Everyone here knows Dong Qing. Su Wei's younger brothers and nephews stopped the tricycle, but they couldn't do anything to Dong Qing.
A young man asked, "Aunt Su Wei, where is my uncle?"
Su Wei smiled and said, "You guys wait here, your uncle will be here on his bicycle in a bit."
No one would believe Su Wei's words. From any perspective, Dong Qing would never bring her to her parents' home for the festival. Only a fool would believe her. He said, "What are we waiting for? We'll definitely be there in a sedan chair."
Dong Qing smiled and pulled out a few packs of cigarettes from his pocket, handing them to the young men and saying, "Hey guys, let me through, or I'll leave your aunt here and you'll have to take her home yourself."
The men took the cigarettes and said "please." Even without the cigarettes, they would have let them pass; they really couldn't do anything to Dong Qing.
Of course, there was also a barrier at Su Wei's house. The gate was wide open, and Li Yuzhu drove the car directly into the yard, so Chen Hong escaped this ordeal.
They sat at home for a while, and Dongqing said, "Don't eat here anymore. It'll be hard to escape after you finish eating. Your stubborn personality won't be able to handle this. Nobody will expect you to leave at this time. Get in the car and come with me to Yusheng's grandma's house for dinner. After dinner, we'll go back to the city together."
Su Wei didn't want to see her husband treated like a plaything, so she said, "Fine, you guys go ahead. Just leave the tricycle at home for now, and ride it back after the holiday. I'll walk there later; we're having lunch at your parents' house today."
Li Yuzhu said, "Okay, we'll go over there and wait for you at home."
The three of them went downstairs and got into the car. Chen Hong was still lying on the back seat, Li Yuzhu was sitting in the front passenger seat, and the three children sat next to Chen Hong. Dong Qing started the car and drove out the gate.
By this time, the people had dispersed, and the car could easily drive out of the village.
Dong Qing did not drive directly to his father-in-law's house. Instead, he drove to the outskirts of the village and turned onto another road to head towards his father-in-law's house.
Few people in Su Village know that Li Yuzhu's family lives here, and no one in Su Village would come here. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to cause trouble here. Chen Hong is safe now that he's here.
Dong Qing drove the car directly into the yard, and the couple and Chen Hong got out of the car together.
The family came out of the villa when they heard the sound of a car engine.
The three of them got out of the car. Li Yuqiu and her brother picked up their two nieces, while their mother picked up her grandson.
Chen Hong had visited our home several times before; he was practically a regular. He smiled and said, "Uncle, Auntie, Happy New Year!"
Li Yuzhu's father said, "Okay!"
They greeted each other, and Dongqing and Chen Hong, carrying gifts, followed the family into the living room.
If only Li Yuzhu and her husband bring their child to visit her parents' home for the festival, they can cook a big pot of dishes. Dong Qing is considered an old son-in-law, so there aren't many formalities.
Chen Hong and his wife also ate lunch at home today, so lunch couldn't be too simple.
Li Yuzhu went into the kitchen to help her mother cook, while Dong Qing and Chen Hong sat in the living room talking with their father-in-law.
Before Li Yuzhu got married, she often helped her mother cook. Her younger sister, Li Yuqiu, rarely went into the kitchen to cook because she didn't know how. Even after Li Yuzhu got married for several years, she was still like that. Her mother never forced her to go into the kitchen to learn to cook.
The mother and daughter went into the kitchen, and the mother asked, "How many dishes are you going to make?"
Li Yuzhu said, "Su Wei will be coming over for dinner later, so please make nine cold dishes, and a few hot dishes as well. I'm not very good at cooking, so I'll go out and ask Yusheng's dad to come in and help you."
Li Yuzhu, who has been a daughter for so long, can only cook simple home-cooked meals. She really can't cook a table full of appetizers, and her mother is even less capable.
After Li Yuzhu finished speaking, she walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, saying, "Dongqing, could you go to the kitchen and help Mom cook a few dishes?"
Chen Hong said, "Su Wei and I aren't outsiders, we can just cook a big pot of food, there's really no need to go to all that trouble."
That being said, Dongqing couldn't let the couple eat communal meals, so he smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about it, I'll go to the kitchen and cook."
After Dong Qing finished speaking, he went into the kitchen and looked at the ingredients. They were too simple. There was nothing but meat. There was braised meat and raw meat. With such simple ingredients, let alone nine dishes, six cold dishes could not be made. They could not make all of them into vegetarian dishes, could they?
In those days, people in rural areas would buy a lot of meat for the New Year. If they had chickens at home, they would kill a couple of them. They didn't buy beef, fish, or mutton at all.
In the 1970s and 80s, this was how it was in rural areas during the Spring Festival. A family of more than ten people would buy five or six catties of pork and more than ten catties of tofu to celebrate the New Year.
Dong Qing was surprised to find that his mother-in-law, who had moved to the city more than a year ago, still followed the old customs for celebrating the New Year. Even though the family was not short of money, they were still so frugal.
If it's Dong Qing and his wife coming over for dinner, we can just cook a few dishes casually. But can we do that with Chen Hong and his wife?
Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, and a master chef can't prepare a feast without ingredients. My wife asked me to make nine cold dishes, but I only have meat. How can I make nine cold dishes? And what should I use to make the hot dishes?
Dong Qing walked to the kitchen door and said, "Yu Zhu, come here for a moment."
Li Yuzhu quickly entered the kitchen and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with? You don't need me to help you cook a few dishes, do you?"
Dongqing said, "Our mother only bought some pork before the New Year. Hurry and drive home to bring some of our groceries."
Li Yuzhu was unaware that her mother had only bought some pork for the New Year. She said, "Mom, our family doesn't lack money to buy fish, beef, or mutton these days, so why haven't the old New Year traditions changed at all?"
My mother said, "Isn't this how our family celebrates every year? Who knew Chen Hong and his wife would come over for dinner?"
After listening to her mother's words, Li Yuzhu shook her head without saying anything more, turned around, walked out of the kitchen, went to the yard, and drove home.
After my wife left, all I could do for the time being was whatever was available at home.
There were ready-made dried bean curd sticks and black fungus, so Dongqing asked his mother-in-law to wash the vegetables. He sliced the raw pork and braised pork and set them aside. Then he cut the vegetables that his mother-in-law had washed into sections, put them into the pot to blanch after the water boiled, and set them aside.
Just as Dong Qing finished preparing the available ingredients, Li Yuzhu brought them back from home and carried them into the kitchen. She handed them to her husband and said, "Mom, you go out and rest for a while. Dong Qing and I will cook."
Knowing she couldn't be of much help here, the mother turned and walked out of the kitchen.
With ingredients, cooking becomes much easier. Li Yuzhu brought green and red peppers, mushrooms, and cucumbers from home, along with fish, shrimp, beef, donkey meat, mutton, pig intestines, and pig ears.
Li Yuzhu sliced the ingredients on the cutting board, and Dong Qing prepared a stir-fry.
Suddenly, I heard someone at the kitchen doorway say, "You didn't need to go to all this trouble, did you?"
The couple turned around and looked towards the kitchen doorway when they heard the voice. Su Wei, heavily pregnant, stood in the doorway with a beaming smile on her face.
Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "It didn't take much. I'll just go to the living room and chat with my mother for a bit, and dinner will be ready in no time."
Su Wei, heavily pregnant, couldn't offer much help here, so she chatted with Li Yuzhu for a bit before heading to the living room.
Dongqing said, "Yuzhu, can you make me some minced garlic?"
As the saying goes, the flavor is halved without garlic, and cold meat dishes cannot be without garlic.
Li Yuzhu said okay and started peeling garlic.
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