On New Year's Eve, everyone got up early. No tofu was made today. After a busy year, it was time to take a break. After all, there's no end to making money.
Lin Yan, Li Yuemei, and Yu Ge'er were busy in the kitchen. They had Zhao Shiyun help them kill the chicken, while Yu Ge'er and Lin Yan scooped up some hot water to pluck the feathers. Li Yuemei was preparing other dishes. She'd pick up a strip of bacon to stir-fry with water chestnuts later. She'd also taken five eggs from the egg jar and put them in the hot water with the bacon to boil.
Zhao Qiming and Zhao Shiyun were responsible for pasting Spring Festival couplets, auspicious characters, window decorations, and hanging tassels.
We all wove a lot of ears of corn yesterday. Of course, the two men didn't know how to do it, but they were forced to learn from us just for fun.
Zhao Shiyun frantically tried to weave for a long time, but the result was still crooked. Seeing this, Yu Ge'er laughed, "Brother, you are really stupid." Zhao Shiyun raised his hand and patted him on the back gently, "Let you laugh at me." Yu Ge'er stood up in a flash and hid behind Lin Yan, shouting, "Brother, help!"
Lin Yan watched them playing and laughing, his hands moving non-stop.
Zhao Qiming was a good basket weaver when he was young, and he wove this tassel of corn quite well. Li Yuemei looked left and right and nodded with satisfaction.
After plucking the chicken feathers, the whole chicken is boiled in hot water, along with a piece of meat and a bundle of sweet potato flour. These are all used for worship.
Put the cooked chicken on a plate, with cooked pork, two eggs, and a chopstick of sweet potato noodles next to it, and then you can take it to the altar.
Lin Yan carefully carried the offerings to the altar. Yu Ge'er followed behind, his hands clasped together, his expression serious, imitating the behavior of an adult. The altar had already been wiped clean and set with candlesticks and orange candies. There were also five small wine glasses and a pot of wine, each half-filled with wine. More wine would be added in three installments later, just a little at a time.
After Lin Yan neatly arranged the offerings, he lit the candles. The family members stood before the altar in order of age. Zhao Qiming, as the elder, bowed first, chanting a prayer, praying for the ancestors to bless the family with peace and prosperity, and for good weather and good harvests in the coming year. Then the others followed.
After the worship, the whole family was in high spirits and looked forward to the coming year.
After bringing the plate of meat and eggs back to the kitchen, several people began to prepare dinner. It’s not quite right to call it dinner because the meal started around 3 p.m.
Chop the chicken into small pieces and serve it on a plate. You can eat the poached chicken directly, or if the weather is cold, make a hot pot. Add sweet potato starch to the chicken kidneys, liver, blood, and intestines to make a soup, then add some cabbage. Stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with bacon, braised fish, braised spareribs, and pig blood sausage. The pig blood sausage was stuffed after the villagers slaughtered a pig two days ago, so Li Yuemei bought two for the family. It's delicious steamed straight away. The eggs are saved for the second day of the Lunar New Year. Fried meatballs, dumplings, and glutinous rice balls are rarely eaten here during the Lunar New Year, so we didn't prepare any.
While they were cooking, Zhao Shiyun ran to the kitchen door and asked, "Mo, where are the firecrackers? Take them out first and set them off tonight."
Li Yuemei looked at Zhao Qiming who came to help serve the dishes. The two looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhao Qiming pursed his lips and dared not say a word. Zhao Shiyun realized something and wanted to laugh but didn't dare to.
Li Yuemei said weakly, "I forgot to buy it..."
"Ha..." Yu Ge'er quickly covered his mouth. He looked at Lin Yan and saw that Lin Yan lowered his head and shrugged his shoulders.
Zhao Qiming broke the silence and said, "After dinner, let's go to the house next door and ask if they have any extra. It's not too late."
Li Yuemei hurried down the stairs: "Yes, yes, let's eat first."
Everyone brought the dishes to the main hall, which was overflowing with aroma. Today was still warm and sunny, so we didn't eat hot pot. Everyone sat together, their faces filled with smiles.
"This meal is really sumptuous. We will definitely have a great time today." Zhao Qiming said with a hearty smile.
Everyone nodded and started eating. Yu Ge'er quickly picked up a piece of braised pork ribs and put it in his mouth, his eyes shining, "It's delicious." His mouth was full of oil, and he kept adding food to the bowl. Li Yuemei smiled and said, "Eat slowly, don't choke."
The sun is shining brightly outside the window and the house is warm and peaceful. The family spends the New Year together in this festive atmosphere.
After dinner, Zhao Shiyun ran to his neighbor's house to ask about firecrackers. Fortunately, the neighbor had some extra and shared some with the Zhao family. Zhao Shiyun happily took the firecrackers and ran home.
They stayed up all night, and firecrackers couldn't be set off until after midnight. The family gathered back inside, drinking hot tea to help digest their food. Li Yuemei laid out several plates of sunflower seeds, peanuts, candies, and pastries, and everyone chatted while munching on them.
The topic somehow turned to plans for next year. Lin Yan planned to set up a stall in town, something he had mentioned long ago, and now he had a clue. Zhao Qiming was thinking about planting a few more acres of soybeans. The tofu business was good this year, and he would be selling them in town next year, so he should plant more. Yu Ge'er wanted to get a puppy. Li Yuemei asked, "Shi Yun, what about you?"
Zhao Shiyun glanced at Lin Yan, his face slightly red, and he said nothing. Lin Yan asked curiously: "Brother Shiyun, what's wrong? Can't you tell me?"
Zhao Shiyun leaned close to his ear and said, "I want to have a big fat boy with you." Lin Yan's face flushed red and he stepped on his foot. Fortunately, his father and mother didn't hear it. Yu Ge'er leaned over and said, "What are you talking about? I want to hear it too."
Zhao Shiyun pushed his head and said, "You little brat, stop asking about adults' affairs."
Yu Ge'er stamped his feet: "Ah, look at him."
Zhao Qiming and Li Yuemei watched them playing and laughed, looking forward to the new year.
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