Chapter 116: On Fire (Catching Bugs) "Someone's house in the south is on fire, if...
Chapter 116: On Fire (Catching Bugs)
Chef Yan worked as hard as a tiger, but the fish with sauce was the last one to come out of the pot.
Fortunately, the fish was cooked pretty well.
The big fish was fried until golden and crispy, with cuts on its body, its head and tail raised, and its fins stretched out. The rich soup poured over the fish made a sizzling sound.
Finally, sprinkle with chopped green onions, soaked dried cilantro, and minced garlic, drizzle with a little hot oil, and Yan Jiuru personally brings the fish to the table: "The fish with sauce is here~"
Chen Yin followed behind with a big bowl of caviar, trying hard not to roll her eyes. Not only did it take a lot of effort for this person to make a dish, but she also had to accompany him from beginning to end, which was a lot of time for her.
***
Once the fish is on the table, we can start eating.
Dad Yan took his son and grandchildren out to set off firecrackers.
The old man took out the fine wine his grandson had bought. "Come on, it's New Year's Eve. Let's all have a couple of drinks, men and women alike. Yinyin, you're educated, so it's up to you whether you want to drink or not."
Chen Yin filled a glass of fruit wine for her two sisters-in-law and the girl from her second uncle's family, and poured white wine for her mother-in-law, great-grandmother-in-law and second aunt.
Boys drink the same thing as adults, but the amount from the cup is only one or two sips.
“Bang—bang!”
“Ding-dong!”
"Crackle, crackle..."
As the firecrackers started, thousands of firecrackers exploded in front of the door. Chen Yin and her grandmother-in-law hurriedly covered the ears of the two children, and Yan Niang hurriedly covered the ears of Ruchun's child. Zhuangzhuang was brave and was being taken outside by his father, laughing and having fun.
The old man looked at the table full of delicious dishes, holding his wine glass and sighing, "Three years ago, for us, having a piece of pork belly and a big piece of tofu during the Chinese New Year was a delicacy. I never thought that there would be a time when we could have chicken, duck, fish and meat all over the table.
I can see that our lives are all thanks to the good leadership of the country. My family, both adults and children, are willing to work hard. Those who go to school study hard and don't waste the conditions provided by the country. Those who farm well and don't let down the country's policy of allocating land to households. Those who work diligently and are worthy of the wages paid by the country. Then we can live a good life."
"Come on, since we don't want to honor our ancestors now, let's just make one ourselves!"
Everyone laughed and said, "Let's do one!"
The old man took a bite of the fish first and said, "Oh, it's quite delicious.
You all should try it. My eldest grandson is indeed a worldly-wise man. This fish tastes better than stewed fish."
***
It is said that people in the village have more opportunities to eat fish than people in the city, but the way they cook fish is just stewing it in various ways, such as stewing with sauce, stewing with vermicelli, stewing with Chinese cabbage, stewing with tofu, and even more elaborate stewing is braising, which is actually also a kind of stew.
It is not advisable to steam big fish in the north. Firstly, it is not easy to steam thoroughly, and secondly, it has an earthy smell. It is difficult to make it delicious without stewing or roasting.
Of course, these days the main reason is that the villagers have seen very little. Some of them may not have been to the county town in several lifetimes, let alone eaten in a big restaurant.
Yan Jiuru was able to make fish with sauce because he had eaten it several times at Yancheng Hotel and even asked the chef at his unit’s canteen for the recipe.
Isn't this just to show off at home?
***
After hearing the old man say it was delicious, everyone picked up a piece of food with chopsticks to try it.
"Yeah, it's really good."
"Delicious! I want more."
It tastes sweet and sour, and is crispy, making it a good snack to go with wine, and is even more suitable for children and women.
Faced with a table full of chicken, duck, fish and meat, everyone didn't pick up their chopsticks as quickly as before. This year, the family's life was not bad, and the desire for meat was not as strong as before.
Aunt Yan was not busy picking up the fish, but instead scooped a few spoonfuls of braised pork elbow into the bowl.
No matter how delicious fish is, can it be more fragrant than meat?!
Second Uncle Yan gave the old man some face and took a piece of fish with his chopsticks. "Well, you are really good at it. Not bad!"
Aunt Yan secretly rolled her eyes, thinking that she was just praising her nephew.
Regardless of what she thought, everyone followed suit and took a few bites, nodding their heads.
Now, in addition to fish with sauce, there is also roast duck. There are so many delicious dishes that I can’t eat them all.
"Yinyin, would you like some fruit wine?" Yan Jiuru saw Chen Yin holding canned juice as a drink and wanted to persuade her to drink some.
Chen Yin shook her head and whispered, "I heard that drinking alcohol while breastfeeding can affect the child's brain development. I drank a few sips just for fun. What if it affects the child's whole life in the future? It's not worth it."
Yan Jiuru reached out and gently stroked her back, "I'm sorry to have wronged you. I'll just have to bear with the two little ones for a year. When they stop breastfeeding, I'll give you the milk together."
Chen Yin smiled.
She gave birth to the child of her own free will, so there is nothing to feel wronged about.
After three rounds of wine, the dishes were almost finished, so Chen Yin and Ruchun cooked dumplings and brought them over.
Yan Jiuru placed a bowl of food with toppings in front of Chen Yin and said, "Hurry up and sit down to eat. Stop working."
Chen Yin really bit into the hard one, "Hmm~"
She placed the coin on the table and said happily, "I ate one!"
Now everyone started to focus on the dumplings.
Chen Yin picked one up for her husband.
She really picked it up casually, but Yan Jiuru ate the peanuts in one bite.
"Immortal Fruit! Great, great!"
The old man was more satisfied with the food than I was.
Nothing is better than health and longevity.
Yan Jiuru quickly picked up a piece with longan fruit for his grandfather.
The whole family rushed to eat the lucky number one. Rusong and his second uncle's brothers even "cheated" and ate the one they saw that looked the best.
The boys' stomachs were bloated from eating so much.
"Haha, I ate money~"
Oh my god, my stomach is about to burst. It’s really not easy.
"I've eaten up to my neck..."
When Chubby in Ruchun's family ate a candy, the two-year-old child didn't quite understand what he was doing, but he instinctively showed off to his little brother.
Zhuangzhuang’s stomach was too small to eat two, so he just watched with longing eyes.
His mother then gave him the money she had earned from eating and pretended to put it in the dumplings, and he happily shouted that he had eaten it.
Everyone: That’s great... Liar!
***
The old man was happy and drank two more cups, and fell asleep before he could stay up late.
Yan Jiuru advised: "You and grandma go to sleep for a while, I will wake you up after midnight when it's time to celebrate the New Year."
I really can’t stand it when I’m old. “Okay, I’ve prepared the red envelopes, and you must call me.”
Yan Jiuru put his grandparents to bed first. His father and his second uncle led everyone to set the table, and men, women, and children divided into several groups to play poker and spend the New Year's Eve.
Rusong, Ruyue and other young children hurriedly changed into new clothes and shoes, took firecrackers and fireworks, put candies and peanuts in their pockets, and went out to play with the canned lanterns they made.
Zhuangzhuang should have been asleep, but he still wanted to go out and play, so he followed along, stumbling along.
***
Before midnight, Yan Jiuru called his grandparents to get up, and he asked his brothers to go outside to set off fireworks.
When he came back from the county town, he had a car to take him there, so he bought a few sets specially.
“Swish—bang!”
As the first firework shot up into the night sky and blossomed into beautiful flowers, the children who were playing outside all ran home: "Look at the fireworks! My family is setting off fireworks!"
As a result, almost all the children in the village came to watch the fireworks.
Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, colorful and very beautiful.
It was the first time for many children to see such beautiful fireworks, and they clapped and cheered with joy.
"Where's Zhuangzhuang?"
Yan Jiuru asked Rushan to watch over him while he looked for the child among the group of children.
"Here it is, brother, come and hold him. I can't hold him anymore." Ruyue struggled to hold her little nephew, and the child almost fell out of her arms.
"Are you asleep?" He could actually sleep so soundly despite the sound of firecrackers.
Ruyue pouted: "That's right, I already carried him with me. He's just a little burden. I won't take him out to play anymore."
Yan Jiuru smiled, thinking that when he was a child he didn't like to play with his little tail.
Who can watch the children have fun?
He took his son who was being held in his arms and said to his sister, "It's okay. I'll compensate you, okay?"
"What compensation?" Ruyue happily followed her brother into the house.
Yan Jiuru put his son on the kang and took out a few flying monkeys. "You guys can play with them. Don't shoot them at people or haystacks, okay?"
Ruyue's eyes lit up, and she nodded and said loudly: "I know, it will hurt people and catch fire, so we have to set it off in the sky!"
"Well, go ahead."
"Okay, thank you, big brother!"
After sending his sister away, he gave Chen Yin and Ruchun a few flying monkeys as well: "Go and play."
Chen Yin and Ruchun: That’s fine.
After setting off the fireworks, Yan Jiuru led his brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces to wish the old man and old lady a happy new year: "Grandpa and grandma (great-grandfather and great-grandma), happy new year! Good health!"
The old man and the old lady were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling: "You are all safe and sound!"
Send red envelopes to everyone!
Aunt Yan secretly took her youngest son's money, opened it and took a look. It was one dollar!
She was quite satisfied, one dollar was not a small amount.
Everyone pretended not to see her.
Then Yan Jiuru and others paid New Year's greetings to their parents and uncles and aunts, and received another wave of red envelopes.
This time, Ruyue took a special look at the red envelope given by her second aunt, which contained two cents.
Ruyue whispered secretly with her elder sister, but no one knew what the two sisters were talking about.
Finally, the younger ones wished a happy new year to Yan Jiuru and Chen Yin, as they were the oldest among the younger generation.
Since they both had salaries, they naturally had to give out red envelopes. However, they couldn't give more than their elders, so they only gave two cents each.
For a child, two cents can buy five hundred firecrackers.
However, Second Aunt Yan was not one to spoil her children, and she confiscated it from her own child on the spot: "If you keep running around and drop it, I'll keep it for you."
Well, it’s not just Second Aunt, Chen Yin and Ruchun too. Zhuangzhuang and Pangpang’s red envelopes were also confiscated by their mother for the same reason.
After paying New Year’s greetings, my second uncle and Ruchun and the others went back to their respective homes. On the first day of the new year, they had to visit other families to pay New Year’s greetings and also receive others who came to pay New Year’s greetings.
***
No family gets up early on New Year's Day, after all, they stayed up all night on the 30th.
Yan Jiuru and Chen Yin were awakened by the crying of the child.
Without even opening their eyes, they both reached out to grope to the side, "Hmm?"
All three children were sleeping soundly, and it wasn't my own child crying.
"I'll go take a look. You continue sleeping." Yan Jiuru got up and put on his clothes.
Chen Yin also got up, "I slept well too, it's time to get up."
When the two came out, they saw that it was the little grandson of Old Li's family in the front yard. His grandmother was holding one hand and raising the other hand. His fingers were blackened and swollen.
No wonder you cried so loudly.
Grandma Li reached out and slapped the child on the butt, saying, "You're just being disobedient. You insist on imitating others by setting off firecrackers. Who else can you set off if not him?"
Grandma Yan said hurriedly, "If you want to fight, fight sooner rather than later. It's too late after they've already exploded. I'll go find out if there's any left for you. I remember there were a few..."
The old man slowly came out, looked at the child's hand, and said, "Go to the cabinet in the back room and look. There's still some in a can. A small spoonful should be enough."
"Have you rinsed your finger with cold water first?"
Grandma Li said hurriedly, "It took quite a while."
***
After the children woke up, Grandma Yan used this incident to threaten and warn the children, big and small, at home: "Go to the front yard and take a look at Old Li's house, so that you can learn a lesson.
Whoever dares to imitate me, I can tell you that every year there are people who get their hands and eyes blown off. If they become blind or lame, there will be no cure."
Although the children were scared, they could not hide their curiosity and hurried to Old Li's house in the front yard.
Look at how they fry it.
Not long after, everyone came back with dejected looks.
"Emma, Tiedan's fingers are so swollen, they look like carrots!"
"I'm not good at using my hand to light a whip."
Just know that you are afraid.
***
It’s not customary to take out the trash during the Chinese New Year, so I made some jigsaw puzzles at home last night.
Chen Yin and her mother-in-law took a long time to clean up.
New year, new look.
The house was clean and tidy, and adults and children all put on new clothes and shoes. As for those who couldn't wait to put on their clothes early, if they got dirty or torn, they could only watch others
The little girl also tied her hair into a new ribbon.
So beautiful.
Chen Yin simply cooked a pot of rice with the leftover rice, and then heated up the leftover vegetables and dumplings and brought them to the table, which also filled up the table.
This is called surplus year after year.
Last night, except for the fish with sauce, only the head and tail were left, there were still a lot of other dishes left.
"Come on, it's the first meal of the New Year, let's drink some more."
***
The old man was just planning to take the opportunity to have a few more drinks when he suddenly heard a commotion outside.
"What's going on? What's making such a loud noise?" Dad Yan has sharp ears.
Yan Jiuru's consciousness moved, and he put down his chopsticks: "You guys eat, I'll go take a look."
He was tall and had long legs. He was out of the house in just a few words. He looked out of the yard and saw that someone's firewood pile in the south was burning!
Nowadays, most people live in houses with mud walls and thatched roofs, and the surrounding shoji screens are all made of wood, which are old-fashioned things. If the fire gets big and connects into pieces, it will be difficult to deal with.
Yan Jiuru hurried back to call for help: "Someone's house in the south is on fire, Rushan, quickly grab a bucket and follow me to help."
Upon hearing this, Yan's father quickly stood up and turned back to threaten the children, including Rusong and Ruyue: "All children, stay home and behave yourself. Fire and water are merciless. If anyone dares to come near me, I will break his legs!"
The old man stopped drinking and stood up to agree: "You are all at home, no one is allowed to go!"
Fire is no joke.
Firefighting is more dangerous.
The men left in a flash.
A lot of basins and buckets from home were also taken away.
Since ancient times, fire has been a big deal, and everyone who can help will do so.
Helping others is also helping yourself.
Chen Yin had to take care of the two little ones and Zhuang Zhuang, so she didn't dare leave to help. Instead, her mother-in-law tidied up and said to the old lady, "Mom, you stay home and watch. I'll go and take a look from a distance."
***
The children were not allowed to go, and they felt uneasy, but they soon came up with a solution.
Rusong and Ruyue both climbed up the wall of their own courtyard to look out, and even broadcast: "I saw it, there's a fire over there!"
"Oh my god, the shoji is on fire!"
Grandma Yan muttered to Chen Yin, "Those houses are old. They've been there for years. They've already rotted away. The fire will catch fire."
Kisaragi: "It's over, it's over, the house is on fire..."
Grandma Yan clapped her hands and said, "This fever is really bad. Don't let it spread all over the place."
Chen Yin was also worried. The strangers’ house was one street away from her mother’s house, and she was afraid that the fire would spread there...
"Oh, there's snow on their roof. Fortunately, it's okay."
You naughty kid, why didn’t you say it earlier!
The smell of smoke and fire spread in the air, and soon they could smell the burning smell too.
After a while, Rushan came running back, with black cigarette ash on his face and hands.
"Sister-in-law, my brother asked you to get some wet towels!"
Chen Yin cried out, how could she have forgotten such an important matter!
She quickly found a few towels and wet them in the bucket. "Smoke is more dangerous than fire. Cover your mouth and nose tightly. Don't rush forward blindly."
"I understand, sister-in-law." Rushan had already run away with the bucket.
Grandma Yan asked worriedly, "What if there's someone else in the house?"
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