Chapter 375 Warmth and Relaxation
On the second day of the first lunar month, every household in the village starts to travel far away to visit relatives and friends to wish them a happy new year.
Many people living not far away were carrying baskets filled with white flour cakes and taking them to visit relatives and friends during the New Year.
If the distance is far, everyone will take a bullock cart and pay a few copper coins to get there.
Now many families have money, and they don’t feel reluctant to spend a few cents to ride an ox cart. They are also willing to ride an ox cart to save energy.
But more people are used to walking, and some can walk for more than an hour or even two hours without feeling it is far.
The people here are simple and honest, and everyone values family ties more. They are willing to visit relatives who are a little further away.
Sometimes visiting relatives can last as long as the seventh or eighth day of the first lunar month.
Every day is packed.
But it's quite lively nonetheless.
Moreover, when visiting relatives nowadays, some people will bring other gifts, some bring more snacks made of white flour, and some bring some candies, which are rare things in normal times.
It is because the villagers near Liuhe Village have better conditions that they are willing to take these with them.
In the past, even white flour buns were extremely rare.
Dim Sum is something that most people don’t even dare to think about on a normal day.
If distant relatives come to visit them for the New Year, many families will prepare lucky money for the children.
If it were usual, I would just give him some sugar at most.
In the past, Liuhe Village was very remote, and some of the villagers’ distant relatives rarely came to visit.
But now, if anyone has a relative in Beiliu Town, no matter how far away they are, they are willing to come and pay New Year's greetings.
They learned how to pickle salted duck eggs and knit sweaters from their relatives here.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t know these things.
And everyone understands that it is beneficial to interact with relatives here.
So everyone came without hesitation and brought as much as they could.
So during the entire first month of the lunar year, Liuhe Village and several nearby villages were really bustling.
Every day you can see a lot of people coming to Liuhe Village to pay New Year's greetings and visit relatives.
During the first month of the lunar year, everyone has nothing to do and is happy to see relatives come over. They get together to talk about family matters and the changes in the past year, and they have many feelings and emotions.
Of course, the one everyone mentioned the most was Shen Yueyao.
Everyone is filled with gratitude towards Shen Yueyao.
Because all the real changes in everyone's lives were brought about by Shen Yueyao, including the fact that now the whole family can have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear.
Many relatives who came from far away to visit and wish a happy new year were shocked and envious when they sat on the kang.
"It's better to have a heated kang here. It's so warm that you can sit on it in the winter without feeling cold. You don't have to worry about the heavy snow outside, and you don't have to buy charcoal. Besides, the cheapest charcoal is very expensive."
People in Liuhe Village always explain, "This heated kang certainly has many benefits. We prepare firewood in advance when winter comes. We cook on weekdays anyway, so cooking also heats up the kang at the same time. It doesn't delay anything and doesn't affect anything. Even in the coldest weather, sleeping on the heated kang keeps you warm."
"During the day, we can sit on the heated kang and do our work without any interruption. In the afternoon, when we have nothing to do, we use a dustpan to fill with peanuts and corn, and shell them. It's warm and doesn't interfere with our work."
Relatives who come to visit during the New Year always sigh and say, "I wonder when we can have a kang back home."
"Why don't you just find someone to build the kang? The craftsmen led by the eldest son of the Zheng family in our village are good at this job."
The man said, "How can it be that simple? They have their work booked up so full that you have to queue up. Even those who can do this job have to queue up to be hired. Everyone is anxious to make a kang..."
It would take another few words to explain it in detail, but in the end, everyone was shocked when they saw all the large workshops in Liuhe Village.
Besides, we used potatoes to entertain relatives at noon. After eating the potatoes, everyone knew that the yield was high and praised them highly. They didn't care about their shamelessness and shamelessly wanted to buy some potatoes, as they could be planted in the spring.
Every household in Liuhe Village produces a lot of potatoes, so naturally they are not stingy with a little bit.
The most important thing is that the owner said that they can tell others how to grow potatoes.
If the boss didn't give the order, they wouldn't dare to say anything.
So let me explain them in detail one by one.
Some people in Liuhe Village like to drink wine. When they entertain relatives at lunch, they serve wine. Everyone is surprised after drinking the wine because they know it is good wine as soon as they drink it.
So those people from far away only then knew that Liuhe Village actually produced good wine.
When I go back and chat with people around me and relatives, more people will know that there is good wine in Liuhe Village.
Those who love wine plan to come specifically to buy wine.
There are also business people who want to come here to buy wine and sell it.
They also saw some business opportunities.
However, it is the first month of the year now, and all the shops are closed and the workshops are on holiday, so people cannot buy wine even if they want to.
Here, everyone will start to open shops one after another after the tenth day of the first lunar month.
Throughout the first month of the year, Shen Yueyao's home was bustling with activity.
Although she doesn't need people from the workshop to come and pay New Year's greetings.
But many people still want to come and say hello to their host, so some people come on the third day of the first lunar month, and some come on the fourth or fifth day to pay New Year's greetings.
Shen Yueyao's house was so lively that whenever someone came, she would ask everyone to play cards together and let everyone taste the candies, dried sweet potatoes and French fries she made.
I have to say that everyone likes to eat French fries, especially when they are dipped in sauce, you can really eat a lot.
Of course, making French fries is also simple.
They're all made from potatoes, so it doesn't cost much.
Shen Yueyao was also happy to make more so that everyone could enjoy the meal.
It's always lively and bustling.
Su Daya, Su Erya, Dabao and Erbao all had a great time.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Shen Yueyao and Su Xueyi took Dabao and Erbao and prepared a carriage full of things to go to her parents' home to pay New Year's greetings.
Shen Chengzhou and Cui Shi were even happier when they saw Shen Yueyao and the others coming.
At noon, a sumptuous lunch is prepared.
Shen Yueyao took out the ham and sausage and said, "Mom and Dad, these are the ham and sausage we stuffed with sheep casings. They are delicious. Mom, I'll leave these for you to eat on weekdays. It's just right to cut two dishes for lunch."
Cut one plate with ham and one plate with sausage.
When everyone saw the ham and sausages that Shen Yueyao brought, they were stunned.
They had never seen such delicious food before.
But what surprised them even more was that this thing was actually stuffed out of sheep intestines?
It's really incredible.
Cui said, "Although I'm quite shocked, my daughter's cooking is bound to be delicious. I'll cut two dishes as you said."
So, Cui took two sausages and cut one dish, and two sausages and cut one dish.
The rest of the dishes were other dishes, including braised pork, stewed chicken, braised pig's trotters and other dishes, which were very rich.
But Shen Shaojing was surprised to learn, "So sister, you use sheep casings just to make this. I wonder how it tastes."
Shen Yueyao said: "Mother cut it, you taste it first."
Cui said, "Try it later while we eat. Let's eat together."
Cui was thinking that she didn't know what the ham sausage tasted like, it must be delicious, but she didn't know how it was different from the food she ate every day.
My daughter is so amazing, she can make delicious food out of anything.
“Is there any difference between the two?”
Shen Yueyao explained: "This ham sausage is made with meat, starch, eggs and other things. You can also use corn starch to make corn sausage, but I didn't make that much. I made these for my own consumption first. This sausage is all made of meat, so the taste is different, but they are all delicious."
Shen Shaojing said: "Sister, I was curious about what you did with the sheep casings before. It turns out you made food. This is amazing."
"Between the time you returned home last year and the end of the year, the farm accumulated a lot of sheep casings. They've all been cleaned, and I had them dried and packed. Just go back and pick them up this time."
"I don't throw away the sheep casings on the farm anyway."
"But sister, since you're researching food so much, are you planning to open a workshop?"
Shen Yueyao said, "Let's see. I've thought about building a sausage workshop over there. I was originally planning to build a frying workshop over there, and I can also build a sausage workshop by the way. I asked someone to buy a group of people over there. After training them on a daily basis, there will be no problem in doing the work. What's more, there are many villages near the farm, and I can hire villagers to work there when the time comes."
"Last year, I called some smart people from the farm to come over and help with the work. They worked pretty quickly and steadily, so there wasn't any problem."
"But we'll see how to do it in detail when the time comes."
Shen Shaojing felt a little sorry for his sister and said, "Sister, you are so busy, can you handle it?"
He was worried that his sister would be tired.
Shen Yueyao said: "Don't worry, now that the workshop is open again, I won't be watching it myself. You can use the people you bought with confidence. Just let them keep an eye on it. I will go patrol when I have time. There won't be any problems."
Without having to personally oversee some things, she would feel more relaxed and less busy.
Shen Yueyao was cooking in the kitchen with her mother and third sister-in-law, while her father and third brother were talking to Su Xueyi in the inner room.
Dabao and Erbao took their younger brother Xuanxuan to play together.
They gave Xuanxuan their own set of toys and ate all the candies that their mother had brought.
Ning Mianmian was pregnant, so Cui didn't let her do any work and just let her rest.
Ning Mianmian couldn't sit still, so she watched the three little guys play. She found it interesting just watching them.
Dabao and Erbao looked at Ning Mianmian's big belly curiously.
Xuanxuan said: "Auntie has a younger brother or sister in her belly, you can't touch her."
Dabao and Erbao were curious, "They are our younger brothers and sisters too. Mom said that since they were born to our fourth aunt, they can call us brothers too."
They walked over curiously and looked at Ning Mianmian's belly.
Ning Mianmian looked at them with amusement and said, "Are you curious? Come over and interact with us."
The eldest and second babies put their hands on it and felt movement inside. They shouted in curiosity and surprise, their eyes shining.
Shen Yueyao and the others prepared the meal in the kitchen, and brought the food to the table for everyone to eat together.
But when they started eating, everyone was stunned after tasting the ham and sausage.
Even Xuanxuan likes to eat ham sausage. The sausage is a little salty, but it tastes best when eaten with steamed buns.
Shen Shaochen said: "This sausage is really tasty. Just eating it with steamed buns makes me feel like I can eat several steamed buns. Even the steamed buns are fragrant."
Shen Shaochen didn't want to eat anything else for the time being, and just wanted to eat the sausage with the steamed bun.
Shen Yueyao said: "I brought some extra, so you can eat it directly like this on weekdays. The sausage is delicious when eaten cold, and you can also heat it up if you want."
"This is ham sausage. You can eat it grilled or fried. It tastes good."
Everyone says that ham and sausage are delicious.
I didn't eat much of other dishes, but I ate a lot of ham and sausage.
Xuanxuan prefers to eat ham sausage. He ate half of the steamed bun with just the ham sausage. He was very happy eating it. His calves were shaking while he was sitting on the stool.
Shen Yueyao, Su Xueyi and the others had eaten at home, so they ate more of the dishes on the table.
Everyone started talking while eating.
Shen Yueyao also mentioned her visit to a baking powder shop in the county town last December.
"Sister He said her cousin is the daughter-in-law of the Ning family's second branch, and it was because of this relationship that she was able to buy fans..."
"They were very nice and welcoming, and they were quite good at business. They refused to take our money, so we all ate for free..."
Ning Mianmian said, "Speaking of this, I have to thank you, sister. At the end of last year, my family came over and praised you so much. The eldest sister of the He family also came over to thank us in person. She said that ever since she started making the food according to your method and even introduced fried pancakes, she said that ever since she improved the method and introduced fried pancakes, old customers come to the restaurant to eat and they all say it's delicious..."
"You are the one she is most grateful to."
Shen Yueyao smiled and said, "I didn't actually do anything. It was just a coincidence. I happened to go to the restaurant to eat, and when we talked, I found out that she had ordered fans from her parents, so I learned about this relationship."
"If she hadn't been so enthusiastic and talkative, I wouldn't have known about it. What's more, we were eating in the restaurant and she didn't ask for money, so naturally I had to give something back."
In fact, she doesn't help everyone.
It just so happened that the people I met were good people, relatives of relatives, and they were all nice people, so naturally they were willing to help.
It's all a mutual exchange of gifts.
Ning Mianmian felt that her sister was really humble, but she was also really amazing.
Her family members were happy for her and said that she could enter the Shen family and have this relationship with her sister.
Because my sister is so capable, my parents believe that she will have a better life.
Of course, thanks to my sister, life at my mother's house is getting better now.
No one has to sleep in the open air anymore, no longer has to hide from place to place like before, and now the Ning family has started to live a stable life.
Besides, with my sister running the business, the Ning family doesn’t have to worry about anything, including not being able to sell the fabrics they bought.
Even if I am doing a small business, my sister can always provide good advice.
Of course, everyone in the Ning family was grateful. Ning Mianmian not only wanted to be filial to her parents-in-law, but also to be friendly to her sisters-in-law and take good care of her husband and children.
In addition, the Ning family also strictly controls the quality when supplying goods to my sister's embroidery workshop, and tries their best to help my sister reduce costs. They purchase goods from the source, get better fabrics, and supply them to the embroidery workshop at a cheaper price.
Even so, the Ning family made a lot of money because their sister's embroidery workshop needed a large amount of cloth.
In addition, the Ning family can also buy the embroidered clothes, shoes and other good things produced by my sister's embroidery workshop at wholesale discounted prices and then sell them elsewhere.
You can make a lot of money both ways.
The Ning family always runs a fixed route, they are familiar with the route, and they will be safe on the road.
Even her father and brother's martial arts were taught by the Shen family.
Her father and brother both said that her skills were much better than before.
Thinking of this, Ning Mianmian's eyes were filled with smiles.
Because she was in a good mood and enjoyed the food, Ning Mianmian also looked very good.
Cui said, "Nowadays, many people eat vermicelli because they know it's delicious. Plus, we use sweet potatoes to make vermicelli, so we can make more. After the first month of the lunar year, we'll hire more people to make vermicelli. Anyway, if we don't sell it, there will be a lot of people buying it, so business is good."
"Life has a future, everyone is living a stable and happy life, and there are more and more children in the family. That's good."
Cui likes this warm and lively feeling.
Soon Shaojing and Mianmian's child was born, and she would help take care of him.
Everyone was talking while eating, and Shen Yueyao also knew that during the first month of the year, the noodle shops owned by her third brother and his wife would be closed for a break.
Speaking of opening a shop in the first month of the lunar year, Shen Yueyao asked, "Third brother and sister-in-law, are you planning to open the shop after the tenth day of the first lunar month?"
Shen Shaochen told them their plan and said, "Your third sister-in-law and I have discussed it and decided to open the store on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It will be the Lantern Festival, and everyone will come out to celebrate the festival, watch the lanterns and the dragon and lion dances. It will be lively, and many people will probably eat out when they come out to have fun. We can open the store in the afternoon and officially open for business."
Shen Shaojing said: "I also plan to open that morning. All chain stores will officially open in the morning and will be able to receive customers at noon so that everyone can enjoy hot pot."
Originally, Shen Shaojing could have opened for business early in the first month of the lunar year.
But when you think about how everyone works hard all year long just to have a good New Year, you probably need to take a break during the first month of the lunar year, visit relatives and pay New Year's greetings, and get together with relatives to talk about daily life and the changes that have taken place over the past year.
Under normal circumstances, many people probably don’t have time to really relax, take a break and chat with each other.
With so many chain stores, they naturally employ a lot of people.
If it opens early, so many people will have to go to work early.
Thinking that everyone else is at home visiting relatives and chatting during the first month of the lunar year while they are working, I feel bad too.
His sister often told him that he shouldn’t just treat employees as people who do their jobs, but should also think more about everyone’s perspective.
Therefore, Shen Shaojing also thought about letting everyone stay at home for a few more days during the first month of the lunar year, to rest more, and feel happy and relaxed.
Anyway, he is really resting at home during this time.
I can hold my wife in my arms and sleep until she wakes up naturally every day. Even in the winter, we have a heated kang and a stove, so the house is warm every day and we don’t have to worry about food. During the first month of the year, our family cooks all kinds of delicious food for three meals a day, so we can not only eat enough but also eat well.
Very comfortable.
Shen Yueyao nodded and said, "Everyone will come out to shop and watch the lanterns and performances that day, so it will be more lively. The shops will be open for business then, but I guess many people will want to eat a midnight snack that night."
Shen Shaochen said: “Well, we will also launch Yuanxiao that day, so that everyone can also eat Yuanxiao in the store.”
Shen Shaojing said: "Our hot pot restaurant is the same. We can prepare a few Yuanxiao for everyone as a token of our appreciation. It's impossible for everyone to come to the restaurant to eat hot pot and want to eat festival food, but there is no food available."
"In a few days they will prepare to make Yuanxiao at home, making more so that their family can also eat them."
"But if we don't have sesame seeds, we'll just fill it with peanuts."
Shen Yueyao smiled and said, "I brought a lot of black sesame seeds this time. You can use them to make Yuanxiao."
Shen Shaojing suddenly became excited and said, "Sister, do you really have black sesame seeds there?"
Of course Shen Yueyao had it. She didn’t have it when she came last time, but when she went to the county town later, there happened to be a stall in the market where people were selling all kinds of groceries. Shen Yueyao saw sesame seeds at first sight and bought them all.
"After I came back last year, I was shopping for New Year's goods before the Lunar New Year and found someone selling black sesame seeds at a market stall. There was quite a lot, so I bought all of them."
"I brought two big bags this time, just right for you guys."
Shen Shaochen and Shen Shaojing were all extremely happy.
"That's great! With black sesame seeds, I can make glutinous rice balls with black sesame fillings. And you said black sesame seeds are good for calcium. Mianmian likes glutinous rice balls, so I can eat more."
Shen Yueyao smiled and said, "Leave some sesame seeds and plant sesame seeds in the spring."
Cui said, "At the end of last year, we bought another large piece of land and a large farm. When spring comes, we can plant a lot of things. Although we are too busy to handle it, we can hire people to plant these things when the time comes."
Chen Chengzhou said, "It's more convenient to grow some things at home. For example, to make vermicelli, we need corn, sweet potatoes and other things. If we grow more, we won't have to buy corn from the villagers..."
Shen Yueyao nodded. She thought it would be a good idea to buy a farm and grow some things.
Shen Yueyao also continued to add: "In fact, you can also use red beans, mung beans and sweet potatoes to make Yuanxiao, and there are also fragrant and glutinous Jinsha glutinous rice balls, which are made with salted egg yolks."
As soon as Shen Yueyao said this, everyone looked at her expectantly.
They haven't thought of this method yet, but they should all be able to make red beans and mung beans.
But they don’t know how to make this thing with salted egg yolk.
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