Gangzi still felt he should listen to Yunling, lest something went wrong and Yunling wouldn't care about him, and he would have to ask Pei Lin for help. That guy didn't seem easy to deal with, so he'd better not be so foolish.
“Every year around the end of the year, my grandfather would take me up the mountain to identify medicinal herbs and pick fruits. I would just eat whatever I wanted, and I never seemed to get sick.”
Gangzi, for the first time ever, found Pei Lin's words reasonable and echoed him:
"Speaking of which, I do the same thing. Every year during the Spring Festival, all the brothers in our escort agency would gather together. If the second brother wasn't there, I would go up the mountain by myself to pick wild fruits and eat whatever I could find. I had a very happy Spring Festival. How does the eldest brother spend the Spring Festival?"
As Yunling poured the chicken and duck intestines into the pot, she replied:
"My family has a strong festive atmosphere. As the New Year approaches, my grandma and grandma take us to the city to buy New Year's goods."
"Everyone got a new set of clothes. After leaving the clothing store, Grandma and Grandma went to buy chicken, duck, fish and meat. As for the things to eat during the New Year, my aunt and I went to the peddler to buy hair ties, silk flowers and firecrackers. We had a lot of fun on New Year's Eve."
“On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we would carry our bags and go to each household in the village to ask for good luck. Grandma was in charge of worshipping ancestors and Buddha every day, which made the food smell like paper money. I used to find it annoying, but now I miss it.”
Lu Yinghuai moved the sauce dish closer to Yun Ling and said:
"Let's go to the clothing store tomorrow to buy new clothes and join in the New Year's festivities."
"No need, I have enough men's clothes already, there's no need to buy any more."
"Then let's buy women's clothing."
Pei Lin beat everyone else to it and was the first to pick up the chicken intestines and put them in his bowl.
"Now that you've found a merchant to trade wool with, and with the New Year and other holidays coming up, why don't you put on women's clothes again and have some fun like the young ladies in Bianjing?"
For the first time, Lu Yinghuai also felt that Pei Lin's words made sense, and echoed:
“Lingniang, during the New Year festival, young ladies in the capital do go out to play. Why don’t you wear women’s clothes again? It won’t look out of place.”
With Lu Yinghuai and Pei Lin's repeated persuasion, Gangzi and Tang Ling naturally echoed their sentiments. Yun Ling was in high spirits and went to buy new clothes the next day, also buying one for everyone there.
**
Perhaps it was because she had bought new clothes, but Yunling felt that time was passing quickly, as if everyone was looking forward to wearing new clothes for the New Year.
By the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Lu family business began its long holiday, and Lu Yinghuai naturally had some free time. Everyone then began a thorough cleaning of the house, nailing on peach wood charms, pasting Zhong Kui images, and hanging paper-cut window decorations and New Year pictures.
That night, Zifu boiled two large pots of hot water for everyone to wash up. Yunling washed herself thoroughly, from the strands of her hair to her ten toes, in order to welcome the New Year.
On New Year's Eve, before dawn, a delicious aroma wafted through the streets and alleys, whetting Yunling's appetite and making it impossible for her to fall asleep.
She quickly put on her thick coat and went to the kitchen, but Tang Ling was only boiling water, not cooking anything, which disappointed her.
"Why are you up so early today, young lady? Are you hungry?"
"I smelled a delicious aroma in bed, which made my mouth water. I thought you were making something to eat, so I got up and had a bowl to satisfy my craving."
"fragrance?"
Tang Ling sniffed curiously, then ran outside the kitchen and sniffed hard again, suddenly realizing:
"Oh, I know, this is the taste of New Year's dumplings. In Beijing, there is a saying that there are winter wontons and New Year's dumplings. Every household will roll out noodles on New Year's Eve, cut them up and put them into soup. After they are cooked, they will serve them out. It is a simple and delicious dish."
"Would you like some, young lady? We can make it; it won't take much effort."
Yunling is certainly good.
"I'll help too, that way it'll be faster."
"Does the young lady know how to knead dough?"
Yunling had never kneaded dough before, but she had seen Zhang make wonton wrappers, so she figured it was probably similar and nodded.
Tang Lingle said:
“Then the young lady will be in charge of kneading the dough, and I will be in charge of making the soup.”
"good."
Tang Ling first scooped flour into a wooden basin for Yun Ling, added some salt, and then prepared the ingredients for making soup.
Yunling took over, first digging a hole in the flour, then pouring in water. She didn't dare to pour in too much water, just a little bit, and started kneading. The flour quickly turned into clumps, and then she added more water and kneaded again.
Yunling seemed to be doing the kneading skill with ease, and she was secretly pleased with herself. However, when she was pleased with herself, she got carried away and added too much water in a short while, making the dough too runny.
Yunling's heart skipped a beat. She was a little nervous, just like an apprentice who was afraid of being scolded by the master in the shop on the first day. She didn't dare to tell Tang Ling, but when Tang Ling went outside, she quickly added some flour and then hurriedly kneaded it, pretending to be very busy.
But no matter what she did, she couldn't knead the dough. Yunling panicked completely. Not only had she added flour, but she still couldn't knead it. Wasn't this just messing around?
Yunling's mind was racing with ideas when a voice suddenly came from behind her.
"You're all up so early? Lingniang, you're up so early too, what are you busy with?"
Yunling hurriedly kneaded the dough vigorously, trying to avoid Lu Yinghuai's questioning, but that fellow was not one to give up easily. He walked straight up to her, and because he was taller than Yunling, he immediately saw what she was doing.
Lu Yinghuai looked at Yun Ling's technique and smiled slightly:
"I'll do it."
Can you do it?
"He should be a bit better than you."
Yunling immediately handed over this mess to him, and the burden on her shoulders was instantly lifted, making her feel incredibly relieved.
Lu Yinghuai rolled up his sleeves, put his hands in the basin, and began to rub.
"Once you've kneaded it to this point, you don't need to add water. You just need to put in some effort."
Yunling watched his movements closely, and sure enough, he kneaded all the flour in the wooden basin into a plump dough.
"Now just put the dough in the bowl and let it rest."
Lu Yinghuai glanced at Yun Ling, noticing her face covered in flour and soot, and couldn't help but smile. He then lifted the pot lid, revealing a pot of hot water, and said softly:
"Little kitten, go wash up first."
Yunling squinted and looked at her nose, as if she saw something dirty. Then she remembered that she had come to the kitchen without washing up, so she quickly filled a basin with hot water and went back to her room to wash up.
When she came out of the room, she was just about to see if Lu Yinghuai had finished proofing the dough when she saw him sitting on a chair outside the kitchen, looking rather obedient.
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