National Tide 1980.

Chapter 126

There are also things to do on New Year's Eve.

In the old society, this day should be the busiest day of the new year.

Because people at that time paid attention to superstition, worshiping ancestors and welcoming gods were the most important things on this day.

There are countless red tapes, and it will never be finished without exhausting the whole family.

But it was different after liberation.

Entering the new society, pay attention to breaking the superstition.

There is no need to waste people's energy on praying for the blessings of ghosts and gods.

You can focus more on having a happy Chinese New Year and getting together with your family.

But then again, after all, the old history of our country occupies a full 5000 years.

And since history, the Chinese New Year celebration is more complicated than that of any foreign race.

Lively and beautiful, it is the light of the nation, and it is taken for granted.

Therefore, there are still some traditional habits that cannot be completely given up.

Such as remembering the ancestors, setting off firecrackers, lighting red lights, pasting Spring Festival couplets, door gods, pasting blessing characters, cutting window grilles, making dumplings, printing red plum blossoms on steamed buns...

All these matters have gradually changed from pure superstition to the meaning of praying for good luck.

It is still regarded as a kind of folk art by our people and exists in the lives of ordinary people.

Counting it, New Year's Eve in 1981 was already the second Spring Festival that Ning Weimin and Kang Shude spent together.

It is quite different from last year when the two of them still maintained a estrangement, and both were worrying about making a living, and they had no intention of celebrating the New Year.

Now that the two of them have become mentors and apprentices who are like father and son this year, and they both have a lot of money, naturally they both want to live this year like that.

So there must be all the processes that should be there.

After Kang Shude had breakfast, the old man first began to instruct Ning Weimin on how to place offerings in front of the portraits of his parents.

He solemnly ordered Ning Weimin to set up an altar under the two photos on the west wall of the back room.

Then strictly follow the tradition, according to the number of "five offerings", fill the five bowls with millet flush with the mouth of the bowl.

And covered with red paper, put "Sachima", "Peach Cake", "Zhuo Cake", apples and oranges on it.

When Ning Weimin kowtowed to the portraits of his parents seriously, he fulfilled his duty as a filial son and grandson.

The two of them just started to clear the table, spread the felt, and write the word "Fu" and Spring Festival couplets together.

In terms of division of labor, Ning Weimin is naturally serving Yanmo, and the old man will write.

Not to mention, Kang Shude's big characters are quite good, and he writes beautifully in a thin golden hand, which is definitely easy to get out.

From Ning Weimin's perspective, anyway, he couldn't tell the difference between his calligraphy and Rong Baozhai's.

So soon, while the radio was playing "Spring Festival Overture" repeatedly, the old pee started posting together.

This time, it was Ning Weimin who was in charge of climbing and fighting, and Kang Shude was in charge of checking the bottom.

With concerted efforts, the door gods at the door of their main room officially took up their duties.

"Peace is happiness, harmony is spring" was pasted on both sides of the door frame.

The banner reads "Home and everything prosper".

In addition, the rice jars and noodle jars were pasted with "more than every year", and the doors of the cabinets were also pasted with "Daily Jindoujin" and "Lucky Wealth and Treasure".

Next, it's time to post the word "Fu" on the doors of the other houses.

But at this time, Ning Weimin made his own decision and subconsciously pasted the word "福" upside down according to the current practice, but he showed a timidity in front of the old man.

Not only was he stopped on the spot, but he was also taught a lot by Master for his crime of breaking tradition.

The old man dared to say it.

"The word "Fu" is pasted upside down, and the homophony of "upside down" and "to" is taken, which means "fortune arrives". There are indeed such cases, but this practice is only used in two places."

"One is on the water tank and the soil box, because the things in these two places have to be poured out from inside. In order to avoid pouring out the family's blessings, this homonym is used to pray for good luck."

"Another place is to use the cabinet in the house. The cabinet is also a place to store items. In this case, the word 'Fu' is pasted upside down, which means that wealth will always come to the home, the house and the cabinet."

"But the word 'Fu' on the door is completely different. It has always been posted on the front. Because the word 'Fu' has the meaning of 'welcoming blessing' and 'enjoying blessing', and the door is the entrance and exit of the family. It is a kind of solemn and Where respectful, the word '福' posted must be solemn, dignified and generous."

"If you turn the word 'Fu' on the gate upside down, you will be top-heavy and disrespectful. You might as well look through folk New Year pictures in various places. Is there any painting with the word 'Fu' pasted upside down on the gate?"

"Hey, you kid is a fake expert who doesn't know anything and pretends to know it. This idea is too funny. You can't let you mess around like a dog meat general in this matter..."

Well, Ning Weimin's cleverness really didn't shake well, he completely took ignorance as a joke.

As a result, he was stumped and couldn't refute a sentence.

After the master's rebuke, I can only listen to it obediently.

Contrary to his disheveled face, Kang Shude was immediately happy.

It seemed indescribably happy, as if it was such a rare and beautiful thing to catch Ning Weimin's sore feet.

It seems that the saying goes, old children, old children, there is indeed some truth to it.

In the afternoon, the most important activity of the day finally came, which was to make "Wu Geng dumplings".

Don't look at the New Year's dumplings is a common custom of northerners.

Everyone also knows that "dumpling" and "jiao" are homophonic, and "zi" means "child time", and the allusion that eating dumplings means "Geng Sui Jiao Zi".

But in fact, few people have a better understanding of the evolution and exquisiteness of this traditional food.

Especially the dumplings in the annual customs of the capital.

For example, "he" in noodles and "diao" in dumplings also mean reunion, so dumplings also symbolize reunion and reunion.

For another example, because dumplings are shaped like ingots, they also carry the auspicious meaning of "bringing wealth and treasure".

And because when making dumplings, you need to pinch along the sides of the dumplings with your hands, and pay attention to wrapping them tightly without revealing the filling.

In case the "money" in the dumplings is exposed and the "fu" is gone.

In addition, in the old capital, due to the influence of banner people, the official title of "boiled dumplings" has always been called "boiled dumplings".

After the Republic of China, it gradually changed its name to "dumplings".

And there is one more big difference between the old days and the present.

That is, no matter the poor or the rich in the capital, the dumplings on New Year's Eve must be filled with vegetarian food, and there is no meat or fish.

This is not for anything else, but because dumplings were used for worshiping gods and ancestors at that time, and they were called "dumplings for gods".

At the same time, it also has the meaning of seeking "clean and safe for a whole year" and in order to reflect self-discipline and purification of the soul in the new year.

It is particularly worth noting that there is also a difference between the traditional concept of "meat" and "fishy".

"Xy" only refers to big fish and big meat.

And "hun" refers to irritating plants with the initials of grass.

Therefore, onion and garlic cannot be placed in dumpling stuffing.

Having said that, you know that you can really eat meat-filled dumplings on New Year's Eve. This custom has a history far less than that of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

In the end, the trend of popularization can be formed, and the lack of materials in the disaster years and the mandatory "breaking the old and welcoming the new" campaign are the main reasons.

But when it comes to traditional vegetarian dumpling fillings, they are actually not cheaper than meat fillings, and it is quite troublesome to make.

Because even though it is vegetarian stuffing, it also incorporates the concept of "never tired of fine food, never tired of fine meat" of the people of Beijing.

If rich families pay attention to the wrapping method, it will be far more delicious than minced meat.

For example, carrots should be rubbed into shreds first, then boiled in boiling water, squeezed dry, and then chopped.

Chinese cabbage should be chopped with a knife, add a little salt to kill the water, and then wrap it with a drawer cloth to squeeze out the water.

Other dry goods such as shiitake mushrooms, yellow flowers, fungus, vermicelli, etc. must be prepared first, and then finely chopped.

You can also put some finely chopped winter bamboo shoots, gluten, and dried white tofu.

In addition, the mixed vegetarian stuffing must also be added with grated "pai fork", "饹馇 box", or cut fried cakes and deep-fried dough sticks.

The purpose is to play a reconciling role, so that the vegetarian stuffing tastes soft and moist, and it will not be slag.

When these main ingredients are ready, you can use sesame seeds to make sesame salt, add soy sauce and vegetable oil, and stir them into a salty, delicious, soft and moderately smooth vegetarian dumpling filling.

Under the circumstances like this year, Kang Shude and Ning Weimin, master and apprentice, had enough meat and supplies.

Considering that the New Year's Eve dinner is full of big fish and meat, it is too greasy, and eating dumplings with vegetarian fillings, which are refreshing and relieve the greasy taste, is the best adjustment at that time.So Kang Shude chose to restore the tradition, and according to the old order, he took Ning Weimin to mix a pot of exquisite vegetarian stuffing.

Of course, when the pot of stuffing was brought to the table, it was fine if Kang Shude didn't explain.

This detailed explanation fell into the hands of Ning Weimin again.

When kneading the dough, rolling out the skin, and opening the bag by hand.

The kid was grinning, deliberately bringing up the old matter again.

"Grandpa, your vegetarian stuffing is really good. If you ask me, this is in line with the principle of scientific diet. It is definitely much more delicious than meat stuffing."

"But having said that, you are too particular about this. Even eating a dumpling is like this. Then do you let me learn from you? Or don't you let me learn?"

"Am I going to be successful after learning, or not? I'm really at a loss? I hope Master will clarify..."

Only then did Kang Shude remember what he said this morning about being delicious and worthless, and he immediately lost his temper.

"Hehe, are you in a hurry again? Want to know what it means to be promising and what it means to be unpromising?"

"Okay, let me tell you. If you only know how to eat and don't know why, then you are useless."

"Do you know why dumplings are made during Chinese New Year? Remember, it's just to 'squeeze the mouth of villains'. The picture is to avoid slander and prevent villains from slandering."

"I'm going to attack you today, kid. I have to pinch each of these dumplings three times. I will definitely make this villain's mouth swell."

Well, when Ning Weimin heard this, he was dumb at the time.

villain?Who is a villain?This is called suffering.

Or say that the master is the master.

Just swinging the big nest of roast chicken so well can really swell the mouth.

(Note: Hequ Heer is a famous snack in Beijing. It uses mung bean noodles as the main raw material and contains vegetarian dishes. It is shaped like a box and is crispy and delicious.)

(End of this chapter)