Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 112 Family Style
As the end of the new year is approaching, Fuzhou City has become lively, and farmers from all over the world have poured into the small town to sell agricultural products and buy new year's goods.

Farm vehicles, donkey carts, and horse-drawn carriages blocked the streets, and crowds of people were buzzing; the speakers outside the shops along the street tried their best to compete with each other, and the crisp explosions of two kicks sounded from time to time in the cold air. Rare hustle and bustle during the year.

Liu Xiaonan and Yue Xuelian got out of the car, and walked through the crowds and various vehicles for more than half an hour before breaking out of the encirclement, walking into a secluded alley, and returning to Yue Zifan's home.

As soon as they entered the door, the two jumped onto the kang, covered their legs with a small quilt, and shivered.I took the train for more than six hours at night, and when I arrived at the county seat, it was just dawn and the bus was not connected, so I had to wait for more than an hour at the unheated bus station.There was no warm air in the car, and after running for more than an hour, my whole body was completely frozen.

Yue Zifan brought hot water for the two of them, asked about the trip to the provincial capital, and when he learned that everything was going well, he said, "You two will stay with me for one night, and return to Liuzi Street to celebrate the New Year tomorrow. Xuelian, although you are not married yet, you have to Do your best as a daughter-in-law and do more things in your husband's house."

Yue Xuelian said: "Xiaonan proposed that we stay at home with Dad during the Spring Festival this year."

Liu Xiaonan said: "Tomorrow, we will go back to Liuzi Street first, and we will come back after writing Spring Festival couplets for the villagers."

Yue Zifan waved his hands and said, "Absolutely not, it's against the rules, there's no reason for a daughter and son-in-law to celebrate the New Year at the old man's house, don't embarrass me."

Liu Xiaonan said: "Rules are also made by people."

Yue Zifan said without doubt: "The tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years must have its reasons, and it cannot be easily changed. It is the same when you come back on the third day of the first lunar month, stay longer and spend more time with me, so it is decided."

After lunch, the two of them led Yue Zifan to the mall, and bought him two pairs of shoes, two new clothes and a hat from the inside out.After they came back, they cleaned and washed clothes separately. Liu Xiaonan cleaned the ground and roof outside the house, and Yue Xuelian washed all the clothes, pillow covers, sheets and quilts that her father had changed, and dried them in the yard.

After dinner, after talking for a while, Yue Xuelian said that she didn't sleep well on the train and was tired. She wanted to rest early and went back to her room in the back room to lie down.

Liu Xiaonan accompanied Yue Zifan to watch TV and talked about the process and details of the revision and publication of the novel, gradually yawning again and again.

Yue Zifan said in a low voice, "Teacher is not feudal. If you are tired all day, go to the back room and have a good rest."

Liu Xiaonan said: "I'd better stay with the teacher, let me feel the care of my old father-in-law."

"Stinky boy." Yue Zifan spread the bedding for Liu Xiaonan himself, and said to himself, "How did that student with mediocre academic performance back then become my son-in-law?"

They stayed for one night, and early in the morning, the two of them were unceremoniously driven back to Liuzi Street by Yue Zifan.

Liu Zhixin was looking forward to his son's return. The vegetables in the shed were on the market just before the Spring Festival, and the vegetable sellers blocked the door. He didn't sell a catty or two. He wanted his son to see his success.

After his son and daughter-in-law came back, Liu Zhixin suddenly changed his mind. Instead of letting the vegetable sellers earn the difference, it is better to work harder and go to the market to sell in person to increase his income.

Every night, the family is busy in the greenhouse, harvesting leeks and celery, bundling them into cardboard boxes, and preparing to go to the city for retail sales the next morning.Guan Deyu, Liu Zhitai and some neighbors came to help, and they often didn't stop until after ten o'clock. They were busier than anyone else.

Liu Xiaonan followed her father to the city to sell vegetables, and Yue Xuelian assisted Jiang Changling at home to steam rice cakes, steamed bean buns, and steamed buns to make tofu. The two experienced survival methods and life skills that they were not good at respectively.

too tired!Yue Xuelian was better, Jiang Changling would not let her future daughter-in-law be tired, but Liu Xiaonan was watched closely by her father, and she was not allowed to have a moment of leisure.

Liu Zhixin said to his son, "I want you to know how difficult it is to be a real farmer."

The implication is that "Father's Land, Mother's River" written by Liu Xiaonan is still too superficial, failing to see the contributions of farmers, failing to penetrate into the inner world of farmers, and failing to weigh the weight of land in farmers' hearts.

I didn't have time to watch TV, so I threw myself on the kang after washing.The local radiator in the house is very hot, and it is not a problem to sleep on the bed, but there is no kang to relieve fatigue.Yue Xuelian spread out the bedding, and pushed Liu Xiaonan to let him into the bed.

Liu Xiaonan sat up and had to comfort Yue Xuelian and rub her shoulders: "Look, it's not easy to marry into a rural family. You have to get used to the customs of the countryside, adapt to the rhythm of life in the countryside, and learn to do some farm work. Accepting the critical eyes of the whole village, a university teacher has no temper at all."

"It's okay." Yue Xuelian stretched her legs under the quilt and leaned against Liu Xiaonan's chest: "Who made me fall in love with a farmer's son. Only after seeing your second aunt did I know what a lady is, that is A kind of thing that exudes from the bones, which cannot be learned. In Uncle Liu and you, I also saw that kind of bearing in the bones. I think, I want our children to inherit this kind of attitude Literacy, I have to integrate myself into this family first.”

"It's Mr. Xiaoyue who thinks deeply, thank you for your hard work."

"It's really not hard. What I feel is the harmonious atmosphere of the family, the warmth, happiness and positive attitude towards life. This is happiness that I have never experienced. I used to spend the New Year at home, and my father and I didn't talk much to each other. It can be said that the new year is also deserted. I like this family, even though it is very busy."

"My father is too stubborn. No one can stop him from doing what he wants to do, and he won't enjoy the blessings. There is no way, we all have to cooperate with him."

"I can see that your father has been a miner for more than 30 years, and he is still a farmer at heart. I can feel that he is perfecting his life value."

Liu Xiaonan hugged Yue Xuelian: "It's not easy for a daughter-in-law to understand her future father-in-law, really not easy."

After a few days of busy work, the vegetables in the greenhouse are almost sold out, leaving only a small amount to be sold after the Spring Festival.Guan Deyu came here on purpose to settle the accounts with Liu Zhixin, and it turned out that a crop of vegetables cost nearly [-] yuan.Before the vegetables from the ground come down, the vegetables in the greenhouse can be sold for another crop, which is over ten thousand.

Guan Deyu and Liu Zhixin sighed with emotion: "How many years have you been shouting for million-dollar households, and you are the first one in the real world, and you have given Liuzi Street a good start."

Liu Zhixin said: "My retirement salary is only more than 400 yuan, and my retirement salary for two years is on the roof of a large shed. I don't want to find a way to earn some money. When there is something big or small, I will ask my son for it?"

Liu Xiaonan said to his father from the side: "The greenhouse will soon become a base for the villagers to visit. You have proved yourself, so don't be too tired in the future."

Guan Deyu looked at Liu Zhixin, smiled and said to Liu Xiaonan, "You still don't understand your father's heart."

On the afternoon of the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, after writing Spring Festival couplets for the villagers, Liu Xiaonan and Yue Xuelian boarded their uncle's agricultural vehicle and returned to Fuzhou City.

When Liu Zhixin and Liu Xiaonan went to sell vegetables in Fuzhou City, Yue Zifan came to the scene every day to help watch the stalls and yell, and he also found something interesting to do.

Liu Zhixin discussed with Yue Zifan, let the two children have a reunion dinner with him at noon on the New Year's Eve, and return to Liuzi Street in the afternoon, at least it looks like a Chinese New Year, and the old rules are not broken.

The old classmate and in-laws thought very carefully, and Yue Zifan agreed.

Liu Zhixin prepared a lot of homemade New Year’s goods for Yue Zifan, including rice and millet, pork ribs, rice wine and vegetables, rice cakes with sticky beans and frozen tofu. Back at Yue Zifan’s home, Yue Xuelian was busy preparing dinner, while Liu Xiaonan posted the Spring Festival couplets she wrote on On the lintel of the teacher.

Dinner is almost ready-made, hot rice cake sticky bean buns, fried fish and tofu, and a few plates of vegetables that are rare in winter.

Yue Zifan boiled a pot of rice wine, and happily said to Liu Xiaonan, "I borrowed from you kid, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to eat so many good things from your father."

Liu Xiaonan poured wine for Yue Zifan and Yue Xuelian: "In my memory, it was only in the past few years after working alone that the farmers' dining table has become more abundant. In the past, it was rare to eat fine grains. Rice was planted in the first year, and rice was sown after autumn. , my mother made a pot of big rice, and I ate two big bowls that stood out, and my stomach was so full that I didn't eat at night."

Yue Xuelian smiled and said, "You're not afraid of breaking yourself."

Yue Zifan said: "I admire your father from the bottom of my heart, but it's a pity that my health is not good. Otherwise, after I retire, I will follow your father to farm, and I can work for him."

Yue Xuelian said: "Dad, Xiaonan said, after we get married, take you to live with us, and we will take care of you."

Yue Zifan took a big sip happily, and readily agreed: "Okay, I can't do anything else, it's okay to help you take care of your children and tidy up your house."

On New Year's Eve, in the morning, Yue Xuelian reconciled noodles and dumpling stuffing in advance, and cooked a large table of dishes.Liu Xiaonan bought firecrackers and set them off in Yue Zifan's small courtyard before lunch. There was a deafening thunder and lightning, and paper scraps flew around.

Yue Xuelian hid behind the door of her house, covered her ears with her hands, and yelled in excitement.Yue Zifan sighed secretly, how many years had passed, he had no intention of setting off firecrackers, every year spent with his daughter was deserted and lonely, today is the atmosphere of the New Year.

After the reunion dinner, Liu Xiaonan rolled out the wrappers, Yue Zifan and Yue Xuelian made dumplings, and left them for Yue Zifan to eat alone on thirty nights.After making the dumplings, Liu Zhitai also arrived in a farm vehicle and took Liu Xiaonan and Yue Xuelian back to Liuzi Street.

Liu Zhixin and Jiang Changling had already made dumplings and were waiting for Liu Xiaonan and Yue Xuelian to come back.There is a procedure that belongs to the eldest grandson Liu Xiaonan - making paper money.Tap the paper stamp with a wooden stick, and print rows of copper coins on the yellow paper, which are ghost coins burned to the ancestors and gods.

After finishing the paper money, Liu Zhixin carried the basket containing the sacrificial paper money and took Liu Xiaonan up the mountain to meet the god.Jiang Changling and Yue Xuelian set up an altar at home and boiled dumplings.The so-called receiving the gods is to welcome the gods of the ancestors back home to celebrate the New Year together.

The sun was about to set, and dusk was falling.Men went up the mountain in twos and threes, and the sound of firecrackers sounded from the surrounding fields, echoing sparsely in the cold air.

Come to the grave of the ancestors, place sacrifices, insert three sticks of incense, toast, burn paper money, set off firecrackers, and kowtow three heads. The communication between people and gods is completed, and we welcome the Lunar New Year together.

When I got home, it was completely dark, and the two red lanterns beside the door had already been lit.Light two thick red candles on the altar, put three sticks of incense in the incense burner filled with whole grains, offer the first bowl of cooked dumplings to the three generations of clan relatives, burn some paper money in front of the altar, and kowtow three times. This means that the gods of the ancestors have been brought back home.

Behind the stove is enshrined the tablet of the Stove Lord, and three sticks of incense are also lit, and a bowl of dumplings is offered, hoping that the Stove Lord will say good things to heaven and keep the world safe.

After finishing this set of necessary procedures, the family can sit down to eat dumplings.After eating the dumplings, I cleared the table and immediately made dumplings for the first day of the new year.Liu Xiaonan deliberately wanted to show off in front of her parents, so she took the rolling pin and skillfully rolled out the dough.

Jiang Changling was very surprised, and said with a smile: "It's better to have a daughter-in-law, who can do everything. I used to refuse to learn how to roll the skin no matter how forced I was at home."

Yue Xuelian made dumplings, smiled and said nothing.Liu Xiaonan laughed at herself: "This is the inevitable result of the teacher-student relationship. I will always be a student, and I have to learn everything from the teacher in and out of school, and I will learn from it all the time."

Stay old and learn old!Yue Xuelian was a little touched, and explained to the two elders: "I don't have to force Xiaonan to do housework. I always feel that doing housework together can deepen the relationship. If I have children in the future, I can also free up more time." Time to educate the children."

Liu Zhixin can understand it very well: "It has to be like this. Both of us have jobs, and we have to share the housework with each other. We can't just rely on one person. There has never been a system where men are superior to women in our family. Without your grandma, I can't go to high school." If you are young, it is impossible to know your parents."

Jiang Changling said to her son: "On this point, you really have to learn from your father. After retirement, he will be busy at home and abroad."

Liu Xiaonan wiped Yue Xuelian's face with a hand covered in white flour and said, "Congratulations, you have successfully obtained the status of a daughter-in-law."

Yue Xuelian raised her pretty white face and stuffed a piece of candy into Liu Xiaonan's mouth.

After making dumplings, drinking tea and eating fruits, the whole family happily sat around on the kang and enjoyed the Spring Festival Gala.

Before the arrival of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Changling and Yue Xuelian re-boiled some dumplings, Liu Zhixin offered the newly cooked dumplings to the ancestors and spirits again, and the family sat down at the dining table to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.Although you are not hungry, you have to eat a little symbolically.

When the New Year's bell rang, the family came to the yard and set off firecrackers and fireworks.

His son's new book is about to be published, and his vegetable greenhouse has been successful and has seen benefits. Liu Zhixin is willing to spend money to buy a lot of firecrackers and fireworks.Rural people don't talk about it, but they are secretly competing in their hearts. Whoever sets off more firecrackers means that their life is prosperous.

Liu Zhixin and his father disassembled hundreds of thousands of coiled electric whips, laid them on the concrete path in the middle of the yard, lit them, and let the roaring sound of firecrackers drive away the evil spirits and remove the old and bring in the new.

After the firecrackers were set off, there was a strong smell of gunpowder smoke in the yard, covered with a thick layer of red confetti.

Liu Zhixin and his father moved the fireworks bombs to the yard and lit them separately. Two groups of fireworks bombs fired in two groups competed to bloom huge and bright flowers in the air, illuminating a large area of ​​the sky with each other.

Yue Xuelian and Liu Xiaonan stood side by side on the steps in front of the door, looking up at the dark night sky, watching the fireworks in the world, dragging their long tails into the air, embellishing the night with short but brilliant colors.

This night, on the earth and in the sky, countless gunpowder exploded and burned.That scene was no less than a war scene on film and television.The dogs in the village, usually one dog barks and the other dogs bark wildly, but at this night all the dogs are silent, lying in the kennel and shivering.

The Lunar New Year came to the world with firm and powerful steps amidst the roar that resounded through the earth.

(End of this chapter)