Wearing new clothes, Qin Sanniang stood by the window, watching the children playing and frolicking in the yard. The longing for her former relatives in her heart was somewhat diluted.
Last night I was thinking, I wonder if they're celebrating the New Year over there? Thinking about visiting my parents' and brother's graves in the cemetery, I felt inexplicably sad.
"Mother, Mr. He is writing Spring Festival couplets today, and he wants us to go practice calligraphy together," the waiter said excitedly as he ran over.
In the past, we always bought Spring Festival couplets for our family. Mr. He said that whoever had the best handwriting could write the character "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune)! Xiao Er's handwriting has always been quite good. The thought of having his own handwritten words, even if it's just a "福" character, pasted on the door of our house is simply amazing!
"Then let's go. Xiao Er's handwriting is the best!" Qin San Niang nodded and smiled. "A Nan and A Zhi's handwriting is also good, but where is your eldest brother?"
The eldest son really dislikes studying; he'd rather gather firewood and dig for vegetables than go to He Xiucai's place to write.
Qin San Niang wasn't inflexible; if he truly disliked studying, there was no need to force him. After all, every child has their own strengths! The eldest child's strengths clearly didn't lie in studying, and if she pushed him too hard, it would only create a rebellious attitude, which wouldn't be good.
“Big Brother Da went to the mountainside with my father, saying they wanted to see if they could catch a rabbit,” A-Zhi replied, answering in a serious tone. “Don’t worry, Auntie, my father will protect Big Brother Da. They left while it was still early, so they didn’t tell you, but Grandma knows.”
Ah Zhi, this young lady, is very thoughtful. Many times, Qin San Niang felt that she was the one leading Gu Qingshan. This child is very shrewd and doesn't seem like a child from a farming family at all. She could easily be called a daughter of an official!
These words not only exonerated the eldest child and her father, but also indirectly showed respect for herself—truly a flawless statement! As an eight or nine-year-old girl, if she hadn't been born into a farming family, she would definitely be a leading lady!
"Okay, Auntie understands. With your father around, I can rest easy! Alright, hurry up and start writing, otherwise Ah Zhe will get there first!"
Upon hearing this, the waiter nodded and left as fast as he could.
Liu watched the children running around with a smile. In the past, she had always spent the New Year alone, and only she knew the loneliness and solitude she felt. Back then, it didn't matter whether the New Year was celebrated or not; seeing other families laughing and chatting together only made her loneliness more pronounced.
She never expected that after fleeing the disaster, she would be able to live such a lively life. Today, she needs to quickly prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. Although her eldest daughter and the others can cook, she still has to cook many dishes herself.
“Mother, don’t overwork yourself. It’s just the New Year. Did you see the New Year’s gifts that Manager Si sent the other day? There were lots of food and snacks that you can take out.”
Seeing her mother busy from early morning, with her feet barely touching the ground, Qin San Niang, this lazybones, felt a little embarrassed.
Liu was busy boiling paste, which she would use later to paste door gods and Spring Festival couplets. She needed to get rid of the old and put up a new look this morning.
If there is no glue, then use paste. Paste requires wheat flour to cook. For Liu, this is a task she is very familiar with. Although the cooking process is simple, she still needs to stir it constantly to prevent it from burning, otherwise a pot of paste will be wasted.
"I know, don't worry!" I wonder what kind of business the eldest daughter did with the shopkeeper? The shopkeeper sent a whole cartload of New Year's gifts a few days ago, which really shocked her.
Even Qin San Niang had to admit that Manager Si was a capable person! The gifts he gave were practical, much better than those that were flashy but impractical.
Inside were bolts of fabric, all made of fine cotton, in both solid colors and patterned fabrics, catering to men, women, and children of all ages, so they wouldn't seem out of place in this rural area.
Three sets of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—perhaps they knew there was a scholar in their family; even if there wasn't, these things would still be useful to Qin San Niang!
Not to mention the other food items: various pastries, candied fruits, sweets, dozens of kilograms of cured meat, a large bag of tea and dates, and a big ham...
Xiao Wu addressed her as "Old Madam" repeatedly, making Liu beam with joy; she was practically bursting with embarrassment. Just before he left, she slipped him two small porcelain bottles of chili oil to take home with his meal!
"Xiao Wu, this is homemade by your aunt. Try it. I don't have much of an appetite on weekdays, so I use this to make noodles. It's spicy and really whets my appetite! Come to my house more often in the future, and don't be shy."
Xiao Wu's eyes were almost red. He was bought by the owner. Although he had been with the owner since he was a child and the owner treated him well, he still longed for the care of his relatives and the nagging of his mother. This old lady really knows how to bring tears to people's eyes.
Although she verbally agreed, Liu was still busy. How could she just let it pass by casually? This was the New Year! To survive such a disaster and still be able to celebrate the New Year was truly a blessing from her ancestors and a favor from the gods!
Seeing that she was busy by herself, Qin San Niang let her be. Her mother's health had improved a lot recently, probably because she had settled down and was busy every day.
Wu Chunhua and her son went to the big stone mortar at the village entrance early in the morning to make glutinous rice cakes. The chubby girl was strong and these little things were no problem for her.
In Shiligou, rice cakes are an indispensable part of the New Year's Eve dinner.
In the northern region where Fatty and her friends live, they also eat New Year's cake, but it's a yellow millet cake. Sticky millet mixed with glutinous rice is ground into powder, steamed in a steamer, layer by layer, and filled with sweet red bean paste, making it very chewy.
Some are made into rectangular blocks about the size of an adult man's palm, decorated with plant patterns made of coriander and red dates, symbolizing rising step by step, making them the perfect choice for offering to ancestors on New Year's Eve.
Realizing that the land in the space had not yet been fully cultivated, Qin San Niang quickly went inside and slipped into the space.
Although she had already consumed half of the food and drinks in the supermarket, what remained were some candies, cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and convenience foods. There was also some fruit, but she was reluctant to eat it, and she didn't know when it had been grown. Moreover, although the fruit looked plentiful, there wasn't actually that much.
Besides that, she still had plenty of everyday consumables, such as toilet paper, soap, and laundry detergent, enough for her own use.
The remaining household items would definitely be useful later. As for mirrors, glasses, thermos flasks, hot water bottles, and the like, these didn't exist in this era, but they would still be useful in the future. After checking the supplies again to make sure nothing was missing, Qin San Niang finally breathed a sigh of relief. These weren't just simple items; they were her foundation for survival in this world!
She then went to her bedroom, where some more valuable items were stored, such as bird's nest, lingzhi mushrooms, and various decent skincare products. It was a pity that there was no jewelry store in this supermarket, otherwise her script would have been rewritten to show that she was not afraid of fleeing famine at the beginning and that she could carry billions of resources through the famine!
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