With only five days left until Chinese New Year, Bai Jiaojiao made the shrimp crisps, which were even more fragrant, sweeter, and crispier than the peanut crisps sold by the supply and marketing cooperative.
Wang Fushun tried one and exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, you're amazing! I'm impressed. How did you figure this out? How did you even make this glutinous rice paper?"
Bai Jiaojiao smiled and took out the couplet she had given to Wang Fushun from inside the house: "Can you make money without a skill? And this is for the New Year."
"May the five blessings descend upon your home, bringing prosperity for a thousand autumns; may treasures flow in from all directions, ensuring lasting fortune for ten thousand generations. Sister-in-law, these words are so wonderful!"
Wang Fushun opened it and looked at it, grinning from ear to ear. Then he saw the horizontal scroll: "Auspicious and Joyful Year".
Those of them who run businesses are all looking for wealth coming from all directions, so these Spring Festival couplets really hit the nail on the head for Wang Fushun.
"I'm glad you like it."
"I love it so much! Sister-in-law, you really are a high school student. I'll definitely put your handwriting on the front door. It's so impressive."
Wang Fushun knows a lot of people, but he doesn't know many cultured people.
These days, nobody with a bit of education would even look at him. The couplets in Wang Fushun's house, like those of everyone else in the village, were written by one of the village's intellectuals.
If Bai Jiaojiao takes this couplet back, it will surely outshine all the neighbors' Spring Festival couplets.
"It's nothing to mention. There are still two 'Fu' characters left, don't take them away."
"Hey, I'm keeping it safe and sound, I can't bear to lose it!"
Wang Fushun went back happily. No wonder he liked coming to his brother Heng's place. He always thought of him when there was good news, and he was much more reliable than his own brother.
Bai Jiaojiao asked Shen Heng to deliver the other couplets to the homes of those who were to receive them. Everyone who received the couplets was overjoyed, including Zheng Xu, who usually helped people write couplets.
After receiving them, Old Xu couldn't bear to paste both "Fu" characters all over his house. He pasted one on the door and took the other to the pigsty.
Now everyone in Shili Village knows that Bai Jiaojiao writes beautiful Spring Festival couplets. Who wouldn't want to have a grand and prosperous New Year? They all line up with red paper and come to ask Bai Jiaojiao to help them write couplets.
But with so many households in Shili Village, how could Bai Jiaojiao possibly write all the couplets and the "Fu" characters that each person wanted?
Most importantly, Bai Jiaojiao has to make pastries during the day, and the smell of oil and sugar can't be contained. She doesn't want her doorstep to be constantly crowded with customers.
Therefore, Shen Heng was chosen to play the villain.
With such a formidable figure as Shen Heng standing guard at the entrance, no one dared to come.
There are many rules for celebrating the Lunar New Year. Although people don't have much money, they still follow the rules.
On the day of the big cleaning, since it was a new house and there wasn't much old dust, the two went to the thatched hut next door where they used to live and tidied up the odds and ends that hadn't been moved there before.
"How about we build a sheep pen here, Heng-ge? We can raise two ewes and milk them next year."
“Okay, but you have to raise males. If you don’t have lambs, where will you get goat milk?”
Milk is hard to come by these days. If we could raise a sheep and get some milk, Bai Jiaojiao could drink it whenever she wanted. Shen Heng thought this was a good thing, since it was just a matter of him going up the mountain to cut a couple more sickles of grass after work.
Bai Jiaojiao said, "Then let's raise one male and one female. When they have lambs, we'll raise them to adulthood, slaughter the adult one, and cook it in a hot pot."
Although it is now allowed to keep livestock at home, it is not allowed to exceed the limit. You can't keep as many as you want, otherwise someone will come and cut off your tail.
"I'll do whatever you say."
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