Jin Shou, who hadn't eaten all day, only received a black steamed bun for dinner. He couldn't bear to finish it, so he broke it in half and hid the rest in his chest. At night, the cold wind blew into the room like ice blades, and he shivered as he slept on the floor.
The two officials were fast asleep in their warm beds, but Jin Shou was too cold to sleep.
He took out his water pouch and gulped down a mouthful of porridge. The porridge was cold all the way from his mouth to his chest, but even though it had gone cold, he didn't mind at all.
This was given to him by his mother.
So, Mother still had feelings for him...
If only I had known...
Jin Shou's gaze was complex, sometimes dejected and listless, sometimes melancholy and regretful.
He felt as if a huge boulder was pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
After a few moments, he calmed down.
His eyes were filled with a mixture of love and hate.
He unconsciously muttered to himself.
"Mother, I truly regret it. I should have let Lamei poison the others instead of you... No, they are the ones who should die. Mother, you belong to me alone..."
...
The weather, which had just cooled down, is slowly warming up again with the arrival of another heavy snowfall.
The heavy snow continued until New Year's Eve.
The entire Hundred Flowers Village became pure and flawless, as if it had entered a fairyland on earth. Everything was covered in white snow, and the thick snow bent the branches, as if the trees were wearing a layer of white gauze.
It wasn't actually the coldest time when it snowed. Many children in the village would gather together to have snowball fights and build snowmen. Some even stole a radish from home to use as the snowman's nose.
The winter sun, obscured by layers of clouds, appears and disappears intermittently.
It wasn't until noon that the clouds finally parted, spreading warmth across the land.
Yan Xia moved the coal stove into the yard.
The family basked in the sun and began to brew tea around the stove.
A wire mesh was placed on the stove.
In the center is a pear-shaped teapot.
The handle of the teapot is wrapped with thin hemp rope to prevent hands from being burned by the high temperature of the teapot when pouring tea.
The teapot was surrounded by red dates, walnuts, chestnuts, and seasonal fruits.
There was a small wooden table about the same height as the stove.
There was a teacup for each person and a square box on the wooden table.
The box contained dried persimmons, peanuts, melon seeds, candied fruit, and pastries.
The family rarely has a moment of peace.
Sitting in a chair, leisurely sipping tea and eating fruit.
The midday sun felt warm on my skin.
Shi Xiaohe's abdomen was swollen high.
She is over four months pregnant.
She's been eating too much nourishing food lately and has gained a lot of weight. Her belly looks like she's carrying twins. Yan Xia is worried that she'll have a difficult delivery, so she's been controlling her diet every day. But she'll let her eat whatever she wants during the New Year.
In addition, Yan Xia was worried that she would get cold, so she put a thick cloth on her chair and draped a tiger skin over her.
She was wearing tall fur boots.
Except for my hands and face, almost everything was incredibly warm.
"Today is New Year's Eve. We'll start eating at 5 PM. Let's sit until 1 PM and then we can start preparing. The dishes in the kitchen are all ready. It's so relaxing. After working so hard for so long, we can finally get some rest. Come on, everyone, have some tea. Black tea is good for warming up. Xiaohe can have some too."
Yan Xia poured her daughter-in-law another cup of black tea.
The scalding hot tea had a light brown hue. Xiaohe took a bite of the candied fruit, but it was too sweet, so she frowned and took a small sip of tea.
The bitterness of the black tea balanced the sweetness of the candied fruit.
His eyebrows and eyes finally relaxed.
She squinted her eyes happily.
"Mother, we've already put up the couplets and hung the lanterns high this morning. Is there anything else we haven't prepared?"
Pregnant women become less intelligent.
Yan Xia smiled faintly.
"Silly child, have you forgotten your parents' home? Don't worry, I had Jinfu put up the couplets for your parents' home this morning. They're made of yellow paper. Tomorrow is the first day of the new year, and Jinfu will take you back to your parents' home for a visit. Remember to wear your newly made clothes; we can't forget the traditions."
During this dynasty, if there was a death in the family, only yellow couplets and yellow lanterns could be displayed for three years.
To avoid offending a recently deceased relative, Xiaohe shouldn't have gone back to her parents' home.
After all, she was pregnant and in a weak state, but Yan Xia didn't believe any of that. Xiao He's grandfather loved her so much.
How could I hurt her? The old woman has probably already been reincarnated.
The first day of the Lunar New Year is the day when daughters from every household return to their parents' home.
Xiaohe should make a trip.
"Thank you, Mother..."
Xiao He's eyes were slightly red, and she looked like she was about to cry. Seeing this, Yan Xia quickly changed the subject.
"Jin Fu Jin Lu, before we have our New Year's Eve dinner tonight, you're in charge of setting off the firecrackers. Be careful and don't get hurt."
There are no fireworks here.
There were no strange or unusual firecrackers either.
Yan Xia bought two strings of firecrackers and two sky-high firecrackers.
As its name suggests, the Earth-Sky Sound will produce a loud 'boom' once it is lit.
Like a cannon.
The earthquake was so loud that the entire village could hear it.
The price is also extremely high.
A single earth-shaking instrument can sell for half a tael of silver.
Not everyone can afford to put it away.
Lunar New Year's Eve is a day for people to reunite after a year of hard work, and every household in Baihua Village is bustling with activity.
The adults began preparing ingredients for the New Year's Eve dinner in advance, while the children played with their friends in the village. Every household put up Spring Festival couplets, and even the poorest families would buy a couple of small strings of firecrackers as a token of appreciation.
Some families eat a little earlier, starting at 1-3 PM, while others start at 5-7 PM or 7-9 PM.
Therefore, the sound of firecrackers began to ring out intermittently from time to time.
Yan Xia removed the coal stove and had her son move it into the main room.
The sun only appeared briefly for an hour.
By this time, the sunlight had disappeared.
She asked Jin Fu to take Xiao He to the main room to warm up, and then assigned tasks to Jin Lu and her daughters.
The family began preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Today, Yan Xia is preparing to cook more than a dozen dishes.
These include sweet and sour fish, four-happiness meatballs, spicy stir-fried salted pork, steamed sausage, wild mushroom stewed in old hen soup, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried pickled cabbage with sliced pork, cabbage and minced pork rolls, corn meatball soup, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, etc.
Yan Xia's version of Four Happiness Dumplings is an improved version.
It's not four.
It refers to four flavors.
The first type is glutinous rice meatballs, the second type is lotus root meatballs, the third type is fish meatballs, and the fourth type is radish meatballs.
Smoke rose from the chimneys of every household.
It drifts away with the wind.
Although the white smoke is the same, the taste is quite different.
If you have a keen sense of smell, you can smell what dishes are being cooked in each house just by standing at their doorstep.
"Mom, there's a bag at the door."
Jinlu carried a burlap sack into the kitchen.
The burlap sack was tied tightly with straw rope.
You can vaguely see blood seeping from the bottom.
"Open it and see what's inside," Yan Xia said.
Jinlu then untied the straw rope.
"There are two rabbits, and they look quite plump."
Yan Xia looked over and saw that her son was carrying two rabbits, one gray and one white.
She touched it; it was dead, but its body hadn't stiffened, so it must have died recently.
"Mom, who put this here? Our front door wasn't closed, and I didn't see anyone coming."
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