On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Shen Qinghe returned from the county school. As soon as she stepped into the alley, she looked up and saw Meng Zhao struggling to carry Shen Qingyu to hang lanterns. Because she was holding Shen Qingyu tightly in her arms, her view was blocked, and she had to rely on Shen Qingze to remind her from the side.
"Sister-in-law, a little to the left, oh no, that's too far. Now move to the right, just a little bit to the right. Sister, straighten your arm, you're almost there."
Meng Zhao tiptoed, trying to lift Shen Qingyu higher. Shen Qingze, watching from the side, was afraid they might fall, so he quickly put down his book box, stepped forward, reached out and lifted Shen Qingyu under her armpits, and with a little force, made her sit directly on his arm.
Meng Zhao felt a lightness in his arms, and after looking closely, he realized it was Shen Qinghe who had returned. He immediately rubbed his arm and said:
"Second brother, you're finally back. I had already hung up the lanterns, but these two kids made a fuss for ages, insisting on hanging them themselves, so I took them down again." She then reached out and pinched Shen Qingyu's chubby cheeks, with a hint of doting and helplessness. "And what happened? They couldn't hang them up after all that time."
Shen Qingyu's face was pinched out of shape, and she couldn't help but shake her head and grumbled twice in dissatisfaction. But when she looked up and saw her second brother's staring gaze, she panicked and immediately lowered her head again.
Looking at the scene before him, Meng Zhao's smile deepened. "Second brother, take the two of them and hang up the lanterns, then come inside for a meal together."
In the courtyard, Gu was frying crispy pork, while Meng Zhao took out a stone mortar and pestle and ground the prepared seasoning powder into powder.
Not long after, Shen Qinghe also led the two children in. Judging from their appearance, the two children had probably been scolded by Shen Qinghe outside. When they entered the courtyard, their heads were hanging down. But when they saw that the crispy pork was ready, they happily gathered around again.
The freshly fried pork belly is golden in color. Sprinkling it with dipping sauce instantly elevates its aroma to a whole new level. One bite reveals a crispy and crunchy texture with a hint of numbing spiciness, filling your mouth with delicious flavor.
Because she was worried about the smoke from frying inside the house, Gu moved the stove outside, and the rich aroma of meat and seasonings filled the entire courtyard.
"It smells so good! It must be the smell of fried meat!"
"I smell it too, I smell it too, the smell makes me hungry again."
"Hey, Tiedan, you've drooled on me! Get away from me!"
Meng Zhao recognized the voices as those of several children from the street, who were probably out playing after dinner. So he found a small bowl, filled it with a few pieces of crispy pork, and had Shen Qingyu and Shen Qingze take it out to share.
During the Lunar New Year, every family will cook some delicious food and share a bite or two with the children, as a way to share in the festive atmosphere.
Starting today, Shen Qinghe will be on his annual leave. Meng Zhao will naturally not let him be idle and has assigned him two tasks. The first is to collect annual gifts.
Because of the Xiao family's influence, it was difficult for her starch to be promoted externally. However, many local merchants in Qingshi County had already signed contracts with them. Xiao Youzhi initially wanted her to give up even this small market, but Meng Zhao shamelessly joked around and said a lot of nice things, which finally fooled her.
Although the amount they need is far less than that of the Xiao family, they are still businesses, and it won't hurt to build a good relationship with them.
So Meng Zhao sealed some New Year's gifts, which included a pound of smoked sausage, a serving of spicy duck neck, a serving of braised duck feet, and a serving of potato noodles.
Meng Zhao instructed Shen Qinghe to trim the dried potato starch into neat pieces, then tie it in the middle with oil paper and hemp rope, making it look much more refined than what they usually used. At the end of the year, when delivering goods to various places, they sent them out under the name of the workshop.
The packaging of all three snacks bears the Mengji logo. This is done to promote her shop and to explore new sales channels and cooperation opportunities for the potato noodles.
But simply sending some food would seem a bit cheap, and adding something more valuable would be a waste. Meng Zhao pondered for a long time and finally thought of something that was hard to assess in terms of value but was very appropriate for the occasion: couplets.
Two days ago, she went shopping for New Year's goods with Xu Yunrong and saw the stall with the character "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune). Although the Shen family was in mourning and it was not appropriate to make it too festive, the Meng family did not need it. During the New Year, everyone wanted to have a festive and auspicious atmosphere, so Meng Zhao wanted to buy some to decorate the Meng family and the shop.
When asked, the prices turned out to be quite high. A couplet written at a slightly better stall could sell for twenty or thirty coins, almost the price of two catties of pork. If the stall owner had some academic achievement, even just being a scholar, the price could be raised a few more coins.
So Meng Zhao didn't spend the money. Instead, he bought a lot of high-quality red paper, took it home, and gave it to Shen Qinghe to write on. This was the second thing Meng Zhao arranged for him.
Meng Zhao included a copy of the couplets, filled with auspicious wishes, in the New Year's gifts for the braised pork shop, the starch workshop, and his business partners. He wondered if anyone had the discerning eye to keep the couplets safe and sound, knowing that their value would surely rise in a few years.
On the evening of the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Meng Zhao delivered all the New Year's gifts. The people in the shop were overjoyed to receive them.
When Lin Qiuniang's husband saw her carrying so many things that evening, he was immediately puzzled. "Why did you buy so much stuff all at once? Our son won't be coming back at the end of the year, and it's just the two of us eating. How can we possibly finish all this?"
Hearing her husband's words, Lin Qiuniang couldn't help but laugh. "They weren't bought, they were New Year's gifts from the shop! The family said we've worked hard and this was a special reward for us."
Lin Qiuniang's husband was immediately surprised and his eyes widened. "Really! Didn't we say that we would get double wages after the 22nd? Why is the master giving us more things?"
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