Chapter 46 New Year
"Lin Qiu, come and take a look, is it straightened?"
After lunch, Wang Xiuren took out the Spring Festival couplets he had reserved in advance and gestured at the door.
Lin Qiu was stewing braised pork, and came out with a spatula and said, "A little bit to the right, no, a little bit to the left."
Wang Shan followed behind and imitated him: "To the right, to the left."
"You little rascal! You're always looking for trouble!"
Lin Qiu gently pinched her daughter's nose and said in a scolding tone.
The family was busy, and Master Wang from next door opened the door, "Hey, Xiao Wang, you are putting up Spring Festival couplets so early? We in Sichuan Province put them up tonight or tomorrow morning."
Master Wang is a chef at a Sichuan restaurant. His wife is a waitress there. They live opposite Wang Xiuren with their mother and a boy in his early teens.
Wang Xiuren smiled and replied: "This is the custom in our hometown."
The land and water nurture the people. China is so big that the customs and habits of every place are different.
"Since my family is the first to post Spring Festival couplets, I will be the first to seek good luck. I wish Master Wang and his family all the best and happiness for the whole family!" After Wang Xiuren posted the Spring Festival couplets, he bowed to Master Wang.
This was a nice remark. After hearing it, Master Wang said politely, "I made some pork shanks. I'll have my boy serve it to you later. I have to rush to the restaurant, so I won't chat with you any more!"
"It seems like our family is in for a treat today! Master Wang, if you have something to do, go and do it first."
There are three families living on one floor. Usually, they are busy with their own things and just nod and say hello when they meet. But today, they all got together to socialize and pass food to each other.
Lin Qiu cooked his best dish, crispy pork, and brought it to the table as soon as it came out of the pot: "Xiu Ren, take the crispy pork to Master Wang and Aunt Liu's house."
Aunt Liu lives in another household on this floor. She comes out to work with her son and daughter-in-law, helping with cleaning at the mold factory where her son works.
"I'm going too! I'm going too!"
Wang Shan followed her father in and out of the house like a little follower.
The child's voice was crisp, and Lin Qiu couldn't help but smile when he saw his daughter's lively and lovely appearance.
When she smiled, Wang Xiuren's mouth corners curled up, and the next second he grimaced because of the heat.
"You're stupid! The crispy pork is very hot right out of the pan." Lin Qiu patted his shoulder.
Wang Xiuren frowned and said nothing, but Wang Shan was secretly laughing at the side, watching her tall father being criticized by her mother.
Lin Qiu couldn't help laughing, as if once the New Year came, all worries disappeared and everything could make people laugh.
"Go quickly!" Lin Qiu urged.
Wang Xiuren used a small wooden board as a tray and delivered two bowls of crispy meat to his neighbor's house, in exchange for a bowl of sand pork and a bowl of stuffed mushrooms.
Wang Shan followed happily behind with her pockets filled with candies.
Hearing the sound of firecrackers downstairs, Wang Xiuren put two bowls of food on the table and said, "I bought some firecrackers too!"
In the past, when Lin Qiu was at home, he would set off fireworks with Lin Ping and his niece. Thinking of this, his face became a little sad. After all, on this day of family reunion, he would always unconsciously think of his blood-related relatives.
She sighed softly, "It must be very cold in the house now!"
Wang Xiuren also looked into the distance through the window, as if he could see his hometown through this window.
“Maybe it’s snowing already!”
Hunan Province is not like Pengcheng. The winter is wet and cold, and the chill seems to penetrate into the bones. The winter in Pengcheng is very short and the temperature is not low. You only need to wear two pieces of clothing now.
Lin Qiu wore a long-sleeved cotton shirt inside and a thin red cashmere sweater outside today - this was what Lin Qiu bought at cost price in a store on the pedestrian street with great effort the night before. The owner was going back to the north to celebrate the New Year and was anxious to clear out the last batch of clothes, so Lin Qiu got a bargain.
It is important to wear something festive during the Chinese New Year. Wang Shan wore the red sweater knitted by Zhang Guixiang, and Wang Xiuren also wore a maroon sweetheart collar sweater.
Fortunately, he has been working indoors all year this year, so his face has not been tanned, and this sweater makes his tall and big figure look much softer.
The family of three was dressed in red and preparing for the New Year.
There were still a few Spring Festival decorations left that had not been sold, so Wang Xiuren took Wang Shan to paste window flowers on every window and pasted a big red word "Fu" on the door. He also tied a few ropes in the living room and picked up Wang Shan to hang small lanterns and small Chinese knots on them.
Lin Qiu took the "Chinese Cooking" he brought back from the newsstand and studied it carefully, hoping to add some novelty to the New Year's Eve dinner.
The braised pork I stewed today is what I learned above. Its full name seems to be Dongpo pork.
Wang Xiuren saw that she was concentrating on reading the magazine and advised: "There are already a lot of dishes, it's enough if you don't cook!"
After all, there are only three people in the family and no refrigerator, so four or five dishes are already very rich.
Lin Qiu went over the dishes in his mind, thought about it, and felt that what Wang Xiuren said was right, "Then I will stir-fry some greens when the time comes."
Looking at the sun outside, Lin Qiu felt a little excited. "Go out for a walk?"
There were still quite a lot of people on the street, most of them locals, and there were many adults and children surrounding the stalls selling fireworks and firecrackers.
Lin Qiu pulled Wang Shan over and pointed at a bunch of steel wool fireworks and asked, "Boss, how much do you sell this for?"
Steel wool fireworks are what people later called fairy wands. In the past two years, Wang Shan was too young to play with any of them. This year she is older, and we can’t let her just watch others play.
"Ten for two cents!"
"Give me two dollars!"
Two dollars means one hundred sticks, and she wanted her daughter to have as many as she wanted.
The two of them have made a lot of money this year, and the family is now quite well off, so they are happy to spend some money to let their daughter have fun.
"Boss, do you have any other fireworks? Ones that a three-year-old child can play with?" Wang Xiuren also asked.
When the boss heard this, he was very enthusiastic, "Firecrackers, colored bead tubes, and sparklers are all suitable!"
"Then two boxes of each!"
"Okay!"
The boss happily put the fireworks into a plastic bag and said, "Fifteen dollars in total!"
Fifteen dollars is really a lot. If I hadn't made a lot of money this year, I wouldn't be willing to spend it like this.
Wang Xiuren paid generously, which made the children around him envious. They gathered together and whispered, "Other people's fathers are so generous! My father is too stingy!"
Wang Shan heard it, raised her chin proudly, and held Wang Xiuren's hand, "My dad is the best!"
The sound was so loud that the adults around couldn't help but laugh.
Lin Qiu also laughed out loud, "Your father has made you proud this time."
Wang Shan didn't understand what long face meant, but she smiled anyway, her big eyes curved into crescents.
The three of them continued strolling along the street, and only went home with the fireworks when they had almost digested their food.
The corridor was filled with all kinds of tempting aromas, stewed meat, fried fish, Lin Qiu even smelled seafood.
Sure enough, as soon as the Chinese New Year comes, every household is willing to spend a lot of money on food and drink.
"How are we going to eat the shrimps? Stir-fry or blanch?" Lin Qiu turned around and looked at Wang Xiuren.
"Just blanch it!"
Boil the water, put two slices of ginger in it, add some cooking wine, throw the shrimps in, and take them out when they turn red. It's very simple.
Wang Xiuren saw Lin Qiu making this dish before, so he asked, "Shall I make shrimp this time?"
"That's fine!"
Lin Qiu agreed readily.
After returning home, they didn't sit for long and went into the kitchen together.
Wang Xiuren was busy removing the heads and deveining the shrimps, while Lin Qiu was heating and steaming the prepared dishes.
Wang Shan also received the task of peeling garlic, which will be used when stir-frying vegetables later.
When the lights came on, like every other family, Wang Xiuren and his family of three sat around the dining table wearing new clothes.
On the small dining table were placed meat with sand filling, meat stuffed with mushrooms, Dongpo pork, stewed chicken soup, boiled shrimps, and green vegetables with garlic. In front of each person was a cup of a new black, bubbling drink called Coke.
"Although our New Year's Eve dinner is not perfect, it is not bad either. It is auspicious!"
Lin Qiu pointed at the dishes on the table with a smile, "This is my first time preparing a New Year's Eve dinner. I wonder how it tastes?"
"Do you want to talk more about your craft?" Wang Xiuren agreed, then picked up the drink in front of him and cleared his throat, "Today is the New Year, let me talk about it."
Lin Qiu clapped enthusiastically, and Wang Shan followed suit and clapped her hands loudly.
Wang Xiuren's ears turned red and he felt a little embarrassed. After all, it was the first time he spoke at the New Year's Eve dinner as the head of the family.
"Our family is safe and sound this year. Comrade Lin Qiu and I support each other and contribute to the family's income. Little Wang Shan is also studying well in the nursery. I hope our family will move to a higher level next year!"
Lin Qiu and Wang Shan clapped in unison.
"Come on, cheers!"
The three of them raised their glasses together and clinked them gently.
"Oops! Mom, the drink is bubbling in my mouth!"
After Wang Shan gulped down a big mouthful of Coke, she cried out in surprise.
"Is it delicious?" Wang Xiuren asked him.
“Delicious!”
After saying that, he took another big sip and then burped, which surprised himself.
Lin Qiu and Wang Xiuren couldn't help but laugh when they saw her silly little look.
"Eat vegetables! Eat vegetables!"
After eating and drinking, the family of three collapsed on the sofa and chatted intermittently. I didn’t know whose TV sound came from, but it seemed that the Spring Festival Gala had begun.
"Once we buy the house, we'll buy a TV too!"
Color TVs are popular now, and one costs several thousand yuan. Their top priority now is to buy a house, so the color TV can only be put aside for the time being.
The sound of firecrackers could be heard from time to time. Lin Qiu leaned on the armrest and sat up. "Let's go down and set off the fireworks too!"
When Wang Shan heard this, she quickly put on her shoes and rushed out while pulling Wang Xiuren.
"Slow down! Don't fall!"
Lin Qiu followed with fireworks in his hand.
Many children had gathered in the open space downstairs. Wang Xiuren found a place with few people, lit a firework stick and put it in Wang Shan's hand.
"Be careful not to poke your eyes!"
Lin Qiu looked at his daughter who was screaming in a low voice and gave her some worried instructions.
"You take it too!"
Wang Xiuren also ordered one for Lin Qiu.
A small cluster of sparks illuminated Lin Qiu's cheek, and Lin Qiu's eyebrows and eyes looked even gentler.
Under the protection of Wang Xiuren, Wang Shan held a long tube of colored beads pointing towards the sky.
"call out"
A red fire bead was released from the colored bead tube. The fire bead rose into the air and exploded with a "pop", creating a colorful firework.
“Wow!”
A group of children gathered behind and stared at the fireworks in the sky and exclaimed.
Wang Shan stole the show this time. Under the envious eyes of the children, she lit up one colored bead tube after another.
"Okay, it's getting late, let's go upstairs!"
As soon as the words fell, fireworks of various colors exploded in the sky, illuminating the area as bright as day, and everyone looked at the colorful fireworks in the sky.
Lin Qiu covered Wang Shan's ears, Wang Xiuren covered Lin Qiu's ears, and the three of them stood in a row and looked up at the fireworks.
After the fireworks faded, the people downstairs said "Happy New Year" to each other before dispersing in groups of three or four.
The family of three smelled of firecrackers. Lin Qiu helped Wang Shan take a bath and wash her hair, and also washed himself.
After the mother and daughter came out with their hair wrapped, Wang Xiuren went into the bathroom with clothes.
By the time Lin Qiu helped his daughter dry her hair, Wang Shan was already sleeping soundly in Lin Qiu's arms.
"Hurry up and wipe your hair clean, or you'll catch a cold!" Wang Xiuren took Wang Shan and carefully tucked her into the quilt.
While drying his hair, Lin Qiu missed the hair dryer. He would have to get one when he bought a house. It was too difficult to dry his hair with a towel.
When I think about it carefully, it seems like I have to buy everything, so I have to work harder to make money.
At twelve o'clock, Lin Qiu, who was leaning on the sofa in a daze, was awakened by the overwhelming sound of firecrackers outside. Wang Xiuren also hurried downstairs with a plate of firecrackers to welcome the first day of the new year.
When the sound of firecrackers outside gradually died down, Lin Qiu could no longer hold on and fell asleep next to the pillow. However, not long after, the sound of firecrackers of a new day rang out again.
Lin Qiu propped up his head, got up, picked up his watch and looked at it. It was only half past four.
Wang Xiuren was also very sleepy and covered Wang Shan's ears with his hands. "It should be fine soon."
As a result, more than half an hour passed and the sound of firecrackers had not stopped, and was even louder than at twelve o'clock.
"People in Pengcheng are really rich!"
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 1993, Lin Qiu uttered the first sigh of the new year!
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