big sister headed home

Chapter 71

The days go by quickly' in a blink of an eye it's the twelfth lunar month of winter' the weather is getting colder and colder 'a few days ago' a heavy snow fell' eloquently, it fell all day and night, then I opened the door and saw' the world has become a world of snow, silver light everywhere Su wrapped 'white Cancan one.

The children looked at the joy and happily put on the thick cotton padded clothes'thick cotton shoes' which were not enough for adults to stop them' and stepped into the world of snow long ago'playing happily'throwing snowballs and playing snowball fights' to build a four-dimensional snowman, and even more Some will grab a handful of white snow and put it in their mouths to taste the snow.

The adults are not as leisurely as the children. They have to be busy cleaning the snow in the yard and on the roof.

The snow was so heavy that it was half a foot thick, and it was a pit when you stepped on it. Such thick snow must be cleared in time, otherwise the roof would not be able to bear the weight of the snow. If it melts, the roof will collapse and be damaged.

Although it is snowing, people want to sweep the snow, but they are all cheerful. Farmers all know the benefits of snowing. As the saying goes, auspicious snow heralds a good year, that's the reason.

As soon as the snow stopped, every household in Doujia Village began to get busy, waving their brooms one by one to sweep away the snow.Dou Hua led several small ones to join the snow-sweeping army.

As early as the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the noodle restaurants in the city were closed. When the twelfth lunar month is cat winter, most people stay warm at home with cats, and not many people go to restaurants. The business of noodle restaurants in winter is not so good. Dou Hua and Li After discussing it, the noodle shop will be closed when the twelfth lunar month enters. When I return home, I will have a good rest for a while and have a good year.

In this regard, Mrs. Li has no objection either. This year, under the influence of Dou Hua, his family not only earns money from the noodle shop, but also earns a lot from charcoal. Although burning charcoal is hard work, the money is real. This winter It is cold, and people in the county can't stand the cold, so they buy charcoal to burn. Not only the county, but even some wealthy households in the village are afraid of the cold and buy charcoal to burn.

The charcoal burned by the three brothers of the Dou family is of good quality and cheap, and at the right time, many people come to buy it. It can be said that the supply is in short supply, and they have indeed made a fortune. This year, the families of the three brothers can live a prosperous life. years.

Dou Hua led a few children to sweep a road in their yard first, and swept along the road, sweeping all the snow in front of the door, and then swept down the road until it was separated from other people in the village. The roads swept by others are gathered together, so it is more convenient to go out and walk.

Dou Hua didn't dare to let the little ones touch the snow on the roof. She set up a wooden ladder by herself, tied a broom with a long stick, and swept it down little by little. After the snow on the edge was cleared, she Only then did he bring the wood up to the roof.

There are three houses in Dou's house, and it is easy to clean. Dou Hua threw all the snow on the roof into the yard, and Dou Qing took a few small ones to put the snow into a basket and carried it to the vegetable field outside the yard.

As early as summer, Dou Hua opened a vegetable field not far from the courtyard to grow vegetables for her family.

Some of the snow accumulated in the yard was left in the vegetable field in the yard, and most of it was transported outside. This is a bit of work, and snow needs to be transported out constantly.

Those who are more diligent are willing to clean up the snow in the yard, otherwise, when the sun comes out and the weather warms up, the snow will melt and the ground will turn into mud.

After Dou Hua finished sweeping the snow on the roof, she went down to continue sweeping the snow in the yard, fearing that the little ones would be frozen. A few days ago, Dou Hua made a pair of cotton gloves and a cotton hat for each of them.

"Hong'er, let's go play, we can do this job." Dou Hua looked at Xiao Dou Hong whose face was flushed from the cold, feeling very distressed.

But Dou Hong shook her head, "Sister, I'm not tired, I'll work with you." Dou Hong now quite enjoys the fun of working with a big family.

"Well, do as you like, but if you are tired, go to rest, make sure to wear gloves, and carefully freeze your hands."

"Hey, I see." Dou Hong agreed crisply.

The family worked very quickly. In less than a day, the snow in the small yard had been cleared.

After a day's work, the family was tired and hungry. In the evening, Dou Hua specially prepared mutton hot pot for everyone.

Just a few days ago, the family slaughtered a lamb that had grown up, and the lamb was frozen outside. Take a piece of lamb, cut it open, and cut it into thin slices. There are no green vegetables in winter, but there are radishes and big ones. Cabbage, sliced ​​radish, shredded cabbage, cut a piece of tofu at the tofu shop in the village, soaked a handful of dried beans and dried mushrooms in summer...

Burn a pot of fragrant red oil and spicy soup, and the room is full of fragrance. Dou Hua and a few children are sitting on the pony, sitting around the earthen stove, each holding a dipping bowl, facing the fragrant hot pot Drooling, looking forward to it.

As soon as the water in the pot boiled, Dou Hua put the boiled tofu radish, soaked dried beans and dried mushrooms into it. When the water boiled again, the torn cabbage was added. After the water boiled again, he added the sliced ​​meat .

The meat slices are thinly sliced, and they can be eaten after being scalded twice in boiling water. Seeing that it is ready to eat, Dou Hua and the others can't wait to eat it.

The soup base was made by Dou Hua herself. There was no butter, so she took a piece of mutton oil. The peppers were sun-dried red peppers grown at home. The color was bright red, but not so spicy. Can eat, put a small pepper.

The color of the soup base is very bright red, just smelling and looking at it makes people move their index fingers.The dip is a simple tahini with minced garlic.

Eating hot pot in winter is the best, sitting around the stove to eat hot pot is a kind of enjoyment, not cold at all.

Dou Hua made it once before, and all the little ones loved it very much, and this time was no exception, everyone was sweating profusely, and their mouths were full of red oil.

Dou Hua boiled all the dishes prepared before, and the meat did not dare to let the two little ones eat too much. In the end, there was only soup left in the hot pot. Dou Hua boiled the rolled noodles before, and each of them had another bowl of hot Noodle soup, this is really full, and a bit full.

Dou Hong's belly was bulging, she was the youngest, and Dou Hua was afraid that she would eat too much and it would be difficult to digest, so she rubbed her belly with her palm before going to bed.

During the twelfth lunar month, when the weather was the coldest, Dou Hua asked Dou Qing and Dou Lin to move from the west room to the east room. Dou Qing didn't really want to move here. After all, he will be 14 years old now, and he is a big boy. In two years, he will be able to marry a wife and have children. He has already realized that men and women are different.

Dou Hua naturally knew that men and women were different, but only the kang in the east room was the warmest room in the house, so she naturally didn't want to see Dou Qing and Dou Lin suffer from the cold in the west room.

In the end, she also thought of a compromise method, and hung a cloth curtain in the middle to divide the big kang into two parts. Dou Hua led Dou Cui and Dou Hong to sleep on one side of the cloth curtain, and Dou Qing and Dou Lin slept on one side of the cloth curtain. The other side.In this way, even though they all slept on the same kang, no one could see anyone else, and it was less embarrassing.

There are brothers and sisters on the left and right, and there are some who are crowded on the same kang in the cold winter months. The peasants are looking for benefits, but they are not so particular.

Now there is plenty of charcoal in the house. Every night, Dou Hua puts charcoal into the stove, leaving only a gap for ventilation, and seals it up. This way, the charcoal can be burned all night, and the kang sleeps warm all the time, even if it is snowing heavily outside. The cold wind is biting, sleeping on such a kang will not feel cold.

Dou Hua also made up her mind. In the spring of next year, the family will build a new house. At that time, every living room will be equipped with a kang, so that in the future, sleeping in winter will not be cold, and there will be no need to squeeze into a room.

Thinking of building a new house, Dou Hua couldn't help imagining her future life. What kind of house would she build?

There is a custom in the countryside that the water splashed by the married girl and the property of the family belong to the son, and the daughter only has the dowry and does not divide anything.

However, my situation is special. I want to raise a few young ones. Now Qinger and the others are still young, so I have nothing to say. When they grow up, Dou Hua still understands the character of the children in the family. Yes, what she is most worried about is that after two years, Dou Qing will marry a daughter-in-law. The new daughter-in-law did not grow up by herself, so there will inevitably be some excuses.

Dou Hua lay on the kang and thought about it, but she didn't come up with any idea. In the end, she just thought about building a few more rooms. If she couldn't live together, she would divide the family.

Dou Hua really worried too much at this time, Dou Qing is her younger brother, and he will definitely support her at that time, she still doesn't know that the reason why Dou Qing is working so hard now is to let herself take on the burden of supporting the family and let her Can be easier.

Dou Qing worked hard to prove himself, and then he and several uncles joined forces to burn charcoal. After burning for more than two months, he lost a lot of weight, but he didn't cry out at all.

After hard work, when I got a few taels of silver that belonged to me, how excited and happy I was at that time.As soon as he entered the house, he gave Dou Hua the hard-earned silver. At that time, he was proving himself in his own way, showing that he was willing to share the burden for the family.

Don't be greedy, kids, it's New Years after Laba.The days passed by in a flash, and it was the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, which was the new year.

The custom here is to "sacrifice to the stove" on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and make offerings to the Stove Lord, praying for the health of the family in the new year and ample food and clothing.

It is also necessary to "sweep the dust" and clean the inside and outside of the house to create a new year and a new look.

From this day on, every household in the village will prepare for the New Year and get busy.

(End of this chapter)