Border Cook

Chapter 245 Disappointment
When the night reaches midnight, firecrackers can be heard outside to welcome the New Year.

After setting off their own firecrackers, everyone said "Happy New Year" to each other, and then they could no longer resist the overwhelming sleepiness and went back to their rooms to sleep.

Xia Mingyue was also very sleepy and closed her eyes after going to bed.

But just as she fell into a drowsy sleep, Xia Mingyue heard a slight noise outside and woke up immediately.

The "tapping" sound continued, and it sounded like someone knocking on the door.

Is Lu Qiyan back?
Xia Mingyue was unconsciously delighted. She hurriedly put on her coat, rushed to the door in her slippers, and opened it with a "swish".

Outside the door was a normal yard with no one in sight.

Even Wu Jin, who had just patrolled the yard and returned to his nest, was startled by Xia Mingyue's action and ran over to take a look.

Xia Mingyue was a little disappointed. She half squatted down and touched Wu Jin's head.

The "da da" sound is still ringing.

Xia Mingyue looked around and her eyes finally fell on the apricot blossom branches.

There was a small red lantern. The rope that bound it was loosened by the wind, and the small lantern was hanging tremblingly on the branch. Every time it was blown up by the wind, the bamboo strips inside the lantern that served as the frame would hit the branches, making a "da da" sound.

The sound was not loud at first, but the apricot tree was closest to the window of Xia Mingyue's house, and it was late at night and quiet, so it naturally seemed a bit loud.

Xia Mingyue sighed, her face full of dejection. She could only find a stool, put her feet on it, took down the small lantern with a loose string, and took it into the house.

Lying on the bed, Xia Mingyue stroked the little red lantern in her hand, stared at it for a long time, finally put it on the bedside and closed her eyes.

But even so, she still couldn't fall asleep. Xia Mingyue became a little irritated and simply pulled the quilt over her head.

It was not until she felt a little short of oxygen inside the quilt that Xia Mingyue finally found a gap and stuck her head out again.

After this happened several times, Xia Mingyue finally fell into a drowsy sleep.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to custom, one must get up early.

Xia Mingyue got up early and had breakfast with Jiang Zhuguo - sauerkraut and meat dumplings.

Just after cleaning up the dishes, Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu came to pay New Year's greetings.

"Happy New Year, Aunt Xia."

"Happy New Year, Aunt Jiang."

"happy New Year."

Xia Mingyue and Jiang Zhuguo helped the two people up, took out the dried fruits that had been prepared in advance and stuffed them into their hands, and even gave each of them a red envelope.

The red envelope was bulging. In addition to some copper coins, Xia Mingyue also stuffed a silver ingot into it.

They are hollow, large in size, and limited in weight, less than one or two taels each, but they look very festive. They are specially made in jewelry shops and are very suitable for elders to distribute to younger generations during the Chinese New Year.

Xia Mingyue saw them while strolling around and bought a few.

Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu paid New Year's greetings, received lucky money and food, and went to find Wu Jin to have fun together. Xia Mingyue and Jiang Zhuguo went out to pay New Year's greetings together.

First, he went to Lu's place, and then he and Lu went to Aunt Feng's house, and Qian Bo's mother's house...

And gradually, people began to visit Xia Mingyue's home to wish her a happy new year.

The New Year's greetings lasted until the sun rose to mid-sky, and then everyone went home to start their New Year's Day lunch.

As usual, lunch consists of dumplings and some...leftovers from New Year's Eve.

Xia Mingyue's family is no exception.

But the food on New Year’s Eve is rich and delicious. Even if it is reheated today, everyone can still enjoy it.

The afternoon is pure entertainment time.

Xia Mingyue, Lu and Jiang Zhuguo sat together chatting and enjoying various dried fruits and preserved fruits. They even put a few long and thin sweet potatoes in the charcoal basin used for heating, which they could eat at any time.

Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu took Wu Jin to run and play wildly in the yard. When they were tired, they came to the main room to rest and enjoy their original snacks.

Take a long piece of dry vermicelli, hold the end in your hand, and place the whole piece of vermicelli on the charcoal basin to bake. When heated, the vermicelli will almost instantly make a slight "sizzling" sound, and in a moment it will more than double in size, and even its color will turn off-white.

The vermicelli baked in this way becomes crispy and is full of unique aroma when put into the mouth.

Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu liked it very much, and even Wu Jin ate it with relish, just lying by the door, waiting for the two brothers to feed him.

After eating a lot of vermicelli, Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu felt a little bored, so they took some fresh apples and roasted them on the charcoal basin. They roasted the apples until the skins were charred black. Then they took the apples out, cut off the skins, and enjoyed the apple flesh inside.

The roasted apples were warm inside and had a unique fragrance. They tasted pretty good. The two brothers' eyes lit up and they prepared to try roasting more food.

Spiced sausage, sliced ​​pork liver, and even planning to go to the kitchen to cut some raw meat...

When Mrs. Lu saw this, her vision suddenly went dark.

These two living ancestors are really troublesome!

But it was New Year's Day after all, and Mrs. Lu really didn't want to beat the children on such a day. She could only suppress her anger and give them some indirect reminders as the two brothers had not yet gotten into trouble.

"You two stop playing with the coals and go out and play with Wu Jin."

"Mom, we're not playing, we're grilling something to eat."

"If you're hungry, go get some fried hemp leaves or something."

"Mom, we're not hungry, we just want to test something."

Lu: "..."

He simply doesn't understand what people are saying!
Well, playing at home with adults watching over him is better than going out and making trouble. Besides, he is just baking some food, so he can't be considered too naughty. At most, the food he bakes will be a little unpalatable.

At worst, I can force them both to eat it all!

Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu were unaware of their mother's plan, but were still grilling things with great interest.

I even felt that it was difficult to grill a single piece of meat, so I simply learned how to cook oden and cold pot skewers, and used bamboo sticks to skewer the meat. This way, I could place it on the edge of the charcoal basin and rotate it slightly to allow the meat slices to be grilled more evenly.

When he felt that the meat was almost cooked, Zhao Dahu picked up the skewer and took a tentative bite.

The meat was roasted over charcoal fire and roasted for a long enough time, so it tasted a bit strong. The texture of the meat was a bit woody. And because the meat was fresh and without any seasoning, it tasted...

"It tastes terrible." Zhao Dahu frowned.

Zhao Erhu, who tasted another skewer of meat, also nodded, "It's indeed not very tasty."

But even though the two people complained, they finally put the remaining slices of meat into their mouths and chewed them slowly.

After all, I baked it myself, so even if it tastes bad, I have to finish it, right?
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Regarding the origin of Wu Jin, it has been slightly modified after consideration. You can go back to read Chapter 241 (Chapter 242 on some platforms) to feel wronged, no need to pay anymore