On New Year's Eve, I went home for the holidays.
Xu San suddenly felt like a civil servant.
After all, we are Chinese. Although we live in different times, our roots will not change.
I returned to Ping An City earlier than usual. Looking up, Ping An City was still so lifeless and lifeless, with no New Year atmosphere at all.
Don't even think about firecrackers. During this period, you can only hear the sound of firecrackers in villages far away from cities and towns.
When we walked into the county town, there were no pedestrians on the streets, which was even deserted than when the city was closed some time ago.
Only the new Spring Festival couplets made Xu San feel a little bit of the New Year atmosphere.
After locking and opening the door, I accidentally looked back, only to find that the door opposite was the same as my own, without Spring Festival couplets.
He no longer remembered who lived across the door, but he still remembered that their house had posted Spring Festival couplets last year.
Looking up into the depths, there were no lights or smoke. It was obvious that no one was in the house.
With the war raging, who can guarantee that they will see the sun tomorrow?
When I opened the door, I saw the familiar screen wall. After turning around, I saw the familiar yard and the vegetable greenhouse.
When the curtains were lifted, a warm current came over the ground, and vegetables were already sprouting on the ground.
He squatted down, grabbed a handful of soft soil, and touched the young green buds.
Xu San didn't know what kind of vegetables these sprouts were, but he could feel the thin vitality of these sprouts.
Before leaving, he once told Ma Cuilan about the general use of this greenhouse, but he did not expect that she could actually grow vegetables in this greenhouse.
I raised my hand and touched the flue. It was a bit hot.
He turned around and walked out of the greenhouse, looking at the wall of his house. The ladder was still lying there, and correspondingly, the ladder from Ma Cuilan's house was also lying there.
The yard is still so cold, but it is much cleaner than the last time I came back.
The quilt on the bed in the bedroom has been folded and placed at the end of the bed.
The room was still very cold, but Xu San felt a touch of warmth in his heart at this moment.
After burning the kang, boiling water, and cleaning the dust on his body, Xu San lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
A burst of heat hit him, and Xu San turned over and sat up.
It was completely dark.
what time is it?
In the dark, I lit a kerosene lamp, poured a glass of water, and drank it down in one gulp.
Much more comfortable!
Putting on clothes, he came to the yard, climbed up the ladder to the top of the wall, and then climbed up to the roof along the top of the wall.
Stand on the roof and look out at Ping An City.
At this time, Ping'an City seemed to have regained some vitality. Although there were no lights on every house, most of the houses had their lights on.
It's rare that the Japanese didn't care about this today.
After watching for a while, the little girl Xu Dongmei came out of the house, tightened her clothes and ran towards the ladder.
She climbed up the ladder skillfully and prepared to climb over the wall.
"Xiao Meizi!" Xu San shouted softly.
The little girl looked around, looking for the source of the sound. When she saw the black shadow, she was instinctively afraid and shrank back: "Is it Uncle Xu?"
"It's me." Xu San agreed.
"Mom, did you want me to see you come back?" the little girl said, then she stepped over the wall again and crawled along the wall towards Xu San.
The little girl's movements are very skillful, and she obviously does it frequently.
Soon she crawled to Xu San's side, "Uncle, what are you doing on the roof?"
"Looking at Ping An City!"
"What's there to see in Ping'an City?"
"Today's peace is different from usual, because today is the Chinese New Year."
"Then I want to see it too."
"Okay, uncle will carry you, so you can see far."
"Oh, great." The little girl cheered and wanted to jump up to celebrate, but was held back by Xu San.
Are you kidding me? This roof is so slippery that I can't help you tossing it around like this.
The little girl was very light and was put on Xu San's shoulders without much effort.
He stood up gently and walked carefully to the highest point of the roof: "Do you see clearly?"
"Look, it's really beautiful. Many houses have lights on. I didn't expect there were so many people in Ping'an City." The little girl excitedly grabbed Xu San's hair and said.
The little girl was only six years old, and Ping'an City had been occupied by the Japanese for as long as she could remember, so in her memory, she probably didn't know how she should have spent her years.
After watching for a while, the little girl remembered her mother's instructions: "By the way, mother said that today is the Chinese New Year and we want to eat dumplings. Just now you asked me to see if you are back? If you are back, let me ask you to come over and eat dumplings."
He gently put the little girl down and said, "Okay, uncle will be there in a moment."
The little girl breathed hot air into her little hand: "You must come soon."
After returning to the house, she found a relatively clean set of clothes and picked up a bottle of wine. Xu San climbed over the wall and came to Ma Cuilan's house.
Pushing the door open, the room was steaming. Ma Cuilan was sitting on the kang making dumplings.
Seeing Xu San enter the room, he greeted him, "Brother Xu, you are back as expected. Come on, have a drink of water first." After saying that, he poured Xu San a glass of water.
Xu San took the water glass, took a sip and put it aside, "Sister-in-law, you're welcome."
After washing his hands, Xu San was ready to come over and help: "What stuffing?"
"Cabbage and pork!" the little girl replied excitedly.
"There's also meat, I'm so lucky today!" Xu San smiled, made a dumpling and threw it on the curtain.
The little girl looked at the dumplings made by Xu San and couldn't help but want to come over and try them, but Ma Cuilan glared at her: "Next time, you can make them."
"Let the child pack a few, she just wants to play." Xu San begged the little girl on the side.
"She didn't wrap it tightly and couldn't pinch it tightly! It leaked as soon as it was cooked." Ma Cuilan said with a smile, and then continued to lower her head to catch the dough.
After wrapping up a few more, Xu San asked: "Sister-in-law, have you wrapped the money?"
"Bao Qian'er? No..." Ma Cuilan smiled and shook her head. He did remember the custom of Bao Qian'er, but the money from the previous dynasty was no longer in circulation, and she didn't have any, and the current coins... .
Xu San took out a big bag from his pocket and said, "Sister-in-law, grab a big bag."
Seeing Xu San take out Dayang, Ma Cuilan immediately stopped him: "Ah, I can't help it, this..."
"It's Chinese New Year, and I wish you good luck."
Seeing that Ma Cuilan didn't move, Xu San picked up a piece of dough by himself and drove away the big dough. However, his technique was not that good, and the dough was obviously uneven in thickness.
Rinse the dayang with soju, pick up the dough, add some filling, and wrap the dayang in it.
Just like that, a large dumpling came out of the oven.
Ma Cuilan smiled, "Can't you tell at a glance?"
"Why did uncle make such a big dumpling and put money in it?" the little girl asked curiously.
"Because it's the Chinese New Year! Wrapping money is to bring good luck. We eat dumplings at the turn of the meridian. Whoever eats this dumpling with money wrapped in it will have good luck."
After hearing this, the little girl stared at the large dumpling and drooled: "That must be me."
The dumplings were wrapped quickly. Xu San looked at the dumplings and asked, "When are we going to cook them? Should we cook them now or at midnight?"
Ma Cuilan looked at the little girl who was already a little sleepy and hesitated.
Xu San smiled, "Xiao Meizi, do you want to set off fireworks? Although the Japanese won't let us set off firecrackers, it's okay to set off some fireworks in our own yard."
"Fireworks? Firecrackers?" The little girl looked at Xu San eagerly because she didn't know what these were.
"It's just fun, a must-play during the Chinese New Year!"
After the little girl heard that it was fun, her sleepiness disappeared immediately, "Okay, then I want to play, I want to play."
"Okay, uncle, go get it for you!"
How could Xu San have any fireworks? What he called fireworks was just a fuse exchanged with bullets and the county brigade, which was about twenty meters long.
He took out half and planned to put the other half away on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Use scissors to cut into half-foot-long sections and tie them to wooden sticks to create a simple firework.
The fuse was lit, making a tingling sound and flashing orange sparks. Looking at the beating sparks, Xu San finally felt a little bit like the New Year.
"Haha, haha~" The little girl ran happily around the yard with a wooden stick, while Ma Cuilan followed closely behind her, for fear that the naughty child would set the house on fire.
The quality of the fuse hand-rolled by the county brigade is very good, the materials are evenly used, the combustion is stable, and there is no breakage.
After making a new one, the little girl jumped to beg for it. Xu San handed the wooden stick into her hand: "Can this be for mother to play with?"
"Okay!" The little girl picked up the wooden stick, turned around and handed it into Ma Cuilan's hand: "Mom, let's play together."
Xu San lit the fuse in Ma Cuilan's hand, and the sparks danced brilliantly again. She was a little scared and tried to stay away, but in the end, encouraged by Xiao Meizi, she shook the fireworks in her hand.
The orange sparks, with their dragging light, cut through the darkness and brought the longed-for light...
The fuse is only a dozen meters long, so even if you play with it sparingly, the little girl can't help but play with it.
Leaving a little behind, the three returned to the house.
"Sister-in-law, what kind of vegetables are you growing in my greenhouse? I think they have sprouted." With nothing to do, Xu San asked about his greenhouse.
"I happened to have some seeds of Chinese cabbage and lettuce, so I planted them first. These vegetables mature quickly and can be eaten in about a month. In the early spring of this year, the cucumbers and eggplants you mentioned will not be used after a month. Greenhouses can also be planted.”
Xu San was thoughtful. She probably understood what Ma Cuilan was thinking. She would be able to plant normally after a month, so that the greenhouse would not be wasted.
"I don't know anything about growing vegetables. It's all up to my sister-in-law to take care of it."
"Uncle, uncle, I grew those vegetables, and I even watered them!" The little girl chatted to the side, asking for credit for herself.
"Okay, Xiao Meizi is the best, uncle will treat you to meat later, big chunks of meat."
"real?"
"real!"
In the following time, the two discussed how to rationally use greenhouses to grow off-season vegetables.
Ma Cuilan doesn't know what scientific planting is, but he still knows the growth cycle of vegetables very well.
Xu San, on the other hand, is basically a farmer. All he can provide is how to make delicious dishes.
Time passed quickly, and the clapper finally rang in the middle of the night.
The little girl who had already begun to nod her head immediately became energetic after hearing the sound of banging, and began to help Ma Cuilan prepare the dumplings.
"Sister-in-law, you go ahead and get busy. I'll go back and get some dishes. I'll be here in a minute."
"You must have meat!" The little girl reminded Xu San and told him not to forget his promise.
In the warehouse, Xu San selected two dishes from a pile of "delicacies", squirrel mandarin fish and Dongpo pork elbow. These are solid dishes, but I don't know how well the system is doing.
Product Name: Squirrel Mandarin Fish
Product type: food
Product function: replenish physical strength (can be strengthened)
Special function: can make you feel happy after eating (can be strengthened)
Manufacturer: Hongri Film and Television Props Co., Ltd.
Note: Be careful of fish bones
----
Product name: Dongpo elbow
Product type: food
Product function: replenish physical strength (can be strengthened)
Special function: can make you feel happy after eating (can be strengthened)
Manufacturer: Hongri Film and Television Props Co., Ltd.
Note: Eat the elbow before eating the skin.
Without strengthening, Xu San directly took out the two big dishes, leaned on the wall, and called the little girl to take them.
The products produced by the system must be high-quality. Just by looking and smelling them, Xu San felt that these two dishes were definitely at the level of a five-star chef.
The little girl carefully carried the dish and put it on the table. Then she couldn't help but stretched out her little hand to dip a little of the squirrel mandarin fish soup and put it in her mouth.
The delicious taste exploded in the mouth instantly, starting from the tip of the tongue to the base of the tongue, then to the throat, and then disappeared...the soup was too little...
The little girl took a sneak peek. Her mother was cooking dumplings, and Xu Sanzai turned her head to look at the decals on the window.
Seeing that no one noticed, the little girl stretched out three fingers this time, pressed them hard, and then quickly put them in her mouth.
This time she finally experienced the complete taste. After the delicious soup flowed into her stomach through her saliva, it produced an extremely pleasant taste that was indescribable!
The little girl closed her eyes and looked intoxicated. She was in a state of happiness for a long time.
It wasn't until Ma Cuilan called her to serve dumplings that she reluctantly left the table.
The dumplings were served on the table, but the little girl didn't even look at them. She stared directly at the squirrel and mandarin fish.
"Hey~" Ma Cuilan sighed softly. This troubled world is really hard on the child. She has grown so much, this is probably the first time she has eaten such a big fish, right?
The little girl looked at her mother and sighed, thinking, I was caught eating secretly?
He picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish for his mother, and put it in her bowl. "Mom, thank you for your hard work! You eat first."
Ma Cuilan looked at the fish in the bowl and then at the little girl: "Have you given it to Uncle Xu?"
After listening to her mother's words, the little girl took another piece for Xu San, then took a piece for herself, and then looked at him eagerly, as if to say, "Quickly move the chopsticks, move the chopsticks quickly!"
Ma Cuilan looked at the two dishes on the table, guessing whether they were cooked by him, so she said, "Brother Xu, this is costing you again. These two dishes cost a lot, right?"
"It didn't cost any money. I asked the team member to make these two dishes for free! I just brought them back and heated them up. Okay, I guess it should be 12 now... It should be the time when Ziwu intersects. Our New Year More than a year." After saying that, he ate the fish in the bowl.
Xu San swallowed it without even chewing it.
Xu San couldn't find an adjective. Anyway, he thought this was the most delicious fish he had ever eaten in his two lifetimes.
Then, Ma Cuilan also moved her chopsticks. Although it was delicious, he was much more reserved than Xu San and the little girl.
Ma Cuilan felt that what she saw in front of her were two wolves, a big wolf and a small wolf. Two pairs of chopsticks were flying up and down. After a while, a fish was eaten, leaving only a head, a tail, and a bare fish bone.
If the fish head wasn't so ugly, I guess the little girl wouldn't even let the fish head go.
The fish is finished, but there are still elbows.
So the little girl stretched her chopsticks toward her elbows.
"Snapped"
The little girl's chopsticks were hit by her mother: "I haven't eaten dumplings yet. Who doesn't eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year?"
"Oh." The little girl took back her chopsticks, picked up a dumpling, rubbed her round belly, ate it in one bite, and swallowed it after only two bites.
Seeing the little girl's behavior, Ma Cuilan pretended to be angry, "What's wrong? Are the dumplings made by Mom not good?"
"It's delicious, it's delicious. Mom's dumplings are the best." The little girl blinked and said nonsense.
Xu San held back his joy, picked up a piece of elbow skin and threw it into his mouth.
Eat the elbow first and scratch the skin first.
This piece of elbow skin has a different taste from fish meat. It is fat but not greasy, soft and smooth. Just press it with your tongue and it will turn into viscous juice and spread in your mouth.
And after swallowing, there is a sense of fulfillment from soul to body.
The little girl ate another dumpling, but her eyes were still fixed on the elbow on the table.
"If it's delicious, make it more delicious!" Ma Cuilan said, then put the several-size-larger dumpling into the little girl's bowl.
"Ah!" The little girl looked at the big dumplings in front of her with a bitter face. She now felt that if she ate this large dumpling, her belly would not be able to fit her elbows.
"Didn't you say you wanted to eat this dumpling stuffed with money?" Ma Cuilan still stared at the little girl pretending to be angry.
The little girl didn't dare to resist, so she could only stare at the big dumpling fiercely, and finally picked up the chopsticks.
The big dumpling was eaten, and the little girl collapsed on the chair.
She really couldn't eat anymore, and now she could only look back and sigh.
He glanced at Dayang on the table and said, "Uncle Xu, give you some money." The little girl handed the money to Xu San.
"Whoever gets the money belongs to him." Xu San didn't ask for it.
"Then what do I need so much money for?" the little girl asked curiously. Although her concept of money is very vague now, she knows that Dayang is very valuable. Even if her mother works hard for a month, she will not earn so much.
"You can save it for a dowry."
"What is the dowry?"
"You'll know when you grow up."
In the end, no one moved their chopsticks except for the first bite of the elbow. Ma Cuilan and Xu San tacitly agreed to leave the elbow to the little girl.
The little girl who had eaten and drank enough began to move around, digest food, and prepare for New Year greetings, so that she could go out and put out the last fuse.
Ma Cuilan put down her chopsticks, stood up, and cupped her hands: "Brother Xu, happy New Year!"
Xu San also stood up, "Sister-in-law, happy New Year!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Seeing her mother starting to greet her with New Year greetings, the little girl immediately followed her mother's instructions and gulped it down: "Mom, happy New Year! Happy New Year to Uncle Xu!"
"Happy New Year to Xiao Meizi!" Xu San smiled and took out a two-cent red envelope from his pocket and handed it over.
