Chapter 104
The two quietly picked up the goods in the dim light and returned home with their full load in the dim light. No one noticed the sudden increase in meat in their house, except when Xing Fei accidentally ran over a branch thrown by someone on the roadside on his way home, which woke up the dog in the alley ahead.
After running back and forth, the two people who had originally planned to take a nap were now completely awake. No one had the heart to sleep anymore, so they both started working at the same time.
Xing Fei made a small fire stick and prepared to burn the hair off the pig's legs and trotters. The meat processing factory was very rough, and they didn't want to bite into the trotters and find that the soft, sticky, crystal-clear skin was still covered with some hard stubble. Xing Fei worked in the yard while Bi Chunliu went to boil water and cook. They didn't need to cook much this morning, so they could eat until they were about 60% full so that they could prepare the grilled lamb chops and mutton soup for lunch. For lunch, Xing Fei had even brought in a luxury vegetable that Han Zhong had bought yesterday, besides the cabbage and radishes: winter bamboo shoots!
There happened to be pork available today, so Bi Chunliu planned to make a dish of stir-fried pork with winter bamboo shoots. She remembered that Wei Guo had said yesterday that he wanted to knead the dough in the morning to make big pancakes that could be soaked in soup.
This way of eating reminded Bi Chunliu of a famous dish. Although he couldn't eat the real mutton soup with steamed buns, he might as well try a mutton soup with pancakes.
At seven o'clock, Bi Weiguo, Bi Xiahe and Bi Qiuguo all got up.
After washing up, Bi Qiuguo wiped his face roughly and squatted beside Xing Fei to watch his brother-in-law process the meat. Slurp~ these legs look so delicious!
Bi Chunliu came out of the kitchen and saw that there were still water droplets on Qiuguo's hair. He told Xia He to quickly take Qiuguo back to the house and wait for her to dry her face and apply some cold cream before squatting in the yard. "When your face gets chapped, you'll know how to cry out in pain!"
The simple breakfast was prepared quickly. Bi Chunliu simply made rice soup, heated up some multi-grain dumplings, took some chili sauce from the can and put it in a bowl, and stir-fried the pickled vegetables with some oil and green onions. After thinking for a while, he boiled five eggs, and breakfast was ready.
While Bi Chunliu was cooking, Bi Weiguo had already started kneading the dough. It was cold now, so in order to make the dough rise, he called Bi Xiahe. He planned to put the washbasin covered with a curtain and a layer of towel inside Xiahe's quilt. If the stove was not needed today, he would have left it there, but the dough would have risen more slowly.
Bi Qiuguo knew her second brother had made noodles, and when she saw him putting noodles in her third sister's bed, she had no problem saying anything and even volunteered to prepare a hot water bottle. She thought Bi Weiguo had smelly feet, and she didn't want to eat noodles that smelled like a foot-smelling bed!
It was only 8:30 after lunch, so the family of five took a break before preparing lunch. They marinated the ribs they wanted to roast, and for the soup, they used the lamb with the large bones, soaking it in water and then blanching it.
Before ten o'clock, Han Zhong and Han Kemei arrived. Han Zhong held his head high and showed Xing Fei the brand new black scarf his daughter had bought for him. Han Kemei herself was wearing a bright red scarf, and not only that, she also brought a red scarf that she said she would give to Bi Chunliu.
Bi Chunliu carefully washed her hands with soap, making sure they were completely free of oil, before trying the scarf on. The bright red color made her face look even more vibrant. It was so pretty! "Thank you, Xiaomei. I love it!"
Han Kemei smiled and shook her braids. "Sister-in-law, you're welcome." Then she turned to Bi Xiahe and Bi Qiuguo who were standing beside her with envy, "My classmate brought a lot of luggage this time. If you two like it, I'll ask him to bring one for you next time he goes to Shanghai."
Bi Qiuguo touched the scarf around her eldest sister's neck. It was so soft, like touching clouds in the sky. She asked the price and silently calculated whether she could wear a scarf like this next winter. After calculating, she thought it should be about the same. She agreed, "Okay, Xiaomei, my third sister and I will save money first and buy it next year."
"OK!"
Han Zhong didn't enter his daughter-in-law's room, and Xing Fei didn't want to rush his daughter-in-law, so Bi Weiguo went into the room and called out, "Sister, Sister Xiaomei, it's time to cook..."
Bi Chunliu folded the scarf and placed it on the table, and then several people went to the kitchen to continue working.
The mutton was already in the pot, the bamboo shoots and meat already sliced, leaving Bi Chunliu with nothing else to do. Because the dough hadn't risen yet, Bi Weiguo was also grilling. The kitchen couldn't accommodate seven people, so Han Kemei grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and called her sister-in-law and sisters to gather at the kitchen door to watch Xing Fei and Bi Weiguo grill.
The aroma of meat gradually filled the air, and Bi Qiuguo heard someone shouting, "Whose food is this?" and the sound of a child crying.
A few onlookers woke up from the aroma of meat and stopped watching the barbecue. They thought, "Silence is the way to make a fortune, and silence is the way to eat more meat." They were all afraid of the noisy, pointy-nosed children crying nearby, so they quickly asked Xing Fei and Bi Weiguo to close the windows and doors. Those who were not cooking went to the main room to warm themselves by the fire and eat melon seeds.
Bi Chunliu hesitated for a moment, and Bi Weiguo told her elder sister to go and talk without worry while he cooked the winter bamboo shoots and pork. Bi Chunliu then went to the main room.
"Dad, Chinese New Year is only one month away. Can we spend the New Year at my brother and sister-in-law's house this year?" Han Kemei spat out the melon seed shells stuck on her mouth. She wanted to have a good New Year this year.
When I was little, my dad cooked New Year's Eve dinner at home. They mostly ate a hodgepodge of stews: pork ribs with potato vermicelli, lamb with radish vermicelli, and pork with cabbage vermicelli. While meat tastes delicious when stewed with anything, eating the same thing year-round was boring. Later, when my brother and I grew up, they took over New Year's Eve dinner. I can only say they're decent cooks, better than my dad, but with so few people in the house, eating with my dad and older brother was pretty boring.
This year is the first year my sister-in-law got married. She has three younger brothers and sisters, so their family has grown to seven people. How fun it is to have dinner here! And if they come here, those uncles and the like won’t come to our house to ask Dad to drink at their house after the New Year. Dad always brings some gifts and gives out red envelopes every year. He gives out a lot of red envelopes, but these two old men are such bad guys that they didn’t even come to give money to my eldest brother’s wedding! Han Kemei thought bitterly that when she has a little niece and nephew, she will take them to their house and won’t go home until she receives red envelopes!
Han Zhong took a sip of tea and said, "You should ask your brother and your sister-in-law."
Bi Chunliu hadn't thought about where to eat during the New Year. She had originally thought she had to eat at Han's house, but now it was more convenient to eat at her own home. "I think it's okay, Dad, Xiaomei, let's eat here when the time comes."
"Okay!" Han Kemei smiled happily. "Sister-in-law, I can't do much else these days, but I'm pretty good at making fried meatballs. Let's prepare New Year's goods together! Oh, by the way, when I buy something, just send it here. I'll ask someone to buy some candy. Dad, how about we stay here for a few days?"
Han Zhong shook his head. "We'll talk about it later. You're just a random person."
"Okay, okay." Han Kemei saw that her father really didn't seem to mean that, so she didn't mention it anymore.
"Uncle Han, the meat is ready. Shall we eat? Big sister, the mutton soup is ready too. It tasted a little bland just now, so I added some salt." Bi Weiguo walked into the main room and reminded Bi Chunliu. He smacked his lips, savoring the taste. The soup was truly delicious... He finally understood why his master said fish and mutton were fresh. If there was any mutton left during the New Year's celebration, he would buy two fish and make a stew with them.
The family finally had dinner around twelve o'clock. Today they had not only roasted lamb but also roasted pork ribs, a dish of stir-fried pork with winter bamboo shoots, a dish of pickled cabbage, and lamb and radish soup with leavened flatbread.
Han Zhong nodded repeatedly as he ate it. This is exactly what it tastes like!
The soup was stewed in the largest pot in the house, ensuring everyone had enough to enjoy. Xing Fei and Bi Weiguo each had three bowls, while the others each had two. Han Zhong wanted to add another, but Xing Fei stopped him and snatched the bowl away. This old man tends to overeat when he gets something he likes, which is a bad habit.
Bi Chunliu caught a glimpse of her father-in-law secretly glaring at Xing Fei, and pursed her lips, trying hard not to smile.
No one in the family has the habit of taking a nap in winter, so they sat on stools and started discussing preparations for the New Year while digesting their food.
Celebrating the Spring Festival is a big event now. People can always satisfy various small wishes that are within their means during the Spring Festival, which they usually don’t want to eat or wear.
Bi Chunliu was thinking about the things at home. Today was an exception as he didn't save on meat, but he would definitely not eat like he did today in the next month. He would store the meat at home and buy some more before the New Year. That should be enough.
No need to buy Spring Festival couplets with the Chinese character "Fu" (Fu) on them. My father-in-law said we still have red paper at home. He has an old friend who writes very well, so we'll ask him when the time comes. Peanuts, candy, melon seeds, and the like will all need to be bought together. Xia He, Qiu Guo, and Xiao Meibing, should split up and go get them. Or should I ask Xiao Yue and Fang Yuanyuan? Fang Yuanyuan and I contact each other twice a month about the chili sauce, so asking her to buy some candy or something should be easy, right? Xing Fei will buy the firecrackers and other things.
Clothes… Clothes are a problem. I don’t know how to make them myself, especially winter clothes. There’s only one way, buy them, but it’s too expensive. Sigh…
Han Kemei continued, "Sister-in-law, why don't you ask someone to make clothes for you? In previous years, we asked Aunt Fang to make our clothes. Aunt Fang is the sister-in-law of Aunt Tang who cooks for Dad."
"Is that possible?" Bi Chunliu asked happily. If she could finally figure out making new clothes, she wouldn't have to worry about anything. With five people in her family, Xing Fei and she were at the level where they could sew simple sack-style clothes for themselves. Last time, she'd spent quite a while just making a single piece of underwear. Qiu Guo and Wei Guo weren't even that good; they could actually sew a seam together. Xia He was the best, but she was still a bit better than she and Xing Fei. The key was that she couldn't be asked to make a cotton-padded jacket for a little girl; it was a bit too much.
Han Zhong also agreed, "Sister Tang's craftsmanship is good. Xiaomei used to give her one dollar for three pieces of clothing. You work in a textile factory. If you can give her defective cloth, she will definitely be happier than receiving money."
"Okay! Xiaomei, then please help me contact Aunt Fang. I will ask the people in the warehouse when I go to work tomorrow. I will let Aunt Fang know for sure then!" She was ready to grit her teeth and make new clothes for everyone in her family. She still had some defective cloth at home from last time, and she had to ask the factory how much was left. If she didn't have enough cloth to make clothes at home, then she would have to pay for it.
After discussing the New Year's goods, Bi Chunliu felt relieved and started to prepare according to his own ideas.
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