Because the vegetable market was closed on New Year's Eve, Lin Wei and her daughter went to the vegetable market again in the afternoon to check for any missing items and bought all the seasonings needed for the dishes and the New Year.
After returning home, Lin's mother began to mix the flour, while Lin Wei and Zong Shao helped wash the lotus roots and radishes, cut the lotus roots into pieces, and chop the radishes. After that, they picked out the biggest and fattest fish from the sea fish caught by Lin's father, shaved off the fish bones, and chopped the fish meat for later use.
By the time Lin Wei and her husband had prepared the fillings, and Lin's mother had almost finished mixing the flour, she went into the house, brought out the coal stove, put on the iron pot, poured in oil, and when the oil in the pot started to steam, she began to wrap the dumplings, throwing them into the pot one at a time.
The wrapped dumplings fell into the oil pan, sizzling and the enticing aroma wafted into the noses of the three children playing outside in the yard.
After a while, three children came in, and Mingming was the first to ask, "Grandma, what are you doing?"
"Fried dumplings." Seeing the three children staring at her, Lin's mother smiled and asked, "Are they delicious?"
The three children said without hesitation: "Smells good! It smells really good!"
Mingming even walked closer and asked, "Grandma, can I have a taste?"
"Don't get so close, be careful of the oil splashing on you," Lin's mother reached out and pushed her grandson aside. She used chopsticks to change the dumplings in the pot and said, "Wait a moment, this pot is ready, I'll let you taste it."
"Hey!" the three children responded in unison and stood aside watching.
Mother Lin watched the skin of the dumplings in the pot being fried into a golden color, and then she took out the dumplings one by one and put them into the basket used to drain rice, and then wrapped new dumplings and threw them in to fry.
Mingming saw that grandma seemed to have forgotten about the three of them and was wrapping dumplings one after another. He couldn't help but said, "Grandma! Are you okay?"
"Alright, alright! Greedy cat!" Mother Lin threw the dumplings into the frying pan and said to the three children, "Go find some chopsticks."
Mingming was too lazy to move, so he asked, "Can't I use my hands?"
Lin's mother wanted to say "I won't burn you to death", but when the words came to her lips, she remembered that it was Chinese New Year and she couldn't say anything unlucky, so she changed the topic and asked, "Aren't you afraid of the burn?"
Regardless of whether Mingming was afraid of the heat or not, Ruirui obediently went into the kitchen and took out three chopsticks.
Mother Lin took the chopsticks and asked, "We have fish balls and radish balls. Which one do you want?"
"Can I have both?"
Mother Lin: "No, you can only choose one."
"Then I want fish balls." Mingming said, Ruirui and Xiao Shitou also chose fish balls.
After passing the fish balls to the three children, Lin's mother said to her daughter, "Obviously, this child is like you, greedy."
Lin Wei glanced at Zong Shao who was laughing sullenly and refused to admit it: "I wasn't greedy when I was a kid, right?"
"Aren't you greedy? You would find out any food I hid in my room. Not only did you eat it secretly, but you were afraid of being criticized, so you always dragged your elder and second brothers along. You know they have big appetites, and you made me so angry every time that I wanted to beat you with a stick!"
Lin's mother was talking about things that happened after Lin Wei could remember. Although many years had passed, she had a good memory and still remembered them all, and was unable to refute them for the time being.
Seeing her silence, Lin's mother deliberately added: "I locked the cabinet in my room just to prevent you guys from doing that."
"It happened so many years ago, why are you bringing it up again?" Lin Wei muttered, pointing at Zong Shao and saying, "Please at least give me some face."
In fact, Zong Shao really wanted his mother-in-law to continue speaking, but he knew Lin Wei and knew that if he said this, she would definitely glare at him, so after thinking about it, he held back.
Lin's mother smiled and said, "What's the big deal? I know all the embarrassing things that Xiaozong did when he was a child."
Zong Shao was startled and asked, "How do you know?"
Lin's mother was puzzled and asked her daughter: "You didn't tell him?"
Zong Shao also looked over, and Lin Wei remembered and said, "I forgot to mention it yesterday while we were chatting. My mother said that when I was just born, your mother often brought you to my house to play."
Zong Shao raised his eyebrows: "Really?"
"Of course, you liked Weiwei very much at that time. Every time you came, you held her and refused to let go. Your mother wanted to take you back, but you were not happy and cried while hugging Weiwei." Mother Lin said while frying dumplings.
Lin Wei smiled and teased Zong Shao: "Cry loudly."
"And he's holding on to you and won't let go." Zong Shao reminded.
Lin Wei's cheeks were slightly hot, and she heard Lin's mother say, "If it weren't for the good relationship between you two, your mother and I wouldn't have arranged a marriage for you. But we were just talking at the time and didn't take it seriously. Who would have thought that you would fall in love with each other in the end."
Lin Wei felt something was wrong with this: "Didn't you arrange our blind date? What do you mean we just fall in love with each other?"
"We were the ones who asked you to meet each other, but we are open-minded parents. If you didn't like each other, would Xinglan and I force you to get married?" Lin's mother said confidently.
Lin Wei said reluctantly: "...Okay."
Zong Shao was very tactful: "Mom is right, we are indeed old friends who fell in love with each other."
…
Because of his father-in-law's suggestion, Zong Shao behaved much more obediently that night. Lin Wei did not stay up late and got up early the next day.
The state-owned restaurant was closed, so breakfast was rather casual. Zong Shao cooked a pot of noodles and poached a few eggs in it.
Lin's mother originally thought that eating eggs for breakfast was too luxurious and didn't plan to order it, but Lin Wei said that they should eat well during the New Year. Zong Shao didn't listen to her and directly fried eggs for each person and brought them to her. She didn't refuse anymore.
Although Ruirui always complains about her father's cooking skills, Lin's mother has always been supportive. Firstly, she is not picky about food and can eat good or bad food; secondly, she feels that a man who can cook like Zong Shao needs more encouragement so that he can maintain his passion for cooking and work harder in the future.
On this point, Lin Wei had the same idea as her mother, so she never forgot to encourage Zong Shao, and at least let him cook a meal when he was on vacation.
Lin Wei felt that if it weren't for her constant encouragement, with Mingming and Ruirui, the two little guys holding him back, Zong Shao would definitely lose confidence in his cooking skills and give up.
Therefore, the mother and daughter finished the noodles cooked by Zong Shao very quickly, and praised Zong Shao enthusiastically, praising his improved cooking skills.
Listening to what his wife and daughter said, Father Lin couldn't help but take two more mouthfuls of noodles. He ate them quickly at first, then chewed them slowly, fearing that he would not be able to taste the flavor. But after chewing it slowly, Father Lin still suspected that his wife and daughter were not eating the same bowl of noodles as him.
Mingming was more direct, whispering to his brother, "Grandma and Mom's mouths are weird too."
Ruirui agreed with this and quickly finished the noodles in the bowl.
Although the noodles cooked by dad were not as delicious as mom and grandma said, they were not that bad either. He could eat two bowls in one meal anyway.
However, when his mother helped to add noodles, she specifically told Ruirui that the New Year’s Eve dinner at noon would be quite sumptuous, with chicken, duck, fish and meat. So after thinking about it, he made a gesture with his thumb and index finger and said, "Then I'll eat a little more." Since he had already gone into the kitchen, he must eat the noodles the next day.
Lin Wei had long discovered her youngest son's obsessive-compulsive disorder in this regard, so she didn't make things difficult for him and just added a thin layer of noodles for him.
Ruirui finally felt better after finishing her noodles, and asked her mother, "Mom, when are we going to have lunch?"
"A little after eleven, it depends on when it will be done." Lin Wei said.
Ruirui said "oh", left the kitchen happily, and told her brother the good news.
Mingming originally wanted to have a second bowl of noodles, but after listening to his brother's words, he decided to save some space for the delicious lunch.
…
After breakfast, Zong Shao started to post Spring Festival couplets.
Ruirui clearly saw it, ran over to join in the fun, and told Zong Shao whether it was crooked or not.
Everything was fine at the beginning, but when they were sticking the curtains on the door, the two brothers started arguing. One thought it should go to the left, and the other thought it should go to the right.
Although Zong Shao was standing on a stool and didn't have to raise his hands too high, he was still annoyed by the two brats and asked, "Left or right?"
"Left!"
"right!"
The two brothers were not in sync at all, so Zong Shao had to call Lin Wei, who was busy in the kitchen, to come out for help. Lin Wei looked at it and said, "Isn't this pretty good? Why are you moving it?"
Zong Shao put up the curtains and got down from his chair. A child gave him a slap on the head: "Are you here to help me, or to cause trouble for me?"
Ruirui was clearly still tilting her head and saying, "But I just think it should go left/right." Now the two of them seemed to be in perfect harmony.
Zong Shao: "...I'll take you to have your eyes checked on the eighth day of the New Year."
Lin Wei smiled and asked, "Is the back door taped?"
"No, please help me take another look. These two little bastards are unreliable." Zong Shao said as he walked into the house, picked up the couplet and went to the back door.
Mingming was very dissatisfied with what his father said: "We are not little bastards!"
Rarity also said, "We are very reliable!"
Spontaneously ask for help.
Lin Wei was afraid that Zong Shaozhen would beat up the two children, so she followed him. But this time the two children had no problem with eye contact and they were in perfect harmony, and soon the couplets were pasted.
After putting up the couplet, Mingming asked, "What is this, Mom? Why did Dad put it on the door?"
"This is Spring Festival couplets. Originally people posted them to ward off disasters and evil spirits, but gradually it became a custom," Lin Wei explained.
Mingming suddenly realized and asked again: "What is a custom?"
"Customs are customs and habits passed down from the past," Lin Wei explained in advance, fearing that her son would ask her what customs were again. "In other words, when mom and dad were young, grandparents did this, so mom and dad do the same now."
Mingming immediately raised his hand and said, "I understand. My brother and I will do the same in the future!"
Lin Wei smiled and said, "Now that you have grown up, it's up to you whether you want to do this or not. Mom and Dad will be too old to control you."
"Can't mom and dad take care of us now that they are old?" Mingming's eyes rolled around.
Lin Wei reached out and rubbed his head: "Don't worry, we can still take care of you for decades before we get old."
Mingming's eyes were dazzled: "Decades!"
Lin Wei burst into laughter. Zong Shao, who had just come down from the second floor after pasting the Chinese character "Fu", heard her laughter and turned to the backyard to ask, "What are you talking about?"
Lin Wei recounted the conversation and joked with her son, "He thought we were going to be old and couldn't take care of him anymore. But when he heard me say I could still take care of him for decades, his face fell."
Zong Shao looked down at his son and asked, "If your mother and I stopped caring about you, what would you most want to do?"
Mingming's droopy face immediately perked up: "That's a lot."
"Oh? Tell me about it?"
Mingming looked at his father, then at his mother: "Can I tell you?"
"Can."
"Can you avoid getting beaten if you tell me?"
"I won't beat you."
Mingming counted on his fingers: "Then I want to not go to school, not attend classes, not do homework, and want to play and eat all the time, not sleep at night, and not brush my teeth in the morning..."
Lin Wei covered her eyes, feeling that she couldn't bear to watch.
After Mingming finished counting, Zong Shaoze made way to the door and said, "Go in."
Mingming thought Zong Shao wanted him to go in and get beaten, so he was immediately horrified and said with tears in his eyes: "You just said you wouldn't beat me!"
Zong Shao's voice was unusually gentle: "I won't beat you up. I'll let you go upstairs and have a good sleep."
Mingming looked up at the sky and asked in confusion: "But it's daytime now, and we haven't had lunch yet, why should I go to sleep?"
Except for the New Year period, Lin Wei was always dragged by her father to go fishing. Besides not being able to catch up on her sleep at noon, she would take a nap after dinner whenever she had time. As a result, Mingming also developed the habit of taking a nap.
But Mingming is not the kind of child who cannot distinguish time, sleeps whenever he wants and has no principles. He sleeps during the day, and only after lunch. He will not sleep at other times no matter how sleepy he is!
However, the father and son were talking about completely different things. Zong Shao said, "I want to tell you that dreams can contain anything."
He plays and eats all the time, without sleeping or brushing his teeth. How dare he!
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