Sheng Xiping and the others packed up and came down from the mountain after breakfast at around nine o'clock in the morning.
After returning to the forest farm, I went to take a shower and get a haircut first, and it would be faster when I got home.
It's winter vacation, the children don't have to go to school, and most families have two meals.
Especially since today is the Chinese New Year and we are making dumplings at home, we have to save our stomach to eat more dumplings in the evening.
So although the Sheng Xiping brothers were busy and a little empty, no one said anything.
Sheng Xiping was fishing here and gave instructions to Sheng Xian and Sheng Xikang to go elsewhere and make a hole in the ice.
Don't worry about what kind of fish there are, big or small, just take them home and save them for the New Year.
Not to mention, the location Sheng Xiping found was really good, and there were indeed a lot of fish.
Even the hole in the ice that Sheng Xian and the others smashed could produce a lot of fish.
The brothers were busy working on the ice all afternoon, and by about five o'clock, many young and old were caught, large and small fish.
So I found a bag to put it in, and the brothers dragged the bag back.
It was freezing cold outside in the twelfth lunar month of winter, and almost no one was outside at five o'clock.
Some have already eaten, and some are preparing to eat. Who has nothing to do and comes outside to play?
So when the brothers entered the village, they didn't meet anyone, which saved them a lot of trouble.
The brothers dragged the sacks into the yard, and then Sheng Xiping found a wooden barrel, filled it with some snow, put the fish in it, and spread it with a layer of snow.
In the winter in the north, there is a large natural refrigerator outside, where everything can be frozen.
But when freezing things, you also need to pay attention to some tips.
For frozen meat, you need to sprinkle some water on the surface, or put the meat directly into the water and roll it before freezing.
This can effectively maintain the moisture in the meat and prevent it from drying out after being frozen for a long time.
The fish itself has scales and it has just emerged from the water, so there is no need to water it, just bury it in snow.
Put snow and fish in the barrel, then cover it with a wooden board and weigh it down with stones.
This is to prevent wild cats from smelling the fishy smell and stealing it.
Sheng Xiping was busy working in the yard, and Sheng Liancheng came in from the outside with a bag on his back. He had just come down from the mountain.
The whole family was together, and Zhang Shuzhen just put the dumplings into the pot.
"You two, please put off the whip quickly so that you can go inside and eat."
To celebrate the New Year, you have to fire the whip, not many, just two hundred rings, just to listen for the sound.
After a burst of crackling movement, the yard smelled of gunpowder.
Just at this time, the dumplings were cooked. Zhang Shuzhen served her husband and children to eat while fishing for the dumplings.
In winter, when the temperature is low, the steam from boiling water in the house fills the entire house.
The dim light reflects the diffuse mist, accompanied by the aroma of cabbage and pork dumplings, this is the taste of home.
"Oh, these are dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork, right? I'm really looking forward to this bite."
Sheng Liancheng entered the room, sniffed and smiled.
"That's right. You two, please don't close the door. Leave a crack to allow the heat to escape."
The old couple has been living in the mountains for many years, and Zhang Shuzhen has long been used to it, so there is nothing too emotional when the couple meets.
Zhang Shuzhen brought dumplings into the room and invited the two men to eat.
Sheng Liancheng responded, then put the stove hook under the door and pinned it. The outer door was not completely closed, but was left ajar.
Hot and cold air alternated, the cold air was heavy and the hot air was light, and soon I saw the mist rising and floating on top.
Sheng Liancheng entered the house and took off his forest farm winter work clothes, which were the big blue cotton monkeys.
He came back late, unlike Sheng Xiping who had time to go to the bathhouse to clean up.
So when I took off my hat now, I saw that it was also long-haired, with a long stubble. At first glance, it looked like an old mountain dog.
"Hurry, come over and have dinner. After dinner, you can go to the bathhouse quickly and wash yourself. You can also get a haircut or something."
We have to go down tomorrow to get our son engaged, and you can't do it like this."
Zhang Shuzhen looked at her husband's appearance and quickly reminded him.
"Oh, oh, I understand. I'll go after dinner." Sheng Liancheng also knew that he would not be able to see his virtue when he went out.
It's a big deal for your son to get engaged. Whether a person looks good or bad is something he's born with and you can't choose.
But when you go out to do errands, you must clean up neatly and not be embarrassed.
Northeastern people rarely cook other dishes when eating dumplings, so there are only a few plates of steaming dumplings on the table.
There is also a bowl of garlic sauce, a small bowl of chili oil in the middle, and a vinegar bottle next to it.
There is a small plate in front of each person. Whoever wants to eat garlic sauce can just take a spoonful of it. If he wants to add some vinegar, he can pour it in. Anyway, everything is up to his own taste.
When Sheng Xiping eats dumplings, he usually eats a few without dipping in anything, then scoops out a spoonful of garlic sauce, and then eats a few more with garlic sauce.
I'll add chili oil and vinegar to it later. Anyway, you can eat everything, just taste it.
"Well, it must be my mother who made these dumplings. They are so delicious."
The dumplings stuffed with cabbage are juicy and the pork of this age is also fragrant.
Zhang Shuzhen's skill in preparing the stuffing is good. The aroma of pork and the sweetness of cabbage are perfectly blended together.
Sheng Xiping was very satisfied with this bite of dumplings without any dipping.
At this time, no chemical fertilizers are needed to grow vegetables, and the cabbage is only sweet but not bitter.
In another twenty or thirty years, unless you grow your own vegetables, those cabbages that have been treated with chemical fertilizers will have a bitter taste.
"If it's delicious, eat more of it. There are a lot of buns tonight, so you two will eat them all."
Zhang Shuzhen felt heartbroken when she saw the two men devouring their food.
No matter how good the food on the mountain was, it was not as good as the food at home. In addition, they were tired from working, and both of them obviously lost weight.
As Zhang Shuzhen spoke, she pushed the plate in front of her towards her husband and son.
"Just eat, make sure you have enough."
Mr. and Mrs. Sheng Liancheng were really relying on each other on the mountain.
Although the food standard on the mountain is better than usual, the big pot of rice in the cafeteria is not good at all.
It has less oil, less salt, but more soup. It's tasteless and not as good as the food at home.
That is to say, you are tired from work and starving at the end of the day.
Who cares whether it tastes good or not? As long as it can fill your stomach, it doesn’t matter so much.
The family happily ate dumplings, and then Sheng Liancheng took the time to shave his head and take a shower.
Sheng Xiping and Zhang Shuzhen were preparing things for their engagement.
Generally speaking, when you get engaged, you need to prepare four kinds of gifts, and each of them must be four copies.
After the engagement is completed, half of the money will be left at the woman's family and half will be brought back to the man's family, both in even numbers.
The specific four items have different requirements at different times and are determined according to the conditions of each company.
Maechuan Forest Farm is too far away from Songjiang River, so it's troublesome to get things back and forth.
Therefore, the Sheng family had negotiated with the Zhou family long ago to bring only one of the four gifts, so there is no need to take them back.
Just in time for the agricultural team to kill pigs a few days ago, Zhang Shuzhen and Lao Hu made a reservation in advance and cut a piece of loin meat with two ribs.
In addition, there were two bottles of wine, two boxes of snacks, and two handfuls of vermicelli, which made up four gifts.
"Mom, I went fishing through holes in the ice this afternoon and caught some thin scales, which were quite big.
Otherwise, replace the vermicelli with two thin scales."
Sheng Xiping looked at what Zhang Shuzhen prepared and said.