Chapter 31 Chinese New Year.
If it was other cooked food that didn't smell so strong, He Susu would have stayed in her room and eaten it to avoid coming out and being blown by the cold wind.
But the fried chicken legs were already fragrant, and adding fermented bean curd would make the aroma even more overbearing. In order to avoid being exposed, she had no choice but to go out in the cold wind and walk all the way to the back mountain.
Fortunately, the cotton jacket I was wearing was warm enough, but the wind did hurt my fair face and ears a little.
I went back to the back mountain. It was more than half a year ago that I went up the mountain to pick mushrooms in order to find an excuse to bring a pheasant home.
It is winter now, and there are no mushrooms or even wild vegetables on the mountain. It is barren and the villagers, even their children, will not come here.
He Susu walked all the way here, but she didn't meet anyone. She looked around, walked a little further up the mountain, and used a big tree to cover her figure. Then she took out a fried chicken leg with fermented bean curd from her storage compartment.
The chicken leg is bigger than the palm of your hand, with a golden and crispy skin. You can smell the salty aroma of fermented bean curd as soon as you hold it in your hand.
He Susu took a bite, and the crispy shell and tender chicken fell into her mouth. Perhaps it was marinated with fermented bean curd, and the unique salty and fragrant taste of the fermented bean curd also spread in her mouth.
As expected of a delicious meal that she had been thinking about all night, He Susu was very satisfied with the taste. She loved the crispy skin of the chicken thigh the most, and it was even more delicious when she took a big bite and ate it with the smooth and tender chicken meat.
She didn't eat very fast, but after a while she had finished the entire fried chicken leg with fermented bean curd, eating every bone clean without leaving any meat.
He Susu was very satisfied with this and felt her stomach was completely full.
She didn't waste any time and walked straight down the mountain to her home. When she passed by the river, she squatted down to wash the oil on her hands from handling the chicken legs. The wind was blowing along the way, and it was a bit cold, but it also blew away the aroma of the fried chicken legs with fermented bean curd.
When He Susu came in, her mother was surprised to see her: "Why are you back so soon?"
She knew it was cold and difficult to walk outside, but it was not a good thing for her daughter to stay at home every day. After breakfast in the morning, her daughter took the initiative to say she wanted to go out for a walk. She was so happy.
He Susu said casually: "I'll be back soon after going out for a walk. It's very cold outside."
Mother He nodded: "That's right, I can't bear to leave the bed in the morning like this."
A group of children were playing happily in the yard. Erbao was running and fell to the feet where He Susu was standing. She reached out and helped the child up: "Be careful."
Who knew that Erbao also had a keen nose? He sniffed Xiaogu's hand, then moved closer to sniff her sleeve and shouted, "Xiaogu, you smell like meat!"
He smacked his lips and said, "It smells so good!"
He Susu remained calm and said, "Nonsense, where does the meat smell come from? I think you are craving for meat."
While staying away from Erbao without leaving a trace.
Erbao was confused for a moment, then said firmly: "I really smell the aroma of meat."
He Susu continued to make up a story: "That was the meaty aroma from the mutton soup I drank this morning. Didn't you eat it too?"
Erbao was stunned for a moment: "It seems so..."
The other children were far away from He Susu and could not smell any meat aroma, so they agreed and said that Erbao must have smelled it wrong.
He's mother listened and laughed: "It seems that Erbao is really craving for meat. I will fry some meat for you tonight."
There were many people in the family, and the meat had to wait until the New Year to be eaten, so they had a simple meal at noon, and then they would eat meat when everyone was together in the evening. She also loved her grandchildren, so she simply went to the kitchen to get a clay pot and gave each of her grandchildren a piece of lard residue.
This is the lard residue made from the fat of one and a half kilograms of fat meat brought back from the day when the village slaughtered the pig and divided the meat. Lard residue is a rare snack with a greasy taste these days, with a natural meaty aroma, and children also love to eat it.
"Thank you, grandma!"
Now, each of the seven children took a piece of lard residue and started eating happily.
He Susu also got a piece and put it in her mouth. The lard residue was a little hard because it was cold, but it did not affect its fragrance. It was also crispy on the outside but with the unique fragrance of pork, and it was very delicious.
After all this eating, she naturally couldn't eat much at lunch. When her mother asked her why she ate so little, He Susu had to fool her by saying that she couldn't digest much because she didn't move around much.
It is said that in the morning He Lianzhou rode his bicycle to take Su Yu to work at the radio station, where he met his wife's colleague. Naturally, he greeted him with a smile and exchanged a few words.
Colleague: "It's rare to see Xiaoyu's lover. You two really have a good relationship."
He Lianzhou: "I am seldom at home. It is rare for me to come back so I naturally have to spend more time with Xiaoyu. Thank you for taking care of Xiaoyu."
The colleague waved his hand and said nonchalantly: "It's just a small matter. It's normal for us colleagues to take care of each other."
Su Yu smiled reservedly on the side.
When her husband is not around, her colleagues at the radio station, both those with whom she has a good relationship and those with whom she has an average relationship, often talk behind her back about the poor relationship between her and her husband.
She happened to meet a colleague with whom she had a good relationship and was loud-mouthed. I'm afraid that within half a day, all the colleagues in the radio station would know that her husband had sent her to work today.
She said, "It's getting late, let's go in and work."
Then he looked at He Lianzhou again, "You should go back first. I can go back by myself in the bullock cart after get off work this afternoon. I can make it in time. You don't have to come all the way here."
My uncle and his family still have to get off work today, so they will naturally ride their bicycles back home in the afternoon. Su Yu doesn't want her husband to go back and forth.
Seeing Su Yu's seriousness, He Lianzhou had no choice but to agree. After she and her colleagues walked away, He Lianzhou rode away on his bicycle.
He first rode his bicycle to return it to his mother-in-law, but was then forced to sit for a while before coming out.
He Lianzhou thought that he had been away from home for a long time and had not bought anything for his parents and younger sister, so he walked to the nearest department store.
Knowing his parents' temperament, He Lianzhou simply picked a cotton coat for each of them. These cotton coats were from Shanghai. They were expensive, but they didn't require cloth coupons. The styles were also what his parents would like. The most important thing was that the cotton was solid and warm to wear.
He also bought a set of Pechoin facial cream for my little sister. The salesperson said it was the best-selling skin care product recently. My little sister loves beauty, so I think she will like it.
Knowing that his wife had a set of Pechoin facial cream that she had not finished using, He Lianzhou did not buy any more and instead picked out a box of vanishing cream for her to use on her hands.
He also bought a pound of milk biscuits and a pound of fruit candy, which everyone at home could eat.
Carrying these things out of the department store, He Lianzhou originally wanted to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to wait for a ox cart to go home, but he met his former comrade-in-arms Lu Jiang, who now worked in the county government, and was invited by him to have dinner at a state-owned restaurant.
It was rare for them to meet, so He Lianzhou had no choice but to agree. When he returned home after dinner, it was already afternoon.
Looking at the large and small bags her son brought back, He's mother couldn't help but mutter, "I told you not to buy anything, but you still bought so much. Why are you wasting all this money?"
He Lianzhou disagreed: "It's rare for me to come back, so of course I have to buy something for you, so that I can feel at ease."
He took out two cotton-padded jackets and said, "These are the cotton-padded jackets I bought for you and Dad. They can be used as New Year's clothes. Try them on to see if they fit you well."
Mother He touched the cotton-padded jacket in her hand and said, "This jacket feels comfortable to the touch. I guess the cotton inside is very solid. I guess it cost a lot of money, right?"
As she said this, she had already taken off her cotton coat and put on a new one. She buttoned up the coat and said happily, "It fits perfectly. It fits perfectly."
Although she was happy when her son bought her clothes, she was even happier when he bought her clothes that fit her. This showed that her son knew her body shape and at least remembered her approximate clothing size.
He's father was also trying on a new cotton-padded jacket. After buttoning it up, he touched it again and again and smiled: "This jacket fits me well!"
He Susu was also happy watching from the side.
She had originally thought of exchanging two cotton coats from the shopping system after winter came and bringing them back for her parents, but she had lost her job at that time and was afraid that her parents would refuse her cotton coats. She couldn't find a good excuse, and her parents already had cotton coats to wear, so she simply gave up.
In the end, it’s hard to talk without money. For example, my third brother got a monthly allowance, and when my parents saw him buy a cotton-padded jacket, they refused it verbally, but then happily accepted it without asking any more questions.
He Lianzhou took out the bottle of Pechoin facial cream from the package and handed it to the younger sister: "Little sister, this is for you to use on your face."
He Susu took it and her eyes lit up: "Thank you, Third Brother. I just happened to be short of a bottle for my face."
She didn't expect to receive a gift. This Pechoin cream is a good product, and it's not cheap in department stores. She never bought it before because she didn't have enough money, but after getting the shopping system, she has been exchanging it for vanishing cream.
He Lianzhou smiled and said, "As long as you like it."
He's mother watched from the side, happier than when she herself received her new cotton-padded jacket. The good relationship between the third son and his daughter was what she was most happy to see, and the third son would take better care of Susu in the future.
He Lianzhou asked his mother to deal with the remaining biscuits and fruit candies.
Knowing that the third son bought these for the whole family and that he, his wife and daughter didn't have any gifts, they just watched. Mother He generously gave some biscuits and fruit candies to the eldest son and the children.
The children loved the candies, while the adults picked the cookies.
Brother He and Brother He II worked in the steel factory for a month and were really exhausted. But when they came back with ten yuan and gave it to their wives, they saw the happy smiles on their wives and immediately felt that it was all worth it.
While eating cookies now, I feel that it is really comfortable to not have to go to work.
Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe didn't think much about it. It was normal for their uncle to respect his parents and love his younger sister. They had nothing to do with it, so it was good enough for them to get a piece of biscuit.
He's mother collected all the remaining food and saved it for the New Year.
New Year’s Eve soon arrived, and the entire production team seemed to become lively all of a sudden, with a festive atmosphere everywhere.
The old red couplet on the door had been torn off long ago. Now He's mother made rice porridge and instructed the eldest son to put up a new red couplet.
The children were very excited and started playing all kinds of games.
He Susu got up early for a rare occasion. After breakfast, she sat in the living room with her parents.
Everyone in the family is here, except my third sister-in-law Su Yu, who has to go to work today and on the first day of the new year, so she can only have one day off on the second day. Fortunately, the reunion dinner is held in the evening, so it doesn't affect it.
The day seemed to pass quickly, and suddenly it was night, with fragrance wafting from the stoves in every household.
The He family had a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner. The kitchen started to get busy at four in the afternoon, with He's mother directing her two daughters-in-law to prepare and cook the dishes.
She arranged for everything edible at home.
Braised pork, braised chicken with scallions, stewed lamb with radish, fried bacon with garlic shoots, stir-fried pickled cabbage and wolfberry chicken soup, a total of six dishes filled the table.
He's mother had finally found someone to exchange these radishes for. The radishes she had at home were not durable and had been eaten up long ago. But without the radishes, she really didn't know how to cook the mutton. Fortunately, there were people in the village who harvested radishes late, and they were well stored and intact, so she exchanged two for them.
He Lianzhou also realized that the family had bought mutton when he saw the meal. He had just ridden his bicycle to the county town to pick up his wife, and he was still feeling the cold wind. He stood in the yard for a while before entering the hall.
Su Yu didn't expect that the meal prepared by her husband's family this year would be so sumptuous, with pork, chicken and even mutton. Even some of the bacon made last time was left until now.
The children didn’t care about all these. They just knew that all the meat tonight was edible and they could eat as much as they wanted. They were so greedy that their mouths were almost watering.
He Susu was also looking forward to tonight's dinner, as it was rare for it to be so sumptuous.
The whole family sat around the dinner table, almost shoulder to shoulder, but everyone had a smile on their face and no one cared about so much.
As the head of the family, Father He said, "It's good for the whole family to get together. Let's eat!"
He's mother also said: "I hope next year will be better than this year, let's eat!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's chopsticks started moving. This time, because there were many meats and vegetables to choose from, the chopsticks did not go in one direction.
He Susu first tried the braised pork, which was cooked for a long time and was very soft. The fat and lean meat were mixed together and tasted oily but not greasy. The scallion-roasted chicken was also well-cooked. The chicken was fresh and tender with the scallion fragrance, which was a unique flavor. The radish stewed lamb was needless to say. The lamb was fresh and fragrant with the sweetness of the radish. The garlic moss fried bacon was as delicious as ever.
It’s a pity that there are no fresh vegetables now, so we can only eat pickled cabbage.
All kinds of delicious meat mixed with white rice are eaten together, and every bite is a pleasure. After the meal, a bowl of wolfberry chicken soup, hot mixed with the sweetness of wolfberry, is so refreshing.
There was barely a little bit of food left on each of the six plates at the end. This was because He's mother believed in having surplus every year, otherwise the seven children would have been unable to resist eating the remaining meat.
Even so, both adults and children had bloated stomachs, and were obviously almost full.
On such a festive day, even the cold wind seemed to be much gentler, blowing gently with only a slight chill.
The three daughters-in-law of the He family gathered together to clean up and wash the dishes. At the reminder of their sister-in-law, they boiled a pot of water to wash the dishes, so their hands were not as cold as usual.
They chatted while washing dishes, others sat in the living room talking, and the children gathered in the yard to play, it was a lively scene.
A little later, He's mother went to the room and took out the red envelope.
The seven children are extremely keen-eyed. Besides looking forward to candies, biscuits and other food during the Chinese New Year, what they look forward to most is the red envelopes.
He Susu was lucky enough to be with the seven children and received a red envelope from her mother. She took the red paper and thanked happily, "Thank you, mother!"
Seven children followed closely and received their own red envelopes, cheering, "Thank you, grandma!"
Mother He looked at her beloved daughter and her grandchildren and said with a smile, "Just grow up nicely."
Zhao Miling followed closely behind: "Come, we will give you red envelopes this year as well."
As she spoke, she took out a pile of red envelopes and gave them to her sister-in-law first.
In previous years, only the mother-in-law gave out red envelopes, but they didn't. After all, they didn't have any money, so how could they afford to give red envelopes?
This year, her mother gave them some money, and her husband worked as a temporary worker for a month and earned some money. The family lived a good life, and they were able to eat so much meat thanks to their sister-in-law, so Zhao Miling was generous for once.
She discussed it with Qian Chunhe and they hit it off. But it would be bad if she left out her third brother's wife. When she was washing dishes, she asked and found out that she had also prepared a red envelope, so she decided on it.
He Susu didn't expect that there were more red envelopes to receive. She didn't hesitate to take them and said coquettishly, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Seven children also came over to take the red envelope.
"Thank you, mom!"
"Thank you, auntie!"
He's mother watched from the side. She didn't expect the eldest daughter-in-law to be so generous and give out red envelopes. She was also worried that it would make things difficult for the second and third daughters-in-law. When she saw the second and third daughters-in-law giving out red envelopes, she finally felt relieved. It seemed that the three of them had discussed it.
Father He and his three sons sat aside and watched. The years were peaceful and life was beautiful.
The He family did not have the habit of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, but on New Year's Eve they chatted and talked and went back to their rooms to sleep later than usual.
After returning to her room, He Susu opened the red envelope and looked at it. Her mother gave her one dollar, which was unique to her. She gave Guifang and the others only a few cents at most. The three sisters-in-law gave her the same amount, and she didn't know if it was agreed upon, a total of fifty cents, no more, no less.
This was a blessing from her family. Since she had no shortage of money, He Susu wrapped the red envelope back and hid it under her pillow, intending to keep it there.
After a busy day, she was tired and fell asleep quickly.
The next day, the new year arrived.
The only relatives of the He family who were leaving from the same production team were He Shengli's family. He's mother took out a pound of cakes and called her husband and a group of sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and granddaughters to visit He Shengli's home to wish him a happy new year.
Naturally, this gathering will include a chat about family matters.
He Susu was lucky enough to get a red envelope along with seven other children, and the children also had more candies in their pockets.
No wonder they are so excited. They wear new clothes and walk around during the Chinese New Year. If they meet an adult they know and say hello, they can get a candy. The candy is theirs to put in their pockets and they can save it and eat it later.
After returning home, I had dinner and took a nap, and then I didn't go out again. However, some familiar villagers came to sit at my house one after another, and the biscuits and candies in the living room gradually decreased, and it was very lively.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, married girls return to their parents’ home.
He's mother had already prepared gifts for the three daughters-in-law, including a pound of pork belly, half a pound of pastries and six eggs.
Meat is rare and hard to buy, pastries are not cheap, and eggs are hard to store in winter, so putting these three together can be considered a very good gift for returning home.
Not to mention Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe were happy, even Su Yu was a little surprised.
He's mother was happy to see that the three daughters-in-law liked the gift. She had prepared it as much as she could and treated them all equally. If each family wanted to add something else, they could go and get it themselves.
"Go ahead, your parents must be waiting."
After seeing them off, He's mother was not lonely, as she was looking forward to the return of her eldest daughter and her family. As for her mother's family, her parents had passed away long ago, and she had not been in touch with her brother's family for many years, so she didn't need to worry about them.
He Susu was worried about her elder sister and her family coming back, so she got up early today and had breakfast with everyone while waiting.
She ate all the milk lumps she brought home last time, so she exchanged them for half a pound through the shopping system. They were all kept in her room anyway, so no one knew how much she ate, and she didn't have to find a new excuse to bring them home.
She will treat her elder sister and two nephews to some milk lumps later!
He's father took out some tea that he didn't usually drink, and planned to treat his son-in-law later. He was undoubtedly satisfied with this son-in-law, as his family was well-off and good for his eldest daughter, not to mention the fact that he helped introduce a temporary job before the New Year.
He's mother went to prepare the meat dishes for lunch. Since her son-in-law rarely came, she had to take out the most expensive mutton to entertain him. Yesterday, she only cooked half a chicken, so she would take out the remaining half and cook it now. Since she had mutton and chicken, she simply didn't cook pork.
First, put the radish and mutton in the pot to stew. Then He's mother chopped half a chicken into meat pieces and cut the onions into scallion segments before leaving the kitchen.
Just then, He Xiuxiu's family arrived, all wearing brand new clothes and calling out to people with smiles on their faces.
He's mother hurriedly invited them in: "Come in and sit down. We've finally waited for you."
He Susu also shouted for help.
Haohao and Juejue hadn’t seen their aunt for a long time, so they missed her very much. After calling grandpa and grandma, they rushed to her and said something festive: “Happy New Year, aunt!”
"Happy New Year! Come, I'll give each of you a milk lump." He Susu responded with a smile. Fortunately, she had already put the milk lump on her body. Now she tore open the wrapping paper and stuffed it directly into the mouths of her two nephews.
Haohao and Juejue tasted it and were almost lost in the rich milky aroma. They said happily, "It's delicious, even better than milk candy."
He Xiuxiu watched from the side and couldn't help laughing: "Is it so delicious?"
She just thought that her two sons were cooperating with their aunt's exaggerated reaction.
He Susu took out another milk lump and stuffed it into the eldest sister's pocket: "If you don't believe me, try it. This is a specialty that my classmate helped me buy from the north. It has a strong milky flavor."
He Xiuxiu took it and tasted it. After a while, she could smell the rich milky aroma. What was rare was that it was not as sweet as toffee, and it was quite soft when chewed.
She nodded: "It tastes really good."
He Susu smiled and said, "I specially left some for you to taste."
He's mother had been fed milk lumps by her daughter a while ago, saying that it could replenish nutrition. Seeing this, she smiled and said, "Susu has been thinking about you. Come and sit down."
Father He had already made tea and was sitting down with his son-in-law, drinking and chatting. When his eldest daughter came over and sat down, he invited her to drink tea with him and asked about her work and life.
Married girls usually go back to their parents' home in a hurry, and only today can they sit down and talk. Facing the concern of her parents, He Xiuxiu naturally said everything she could, and made them laugh from time to time.
He Susu listened on the side while playing with her two nephews.
He's mother said, "The third child went back to her parents' home with his wife today. She said she didn't know when she would be back in the afternoon. I don't think she would run into you, so why not come to your house later in the afternoon and have a chat?"
She knew what the third brother meant. He was the only one in the family who had a promising future and was an officer in the army. When he came back and stayed at his eldest daughter's in-laws' house, it was to respect Xiuxiu, his elder sister, and to give her face.
He Xiuxiu understood her third brother's idea and responded with a smile, "Okay, then we'll go home early in the afternoon and wait for her to come over."
Gu Chengli naturally agreed: "Let's go home in the afternoon to welcome our third brother."
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