"Oh, Sixth Uncle, are you serious?"
The naughty boys didn't hear it, but their father became excited.
After all, which man doesn't have a dream of being a martial artist? Fighting and killing are dangerous, but the charm of force is incomparable.
Even Master Tai San was surprised and asked, "Sixth Brother, where did you find a master? Is he reliable? You don't need to teach the children anything else, just self-defense and physical fitness. In the future, when they go out with Jiye to drive the car team, the family won't have to worry about it anymore."
The old man smiled and said, "Master, you're definitely reliable. We in the North are short of everything else, but we have no shortage of veterans and wounded soldiers. Wait until I find a few suitable ones and take the children to learn more skills."
If you want to follow the convoy in the future, or even join the border army, it will be beneficial."
Everyone was even happier when they heard this, feeling both grateful and guilty.
They hadn't even made plans for their own children, yet they still needed the old man to consider everything so comprehensively and long-term...
"Thank you, Uncle Six! My boy is being taken care of by you again! When he becomes successful, I will definitely let him repay you."
“My family too!”
"Sixth Uncle, I'm going to offer you a bowl of wine later. Without you and Third Uncle, our village wouldn't have the good life it has today. The boys are lucky enough not to starve to death, so why would they bother planning for their future?"
Everyone was chatting and laughing as they surrounded Mr. Tai San and the old man and led them into the yard.
Soon, the food in the kitchen was ready and the table was set directly in the spacious yard.
The old and young men sat down according to their seniority, and Tai Jizu opened the wine jar and started pouring wine.
Old Master Tai picked up his wine bowl and said loudly, "Thanks to everyone's help last night. As long as our Tai family remains united and works together, our lives will surely get better and better in the future! Come on, everyone, have a bite first, and then eat and drink to your heart's content. Don't be polite!"
"Haha, don't worry, Uncle Six. I didn't eat this morning. I was just waiting for this meal!"
"Me too!"
The men, young and old, laughed heartily, took a gulp of liquor, and began to eat with their chopsticks.
Zhuzhu held the bowl and sat on the threshold of the kitchen, swinging her chubby legs and eating the meatballs that her aunt had fried specially for her with a smile on her face.
Sesame Ball was lying next to her, also having a bowl of delicious food, chicken bones and pork bones. He tilted his head and chewed them, making a crackling sound...
In the backyard, the women who had been chatting all morning started to eat.
Each person got two steamed buns made of two-grain flour, unlimited cabbage and tofu soup, and a large bowl of cold vegetables.
Tiedan's mother laughed as she ate, "We originally came here to work, but instead of losing weight, I gained weight. If you didn't know, you would think I was slacking off!"
Everyone laughed. Tai Jisheng's wife rarely spoke up and agreed, "Me too. If this continues, I'm afraid the waistband of my pants will have to be two inches wider."
Aunt Tai was delighted. She broke open her steamed bun and picked up some cold vegetables. She replied, "Let's forget it. It doesn't matter if she's fat or thin. She'll be married and have children anyway. But the girl should gain weight quickly so that it will be easier for her to get married in the future. Every family likes to marry a fat daughter-in-law. She has a good physique and is easy to bear children."
The girls who were originally sitting at the end of the kang blushed when they heard this. They didn't know whether to eat the steamed buns in their hands or not.
Yang Lihua quickly came to their rescue, "Okay, okay, stop teasing the girls and let them have a good meal. I just have something to tell you!"
"It's the end of the month in two days. In addition to handing out wages, I also want to give everyone some rice dumplings. But with so many people, my wife can't make them all by herself.
"Pick up your work. Let's take a day off on the second or third day of the Lunar New Year to make zongzi together! There aren't many people in each family, so give them six sticky rice and candied dates and take them back to sweeten the kids' mouths."
"Oh, really?" The women were immediately happy and shouted.
"I haven't eaten zongzi in years."
"Me too. I got one from a wealthy family giving alms on the street when I went to the city that year. I only ate one bite and gave the rest to my child."
"Does sticky rice need to be soaked? I've never made sticky rice before, but I'm sure I'll learn."
When people are poor and have low aspirations, customs are not that important.
Everyone knows that we eat rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, but when we can’t even get enough food, how can we have the energy and money to prepare rice dumplings?
Unexpectedly, the Tai family not only paid wages but also gave out rice dumplings. This unexpected surprise completely ignited the women's enthusiasm.
This afternoon, the topic of rice dumplings and Dragon Boat Festival never stopped.
Tai Jizong went to the city today and bought half a bag of glutinous rice, mixed it with half a bag of ordinary white rice, and added candied dates, which made the most common and affordable rice dumplings.
But Yang Lihua was still planning to wrap some unique ones by herself and send them to the Min and Wu families as holiday gifts.
Although both families are rich and can afford a piece of rice dumpling, the Tai family cannot help but express their gratitude.
The Min family helped the Tai family a lot, and Mr. Wu taught Yongning with great care.
There are also some relatives and friends who are on good terms with each other, such as Manager Min, the fortune teller Banxianer, etc., who also need to send some to have a lively meal.
Fortunately, Yang Lihua was born in the south, and was most familiar with the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. She was also very skillful.
She also found cloth, bought spices, and took the time to sew a lot of sachets, embroidered handkerchiefs and purses with the words "five blessings coming to the door", ribbons of various colors, and so on.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the women would put down the sweaters and pants they had not finished knitting and gather in the front yard excitedly to learn how to make rice dumplings.
The leaves for zongzi are reed leaves that the old man, along with his son and granddaughter, picked by walking on the morning dew from a distant river bank. They are green and broad, with a light fragrance, which is really perfect.
Almost all the women were making the dumplings for the first time, so the finished products were not very pretty, but they were not so particular about eating them themselves.
On the contrary, because they were joking with each other, the whole yard was in chaos and it was very lively.
It was difficult for the men, young and old, to enter the yard, so they squatted at the foot of the wall, listening to the noise and laughing along.
It has been a long time since I felt this peaceful and happy. This is life.
At this moment, all the hesitation and anxiety in their hearts completely disappeared.
It seems like I really don’t have to worry about starving to death or freezing to death, I can finally live in peace!
Yang Lihua and Liu Dongniang personally made fifty rice dumplings. The appearance was neat and beautiful, and the size was uniform. The fillings inside were divided into six kinds: candied dates, salted egg yolks, red bean paste, date paste, ham and fresh meat, four of which were sweet and two were salty.
In the afternoon, the big stove outside the wall was lit up, and the rice dumplings were put into the pot and cooked until the whole village was filled with fragrance.
The sky was filled with orange-red sunset glow. The women each carried their own portion and went home with their drooling children.
Early the next morning, Yang Lihua took Zhuzhu to visit the Min and Wu families.
As for Manager Min and Banxianer, the rice dumplings were delivered by the old man himself.
In the afternoon, Tai Yongning and Tai Yongfeng, who had a three-day holiday, also returned to the village.
Liu Dongniang prepared dinner early, and the whole family ate rice dumplings together happily, and it was rare for them to go to bed late.
As a result, the oil lamp had not been extinguished for long when Zhimaqiu at the door suddenly cried out!
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