Chapter 251 251. Eat hot dumplings and look for strong men
Winter in Kyoto is very cold.
In November, snow fell every few days, covering the city of Kyoto with a thick blanket of white snow, and snow houses of varying heights were scattered everywhere.
Everyone on the street wore thick cotton-padded coats or big jackets. The poorer families had worn-out cotton-padded coats, with thick layers of rice straw and wheat straw wrapped inside, while the rich families wore brocade hats and sable fur coats, and had servants holding umbrellas for them when they went out, so they were not wet by the snow at all.
The Lei family members were also wearing thick brocade fur coats, with fur rolled around the collars and cuffs, which kept out the cold wind and snow. They had rabbit towels wrapped around their necks and put on fur hats, keeping them warm all over.
Lei Li was wearing a fur coat with a bright red background and a golden lotus pattern, trimmed with snow-white rabbit fur. It made his lips red, his teeth white, his cheeks fair, and his peach blossom eyes sparkle with springtime beauty. The slightest glance he gave was enough to captivate people's hearts.
"left."
Lei Li lazily curled up in the recliner, holding the heater in his arms. Next to him was a large brazier with golden-red charcoal burning on it. Sweet potatoes and potatoes were roasted next to the brazier, and there was also an iron rack for roasting meat and corn.
The meat is premium pork tenderloin that has been marinated for several hours, cut into strips, and roasted until the surface is slightly browned. The aroma of meat and marinated fruit lingers in the air, making one's appetite surge.
While Lei Li was glancing at the barbecue on the iron frame, he directed Zhou Yi to knock off the icicles on the eaves. He slowly took a sip of hot tea, and his body warmed from the inside out.
"The ice ridge on the left wasn't knocked clean, so there's still a little left. Yes, that's it."
It rained and snowed last night, and there were many icicles hanging on the eaves. If the sun comes out and the weather warms up, they will easily melt and fall from the eaves and injure people.
Zhou Yi used a long stick to knock off the icicles. He was wearing cotton gloves, but the snow that drifted in from the courtyard melted on his hands, making the cotton gloves a little wet and very cold.
He planned to finish the work quickly, so he took off his cotton gloves and went to warm his hands by the stove.
Zhou Zhou followed his father in knocking on the icicles. His father knocked on the left side, and he knocked on the right side. He used brute force to knock on the icicles. The icicles flew out ice fragments, which splashed on his face and felt cold and cool. It was quite fun.
This boy was wearing a fur coat with a bright red base, similar to his father's. However, unlike his father who was lazy, he was full of energy and vitality.
When he was a child, he had a bright red mole between his eyebrows, and he looked like a delicate and beautiful fairy.
Later, as he grew older, the red mole disappeared at some point, and he looked more and more like a handsome and serious young man, rather than a traditional young man.
After only a few days in Kyoto, Lei Zhouzhou had already fallen in love with several young girls and boys in Wuyi Lane and Guihua Lane, but he was completely unaware of it.
The other girls were jealous of him, but he didn't know it. He was worried all day about why he still had to do homework and copy big characters every day after coming to Kyoto and no longer having to go to school. When he saw his father was going to knock on the ice, he immediately put down his pen and slipped out to join in.
Lei Li was laughing secretly at that time
Lei Dashan and Liu Ye'er were sweeping the snow off the corridor to outside, otherwise the snow would freeze into ice and make it easy to slip when walking.
Lei Jingsheng, who loves to play more and more as he grows older, had already dragged Qingzhi to play in the yard. It was rare to see such heavy snow, so Lei Jingsheng was very excited. She asked Qingzhi to hold an umbrella for her while she built a small snowman.
The little snowman was draped with a green handkerchief and a green velvet flower, similar to Qingzhi's outfit today. Lei Jingsheng made a snowman Qingzhi.
While everyone was busy in the front yard, Lei Shengjiang was reviewing his lessons in the room, preparing for the imperial examination next spring. Miao Yurui was slowly grinding ink for him beside him.
“Ginger!”
"Brother and sister-in-law's meat is ready!"
After an unknown amount of time, a voice came from the front yard, calling them to go have barbecue.
The aroma of barbecue wafted here. No matter how determined Lei Shengjiang was to study, he could not refuse to have a barbecue meal with hot tea and fruit aroma in the cold winter.
“Here I come!”
Lei Shengjiang put down the book he was reviewing, took Miao Yurui's hand, put it in his sleeve to warm it, and strode towards the front yard, "Wait for us! Don't finish eating!"
"I've finished eating!"
"I grilled a plate of barbecue for my brother and sister-in-law. Dad is also grilling, and there's still plenty left. Don't worry, brother and sister-in-law... Auntie, you can't steal my brother's barbecue!"
It was the sound of Zhou Zhou and Lei Jingsheng talking, followed by a chaotic and noisy laugh. Lei Li's voice also rang out, "You're only leaving it for Big Brother and Sister-in-law, not for Daddy? Zhou Zhou is being partial, Daddy's going to be sad..."
The tone is pretentious.
You are bullying the children.
The bullied child, Zhou Zhou, tried to comfort him seriously, saying, "Don't be sad, Daddy. I'm not partial. When I'm done, I'll make the next batch for you."
"Grandma also wants to eat barbecue."
"Grandma has some, Grandpa has some, I'm baking them..."
Lei Shengjiang and Miao Yurui listened, smiled knowingly, and quickened their pace at the same time.
Snowflakes were flying in the courtyard.
Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest.
—
Winter has arrived.
The days in Beijing seem to slow down, but also seem to pass quickly. In the blink of an eye, it is the twelfth lunar month. Every household is filled with a festive and lively atmosphere, and in the blink of an eye, it is the New Year.
Big red lanterns are hung high.
The New Year in Beijing is very different from that in the south, yet both are equally lively.
Merchants from all over the world came to Beijing to sell their expensive or novel goods. The Lei family would not miss the excitement. Lei Shengjiang, who had been studying all day, was also pulled out to go shopping together to relax.
Xiling people eat New Year’s Eve dinner at the end of the year.
Fish is a must, and one should be left behind to symbolize abundance every year. Several pounds of meat should also be cut. If the New Year's meal is poor and there is no meat at all, the whole new year will be difficult.
If a family is wealthy, chicken and duck meat are also must-haves. The free-range chicken and duck raised in the countryside have tender and sweet meat, and they are especially delicious when boiled and dipped in soy sauce.
After the whole family gets together and has a lively New Year's Eve dinner, they will go out to watch others set off fireworks and firecrackers. Those who are rich will set off fireworks at home.
People in Beijing also have New Year's Eve dinner, but their New Year's Eve dinner is mainly noodles. In addition to chicken, duck, fish, meat and vegetables, the whole family will make dumplings and noodles together.
The Lei family followed the local customs and instead of cooking rice on New Year's Eve, they made dumplings and ate noodles.
However, no one knew how to make dumplings. At first, they were all messy, with either the skin breaking and the filling exposed or the dumplings being of weird shapes. Later, Zhou Yi, Liu Ye'er and Lei Shengjiang became proficient and were able to make beautiful, white and plump dumplings.
Lei Jingsheng and Qingzhi are good at drawing, but not at handicrafts. Lei Dashan is good at handicrafts, but not at making dumplings, but he can make lifelike little animals out of dough. Miao Yurui's dumplings are average, neither pretty nor ugly.
Zhou Zhou...
He is very strong and likes to put a lot of stuffing in. Every dumpling he makes breaks after he makes one. So he just kneads the dough. He does a good job of it.
As for Lei Li, he was not good at drawing or handicrafts. The dumplings he made were uglier than the other. He thought kneading the dough was too tiring and refused to do it. Zhou Yi pinched a piece of dough for him to play with, but he couldn't even make it into a round shape.
“…”
Lei Li threw the ruined dough away in disgust, patted the flour off his hands, and successfully destroyed the evidence.
The New Year’s Eve dinner was grand.
The dumplings were hot and I ate one in each bite; the noodles were long and I slurped them up in one gulp. And the man was strong that night, so he kept coming back for more.
"bump!"
There is no curfew on New Year's Eve.
When the first firework exploded in the yard, Lei Li's temples were already wet with sweat. The sudden sound of the firework startled him and made him subconsciously straighten his back and be alert.
"It should be Jingsheng and the others setting off fireworks."
Zhou Yi gently stroked his back to comfort him. After he relaxed, he leaned over and kissed him with his soft, panting lips, whispering softly and affectionately.
"Later...we'll go set off fireworks too."
I don’t know how long it will be later, but the fireworks in the capital city will be much more lively and grand than before, crackling and resounding throughout the sky, and it is extremely lively.
"call out--"
"bump!"
“Swish, swish, swish—”
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Lei Li watched the fireworks in his own yard shining brightly against those of other families, and made two New Year's wishes as the midnight bells rang in the capital.
I wish Jiang Chunwei will pass the imperial examination.
Second, I wish you will have this day every year.
—
After the New Year, the most lively event is the birthday of the Emperor of Heaven on the 15th day of the first lunar month, which is the annual Lantern Festival. This is also the peak period for candidates to come to Beijing.
All the courtyards in Kyoto City were rented out, and all the inns of all sizes near the examination center were sold out.
In teahouses and taverns, you can see candidates gathering together to write and compete in poetry all day long. Their themes are about love and romance, and the sufferings of the people. Each candidate is like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing off his or her magical powers.
Well-written poems and essays would be bought by the shop owner with various discounts, framed and hung on the wall for people to appreciate.
This is very face-saving for the candidates, and can greatly enhance their reputation and confidence.
At the same time, it is also beneficial to the store owner. If the author of the poem is admitted to the imperial examination, he will be lucky. If the poem is written by the top three candidates in the imperial examination, he can take the opportunity to hype it up and become famous.
However, Lei Shengjiang seldom participated in these poetry competitions. Even if he did go, he would not take the lead in writing poetry, but would instead listen to and watch other candidates' writing styles and ideas.
When he encountered a clever poem or essay that made him applaud, Lei Shengjiang would take the initiative to express his own views, and thus he made friends with many like-minded scholars.
Whenever Lei Shengjiang went to teahouses and taverns to participate in poetry competitions, he would go with Miao Yurui without revealing his identity, so many people thought that Miao Yurui was also a scholar.
Miao Yurui has a handsome face, gentle as jade, elegant conversation and extraordinary temperament.
Because Lei Shengjiang shared with him the new knowledge and tips he learned from the county school and Meng Yao and the new county magistrate, he was very familiar with the pain points and requirements of the imperial examination.
He often traveled with Lei Li and others, and his knowledge was richer than many other candidates. His insights were also refreshing. In addition, he had taught for several years, and his words were gentle and persuasive, making people feel like they were in the spring breeze.
He was even more popular than Lei Shengjiang at the poetry competition and made more friends.
This made Lei Shengjiang a little jealous because his brother Xiaobao would be surrounded by many people.
But he was more proud and wanted to show off, because many people had seen Brother Xiaobao's good qualities, and hearing their praise and admiration made him happier than being praised himself.
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