comfortably. The hot porridge was filled with the aroma of eggs and the sweetness of white sugar. She used less sugar, so there was only a hint of sweetness. The aroma of fried rice mixed with the aroma of lard was so delicious.

Wang Yanmei recalled that time: "The neighbor's child was refusing to eat. When the neighbor came to visit my house, the child smelled the porridge and insisted on having a bowl of it. He drank a full bowl and finished it all."

This egg porridge really has the flavor that children love the most.

Xu Qingzhi loved drinking it when he was a child.

But the Xu family doesn’t eat it often. They only have a bowl of it in winter when they make their own lard.

It will become greasy if you eat too much, but it is really delicious when you first taste it.

In the cold winter, drinking a bowl of hot egg porridge will make you feel comfortable all day long.

After breakfast, Xu Fuqiang went to the back mountain to catch chickens and ducks in preparation for lunch.

Wang Yanmei is responsible for cooking, while Xu Fuqiang is responsible for handling the chickens and ducks.

After all, after two or three failed attempts at killing chickens and ducks, Wang Yanmei never did this job again.

As far as Xu Qingzhi could remember, it was the first time her mother killed a duck. Her father was temporarily called to tow a truck. At that time, many people returned to the village at the end of the year. A young boy from some family didn't remember the way and didn't slow down when turning. He stepped on the accelerator and rushed into the field.

Only her mother could kill the duck, and she called Xiao Qingzhi in a very imposing manner to go to the kitchen and get a small bowl in advance.

Ms. Wang pinched the feathers on the duck's neck, picked up a kitchen knife, and the first cut left a bloody mark. Then she continued to sharpen the knife, one cut at a time, just like a carpenter using a saw to cut wood.

The duck struggled so hard that there was not much duck blood in the bowl. Ms. Wang imitated her father's behavior and threw the duck to the ground, letting it flutter for a while.

As a result, the duck stood up, flew and flapped its wings everywhere, and knocked over the bowl of duck blood that had not been collected in time.

At that time it was still the old yard, and ducks were jumping around everywhere.

The ducks were running ahead, and her mother was calm at first, saying, "It will be quiet soon."

As a result, the duck behind jumped into the field and ran far away. Ms. Wang then hurriedly slapped her thigh and chased it, blaming the kitchen knife for being too blunt.

Xu Fuqiang killed a chicken and a duck, and the hot water in the kitchen was ready.

Pour hot water on chickens and ducks to make it easier to remove the hair.

Xu Zijun rolled up his sleeves and prepared to help with hair removal.

Wang Yanmei: "Be careful not to get your clothes dirty. Go away, let your dad clean it."

Xu Zijun was driven away, and then suddenly remembered and said, "Mom, do you still remember the first time you killed a duck..."

Wang Yanmei stamped her feet and said, "What are you talking about?"

Xu Zijun chuckled, "The duck ran all over the yard, and then it ran out and jumped into the field."

Wang Yanmei hit him on the arm, but still insisted: "The kitchen knife hadn't been sharpened for a long time, so it was too blunt."

Then, she looked at her man and asked, "Is that so?"

Xu Fuqiang nodded quickly and said, "Yes, yes, yes. Where's the kitchen knife at home? I think it's dull again. I'll chop chicken and duck later, so it's a good opportunity to sharpen it."

(End of this chapter)