National Tide 1980.

Chapter 957
On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, the two small north rooms of Kang Shude and Ning Weimin were busier than a teahouse.

After Ning Weimin walked into the house, he first greeted Kang Shude respectfully and solemnly.

Then he went back to the hut and changed into his old cotton coat, cotton trousers, and big cotton nest.

After that, I went back to the old man's house and had a tea party.

You know, it took half a year for the three neighbors to see Ning Weimin, and everyone wanted to stay longer.

Moreover, there is no pig slaughterer to watch during the Chinese New Year in Beijing, so every day is so boring.

Even out of curiosity about foreign countries, everyone will inevitably gather around Ning Weimin to inquire about his new affairs in Japan.

This is human nature.

Ning Weimin naturally understands and understands this.

He took out a pair of soft seven stars and some Dongyang candy to entertain the big guys.

Then he sat down with peace of mind, held a teacup, picked up some interesting ones, and told everyone what he had seen and heard in Japan.

For example, in the first two days, on the morning when he reunited with Ah Xia, because he didn't understand Japanese customs, he just made a big joke.

What's going on?
On the day of Ganqing, Ning Weimin was waiting for the bus at the bus stop in Tokyo. When he was going to work in the company, because he was bored and didn't have breakfast, he began to miss the breakfast in the capital.

What freshly fried fried ghosts with soy milk, crispy baked pancakes with fried liver, pancakes, fruit, fried tofu, old tofu, bean soup, offal soup...

As a result, the more he thought about it, the more greedy he became, and he moved his index finger, wanting to eat a little bit.

What was even more unexpected was that he would come up with whatever he wanted, and when he turned his head, he found that the small kiosk next to him actually sold fried soybeans.

Although it cannot be compared with the good things made in China with spiced pepper and salt.

But it looks like a pack of fried soybeans is also clean and attractive, browned and crispy.

Ning Weimin went to buy a pack, and then Shi Shiran took out a few and ate them, and they tasted really good.

But when "Ka Beng Ga Beng" was happy, he suddenly raised his eyes, and saw the little Japanese girl selling fried soybeans staring at him dumbfounded, as if a trumpet flower had grown on his face.

Looking around, the Japanese passengers who were also waiting for the bus showed more or less strange expressions.

How weird?

If you want to describe it, it is probably "respect ghosts and gods and stay away".

At that time, Ning Weimin thought that he was violating the public good customs of Japanese society not to eat outside, so he didn't care too much.

He just thinks that the Japanese are a little too serious, and they are not even allowed to eat in public.

Alright, then let's just put away the soybeans and stop eating them.

But he never expected that he would come to his company, make a cup of tea in the tea room, and take out soybeans to eat.

Seen by the employees in the company, they also stared at him with big eyes, and collectively scanned him with their eyes.

At this time, Ning Weimin felt that something was wrong.

After questioning, someone finally told him what was going on.

It turns out that the fried soybeans in Japan have quite a saying, and they have something to do with Japanese monsters.

In fact, this fried soybean is not a snack, but a magic weapon used in Japan to "fight ghosts".

Japanese folk customs believe that monsters and ghosts are everywhere, and they may invade people's houses from time to time and do all kinds of misdeeds.

In order to avoid being hurt by these guys who are mixed with the crowd, Japan calls the day before the vernal equinox of our lunar calendar "setsubun", which is a festival dedicated to fighting ghosts and exorcising evil spirits.

On this day, someone in the family would wear a hideous mask and pretend to be a monster to enter through the door.

Then the whole family used this kind of fried soybeans to beat them head-on, shouting, "Fu は~~ inside, ghost wa~~ outside (blessings come to the house, monsters go out)", and all kinds of ghosts are driven out through this ceremony. .

Speaking of it, it is the same as setting off firecrackers on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Every family in Japan will do this ceremony, and few people ignore it.

It was probably because other people's homes were chasing out ghosts, and if I didn't do it myself, the monsters wandering all over the street would just come to my door.

Of course, fried soybeans are not inedible.

But in the first place, the remaining "ammunition" is only eaten after fighting the ghosts.

Secondly, it is said that the amount of eating is also taboo, and must be calculated according to age.

Ten years old, ten, twenty years old, twenty, and so on.

As for people like Ning Weimin, it is rare to see such a master who opens the bag immediately after buying it, and eats it like eating peanuts.

So, a foreigner is a foreigner, and the same goes for Chinese people going to Japan.

This is the same feeling as when we saw a foreigner who had just learned how to eat with chopsticks in the capital, inserting the chopsticks directly into the rice.

Needless to say, such a joke is of course coke, and it is almost the same as listening to cross talk.

Including Kang Shuode, all the neighbors in No. 2 courtyard, young and old, without exception, listened attentively and were in high spirits.

Especially when Ning Weimin finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter at the scene, which was definitely the best effect of the tea party.

As a result, when I heard it, time passed quickly.

Because Ning Weimin patiently told everyone about the lives of ordinary Japanese people, and mainly focused on some issues that everyone cares about-what is the real modern life like, and how rich the Japanese are.

Of course, there must be people who like what he said, and some who didn't like it.

For example, bus seats in Japan are self-heating, and the prices of electronic products and cars are much cheaper than domestic ones.

There are also high-rise buildings, rich nightlife and entertainment, and subways extending in all directions, covering almost every corner of the city. Of course, everyone is envious.

Especially I heard that in Tokyo, many people don’t want slightly broken furniture and home appliances, and throw them away like garbage.

Everyone even more regards Japan as a rich paradise.

He kept saying that he had never been there, and he really didn't know that Little Japan was so rich.

But when Ning Weimin talked about the many restrictions on garbage disposal in Japan, the price of things in the store, and the high consumption level, everyone grinned.

In particular, everyone heard that the money spent on drinking soy milk and fried dough sticks in the morning in Japan can almost eat a pig in the capital.

And the soy milk is pitifully scarce, unlike the soy milk in our capital, which is full of a big bowl.

The bowls Japanese drink soy milk are smaller than the cups we drink tea in Liu Zhen, and the deep-fried dough sticks are as thin as chopsticks.

No matter who listened to it, they were full of emotions, and they all agreed that Japan is definitely not a good place.

I never thought that in Tokyo, people eat like tickets, even if Zhu Bajie goes there, he will starve to death.

But in turn, everyone understands why Ning Weimin insists on going to Tokyo to open a restaurant.

A bowl of noodles can be sold for 40 to [-] yuan, what business can make more money than doing this?
This is almost like stealing money.

In this way, everyone smoked, ate, drank, and chatted, completely forgetting the time.

In addition, Ning Weimin brought gifts to every household.

The whole set of Japanese currency used as money for the children, cigarettes, alcohol, sugar and tea for the elders, and electronic watches, calculators, and small tape recorders for the young are distributed one by one.

And the neighbors also have their own gifts in return.

Anyway, with all the bustle going back and forth, no one paid attention until it was dark.

As a result, the New Year's Eve dinner for all the families in No. 2 Courtyard had to be postponed for an hour or two.

Because the big guys were so happy to patronize and chat, they forgot about the New Year's Eve dinner, and a lot of work hasn't had time to be done yet.

Of course, Luo Guangsheng and his wife, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Bian family, Li Xiuzhi, and the newly married young couple of Bian Jianjun were the most surprised.

You know, the few of them hurried back to celebrate the New Year after work today, but when they got home, they found that there was no one without exception.

Then I heard movement in the courtyard, only then did I know that Ning Weimin had come back, and they all came to find him one by one.

So the young people took over from the older generation. When these people met Ning Weimin, there was a lot of excitement and pleasantries.

Let's put it this way, this afternoon, Ning Weimin's mouth was not idle, as if he hosted and participated in two year-end parties.

It wasn't until seven o'clock in the evening, when "News Network" started broadcasting, that the neighbors dispersed one by one. Even Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao went back to their own home for the New Year's Eve dinner with their presents.

Ning Weimin and Kang Shude were finally able to attend to their own affairs without being disturbed, and had a chat of their own.

But it's very interesting to say, because Ning Weimin has never been in the capital.

It was only after he came back that he could clearly notice that the relationship between Bian Jiangong's new wife and Aunt Bian's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had changed a lot.

These two people are actually quite harmonious now, and that "Mu Guiying" seems to be quite favored.

It's far from what everyone was worried about before he went abroad, fearing that after "Mu Guiying" got through the door, Aunt Bian would dislike him, and Bian's meritorious deeds would be splinted.

He couldn't help being curious, puzzled, wondering what happened to the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?

How did the relationship become harmonious all of a sudden?

In the end, after asking about the whole story, I learned another interesting story about the Bian family from the old man.

For this reason, he has to admit that living a life is also a science, and he can't help but look at Aunt Bian as a new wife with admiration.

What happened?
According to Kang Shude, after Bian Jiangong and Mu Yueying got married on the National Day last year, at the beginning, it was indeed what everyone thought.

The aunt here doesn't like this new daughter-in-law at all, she thinks it's just good-looking, like the paper figure on the painting, she is left out everywhere.

Every weekend, the Jiangong couple here come to No. 2 courtyard to see their parents. They don’t look good at Aunt Bian’s place. It’s useless to flatter them, and they always suffer from their hometown when they do some housework.

The grievances of the young couple made the neighbors unable to look at them, and they often said good things for the young couple behind their backs, and explained Aunt Bian.

But it's useless, Aunt Bian has a lump in her heart, she always feels that this daughter-in-law is at a disadvantage.

Let's not talk about bringing a disabled mother, the key is that "Mu Guiying" herself is the same.

One of these mother and daughter is crippled, and the other is careless. They have to point their fingers at others to make meritorious deeds in daily life. It would be strange for her to be happy as a mother.

But thankfully that's not the case.

After winter came, on a Sunday, there was a self-employed person who bought goods from a sewing agency in the street. In order to thank Aunt Bian for helping to provide some pretty goods, he sent a pig's head brought back from the countryside to Bian's family.

In the end, it was precisely this pig's head that changed Aunt Bian's mind, and made her no longer have any prejudice against this new daughter-in-law.

You know, there is still a big difference between urban people and rural people, from daily life to basic necessities of life.

Don't look at how easy it is for rural people to turn around when they enter the city, but conversely, many things that are considered commonplace in the countryside can also be difficult for urban people.

Just like this pig's head, placed in a basket, a meaty, dirty big pig's head twenty catties smaller.

How to clean up and how to do it, few people in the city know how to do it.

From ancient times to the present, people in the capital have eaten this stuff ready-made.

In the past, people who "sold smoked fish" in the countryside came to the city with a small red box on their backs to sell ready-made pork heads, but now they are all sold in non-staple food stores. Who has done this before?
If you really want to inquire, you have to ask the elderly, people from the countryside to the city, or professional chefs.

It's also a coincidence that the Bian family, the Luo family and the Mi family are all urban poor.

The housewives of the three families know how to stew elbows, roast yellow croakers, and croquettes are true.

But no one has played with the pig's head before, and they didn't discuss it together and came up with a good idea.

Daughters-in-law?I can't even count on it, the old house sparrow can't do it, but the little house sparrow can do it?

But don't say anything, nothing can trouble someone with a heart, and this day, Mu Yueying should be the one to shine.

She watched the old man at home worrying for a long time this day, and unexpectedly enthusiastically recommended herself.

"Mom, you can't leave it to me to try?"

"You? You know how to do it?" Aunt Bian didn't believe it at all.

"Anyway, no one will, so just let me try. It doesn't matter if I don't know, there is a mouth under the nose, at worst, I'll ask someone else? Just sit back and relax, don't worry about it..."

"Drink, don't let me take care of it. That's fine. Okay, then I'll leave this thing to you, and let's eat after it's cooked."

Aunt Bian was also a little angry at the time.

Thinking about it in my heart, I don't believe it. If we don't know how to do something, you can do it.

ask?Ask who?
None of the people in this courtyard knew it, and if they asked again, they could only go to the street to scan and listen.

Not to mention, this "Mu Guiying" played with the idea of ​​going to the streets.

I saw her holding a cutting board and kitchen knife in one hand, and a basket containing a big pig's head in the other, and she walked out of the gate proudly.

It really looks like Mu Guiying is going to break through the Heavenly Gate Formation.

Aunt Bian was taken aback by this.

It must be said that it is not easy for anyone to eat meat at this time.

Such a big pig's head would make this daughter-in-law mess around and make her unable to eat. She really felt distressed, so she couldn't help but quietly followed it out.

In the folk customs in the alleys of the capital, it is very common for daughters-in-law to choose a bean at the street gate and wash a dish.

Firstly, being busy outside does not affect the hygiene at home, and secondly, you can also see the scenery on the street.

The people on the street look at me, and I look at the people on the street.

Ordinary people in the capital are still so romantic.

But I saw that "Mu Guiying" put the chopping board at the door and put the big pig's head on it.

Then he picked up the kitchen knife and started chopping randomly at the pig's head.

At that time, Aunt Bian, who was watching afterward, almost fainted.

I said it in my heart, the daughter-in-law here is really a foolish car, she is simply a loser!

Anyone who knows how to cook knows, how can the pig's head have such a skill? !
Also, didn't you say you were going to the street to ask others?Why don't you ask?
I feel sorry for the things at home, and want to go out to stop them, but because I just said that I don't care...

Hesitating and tangled in the courtyard.

At this time, an elderly lady with a vegetable basket walked by in the alley. Seeing "Mu Guiying" heroically wielding a sword, she spoke to her.

"Oh, girl, I said, what are you doing? How can a pig do this?!"

This old lady has white hair all over her head and part of her mouth is missing. She must be seventy, and Aunt Bian doesn't know her.

She poked her head over and glanced at it, only a little familiar.

In my impression, it seems to be in an alley on the east side of Meishi Street. When I go to the vegetable market every day, I like to go here.

"Mu Guiying" immediately put down the knife, wiped her hands on her apron, smiled along with her, and said politely, "Grandma, don't I understand?"

The old lady put down the vegetable basket, picked up the pig's head to look at it, and said, "If you don't understand, you can't mess around. Isn't it all chopped up? It's a pity that you spoil such a good thing."

"Mu Guiying" took up the conversation naturally.

"That's right, I'm actually worrying here... Then tell me, how should this thing be done?"

"How to do it? First use fire chopsticks to burn red, burn off the hair, then cut open the jaw, here, here, here, cut off the dirty things that cannot be eaten, and then take a big pot to blanch it to remove the smell, and prepare Some spices, scallions, ginger, aniseed..."

Just as he was talking, someone answered again. "Old sister, if you want me to say that it's not good to boil it, just boil some white wine and pour it on the pot, it will taste good."

Another aunt who was carrying a bag of potatoes came over and said.

Aunt Bian still doesn't know this person.

But she knew that the two old ladies should know each other and lived almost on the same street.

"Yes, in the past, when we made pig heads in our hometown, we paid attention to adding wine. Also, don't rush to add salt, stew it thoroughly before adding flavor."

Another voice came to join in the fun.

This voice is familiar.

It's... Heizi's mother in No. [-] Courtyard, Aunt Bian couldn't help but slap her.

Hey, why did you forget Heizi's mother, her natal family used to butcher pigs in Baoding.If I knew it earlier, it would be over if I asked her if she would go.

"By the way, when our family used to burn this, we had to put at least two heads of garlic. Do you have any at home? How about getting a few from me first? I know your mother-in-law, you are the new daughter-in-law of the next family. Don't Be polite to me..."

Heizi's mother was quite enthusiastic and offered to give garlic.

"Auntie, how much salt do you think is suitable for such a big pig's head?"

Well, hearing her daughter-in-law ask such a question, Aunt Bian is completely relieved at this time.

Afterwards, there were so many old ladies gathered together.

It didn't take long for a lot of people to gather around.

Except for a few connoisseurs, they all expressed their opinions to the pig's head and exchanged cooking experience.

Everyone else is here to learn and gain knowledge.

In the end, "Mu Guiying", who had a wry smile on her face, was put aside and ignored.

No way, who told us that the people in the capital not only like to join in the fun, but are also warm-hearted?
And that night, the family finished eating the delicious big pig's head.

Aunt Bian finally figured it out, this new daughter-in-law was a little edgy on the surface, but she was Neixiu.

When people go to the streets, it’s not that they don’t ask, but they use a clever method similar to fishing to find out what they want to know.

With this kind of cleverness, I will not be too blind when I encounter problems in my life in the future, which can make people feel more at ease.

So he called his son over and quietly handed him 500 yuan.

"When you got married, Mom didn't buy you anything. This little money is Mom's kindness. You can buy your daughter-in-law a gold plate or a small gold watch later. Listen to her."

In this way, Aunt Bian's knot was untied, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Bian family got better.

(End of this chapter)