Chapter 98 Chapter 98 New Year Gifts
When Yu Li and his friends returned home, Zhou was cooking dinner.
When she saw Yu Li bringing Fu Wenxiao back, her expression seemed to go blank for a moment, and then she looked at them with shining eyes.
As for the two kids who were also holding Fu Wenxiao's hands on the other side, she simply ignored them.
At this time, Zhou's mentality was completely that of a "mother-in-law" when looking at her daughter and son-in-law. She hoped that the young couple would have a good relationship and have a baby while they were still young.
The better the relationship between the couple, the happier she is.
How could Fu Wenxiao not see it? He looked a little embarrassed.
At this time, Yu Li had already let go of his hand and said to Zhou: "Mom, we are back. What's delicious? I'm hungry."
The two children also said, "Grandma, I'm hungry, it's delicious!"
Zhou was so amused by them that she said hurriedly, "I made some rice dumplings today and they are cooking in the pot. They should be ready to eat soon."
"OK!"
Yu Li's voice became cheerful. She had never eaten zongzi before, and her face was full of anticipation.
When the children came back, Zhou started to get busy. She first boiled hot water for them to wash their hands, and then served the ginger soup that had been cooked in the pot.
She asked with concern: "Are you okay? Xiao'er, are you feeling unwell?"
What she was most worried about was Fu Wenxiao's health, fearing that he wouldn't be able to bear it after going out.
Fu Wenxiao smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. I'm not feeling unwell. I'm just a little tired after staying outside for too long."
Zhou looked at him a few more times, confirmed that he was okay, and finally felt relieved.
This was the first time Fu Wenxiao went out in three years.
Although he said that his health was getting better, she was still worried, always thinking about how he collapsed three years ago, and how he later became bedridden and even going out was a luxury.
But he always had to go out. Today was a good day with the sun shining. Li Niang was slaughtering pigs for the Kitchen God Festival in the village. It would be good for him to go out for a walk and visit Li Niang...
Now that his health has improved, she can't let him stay at home all the time. She also wants him to go out for more walks.
But when he left, she began to worry again and her heart could not calm down.
Zhou sighed, not knowing when his health would fully recover.
After Zhou prepared the hot water and mixed it with cold water to make it warm, Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao and Fu Yanhui, brother and sister, washed their hands together.
Each person has a basin, and each basin is marked so they won’t be mixed.
The Fu family was very particular about food, clothing and other daily necessities. Even though Yu Li didn't have much money when she first got married, Zhou still prepared a basin for her to wash her hands and face, and even a separate basin for washing her feet.
Using fat beads to rub out bubbles, Yu Li washed his hands carefully several times.
After washing her hands, she wiped them with a towel, put them in front of her nose and smelled them, with a look of satisfaction on her face.
It smells delicious, this time with the scent of osmanthus.
The fat beads sold in the county town are added with medicinal herbs and various floral scents.
Yu Li would buy different ones every time, buying all the ones with floral scents. After washing, her body would be filled with floral scent, which she quite liked.
It's hard not to like this kind of pure natural plant fragrance, especially for someone like her who comes from a wasteland world and has experienced a world where normal plants have long been extinct. She likes these things with natural plant fragrance very much.
When Fu Wenxiao saw her actions, he suddenly thought of what happened before.
His heart moved slightly, and he said, "Li Niang, I remember there should be a kind of fragrant soap sold in the capital. It has a light smell and is very useful."
"Compared with Fatty Zhuzi?" Yu Li asked curiously.
"It's all the same."
Fu Wenxiao actually didn't quite understand. In the past, he had someone to take care of his food, clothing and daily necessities, and he seldom cared about those things. He only remembered that he used ointments specially supplied by the palace to wash and brush his teeth. Even the toothpowder he used was made by craftsmen in the palace and had the scent of orchid.
He found that she seemed to like this kind of floral scent very much, so he secretly made a note of it.
Yu Li nodded to indicate that she had remembered it and would buy some when she went to the provincial capital someday.
After washing his hands, Yu Li went back to his room to change his clothes.
This kind of clothes is specially worn when slaughtering pigs. After slaughtering the pig, it must be taken off and washed so that there will be no odor.
When she changed her clothes and came out, she saw Fu Wenxiao and Fu Yanhui, brother and sister, sitting there drinking ginger soup together, with a bowl left for her.
She sighed and could only pick it up and drink.
In fact, she felt that she did not need to drink ginger soup. Her body had been almost repaired by her supernatural powers and was immune to all diseases. She would not get sick easily.
But I couldn't refuse my mother-in-law's concern, so I drank it anyway.
A little later, the rice dumplings were finally cooked, and waves of the unique fragrance of rice dumpling leaves wafted out from the kitchen.
There is a custom of eating rice dumplings during festivals here. Especially when visiting relatives, people will bring one or two rice dumplings to show their appreciation for their relatives. After the relatives receive them, they will also give back two homemade rice dumplings.
This is equivalent to everyone exchanging rice dumplings and tasting different flavors.
Zhou is generous with the ingredients used in making the rice dumplings. He makes meat rice dumplings with marinated pork belly and some beans mixed in. The glutinous rice is soft and the beans are tender. The fat from the pork belly soaks into the glutinous rice and beans. When you take a bite, your mouth is filled with the oily and sticky fragrance.
Yu Li liked it very much and finished five dumplings in one breath.
Each zongzi is as big as an adult's palm, so the portion is not small. If she wasn't afraid of running out of them and not having any to eat during the Chinese New Year, she would have eaten five more.
Fu Wenxiao ate one himself, slowly and leisurely. When she finished five, he hadn't finished one yet.
Fu Yanhui and his sister ate one together, and the two little ones also ate very slowly.
"If you like it, eat more. There's still a pot left to cook." Zhou said with a smile, "I'll cook it later."
Knowing that she had a good appetite, she specially made more rice dumplings. When they went to worship the Kitchen God today, she made rice dumplings at home and boiled them first after making a batch.
Yu Li suppressed his greed and said, "It's okay, save it for later." Anyway, there are still many delicious foods, so there is no need to rush to finish them all.
After making rice dumplings today, Zhou will fry fruits the next day.
As soon as Yu Li arrived home, he smelled the smell of frying in the air, and then ate some freshly-baked fried fruits, which were also fried pancakes.
When you take a bite, it’s crispy and crunchy, with the unique sweetness of glutinous rice inside.
No one can resist fried food, not even Yu Li.
"Mom, it's delicious!" Her eyes were shining and her mouth was moving like a squirrel.
Yu Li felt that the Chinese New Year was great because there were delicious foods every day that he couldn’t eat at other times.
Especially those that are freshly made and still steaming hot, they taste especially delicious in this cold weather. These are some foods that are suitable for special weather and special times.
When you eat it, you will feel very happy.
While Zhou was busy frying the fruit, she said, "If you like it, I'll make more for you in the future."
Every time she saw Li Niang eating, she felt a sense of accomplishment, as if her cooking skills were better than those of the imperial chefs in the palace.
No cook would refuse a eater like Yu Li. Because there is a child who loves to eat in the family, Zhou is now more confident in her cooking skills and thinks about making delicious food for her every day.
You know, before Yu Li came, they just ate whatever they wanted.
Fu Wenxiao was in poor health and had no appetite. She also had something on her mind and had no appetite. The two children were still young, so they had to be careful about what they ate. The family rarely cooked big fish or meat, and ate very light food.
Yu Li is different. She can eat everything and says everything is delicious. She is very easy to raise and people like to feed her.
This busy work lasted until the evening.
Yu Li was helping Zhou clean up the kitchen when he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw it was Boss Tu, with two familiar large bamboo baskets at his feet.
Boss Tu came in carrying a bamboo basket and said, "Mother Li, the New Year is coming soon. This is the New Year gift that Master Xuan asked someone to prepare for you."
"Uncle Tu, have you eaten yet? Would you like some fried fruit? They were freshly fried today."
Yu Li invited him to come over to eat and poured him tea.
It was such a cold day, and Boss Tu was sweating as he carried the things along the way. He immediately took a bowl of water.
When Zhou saw him, she also smiled and said, "Boss Tu is here. Thank you for your hard work. Why do we need you to bring so many things?"
Ever since Boss Tu often sent things to their family and gradually became familiar with the Fu family and got used to him, Zhou and the two children were no longer frightened by his bandit-like appearance.
Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng followed their uncle out, and when they saw Boss Tu, they called out in a crisp voice, "Grandpa Tu!"
Boss Tu: “…”
He's not even thirty yet, but he's already become a grandfather?
No matter how many times, whenever Tu Lao Da heard the two kids call him "Grandpa Tu", he would be choked up.
But seeing how adorable the two children were, he didn't know what to say. He couldn't let them call him Uncle Tu like Yu Li did, right?
Isn't this confusing the generations?
Fu Wenxiao and Zhou could both see his dilemma and tried hard to hold back their laughter.
When Yu Li called him "Uncle Tu", it established the seniority of the eldest brother Tu in the Fu family. Even the children could only call him "Grandpa Tu". There was nothing that could be done about it.
Boss Tu drank some water, sat down and chatted with them for a while, then prepared to leave.
He said, "Tomorrow is the twenty-eighth day of the lunar year. After these two busy days, you can rest now. You can go after the Lantern Festival."
The butcher shop is busy before the New Year, with many people buying meat. However, business will be quiet after the New Year, when there will not be many pigs to be slaughtered, so she doesn't need to rush to the butcher shop to slaughter pigs.
After hearing this, Zhou smiled and said, "That's great. Li Niang can have a good rest now."
Boss Tu felt a little guilty when he heard this. Fortunately, the Fu family planned to move to the county town after the New Year. Then Yu Li would not have to get up in the middle of the night to rush to the county town and could sleep longer at home.
When he heard that the Fu family was planning to move, Boss Tu was the first to support them.
When Boss Tu left, Zhou packed some things and asked him to take them back.
"Auntie, no need..." Boss Tu refused hurriedly.
"Yes!" Zhou said, "These are for you, and these are for Master Xuan. We can't accept your gifts and not give you some, right? There are bacon, sausage, rice dumplings, and some fried food that I made. There's nothing good in them."
Boss Tu had no choice but to accept it.
Then he had someone deliver the New Year gifts prepared by the Fu family to the camp overnight. The New Year was approaching, and Xuan Huaiqing had gone to the camp of the Zhennan Army a few days ago to celebrate the New Year with General Xuan, and was not in the city.
-
After Boss Tu left, Zhou and Yu Li packed up the New Year gifts sent by the Xuan family.
The two large baskets were filled with specialties from the city, mostly food, as well as some wild delicacies and medicinal herbs. It was obvious that the people in the Xuan family who prepared the New Year gifts had already figured out Yu Li's preferences, and what they sent over every time were what she liked - except for the medicinal herbs.
After putting all the things in order, the cabinets against the wall in the kitchen were filled up with all the necessary food for the New Year.
Some of them could not be put in the cabinet and had to be placed in a basket next to the cabinet and covered with a bamboo lid to prevent mice from stealing them.
Yu Li stood in front of the cabinet, looking at so many supplies, feeling particularly at ease.
Having enough food and clothing is nothing more than this.
"Li Niang, it's time to rest!" Zhou called out.
Yu Li agreed, washed his hands, and went back to his room to rest.
Before going to bed, she transferred her supernatural powers to Fu Wenxiao, and after that she could eat delicious rice cakes. The rice cakes had been specially steamed before and were still warm, so they tasted soft and sweet.
Yu Li couldn't help but sigh: "It's so nice to celebrate the New Year!"
The New Year hasn't even ended yet, but she already feels that the New Year is so great. There are so many delicious foods and she can't eat enough every day.
Fu Wenxiao couldn't help laughing. When he saw her sorting the New Year gifts from the Xuan family, he could tell how happy she was. She was like a small animal busy hoarding food, running around without feeling tired at all.
He also felt very at ease watching it.
**
On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, Zhang Fu paid Yu Li her wages and gave her a large piece of meat.
The piece of meat looked to weigh about thirty kilograms and was placed in her backpack.
"Li Niang, you can rest at home tomorrow." Zhang Fu said with a smile, "You have worked hard these past few months. Have a good New Year and come back after the New Year."
Yu Li nodded, "Okay, if the butcher shop is busy, you can ask Uncle Tu to call me."
After leaving the butcher shop, Yu Li went to the street to buy some things, including a lot of roasted snacks, such as roasted melon seeds, roasted peanuts and nuts, which could be eaten as snacks during the New Year.
On the way, she also met Ge Yayi and others who were on patrol, and they all greeted her warmly.
The yamen runner Ge said, "Boss Li, we have prepared a New Year gift for you and put it in Miss Yu Jin's shop. You can take it back when you have time."
Yu Li was stunned for a moment, then said, "Thank you."
Seeing that she did not refuse, the three yamen runners smiled even happier. Since they still had to patrol, they said goodbye to her without saying much.
Yu Li looked at the direction the three people left, thought about it, and started to buy some New Year's goods, and then went to Luoyu Lane.
Although the weather is cold, there are often people under the big banyan tree at the entrance of Luoyu Lane. Many children of different ages play here. Some elderly people sit there chatting with people around them and looking after their grandchildren. In the past, there were also idle men who would gather there to gamble, but now they are nowhere to be seen.
Yu Li glanced under the tree and then entered Luoyu Lane.
Soon, Wu Shouzi, Gao Sheng, Li Wulang, Wang Sanlang and others all received the New Year gifts she sent. They were so moved that they almost wanted to hug her legs and cry.
"Boss Li, you are really..." Wu Shouzi choked up, "You even gave us New Year gifts. We really don't know how to thank you."
This year is the most comfortable year they have ever had in their lives.
Because they have earned money in the past few months, and use their own money to buy food and other things for the family, the family members are very happy, and they will no longer scold them for being useless, and scold them for dying outside one day, and don't let them get involved, etc. like in previous years...
With money in hand and plenty of surplus food at home, everyone ate better than before.
A few days ago, Yu Li gave them five taels of silver.
These five taels of silver were exactly what they paid to her every month. In order to pay them on time, they worked very hard every day to make money, and had no time to think about other things. They would never waste money.
Unexpectedly, she returned the tribute money to them a few years ago.
This is really...
Just as they were moved, Yu Li said, "You will have to continue to pay tribute next year. I will keep this money and give it to you at the end of the year. If you do a good job, you can get this money. If you don't do a good job, then there will be no money!"
So, it still depends on their performance.
Several people: "..."
Well, no matter what, although Boss Li accepted their tribute, he did not spend it. Instead, he returned it to them in consideration of their good performance.
With these five taels of silver, they had more spare money and were more generous when buying things for their family.
Now their families are all happy that they have turned over a new leaf and are glad that they can earn money to support the family, and that it is honest money, not dirty money that is used for immoral purposes.
Yu Li said: "Okay, stop crying, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, you guys should have a good time."
"OK!"
Wu Shouzi and others quickly wiped their tears and enthusiastically escorted her out of the alley.
Then Yu Li went to the homes of Ge, Peng and Zhu, the yamen servants, and gave them New Year gifts.
If they hadn't given her New Year gifts, she really wouldn't have wanted to give them anything, but seeing how nice their attitude was, it wouldn't be a big deal to spend some money on some New Year gifts.
After doing all this, she went to Jucai Lane.
Because Chinese New Year is approaching, most of the shops in Jucai Lane are closed, and only a few are still open for business in order to make more money.
This business is indeed good, because there are no other stores selling things, so everyone has to come to these stores to buy.
When Yu Li went over, Yu Jin and others were busy making rice balls for people.
When they were done, she asked, "Second sister, when are you going to close the shop and take a break?"
"Today is the last day. I won't work tomorrow." Yu Jin wiped the sweat off his forehead. There was a stove in the store, so it was actually quite warm. He would sweat when he was busy, so it didn't feel cold at all.
Sun Fangniang poured her a glass of water and said with a smile: "After we finish our work today, we will clean up later. We will also return to the village in the evening."
By the way, bring the New Year goods you bought back with you, so that you can have a good New Year this year.
Thinking of her mother and younger brother at home, Sun Fangniang smiled and her eyes were full of anticipation for the New Year.
Yu Jin pulled over two baskets of New Year gifts and said, "Big sister, these are New Year gifts from Captain Ge and his men. They brought them here early this morning and asked me to give them to you."
Not only was it prepared for her sister, but she also received it.
Although the amount is not as much as her sister's, it can be seen that Ge Yayi and his men are quite thoughtful.
Yu Li hummed and asked, "Are you free later? Let's go give some New Year gifts to my aunt."
She had originally planned to deliver it before the New Year. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and since she is not coming to the county town, she will deliver it today.
"Of course!" Yu Jin said with a smile, "We also bought some New Year gifts for my aunt."
Then they went to give New Year gifts to Yu Xiaogu, and Yu Xiaogu gave them some in return.
Knowing that they were going to close the shop and take a rest today and would not come to the county town tomorrow, Aunt Yu said, "That's good too. It's a rare New Year, so take a good rest. We will be busy again after the New Year."
She could see that Yu Jin was suitable for doing business. Not only was she quick-witted, but she was also courageous. It seemed that they were also acquainted with the yamen runners. With those runners looking after them, they didn't have to worry about being deliberately harassed or exploited. They should be able to go further in the future.
After giving the New Year gift to Aunt Yu, Yu Li returned to the village first.
Because there were too many New Year gifts from Ge Yayi and others, she took a boat back.
When Wang the boatman saw that she brought so many things, he was secretly shocked and asked, "Li Niang, why did you buy so many New Year's goods?"
"I didn't buy it." Yu Li replied, "It was a New Year's gift from someone else."
Wang Chengong felt a little envious after hearing this. He still remembered how Yu Li looked when she first went to the county town in the summer. He never thought that in just half a year, she seemed to have been reborn. Her life was getting better and better. One could tell at a glance that she was a capable girl who knew how to live.
I don’t know if the Yu family regretted marrying off such a capable girl casually, making them enemies and preventing them from getting any benefits from her.
After returning to Qingshi Village, Wang the boatman stopped the boat beside the river pier and wanted to help her move the baskets of New Year's goods to the shore, but Yu Li refused.
"No, I can do it myself."
As she spoke, she was seen holding a basket in one hand and carrying them ashore easily.
There were other guests on the boat. Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but sigh: "Madam Fu is really strong."
"That's not it. If it's not big, how can we kill the pig?"
"It's not just about strength, but also about skills in slaughtering pigs. The butcher in our village is very strong, but when you see him slaughtering pigs, the pigs scream so miserably that it sounds unlucky."
The guests on the boat were all from nearby villages. They had also seen Yu Li slaughtering a pig during the village’s Kitchen God Festival.
Anyone who has seen her slaughter a pig has firmly believed that "killing a pig brings good luck", and they don't even mind that she is a girl. They just want to ask her to slaughter a pig for good luck.
Even the butchers wanted to learn the skills of butchering pigs from her, and how to make the pigs "grateful" to them and not cry so miserably.
Yu Li was unaware of the discussion behind him. He just walked home with a backpack on his back and two baskets in his hands.
People who saw her on the road were so envious that they didn’t know whether they envied her for bringing back so many things or her strength.
When she got home, Zhou was also stunned when she saw the gifts. But when she found out that they were all New Year gifts from others, she couldn't help but smile.
"Li Niang is really popular."
If she wasn't popular, who would think of giving her a New Year gift? This is also a sign of good popularity.
Yu Li drank some water and said to Zhou: "Mom, I don't have to go to the county town tomorrow. I can rest at home."
"That's good." Zhou said as she sorted out her things, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, we should really take a break." Then she continued to nag, "Hey, I'll make some dumplings for you to try tomorrow..."
**
On New Year's Eve, Yu Li woke up early in the morning.
As soon as she moved, Fu Wenxiao beside her also woke up and said sleepily, "Li Niang, sleep a little longer."
Yu Li said energetically: "I'm not going to sleep anymore. Mom said she wants to make dumplings today."
There is no custom of eating dumplings during festivals here, and even pasta is rarely eaten. The staple food is still mainly rice.
However, Zhou had been in the north for nearly thirty years and was more accustomed to the customs there. After returning home, he would make some pasta to eat from time to time.
For Yu Li, she loves all food as long as it is delicious.
Rice is delicious, noodles are delicious too. In her eyes, there is only a difference between delicious and ugly food, and there is no food that she cannot get used to.
After Yu Li washed up, he went into the kitchen to look for something to eat.
Fu Wenxiao also lost his sleepiness and got up.
Soon, everyone in the Fu family sat at the dining table and ate the hot dumplings fresh from the pot together.
The dumplings are filled with meat, including mutton and pork, and are served with a bowl of chicken soup made last night. The plump white dumplings are dipped in vinegar and are fragrant.
Yu Li ate one dumpling with each type of filling and said to Zhou: "Mom, the dumplings you make are better than those outside. There is a lot of meat. I like it."
The dumplings sold in the county town don’t have so much meat filling, and they are not as delicious as Zhou’s.
The dumpling skins are very chewy and delicious, and the fillings she prepared are really tasty.
Zhou looked happy, "If you like it, eat more. I made a hundred dumplings and froze the rest. You can cook them anytime you want."
The advantage of winter is that food does not spoil easily. You can make more and put it in the yard. When it snows, the food will be covered with snow and can be kept for a long time.
Although it hasn't snowed in the past few days, the dumplings will not go bad if left there.
After eating dumplings, everyone started to get busy.
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