Dong Qing was clearing snow off the windshield of a car. The car had been parked in the yard for too long, and the snow on the windshield had frozen over, making it impossible to remove.
He went back to the villa, filled a basin with hot water, carried the basin back to the car, and used the hot water to melt the ice and snow on the windshield. He quickly wiped the ice and snow off the windshield and then dried it with a towel.
Clean it up, then get in the car and start the engine.
My father-in-law said from outside the car, "The road is too slippery, drive slowly."
Dongqing said, "It's alright, it's only three miles from home, I'll be home in no time."
After Dong Qing finished speaking, he started the car and drove out of the villa courtyard.
After his father had just cleared the snow from the yard, Dongqing could easily drive the car onto the road.
Once on the road, things became unmanageable; the road was extremely slippery, and Dongqing could only drive slowly in low gear with light throttle.
The journey of three miles took Dongqing more than twenty minutes to complete; the car was slower than a person walking.
Dong Qing parked the car outside the gate, opened the gate and the door to the house, and Li Yuzhu first brought the three children into the house.
The snow was so deep in the yard that the car couldn't get in. Just then, the three older sisters heard that they had returned and came to the house with their brothers-in-law to help them clear the snow from the yard. Dongqing then drove the car into the yard.
The restaurant had a huge pot of mutton soup that would have gone bad by the time it opened next year. Dongqing bought a few plastic jugs and brought back a jug of mutton soup for each of his three older sisters, and he also brought back a jug for himself.
Li Yuzhu opened the trunk and said, "The pots are full of delicious mutton soup. Each of you should take a pot home."
I brought back some cooked mutton from my parents' house; everyone's coming over for mutton soup tonight.
Dong Ermei laughed and said, "Okay, the three families will have dinner here tonight."
Each family gave them a piece of cooked mutton, and the three families took the mutton and a pot of mutton soup home.
Li Yuzhu took a pair of fire tongs and went into her third sister's house. Her third sister's child was too young, so she kept the coal briquettes in the room for warmth. She used the fire tongs to take a piece of coal briquettes from the stove and went back to light her own fire.
Li Yuzhu used tongs to carry the burning coal briquettes back home, went into the kitchen, put the fire into the coal stove, and then pressed down two raw coal briquettes.
Li Yuzhu called Fang Lin on the internal phone and asked her to come over for dinner that evening. Fang Lin replied, "Okay, I'll be right there."
It takes a while for the two briquettes to get the fire going, then we'll start preparing the ingredients for dinner.
Several of my older sisters came over for dinner that evening. Since we couldn't just let them drink mutton soup, Dongqing went into the kitchen and prepared nine dishes to go with the drinks.
After dinner was ready, Dongqing invited his three older sisters and their families to his house for dinner. Fang Lin also arrived at that time.
Dong Damei and Dong Ermei brought over freshly made raw dumplings.
Several families gathered together, creating a lively atmosphere; there were more than a dozen people, including adults and children.
Dong Qing first brought the prepared food to the table, then went back to the kitchen to cook the dumplings. After the dumplings were cooked, he scooped them into a bowl and placed it on the table.
He said, "You all eat first, I'll go to the kitchen to make mutton soup."
Li Yuzhu said, "You sit down and eat, I'll do it."
Li Yuzhu isn't very good at cooking several dishes, and there's really not much to make with mutton soup; mutton soup is readily available. Just pour it into a pot, bring it to a boil, and add the broth.
Li Yuzhu went into the kitchen, put the pot on the fire, and poured the mutton soup from the kettle into the pot.
Then cut the cooked lamb on the cutting board, and then chop the scallions and cilantro.
After completing these tasks, the mutton soup in the pot boiled.
Place the chopped mutton, chopped green onions, cilantro, and chili oil in a bowl, add MSG, and then pour in the mutton broth with a spoon.
Li Yuzhu brought the prepared mutton soup to the table. Dong Ermei took a sip and said, "The mutton soup I make at home is just as delicious as the soup in the restaurant."
Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "It's mutton soup brought back from the shop. Whether mutton soup is good or not depends entirely on the broth. The mutton soup brought back from the shop is made from whole muttons, how could it not be delicious? The restaurant has plenty of broth in its big pot. After you finish your soup, bring the pot back to me, and I'll bring some home for you after the New Year."
The meal lasted a long time, and the families gradually dispersed after finishing.
Now only Fang Lin was left at home. Li Yuzhu asked, "Sister Fang Lin, it's not good that you don't go back to your hometown every year. Aren't you afraid that your father will worry about you at home?"
With tears in her eyes, Fang Lin said, "I haven't been home for four years. I really want to go back, but I'm also afraid to go back!"
Dongqing said, "It's not possible before the New Year. Let's go home after the New Year, at least so your father knows you're still alive."
Fang Lin burst into tears upon hearing this. She hadn't been home for years, and she couldn't believe she didn't miss it. After crying for a while, she stopped and said, "I really want to go home. I'll go to the train station to buy a ticket right now."
Dongqing knew that her heart was already flying home, and the Spring Festival was the time when she missed home and her family the most.
Dongqing said, "Trains are too slow these days. You'll have to spend the New Year on the train to get home now."
Fang Lin said, "I don't care where I spend the New Year. I really want to go home and see my father whom I haven't seen for four years."
Dongqing said, "Train tickets shouldn't be in short supply at this time. I'll call Yuqiu and ask her to go to the train station to see if there are any tickets available. If there are, I'll buy you a ticket. Go back and pack your luggage first. I'll call you when I get the ticket, and I'll take you to the train station."
In those days, green-skinned trains were the main mode of transportation for ordinary people to travel long distances. Long-distance train tickets were quite expensive, so most people chose to take the train home for the Spring Festival. Therefore, it was very difficult to buy train tickets every Spring Festival.
However, having already missed the Spring Festival travel rush by the 29th of the lunar year, Dong Qing believes he should be able to buy a train ticket today.
Li Yuzhu said, "Go back and answer the phone first. I'll make you some mutton soup and put it in a thermos to take with you. Drinking some soup will warm you up whenever you get hungry."
Fang Lin said thank you and went home to pack her luggage.
After Fang Lin left, Li Yuzhu went into the kitchen, chopped some scallions and cilantro, and cut some mutton.
Put all the ingredients into a thermos. Fang Lin loves spicy food, so I added extra chili oil and MSG.
You can't add the soup yet. Once Fang Lin's itinerary is finalized, she can boil the mutton soup and add it before she leaves.
Soon after, Li Yuqiu called to say that the train tickets had been booked for 3:00 AM.
Dong Qing called Fang Lin and told her to sleep at home, promising to come to her house at 1:30 a.m. to take her to the train station.
After finishing the call, Dong Qing said, "Yu Zhu, I'm going out to buy some food for Fang Lin. You won't be able to buy anything at the train station later tonight."
Li Yuzhu said, "Go ahead!"
Dong Qing walked out onto the street, but there was no business in such cold weather; the shops had already closed.
Dongqing called for a long time before the door opened. The shop owner said, "Oh, it's you! Coming to buy something so late?"
Almost every shop owner in the area knows Dong Qing. He said, "My friend is taking the train back to her hometown later tonight, so I'm buying her some food to eat on the train."
Dongqing bought Fanglin a box of instant noodles and a box of ham sausages. These were the only things she could eat on the train, and it was convenient to have hot water in the train to make instant noodles.
Dongqing carried two boxes of things back home. It was still early, so he set his alarm for 1 a.m.
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