Chapter 42 Preparing for the New Year
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about other things first. The lots have been written. You can do whatever you catch." Lao Dou was writing the lots when everyone was chatting just now. Now After writing it, everyone will draw it as soon as possible, "Everyone has his destiny, from big to small."
"Grandpa, do I want it too?" Tianxiu asked, pointing to himself immediately.
“Of course.” Lao Dou nodded. There are so many things to do during the New Year, so of course the whole family has to do it together.
“I need to pee, I have to go to the toilet.” When Tianxiu saw that he had to work by himself, he acted cleverly.
"Baozi used urine to escape." When Lao Dou saw Gastrodia running away, he laughed and scolded, "You are so lazy, Lao Dou."
"You are more eye-catching than his Lao Dou." The second brother was I didn’t feel embarrassed after saying it, but laughed happily.
"Old Dou, what about you and your mother?" Azu realized that something was wrong. It seemed that Old Dou did not want him and his mother to draw lots.
"That's right. Mother Dou doesn't have to do it, right?" The second brother also followed suit.
"My mother and I have the least time. I am the chief designer and your mother is the commander-in-chief. Draw the lots quickly and don't be nagging." Lao Dou emphasized his dominance. Everyone had no choice but to One person drew a ball of paper.
"Huh?" Kang Qirui opened it and saw that there were couplets written inside, and asked: "Mom, have you bought this year's couplets?"
"Not yet. I plan to buy them tomorrow weekend. Yes, you got the chance to post couplets?" the old lady replied.
"Yes, there is no need to buy them. I will write this year's couplets." Kang Qirui did not want to go out and buy couplets. As a university teacher, writing a few couplets was not an easy task. loose. Lao Dou didn't have any objection. Anyway, it would be better if Lian Kang Qi Rui could do it by himself without having to pay for it. Kang, the god of wealth, saved another sum of money.
"Oh, you are asking me to kill a chicken? I am afraid of blood." Sachiko also opened the paper ball, and the complaints immediately appeared.
"Sister-in-law, yours is better than mine. Look at mine." Azu opened his paper ball and showed it to Sachiko, "I need to turn on the frying pan to fry things. I even have a spatula. I haven’t taken it. If you like to eat sautéed French fries, that’s fine with me.”
"What are you talking about? I don't want you to fry French fries, but fried fried corns." Lao Dou cursed angrily. Fried oil corner is a traditional local snack in Guangdong Province. Because its shape is like a "purse", that is, a wallet, it is a good sign that the wallet is full.
"Isn't it? Ask me, the second young master of the Kang family, to wash the dishes?" The second brother was also very dissatisfied with the result of the lot.
"Old Dou, I think it's very complicated. As you can see, everyone has opinions. Why not delete a few links and keep it simple?" Seeing that everyone was not very satisfied. , Ayao took the opportunity to suggest.
“That’s how it is during the New Year.” Lao Dou frowned, obviously disagreeing with A Yao’s statement.
"Oh, what trouble is this? The Chinese New Year is more elaborate in our place than in your place." Xianglan also agreed with Lao Dou's idea and told everyone about the rules of her hometown, "On the 24th, we celebrate the New Year. We need to paint the house, buy tofu on the 25th, buy meat on the 26th, grind rice on the 27th, cook Laba on the 28th, buy wine on the 29th, and watch the sun on the 30th." At the end, Pandan sang in time. stand up.
"Sister-in-law, I understand everything else. Why do you buy tofu?" The second brother asked curiously. There is a lot of meat and fish during the New Year, so why do you buy tofu?
"I don't know either. I only know that my father and mother have celebrated the New Year like this since I was a child. I haven't really asked why specifically." My sister-in-law couldn't explain clearly, it's just an old custom that has been passed down.
“I know, I know, the word ‘fu’ in tofu must be the same as the word ‘fu’ in richness, which means wealth and prosperity.” Azu looked like he understood very well.
“Do you think it’s Guangfu’s Chinese New Year that inspired it?” Kang Qirui retorted, “Old custom believes that after the Kitchen King reports to heaven on the 23rd of the year, the Jade Emperor will personally descend to the world on the 25th of the year to inspect the human world. Good and evil are used to determine misfortunes and blessings in the coming year. So every household eats tofu to express their hardships and win the Jade Emperor's pity and bring blessings in the coming year. "It turned out to be like this, and everyone was enlightened.
"Okay, let's get back to the topic first, Lao Dou, those oil horns, fried dumplings, etc. are sold all over the street, why bother to make them yourself?" Ah Yao still insists on buying what he can. , simply.
"Sai Zai, what do you know? Fried oil horns are meant for good intentions and prosperity. Do you think it's as simple as just eating?" The old lady is from Lao Guang, so naturally she has the most important intentions.
"Mom, I have something to say every day, how about we squeeze it in until the New Year's Eve and blow it up in advance?" The second guy thought that he would open a store again on the New Year's Eve, but If you want to be busy with family matters, it’s better not to pile everything up until the New Year’s Eve.
"That's okay, then let's fry the fried dumplings a few days in advance and open a frying pan on New Year's Eve." The old lady thought for a while and agreed, "It's also good to fry them in advance. I'll get them when the time comes. Give some to the neighbors and they will be good for you.”
“By the way, A Yao, I have an honorable mission for you.” When Old Dou saw that everything had been discussed, he said to A Yao, “Find it for me. A car is coming back."
"Old Dou, what do you want a car for?" A Yao asked in confusion. "Go to Chencun to buy New Year oranges." Lao Dou looked indifferent.
"Wow, Old Dou, are you going to Chencun to buy New Year oranges? Are you going to sell them wholesale?" Kang Qirui was shocked.
Celebrating the New Year in Guangfu, Nian Jue is the protagonist. At home, on the road, in shopping malls, and in the lobby of office buildings, wherever you look, there are bright and round figures of young people. And all this stems from its good intentions. The Nian orange means "good luck and good fortune". In addition, the orange color is golden, and it has the metaphor of "a house full of gold and silver, attracting wealth and treasures".
And Chencun is not only the largest flower wholesale market in Guangfu but also the country. Lao Dou suddenly said that he was going to Chencun to buy New Year oranges. It was an exaggeration. It took more than an hour to go back and forth.
“That’s right, Nian Jue is sold all over the street in Guangfu, and there are a lot of them right outside the door.” A Yao nodded, and then said: “And don’t you guys have a truck? Why do you still have it? You want me to find a car?”
"How can the Nianjiao in Guangfu be as good as that in Chencun? They are cheaper and have more choices." Dad shook his head, "A few days ago, Uncle Liang's son was doing an interview in Chencun and brought back a large cart of flowers. I don’t know how arrogant that guy is. His nose has grown to his forehead. I also have a son. I can’t afford it.”
“Oh, it turns out that you are not balanced.” Kang Qirui listened. Understood.
"Then you haven't said why you don't want the second brother to go, Lao Dou?" Ayao was still unwilling, mainly because it was hard to go to work on weekdays, and it was rare that he had to accompany Lao Dou to Chencun on weekends. What a bargain.
"Oh, you guys want to do business. Chencun is so far away. Plus buying flowers and New Year oranges back and forth will take at least one day tomorrow. How can I let you guys go?" Although Old Dou is kind. It was a matter of face, but he still knew how to handle it, knowing that his second son needed a car to do business.
"Okay, okay, then I will borrow a car for you to come back tomorrow." Ayao had no choice but to accept his fate.
Early the next morning, Kang Qirui was woken up by his old lady to work and helped her wrap the oil corner. "Mom, this seems to be the fourth brother's job, right?" Kang Qirui was still a little angry when he got up.
"Oh, your fourth brother got up and went out to buy breakfast. Do you want the family to be so clearly divided? Wash your face quickly and get to work." The old woman said angrily.
Kang Qirui had no choice but to wash his face and brush his teeth obediently. After washing, he saw Lao Dou sitting on a chair studying daffodils. Kang Qirui took a look and said: "Old Dou, your plate of narcissus is about to bloom. , Maybe it will be gone on the first day of the new year. "The narcissus has already seen the buds, I really don't know if it can last until the first day of the new year.
"The weather is warm this year, so it will bloom faster. Why don't we put it in the refrigerator?" the old lady suggested. I have to say that putting it in the refrigerator is indeed a good way to effectively delay the flowering time. Lao Dou quickly took a bag, wrapped the daffodils and put them in the refrigerator.
As soon as he put it in the refrigerator, Ayao came back from outside: "Old Dou, the car is here, let's go." After hearing this, Old Dou asked the old lady to go with him, because the old lady was a good bargainer. . The old lady didn't want to go at first, but Ayao and Kang Qirui persuaded her to go out for a walk. They could just do things like oil horns. The old lady had no choice but to follow.
Soon after Mrs. Dou left, everyone came back from breakfast one after another. Azu brought some wonton noodles to Kang Qirui. Kang Qirui was having breakfast, while the others were starting to wrap up their meals. But until Kang Qirui finished his breakfast, he didn't see a finished product coming out. Kang Qirui couldn't help but said: "I'm talking about brothers and sisters-in-law, do you know how to do it?"
The second brother looks at the second sister-in-law, the second sister-in-law looks at Xingzi, Xingzi looks at the big brother, and the big brother looks at Azu. Azu looked at Kang Qirui. Everyone will understand this, and no one will take the blame when co-authoring. After exchanging awkward smiles, Kang Qirui suggested: "Since no one has the ability, why don't we go out and buy ready-made ones?"
"Don't even think about it. It would be terrible if grandma finds out." Boss Guang firmly opposed it. Kang Qirui shrugged and replied: "Then you know how to wrap it? If you don't know how to wrap it, what else can you do?"
The second brother also very much agreed with Kang Qirui's idea, "That's right. Everyone. If not, what else can I do besides buying it? Besides, I still have to cook on New Year’s Eve, so it’s not a sabotage.”
The boss thinks it makes sense. He agreed. So everyone recommended Azu, the one who got the deep-fried fried horn, to go out and buy the fried fried horn, while the others were responsible for clearing the table. The table had just been cleared, and Xianglan came back with several large bags of things and placed them directly on the table. The second sister-in-law asked curiously: "What did you buy? So many?"
"Pork." Xianglan said, "Today isn't the twenty-sixth day of the year. I went to buy meat on the twenty-sixth day, and I bought this pork and came back. I don't know if it's enough, I can't carry it anymore, so that's all I bought. "
After listening, everyone looked at each other, and finally the boss said: "Panglan, we in Guangfu are used to eating fresh food. If you buy so much, you won't be able to finish it, and you won't be able to put it in the refrigerator. Ah. "Guangfu is located in the south, and the temperature is very warm even during the Chinese New Year, which is not suitable for food storage. So much pork is wasted.
"What should I do? Can I return the product?" Xianglan was also very innocent. It was her first time celebrating the New Year here and she didn't understand anything.
"How to return pork? Otherwise, ask the boss to set up a stall at the door to sell pork, haha." Azu joked.
"Forget it, it's just some pork. Second sister-in-law will take it back to the store and share it with everyone. It will be used as a New Year benefit. Sister-in-law, how much did you spend? Ask second sister-in-law to reimburse you." Kang Qi Rui waved his hand and said. There are currently 12 employees in the clothing store, and the weight here is only thirty or forty pounds. If you share one point with everyone, it will be enough for the family.
(End of this chapter)