Chapter 149 Chapter 149 Another Year
This year's New Year's Eve seems to be more lively because there is one more person than last year.
Early in the morning, after breakfast, the Fu family became busy.
Zhou was preparing the New Year's Eve dinner in the kitchen, Fu Wenxiao was writing the word "Fu" in the study, Yu Li was cleaning the house with the two children, and Fang Bihe was climbing up and down, taking down some cracked tiles on the roof and replacing them with new tiles that he had prepared.
After Fang Bihe replaced the new tiles, he went to help clean up.
It was just that it was his first time doing this and his posture looked awkward. Even the two kids swept better than him.
Fang Bihe didn't care. After cleaning the study, he stood in front of the window and looked at Fu Wenxiao writing the word "Fu".
"Great handwriting!" he praised. "I knew you had good handwriting before, but I didn't expect you to write the word 'Fu' so well. It's a pity I've never seen you write it before."
Fu Wenxiao glanced at him. He didn't need to write it before, because during the New Year, the saint in the palace would bestow the word "Fu" on close subjects. The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion would receive the word "Fu" from the saint every year.
But now, he is willing to write the word "Fu".
After he finished writing the word "Fu", Yu Li pasted it on the door.
Fang Bihe also went over to help. He was tall and did the job skillfully. According to Yu Li's instructions, he pasted the word "Fu" on the door, and as he was pasting it he asked if it was crooked.
Fu Wenxiao stood aside and watched him paste the word "Fu".
At this time, the door of the Song family next door opened, and Song Xiucai and his wife walked out. Song Xiucai was holding a bowl of homemade food in his hand.
Seeing them busy pasting the word "Fu" (good fortune), both of them smiled.
They greeted with a smile: "Mr. Fu, Madam Fu, and Mr. Fang, you are pasting the word "Fu" (meaning blessing)."
Soon after Fang Bihe moved into the Fu family to recuperate from his injuries, everyone in Shuying Lane knew of his existence.
The Fu family's statement to the public was that he was the son of a long-time friend of the Fu family. He fell ill unexpectedly while visiting relatives in the south, so he stayed at the Fu family to recuperate and would leave after he recovered.
Mr. Song and his wife came to deliver homemade food to the Fu family. During festivals, neighbors who are on good terms with each other would give each other some homemade food.
When Song Xiucai saw the word "Fu" pasted on the door of the Fu family, his face was full of admiration. He was reluctant to leave and stood there admiring it.
Madam Song had no choice but to deliver the food to the Fu family herself.
After she left, Zhou also returned with a bowl of food she had made.
After pasting the word "Fu", Yu Li went to the kitchen to help Zhou prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.
Because Yu Li eats a lot, so a lot of food needs to be prepared for the New Year's Eve dinner. In addition, there is an additional Fang Bihe this year, so Zhou also wants to prepare more food.
When Yu Li came in, he saw Zhou was about to kill a chicken.
The chicken might have sensed its fate, and it kept cackling in Zhou's hands, filling the room with the sound. When Yu Li approached, it suddenly became silent, even too quiet.
"Mom, let me do it." Yu Li reached out and took the chicken.
When she was wiping the chicken's neck, the chicken was quiet and didn't struggle at all.
Seeing this scene, everyone in the Fu family was used to it, except Fang Bihe, who still looked surprised.
He asked Fu Wenxiao in a low voice: "Are all animals so quiet in front of my sister-in-law?"
"I don't know." Fu Wenxiao answered straightforwardly, "The only animals she has come into contact with so far are some livestock, and she has not come into contact with other animals." So he didn't know how other animals would react.
Even so, Fang Bihe was still amazed.
Every time he saw the livestock become quiet or even lie down in front of Yu Li, he felt that this scene was truly magical and had no doubt at all about Yu Li's identity as a "talented man".
This is different from those charlatans. The reactions of these animals can't be deceptive, right?
After killing the chicken, scald its feathers with boiling water to make it easier to pluck them later.
Fang Bihe volunteered to help deal with the chicken.
The Fu family now has no servants, and everyone has to work. Even the two children are arranged to help with the fire. Fang Bihe naturally would not rely on his status to do nothing.
Moreover, he felt that it was quite interesting to work with Fu Wenxiao and the others and prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner. Everything he did seemed new and exciting.
Zhou was a little skeptical, "He Ge'er, can you do it?"
It's not that she looked down on them, but how could such noble children do such cooking work?
Fang Bihe smiled and said, "Aunt, I can do it. I've seen people pluck chickens." It was such a simple thing, he felt he could do it.
Since he said so, Zhou decided to give the chicken to him and let him deal with it.
Then Zhou went to do other things.
She was busy for a while and was about to go see how Fang Bihe had processed the chicken, but when she went out, she saw him holding a sharpened knife and chopping at the chest of the plucked chicken.
"Brother He, what are you doing?" Zhou called him hurriedly.
Fang Bihe turned around and said, "Aunt, I have plucked all the hair off it and am about to cut it open and take out its internal organs."
Zhou didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "That's not the way to deal with it. You can't chop it in the chest."
In the end, Zhou took it over and dealt with the chicken herself.
But when the chicken was put into the pot to cook, everyone saw a knife mark on the chicken's chest. If Zhou had not stopped it quickly, the chicken would have been cut open by Fang Bihe from the chest.
Fu Wenxiao glanced at Fang Bihe and said, "Look at what you have done."
Fang Bihe felt a little guilty, "Well, this is my first time doing this, how could I know that I had to make a cut from the chicken's butt and take the internal organs out from there?" Then he said confidently, "I don't believe you knew?!"
This Prince Fu was no less capable than me in the past. I don't believe he knows how to handle a chicken.
They are the typical ones who can only eat but not work, because the servants will take care of it and they only need to use their mouths to eat.
"Of course I know." Fu Wenxiao said calmly, "You will learn it after you read it."
He was picking vegetables. He cut each vegetable into uniform lengths and stacked them neatly in the basket. They looked lush and green, a pleasure to look at.
Seeing this, Fang Bihe thought that this was an easy job and he could definitely do it, so he started picking vegetables too. Looking at the neatly arranged vegetables he had picked, he felt a sense of accomplishment.
He turned around and said, "Aunt, look at the vegetables I picked, isn't this the case?"
Zhou, who was cooking chicken, turned around and saw that the two had finished processing all the vegetables. She was speechless.
"We don't need so many greens," she said. "We'll save them for making soup on New Year's Day."
These vegetables were all grown by herself. Zhou went to the yard early in the morning and picked a lot of them. She would eat some of them today and save some for making soup tomorrow. Tomorrow is New Year's Day, and she cannot go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables.
The two grown men looked at each other, then looked away as if nothing had happened.
Fang Bihe said with a smile: "It's okay, we'll pick them in advance, so you don't have to work hard to pick vegetables tomorrow."
After picking the vegetables, Fu Wenxiao saw Yu Li frying meatballs and went to help her.
He took over the work in her hands and started frying the meatballs in the same way. Except for the first pot of meatballs which were a little burnt, he seemed to have mastered the technique and the rest were fried beautifully and golden.
Yu Li ate one and found it was fried just right and tasted great.
She gave each of the two children who were making the fire a cooled fried meatball, and the brother and sister ate it with gusto.
Seeing this, Fang Bihe also came over and asked for a fried meatball.
He gave Fu Wenxiao a thumbs up. The meatballs were indeed fried by Master Fu himself. They were delicious.
Fang Bihe likes the current atmosphere in the Fu family very much.
Although he had no servants to serve him and had to do everything by himself, he worked very hard. Although he was a little clumsy at first, he would be able to learn it as long as he kept practicing.
There is no one who can't do a job, it just depends on whether the person is willing to learn.
This year's New Year's Eve dinner was headed by chefs Zhou and Fu Wenxiao, who were responsible for cooking.
Seeing Fu Wenxiao actually cooking by himself, Fang Bihe looked dazed and doubted his own eyes.
He was already shocked when he tried to fry the meatballs just now. He didn't expect that he could cook other dishes. He is indeed a genius. He can do everything, even cooking.
Yu Li's face was full of anticipation, and he asked, "Xiao brother, what dish are you going to make today?"
Ever since she had eaten the dim sum made by Fu Wenxiao, she knew that he was a good cook. Unfortunately, he seldom went into the kitchen and only occasionally made some dim sum for her to try.
Every time she was left wanting more.
Fu Wenxiao said: "Yes, it's four-joy meatballs, braised pork elbow and fish ball soup."
Hearing this, Yu Li became even more expectant.
After being shocked, Fang Bihe stared at them and began to wonder whether he should also learn from Master Fu.
Look at Master Fu, he is even willing to cook for his wife, he deserves to have a wife.
Why not learn from him? Maybe he can use his cooking skills to marry a girl he likes in the future?
By the evening, the New Year's Eve dinner was ready.
They took the shared food to the room where tablets were enshrined as offerings to their ancestors.
Yu Li and others went to burn incense one by one. Zhou stood in front of the tablet and chanted something, inviting the ancestors to come back for a reunion dinner.
Fang Bihe did not go in. He stood under the eaves, listening to the sounds inside and sighed slightly in his heart.
When they came out of the house, he acted as if nothing had happened and went to the hall with everyone to have the New Year's Eve dinner.
While eating, Yu Li took out a pot of wine.
Seeing this, Zhou was a little nervous, "Li Niang, do you want to drink?"
"I don't want to drink." Yu Li tried to comfort her. "This is osmanthus wine for you. It was sent over by the Wang family. The alcohol content is not high. You can all drink some."
Yu Li poured wine for them respectively, except for her and the two children.
Then she drank tea instead of wine and toasted with everyone.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, it was already dark and everyone sat together to stay up till the New Year.
With Fang Bihe here this year, the New Year's Eve celebration has become lively and everyone is smiling.
Fang Bihe was a man who was good at speaking. He had a sweet mouth and was good at coaxing people. Zhou was always smiling, and even the two children were crying and liked to talk to him.
Yu Li sat there eating nuts and melon seeds, and Fu Wenxiao peeled pine nuts for her.
One of them was eating while the other was peeling the food. They didn't communicate much during the whole process, but there was a sense of tenderness and affection between them.
Occasionally Zhou turned around and saw this, a smile appeared in her eyes, and she prayed in her heart, hoping that it would be like this every year and that everyone would be safe and sound.
When it was late at night, the two children were sleepy, so Zhou took them to rest. Yu Li, Fu Wenxiao and Fang Bihe wished each other a Happy New Year and went back to their rooms to rest.
On the morning of the first day of the new year, after breakfast, everyone paid New Year's greetings to Mrs. Zhou.
Zhou prepared red envelopes for them, even Fang Bihe got one, which made Fang Bihe feel embarrassed, and he quickly gave the red envelopes he had prepared to the two children.
"Thank you Uncle Fang. I wish you a happy new year and all the best."
Fu Yanhui and his sister were very happy to receive the red envelopes and said sweetly.
Fang Bihe touched their little heads and felt that these two children were so well-behaved and sensible, and really lovable.
On the second day of the New Year, married women will bring their husbands back to their parents' home.
Early in the morning, after breakfast, Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao returned to Qingshi Village with the gifts prepared by Zhou.
Zhou said with some concern: "There are usually no boats on the second day of the New Year. You have to walk back to the village. Can Xiao Ge'er bear it?"
In her mind, Fu Wenxiao had just recovered from a serious illness, and his body could not withstand the hardship. She was afraid that his body could not withstand walking all the way back to Qingshi Village.
"Mom, it's okay." Yu Li comforted her, "If he can't walk, I can carry him."
Fu Wenxiao: “…”
Fang Bihe burst out laughing, and when he saw Fu Wenxiao looking up at him, he quickly closed his mouth, but his eyes were still filled with smiles.
Seeing her patting her chest to make the promise, Zhou suddenly lost all her worries.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Okay, you guys go back."
With Li Niang around, there's really nothing to worry about.
When the two of them were leaving the city gate, they unexpectedly saw the village chief's son waiting outside the city gate, driving a mule cart.
Seeing them, he happily invited them to get in the car and said, "My father said that many girls from our village who married in the city will return to their parents' homes on the second day of the New Year, so he asked me to pick you up."
Yu Li didn't expect that the village chief would actually arrange for his son to come and pick people up. He was probably afraid it was because of Fu Wenxiao.
The two of them sat on the mule cart and waited for a while, and more people came, even Yu Xiaogu and her husband, who were returning to her parents' home with their two children.
Seeing them, Yu Xiaogu greeted them warmly.
Seeing that the mule cart was full, the village chief's son drove the mule cart back to the village.
Yu Xiaogu sat comfortably in the car and said with a smile: "In previous years, the village never drove a mule cart to pick us up. It seems that we are benefiting from the scholar this time."
The others all smiled and nodded, understanding how much the village chief valued Fu Wenxiao, the scholar.
They didn't think there was anything wrong. If they were in the same situation, they would be like the village chief and would want to sacrifice the person.
They had a mule cart for transportation, so when they returned to the village, it was still very early.
Yu Li, Fu Wenxiao, and Aunt Yu's family walked towards the new house that the second branch of the Yu family had built last year.
Last year, after Yu Jin made some money, he took some of it back to the village to build a house. After the house was built, the second wife moved out of the main house of the Yu family and moved into the new house.
The second wife's new house is quite far from the main house of the Yu family, and it is obvious that she doesn't want to live close to them.
Seeing this, Yu Laosan and his wife actually wanted to move out, but unfortunately they didn't have enough money, so they could only temporarily live with Yu Laoye and his wife and the people in the first house.
Although they have separated, conflicts are still inevitable when living together.
Just like this New Year's Day, the people from the eldest wife came back, and because of their status as scholars, they did nothing but stay in the house waiting for food and drink.
Old Madam Yu and Chen were simply too busy to handle it, so Old Madam Yu called on the people from the third room to come and help, and said that since they still lived together, they could have the New Year's Eve dinner together, and asked the third room to bring their food and dishes over.
Yu Laosan and his wife were not willing to do that. Although they didn't have much money, it was New Year and they wanted to treat themselves and their children well, so they specially bought meat and killed a chicken.
If they brought it over to eat with them, the meat would be taken by the old lady to the people in the first wife's house, and they in the third wife's house would only be able to gnaw on the bones.
Like before, the sisters in the second room didn’t even have bones to eat.
They immediately closed the door and ignored the old lady's words.
Even so, Yu Laosan and his wife were still very unhappy. They felt that as long as they continued to live with the old couple and the people in the first house, such things would happen frequently in the future.
People in the first wife's house are used to coming back to be the masters, thinking that they are still precious scholars and don't have to do anything.
Yu Lao San said to his wife, "After the Chinese New Year, before the spring ploughing, I will find some work to do, and we can save money to build a house."
Wang nodded. "Of course we should. Otherwise, when the old lady and her family get old and the eldest wife doesn't want to live with them, I'm afraid we will have to serve them in the end."
She knew very well that except during the New Year and other festivals, no one from the first wife was willing to come back.
Even if I come back, I will still be a man.
If something happens to the old couple by then, won’t they have to serve them tea and water every day?
How could this be possible? It was agreed at the beginning that the old couple would live with the eldest wife, and all their land and money would be given to the eldest wife. If anything happened to them in the future, the eldest wife would be the first to serve them.
**
The new house of the second branch of the Yu family was built on a higher ground, not far from the river, making it convenient to fetch water. Moreover, when it rained, even if the river water rose, it would not flood the house.
The house is made of bricks and tiles and is very spacious. Except for the main room of Yu Laoer and his wife, each sister has her own room.
They no longer had to live together. Although they were all grown-up girls, they had to live in the same room with their sisters, as if they were just passers-by in this family.
Now, they finally have a sense of security that they are the masters of this home and have their own room.
When Yu Li and others arrived, everyone in the second house was very happy.
"Sister, brother-in-law, you are here!"
The three Yu Jin sisters ran over happily and held Yu Li's hand, and greeted Yu Xiaogu and others with sweet smiles.
Aunt Yu looked at her nieces and was pleased to see that they were all energetic and had chubby faces.
Since the Yu family split up, these nieces have been living better and better, which is something she is happy to see.
Not long after, Aunt Yu and her family also arrived.
The second room suddenly became lively.
Liu, Aunt Yu and Aunt Yu went to the kitchen to cook together. The men sat together and talked, while the young girls gathered together to chat and play.
These are one of the few free days they have in a year.
Yu Jin smiled and said to Yu Li: "Sister, when my brother-in-law came to the village school a few years ago, didn't the village chief ask my brother-in-law to write a lot of blessing characters for the villagers?"
Yu Li nodded. This was indeed the case. Before the New Year, she came back to help slaughter the New Year pig. The village chief took the opportunity to ask Fu Wenxiao to write a lot of blessing characters, so she didn't have to go to the county town to find him to write them.
"This year, my brother-in-law has written the word 'Fu', so no one in the village needs to ask my uncle to write a word for them." Yu Jin said this with a strange expression, "My uncle thought that someone in the village would ask him to write a word for him this year, so he asked my aunt to open the door early in the morning and wait for people to come with food to ask for a word. But he waited until the afternoon and no one came..."
At this time, Yuzhu also came over and said excitedly: "Then my uncle went out to ask people why they didn't come to write the word "Fu" for them this year. The people in the village told him that my brother-in-law had already written the word "Fu" for them in advance, so he didn't ask my uncle and cousin to write it for them."
Yu Yin also smiled with her hands covering her mouth, "I heard that uncle looked very bad at the time, very scary, and even lost his temper when he returned to his room..."
The sisters finally couldn't hold back their laughter anymore and they all fell down laughing.
Sun Fangniang couldn't help laughing either.
Yang Manniang also found it funny. Because of her mother, she didn't have a good impression of her uncle's family. People say that scholars are precious, but if those scholars are sucking the blood of brothers and sisters, no one would be happy as a family member who is being sucked by them.
Yu Li was not interested in these. After they finished laughing, he said, "A year has passed. I want to check how your physical training is going and whether you are lazy."
Hearing this, the faces of the girls present changed drastically.
Everyone stood up obediently and followed her.
As the oldest girl present, Yu Li is like the head of the family, holding their lives in her hands.
She stood there majestically, and with just one look from her, the group of girls became like little wives, not daring to say a word.
The adults saw this scene and found it extremely funny.
Aunt Yu poked her head out to take a look at the yard, and said with a smile while working, "Only Li Niang can control them. Li Niang really has the demeanor of an elder sister."
Aunt Yu nodded, "That's right."
Yu Li checked the results of the girls' physical training one by one and found that except Yang Manniang, the others had persisted.
As for Yang Manniang, it’s not that she didn’t persist, but she was not diligent enough.
Yang Manniang blushed, "Cousin, I did practice, but I didn't practice diligently. Now when I practice, it doesn't hurt too much."
Her parents are loving and her family spoils her, so she thinks it doesn't matter whether she practices this or not.
Unlike the three Yu Jin sisters and Sun Fangniang, who grew up in hardship, no matter how tired they are, they still insist on practicing physical skills every day.
Yu Li knew in his heart that this kind of thing really couldn't be forced.
Children who are loved by their parents do not know how dangerous the world is, so naturally they will not be so eager to make themselves stronger.
She touched the little girl's head and said, "Practice this to make you strong and healthy, so that you won't get sick and won't be easily bullied in the future."
Yang Manniang looked up at her, met her calm eyes, and somehow felt a little regretful.
She bit her lip and quickly made up her mind: "Cousin, don't worry, I will practice diligently in the future. I will practice for half an hour every day and I will never be lazy!"
Yu Li smiled and touched her head again.
Many years later, Yang Manniang finally understood what Yu Li had said and her intentions.
No matter how much time has passed, she still remembers Yu Li's eyes at that time, calm and confident, which were deeply imprinted in her heart and made her chase him instinctively.
Everyone admires the strong. Who wouldn’t like such a powerful and confident cousin?
Seeing this, the other girls rushed over to rub Yang Manniang's head and praised her for being so well behaved.
Yang Manniang pursed her lips and smiled.
When it’s time for dinner, there’s another bustle.
Everyone helped, some served the dishes, some served the rice. No man sat there acting like a big man, waiting for the women to serve them food and drinks.
Even Fu Wenxiao served his own rice, a bowl for Yu Li and another for himself, then sat down next to her.
He looked calm and didn't think there was anything wrong with sitting and eating with his wife.
There was no separate seating for men and women in the second room.
Seeing this, others also sat down next to their close ones.
The meal was very lively.
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