"Gu Changshu, go inside and get some wine. I want to have a good drink with my in-laws."
It's best to get rid of the conspicuous bag first.
"oh."
Gu Changshu glanced at the meat and vegetables a few more times, then quickly got his father some wine.
Gu Guangrong invited everyone to take their seats and first poured wine for his father-in-law, his father-in-law, and his sons.
"His dad, say a few words."
Xie Xiuying nudged Gu Guangrong's hand, signaling him to say a few words of blessing.
"Cough cough."
"On this joyous occasion, let us first welcome our in-laws who have traveled from afar..."
Gu Guangrong was a little shy at first and didn't know what to say.
He got more and more excited as he talked, displaying the demeanor of a brigade leader.
In the end, apart from the women, all the men in the room got so engrossed in their conversation that they all got drunk.
Ruan Qiushui exchanged a glance with her mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother, both furious.
Going home to sleep is out of the question.
Such a big person, with all that muscle, they couldn't even carry him on their backs.
"Alright, let them make do with sleeping in one room."
Xie Xiuying made a quick decision, prepared a large kang room, and worked together to carry all the men inside.
It's hopeless to expect men to stay up all night; when it really matters, we still have to rely on women.
"Now that the men are asleep, we can start talking about some private topics."
It was almost one o'clock in the morning. Xie Xiuying sent Gu Xiaoxiao to look after the children and led her in-laws and daughters-in-law to another room.
On this New Year's Eve, the six women exchanged information and quickly became close friends, sharing everything.
Before I knew it, it was four in the morning.
"Mom, we forgot to make dumplings and glutinous rice balls."
He Chunhua was dozing off when she suddenly remembered there was something she hadn't done yet.
"Oh, you're right."
It's all because the private topics were so exciting; she got so engrossed in chatting that she forgot all about it.
"In-laws, let's wrap them together."
He Ruyi was now closer to Xie Xiuying, and got up to follow her to the kitchen.
What flavor of dumpling filling would you like to have?
Xie Xiuying pointed to the dishes in the kitchen.
There was plenty of pork, and the family had cabbage, mushrooms, chives, dried bamboo shoots, and shrimp brought by the third daughter-in-law.
"Pork and chive filling".
"Pork and cabbage filling".
"Pork and mushroom filling".
"Pork and shrimp filling".
After Xie Xiuying asked, the five people mentioned four different flavors.
"Let's do this: make one pork dumpling with mushroom and cabbage filling, and another one with chives and shrimp filling."
Preparing four fillings is impractical, so let's combine them into two so that everyone can be satisfied.
"good."
He Ruyi immediately responded and got to work.
"Then Mom and Auntie will help make dumplings, and the three of us sisters-in-law will make glutinous rice balls."
Every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Gu family prepares dumplings and glutinous rice balls, a tradition that has remained unchanged for over a decade.
"OK."
Ruan Qiushui nodded.
She was quite skilled at making glutinous rice balls, but she fell into deep thought as she looked at the black sesame and peanut fillings her sisters-in-law had prepared.
Although she loved sweet glutinous rice balls in her past life, she preferred savory ones due to regional differences.
She can eat ten glutinous rice balls in one go, especially those filled with cured pork and dried tofu, which are about the size of a ping-pong ball.
"If my third sister-in-law doesn't like these two fillings, she can make another kind herself."
He Chunhua was worried that Ruan Qiushui wouldn't be used to the food, as this was the first time she had celebrated the Spring Festival with her third brother and sister-in-law, and she wasn't sure what their tastes would be like.
"Then I'll make another filling."
There's no need to be overly polite in this kind of situation.
She looked around the kitchen but didn't find the ingredients she needed, so she turned around and went home to get some cured meat and dried tofu.
Ruan Qiushui first cut the cured pork into corn kernel-sized pieces, then heated oil in a wok and began frying the tofu until golden brown, and then cut it into corn kernel-sized pieces as well.
Next, stir-fry the cured pork until cooked, then add diced dried tofu, sesame oil, pepper, and Sichuan peppercorn powder. The savory filling for the glutinous rice balls is now ready.
I personally don't eat scallions or ginger, so I didn't put them in the filling.
“Ruan girl, wrap up more, your mother is starving right now.”
It's already 5 a.m., and I'm starving.
"Yes, yes, wrap a few more."
As early as when Ruan Qiushui was making the filling for the glutinous rice balls, Xie Xiuying and the others had already been secretly drooling. Now that they saw Ruan Qiushui starting to wrap the glutinous rice balls, they all urged her to wrap more so that they could also have a taste.
"Okay, I'll cook some for everyone to have something to eat first."
Ruan Qiushui was delighted that everyone was willing to try the savory filling of the glutinous rice balls, so she quickly wrapped forty of them and put them in the pot to cook.
"Grandma, come and try it, see if it's delicious."
Seeing that the glutinous rice balls had all floated to the surface, Ruan Qiushui quickly scooped five into each of her bowls.
"Oh, it smells so good."
Xie Xiuying took the bowl; just by the aroma, she knew it must taste delicious.
Sure enough, Xie Xiuying took a bite and ate half of the glutinous rice ball.
The savory aroma of cured pork and dried tofu, with a hint of numbing spiciness and a touch of freshness, is simply a magical experience for the taste buds.
Having grown accustomed to sweet-filled glutinous rice balls, she didn't dislike them at all, and even thought that savory and sweet flavors were equally delicious.
Because it was my first time eating it, I found it even more novel and wonderful.
He Ruyi and the others also finished eating the glutinous rice balls, and couldn't help but give Ruan Qiushui a thumbs up and praise her repeatedly.
Satisfied, Ruan Qiushui quickly finished her bowl of glutinous rice balls and then brought a bowl to Gu Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ma as well.
The women worked together to prepare dumplings and glutinous rice balls, and the men, still hungover, finally woke up at seven in the morning.
"Honey, you've been working all night, let me do it."
Gu Changfeng washed his face first and hurried to the kitchen to take over Ruan Qiushui's work.
Other men joined in, and the kitchen was soon packed with people, making it difficult to even turn around.
"Get out of here, all of you. It's too late to try and curry favor now."
Xie Xiuying roared and chased all the men out.
If her in-laws hadn't been there, she would have added the word "get lost."
Xie Xiuying steamed four large plates of dumplings, filled the stomachs of her daughter, daughter-in-law, and in-laws, and ignored the men, returning to her room to catch up on sleep.
I was busy all night and I'm exhausted. As for the New Year's greetings and red envelopes, I already explained everything right after midnight last night.
Liu Sanmei and He Ruyi, adapting to local customs, didn't even glance at their husbands, leaving with an air of nonchalance.
Ruan Qiushui glanced at Gu Changfeng with a mocking look, since he had also gotten drunk last night and angered his mother.
"this?"
Ruan Hengzhi and Shen Yongjun touched their rumbling stomachs and were stunned, somewhat at a loss.
They're good at housework, but they have absolutely no talent for cooking.
"I'll do it."
Gu Guangrong was also hungry, but having served his wife during her postpartum period, he was still somewhat confident in his cooking skills.
By the time Gu Guangrong had hurriedly prepared and eaten breakfast, it was already past eight o'clock.
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