After lunch, the three of them sat around chatting in the main room.
"The snow outside is falling heavier and heavier. Let's go clean up the yard in a bit," Grandpa Zhao said.
“Okay, let’s rest for a bit after we’ve just finished eating. We’ll get started later,” Lu Chuan replied.
"I wonder how long this snow will last. Hopefully it won't turn into a snow disaster like last year," Xu Han said, looking at the sky outside.
"It shouldn't rain for too long, let's wait and see," Grandpa Zhao said uncertainly, looking at the sky outside.
"I hope so, I hope next year will be a bumper harvest," Xu Han murmured.
Everyone says that a timely snowfall promises a good harvest, and this is the heaviest snowfall since the beginning of winter.
The previous snowfalls were light snow or sleet, falling intermittently for several days, but not much snow or rain accumulated on the roads.
It snowed this morning, and the roads are already covered in deep snow. If it's not cleared soon, it will get even thicker, which will make it more difficult to clean.
"We're not afraid if it rains for a while. We have enough charcoal prepared this year, plus food and other necessities, enough to get us through the winter."
"It's a good opportunity to take a good rest this winter, because there's a lot to do next year," Lu Chuan said with a smile.
"You've been resting for three or four years and you still haven't had enough rest?" Xu Han teased.
"I'm doing this so I can work better next year," Lu Chuan said with a simple smile.
"It's time to rest for a few days. We put in a lot of effort digging ponds and clearing wasteland in Xiaochuan this winter," Grandpa Zhao said with a smile.
"I think he's been idle for a few years and gotten lazy, hahahahaha." Xu Han laughed loudly.
"I'd better hurry up and go shovel the snow, or my wife will start to complain about me later." Lu Chuan said, then got dressed and headed out.
Seeing this, Grandpa Zhao also planned to go along, but Xu Han quickly stopped him, saying, "Grandpa Zhao, don't worry about him, let him sweep first, you can rest for a while, it's not comfortable to work right after eating."
"Okay, then I'll watch the child for you first. You go ahead and do your thing."
Seeing this, Xu Han didn't stand on ceremony and immediately got up and went to the kitchen.
As the year draws to a close, although there is much less food this year than in previous years, there are still some of the usual necessities.
Of course, you should also prepare some New Year's goods. Even if there are only a few people, you can't make do, otherwise there will be no festive atmosphere.
Xu Han first went into the kitchen, found a large basin, and soaked a basin of beans in it so that she could use them to make tofu the next day.
The tofu in the space was all gone long ago. Winter is the season for eating soy products. I haven't made any before, but I'll make a lot this time so it can last a long time.
After soaking the beans, Xu Han also soaked some bean sprouts and mung bean sprouts. She would take them to the main room to sprout in a little while. There was a brazier in the main room, and the temperature was high enough for them to sprout quickly.
After preparing everything, Xu Han returned to the main room and took over from Grandpa Zhao to watch the children, while Grandpa Zhao went out to help Lu Chuan shovel snow.
While taking care of the child, Xu Han was thinking about what she could do differently for the Chinese New Year this year.
Every year it's the same old fried meatballs and boiled meats, but I'm tired of it all these years and want to try something new.
Suddenly, Xu Han thought of rice cakes, something she hadn't eaten in a long time.
There are many ways to eat rice cakes. They can be used in soups, baked, stir-fried, or added to hot pots. There are just so many ways to enjoy them.
Xu Han's appetite grew stronger with each thought, and she couldn't wait to make it right away, but she was held back by her two children.
Besides, making rice cakes requires processing the glutinous rice in advance, and there's definitely no time to do it today, so I can only be patient and wait a while.
By the time Lu Chuan and his companion finished clearing the snow from the yard, it was getting dark, and it was time to make dinner.
Three meals a day are essential, and Xu Han will cook dinner tonight as well, with Lu Chuan helping out and Grandpa Zhao helping to look after the children.
Dinner was relatively easy to prepare. Xu Han made braised beef, stir-fried eggs with chili peppers, and finally cooked a large pot of corn porridge. A simple dinner was ready.
During dinner, Xu Han mentioned her idea of making rice cakes, and as expected, everyone agreed.
“I’ve seen people from other places eat this kind of food before, and it’s also sold in the capital. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it,” Grandpa Zhao said while eating.
"I wonder if it will snow tomorrow. If it doesn't snow, we can make rice cakes in the yard. If it snows, it won't be very convenient to make them inside the house," Lu Chuan reminded him.
"I'll soak the glutinous rice today, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. If it continues to snow, we won't do it yet; if it doesn't snow, we can start tomorrow," Xu Han said.
"That works too, it won't spoil in this cold weather."
So after dinner, Xu Han soaked a large wooden basin full of glutinous rice. She had bought more because she had used a lot of glutinous rice for building the house, but there wasn't much left.
Xu Han also made some other dishes with glutinous rice, so it was consumed relatively quickly.
Soak the glutinous rice overnight, cover it, and then leave it alone.
The next day, it was still dark and snow was falling lightly outside. It seemed that we wouldn't be able to make rice cakes today.
However, Xu Han had soaked the beans in advance; if she couldn't make rice cakes, she would still make tofu.
With that thought in mind, Xu Han didn't dawdle any longer and quickly got out of bed, dressed, and got up.
When Xu Han came out, she found that the yard had been cleared clean, and the snow was piled up, which must have been left for Xu Han to help carry out.
"You guys are really fast, you finished cleaning up so early. We can have Yumi grind the beans here in a bit," Xu Han said, scratching her hair.
“I knew you were definitely going to make tofu today, so I cleaned the front yard first. You eat first, and I’ll go to the backyard to get the corn,” Lu Chuan said.
Seeing this, Xu Han quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, eating breakfast while watching Lu Chuan scrub the graphite.
In no time, Lu Chuan finished cleaning, and Grandpa Zhao came out carrying Mu'er.
"Is Ze'er awake?" Lu Chuan asked.
"Not yet. I'll take Mu'er to have breakfast first, then I'll let him read a book for a while. I'll leave the tofu-making to you two," Grandpa Zhao said with a smile.
"Alright, I guarantee you'll have some hot tofu to eat today," Lu Chuan said cheerfully.
"Grandpa Zhao, you go ahead and do your work. The two of us can make the tofu," Xu Han said.
After Xu Han finished speaking, she arranged all the tools, then added beans and water to the graphite, blindfolded Yumi, and began grinding the beans.
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