After Zhao Yubao and Professor Zhong, Qin Rongxian and Liang Hongyu's family also arrived.
After arriving, there was nothing else. I immediately got busy with all the New Year matters.
In the morning, I make rice cakes and steam them in the afternoon. At the same time, I also start chopping dumpling fillings and steaming New Year buns.
This is what the ladies have to do, but they need the help of Chen Ling and the others.
When it comes to the Chinese New Year, in the past, the mother-in-law of the family took care of the work, and there was basically no shortage of men. This happens in every family.
For example, steamed New Year buns.
Steamed New Year buns use a lot of noodles, and mixing the noodles is not a small problem.
The mother-in-law is weak and cannot do it alone.
How to make noodles?
It's almost like Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian. They used a big rolling pin to press it back and forth.
"The weather is warm this year, so we won't steam too many New Year buns. It will be enough for three or four days."
Wang Susu said with a smile: "We don't need help from Aling and the others. Let him chop the meat filling. He has the strength and the meat filling is delicious."
In the past, several bags of New Year buns were steamed every year, which would last for the entire first month of the year.
Because I have a busy year ahead.
In the first month of the year, farmers rarely get a break, so if they steam a month's worth of steamed buns in advance, they don't have to work much.
Later, it slowly evolved into half a month.
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month...
Because everyone is poor, they have to work early and find a place to work and make money half a month in advance.
Due to the special circumstances this year and the weather, each family does not have to be busy for too long. Steaming New Year's buns only requires one big pot.
There are a lot of meat and vegetables during the Chinese New Year, so you can eat as much as you want, and you will finish all the steamed buns in three or four days.
To prevent it from getting damaged easily in warm weather.
"Okay, I'll chop the meat filling."
Chen Ling's tofu is fried, and there's nothing else to do.
Other New Year snacks such as meatballs, crispy rice balls, crispy pork, fried fish, etc. can be made in your free time after dinner.
His technique is neat and quick, and he doesn't need to take up other time.
"But if you want to use new meat for the filling of dumplings during the Chinese New Year, you should go to the village to lead the pigs out first, kill the pigs in the morning, and we will have soup in the evening."
After Chen Ling finished speaking, Zhao Dahai raised his hand and said:
"I'm here to help Fugui. Shanmao, go and write couplets, blessing characters, etc. with Uncle Zhong."
"Okay, if the sea is strong, come with me to the village to catch pigs."
"What about me? Where about me? Make arrangements for me too!"
Zhao Yubao stared, not wanting to fall behind others.
In front of the villagers, he joked about being lazy.
At Chen Ling's house, they were celebrating the New Year together, and he didn't want to sit around with nothing to do.
It seemed like he was being left out.
"I forgot to mention it. Uncle Zhao, you will pick the mushrooms later, water the vegetable shed, and feed the dogs. In the past few days, the dogs at home will be well fed and will not be allowed to go out. Looking for something to eat.”
"Okay, okay, it's the Chinese New Year, people have a rest, let's let the dogs at home have a rest. They have to worry about the door every day and stay up in the middle of the night. Let them eat more in the past few days and go out to play more."
Zhao Yubao is very able to empathize with all kinds of things. He taught Chen Ling this, saying that this is the basic condition for becoming a writer.
So everyone in the family got busy.
Chen Ling and Zhao Dahai drove on the tractor and drove down the slope to the north of the village, not far from the primary school, to catch pigs from the old house of the fourth grandfather.
This was raised by Chen Yongsheng.
The place where the male wild boar was caught for the first time and blocked in the corner.
There is a sow and three castrated boars.
Chen Ling knew that their castrated boars were well raised.
I deliberately didn't go to Wang Lishan's house to choose, but chose the pigs here.
"Fugui, Ruirui and Xiaolizi ran out with their dogs. I can't control them."
Chen Ling and the others had just parked the tractor outside their old house.
When Chen Yongsheng, his wife and fourth grandfather rushed over.
Zhao Yubao shouted from the slope.
Behind him, a little kid wearing a blue cartoon cotton-padded jacket, round and round like a little bear, was laughing, sneakily holding the hands of the two little girls and hiding behind him.
The brat is the slipperiest, and his two short legs are very fast.
The two young ladies next to him couldn't hold him back at all.
"There is a river here. I'm afraid Hei Wa and Xiao Jin can't control him."
Zhao Yubao smiled helplessly. He was getting older, and he was worse than a dog when he was asked to take care of a baby.
I really don’t have the energy to play around with my naughty kid.
In fact, it is true that today, Heiwa and Xiaojin are the only ones taking care of the children at home.
But what?
If Ruirui was so easy to serve, he wouldn't be Ruirui. And as he spends the whole day hanging out with the two dogs.
Hei Wa also really dotes on him.
Even Xiao Jin turned a blind eye and followed him to make trouble.
Xiao Jin used to be very serious.
He is even more rigid than Er Hei, follows rules, and always stops Hei Wa and Rui Rui from messing around.
Now I am becoming more and more doting.
"Uncle, don't worry about it. I'll take them over."
Chen Ling also found it funny when he saw the old man's helpless look.
Fourth Grandpa and the others were even more amused, and they all waved to Ruirui with a bit of kindness: "Come on, come on, you are going to kill the pig.
There is meat to eat, and I will leave the pig tail for you. ”
As a little kid, it's okay to ignore him. As soon as someone else shouts or gives them a smile, he immediately becomes more energetic than anyone else.
So Ruirui stopped hiding and rushed towards this side with her short legs and a smile on her face.
While rushing wildly, he shouted loudly: "Dad, chick, chick, dad, catch the chick."
If it were someone else, they might think it was a game of catching chickens, or a game of hawks catching chickens.
But when Chen Ling heard this, he understood that this was not the case.
They were probably playing with those two little muntjacs again at home.
When the little muntjac grows to adulthood, it is no more than the size of a lamb. It is very small and extremely cute.
No kid doesn't like them.
It's just that in winter, the two of them become a little lazy. Except for coming out to bask in the sun at noon, they spend the rest of the time huddled in the doghouse.
The kennel is the one Chen Ling made for Coyotito before. It is also the kennel where Erhei and the others lived when they were young. It is relatively sheltered from the wind.
Although the weather is warm this year, there are many windy days, so it is very warm to stay inside.
But the babies are too noisy and energetic, and the little muntjac mother and father can't stand them, so they will hide back in their nest.
There was nothing they could do.
"Stop catching the little muntjac. Come and watch the pigs being slaughtered. Dad will take you to kill the pigs. After killing the pigs, we will go to the countryside to pick up brother Xiao Ming."
Chen Ling crossed the river easily and took the children over one by one.
Hei Wa and Xiao Jin also jumped over the river.
Wagging his tail and following beside him.
"Grandpa Fourth, please help me keep an eye on them first, and we will lift the pigs into the car."
"It's easy to say, Ruirui, come with your uncle..."
Fourth Grandpa liked Ruirui very much, so he took him to the side to pick up small sticks made of dry leaves and stems.
You can use this to make little animals for them, which the kids love.
Chen Ling, on his side, had also chosen a pig. He pointed at the fattest pig in the middle and said, "That's the one with the fat head and big ears."
"Huh? Aren't you going to attack the black pig this year?" Zhao Dahai asked doubtfully.
He knew that Chen Ling had an inexplicable obsession with black native pigs.
"That's it. There's no difference. They're all the same. They're not foreign pigs anyway."
Chen Ling waved his hand nonchalantly.
Seeing that Chen Ling had picked the pig, Chen Yongsheng jumped into the pig pen without saying a word. He grabbed the pig's ears with one hand and whipped the pig's butt with a whip in the other. The piglet screamed and got out neatly. Pigsty.
Chen Ling and Zhao Dahai are also very agile.
Zhao Dahai didn't have many problems. He was exposed to wind and sun all day long, but he was not afraid of doing dirty work. He held the rope and cooperated with Chen Ling to press the pig to the ground and tie it up firmly.
Then the two of them worked together to lift it up.
With Chen Ling's strength, as long as the pig, which weighed about 200 kilograms, didn't move randomly, it wouldn't cause any trouble and he could just get into the car.
After hearing the pig's screams, the neighbors came out to see it. They were particularly envious when they learned that Chen Ling had taken a pig from Chen Yongsheng's family.
Everyone knows that Chen Ling pays high prices to the villagers.
They also talked about envy, saying that Chen Yongsheng made a profit and could sell it for 100 yuan more than outside.
After a few words of discussion, everyone started teasing Ruirui again:
"Ruirui, what are you looking at? Your father killed a pig for you and he is still playing there. Follow him quickly!"
Due to the warm weather this year, households do not need to prepare much meat and various new year products.
So many people seem to be relatively relaxed.
Especially for young people, some of whom have just gotten married, it is a time when they are feeling proud and feeling happy.
At this time, he was still wandering outside, and was planning to watch Chen Ling's family kill pigs.
"One by one, since you are so free, go to the Tu Tu Temple to clean it, change the tiles in the Tu Tu Temple, and just wander around...
It’s time to welcome the new Land Master in the evening. You are all ignorant. Aren’t you afraid that the Land Master will not bless you next year? ”
Some elders in the family started to scold him. (End of chapter)