On the day of the winter solstice, Zhou Shengnan bought glutinous rice balls, mutton cakes and boiled mutton soup and went home early.
The custom in this area is: eat a bowl of mutton soup on the winter solstice, and you won’t be afraid of the cold throughout the winter.
After helping her master finish the last piece of embroidery for the year, Qiuhua planned to stay for a few days before going back and coming back after the Chinese New Year.
"Whose beets are these?"
Zhou Shengnan came in from outside and saw a bag of beets outside the courtyard gate. He opened it and saw that each beet was green, crisp and tender.
Qiuhua took a look and said nothing, probably guessing it.
She just lit a fire, poured the mutton soup and mutton into the pot, and started a fire.
The mutton soup is already cooked. Just boil it for a while, add the mutton blood, sprinkle some chopped garlic leaves and it is ready to be served.
Leafy vegetables had been prepared in the evening, and the bag of beets was temporarily placed in a basket in the kitchen.
"It's raining quite heavily today!" Jiang Xiang asked while drinking hot mutton soup.
Zhou Shengnan's hair was still a little damp, so he wiped it and said, "Xiaoyu, it's okay."
Jiang Xiang nodded and said with a smile: "It's good that it rains. We can bask in the sun in the yard during the New Year."
Clean winter solstice, dirty year!
Talking about the New Year, Jiang Xiang smiled with her eyes narrowed. Qiuhua looked at her master and smiled secretly in her heart.
Master is sometimes like a child, especially when talking to Uncle.
"I wonder how Lanhua is doing in the army now?"
"Didn't she write to me just last month?"
The younger brother spilled soup all over the table, so Jiang Xiang used a piece of cloth to clean it up for him bit by bit.
"You already said it was last month. It's been so long, and today is the winter solstice. You must miss her!"
"Yes, yes, you should think about it!" Zhou Shengnan took the cloth and took it to the kitchen. He sat back and said, "Look, I, my younger brother, and Qiuhua are here to accompany you!"
On the winter solstice, we eat glutinous rice balls and the family is reunited.
The day before returning home, Qiuhua went to the street to buy some vegetables for his master.
It was very cold and the river was frozen. The brave children were sliding on it, while the timid children were carrying stones from the shore and throwing them down.
Most of the vegetable vendors at this end of the street were wearing military coats and squatting by their stalls. The wind blew over them like a knife, scratching their faces. Wang Erhu shrank his neck and cursed the sky in his heart.
Normally at this time, Erhu Ye would still be sleeping in bed!
Since occupying this piece of land, Wang Erhu has been able to set up his stall every day, for fear that if he is absent for a day, his position will be taken by someone else.
But his worries were unnecessary.
For Wang Erhu, who has connections, the small vendors will naturally keep an eye on the place for him.
Another main reason why he was able to get out of bed on time was that he was holding his breath and he wanted to defeat his imaginary enemy, Wu Xin.
Qiuhua was walking down the street. Wang Erhu saw her from a distance. He hurriedly patted the vendor Xu beside him and asked:
"Look at me, look at me."
He stroked his hair as he spoke. He left in a hurry today and didn't have time to comb his hair.
"Huh? What are you looking at?"
Xu the peddler buried the lower half of his face in his collar and the upper half in his hat, leaving only his eyes exposed.
"Hey, look at me, is my face okay?"
"What's going on?" He was confused.
"Hey, does it look good? Can it be seen by others?"
"Ha, yes, of course you can, you've already come out to meet people!"
Wang Erhu was speechless. Qiuhua was almost there, so he didn't care about anything else. He stood up, patted his military coat, quickly glanced at his stall, bent down and picked up a pumpkin and a handful of beets.
"Sister!"
Qiuhua was looking at the sweet potatoes on the stall next to her and didn't notice anyone calling her.
"Sister, here you go!" Wang Erhu presented the treasure.
Qiuhua saw the thing appearing in front of him, then raised his eyes and found that it was Wang Erhu.
"Why are you here?"
Wang Erhu was waiting for her to ask. He chuckled and gestured proudly, saying, "This stall is mine!"
Qiuhua glanced at him and smiled, "Very good. I haven't seen you for a while, you've made great progress!"
He was excited and stretched out his hand to signal Qiuhua to take the thing.
"You were the one who put the beets there on the winter solstice, right?" Qiuhua asked without answering.
Wang Erhu nodded and put the pumpkin and beets into Qiuhua's basket without saying anything.
"Sister, beets are at their best right now, just take them."
Qiuhua's basket was now full, with a head of cabbage, a piece of pork belly, and the pumpkin and beets given by Wang Erhu.
In her other bag were snacks she bought for Xiao Hua Chunhua and things she brought for her two sisters-in-law.
My hands are so full that I can’t take any more.
"Sister, it's too cold today. I'm going to close my stall soon. Let me help you carry the basket."
"No, I can take it..."
Qiuhua only made a slight refusal and let Wang Erhu take her basket. She didn't want him to help at first because the basket was too heavy and her arm would break if she carried it back.
Wang Erhu packed up quickly, winked at Xu the peddler, and walked happily beside Qiuhua carrying the load.
"This kid is making faces like a naughty monkey!" Xu the peddler buried his face even deeper.
On the way back, Qiuhua walked fast and Wang Erhu hurried beside her. He was excited and didn't feel tired at all.
Halfway through the walk, Wang Erhu was sweating slightly on his back and his body was warm, so he simply took off his military coat.
"Sister," Wang Erhu took a breath and said, "New Year's Eve is coming soon. When are you going home?"
Qiuhua frowned slightly, thinking that she couldn't escape it, so she decided to just talk about it.
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