chsdbacks Chapter 247 Preparations before the New Year
Chapter 247 Preparations before the New Year
It was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the traditional festival of Little New Year. Yu Wanrong got up early and asked Zhou Zheng to set up a pot in the yard to start frying melon seeds and peanuts.
Zhou Zheng took two coal briquettes to Yan Fugui's house next door and exchanged them for two bundles of firewood. This was because Yu Wanrong told him that it was best to use charcoal fire to fry melon seeds and peanuts, as this would produce the most fragrant taste.
After hearing the news, He Yushui suggested frying spiced melon seeds and peanuts, and thus a new busy schedule began.
By the time all the peanuts and melon seeds were fried, the rich aroma filled the entire yard, attracting many people to come and watch.
They were not stingy and everyone got a small handful of melon seeds and peanuts.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Zheng got some cleaning tools from outside, and the whole family decided to work together to clean the house inside and out, hoping to welcome the New Year with a new look.
Everyone divided the work among themselves. Some wiped the windows, some swept and mopped the floor, and some tidied up the sundries. They were all very busy and happy.
After a day of hard work, the whole house became tidy and clean, and full of vitality.
In the evening, to celebrate the successful cleaning operation, the whole family decided to go out for dinner and enjoy delicious food.
They chose to go to Donglaishun and had a delicious hot pot meal.
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, according to traditional customs, tofu should be ground on this day. However, as the process of grinding tofu is too cumbersome, the whole family unanimously voted to cancel this step and make delicious tofu balls instead.
So everyone started to work, kneading the tofu into crumbs and adding various fillings, such as meat, vegetables, etc.
Next, wrap the fillings with tofu foam to form small and cute meatballs.
Finally, the meatballs are deep fried in boiling oil until golden brown, making their surface crispy and delicious.
In order to improve the taste and appearance, Zhou Zheng also bought a bag of bread crumbs. He coated the fried tofu balls with bread crumbs and fried them again. The tofu balls made in this way are golden and crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, making people salivate.
Looking at the plates of tempting tofu balls, the whole family couldn't help but devour them and taste the delicious dishes they made themselves.
It is the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month. According to custom, today should be the day to buy meat.
But Zhou Zheng felt that it was too troublesome to queue up to buy meat, and the queue would take a long time, so he decided to get two fat pigs directly from the dimensional space and slaughter them in his own yard.
This made the residents of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang very happy, and they all expressed their willingness to come and help.
The most active among them was He Daqing, who originally worked in a restaurant and did not have a holiday until the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month.
I originally wanted to have a good rest on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, but when I heard that Zhou Zheng was going to slaughter a pig, I immediately ran over to help.
In fact, He Daqing had another little plan in mind. He wanted to take two pig's trotters back to help his wife produce milk.
It should be noted here that He Daqing's current wife is Liu Haizhong's ex-wife Li Guixiang. She has been pregnant for several months and is about to give birth.
Originally, there were only four people who slaughtered the pig: Zhou Zheng, He Daqing, Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong. But when they finished, almost all the residents in the yard heard the news and ran over.
After all, it is not easy to eat meat in this era, and this time they are two big fat pigs!
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Yu Wanrong smiled and said to He Daqing, "Old He, since everyone is here, why don't we make another pig-killing meal?"
He Daqing scratched his head and replied somewhat embarrassedly: "Okay, then let's make another pig-killing dish!"
So he started to get busy, preparing to cook delicious pig-killing dishes.
The people in the yard enjoyed the meal very much, and everyone had a satisfied smile on their face.
The two pigs produced a total of more than 400 kilograms of meat. Zhou Zheng only kept 50 kilograms for himself and sold the rest to the neighbors in the yard.
Although pork is hard to buy these days, no one would be so shameless as to ask Zhou Zheng to sell it to him cheaply. Everyone buys it at the market price.
But even so, it is a rare benefit for these neighbors.
It was the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. The sun was shining and the weather was cold, but the air was filled with a strong festive atmosphere.
He Yuzhu got up early and prepared to take Yang Xiaoman and her family back to the courtyard.
When they walked into the yard, Zhou Zhengzheng came out and was a little surprised to see them coming back: "Brother Zhuzi, why are you back? Didn't you say you were going to spend the New Year at your mother's house?"
He Yuzhu explained with a smile: "Xiaoman's father said that we should go back to the compound to celebrate the New Year together. It will be more lively with more people."
Zhou Zheng nodded his head to show his understanding. Sure enough, in the afternoon, Yang Zaixing came to the compound with some New Year's goods.
With four chefs, Yang Zaixing, He Daqing, He Yuzhu and Yang Xiaoman, preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner is faster than before.
Everyone had a clear division of labor. Some were cutting vegetables, some were frying, and some were stewing meat... everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
Because of the relationship between He Yushui and Zhou Zheng, the Zhou, Yang and He families decided to celebrate the New Year together this year.
This decision made everyone very happy and everyone was looking forward to this special reunion moment.
Yu Wanrong thought this was a good idea, so Zhou Zheng did not raise any objections.
In the afternoon, everyone started to get busy, killing chickens, slaughtering fish, pasting Spring Festival couplets, hanging lanterns... The whole yard was filled with laughter and the strong flavor of the New Year.
On the morning of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Ran Qiuye came to the compound.
She told everyone that she came to help, and upon hearing this, Tian Xinyue and He Yushui were very enthusiastic.
Yu Wanrong did not treat Ran Qiuye as an outsider. So Ran Qiuye spent the whole morning kneading noodles with Yu Wanrong.
In the afternoon, He Daqing, Li Guixiang, Yang Zaixing, You Liying, He Yuzhu, Yang Xiaoman, He Qizhen and others came to Zhou Zheng's yard.
They began to busily make buns, steamed buns, flower rolls, steamed dumplings, etc. The whole yard was bustling with activity.
As a result, Zhou Zheng's yard looked full of people.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, three large pots were set up in Zhou Zheng's yard. Steam was rising from the pots, and all kinds of delicious food were being cooked, including buns, steamed buns, flower rolls, steamed dumplings, etc.
Zhou Zheng did not stay idle at home, but took Tian Xinyue to give gifts to familiar families.
They worked until dark before returning home.
However, when they entered the house, they were surprised to find that the house was already filled with gifts sent by others.
The main point is the exchange of gifts.
While eating, Zhou Zheng asked curiously, "Didn't Jia Zhang come to cause trouble today?"
In his impression, the family was preparing the New Year's Eve dinner with such fanfare, and given Jia Zhang's personality, she would definitely come to ask for money.
He Yuzhu answered honestly, "Well, she wants to come, but she doesn't have the courage. Everyone knows that the person Jia Zhang is most afraid of in our compound is you. If you don't speak up, she won't even have the courage to stand at our door."
When mentioning Jia Zhang, He Daqing curled his lips, "I was just saying that. When I went out today, this damn old woman scolded me. It's not easy to punish her during the New Year. After the New Year, I will beat her up."
At this time, He Qi was pouting and said, "Humph, that Banggeng even stole my candy today. Thanks to Aunt Yushui for helping me teach him a lesson."
He Yushui expressed his opinion, "That joke is indeed unpopular, so I slapped him in the face."
Yu Wanrong shook her head helplessly, "Alright, let's eat!"