Chapter 42 Celebrating the New Year in the County Town
Does anyone know how to sleep soundly until dawn without worrying about oversleeping and missing the cooking time, or not having enough time to prepare all the ingredients?
Guo Baiwen clenched his fists, stretched his arms wide, and stretched out in bed with a rare moment of comfort.
As the number of things he signed in increased, the bed he was sleeping in had also been "replaced" several times.
The rabbit fur-like blanket that was originally laid out has been taken by Xiaohua for her afternoon nap.
The mattress on his bed now is a Mengsi mattress that used to cost five figures in his previous life!
Although the style of the carved wooden bed paired with this thick mattress is neither Chinese nor Western.
But it's comfortable enough!
Guo Baiwen, who had only ever slept on mattresses costing a thousand or so yuan in his previous life, was quickly captivated by this mattress.
There's a reason why mattresses are expensive. He used to scoff at them, but now he lies on them every day and is completely absorbed in them.
If it weren't for the belief that I need to make money every day, it would be really hard to get out of this soft bed.
Because he stretched out too far, his hands and feet were sticking out from under the blanket covering him.
Feeling the damp chill of winter, Guo Baiwen quickly pulled his hands and feet back with a whoosh.
It's so cold.
Especially after learning that the shop didn't need to open today, I was even less inclined to get out of bed.
He pulled his watch out of the system repository with some difficulty, glanced at the time, and saw that it was already 7:18.
At this time, the old lady on the first floor should already be up.
Two minutes.
Let him linger for just two more minutes.
He would definitely get out of bed at 7:20.
While comforting herself, she slowly closed her eyes again.
He felt like he hadn't even dozed off for long when he suddenly woke up from his pillow. He glanced at his watch and realized it was almost eight o'clock!
At this point, I didn't care about whether I wanted to stay in bed or not.
He almost immediately threw off the blanket, wanting to sit up straight.
Then, after being chilled by the cold air, he hurriedly pulled the blanket back over himself.
After doing this, everyone was refreshed from the cold.
I don't want to stay in bed any longer.
Silently, in a difficult position resembling a rooster standing on one leg, she stretched her feet out from under the covers and used her big toe to pick up the clothes that had been hanging by the bed the night before and bring them back in.
Although changing clothes under the covers is a bit of a hassle, he's quite adept at it now.
When the blanket was pulled back, his clothes were already neatly arranged.
Guo Baiwen's room isn't very big, probably around 100 square meters, with a carved bed and two pine chests taking up a lot of space.
Since the room didn't need tables and chairs for the time being, he temporarily placed them in the main room.
This makes preparing food every day more convenient.
Even without the tables and chairs, his room didn't seem much more spacious. There was also a sofa he got from signing in under the window.
Actually, he prefers the kind of beanbag chair that you can sink into completely, but that's not something he can decide. This green single sofa, placed here, looks quite retro.
It would be even better if you could pull out an extra foot pedal next time.
Otherwise, he could only prop his feet up on the window frame each time, and after a while, his back still hurt terribly.
After muttering to himself, he walked towards the refrigerator next to the wardrobe.
An older model, this refrigerator has only one door, divided into three smaller doors (top, middle, and bottom) that can be opened.
At first glance, one might think he had embraced a more convenient lifestyle again thanks to the things in the sign-in system.
But as soon as you open it, you can tell from the fact that the lights inside are not on that the refrigerator is not powered on at all.
Not to mention it can also refrigerate and freeze things.
There's no way around it; no matter how good the appliances you get from signing in are, they're useless without a power outlet or charging station.
He had just received a robot vacuum cleaner that could both wash and mop from the system two days ago. When he first signed in and got it, the robot vacuum still had some power left, so it could barely clean once or twice.
When he tried to turn it on again, it was completely unresponsive.
There was nothing he could do; it was just taking up space anyway, so he took it back.
He initially thought that this heavy lump of iron would bring him a lot of money back after recycling it.
The result was that after pressing the button—
Hey.
Fifty coins.
Thank you so much!
He had just received the fifty coins when he went next door and cut half a pound of mutton.
He's craving beef.
But the butcher had told him before that this kind of thing was rare and hard to come by.
You have to wait until someone's cow dies of old age, or gets injured and can't be healed, and you can only buy one or two cows if you're lucky enough.
So I thought about it and decided to just go for it. Lamb is pretty good too, and I can make a soup with it.
The reason Guo Baiwen didn't take the refrigerator to be recycled directly was not only because the recycling price was not high, but also because he was attracted by the refrigerator's large capacity.
As long as it's not powered on, this white refrigerator is no different from the wardrobe next to it.
The three doors were just right. He used the top one to store some snacks, another one to store his writing implements, and the largest cabinet at the bottom was used as a shoe cabinet.
Regardless of whether it looks good or not, at least it saves the money spent on a cabinet.
He opened the bottom cabinet, took out his cotton shoes, put them on, carefully checked them to make sure they fit, and then folded up the quilts and put away the things that needed to be put away.
Then, breathing on his hands and shrinking his neck, he came out of the room.
After going downstairs, seeing the quiet courtyard, he couldn't help but rub his hands together and peek into the kitchen window.
It was pitch black inside.
Could it be that he's the first person in the family to get up today?
Where is Grandma?
He then walked along the passageway outside the kitchen to the room on the other side of the main hall.
Grandma's door was open, and it looked like no one was inside.
Did you go out at this time?
Guo Baiwen hurriedly walked towards the front yard of the shop, and after passing through the small gate connecting the yard, he discovered that his grandmother was sitting in the same spot where she used to sit every day when the shop was open.
The two large pots that were originally on the stove have been replaced, and now hanging on them is the large iron pot that we used to eat in the kitchen.
Grandma was bending over, adding firewood to the stove.
Suddenly hearing a noise behind her, she turned around and saw Guo Baiwen, then laughed, "Oh my, why are you up so early too?"
"Grandma thought it was a rare day when we didn't have to open the shop, and it was New Year's Eve tonight. She was afraid we'd have to stay up all night, so she didn't wake you and Xiaohua up."
She reached out and patted the spot next to her, where a long bench had been moved there at some point, and said, "Well, it's good that you're up now, Wenzai. Grandma just made breakfast, and it's still warm."
While greeting him, he opened the lid of the large iron pot, and steam rose from the pot, covering Guo Baiwen's face.
After the heat finally dissipated, he peeked out and found that there were glutinous rice cakes steaming under the iron pot, and a large bowl of sliced cured meat was heated on a rack on top.
This is such a hardcore meal first thing in the morning.
Guo Baiwen slept in late today and hadn't had an appetite yet. He glanced at the glutinous rice cake, then turned and picked up the kettle next to him. "Grandma, I'll make myself a bowl of egg tea to warm my stomach before I eat breakfast."
It's warmer in the county town than in the mountains, so the two hens we keep, which used to only lay one or two eggs every few days, are now laying more eggs.
I don't know if it's because the chicken coop we built is more comfortable now, or because we're giving them enough feed every day.
I've been able to pull out one or two almost every morning for the past few days.
"Grandma, would you like a bowl too?"
Grandma Guo nodded, curled up in the chair in front of the stove, staring at the flickering flames, feeling so warm she almost dozed off. "I'll have a bowl too."
"OK."
This is simple. As long as the hot water is hot enough, you can break up the chicken with chopsticks and then pour hot water over it to make a nice bowl of egg drop soup.
Add some salt if you want it salty, and add some sugar if you want it sweet.
If you want to be more particular, you can add some red dates and dried longan.
Guo Baiwen made himself a bowl of sweet egg tea, then turned around and asked, "Grandma, would you like it sweet or savory?"
"I want it sweet too!" Grandma Guo leaned over. "Don't add any sugar. That jar of milk powder you brought back is almost empty; we've only gotten the bottom of it in the last few days."
"That stuff is even sweeter than store-bought maltose. Add that. It's New Year's Eve today, so let's finish it and the New Year will arrive."
Milk powder and egg tea.
Guo Baiwen has never tried this before.
But since Grandma had asked, he tried making a bowl and handed it to her.
Seeing her take the bowl and finish it in one gulp without changing her expression, Guo Baiwen couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grandma, is it delicious?"
"They're all good stuff, how could it taste bad when they're all mixed together?" Grandma Guo smiled at him, making a gesture as if to get up and make him a bowl too. "Wen-zai, would you like a bowl too?"
"No, no."
He should just drink his ordinary egg tea with maltose.
Break open the steamed glutinous rice cake, add some of Grandma's heated cured meat and the kimchi and chili sauce on the table, and take a bite, and you'll feel warm all over.
They are no longer as timid and hesitant as they were when they first woke up in the morning.
While munching on homemade glutinous rice cakes filled with cured meat, Guo Baiwen chatted idly with his grandmother about their plans for the next few days of rest.
Just as he was finishing the glutinous rice cake, Guo Xiaohua, dragging her heavy steps, came looking for him from the backyard.
"Why are you all having breakfast here today?"
"Breakfast already?" Grandma Guo rolled her eyes at her, handed her the already warmed glutinous rice cake and cured meat, and gave her a pair of chopsticks. "It's almost noon."
"After you've all finished eating, the three of us will clean this house inside and out, front and back."
Guo Xiaohua had only taken two bites when she nearly dropped her chopsticks. "Today? Everything?! We have to clean up?!"
"Of course, right now! We can't clean tonight, New Year's Eve, or tomorrow, New Year's Day."
"If you don't tidy up your house properly, the local earth god and kitchen god will laugh at us for being so untidy!"
"Maybe when the time comes to report to the heavens, the two gods will get together and say, 'Oh dear, that family is truly the dirtiest family in 'Little Ni County'!"
Grandma Guo clearly valued the opinions of the Earth God and the Kitchen God regarding her family.
“You should clean your own rooms. Grandma just told you to remember to put your fingers inside the carved bed frame, especially in the hollow parts of the carvings, and wipe them with a cloth.”
"Anyone who slacks off might get targeted by the god of poverty!"
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