It was not until the next day, when chatting with his sisters-in-law, that Jiang Chunzao belatedly remembered from them that mutton is not only good for the body, but also for the kidneys.
No wonder someone was so energetic last night. Jiang Chunzao's face turned red, but he pretended he heard nothing and continued chatting and laughing with his sisters-in-law.
The 27th was already here. During these days, the families in the military district were all happy. Every household was preparing for the New Year, some were buying rice, some were stuffing sausages, and the New Year gifts from the troops were about to arrive.
Jiang Chunzao, with a bulging belly and carrying a military bag, went to the county with Mrs. Zhao and her children to buy things for the New Year. This year was the first time that the Lu family celebrated the New Year in the military area.
Lu Lin came home to discuss with his young wife, and the couple both felt that they should celebrate the New Year well this year. They should set off firecrackers at home, buy beautiful fireworks for Shitou and Moli, and the army should provide rice, flour, pork, etc.
Lu Lin bought all the firecrackers and fireworks for the New Year, while Jiang Chunzao was responsible for buying new clothes for the two children, as well as snacks and candies for the family.
These are all light tasks. Jiang Chunzao has been stuck at home all day with her baby in her arms, and she wants to get some fresh air. Besides, she needs to exercise more while carrying a baby.
That day, Jiang Chunzao took the two children to walk around the county for most of the day. He bought Shitou's favorite wooden gun, and bought Moli a beautiful red head flower, picture books, and nice new clothes and shoes. The two children were very happy and they held the newly bought toys happily all the way and refused to let go.
On the 28th, Lu Lin returned home early, which was rare. When he entered the house, Jiang Chunzao was taking his two children home to steam buns for the New Year. When they saw Captain Lu coming in with a lot of bags, they exclaimed in surprise and asked why he came back so early today.
Because it was almost the New Year, Lu Lin was a little different than usual. After hearing what his young wife said, a smile appeared on his stern face:
"The troops held a commendation meeting today, and the troops' annual gift was also given together with the annual leave."
This is good news. The troops are on holiday and have received New Year gifts. From now on, someone will do the housework.
Jiang Chunzao was very happy. She never expected that Captain Lu worked all day and did not neglect the housework. On the contrary, she spent the whole winter either sleeping soundly at home or lying on the warm kang eating and drinking.
Apart from other things, the welfare benefits distributed by Captain Lu during the New Year were really generous. When Jiang Chunzao was about to go to bed at night, he took a look and his eyes almost popped out. There were 30 kilograms of flour, 10 kilograms of peanut oil, 10 kilograms of frozen shrimps, most of a pork, two ceramic cups, two new washbasins, as well as soap coupons and sugar coupons.
What made Jiang Chunzao most happy was that this New Year's gift included two ceramic cups and two new washbasins. The cups and washbasins in the house were bought when they got married. After using them for many years, the porcelain on the cups has peeled, and the washbasins have been repaired several times. The stones and jasmine in the house have grown up, and it is time to use the washbasins separately.
Jiang Chunzao wanted to buy a new washbasin just now. Now he has a new washbasin and cups at home and he doesn’t have to worry anymore.
Seeing his young wife's happy look, Lu Lin's black eyes were also filled with smiles. The couple tidied up and lay down to rest.
On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, there was a market in the nearby village. Lu Lin, who had a day off, changed into casual clothes and took the children to the market to buy firecrackers and fireworks for the New Year. Before the three grandfathers left, Jiang Chunzao gave Lu Lin twenty yuan and told him to buy some roasted sweet potatoes and candied haws for the children at the market, as it was New Year's Day and the children would definitely want to eat something new.
Lu Lin nodded in agreement and took the two kids out.
Jiang Chunzao watched his grandfather and his three children leave the house, then went back to the house to continue taking care of household chores. The New Year was approaching, and there were a lot of things to do at home. He had to hurry to do a thorough cleaning and cut out New Year's window paper-cuts. In previous years, when he celebrated the New Year in his hometown, he would paste Spring Festival couplets on the front door.
Jiang Chunzao thought about it, packed some eggs from home, went to Mrs. Zhao's house, and left with the money to go to the home of Minister Chen of the military region. Minister Chen's sister-in-law was an excellent calligrapher. Every year during the New Year in the military region, the family members would ask Mrs. Chen to help write Spring Festival couplets.
The Spring Festival couplets written by Mrs. Chen were indeed beautiful. Seeing that the girl was pregnant, the skillful Mrs. Chen also helped to cut window paper-cuts for the New Year.
Jiang Chunzao looked at the vivid window paper-cuts in front of her, and felt bad when she saw that Mrs. Chen refused to take her money. She went home and cut a few feet of homespun cloth and brought it to Mrs. Chen, looking for her two children.
Mrs. Chen liked it very much and accepted it without any hesitation.
Jiang Chunzao took the Spring Festival couplets and window decorations home and waited for Lu Lin and the children to come back in the afternoon. The family of four then tidied up and cleaned the house. They were busy for the whole afternoon, washing and rinsing, and finally cleaned the house.
On New Year's Eve, all the New Year's work is done, and today is a day to enjoy. The two children, Shitou and Jasmine, play to their heart's content at home and eat candies and snacks to their heart's content. Usually, Jiang Chunzao thinks about the two children's teeth and does not allow them to eat too much candies and snacks.
The New Year is almost here, so let’s not restrict the two kids today.
After lunch, Jiang Chunzao and Lu Lin washed their hands and started making bread dumplings. This year on New Year’s Eve, Jiang Chunzao was determined to prepare a sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner.
Apart from anything else, this year she prepared two kinds of fillings for the dumplings for the night watch, one with pork and the other with mutton. She also took out two frozen fishes that Lu Lin had given her and stewed them for the kids at home. She also found time to make a pot of braised pork and asked Lu Lin to wash the rice and steam it.
The children at home and Lu Lin all like to eat white rice, so during the Chinese New Year, let these three of them have enough to eat!
Jiang Chunzao was in high spirits, busying around the house, not feeling tired at all. Firstly, she was really happy because the New Year was coming, and secondly, Lu Lin helped with most of the housework, so she was really relaxed. When people are relaxed, they are naturally in a good mood. When it was time to make dumplings, Jiang Chunzao took out a few coins from home, wrapped them in the dumplings, and waited to eat them later to see which of the children would get to eat the dumplings wrapped with coins.
When it was time for the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening, Jiang Chunzao made a few more notes, and added the braised pork, stewed fish, mutton dumplings and pork dumplings from before, filling the table. Lu Lin ate with big mouthfuls, and even Shitou and Moli's two children had their mouths full.
Jiang Chunzao was very happy to see that the whole family was eating so happily.
While the Lu family was having a warm New Year's Eve dinner, Fang Man had a big fight with her grandmother at home over whether to have meat dumplings for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Although everyone's life is not easy these days, it is the New Year now, and the families of the military district all eat the army's meals, so their lives are somewhat better than those of ordinary people. During the New Year, the families of the military district will make meat dumplings for their children at home to satisfy their hunger.
But old lady Fang Man was an old woman from the old society. In her mind, it was good enough to have a meal of white flour vegetarian dumplings during the New Year. Why would she eat those expensive meat-filled dumplings?
I’m not a rich landlord, why should I eat meat-filled dumplings?
So even though old lady Fang Man knew that her daughter-in-law was very fond of meat, she still made a meal of vegetarian dumplings on New Year's Eve.
Fang Man slept on the kang for most of the day with her big belly. When the dumplings were out of the pot on New Year's Eve, her husband came to call her to eat. After she left the house with her big belly, he sat down on a stool and started eating dumplings without caring about his mother-in-law's ugly old face.
Who would have known that she would spit out the dumpling after taking a bite. Fang Man's behavior was very uncultured, not to mention in the city, even in the countryside. But Fang Man didn't think so. She was brought up like this by Old Lady Fang since she was a child. If there was something she didn't want to eat, she would make a noise at home.
When she was at Captain Fang's house before, Fang Man would spit and curse at Sister Fang whenever the food cooked by Sister Fang was not to her liking. Sister Fang had endured it for so many years at the Fang family, but later on, when she couldn't endure it anymore, Captain Fang kicked Fang Man out.
Although Fang Man had Captain Fang sweep the fields and send him out of the house, she couldn't change the habits she had developed. Ever since she got married, she and her old woman had been either scolding or beating each other all day long.
Fang Man's husband is stuck between his wife and his mother like a bellows all day long, and he must be feeling extremely uncomfortable.
But Fang Man still looked down on her husband. Before eating dumplings this time, she told Mrs. Fang several times that the old woman in her family was a landlord's wife in the old society, and the food at home was the same as that of the farmhands in the old society, eating sweet potato dumplings and sweet potato porridge all day long, which made her unable to defecate.
When Old Lady Fang heard this, she felt so distressed. She was a good girl who had never suffered a hard life at home since she was a child. Now that she was married, how could she have to eat such crappy food all day long?
Mrs. Fang immediately found an opportunity to go to her daughter's in-laws' house and scold Fang Man's husband. Fang Man's husband was scolded so badly by his mother-in-law that he could not even lift his head. When he returned home, he told his mother to improve the family's food.
When old lady Fang Man heard this, her face drooped and she pointed at her son's nose and started scolding him again. Fang Man's husband was in a difficult position.
Look, today is New Year's Eve. Old Mrs. Fang Man saw Fang Man lying at home all day doing nothing, so she started muttering at home, "What kind of person did this family marry? She's just an old sow that can be slaughtered and sold for meat and money!"
What can Fang Man do? Besides getting pregnant and giving birth to a baby!
Old lady Fang Man was already angry, and now when she saw Fang Man spit out the dumplings she had worked so hard to make, she became even more furious and started cursing at Fang Man.
"What! What!
What are you doing! What's wrong? Why don't you eat the good white flour dumplings? What do you want to eat? It's just that you are pregnant with a piglet. What's wrong? You are so precious just because you are pregnant! Bullshit!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
