Chapter 48 New Year
In front of Xiao Yuer, no one said or asked much.
The lotus root is a bit crispy and has a strong lotus root fragrance. The lotus root soup mixed with rice is especially delicious and makes people want to have an extra bowl of rice.
After eating two large bowls of rice, Grandpa Song felt a little full, but he still wanted to eat some more. Unfortunately, when he went to get the rice, the pot was already clean and there was not even a bit of rice crust left.
He was a little depressed: "It's so rare to have a meal of rice, old lady, why don't you cook more."
Grandma Song was unhappy when she heard this: "How dare you say that? Except for Xiaoyuer, you all ate two big bowls each. I was thinking of saving some leftovers to cook sweet potatoes in the evening."
Nowadays, there is less oil and water and the workload is heavy, so people often go hungry.
It is normal to eat two big bowls, and it can make you 70% to 80% full.
Chu Hong and the others’ second bowls were usually very shallow, but today they were all full, so of course there was no rice left over.
Chu Hong smiled at Grandma Song: "It's all because Grandma cooked the lotus root so deliciously. It's fragrant, spicy and goes well with rice. It made us all gluttons."
This made Grandma Song laugh and scold: "You are just a good talker."
Chu Dan was still diligent in washing the dishes and wiping the table, and he did not forget to tease Xiao Yuer: "Is the lotus root delicious?"
Seeing the little girl nod obediently, she said seriously, "Auntie will take you to dig lotus roots later, okay?"
Xiao Yuer's face was full of embarrassment: "But I don't know how to do it?"
"Your aunt is teasing you," Wu Xiu picked her up and said, "Shall we go feed the rabbits?"
Xiao Yu'er's eyes lit up: "Okay."
Chu Hong first took the private things in the backpack and those she wanted back to her room and put them away, then said to Grandma Song: "Grandma, please keep these, and don't forget to leave some food for Grandpa to exchange for lotus roots."
Grandma Song responded and sorted out the things in their backpacks. She couldn't help but say, "Hong, you are really more willing to spend money on things now."
"You can only make money if you can spend it." Chu Hong then asked Secretary Song: "Can the silt in the pond be cleaned up today?"
Secretary Song nodded: "There are many people working, so we can finish the work in the afternoon."
Then he asked her, "What's going on with your elder sister?"
Chu Hong told him everything she had seen and heard, and finally said with relief: "Fortunately, I am still planning to find a son-in-law in the future, so I don't have to get married."
After washing the dishes, Chu Dan took off her apron, came over and asked eagerly, "Dad, can I also marry a son-in-law in the future?"
When Secretary Song saw his two daughters, they talked about getting married and finding a husband without any shyness, which made him feel like he had two sons.
The corners of his mouth twitched: "It's up to you."
It is said that raising a son can prevent old age, and having a son is to continue the family line. When a daughter dies, she is buried outside the family, and after she gets married, she will no longer take care of her parents' home.
In fact, he didn't care about these things in his heart. He just wanted to prevent his wife from giving birth again, so he simply said that he wanted to find a son-in-law for his daughter.
But whether it was the eldest son-in-law Su Hongqi or the second son-in-law Zhong Guobing, he had chosen them carefully at the beginning, but now it seems that none of them is good.
This made him less confident in his own vision.
He didn't want to keep an eye on them at all at this moment, so he simply said, "Let's talk about it after you are over 20 years old."
After saying that, he left on his own: "I'd better go ask Xiao Yu'er."
Chu Hong also yawned: "I got up too early in the morning. I need to take a nap."
By the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the silt in the fish pond had been almost cleared, and the water was released back in. All the small fish were then put back into the pond, and everyone could finally rest and celebrate the New Year.
Secretary Song was still thinking about delivering the vegetables, so he rode his bicycle to the commune again, and this time he finally got the approval slip.
He called a meeting of the villagers, and finally every family collected 50 kilograms of vegetables and radishes, and personally drove a ox cart to deliver them to the supply and marketing cooperative's purchasing department.
After weighing, stamping and knocking, he finally took the receipt to the leader of the supply and marketing cooperative and exchanged it for 42 packages of paper-wrapped biscuits, three large boxes of matches, and five boxes of homemade firecrackers for children according to the villagers' request.
It's the kind that makes a noise when you throw it. It's especially popular with kids and is relatively safe.
The comrades in the commune's purchasing department were quite satisfied with the fresh vegetables: "According to the standards delivered, we will buy as much as you can deliver in the next few days."
Although no one likes green vegetables and radishes, they are better than sauerkraut and pickled vegetables.
Especially because of the rainy and snowy weather at the supply farm, the trucks dared not go out, so they could only rely on these local vegetables to celebrate the New Year.
She leaned closer to him and added, "If you have chicken, duck, fish, chicken, duck eggs, or celery, lotus root, soybeans, or dried vegetables, you can also send them over."
Secretary Song also wanted to have a good relationship with them, so he agreed immediately.
My family is not short of money now, so they are reluctant to sell even the chickens and ducks, let alone the eggs. However, some families in the village took the opportunity to sell the big fish they were allocated, and also sold the chickens that did not lay eggs due to the cold weather. They just kept a hen so that they could sell chicks next year.
Chu Hong also took the opportunity to leave a hen and 100 eggs. When it got dark, she quietly sent 20 eggs to Chu Lao and the others: "Eat these first, and I'll send more to you after you finish eating."
This is not safe for them. If people see them with so many eggs, it will harm them.
Chu Hong asked them to send all the eggshells to her home, and then crush them into pieces to feed the chickens.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Chu Hong still followed Chu Dan to deliver lotus root cakes.
Secretary Song will also drive a ox cart to Lingshang Village today to deliver some vegetables to the supply and marketing cooperative's purchasing store.
During these two days, he drove the ox cart back and forth three times a day. There were no extra vegetables in Lingxia Village and Lingzhong Village, so the only one he hadn't visited was Lingshang Village.
This was also the reason why Secretary Song went last. Who made him dislike Secretary Su, his relative?
He could imagine that the three villages were intermarrying with each other, and people from the other two villages received free biscuits and matches, so the young men who returned to their mother's house to visit or went to their future in-laws' house to show their courtesy would definitely show off.
For the country people, the vegetables from their own gardens were worthless, but now they can be exchanged for crispy biscuits and matches, which are indispensable to every household. They are so happy.
Then the only village left that didn't take advantage of this is Lingshang Village. How can they not be anxious?
Everyone is particularly worried that the purchasing department will stop buying vegetables.
As a result, people came to Secretary Su and Captain Su's house every day to ask about this matter, which made them irritated and wanted to curse.
The only regret is that there is no supply agreement. Even if they deliver the goods to our door, the supply and marketing cooperative’s purchasing department will not accept it.
But they also went to Lingxia Village to ask Secretary Song, who said that he would definitely collect them and asked them not to worry.
Therefore, on the morning of New Year's Eve, when Secretary Su, who had been waiting at the intersection early, saw Secretary Song driving a ox cart slowly approaching, he finally breathed a sigh of relief: If he hadn't come today, he would not be able to celebrate the New Year.
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