The Chinese New Year is just a few days away, and this winter is exceptionally cold, with even snow. Snow is rare in the south, and unlike the rough, heavy snowfalls of the north, the snow in the south is always somewhat reserved, initially just scattered fragments of jade, landing on the dark tiles and bamboo shoots, then transforming into crystalline water droplets in an instant.
Lin Yan blew a breath into his palm and opened the window. Fine snowflakes were falling from the lead-gray sky, as if someone had knocked over a porcelain bowl filled with pearl powder.
An An was still sleeping at this moment, her little face was rosy from sleep. A thick long bamboo piece was tied to the crib. It was polished smooth by Zhao Shiyun, and the end was sharpened and a small hole was made. A red thread was passed through and tied into a knot. A red ball made by Lin Yan himself was hanging underneath for An An to play with.
"Brother Yan, wake up." Zhao Shiyun brought in soy milk and scallion pancakes for Lin Yan. "Amo made these pancakes early this morning. Have some."
"Okay." Lin Yan took it, sat down at the table and started eating his breakfast. As the Chinese New Year approached, the shop was closed. "Have the New Year gifts been distributed to the aunties?" Lin Yan asked vaguely, chewing on a scallion pancake.
"Yes, I paid them their wages and gave them New Year gifts yesterday when I told them they were on holiday." After Zhao Shiyun finished speaking, he peeked at An An in the crib. Seeing that his little hands began to move, as if he was waking up, he quickly stood up and walked to the bed.
After a while, An An opened his big grape-like eyes. He was about to cry, but Zhao Shiyun picked him up and said, "An An is awake. Daddy will feed you goat milk now."
An An stopped crying when he felt the familiar embrace. "Give it to me. You go get the goat milk and I'll change his diaper." Lin Yan finished the last sip of soy milk, took the warm sleeping An An, changed his diaper, and took out a thick cotton coat to wrap An An up in a ball, fearing that he would be cold. An An smiled and let his father do whatever he wanted, very obedient.
After feeding An An, Lin Yan saw that the snow was still falling and was a little worried. He wondered if the vegetables in the field would freeze. Fortunately, his family had taken advantage of the good weather to dry a lot of vegetables, enough to eat throughout the winter. He didn't worry about the fields. The autumn harvest was completed last month, and now the fields are empty.
It's snowing now, and I can't go buy New Year's goods. I don't know if it will stop tomorrow. Lin Yan sighed and his thoughts drifted away.
The weather was bad and they couldn't go out, so Lin Yan stayed in the room with An An for most of the day. For lunch, they had the tomato and egg noodles that Zhao Shiyun brought in. One sip of the soup warmed his whole body. Zhao Shiyun held An An in his arms and watched him eat.
"By the way, I saw a kind of chair at the carpenter's. It's taller, with a wide baffle in the front and a footrest underneath. It's for children to sit and eat. They can also play with toys on it when they are not eating. When An An can sit, we will buy one too." Zhao Shiyun suddenly remembered the chair he saw at the carpenter's when he bought the crib that day, and suggested it to Lin Yan.
Lin Yan couldn't imagine what it would look like, but if Zhao Shiyun said it was good, it must be good. He nodded, "Sure, I'll go buy it with you then. I want to see what it looks like."
"Okay, eat it quickly, it's getting cold."
*
Li Yuemei took out a head of sauerkraut from the jar and cut it into small pieces. She planned to have sauerkraut and pork ribs hot pot tonight. The weather was too cold, so it was just right to have a hot pot. She happened to have bought some pork ribs yesterday, so she made them all into a hot pot today.
Wash the ribs, put them in a pot with cold water, add ginger slices and a spoonful of white wine, and cook for half a cup of tea after the water boils. Skim off the foam, remove and rinse clean.
Then cut the green onion into sections, slice the ginger, and peel the garlic for later use.
Get the necessary spices from the cupboard and start stir-frying the ribs. Heat the pan with cold oil and add scallions, ginger slices, garlic, dried chilies, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, and cinnamon. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add the ribs and stir-fry until the surface is slightly golden. Pour in the soy sauce and continue to stir-fry evenly. Li Yuemei is now very adept at cooking with these spices. After all, the dishes she cooks are really fragrant and delicious.
Add water to the fried ribs until they are level with the ribs, add appropriate amount of salt, and simmer over medium heat for more than a quarter of an hour.
Heat oil in another pan, add the sauerkraut and stir-fry for a few minutes. The aroma of the fried sauerkraut is released, and the sour taste is so intoxicating that Li Yuemei is drooling.
Go to the utility room to take out the hot pot, rinse it slightly, then pour the fried sauerkraut into the bottom of the hot pot and spread it evenly.
The ribs are now cooked. Pour them and the soup into a hot pot topped with sauerkraut and serve them in the main room.
Zhao Shiyun helped light the charcoal and used a pair of fire chopsticks to pick up the food from the hot pot. Soon, the hot pot was full of broth and began to simmer. Li Yuemei covered the pot with the lid. The soup needed to simmer for at least a quarter of an hour to allow the flavors of the sauerkraut and pork ribs to blend together.
Li Yuemei returned to the kitchen to steam some rice and prepare some side dishes: bean curd sheets, dried bean curd sheets, tofu, and some greens.
Yu Ge'er finished embroidering the homework assigned by Feng Xiu Niang and came over to play with An An, who was amused and giggled. Lin Yan looked at these two funny guys and a smile spread across his lips. After teasing An An for half a minute, he got tired and yawned. Lin Yan didn't pick him up to comfort him. He watched to see if he was about to close his eyes, and carefully covered him with a blanket while holding his breath. An An fell asleep soon after.
Soon, the rich aroma of pork ribs spread, and through the cracks in the doors and windows, it couldn't wait to get into everyone's nose, attracting the whole family from all corners to the dining table.
Li Yuemei carefully opened the lid of the hot pot, and white hot steam rose. In the pot, golden and shiny spare ribs lay between light yellow sauerkraut, dotted with red peppers, which made people's appetite increase at a glance.
Zhao Qiming couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of pork ribs covered in soup, blew on it gently, and put it into his mouth, saying with satisfaction: "This tastes amazing!" Then he put the largest piece into Li Yuemei's bowl. Li Yuemei smiled brightly and scolded: "You should eat more too, don't just focus on me."
Yu Ge'er picked up a piece of pickled cabbage with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. The sour and refreshing taste instantly exploded on the tip of his tongue. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Oh, this pickled cabbage is so delicious, I can eat two more bowls of rice!"
Li Yuemei pickled the pickled cabbage herself. He looked at Yu Ge'er wolfing it down with a look of tenderness and satisfaction in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Eat slowly. No one is snatching it from you."
The family ate most of the pot of spare ribs and started to add side dishes. Lin Yan liked bean curd the most. The bean curd that absorbed the soup was full of the aroma of spare ribs and beans. It was so delicious.
Lin Yan eats much faster now than before, because every time he eats, he always hears An An crying in his ears. Although he went to see An An several times and she was still sleeping, he still developed the habit of eating quickly. In less than half a quarter of an hour, he finished his meal. He put down the bowl, said hello, and went back to the room.
Li Yuemei looked at his back and smiled. "It's the same after giving birth. I was the same when I was young. I always felt that the child was crying and couldn't eat or take a bath properly. As long as I left for a while, I would feel uneasy."
Zhao Shiyun nodded. He felt the same way. Although he knew Lin Yan was taking care of the child, he kept hearing An An crying while working in the yard. When he returned to her room, he found her sleeping soundly. Several times, he made too much noise and almost woke An An, and Lin Yan twisted her ear and scolded her several times.
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