On the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, smoke began to rise from the kitchens of every household in the village at 5 a.m. Su Jin knew in advance that the villagers would exchange Laba porridge at 7 o'clock, so she also got up at 5 o'clock to cook porridge.
Lu Shiyi sat on a small stool watching the fire, while Su Jin was busy making multi-grain steamed buns.
Since Su Jin started cooking, the quality of Lu Shiyi's meals has improved. The breakfast she made is almost a staple food that can be eaten in one bite. Although the steamed buns, flower rolls and dumplings are very small, they taste great and look good, which greatly increases people's appetite.
"Just mix two more cold dishes and our breakfast will be ready." Su Jin would make breakfast first every morning, intending to let Lu Shiyi eat his fill before exercising or going to work.
Lu Shiyi hummed, stood up and lifted the lid of the wood-fired pot: "Xiao Jin, I'll go take the porridge to the threshing ground later. Do we want the Laba porridge cooked by the brigade?"
"Ayi, does everyone in the village want some?" Su Jin had never celebrated the New Year in the village and didn't know the customs there.
Lu Shiyi nodded and said, "Each family should hand in a bowl of Laba porridge to be sent to the ancestor. The situation is unstable now, so we have no choice but to put the Laba porridge on the table and wait for the clan leader to send it to the place of worship later."
Su Jin looked at Lu Shiyi. He was also a member of the Lu family, so it was his duty to offer Laba porridge.
"Ayi, let's have a bowl too." Su Jin didn't want to be excluded.
Most villagers do things according to the rules. If Lu Shiyi is too special, he will be targeted by people with ulterior motives.
At 7 o'clock in the morning, it was still dark outside. Many heads of households had already taken their Laba porridge to the threshing ground. Lu Shiyi served the porridge in a coarse porcelain bowl and told Su Jin to stay in the kitchen and come back to the house when he came back.
Su Jin looked at Lu Shiyi's back as he left with a flashlight and Laba porridge, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
It was her first Spring Festival here and it felt great to have someone to celebrate with her.
In modern times, she would just celebrate the New Year alone at home, and she would cook a large table of New Year’s Eve dinner by herself, which she would not finish until the third day of the New Year.
Su Jin began to knead the dough in her hands, making steamed buns or flower rolls with all the grain flour. After steaming, she put them outside the house to freeze.
The weather in Northeast Province is very cold, so putting food outside is like storing it in a natural refrigerator.
The meat that Lu Shiyi had prepared in advance was also buried in the snow so they could take it and eat it whenever they wanted.
Later, Lu Shiyi came back with porridge. He always felt that the Laba porridge cooked in the village was not as fragrant as the one made by Su Jin. When he was walking along with the Laba porridge just now, many people asked him who made his Laba porridge.
The news of Su Jin's excellent craftsmanship spread.
"Xiao Jin, the Laba porridge is back. I think the chef in the village canteen is not as good as you." Lu Shiyi put the Laba porridge on the table behind the stove, and helped her carry breakfast to the dining room to eat.
"I'll process it for lunch, and steam the extra dough into steamed buns or flower rolls." Su Jin pointed to the wood-fired pot, "When it's done, we'll put it outside to freeze and steam it whenever we want during the New Year."
The two sat in the dining room to eat. Lu Shiyi ate Laba porridge and secretly sighed that he had a good eye for talent and took Su Jin under his wing.
In the threshing ground, Lu Shiyuan put the porridge sent by Lu Shiyi in the front in advance. Su Jin's cooking skills were so good that it seemed that the villagers did not put much effort into making Laba porridge.
"Village chief, if there are big pot dishes in the future, let Su Zhiqing be the chef." The accountant also smelled the scent of Laba porridge made by Su Jin, and had to admit that it smelled so delicious.
Lu Shiyuan shook his head: "Xiaoyi won't let Su Zhiqing come. Cooking a big pot of rice is very tiring, and Su Zhiqing's arms and legs are so small."
The accountant smelled the aroma of Laba porridge wafting through the air and sighed helplessly, "We'll try to persuade Su Zhiqing later and give him some work points."
The villagers came with their own Laba porridge. After smelling the aroma, they lined up to get the Laba porridge. They thought that the Laba porridge distributed by the team was so sweet.
While the threshing ground was bustling with activity, Lu Shiyi and Su Jin finished their breakfast. Lu Shiyi sat on a small stool to wash the dishes, while Su Jin was busy preparing hazelnuts and chestnuts. The next morning, the car to Sichuan Province would return.
"Ayi, I remember there are some peanuts in the cellar. You can bring them up too." Su Jin patted his forehead, remembering that there were peanuts and melon seeds in the cellar. He fried them all today and put them out for the New Year. "Would you like to fry some more and take some to the Armed Forces Department when you're on duty?"
Many people in the armed forces department did not go home for the New Year this year. In previous years, Lu Shiyi would buy some seasonal food from the supply and marketing cooperative and bring it to the office. However, this year, with Su Jin's preparations, Lu Shiyi was a little reluctant to take them.
"Xiao Jin, we can just make it for home use. It will be tiring for you to prepare so many dried fruits." Lu Shiyi flatly refused.
"It's just a matter of frying it a little longer. Home-prepared ones are cleaner and taste better." Su Jin looked at the cellar and warehouse before the New Year, and there were a lot of ingredients that could be used. "I see there's a whole piece of wild boar meat. I'll make it into jerky, and you can send half a pound to your comrades."
Lu Shiyi looked at Su Jin helplessly: "Where's mine?"
"I've made them all. The wild boar meat is a bit too dry after stewing, so it's perfect for making jerky." Su Jin always felt that wild boar meat was not as delicious as domestic pork. "Besides, we still have venison and other game at home. We will definitely use them up this winter. When the weather gets warmer, we won't be able to eat meat anymore."
Lu Shiyi doesn't like eating bacon, so the bacon in his home is prepared by Lu Shiyuan's wife. All the prey that Lu Shiyi had caught in traps was sent to Lu Shiyuan's house.
"Okay!" Lu Shiyi said nonchalantly, "I did it for my aunt before. When she found out you were living at home, she told you to make the decision."
Su Jin has slowly integrated into Lu Shiyi's life, and the two are like a family. He is thinking about confessing his love to Su Jin during the Chinese New Year, hoping to establish a relationship as soon as possible.
When spring comes, the village will be busy with spring plowing and the weather will gradually become warmer. When the young men in the village see her, they will probably be tempted.
Lu Shiyi also has to go to work in the spring and cannot be with her all the time, so he can only use his status to help her with many calculations.
After washing the dishes, Lu Shiyi got up and went to the cellar to get the ingredients. He walked into the kitchen and stared at her with fiery eyes.
"Ayi, is there something wrong?" Su Jin felt a little shy when she saw his eyes, and looked up at the door.
"Xiao Jin, the first time I saw you at the train station, I wanted to take you under my wings. When spring comes and you need to go to work, you can't wear a scarf," Lu Shiyi talked for a long time without getting to the point. Su Jin put down the shovel in her hand and looked at him seriously. "If I become your partner, the villagers will definitely not plot against you."
Su Jin's face turned red instantly. It turned out that Lu Shiyi had been talking for a long time just for the last sentence.
"Okay!" This was the first time in Su Jin's two lives that someone confessed to her. Although some of the comments were straight-laced, she didn't care.
Lu Shiyi heard her soft answer and smiled, showing his white teeth.
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