Chapter 101 Saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new
Xu Haibo just went to eat meat. The Xu family has a heavy appetite for food, and he didn't drink water, so he was thirsty.
There happens to be this sweet and sour juice, why don’t you hold the bowl and drink it all?
He drank the whole bowl of soup into his stomach.
"Milk, this tastes delicious. It's much stronger than the one in my grandfather's cup. It's sour and sweet."
Children are simple-minded and can directly judge whether something is good or not based on its taste.
When Xu Haibo shouted, Xu Jinfeng and Xu Jinxiu at the other end also became energetic, and they all ran over and surrounded Zhou Guilan.
"Milk, whatever good thing it is, we want to drink it too."
You were originally supposed to coax the children, but now the children want to drink, why don't you hurry up?
Zhou Guilan simply went to take out a stack of bowls, filled a bowl for each child, and also filled some for Su Anying and Wu Qiuyan.
"You two should try it too, it tastes delicious." Pregnant women are entitled to special treatment.
"You can drink it yourself if you want. There's still some in the pot. When it's finished, add some water and continue steaming. You can steam it twice more."
Zhou Guilan looked back at Xue Xiulin and Wei Mingrong. They had been married for several years. She didn't need her mother-in-law to do anything about it. She could eat whatever she wanted.
Xue Xiulin and Wei Mingrong were not polite. They went to the ground to get bowls and each filled some drinks.
Not to mention, this sweet and sour taste really suits a woman’s taste and is quite delicious.
"Third brother, seeing as how silent you are all day long, you are quite capable of figuring things out. You can figure out anything."
Wei Mingrong drank the juice in two gulps and couldn't help but praise Xu Shiyan.
However, when she said this, she didn't know whether it was a compliment or a insult.
Xu Shiyan smiled when he heard this and didn't say anything. He did this to coax his wife, and it was just a gift to his family.
Of course, you can't say this, let them think whatever they want.
This time is just right, the women and children drink juice, the men drink wine, and the reunion dinner is delicious.
It wasn’t until after five o’clock that I had eaten and drank enough, and there were still a lot of dishes left on the table.
The men drank too much, were sleeping or chatting together, while the women were busy cleaning up.
The water was boiled in a large pot in the kitchen, and the two kangs in the west room were both very hot. A large basin was set up in the middle of the floor, and hot water was poured into it.
Grandmothers Xue Xiulin and Wei Mingrong pushed the children into the water one by one and scrubbed them.
After the children finished washing, the door was closed, and the women took their own baths.
During the Chinese New Year, you need to get rid of the old clothes and make new ones, and only after they are washed can you change into new clothes for the New Year.
After finishing all this work, it was getting late, so I called the man up and washed what needed to be washed, and then started chopping meat, vegetables, and making bread and dumplings.
In the Xu family, Chinese New Year dumplings must be stuffed with cabbage and radish.
Cabbage is homophonic to Baicai, and radish is also called Laifu, both of which have excellent meanings.
When everything was ready, the panels were placed on the south kang in the east room. The women either sat on the kang or got a stool and started making dumplings.
The weather in the Northeast is cold, so it is necessary to have a kang at home, so I have developed a habit, and I am happy to do a lot of work on the kang.
The old lady from the Northeast has a unique trick, sitting cross-legged.
Of course Zhou Guilan can do it too, she was seen sitting cross-legged on one side of the panel, kneading the dough.
After a while, knead the dough into a long strip, then use your hands to shape it into evenly sized balls, and place the balls neatly in rows.
Speaking of which, grabbing the ingredients with your hands is definitely not as fast as cutting it with a knife.
But in this era, eating dumplings is not only a meal, but also represents a meaning, and it must have a sense of ritual.
Anyway, in Zhou Guilan's place, you must make dumplings by hand. This is a rule and cannot be broken.
A piece of noodles will soon be divided into four neat rows. At this time, grab a handful of thin noodles and sprinkle them on the noodles, and flatten the noodles with your hands.
Only the daughters-in-law at the other end can take it over, use a rolling pin to roll it into dumpling wrappers, wrap the stuffing in it, and place them neatly on the curtain.
It's definitely not fast to make dumplings like this. Fortunately, there are many people at home, otherwise, I might not be able to eat dumplings until late at night.
There are many people in the family, so they make a lot of dumplings. They start making them from about eight o'clock until eleven o'clock, and then they are finished.
It happened that Xu Shixiang and the others also fried melon seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, etc., so they boiled water to cook dumplings.
After the dumplings were put into the pot, Xu Chenghou led his children and grandchildren and lit firecrackers outside.
Amid the sound of firecrackers, the new year is celebrated. Amidst the crackling sound, the children clapped their hands and laughed and made noise. The new year also came with joy and laughter.
There were firecrackers one after another outside, and Xu Chenghou also coaxed his grandchildren to light a few firecrackers and other things, coaxing the children to play.
He didn't stop until people in the room shouted that it was time to eat dumplings.
"Let's go back to the house to eat dumplings. After eating the dumplings, kowtow to grandpa. Grandpa has red envelopes for you." Xu Chenghou coaxed his grandchildren, who had not yet finished playing, into the house.
The little kids had been playing outside for a long time, and their faces were all red from the cold.
Even so, they didn't feel cold and were very happy.
During the New Year, it is the children who celebrate the New Year, and the New Year belongs to them. Only these carefree children are the happiest.
The meal was eaten at five o'clock in the afternoon. It was already midnight and I was already hungry. Who wouldn't be greedy for the delicious dumplings?
What's more, Zhou Guilan also said that the dumplings were filled with money, sugar, peanuts and dates.
At this time, the children all stared and insisted on eating the money.
Xu Shiyan didn't have that intention, so he picked up some dumplings nearby and put them in his mouth.
Then I bit into it, and my teeth clicked. I lowered my head and saw, okay, it was a two-cent coin.
"Okay, okay, it seems that the third child can make a fortune this year, okay."
The purpose of filling dumplings with candies and money is to win praise and have a lucky meaning.
So as soon as Xu Shiyan got the money, Zhou Guilan smiled and said a few good words.
The others all followed suit and said auspicious words, and then each ate silently, hoping to get something to eat.
Xu Shixiang took a bite of the dumpling and felt something was wrong. It was crunchy and there was a peanut inside.
"I'm not eating money, I'm eating peanuts." Regardless of what I'm eating, it's all good anyway, and Xu Shixiang is very happy.
"Then you will definitely be admitted to college today, peanut, for further education." Xu Shiyan answered over there.
This peanut means rising higher and higher, which itself has an auspicious meaning.
Xu Shiyan's explanation is not wrong, but actually more satisfactory.
When Xu Shixiang heard this, he became happy and said, "Thank you, third brother, and for your good advice, I will try again this year."
He was not reconciled to failing the exam last year. Xu Shixiang made up his mind to review and take the exam again, but he just didn't dare to say it clearly. He didn't care about that now.
He also saved some money from hunting years ago and bought some books. This year, he is fighting against the odds and must be admitted to college.
Xu Chenghou didn't say anything when he heard what his fifth son said.
Now he also understands some things. His son has his own opinions when he is older, and it is impossible for others to listen to him in everything.
He's an old guy and can't keep up with his thinking, so don't worry about so much, just let it go.