With many beauties helping to cook, dinner was finally served at six o'clock.
During the Chinese New Year, every household has a feast of fish and meat, and many Yu families are no exception.
The beef and fish that Gao Mingcheng had given to his family were already on the dining table.
In addition, there are dishes such as stewed radish with tofu and stewed taro with bones, but what Gao Mingcheng likes most is a side dish.
It was a plate of pickled garlic stems. Pull out fresh garlic, wash the stems, cut them off, and then season them with salt, pepper, etc. After pickling, it is spicy and refreshing.
In the village, everyone used all the available resources. For example, garlic stems can be used to make pickles, while onion stems and ginger can be boiled in water and drunk to cure colds.
As early as in ancient times, there were various recipes for pickled vegetable roots. For example, in "Cai Gen Tan", it is said that farmers took the good vegetables to the city to sell, and the old vegetable stems and roots that could not be sold were eaten at home.
The stems and roots of this kind of vegetables do not taste good when fried, so they need to be pickled, or dried in the sun and stored in jars for a period of time before eating, and the flavor will be very good.
Garlic whiskers are very tender and not woody, so they taste very good after being pickled.
After eating too much meat and fish, it is just right to have some side dishes to fill your stomach.
At the dinner table, Xuanyu asked Gao Mingcheng whether they would go to their eldest sister and third sister's house to pay New Year's greetings this year.
Normally, the third sister would visit her eldest and second sisters' homes to wish them a happy new year every month. However, transportation is inconvenient now, and Xuanyu is a slow cook, which is something all the sisters know. Therefore, she rarely visited Xuanyu's home to wish them a happy new year in previous years.
Many beauties looked at Gao Mingcheng, and Gao Mingcheng said, "We will go to our eldest sister's house on the fourth day of the New Year to pay New Year's greetings, and to our third sister's house on the fifth day. We will go to the county to attend the wedding banquet on the sixth day."
According to local customs, people have to visit graves and offer sacrifices on the third day of the Lunar New Year. They are not allowed to pay New Year's greetings, and it is even better not to visit other people's homes.
The sixth day of the New Year was the wedding day of Wang Xun and Deng Wanwan, and they had already agreed to go to the county for the wedding banquet.
In addition, Gao Mingcheng was still worried about Du Hongyu, and didn't know whether the county was safe during the New Year.
The free fourth and fifth days of the New Year are just right for me to visit my two sisters’ homes to wish them a happy New Year.
After hearing this, many of the people also agreed to go together.
In the past, transportation was inconvenient and people seldom traveled around. Now that Gao Mingcheng has a tractor, he naturally wants to travel around during the New Year.
It was already eight o'clock in the evening when I returned from Xuanyu's house.
There is no snow or wind tonight, and because the mountains and the ground are covered with snow, the light does not appear dim even without moonlight.
The snow at night reflects a faint light.
People stepped on the snow, making a crunching sound.
Gao Mingcheng was holding little Xuxu in his arms, and there were many beauties around him. The family of three walked on the quiet path, and they had a feeling of peace and tranquility.
The next day is the third day of the Lunar New Year. Although it is the day for visiting graves and offering sacrifices, there are probably not many people willing to go to the mountains to visit graves today. The mountain roads are steep and covered with ice and snow. Climbing at this time is somewhat dangerous.
Many beauties were not planning to visit the graves, so everyone stayed at home for the whole day. After two days of visiting relatives and friends, it was nice to have a quiet day occasionally.
On the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Gao Shouwang's eldest son returned Gao Mingcheng's tractor. Because today was a special day, he parked the tractor outside the yard gate and did not go into the house to sit.
There is a saying that visiting someone else's home on the third day of the Lunar New Year will bring bad luck to that family.
After the third day of the New Year, it is the fourth day. Today is the day to visit the eldest sister's house for New Year's greetings. At around nine o'clock in the morning, Gao Mingcheng drove a tractor and took Xuanyue, Xuanyue and his family to the eldest sister's house.
The two sons of eldest sister Xuanyu Jin are older now. They will take the initiative to play with Xiao Shitou and Xiao Xuxu, and because Xiao Xuxu is young, they will take better care of him.
However, the two sisters Xuanyuemei and Xuanyueyu only discovered now that their eldest sister was pregnant again!
However, because it was winter, everyone was wearing thick and bulky clothes, so outsiders didn't know about it yet.
Speaking of her pregnancy, Xuan Duojin's face was full of smiles. She said, "We already have two sons at home, but they are very naughty, so your brother-in-law and I both hope that this baby will be a daughter."
Although a son is good, having more is not desirable. Look, Xuanxuanjin really wants to have a daughter!
Unfortunately, Gao Mingcheng just smiled and said nothing. If things had not developed normally, Duojin would still have a son!
Many beauties said with some concern: "It's winter now, and thick cotton clothes can cover the belly, but what will we do in spring?"
Family planning has been implemented for a long time. Even though the policy is relaxed here, only a very small number of people give birth to three children.
Xuan Xuanjin was not worried about this. She had obviously thought it through. She said calmly, "I calculated the date. The birth should be in May. The weather will be good then. I will hide in the mountains to give birth! When spring comes, I will pretend to be sick and stay at home to do housework instead of working in the fields. When the birth is about to begin, I will hide in the mountains for a while."
I have to say that people nowadays are quite brave. In order to give birth to a child, they hide in the mountains alone. If they have to give birth suddenly, they may have to deliver the baby themselves.
Xuan Xuanjin thought that she had already given birth to two children, so she was not afraid even if she had to deliver her own baby.
But to avoid worrying her two sisters, she said, "I won't hide far away. I'll hide in the cave in Houjin Mountain. A long time ago, when there was a war, the people in the village hid there. After the spring, your brother-in-law will go there in advance to clean the cave and send all the things we need over there."
"I'm not hiding there alone. One of your brother-in-law's aunts is willing to stay with me in the mountains for a few days. She also gave birth to two children and can deliver them."
Seeing that her elder sister Xuanyujin had made up her mind, Xuanyumei had no choice. After all, it was not convenient for her to bring her elder sister to live in the county. When the baby was born, the hospital would have to check and ask questions. Unless she went out of town, the hospital would not be able to find out the details in time.
Xuanyuemei had no choice but to say, "Sister, if the baby is born, ask your brother-in-law to go to Xing'an Mountains and borrow Uncle Shouwang's phone to call me and let me know. I will come to see you then."
"Oh, okay!"
After the three sisters finished talking about this, they continued to work and cook while talking about family matters.
Gao Mingcheng naturally did not participate in the women's conversation. He and his brother-in-law walked around the village and took a look at the development of the village.
This village has a reservoir, which is connected to the largest reservoir in Gaojia Village. The only difference is that the edge of the reservoir here is wider and shallower, so it can be fenced off and used to grow aquatic plants such as water bamboo, lotus root and water chestnut.
My eldest brother-in-law's family has a field near the water.
This field is dry in spring and winter, but after the spring rains, the field will be flooded, so rice cannot be grown normally.
"I planted some water chestnuts last year, learning from other people in the village. It's doing pretty well, and the price I sell it for is a bit higher than other vegetables. I also planted a small plot of water chestnuts. Mingcheng, you and your second sister should take two kilograms of water chestnuts back to eat later." The eldest brother-in-law said cheerfully.
Aquatic plants such as茭白 and 茭菇 are considered rare foods here, so they are sold at high prices and quickly.
My eldest brother-in-law pointed to the field that belonged to him and said, "I will plant wild rice this year. With last year's experience, I feel that I can plant better!"
The rarer it is, the higher the price it can be sold for. Gao Mingcheng naturally supports his brother-in-law to continue growing water chestnuts.
Just after walking around the village, they heard my brother-in-law's mother standing at the door calling them to go back for dinner.
Because there were so many people, two tables were set up, one for drinking and the other for not drinking.
My eldest brother-in-law's family drinks homemade medicinal wine, which is made by soaking sugar canes in liquor. The sugar canes are golden cherry. After being soaked in the flavor, the alcohol is quite strong.
Rich people use ginseng and deer antlers to make wine, and the poor people in this village can also use golden cherry and twisted apple to make wine, and the taste of the wine is just as good!
As for the dishes, each family has its own flavor. In addition to the common fish and meat, there are also refreshing dishes such as black fungus, lotus root, and dried bamboo shoots on the table.
My brother-in-law said that the lotus root was bought from a family in the village that grows lotus roots. It is white, tender and refreshing, and is best eaten stir-fried.
Gao Mingcheng took two bites and thought the quality of the lotus root was indeed good, so he asked how to grow it.
Although my brother-in-law had never grown crops before, they were from the same village and had seen it many times, so he told Gao Mingcheng what he knew.
After hearing this, Gao Mingcheng immediately said that he also wanted to grow lotus roots, and asked his eldest brother-in-law to help ask the people who grew lotus roots, so that he could buy some lotus roots or lotus seeds for seeds after the spring.
"Okay, when I'm free, I'll ask him for you. When the time is right to plant, I'll send it directly to your house." My brother-in-law agreed readily.
He knew that Gao Mingcheng often lived in the county, but the village had also hired someone to take care of it, so he could just send the things over and he and Zhang Chengyuan would help plant them together. There was no need for Gao Mingcheng to be present.
This saved Gao Mingcheng a lot of trouble, so he hurriedly gave the money for buying lotus roots for seeds to his brother-in-law in advance.
The eldest brother-in-law did not refuse. After all, he had to pay to get Gao Mingcheng's favor done.
Gao Mingcheng was thinking of the red lotus flowers in his own pond in June and the fish playing among the lotus leaves, and he felt very happy.
The lotus is a treasure from head to toe. The lotus leaves can be used to make tea, and after being dried, they can be made into beggar's chicken. The lotus seeds can be eaten, and the lotus roots can also be eaten.
If you love elegance, even lotus flowers can be eaten. Coat fresh petals with flour and egg liquid, then fry them in a pan. After they are cooked, you can eat them.
Should we dig the pond wider? Gao Mingcheng picked up the wine glass and a thought flashed through his mind.
In just a moment, he had made up his mind, which was to dig the pond wider before the spring flood!
After returning from his eldest sister's house, Gao Mingcheng found Chen Dasong and told him his plan: "When the weather gets better, you can help call a few people to dig the pond wider before the spring flood. Tell the workers that they will not be provided with meals, but will be paid eight yuan a day."
Now it is 1990, and the salary of a small number of people in the county is between two hundred and three hundred yuan, such as Gao Guobing.
But most people's salary is only a little over a hundred yuan, and there are even quite a few people who earn less than a hundred yuan.
However, digging a pond is physical work, and the host does not provide meals, so it is naturally a little more expensive.
When Chen Dasong heard the price, he immediately said, "Okay, how wide do you want to dig?"
Gao Mingcheng took Chen Dasong to the foot of Xiaofu Mountain. He pointed to some landmarks around the pond and said, "From here to here, you can dig a little wider over there. Pile the excavated soil and rocks here, and then sprinkle the astragalus seeds immediately. We have the seeds at home, and Duofu knows where they are."
Milk vetch can fertilize the fields, its leaves are excellent livestock feed, and its flowers are a high-quality source of nectar. Therefore, Gao Mingcheng asked Chen Duofu to pay attention to collecting milk vetch seeds on a daily basis, and when the time is right, sow them on a large scale.
Nowadays, Chinese astragalus can be seen everywhere at the foot of Xiaofu Mountain and Niuweiling Mountain.
"Okay, I'll remember that." After looking at the terrain, Chen Dasong had an idea of what to do. He knew how many people to hire and how many days the work would take.
He told the bill to Gao Mingcheng, and Gao Mingcheng gave the wages to Chen Dasong according to his calculation.
If there are other situations at that time, the excess will be refunded and the shortfall will be supplemented.
Gao Mingcheng said, "Uncle Chen, please pay more attention to it. When the lotus roots are grown, I will give you some to try!"
Chen Dasong said with a smile on his face: "Mingcheng, you can rest assured that I will do the job. The person I find for you will definitely do the job quickly and well!"
Now that the matter was settled, Gao Mingcheng felt relieved.
If you have money and connections, things will naturally be easier.
On the fifth day of the New Year, they would go to their third sister Xuanyue's home, and this time they had to pick up their eldest sister and the others.
The eldest and third sisters only see each other once a year, so they naturally have to cherish each other's time.
When we arrived at Xuanyue's house, we found that there had been significant changes in her family. First, they bought a small shop on the roadside. Second, Xuanyue's status in her husband's family had been rising rapidly!
Before, she was married into a wealthy family, so Xuanyu had to be humble in her husband's family. But since Xuanyu borrowed money from Gao Mingcheng to start a business, she controlled the economic power and naturally had a say.
Xuanmei noticed that Xuanyue's parents-in-law were much more polite when speaking to Xuanyue, and when they came to pay New Year's greetings, Xuanyue's parents-in-law also gave them a very warm welcome.
This is a good change, and Xuanmei is happy for her third sister.
Manyue was also very happy about the arrival of her relatives. She smiled and said, "I made a lot of pickled mustard greens this year. I will make you a dish of pork with pickled mustard greens later! In addition, eldest sister, second sister, fourth sister, each of you can take a pound of pickled mustard greens back to eat."
Xuanyu Jin smiled and said, "I don't want it. I also made a lot of pickled mustard greens."
The eldest sister refused to take it, so Xuyue had no choice but to give it to the second and fourth sisters. Xuyue was quite happy because she knew Gao Mingcheng loved to eat pickled mustard greens.
The braised pork with pickled mustard greens is delicious, and the pork stewed with pickled mustard greens is also delicious!
Gao Mingcheng can finish two bowls of white rice with a bowl of pickled mustard greens!
Manyue was in charge of cooking for lunch, and it was indeed better than the average meal. Most importantly, it was delicious and looked special.
Because it was a rare occasion for everyone to meet, the women had a lot to talk about, and the men also set up a card table and took turns playing cards. Therefore, it was not until four o'clock in the afternoon that they decided to return home.
Manyue seemed extremely happy. Her sisters' lives were getting better and better, and the sufferings they had suffered before were completely gone from them.
very nice!
In their dreams, many beauties couldn't help but smile.
The next morning, everyone got up early, washed up, ate porridge, and then started packing.
This time when returning to the county, Gao Mingcheng decided to bring his Maozi brothers with him.
After hiding in the village for so long, it’s time for Maozi and the others to return home.
Maozi felt very happy. As the saying goes, there is no place like home. Although there is no shortage of food and drink here, Maozi really missed his own home!
"Yangyang, we're going home!" Maozi's tone was filled with joy.
Yangyang seemed to understand but said goodbye to Heihu, Jingling and other dogs very seriously.
Seeing his serious look, people who don’t know the truth would think that the dog is his good friend. (End of this chapter)
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