, wonderful and free of pop-ups! It was intermittently at first, but later on, more and more people came, and the sound of firecrackers became continuous.
Behind it, there was a deafening sound.
It was heard clearly in this courtyard.
"Most people in our village are living a better life this year, and you can hear it from the sound of the firecrackers."
Sun's frontier fortified firewood and passed the road.
"In previous years, there weren't so many firecrackers on New Year's Eve," the woman continued.
Yang Ruoqing smiled knowingly.
When a family doesn't have enough to eat and is exhausted during the Chinese New Year, weighing several kilograms of meat to make a scene, it is natural to save as much as possible on firecrackers.
"I was washing vegetables in the pond at the entrance of the village this morning. Many of your aunts and ladies still told me about it."
Sun continued.
"Everyone said that it's all thanks to you, Qing'er, that life has been good this year."
"The transportation team and the herb collection team made everyone's dry pockets bulge, haha..."
Yang Ruoqing was handling the dishes in an orderly manner, while listening to Sun's words, the corners of her mouth raised slightly.
"If someone says these things to Mom later, Mom will tell them."
"Follow me and I'll make sure their pockets get better and better every year!"
She said enthusiastically.
Mrs. Sun stopped what she was doing and looked at Yang Ruoqing with pride.
"My daughter is really capable. If it weren't for you, our family would have collapsed a long time ago." The woman said.
Qing'er's father is paralyzed and can't stand up, Da'an can't go to school, can't build a house, can't afford a field...
Yang Ruoqing saw that Mrs. Sun was reminiscing about the bitterness and sweetness like Mrs. Xianglin again, so she quickly stopped her.
"Mom, let's not talk about this anymore. Are these chicken nuggets salty after you taste them?"
Yang Ruoqing took out a piece of chicken nuggets that were bubbling and simmering in the earthen pot, blew on it, and put it to Sun's mouth.
Mrs. Sun took a bite and said, "Well, it's not salty, not bland, just right."
"Is it dead?" Yang Ruoqing asked again.
Sun nodded: "It's dead."
"Okay, let's simmer it first." Yang Ruoqing said.
When it got dark, Yang Huazhong came back with Da'an and Xiaoan.
The father and son walked and joked all the way. Xiao An's eyes were bright and he looked extremely excited.
"Ah, are you back?"
Mrs. Sun was taking Yang Ruoqing to arrange dishes and chopsticks in the main room.
Yang Huazhong smiled and said: "Yes, burning incense and so on went smoothly."
Mrs. Sun nodded repeatedly: "That's good, that's good. Everything will go smoothly in the coming year."
Yang Ruoqing came over and took Xiao An from Yang Huazhong's arms.
"Dad, the food is ready. Can we prepare the New Year's Eve dinner?" she asked.
Yang Huazhong said: "Let's do it now!"
"Okay! I'll take my two brothers to wash their hands."
By the time Yang Ruoqing returned to the main room with Xiao An, who had washed her hands, Yang Huazhong and Sun had already put the food on the table.
Ten courses.
Meatballs and patties are served in double bowls.
A plate of golden candied dates symbolizes sweetness in the coming year.
A bowl of brown sugar, lard and glutinous rice dumplings symbolizes reunion.
A bowl of braised chicken with mushrooms, not to mention the rich aroma!
Big fat pork and pig blood braised tofu puff, this is Yang Huazhong's favorite.
A whole braised fish, with red chili shreds, green onion shreds and yellow ginger shreds dotting the back of the fish, like a painting.
Even if it’s New Year’s Eve dinner, for Yang Ruoqing, who is greedy for spicy food, how can she miss out on spicy dishes?
Finally, she made a spicy stir-fried tenderloin.
There are some cabbage sticks and lettuce inside, which is full of excitement and spicy.
A full set of ten dishes, all perfect.
On the side, there are ten sets of bowls, chopsticks, wine cups, and soup spoons.
Xiao An raised his head and stretched out his white and chubby hands to count the dishes on the table.
She asked Yang Ruoqing next to her in a coquettish voice: "Sister, there are only seven people in our family. Why are there ten sets of bowls and chopsticks? Did you take too many?"
Yang Ruoqing leaned over and hugged him, and patiently explained: "I didn't take more, because this Chinese New Year is perfect."
"oh……"
Xiao An seemed to understand but not understand.
Over there, people are starting to take their seats.
Yang Huazhong is the head of the family, so he should sit in the first place.
But this year, it's different.
Old Yangtou warned each room again and again in advance.
This seat of honor must be made available for great-grandmother to sit on.
So, when he took his seat, Yang Huazhong vacated the chair at the head and sat at the bottom.
The others sat down one after another.
After Mrs. Sun sat down, she looked around and found that Xiaohua Xiaoduo was not there.
"Qing'er, where is Xiaohua Xiaoduo?" asked Sun.
Yang Ruoqing just went to take care of Xiao An, and didn't pay much attention to the other children in the family.
Hearing this, he looked around and saw that the two little sisters were not in the main room.
"I'm afraid it's in the backyard. I'll go take a look."
She then came to the backyard.
Sure enough, Xiaohua Xiaoduo was standing in the yard in the night.
"It's time to eat, why are you two here?" Yang Ruoqing asked, coming closer.
Xiao Duo lowered his head, and Xiao Hua whispered: "Sister Qing'er, you eat first, we will eat later."
"What are you talking about? This Chinese New Year, of course we want to have New Year's Eve dinner together!"
Yang Ruoqing smiled, stretched out her hand, and held the two of them one by one.
Xiao Hua whispered: "We two are maids, eating New Year's Eve dinner with the master will break the rules..."
Yang Ruoqing was startled for a moment, and her expression became a little more serious.
"What a silly girl. When I brought you back, I really wanted you to grow up and help my mother share the housework."
"After all, I can't be home a lot of the year."
"But our family has never considered you two as human beings."
"Xiao An calls you sister, and my mother treats you as daughters."
"When we enter a house, we are a family. Don't think so foolishly. Come on, come and eat!"
Hearing Yang Ruoqing's words, Xiaohua Xiaoduo looked at each other.
The eyes of the two little girls were red.
"This is the Chinese New Year, so don't shed tears. Come on, they are still waiting!"
Yang Ruoqing took Xiao Hua Xiaoduo to the front room with one hand in each hand.
The main room was brightly lit, and a charcoal brazier was burning, making it warm.
Mrs. Sun was very happy to see Yang Ruoqing coming with Xiaohua Xiaoduo.
"Come, come sit here with me."
Xiaoduo sat next to Sun.
Xiaohua sat with Yang Ruoqing.
Da An and Xiao An sit together.
Yang Huazhong took a bunch of firecrackers and ran to the yard to set them off.
After the crackling sound, the New Year’s Eve dinner officially began…
The wine is rice wine and has been warmed beforehand.
Everyone first toasts to the position at the top of the table that represents great-grandmother.
Next, they toast to each other, and when toasting, they also say auspicious words that suit the occasion.
Finally, Yang Huazhong stood up and raised the wine bowl in front of Sun.
"My dear, you have worked hard running this house all year round. Let's have a drink from the wine bowl..." the man said.
Sun's face turned slightly red, and she seemed a little embarrassed.
