Rebirth: the fiery age of Mori Gong's children

Chapter 418 New Year and New Hopes

The Sheng family's house has white and gray walls, which have turned yellow over time.

So after Sheng Xiping and the others cleaned up a few days ago, they repainted the walls and ceiling.

A circle of wall paper was specially pasted on the partition wall and under the window, which is a pattern similar to the large Northeastern flower quilt.

Zhou Qinglan, Sheng Yunfei and the others also cut window grilles and hung money, etc. They put them up inside and outside the house, and they immediately felt like the New Year.

While the adults were busy working, the two children also followed the movement inside and outside the house. Looking at the red color all over the yard, the two children clapped their hands happily.

After finishing these, the family started to get busy with the reunion dinner.

The pigs that were just killed yesterday, the pig heads, elbows, hearts, tongues, and skin jelly are all ready-made.

There is also pork belly with sauerkraut, reheat it, and add some blood sausage to make another dish.

Fang Zirou plans to make braised pork, which is also simple, just cut it and steam it in a bowl.

At the beginning of spring, Zhang Shuzhen caught [-] chickens, a few died, and finally raised about ten chickens.

There were five roosters among them. When winter came, Zhang Shuzhen thought there were too many roosters, so she kept only the most beautiful one, and killed the rest and froze them.

This morning, Zhang Shuzhen took one back from the warehouse and was preparing to stew chicken and mushroom vermicelli later.

In addition, Sheng Xiping led his brothers to dig out the fish caught in the ice cave and stew a random fish, and today's reunion dinner is almost enough.

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, all the meals were prepared, so they were placed in the middle of the field and stood aside.

This tabletop is large and can accommodate more dishes.

Sheng Xiping was busy last year and had little opportunity to go hunting in the mountains, so there was less game on the table this year.

Fortunately, I killed a pig, so the meal was still rich.

Braised pork elbow, braised chicken with mushroom vermicelli, braised fish, sauerkraut, pork belly and blood sausage, sweet and sour pork ribs, soft fried tenderloin, pork belly, pork heart, pig tongue and pork liver platter, skin jelly, pork head meat, and pig trotters.

The last dish was a fruit plate. The apples and pears were peeled, cored and cut into pieces. The hawthorns were washed, cut and cored. The three fruits were placed together and honey was poured on top.

Originally, Zhang Shuzhen wanted to serve stir-fried meat, but Zhou Qinglan said that since they were all meat dishes, she was afraid that everyone would be too tired of eating them, so it would be better to serve a fruit plate, which would be more refreshing.

Zhang Shuzhen thought about it. Anyway, there are still a lot of fruits at home. Let's eat them. If you don't eat them after leaving them for so long, I'm afraid they will rot.

As a result, after the meal started, the most popular thing turned out to be the large plate of fruit.

With the living conditions of the Sheng family, there is usually no shortage of meat to eat, especially now that there is a table of meat on the table, I feel a little unable to eat, and I want to eat two pieces of fruit to clear my mouth.

"Oh, if this table of dishes were kept as usual and just put one or two things on the table, just people like ours would rob them all in no time.

Look at today, everyone is working hard for the fruit. "

Zhang Shuzhen is getting older and is a bit reluctant to eat meat. She prefers to eat mushrooms and vermicelli in chicken stewed mushrooms, or some jelly.

When she saw the fruit plate bottoming out quickly, Zhang Shuzhen couldn't help but sigh.

"Mom, where are you now? Just watch. Life will get better and better in the future. By then, not many people will eat meat on the table, and they will all like to eat vegetables."

Sheng Xiping laughed when he heard this. As living standards improve, people's dietary structure will gradually change.

"Humph, I don't believe that vegetables can be better than meat? Meat is delicious no matter what age. If you don't eat meat, you will get bulging.

Not to mention the past, even in the past few years, it was very difficult for our family to have a meal of meat.

You’ve only had a few good years and you don’t want to eat meat anymore? "

Sheng Liancheng snorted indifferently, stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a piece of soft, waxy, trembling elbow skin, and put it into his mouth, showing a satisfied look.

"Well, don't tell me, this elbow is really well made and delicious."

"Well, well, grandpa is right. Meat is so delicious. I love eating meat."

Sheng Xinhua was the first to agree, nodding and grabbing a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs. “It’s delicious, so fragrant.”

Sheng Xinyu at the other end also grabbed the ribs and gnawed on them. As he gnawed, he said vaguely, "Yes, yes, the meat is so delicious."

The people at the table laughed out loud at the three grandsons.

"Yes, the meat is delicious and fragrant. Our family killed a pig this year. You two can eat it as you like."

Sheng Liancheng became happy and gave the two children some elbow meat for them to taste.

"People of this generation are considered to be born in a heap of blessings.

Look at them, what hardships have they endured since they were born?Fully fed, warmly clothed, and almost everything you want is available at home.

What do we have at that time?Don't talk about us, boss, how many times did they eat meat throughout the year when they were children? "

Sheng Liancheng looked at his two grandsons and couldn't help but sigh.

"Dad, our generation has been working hard to make money for what? Isn't it just to live a good life for future generations?"

Sheng Xiping laughed when he heard this, and poured wine for Sheng Liancheng while laughing.

"Life will get better and better in the future. When you retire, just enjoy it with peace of mind and enjoy it without having to do anything."

Sheng Liancheng picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and then nodded.

"Well, in a few years, the second and third children will graduate and get jobs, get married and have a wife, and the fourth, fifth and sixth children will also graduate. Then your mother and I won't have to do anything and just enjoy ourselves."

It's the Chinese New Year, so naturally you have to say nice things. Sheng Liancheng didn't show any stubbornness to his sons today.

"Come, let us have a drink.

Your father is a rough guy, doesn't know a few words, and has no other ideas in his life. He just hopes that all of you will succeed. That's enough. "

Sheng Liancheng greeted his sons, and the four of them clinked their glasses and took a sip of wine together.

"Dad, don't worry, we will all study hard and never let down our parents' expectations."

Sheng Xikang put down his wine glass, quickly took a bite of food, and then made a solemn statement.

"Yes, parents, don't worry, we will work hard." Sheng Xian also agreed.

"And us, parents, don't worry, we will all study hard and strive to get into a good university."

Sheng Yunfang, Sheng Yunfei, and Sheng Xitai spoke in unison.

"Us, us, and us."

When the two children Sheng Xin Hua and Sheng Xin Yu saw the excitement, they were very anxious, so they also hurriedly shouted.

The two children's meddling made everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Zhou Qinglan looked at the two children dumbfounded, "You two are everywhere, just a little brat, what do you know?"

"Look, what do the people who celebrate the New Year say they do? They are still young, what do they know? They are just joining in the fun." Zhang Shuzhen stopped Zhou Qinglan from talking about the children.

"Xinhua Xinyu, you two must remember what I said today. You must study hard in the future, learn from your mother, your second uncle and your third uncle. In the future, you will also get into a good university and find a good job."

Zhang Shuzhen is not very educated and cannot explain too profound principles. In her opinion, getting into college is the best way out.

"Yes, we remember it." Sheng Xinhua nodded vigorously and responded loudly.

"How wonderful, looking at the two children, so many worries are gone.

Come, come, eat. There are so many delicious things, all open to eat. "Sheng Liancheng smiled and greeted the children to eat.

In the end, not even half of the dishes on the table were eaten, so we had to put them away in the kitchen cupboard.

This is how it is during the Chinese New Year. If you want to leave some leftovers, you must cook more meals and have some leftovers.

After eating, everyone was too lazy to move. They each found a place to lean and rest.

Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu had not slept during the day and were now rubbing their eyes due to sleepiness. Zhou Qinglan coaxed the two children to go to the west room to sleep for a while.

At first, Sheng Xinhua didn't want to go, so Zhou Qinglan said that he would set off firecrackers at eleven o'clock in the evening. If he didn't sleep at this time, he would have no chance to set off firecrackers at night.

When Sheng Xinhua heard this, he quickly led his brother to the west room to sleep.

When it was completely dark outside, Sheng Liancheng asked his son to light up the lanterns outside.

In the past, lanterns were tied up with sorghum poles and covered with red paper by Zhang Shuzhen and her daughter.

This year Zhou Qinglan brought back several round lanterns made of red cloth from the provincial capital, with yellow tassels underneath, which are particularly beautiful.

Sheng Liancheng said, don't light candles, the lanterns will be darkened and unsightly, just put light bulbs inside.

It just so happened that I had a light bulb at home that was used when gathering cattle in the summer, and I installed it in the lantern.

The light shines red through the red silk cloth, making the Sheng family courtyard glow red, making it particularly festive.

At seven o'clock, the two children were still sleeping, so everyone took the time to make dumplings.

After making dumplings for a while, the two children woke up and said nothing. They put on their shoes and ran to the east room. When they saw the dumplings being made in the east room, the two children made a show of climbing on the kang to grab the noodles.

"Lao Liu, hurry up and lead them to the North Kang to play."

Zhang Shuzhen took a look and saw that two bandits were coming. Is this okay?
If they usually make trouble, they will make trouble. These are Chinese New Year dumplings, so they can't let them mess around.So he quickly called Sheng Xitai, who was fascinated by the radio.

When Sheng Xitai heard this, he hurriedly carried his two nephews to Beikang and grabbed some roasted pine nuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, peanuts and other nuts. Sheng Xitai held the tongs in his hand and picked out the nuts for his two nephews to eat.

Children are easier to coax. Once they saw so many delicious foods, the two children no longer cared about causing trouble. They all sat calmly on the kang and watched eagerly as Uncle Six prepared delicious foods for them.

Taking advantage of this time, Zhang Shuzhen and others speeded up the process of making dumplings. Just after ten o'clock, the dumplings were finished and they were quickly taken outside.

At eleven o'clock, boil water and cook dumplings. At this time, Sheng Liancheng also started to get busy.

Nowadays, there are not so many things to pay attention to. Sheng Liancheng took his sons and set up a heaven and earth table in the open space of the yard. They placed steamed buns, fruits, fish, meat, etc., as well as three glasses of wine and three pairs of chopsticks.

I didn’t have an incense burner bowl at home, so I filled two bowls with plant ashes and compacted them, and inserted three incense sticks.

Sheng Liancheng piled the burning papers that had been printed in advance in front of the heaven and earth table, picked up a few sheets to light, lit incense at the same time, and inserted them into the bowl of the incense burner.

Over there, Sheng Xiping also lit firecrackers.Amidst the crackling sound of firecrackers, Sheng Liancheng knelt in front of the heaven and earth table, kowtowed sincerely, and didn't know what he was muttering.

After that, Sheng Liancheng entered the house again with burning paper, and lit a few pieces of paper each in front of the east and west stove pits directly north of the kitchen.

Outside, Sheng Xian was setting off firecrackers, looking a little dumbfounded at what his father was doing.

"Brother, are you sure it's okay for our dad to do this?" A few years ago, this was strictly prohibited. Is it true that nothing will happen now?

"It's okay. If you don't tell me, I won't tell you. That's all. Now we're not as strict as before. Everyone knows it."

Many things have been passed down for thousands of years, but they still make some sense.Sheng Xiping neither supports nor objects to these, as long as his father is happy.

"Dad, set off firecrackers, set off firecrackers."

Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu were wearing large cotton-padded jackets, hats, scarves, and hand muffs, which were as round as chickens in a nest.

At this time, he couldn't wait to urge Sheng Xiping to fire off the fire. He was not satisfied with what he had just seen.

"Okay, okay, don't worry, there are plenty of firecrackers. Your mother bought a lot of them this year."

Zhou Qinglan went to live in Songjianghe. When she helped the Zhou family buy wedding supplies, she also bought a lot of fireworks and firecrackers for her own family just to entertain her children.

Sheng Xiping carried a small basket filled with all kinds of fireworks. The four brothers took some casually, lit an incense stick, and set them up in the yard.

Two kickers, sky-piercing monkeys, flashing thunder, colorful pearls, and some weird things.

Some lit them up and spun around on the ground, spraying out colorful fireworks as they spun.

Some bring a rope and hang it on the clothesline, and it will squeak and spin around when it is lit.

Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu liked this the best, and the two children clapped their hands and cheered.

When it comes to burning money quickly, firecrackers can definitely be counted. Before long, the four brothers set off half a basket of fireworks.

At this time, Zhang Shuzhen shouted that it was time to eat dumplings. Sheng Xiping looked at the fireworks in the basket that were almost empty, and quickly said that this was it for today, and they would be set off another day.

Sheng Xinhua and the others still had more to say, but Zhang Shuzhen and Zhou Qinglan on the other end kept urging, so they had no choice but to follow their father and uncles back to the house.

The kitchen was cooking dumplings and the room was filled with heat, so I had to open the door and let them out.

If the air conditioning is heavy and the heat is light, you will see that the upper half of the kitchen is filled with fog filled with dim lights, while the lower half is clear and empty.

Everyone entered the house feeling cold. The two children quickly took off their hats and gloves and climbed onto the kang to warm their feet.

Sheng Xiping and the others helped put the dumplings on the table, and then the family sat down and ate the dumplings while talking and laughing.

From time to time, someone would shout that they would get money for eating, or they would get dates, peanuts, candies, etc.

The two little ones were so envious when they saw others paying for their food, they shouted at them to ask for money too.

So Zhang Shuzhen secretly stuffed the money into the dumplings and gave them to her two grandchildren. Sure enough, the children ate the money and jumped for joy.

After eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, when the clock rang at twelve o'clock, Sheng Xiping led his younger siblings, wives and children to pay New Year's greetings to his parents.

The new year begins here.

On the first day of the first lunar month and the second day of the lunar month, relatives and friends visited each other to pay New Year greetings. In the afternoon of the second lunar month, Sheng Xiping also invited Wang Jianshe and others to come to his home for a meal and have a lot of fun together.

On the third day of the first lunar month, Sheng Xiping took his wife and children by car to Songjianghe to pay New Year greetings to his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Zhou Qingyang's wedding was scheduled for the sixth day of the first lunar month, and there were a lot of things going on in the Zhou family. Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qinglan went back to help with the family's work.

Zhou Qingyang's marriage was a big deal for the Zhou family.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, relatives of the Zhou family and Wang family took a train to Songjianghe.

Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qingyue went to the station to pick them up and received nearly twenty people including Zhou Qinglan's uncles, aunts, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.

When Zhou Qinglan got married, Zhou Mingyuan's younger brother Zhou Minghua and Wang Chunxiu's eldest brother Wang Zhongjing came to see them off, and Sheng Xiping had seen them both.

Sheng Xiping didn't know any of the remaining relatives. Thanks to Zhou Qingyue's introduction, he was able to meet them one by one.

"Uncle, second uncle, let's go home first. There is a bicycle puller outside. Let's take the bicycle back."

After everyone exchanged greetings, Sheng Xiping hurriedly greeted everyone out of the train station.

There were more than a dozen people, and one donkey cart was not enough for them, so they found another donkey cart and two donkey carts pulled everyone straight to Baishan Street.

At the entrance of Zhoujia Hutong, everyone got off the bus. Sheng Xiping paid the fare and then accompanied everyone to Zhoujia.

"Dad, Mom, we brought the second uncle, eldest uncle, aunt, uncle, and second uncle all here."

Zhou Mingyuan only has one brother and one sister in his family, but he has many cousins. This time his cousin is also here, so Sheng Xiping calls him uncle.

Wang Chunxiu's natal family has many brothers and sisters, but some of them are far away in other places, so the only ones who come are the eldest brother, the second brother, and two younger sisters.

Zhou Mingyuan and Wang Chunxiu heard the commotion and hurried out of the house. When they saw their relatives, they were also extremely happy. They shook hands and said hello affectionately.

Zhou Qingyang and Zhou Qinglan also came out of the house. At this time, they came closer and greeted their elders first, and then greeted several cousins ​​of their own generation.

"Xinhua, Xinyu, come here quickly, this is your eldest grandpa and eldest grandma." Zhou Qinglan pulled Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu out from behind to greet the elders.

"Happy New Year to grandma, Happy New Year to grandma."

Before the two children came, Zhou Qinglan specifically told them to call for elders when they see them, and not to hide in fear, which is rude.

The two children of the Sheng family are very cheerful and generous, so as soon as their mother mentioned it, the two of them quickly paid New Year's greetings to their elders.

"Oh, these are the two boys from the Qinglan family? They are so handsome.

Come on, grandpa is in a hurry today and didn't prepare a meeting gift for you two.This is the New Year's money given by grandpa. You two have collected it. "

Zhou Mingchen, Zhou Mingyuan's eldest cousin, took out two yuan bills from his pocket and gave one to each of the two children.

Although he looked at Shengxin Chinese Primary School, he knew that it was money and that money was a good thing.When I saw the money, my eyes suddenly lit up.

However, this kid was thoughtful and didn't dare to reach out to get it directly. Instead, he looked at his parents.

At this time, Zhou Qinglan quickly refused, "Uncle, this is not possible. They have such a small number of children. What do they need money for? You can't give it to them."

"You go aside, I'm here for the child, not for you."

Zhou Mingchen glared at his niece, bent down, and stuffed the money directly into the two children's pockets.

"My dear, my grandpa gave me this money. Keep it yourselves. Then go buy some sweets when you're hungry."

Zhou Qinglan and Sheng Xiping looked at each other with helpless expressions on their faces, but they didn't know much to say.

During the Chinese New Year, it was the first time for elders like Zhou Mingchen to see Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu. How could they not express their gratitude?
If they continue to stop him, some of the elders may fall out.Yes, I owe you a favor, please pay it back later.

"Come on, little baby, I am your second grandpa, and this is your second grandma."

Zhou Minghua didn't wait for Zhou Qinglan to say anything, and took the initiative to stand in front of Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu and said to them.

Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu had just gotten money, and they were so beautiful that they immediately spoke. "Happy New Year to my second grandpa, happy New Year to my second grandma."

"Hey, good boy, our Qinglan family is blessed to have raised two sensible and obedient children.

Come on, this is the New Year's money given by my second grandpa, take it. "

After Zhou Minghua finished speaking, he took out two dollars from his pocket and stuffed them into the pockets of the two children respectively.

Just like that, Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu paid their New Year's greetings in a circle. Grandma and grandpa were confused. They didn't know why there were so many grandma and grandpa.

However, the two children have gained a lot, and these elders have given them lucky money.

Although the children still don't know what one dollar can do, they still cover their pockets tightly for fear of losing the money.

All the people here are close relatives, and the Zhou family must treat them well.

Zhou Qinglan and Wang Chunxiu had prepared meals long ago. They all exchanged greetings, but it was already getting late, so they hurriedly packed up the meals and ate.

Zhou Mingyuan and Wang Chunxiu both work, so they don't have much time to go back to their hometown to visit.

Now that relatives are reunited and it's Zhou Qingyang's wedding, it's natural to have a lot of fun.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the Zhou family was full of laughter and excitement, and was busy until late at night.

Turning around, the sixth day of the first lunar month was a good day for Zhou Qingyang to get married.

On the morning of the sixth day of the lunar month, after breakfast, the Zhou family's wedding team set off at the agreed time.

The Zhou family and the Chen family were both in Songjianghe, so they weren't too far apart. Jeeps were rare these days, let alone cars. Naturally, there were no wedding cars or fleets.

When getting married in rural areas, most people will drive a horse-drawn carriage to pick up the bride. In the city, it is now popular to use bicycles to pick up the bride.

The Zhou family owns a [-]-inch big bar, which Zhou Qingyue rides to school.

Zhou Mingyuan and Wang Chunxiu borrowed more than ten bicycles from their colleagues and formed a bicycle team, with a big red flower tied on the front of each vehicle.

Zhou Qingyang pushed the cart in the lead, followed by a dozen young men each pushing a bicycle. The other people who were welcoming the bride followed suit, holding wedding gifts in their hands.

Chen Jie's family lived near No. [-] Middle School, not far away. The wedding team just pushed their bicycles and arrived at Chen Jie's house in the eyes of passers-by in amazement.

The Chen family set off a bunch of firecrackers early. When the person waiting to receive the bride approached, the two young men lit the firecrackers.

Amidst the crackling sound, a group of children from the younger generation of the Chen family gathered around to ask Zhou Qingyang for some sweets.

The Zhou family had prepared it in advance. Zhou Qingyue was carrying a bag filled with candies, so he quickly grabbed two handfuls and distributed them to the children.

The group of children got the candies and dispersed happily. Under the guidance of the matchmaker, the wedding guests entered the Chen family yard.

Chen Jie is a nurse at the Forestry Bureau Hospital. When she got married, many of her colleagues came over to help.

Including Chen Jie's classmates and friends, a group of girls blocked the door of the house, clamoring for red envelopes. If they did not give the red envelopes, they would not be allowed in to pick up their wife.

This is a normal procedure for a wedding, and both parties have prepared in advance.

The man will prepare candies and red envelopes, and the woman will also give instructions. Just be happy and don't make too much noise, which will delay the wedding.

(End of this chapter)