"You are such a good boy of your mother. Chinese New Year is just a few days away. Accompany your father to the study and write two couplets. We will paste them on the door on Chinese New Year's Day to show off the festive atmosphere." Zeng Wenjuan stroked Goudan's cute chubby little face and said to Zhao Jianguo.
Zhao Jianguo smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, Wenjuan, don't worry. I will help Goudan write couplets, so that our front door will be filled with joy on New Year's Day. Goudan, let's go to the study room and prepare red paper, brushes and ink. How about Daddy teach you how to write couplets?"
Goudan jumped up excitedly, clapped his hands and shouted, "Yes, yes, I want to write couplets with Dad!"
So, the father and son came to the study. Zhao Jianguo spread out red paper, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to teach Goudan how to hold the brush and how to move the brush.
He patiently explained the rules and techniques of couplets to Goudan one by one, from the upper couplet to the lower couplet, from the equal number of words to the relative parts of speech.
Goudan listened with great interest and imitated his father, carefully writing down one crooked word "Fu" after another on red paper.
"Dad, do you think my writing is okay like this? Can I stick it on the door?" Goudan picked up the square paper and asked Zhao Jianguo.
Zhao Jianguo carefully looked at the word "Fu" written by Goudan. Although the strokes were immature, every stroke revealed Goudan's seriousness and hard work. He smiled and touched Goudan's head, encouraging him: "Goudan, you wrote it very well! Although this word "Fu" is still a little crooked, it is your first time writing it, which is already very impressive."
"Then can I put my handwriting on the door so that everyone can see that it was written by me?" Goudan looked at Zhao Jianguo eagerly, waiting for him to agree so that he could take care to keep his handwriting and put it on the door on New Year's Day.
"Of course you can put it on the door. But there are rules for the couplets on the door. I'll put this word 'Fu' on your door. After all, it was written by you, so it should be put on your door. When relatives or other uncles and aunts come to your house, you can tell them that it was written by you!" Zhao Jianguo thought of a way to have the best of both worlds. This way, people would not misunderstand that he wrote the word. It would also make Goudan feel less disappointed.
When Goudan heard this, his eyes lit up immediately, and his little face was filled with joy and pride. "Really? Dad, that's great! I will put my blessing character on the door of my room to let everyone know that I can write couplets!" He jumped excitedly, as if he had seen the scene on New Year's Day when relatives and friends gathered at his door and praised his good writing of blessing character.
Zhao Jianguo was also pleased to see Goudan's happy face. "Okay, Goudan, let's let the blessing character you wrote dry first, and then write two couplets. When the couplets are finished, we can paste them on the main door and the door to the room, okay?"
Goudan nodded repeatedly, eager to continue writing couplets. Under Zhao Jianguo's guidance, he began to practice seriously again. Although there were still some crookedness in the process, every improvement made Goudan feel extremely happy and satisfied.
Finally, the two couplets were finished. Zhao Jianguo used a paperweight to hold the couplets down and let them dry on the table. After they were dry, they were put away and put up on the New Year's Day.
Zeng Wenjuan was in the kitchen packing up the things Zhao Hongtiao had sent her. There were all kinds of dried bamboo shoots, dried tofu, dried lettuce, dried taro, taro, sweet potatoes, and so on.
The most important thing was to see two grapefruits. Zeng Wenjuan used a knife to peel off the skin. Then she slowly peeled out the flesh. Looking at the thick skin, Zeng Wenjuan swallowed her saliva.
This thick grapefruit peel is delicious. Cut it into thin slices, marinate it for a while, add some chili, soy sauce, and salt, and it tastes delicious. Pair it with white rice. Just half a bowl can make several bowls of rice.
Zeng Wenjuan thought about it, then took out a bowl and began to cut the grapefruit peel into thin slices, trying to keep each slice as even as possible. After cutting, she put the grapefruit peel into a bowl, sprinkled some salt on it, and began to pickle it. During the pickling process, she turned the grapefruit peel from time to time to ensure that each slice could evenly absorb the salt and remove excess water.
At the same time, Goudan and Zhao Jianguo were still enjoying writing couplets in the study. Goudan looked at the couplets he had written. Although the handwriting was not neat enough, he could already feel the charm of traditional culture and the festive joy. He excitedly imagined the praise and amazement of relatives and friends when they saw these couplets during the Chinese New Year.
Finally, the pomelo peels were pickled. Zeng Wenjuan rinsed the pickled pomelo peels with clean water, squeezed out excess water, and put them in a clean bowl. She took out the chili pepper, soy sauce, salt and other seasonings and began to prepare the marinade. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly on the pomelo peels and gently mix them with chopsticks so that each piece of pomelo peel can fully absorb the flavor of the seasoning.
After preparing the marinade, Zeng Wenjuan put the grapefruit peels into a sealed container and prepared to marinate them for a while to make them more flavorful. She thought that when the Chinese New Year comes, she will serve a plate of marinated grapefruit peels as a side dish, which will surely make everyone praise it.
At this time, Goudan and Zhao Jianguo in the study also finished their couplets. They looked at the couplets they wrote, and felt a sense of accomplishment. Zhao Jianguo put the couplets away carefully after drying them, and prepared to take them out and post them on the New Year's Day.
The whole house was filled with festive joy and warmth. Zeng Wenjuan was busy in the kitchen, preparing all kinds of New Year's goods and delicacies; Goudan and Zhao Jianguo were in the study room savoring the charm of traditional culture and enjoying the warmth and happiness of parent-child time. They were all looking forward to the upcoming Spring Festival full of joy and reunion in their own way.
When it was time for lunch, Goudan found something unusual on the table. He pointed at the grapefruit peel in the bowl with his little finger and asked, "Mom, what is this? Can I eat it?"
"Of course you can eat it, but only a little bit. It's quite spicy and not something a child like you can eat. Next time, mom will make something less spicy and you can eat a few more pieces." Zeng Wenjuan stretched out her chopsticks to pick up a piece for Goudan and said to him.
Goudan was also a ruthless person. He picked up the grapefruit peel and stuffed it directly into his mouth. It was a little spicy, so he took a big bite of rice. After the spicy taste in his mouth subsided, he said to Zeng Wenjuan: "Mom, this is not spicy at all. Can I have another piece? It's delicious. I feel like my appetite has improved."
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