The Ghost Festival is just a few days away. According to custom, people eat duck and buy snacks, meat, and fruit to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.
Lin Yan's family doesn't raise ducks, so they have to buy some. So after selling the ingredients today, he and Zhao Shiyun plan to go shopping on North Street.
North Street was as stinking as ever, and Lin Yan didn't dare breathe deeply. As they walked along, they saw many duck vendors preparing for the Ghost Festival. Some shops even boiled water and offered to slaughter and pluck ducks for five cents each.
Lin Yan was looking around, wanting to buy a green-headed duck, when he suddenly heard someone calling him, "Brother Yan!"
He looked up and saw Yang Tao jumping and waving at him.
"Brother Tao!" Lin Yan ran over in surprise, "Are you selling ducks here?"
There were two large cages in front of Yang Tao, with several ducks in them.
"Well! What are you here to buy?" Yang Tao's family raises ducks, and they bring them to the town to sell from time to time. Their biggest wish is to save money to open a shop in the town to sell ducks.
"We just wanted to buy some ducks. Do you have any green-headed ducks?"
"Yes, I'll catch it for you." Yang Tao opened the cage and took a look. He picked out a large green-headed duck and pulled it out by the neck. Lin Yan looked around and saw that it was a good duck. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "This one, please. How much is it?"
Yang Tao waved her hand and said, "No, no, I'll give it to you guys."
Lin Yan didn't dare to accept it, his hands were waving, "No, no, no, I can't accept it."
Yang Tao forced the duck into his hand. The duck flapped its wings, and Yang Tao was startled and moved more gently.
Lin Yan pretended to put on a stern face and said, "If you don't want me to buy it from another store."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't, I'll take it, I'll take it."
In the end, Lin Yan paid fifty cents. He knew that Yang Tao had given him a discount. Normally, a duck this big would cost at least sixty cents.
The two of them carried the duck and went to buy some boxes of pastries and a piece of pork belly. They already had peaches at home, so they didn't buy any fruit.
*
After returning home, Lin Yan took the duck to the backyard and locked it in a cage at home. Yu Ge'er fed the duck some water and planned to kill it tomorrow on the Ghost Festival.
In previous years, he would go to his cousin's house for dinner the day after the Ghost Festival. Before Zhao Qide became addicted to gambling, he would not even come back for dinner on the Ghost Festival every year.
This year he was imprisoned, and it was impossible for him to return. A few days after he was arrested, the county magistrate tried the case. The evidence was irrefutable, and the suspects were all beaten with ten sticks, imprisoned for three years, and fined twenty taels of silver each.
Everyone else paid the money, but Zhao Qide still owed money and the shop had not been sold. The county magistrate made the decision and instructed the pawnshop where the shop was registered to pay the fine to the government office after the shop was sold. The remaining money, except for the money paid to the gambling house, would be given to Zhao Qide's brother and sister-in-law for safekeeping.
The Zhao family received thirty taels of silver as compensation. Zhao Qiming held the three silver ingots with great emotion. He felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. After all, he was his only younger brother, but his brother made a mistake and should be punished accordingly.
After Zhao Qiming, Li Yuemei and Yu Ge'er discussed it, they saved the money and planned to visit their brother once every six months and buy him some delicious food. If he could reform himself, the remaining money and the money from selling the shop would be used to help him make a comeback.
In fact, Lin Yan felt that it was unlikely. After all, people have fixed personalities, and his second uncle has been like that since he was a child. How could he change it just like that?
But he didn't say anything. After all, they were all family and it was impossible to give up easily.
Lin Yan sat in the yard scrubbing leeks, thinking to himself.
We have several meat dishes tomorrow, so we won't have meat tonight. Lin Yan plans to make some vegetarian dishes: stir-fried leeks with bean curd sheets, pan-fried tofu, and some stir-fried greens.
Chop the washed chives into small pieces, and chop the soaked bean curd sheets into small pieces. Mince the garlic.
Boil water in a pot, add the bean curd sheets and blanch them after the water boils. After blanching, remove them from the water and place them in a basket to drain.
Pour a spoonful of lard into the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Then add the yuba slices and stir-fry evenly. Add the leek slices and stir-fry quickly until the leek is softened. Finally, add salt and soy sauce to taste, continue stir-frying until the flavor is evenly distributed, and serve.
Next, make the pan-fried tofu. Place thickly sliced tofu in a pan and fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside. Leave some oil in the pan and sauté minced garlic until fragrant. Add a spoonful of chili sauce, a spoonful of soy sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for a while, then add the pan-fried tofu and stir-fry for a while until the tofu is coated with garlic and chili sauce. Sprinkle with a handful of chopped green onions and serve.
Finally, he fried some vegetables. Lin Yan asked Yu Ge'er to take the food out first. After a while, the vegetables were cooked. Lin Yan added a dried chili pepper. The vegetables looked red and green, and it looked very beautiful.
The family sat in the courtyard to eat. Li Yuemei asked, "Brother Yan, will the shop be open tomorrow?"
Lin Yan shook his head: "Two days of rest. During the Ghost Festival, every household is eating at home, so there are basically no people around."
The Ghost Festival is a relatively large festival. Lin Yan heard that other places celebrate it on July 13th, but they only celebrate it on July 14th and 15th, so they have two days off.
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