Chapter 47 Spring Festival
Looking at the calendar, there are only three days left until the Spring Festival.
This means I have successfully survived six months alone in an extremely cold post-apocalyptic world.
The person is still alive, not sick, and even has two dogs and a flock of chickens to raise – it's incredibly fulfilling.
However, living alone without social interaction or internet makes life rather dull.
To live a fulfilling life and maintain a consistently good mood, it's essential to pay special attention to traditional festivals.
So, I need to start preparing for the Spring Festival three days in advance!
First, go to the basement and pick out a set of red underwear, thermal underwear, and socks for yourself, then wash them with fragrant laundry detergent.
Then I tore off a piece of red cloth and made two red cotton vests for the two dogs.
It was still two layers of cloth, with cotton in between. It took half a day to make two cotton vests.
Since there is no red paper, we cannot put up Spring Festival couplets.
After thinking of other ideas, I cut out some red paper-cut window decorations from red cloth and pasted them on the windows on Chinese New Year.
When I was little, I learned to cut paper flowers from my grandma. It's not difficult; you can make a beautiful flower with a complex shape with just a few cuts.
The next day, we started a thorough cleaning, cleaning every corner of the house until it was spotless.
I spent the whole day cleaning windows, sweeping and mopping floors, wiping tables and various furniture.
The third day was spent preparing ingredients for the Spring Festival.
As usual, I first made a menu for myself. According to our local custom, we eat a sumptuous meal at noon during the Spring Festival and dumplings in the evening.
I'll prepare eight dishes for myself for lunch, and if I can't finish them, I'll give the dog and chickens some good food too.
After much deliberation, we chose eight dishes: braised pork ribs, chicken stew with mushrooms, braised prawns, roast meat platter, garlic aspic, lettuce with oyster sauce, stir-fried chicken gizzards, and cola chicken wings.
Today, I'll be in charge of preparing the ingredients. I'll take all the ribs, chicken wings, chicken gizzards, and chicken meat from the back room and put them in the kitchen to soak in water to thaw.
Then cut the pigskin into small strips, add flour, and wash it thoroughly.
Then put it in a clay pot, add various seasonings and water, and simmer.
It was simmered for a full three hours, then poured out into a large bowl to solidify.
On the day of the Spring Festival, I got up in the morning, heated up the room, and changed into a brand new red suit.
The dogs were dressed in red vests, and even a red cloth strip was tied to the feet of each chicken. Then red paper-cut window decorations were pasted on the windows.
This is what they do early in the morning when they change things up.
After changing everything, I didn't eat breakfast and went straight to preparing lunch.
First, stew the chicken and mushrooms in a clay pot, then prepare the other ingredients.
Cut the chicken gizzards into decorative shapes, make three cuts on each side of the chicken wings, and cut the ribs into pieces the size of mahjong tiles.
Then blanch all the ingredients in boiling water from a large pot.
The stove on the left is used for braised pork ribs, and the stove on the right is used for cola chicken wings.
Once both dishes are cooked together, put them on plates and place them on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) in the front room to keep them warm.
Then, stir-fried chicken gizzards, braised prawns, and lettuce with oyster sauce were all served.
The rice is cooked.
It was already 1:00 PM when all the dishes were ready.
Each dish was carefully plated and placed on the table. In addition to my own bowl and chopsticks, I added a set of bowls and chopsticks on each side.
Add a bowl and chopsticks on both sides, as if my parents are also by my side.
Take a video with your phone, and then start enjoying your New Year's feast.
Today is different from usual. I'm not going to finish my own food before feeding the dog. Instead, I'll give the best food to the dog first.
It tastes better when everyone eats together.
I used my phone to find the Spring Festival skits I had downloaded before, and watched the classic skits while laughing and enjoying the food.
The braised pork ribs are incredibly fragrant, the pork skin jelly is refreshing and chewy, the roast meats are as chewy as ever, the chicken soup is fresh and flavorful, and the oyster sauce lettuce is crisp…
Eat and sip a sweet little wine at the same time.
It was bitterly cold outside, but warm and cozy inside.
The aroma of delicious food and wine mingled with my laughter in the room.
I don't know why, but I've felt extremely sleepy every time I finish this New Year's feast since I was a child.
This year is the same; after eating, my face feels hot and I don't want to move at all.
So I washed my hands and wiped my mouth clean, then lay down on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) and took a short nap.
When I woke up, it was already getting dark; it was 4:00 PM.
I turned on the light, still half asleep, and carried the remaining dishes from the table to the kitchen one by one.
Put everything that can be put together together, and you can just steam it in a pot later. It's quite nice to eat pickled vegetables that way.
After cleaning the table and washing the dishes.
Pack a plate of fresh fruit, a plate of canned goods, various melon seeds and nuts, candy and snacks, and two bottles of juice, and put them all on the kang table.
Then, leaning against the wall, I stretched my legs inside the kang table and placed my phone in the center to play a New Year's Eve gala I'd never seen before.
While watching the gala, I sipped my beverage and ate some nuts and snacks.
We ate and played like this until eight or nine o'clock in the evening, when we were really too full to eat anymore and it was time to prepare dumplings for dinner.
First, knead the dough and set it aside to rest.
Then pick some celery from the vegetable basin, chop it up, and mix it with the minced meat to make celery and meat dumpling filling.
After everything is done, leave it there; there's no rush to wrap it.
I went to the east room, cuddled two bright red dogs, and filmed a video of them striking various adorable poses while singing "Happy New Year."
However, the two dogs looked grumpy, so the photos didn't turn out well.
What can puppies understand? All they know is that their owner made something delicious today and let them eat as much meat as they wanted.
They didn't understand why Hei Tian was twisting and turning them around.
So as owners, we should understand them; if they're being a little grumpy, so be it.
I threw the dog on the ground and went to drink my beverage and watch TV.
At 11 p.m. sharp, I got off the scalding hot kang (heated brick bed).
I found a long-ago one-cent coin in my makeup bag.
Then I went to the kitchen to start making dumplings.
Turn the Spring Festival Gala up really loud so you can listen, watch, and make dumplings all at the same time.
When making dumplings at home, the filling must be generous and the wrappers must be thin.
I made 30 large dumplings, each with a generous filling, and Professor Do Min-joon's coin-shaped dumpling was one of them.
It was put into the pot to cook at 11:45 sharp and served on the table at 12:00 sharp at night.
The celery, freshly picked from the vegetable basin, was very tender and fresh, and the pork, glistening with oil, was also delicious.
I ate a total of 22 large dumplings, and I really couldn't eat anymore.
The remaining 8 dumplings were all fed to the dogs. For the two of them, 4 dumplings per dog was a piece of cake.
If I don't break them open before feeding them, they can eat them one by one without even knowing what the filling is, swallowing them without breaking the skin.
I started feeling sleepy after eating dumplings, but I didn't really want to sleep.
I continued to sit on the scorching hot kang (heated brick bed), eating nuts, drinking beverages, and watching a movie.
Today we watched "Up". I've actually seen this movie many times, but every time I watch it again, I feel very healed and happy.
Finally, he was so tired that he didn't go back to his own bed. Instead, he pulled a small blanket over himself, lay down on the warm kang (heated brick bed), and fell asleep.
I had a fulfilling Spring Festival. Although I was tired, it was full of memories.
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