Restarting life in Siheyuan

Chapter 261 Five-night dumplings
  Seeing the surprised look of the second elder, the younger sister smiled and said.

"Uncle and aunt, don't be surprised. My brother was driving on the way back. My second brother and I ate in the car. He is still hungry after breakfast."

Zhu Xuefeng mentally gave his little sister a thumbs up and seemed a little embarrassed.

"No, there's too much delicious food. I'm greedy just looking at it. No, I have to drink some soup. I'm so full that I have to slip away."

Uncle Zou's face suddenly bloomed like a chrysanthemum, and Aunt Zou was so happy to see that Zhu Xuefeng loved to drink the bone soup he made.

"If you like to drink, Auntie will always cook it for you. It doesn't take much effort. The bones are much easier to buy than meat."

Everyone knows that a plate of rice cakes is served after a meal. It is served every year after a meal. In some families, it is served as a dessert, which is like caramelized apples. Anyway, that’s what it means.

Looking at the remaining dishes, I asked the two elders to take away half of them, but there was still a lot left. In the next few days, it will basically be leftovers with some green vegetables, no need to use a knife.

"Xue Feng, we are just an old couple, we really can't eat so much, so stop pretending."

Seeing that Zhu Xuefeng was still loading the dishes, Uncle Zou quickly stopped him. It was too much, and there were a few spare ones at home that were not used. There was so much that he could not finish it before the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

"Uncle, I forgot to tell you. You have to come and change the fire tomorrow. We are not at home in the afternoon and evening, and we can't keep this dish forever. You, just have a good New Year."

The younger sister and the younger brother went to feed the chickens. It was the New Year and they had to give the chickens something good to eat. As for Xiao Hei, the younger sister couldn't find him and was eating fish.

"Hey, Yan Laoer, it's a bit early this year."

This is when Yan Laoer and his younger brothers and sisters went door-to-door to deliver the God of Wealth. It was very particular. At five or six o'clock in the afternoon, the children would take the purchased God of Wealth and deliver it to their homes.

The courtyard is relatively closed, and few outsiders come in. They all think it is not good to disturb others preparing for the New Year's dinner, so it is a convention to send the God of Wealth to the family after the New Year's dinner. As soon as the meal is finished, someone comes to the door.

No one can refuse this kind of thing. They all pay several times the price to invite them in. Everyone wants to be lucky, and the children want some pocket money. Sometimes they can pick up five or six in a night. You can't say no, but if you really don't want to give it, you have to Say yes.

But this is all a child's business. It's quite strange that Yan Lao Er is still giving the God of Wealth to the yard at such an old age. Zhu Xuefeng happily took out two cents. Today was a coincidence. He forgot to prepare change in his pocket. It was cheap. This kid is gone.

"Thank you, Brother Feng!"

The three Yan family members ran away happily after seeing the big deal. There were still many houses in the yard, so they had to hurry up, otherwise they would suffer big losses.

"Brother, I have zero here. I'll pick it up later. You gave me too much. I won't even give it away now."

The younger sister saw that her elder brother paid two cents, which was too much. Most of them didn't pay more than ten cents. There were quite a few who didn't chip in and gave five cents. A God of Wealth card cost less than a penny.

Sure enough, several more waves came after a while, all of them were little kids in the yard. From a distance, Banggeng and his sister were seen walking from house to house, but they didn't come to Lao Zhu's house.

Seeing that the two elders were a little tired, they had to let them rest first. Seeing his younger brother and sister coming back, Zhu Xuefeng pointed to the north room.

"We'll put away all the vegetables later. Some of them have to be put in the refrigerator. Then we go outside to set off firecrackers and play for a while. When the time comes, we'll make dumplings."

Who doesn't like to set off firecrackers? Even the little girl couldn't stop them. After a while, the two of them ran away happily with firecrackers, and even the Sky Monkey took one.

"Uncle, please continue listening to the radio and take a rest for a while. We have been tired for such a long time. Let's take a breather before making dumplings."

"Okay, it's still early anyway." Uncle Zou and his wife went back to lie down and rest for a while. They had to make dumplings later and had to stand. It was really hard not to take a rest.

The two elders must have been busy for most of the day, and they agreed to invite people over for dinner. They were so tired that Zhu Xuefeng felt a little embarrassed.

After eating, according to custom, the whole family would gather around, cracking melon seeds, chatting, talking about the usual things, eating together and making dumplings together, but the energy of the two elders was obviously low, so they didn't force it.

Take the time to put away the dishes and pots. This day is really very tight. Fortunately, we don’t have to run like this every year, otherwise the New Year would be really tiring.

After cleaning up, the two elders were still resting. They looked at the time and saw that it was still a little early. The dumplings were made too early and had been left for a long time, so the dough underneath was easy to stick to. They usually start after ten o'clock.

After a while, the younger brothers and sisters came back from setting off firecrackers and stamped their feet as they entered.

"The snow is almost gone, and it's still so cold outside at night. No wonder my eldest brother doesn't put it away."

Zhu Xuefeng helped brush off the firecracker debris from the second child.

"I've never heard that it's not cold when it snows. I asked you to wear a scarf to wrap it around. You both find it troublesome. Now your ears are completely frozen. Go and warm yourself up."

Maybe they heard the news that the two children were returning home. Uncle Zou and his wife also came over. I didn't say anything, so let's prepare dumplings.

Looking at the vegetarian stuffing ingredients on the table, there are quite a lot of them. Zhu Xuefeng prepared them according to the old rules.

"Wait a minute, you guys listen to this first. Auntie will prepare the stuffing. You three will help make it in a while."

Uncle Zou turned on the radio, which was playing cross talk. As soon as he heard it, he knew that this was Mr. Jin Haima.

On New Year's Eve, the radio station held a "National Radio Gala" with rich and colorful content, including music, Peking opera, and cross talk. It was comparable to the TV Spring Festival Gala in later generations.

I didn't have a radio at home before, so I couldn't listen to it even if I wanted to, so I forgot about it.

"Little sister, turn up your voice louder so that it won't be drowned out by the sound of chopping stuffing."

It's a pity that I only listened to one section of Teacher Ma's cross talk. The voice is so recognizable that you can't forget it once you hear it. But the last section also made everyone happy. Not to mention, Teacher Ma used this meme. Come on, this baggage is coming one after another, coupled with her calm and leisurely tone, it doesn't matter if I don't feel happy. .

"Now it's time to guess the quiz with prizes again. Please pick up the pen and paper in your hands and do it well..."

The Spring Festival Gala on the radio at this time is also very interesting. In addition to playing music, Peking opera, cross talk and other programs, there is also a "quiz quiz" program with prizes.

The radio station will insert more than a dozen riddles or intelligence test questions in the middle of the program, allowing people across the country to guess together, and there will be prizes!
  "Come on, come on, where are your pens? Second brother, where do you keep your pens?"
  The little sister was a little anxious, so Zhu Xuefeng had no choice but to take some pens and paper from the space and handed them over.

"Okay, don't make any sound, it's time to start..."

One question came up at once, and this question obviously stumped the two children, and the two elders were even more clueless. Seeing that Zhu Xuefeng was not anxious at all, the younger sister couldn't help but ask.

"Brother, do you know the answer? Why did the penguin get lost in Antarctica with a compass? You should tell me!"

The primary school students of later generations all know this, but how many people know it now?
  "Of course it's because in Antarctica, every other direction is north, so of course the compass can't find north."

"That's it"! The two children were thoughtful and seemed to understand.

The little girl jumped up all of a sudden!

"Yeah, that must be the case." He quickly found the envelope, cut off a small corner, and began to write the address of the radio station.

Early the next morning, you have to put the answers in a letter and send it to the radio station. There is no charge for sending this kind of letter. You just need to cut off a corner of the envelope and write the words "Answering Questions at the Evening Party" on it.

If you answer correctly, the radio station will send you a beautiful little bookmark. Although the gift is light, it is very commemorative and everyone likes it.

Zhu Xuefeng never understood. Without the help of electronic equipment at this time, how did the staff of the radio station deal with the answers sent by people across the country on various papers and various fonts? That's a lot of work.

"Okay, put away the pen and paper. There will be prizes for quizzes later. Now while I haven't answered the questions, I'm listening to the show and getting ready to make dumplings."

There are two types of dumplings to prepare. One is for vegetarian filling. This one is for serving. It has to be cooked first and then eaten by yourself. It can be meat or meat. I guess not many people are particular about these things now.

Vegan stuffing is not simple. Grate the carrots into shreds, blanch them, dry them and then chop them into pieces. Chop the Chinese cabbage and squeeze out the water.

Then add dried foods such as mushrooms, fungus, yellow flowers, and vermicelli, and chop them finely. You can also add winter bamboo shoots, gluten, and the like.

According to the old rules, you can put ginger in the stuffing, but not onions, garlic and leeks, because these are considered "meat".

There is a lot of emphasis on the vegetarian stuffing. In fact, you only need a small amount of vegetarian stuffing. You only need to prepare a plate of vegetarian stuffing.

When I saw ten o'clock, I could clearly hear the sound of "dang, dang, dang, dang, dang" being chopped in the yard. The dumpling fillings need to be prepared before midnight, because after midnight, it will be the first day of the Lunar New Year. No knife allowed.

The whole family should make dumplings together during the Chinese New Year, and this is also true for wealthy families. This is to show the unity, harmony and joint efforts of the family. Not only are there fillings in the dumplings, but some washed coins and dates are also placed in them for good luck.

"Xue Feng, I just put this stuffing on the cabinet. There should be enough noodles." "Don't worry, one plate of plain stuffing, pork and cabbage should be enough for fifty, and there's enough noodles as well. You can take a look at it later."

Now Mrs. Zou has prepared the vegetarian stuffing. There are more than fifty pork and cabbage fillings, which is enough for five people. After all, they have eaten dinner, and they are not in a hurry. They are preparing while listening to the show.

Seeing that it’s almost time, let’s start making dumplings together. This northerner makes dumplings every year, and they can basically do it, but the appearance is different.

At this time, shouts of "Buying water chestnuts! Buying water chestnuts" came from the alley. Because the surroundings were quiet, the sound was particularly clear, with melodious echoes rippling in the wind.

"Second brother, hurry up and buy some."

I didn’t even wash my old hands, so I put on my cotton-padded jacket, put on my hat and ran away. I don’t know when it started. Every time before midnight, when every household was busy making dumplings, the alley would always hear the sound of “selling water chestnuts”. Shouting.

Amidst the sounds of chopping stuffing, the cry of "Buy water chestnuts!" came from the cold wind, like a variation inserted in the middle, like a folk song from northern Shaanxi coming from a burst of percussion music. Just as melodious and harmonious.

At the fifth watch, the dumplings were cooked. The first pot of vegetarian stuffing was cooked and served first. Three small bowls of five in each bowl were placed together with other tributes.

There was a dense sound of firecrackers in the yard, and the second child was lit, and the sound of firecrackers started.

There were several loud noises in the distance.

"Big brother, big brother, aunt and uncle, please come out quickly!"

The little girl was jumping and shouting in the yard, and several people hurriedly came out. Not far away, a dozen huge fireworks bloomed in the southwest. After one round, there was another loud bang, and then another huge firework exploded in the air. Yes, this must be from Liuyang.

"It's so beautiful. I really want to see it live."

Several people clicked four more kicks and watched a bright light flash in the night sky and a roar. Although it was not as spectacular and beautiful as the one in the southwest, it still made its own sound and light.

"Don't worry, there are still more." Zhu Xuefeng went back and took two big clay figurines without any hurry, and placed them in the center of the yard more than one meter apart. They looked like two old men, with the leads above their heads. He took a few Secure it with half bricks.

The third child of the Yan family also saw the movement and came out, and gathered around to watch.

"Old Man's Flower, you can buy this too, I didn't even see it."

This thing is not easy to buy, and it is rare to encounter it. It was made with the help of Qian Chuanzi. There are only four of them, ninety-eight cents each. They are super expensive, but they have enough gunpowder. One can last for half an hour. They are the older generation of fireworks.

"Come on, you two can order it yourself."

Zhu Xuefeng relighted two incense sticks and handed them to his younger brother and sister. This was something that others had let go of a few years ago. They both carefully stretched out a leg, leaned back as much as possible, and stretched out the incense tremblingly.

"Pa", there was a soft sound in Zhu Xuefeng's mouth. The younger sister was frightened to drop the incense in her hand, but the second brother was only nervous for a moment. It was okay, a little better than the younger sister.

The little girl picked up the incense in her hand and put it out. The ground was a little damp.

"Brother, you are so mean. Second brother, wait for me for a while. I..."

Zhu Xuefeng took the incense, broke off the front end, lit it again, and handed it to the younger sister.

The two fireworks rose higher and higher, slowly blooming, colorful and beautiful, illuminating the front yard brightly. After a while, children from several yards gathered over, shouting and screaming around the two fireworks. Running and jumping around.

Colorful fireworks illuminated the men and women, young and old, in the front yard, and everyone was full of joy...

...

Back in the house, the three kowtowed to the two elders. Uncle Zou and his wife happily gave the three New Year's money. Zhu Xuefeng did not blush and accepted it happily.

After watching the dumplings on the table, I cut some braised vegetables, took out the Laba garlic, and poured some white wine for the two old people. Now it's time to get together and eat the steaming "first bite of the new year."

It was just a coin, and luckily the second one got it. The second one was so happy that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear. The two elders also looked at the three brothers and sisters with amusement.

The little sister muttered, she had suffered a big loss, she said she couldn't eat so much, so she gave two of them to her second brother, giving away her luck.

"Well, if you don't use this, our family will be the luckiest."

Zhu Xuefeng touched the little sister's head, and the little sister became happy. She drank some wine with the old couple, and the old couple were also happy. They hadn't been so lively in several years. They were really happy to see the younger generation grow up.

It was a night vigil now, and the old couple couldn't keep it. After chatting with the three brothers and sisters for a while, they went to rest. The table was also cleared, and the lights in all the rooms were on.

The two children were cracking melon seeds and waiting for their elder brother. The elder brother was washing the dishes and said he would teach them some new games later, but he didn't tell them what they were playing. The two children felt restless as if they were scratching their paws.

After finally waiting for the elder brother to finish cleaning up, Zhu Xuefeng wiped his hands and walked out with a smile.

"Don't worry, let's start now. Brother, go and make the fire hotter. It's going to be very cold in the middle of the night. Let's not stay up all night. Go to bed when we feel sleepy."

After saying that, he entered the north room and came out with a pair of playing cards. The one he bought years ago had not yet been opened, so he took it apart several times and cleaned it up a few times.

"Brother, are you just going to teach us how to play cards? We all know how to do this."

The younger sister was a little surprised. Isn't poker very simple? There are no new games.

"Don't worry, let's do a few magic tricks first and then play a new game later."

"Little sister, please check the cards first, shuffle them three times, and then give them to me."

Zhu Xuemei and the second child checked it carefully together. There was no problem. The new cards were all good. Zhu Xuefeng unfolded the cards in his hand.

"Look, don't blink, take out one by yourself, and then remember it..."

Zhu Xuefeng performed several card magic tricks, which have been decrypted many times in later generations, but they are still very magical now. Both the children were confused by the card magic tricks, and the eldest brother was so amazing.

I finally performed a few magic tricks in my stomach several times.

"Do you want to learn..."

Both of them opened their eyes wide and nodded enthusiastically...

It turns out it’s so simple, I’ll try it too.

...

The three brothers and sisters played with a few simple card magic tricks for more than an hour, and then started playing Landlord. It became more lively now, and the second brother was no longer silent. He often said that the younger sister's cards were wrong, and the younger sister was not a fuel-efficient lamp. ….

It was past four o'clock in the noisy time. The two children were getting more and more energetic as they played. It was not obvious that they had run a long distance during the day. After thinking about it, they would stay up all night. Once in a while, they would definitely be fine.

The sky gradually dawned, and it took two hours to wake up.

"Brother, we really stayed up all night, but this game of Landlord is so fun, but the second brother is so bad at it, he always makes the wrong cards..."

Seeing the two children about to fight.

"Second brother, go and heat some soup and some steamed buns. After eating for a while, you can rest. You don't have to wait for me at noon. If I come back late, you can go directly there in the afternoon. I have to go to my godmother's house."

I had to go to an appointment soon, so I changed into loose clothes, brought a pair of sneakers, and went out carrying the gift box and the local goods I brought back.

The New Year's greeting gift boxes are also very particular. They are usually four, six, or eight, which must be an even number. It means peace in the four seasons and good luck in the six and six seasons.

The yard was quiet. They were probably all staying up late on New Year's Eve. They couldn't get up, but it was fine. Everyone held their fists and said, "Congratulations on getting rich, good luck to you."

Lao Zhu's family gave away someone last year. Logically, they won't be welcoming this year. No one will come to the door, and it will save some trouble. You can go out in a down-to-earth manner. I plan to run all the runs today. Logically speaking, I will only run those within the clan today. Elders, Godmother, and Coach Gao's family don't have such scruples, and no one comes or goes in No. [-] Courtyard.

There is still a faint smell of firecrackers in the air. There may be children who got up early or haven't slept yet, and there are a few sounds from time to time.

"Comrade Liu, I'm on duty. I'm here to visit Director Wang. You see..."

(End of this chapter)