Chapter 99 Chapter 99 Accompanied by...
Accompanied by a burst of firecrackers, the Su family officially started to eat after offering sacrifices to their ancestors. Today's meal was unusually rich, with fish, meat and chicken. Compared with previous years, it was completely different. Old man Su looked at the table full of dishes and suddenly thought of the scene at this time last year when everyone gathered together to eat a pot of cabbage. At that time, who could have imagined that there would be a day like today? He felt that the burden on his shoulders was about to crush him, but he could not show it to others. He could only force out a few smiles and could not look closely because it was too bitter.
Today, he had a completely genuine smile on his face, which made all the wrinkles on his face squeezed together. He smiled and greeted the Wang family father and son and everyone in the Su family.
"Come, sit down and eat."
At this time, Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Chen also brought the remaining dishes, which were the pheasant stewed with mushrooms brought by Wang's father, and a bowl of sweet meat.
Eat sweet meat during the Chinese New Year, and the whole year will be sweet.
Today's dishes were made by elder sister Su Hong and Mrs. Wu, while Su Li was only responsible for making the fire. Making the fire in winter is the most comfortable job. Her face was red while eating and she didn't feel cold at all.
Today's dishes are all Su Li's favorites, including stewed chicken with mushrooms, braised fish, bacon, and crispy pork. Su Li likes the mushrooms in the stewed chicken the most. They are hazel mushrooms picked up by villagers. They have an indescribable fragrance. She can't stop eating them one after another. Drinking a bowl of chicken soup in the cold winter will warm her stomach and make her feel comfortable.
At this time, mother Chen served another bowl of rice wine and asked Su Hong and Su Li to scoop it up and drink it. This was a rare time when they were allowed to drink. However, Su Li was not good at drinking, and she felt a little dizzy after drinking half a bowl. Su Tao and Su Hong, on the other hand, were surprisingly good at drinking, and they didn't feel anything after drinking several bowls.
"Fifth sister, do you want to go into the house and sleep for a while?" Su Hong asked with concern when she saw Su Li's face was a little flushed.
Su Li shook her head. She was just a little dizzy, but she could still hold on. Moreover, if she really went to sleep, she didn't know how her mother and fourth sister would laugh at her tomorrow.
"No need, big sister, I'll just have some chicken soup."
That's why Su Hong didn't try to persuade him.
As for what was happening here, the rest of the people knew nothing about it. Old Man Su and the Wang family father and son were drinking and chatting happily, talking about everything from the fields to the current court, and then from the court to next year's harvest.
Chen and Wu, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were talking about the recent gossip in the village while eating.
As for Su Tao and Lian Gu, they were of course concentrating on eating. They each had a chicken leg and were eating happily. While eating, Lian Gu threw a piece of meat to the ground for Hei Hu to eat.
At first, the black tiger ate the bones that everyone vomited, and in the end it even picked them up. Chen threw a bone to it, but it didn't move at all.
"Hey, it picked it up." Chen asked curiously.
"That's right." Mrs. Wu also responded.
Su Li was full and took a bench to sit at the door to rest. Seeing this, she reached out and touched the dog's head. The furry touch was particularly comfortable, and Hei Hu squinted his eyes in enjoyment.
At this time, it started snowing again, but Su Li felt warm all over and didn't feel cold at all. The snow fell heavier and heavier until she could no longer see in the distance. It was a vast expanse of white fog, so beautiful that it looked like a fairyland on earth.
Soon, the whole afternoon was spent in a rare relaxation. In the evening, Mrs. Wu rolled out the dough and made dumplings. Dumplings are indispensable for the New Year's Eve dinner. At this time, the cabbage stored in the cellar came into play. Dumplings with cabbage filling became the most popular food after eating too much fish and meat at noon.
The filling is made with Suli, which is salty, fresh and fragrant. It is juicy when you take a bite. After getting tired of boiled dumplings, the remaining dumplings are fried in starch water. Soon, a portion of fried dumplings sprinkled with chopped green onions and with a browned bottom is ready. By the end of the meal, everyone's stomachs are full and groggy, indicating that they can't eat anymore.
After dinner, it is time to stay up all night. According to the elders, we have to stay up until midnight tonight to ward off evil spirits and bring in good luck, thus protecting the family from harm and health in the coming year.
Now the Su family's only wish was that Father Su and his family could return safely and healthily, so no one returned home early. Even Aunt Lian was held by Su Hong as she slept beside the brazier, until Mrs. Wu spoke up.
"It's so uncomfortable to hold her while sleeping. Let her sleep in the room."
Su Hong then carried her daughter back to the house.
Old Man Su also spoke to Chen at this time, "It's getting late, you should go to bed quickly. Your mother and I are here, it's okay."
Chen had to get up early the next day. Seeing her daughters Su Tao and Su Li looking sleepy, she said, "Then Dad and Mom, let's go to bed."
"Go ahead."
After saying that, Chen took Su Tao and Su Li to sleep.
Old Man Su and Old Lady Wu were left listening to the sound of wind and snow outside until late at night, when they straightened their hunched backs and went to sleep.
It was another good night's dream. The next day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, Su Li, Su Tao and Lian Gu received red envelopes from their grandfather, Old Man Su, Mrs. Wu, their mother, Chen, and their eldest sister, Su Hong, early in the morning. They were also called lucky money. There were about 20 coins in them, not much, but Su Li and Su Tao were very happy, especially Su Li. This was the first time in her life that she felt that celebrating the Lunar New Year could be such a happy thing.
You should know that what Su Li hated most since she was a child was the Chinese New Year, because her parents would always have endless quarrels during the Chinese New Year. Just because of a small matter, they would quarrel from the Chinese New Year to the end of the Chinese New Year. When it was serious, they would smash everything in the house, such as the TV remote control and ashtray, and then hide away and not go home, leaving Su Li alone at home to clean up and eat instant noodles as if a year had passed.
Su Li was also puzzled sometimes. They were both living like this, so why didn't they divorce? Aren't they miserable? At least as their child, she was really miserable. Sometimes she wanted to persuade them to divorce, but in the end she thought better of it.
"Fifth sister, watch out." Suddenly, Su Tao next to her grabbed the snow in the yard and threw it at Su Li. Before Su Li could react, the snowball hit her neck, bringing a chill.
“!!!”
Soon, Su Li launched a counterattack, bent down, grabbed the snow on the ground and threw it over, and a snowball fight was about to break out.
“Ahhhh!!”
"Big sister, save me..."
"Fifth sister, I was wrong, I was wrong..."
Su Tao's scream echoed throughout the courtyard. Chen, who came out of the house, saw it and muttered softly, "You're not afraid of the cold."
Then he shouted, "Be careful not to catch a cold!"
However, the snowball didn't recognize anyone, and whoever threw it actually threw it at Chen. This was a big deal, and she immediately joined the snowball fight...
Only Old Man Su and Mrs. Wu were left sitting in the corridor, watching the others playing and laughing. It was not until Lian Gu's snowman was destroyed by the others and a loud cry echoed throughout the Su family courtyard that Chen and Su Tao stopped in disappointment.
The Su family spent the first day of the New Year having fun. On the second day, Chen, Su Hong and Su Li returned to their grandparents' home and stayed there until the fifth day. After returning on the sixth day, they visited each other in the village to wish each other a happy new year. Whenever they met, everyone would say auspicious words like "Happy New Year", as if as long as they said these words today, the coming year would be auspicious, peaceful, happy and joyful.
It was not until the eighth day of the first lunar month that Chen could no longer stay and Su Li felt that she had rested enough, so they officially started to return to work!
Mo and Lu were very happy when they heard the news. They had been looking forward to it, but were too embarrassed to ask. When they heard Chen ask them to come, they agreed readily.
You have to know that because of this twenty cents, Mrs. Mo's status in the Huang family became higher. She didn't do any work during the New Year. Whenever she tried to work, she was stopped by Mrs. Yang, which made her feel embarrassed. Not only her, but also her daughters were stopped. One day, the eldest daughter even came to her and said that she felt that her grandmother had become so unfamiliar to them.
Mrs. Mo naturally felt it as well, or should I say, she had felt it a long time ago. Not only Mrs. Yang, but also her father-in-law, Old Man Huang, felt the same way. The attitude of everyone in the Huang family towards her and her daughters became better and better as the money she earned brought greater benefits to the family. Mrs. Mo also gradually tasted the taste of it. For the first time, she felt the freedom that money brought to people and the respect of others. This feeling was so good that she worked more seriously than before.
It's not just Mrs. Mo, the same is true for Mrs. Lu. She has always been the one who was disliked at home since she was a child, so much so that she didn't want to do anything later on and became the lazy wife in the eyes of all the neighbors. Fortunately, she met her husband, who is also a lazy man. The two hit it off and are able to live the life they have today.
But in fact, Mrs. Lu was not happy, especially when her husband started to earn money like crazy in the past six months. She felt particularly uncomfortable being alone at home. Besides being happy, she was more confused. It seemed that everyone was moving forward, but she was the only one who stayed where she was. That feeling was very uncomfortable. It was not until she started working and earning money in the Su family that this feeling slowly disappeared.
She still remembers the satisfaction and happiness she felt when she received the money for the first month. It was also the first time that she felt that she was a useful person and could spend her own money to buy things that she had always been reluctant to spend. The praise from her son and husband made her happier than eating meat. Not only that, but when she returned to her parents' home on the second day of the Chinese New Year, her father and mother, as well as those who had gossiped about her being too lazy to get married, all had incredible reactions when they learned that she had earned money. This made Lu feel particularly happy.
Therefore, after the beginning of the year, the two of them came to the Su family as if they had been injected with chicken blood, and worked even harder. Sometimes, before Chen even said anything, the two of them would rush to finish the work.
Chen, Su Li and others also continued to go to the county town to sell food!
Because the county school would not open until after the 15th, the Su family members discussed and decided not to make much today, only half of the usual amount. They thought that sales would be very slow, but when they arrived at the county school, they saw people waiting at the stall.
"Miss Su is here..."
"Madam Su is here, did you hear? Go and call the young master."
“Here it comes!”
From a distance, those people started shouting loudly when they saw Su Li coming. Old man Su was so scared that he got off the mule cart and nervously stood in front, wondering what was going on.
"Miss Su, you are finally here. We have been waiting so long!"
"Yeah, why did you come just now?"
"Yes, hurry up, I want two braised pig's trotters."
“I want braised pig ears…”
"I...I want to..."
With a call, more and more people came from all directions. Chen and Su Li looked at each other and saw the same worry in their eyes.
This...I'm afraid what I did today is not enough!!!
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