In the twenty-sixth year of the year, Wang Shi and Gu Yin went to buy the New Year's goods for the last time.
On the twenty-seventh year of the year, the Wang family slaughtered the chicken he bought, Gu Yin cooked, and the whole family ate a delicious chicken meal.
On the twenty-eighth year of the year, the steamed buns were pasted on the window grilles. Mrs. Wang took the red paper and went to the next door to invite Xu Qingchuan to write a couple of Spring Festival couplets and a few words "Fu" and put them on the door of the house.
At the age of twenty-nine, the Wang family was rather sullen.
She came back from worshipping her parents early this morning. Gu Yin asked her if she was uncomfortable, but she refused to say more.
Wu An quietly told Gu Yin, "Mother didn't sleep last night, the lights in the room were on for a long time."
Gu Yin first looked at Wang Shi, and then felt wrong, "You slept with me last night, how do you know that mother slept late at night?"
Wu An was choked by what she said, and said, "Yes... it's our child! I heard firecrackers set off in the middle of the night, so I had to go out to see it."
The child was called, with a blank look on his face, and spread his hands, indicating that he did not!
"Okay, you are the most nonsense in our family, it's obviously you." Wu An angrily blushed and chased after him.
The child grinned and ran around the house in circles.
Gu Yin didn't care about them anymore, she sat next to Wang Shi and said, "Mother, why didn't you sleep well last night, do you want to invite the old doctor to take a look?"
Wang Shi immediately shook his head and said, "No, no, I don't feel any discomfort, it's just... ah..."
She let out a long sigh.
In fact, where is the discomfort
It was because she had been busy before, busy with the family business, busy with the affairs of the previous year, so she had no idea that her husband and eldest son had been gone for six years.
In addition, it is the New Year, the family reunion day, but the two missing people in the family will never come back.
Even her wife and mother haven't forgotten about them. In a few years, it seems that they don't exist anymore
Wang didn't say such tear-jerking words, but said: "We came out in a hurry to worship our ancestors during the Chinese New Year. I only brought your father and Qingyi with their clothes, and I didn't even set up a grave. I don't know where to go. go to worship."
Gu Yin took Wang's hand, "When the world is at peace, we will definitely go back to Batou Village and set up a tomb for them, which is also a thought."
A few years ago, I heard that there was another war outside. There was a fierce general under the throne of righteousness, with a red scar on his face, which looked like an Asura evil spirit, and could tear apart living people.
The army of the imperial court was frightened by the wind, and he was beaten to the point of retreat, losing another city within a month.
There are rumors among the people that this is the last stable year, and there will be a fierce battle between the imperial court and the rebel army in the coming spring.
Looking at his daughter-in-law with tender eyes, Mrs Wang wiped away her tears and said, "Yes, in this world we can live up to now and live better than before, what am I not satisfied with? Go next door."
Gu Yin was dragged to the next door by her, only to know that Wang was going to name the child.
There was no ink in Wang's stomach. Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi were all given names by others, but Wu An's was her. At that time, she was looking forward to the safe return of her husband and eldest son. The little boy has a good name.
Now let Wang think, when she sees the child, she thinks of how she looked like a wild cat when she first saw him, and how she was tied to Wu An on a daily basis, at most called Kitten or Chuanchuan.
Xu Qingchuan and Mrs. Xu were pasting Spring Festival couplets at home. Mrs. Xu said when Mrs. Wang arrived, "Didn't the couplets have already been written for your family! Why are you here again?"
Everyone in the neighborhood knew that Xu Qingchuan was talented and famous. Since he returned home from annual leave, there have been so many people asking for Spring Festival couplets, so that at this hour of the day, Xu Qingchuan did not finish writing for his home.
Not wanting to scold people after the Chinese New Year, Mrs. Wang glanced at her and smiled at Xu Qingchuan: "My dear boy, are you tired? Would you like something to eat?"
The two families are considered familiar, so Xu Qingchuan curved his lips and said, "Auntie, don't be polite, just talk about it. I haven't had anything to do recently."
The Wang family didn't go around in circles, and directly said that he was helping to name it.
Xu Qingchuan said cautiously: "Names follow people for a lifetime. I have never helped people with names. If my aunt can trust me, let me think about it for two days."
"Hey! You're a scholar, I can't trust you, think about it slowly, don't worry."
Xu Qingchuan immediately went into the study to read the classics.
"Those who spend ten pennies all over the street are scholars who give names to people." Xu murmured in a low voice.
"Could that be the same?" Wang said, "Our Da Ya was named by someone, and the scholar said, 'The plum market is full of flowers, and the orchid pavilion is the grass'. I still think it's pretty beautiful after I go back. Whenever anyone asks about it, they will tell the source of our big girl's name, and only later did I know that this grass is a small grass that has grown into a piece!
Mrs Xu replied, "What do you know? It's probably because people look at your big girl and want her to grow up like a spring grass!"
The two of you are going to fight each other as you look at each other.
Wu An and the child ran over, Wu An chased him for several laps, but could not catch up. This child is too cunning. Whenever Wu An feels that he can't catch up and wants to give up, he deliberately slows down, and when Wu An is about to touch the hem of his clothes, he will accelerate again.
It is also due to Wu An's good character that he must be anxious for someone else to be walked by him like this.
The two ran to Xu's house and were held by Gu Yin one by one, "It's okay to be naughty at your own house, it's not good to be like this outside."
Wang shi reached out to see Wu An's bursting chestnuts, but was stopped by Gu Yin, Wu An felt a little wronged in retrospect, pulled Wang shi's clothes and explained in a low voice, "Mother, he teased me first."
"You're stupid too, can you run past him?" Mrs. Wang looked at the stupid son and rubbed his head helplessly, "Why are you wronged, my mother will go back and give you fried oil cakes."
Wu An's eyes suddenly lit up, "Let my sister-in-law fry it, she's delicious!"
The child can speak several words now, and because he spends the most time with Wu An, he likes to learn how to speak.
And he seemed to think that calling "Mother" would give him something to eat, so he immediately pulled up Gu Yin's skirt and shouted, "Mother, I'll eat!"
Gu Yin rubbed them one by one, then held one of them in one hand, and said with a crooked smile: "Let's go, I'll go back and fry, and eat everything."
The two little guys jumped and followed, and Mrs. Wang couldn't help laughing and scolding: "You can eat one or two!"
It happened that someone came to Xu's house to ask for Spring Festival couplets, and the woman saw the liveliness and laughed out loud: "This is the name of the child, Mrs. Wu can think about it, and when you call it a name, you will have feelings, but Reluctant to send it away.”
"What are you sending away? He's so big, and he doesn't eat as much as a kitten. Although our family is poor, can we still eat without him?" Mrs. Wang remembered that the woman had chewed her own tongue. , naturally had a bad face at her, and snorted: "The county magistrate has rewarded our family because of this! Some people don't catch up with good things because they are jealous, so they speak sour words?"
"There are men in our family who do the heavy work, why do we have to invite others to do it, and why are you hurting your family?!" The woman blushed at the choking of Wang Shi, and then suddenly thought of something, and said coolly: "That's right, your eldest son died at a young age, and he doesn't have a son. Our tradition is that there must be a younger generation to die in the basin, otherwise the rest of the road will be uneasy, and the people below will laugh at no successor. Isn't it good to have this wild child?"
Without waiting for Mrs. Wang to scold back, Mrs. Xu crossed her waist and said, "Bah! I don't call you a sick cat during the Chinese New Year, right? You are so bitter and mean, no wonder your food business is not doing well. Men don't help either! Get out of our house, you want Spring Festival couplets, you want shit!"
Like Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xu has a strong temperament and has lived in orphans and widows for many years. In the early years, when Xu Qingchuan was still young, her reputation was also very loud. That is to say, the later son was admitted to the title, and Xu felt that as a scholar, his own mother had to be more cautious, so he restrained his temper.
When the woman was scolded by her, she immediately went out and said, "What's so amazing, it's not just a poor scholar, and it's not a high-ranking scholar in the exam."
Seeing the other party walk away in despair, Mrs. Xu also put away her anger, pulled Mrs. Wang and said, "Don't pay attention to her, she is just sour. It is also in the food business. Your family has done more than hers in the first few months. It has been prosperous for many years. She is a good day to sour your family, don't be so acquainted with her. It's not worth it to be broken for this kind of popularity! "
This woman doesn't set up a stall at the dock, but runs a food business near Zhenyi Lane. I don't know where I heard that Gu Yin and the others were doing very good business not long after they opened the stall, so she came to the door to get some scriptures.
Originally from the neighborhood, Gu Yin did not hesitate to point out a few words.
But after chatting once, she realized that something was wrong. This family was not the kind who really wanted to cook good food, but just wanted to make money. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this, but in order to earn the unconscionable money, she also told Gu Yin that she knew which restaurant would sell kitchen waste, pretending to be mysterious and authentic: "Those things are not bad for people to keep and eat, but they are not very fresh, but add more seasonings. , no one can eat it! With this saving, you can earn more by keeping the little lady's business!"
She wanted to use this method in exchange for Gu Yin's careful guidance, but she didn't expect it to touch Gu Yin's bottom line, and immediately said that she had no ability to give guidance to her, and invited her out of the house.
The woman was still entangled, and Wang slammed the collar out of the house.
Because of this, this woman completely hated Gu Yin and Wang Shi.
However, there was a catcher in the alley, and she didn't dare to make a fuss, so she could only say some sour words like today. But in general, she can't quarrel with the Wang family, so today she suddenly thought of the situation of the Wang family, and deliberately said such words to poke people's lungs.
Wang Shi was silent, and after a while, he said, "It's okay, I'm too lazy to know her in general, so I'm going back."
After returning, Gu Yin fried rice cakes for the two children. The rice cakes were browned and crispy, and they were full of rice fragrance in one bite.
Wu An took the small bowl and brought it to Mrs. Wang, "Mother, you can eat it too."
The child followed the example and handed the bowl to Gu Yin, "Mother, eat!"
Gu Yin took a closer look and saw that the child's bowl of rice cakes had already been eaten by him, and there were only a few rice particles left. What did she want her to eat
"Just know how to learn!" She rubbed the child helplessly, put another piece on him, and then told the two children, "You're all good, do you know? It's not good to have conflicts when you are a big New Year's Eve."
The two little guys were still making a fuss just now, but now they are as good as one person after their meal, and they went outside hand in hand to watch other people set off firecrackers.
After feeding the two children, Gu Yin returned to the main room and saw Wang Shi frowned again.
"Mother, do you want to eat something? I'll make it for you."
"I'm not Wu'an and the others, so are you coaxing me with food?" Wang's face relaxed, "I'm just thinking about it. You said that this child... is counted in my name, or in your name. Woolen cloth?"
"Mother was worried about this." Gu Yin also relaxed and sat down next to her, "He always learns Wu'an to call her mother, and calls me every time. You should be recorded in my name, but if you don't want to..."
Although the child is the closest to Gu Yin, but Gu Yin is busy and has little experience.
"It's not that I don't want to," Wang Shi frowned again in confusion, "but it's in your name, we know that you adopted it, we don't know... sigh, and you went to another house in the future, with such a child ,It's not good!"
Without waiting for Gu Yin to speak, Mrs Wang called Wu An to bring the child in.
"You have to call my mother later, do you know?" Wang Shi looked at the child seriously.
The child was a little afraid of him. Seeing her serious expression, she instinctively took two steps back.
"Mother, you scared him." Wu An took a half step forward and blocked the child behind him.
"Don't worry about it," Wang shied away from Wu An and grabbed the child's hand, "Do you want to call my mother?"
The child was so frightened that his eyes widened, he looked at Gu Yin helplessly, and called out "mother" weakly.
"Why is this child so stubborn? If you don't obey me, I will send you away at the beginning of the year." Like many parents who like to scare their children, "If you don't obey me, the big bad wolf will take you away." This wrong way.
"Mother said such a thing." Gu Yin immediately pulled the child to her side, "I don't have to scare the child for the new year."
Wang Shi also felt that she was talking too much, and she just came back, but when she heard a "wow", the child threw herself into Gu Yin's arms and cried.
For the first time, he snorted and said a long sentence—
"Mother, I, I'm good! I won't leave... I won't send it away!"
Gu Yin's heart softened, and her nose became sore, tightly hugging his thin body.
"Hey my mouth!" Wang Shi slapped himself on the mouth heavily, "Full mouth!"
Gu Yin held Wang Shi, and coaxed the child for a while, and then he coaxed him and let him and Wu An go out to play.
"Why is my mother so good-natured?"
Wang shi talked about the woman's words, and said, "I was just in a hurry, I really didn't think about sending him away."
Gu Yin nodded, "Mother is soft-hearted, no one knows better than me. The child will be recorded in my name, so what do other people do? Besides, what mother said goes to someone else's house, and it doesn't matter. Isn't this my house? Why am I going to someone else's house?"
"you know what I mean… "
"I'll tell you again, I really don't have that kind of thought. Of course, we have been in the future for decades, and we can't be sure right now. But in three or five years, I definitely don't want to." Seeing that Wang Shi wanted to persuade this again, Gu Yin hid in the kitchen on the pretext of going to eat something.
Wang Shi did chase after her, but instead of forcing her at this time, he said, "If that's the case, I'm thinking about letting you name the child?"
"That's okay." Gu Yin laughed, "Actually, I don't think the name has to be particularly nice. If you give Wu An, it is very good. The child grows up safely. The meaning is very good. Mother doesn't always say him It's a wild cat, let's take the word 'wild'. I hope he is as tough as weeds, and it also echoes the Yin of my name."
"Not bad, you're right, you don't need to be too particular about names, cheap names are rising in the countryside, so you can make a living!"
Gu Yin whispered, "Wu Ye, very good."
Wang Shi said: "My name is Gu Ye! With your surname, everyone will know that this child is only related to you and has nothing to do with our old Wu family, not you and our Wu family!"
Yes, this is to make her remarry in the future.
However, the child is the closest to him, so his surname is also very good, so Gu Yin responded with a smile.
"Wu An, Gu Ye, come and eat sugar cakes!"
The child finally had his own name and became an official member of the family.
And Wu An was the happiest, because he suddenly became Gu Ye's little uncle, and said old-fashionedly: "O Ye will listen to his little uncle in the future."
…
The New Year's Eve was filled with firecrackers, and the New Year's Eve dinner was cooked by Wang and Gu Yin together.
The population of the Xu family next door is simpler than them, and it is more about the life of the catcher and the apprentices.
The Wang family simply invited the two families to their home for a reunion dinner together.
In this way, Guan Chutou, Li Jutou, and Xu Qingchuan would sit at one table, and Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Wang, and Mr. Gu Yin would sit at one table with their two children.
The common people don't pay much attention to it. Although they share the table, they don't divide the room, and they eat together in the main room.
Stewed elbows, fried meatballs, steamed fish, salted chicken and salted duck, bacon sausages, and dumplings filled with hot cabbage and pork are all good things that ordinary people are reluctant to eat.
Everyone ate happily, Guan Chutou also took out his daughter Hong, and shared with Li Chutou and Xu Qingchuan.
After the wine and vegetables were all eaten, everyone gathered together to talk and nibble on melon seeds to keep the year old.
When the hour passed, everyone dispersed and went to the door to set off firecrackers.
Amid the crackling of firecrackers and the laughter of children, everyone said "auspicious New Year" to each other.
Gu Yin didn't like the smell of gunpowder smoke, and was about to go back to the house, but was stopped by Xu Qingchuan.
He drank some wine, his white face was stained with crimson, stood outside the three books, and said: "The book that Mr. Wen gave is too valuable, I have already copied it, and I originally wanted to return it. The original owner. But when I visited a few times a few years ago, people from the Wen family said that the old man was not in good health and was inconvenient to see guests. I just wanted to ask you to help transfer it."
The old man gave him a copy of the Analects of Confucius and the Doctrine of the Mean, which are very common Four Books and Five Classics.
But precious is precious in that it is full of comments from the old man.
When he was talking, the sound of firecrackers sounded again, and Gu Yin had to read his lips carefully, and then replied, "Okay, then I will hand it over to the old man when I go to Wen's house in the new year."
Xu Qingchuan thanked him again, but Gu Yin really couldn't hear what he said, so she waved her hand to say no thanks, and went back to the room.
…
On the first day of the new year, Mrs. Wang took Gu Yin and the two children to the next door to pay New Year's greetings.
Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Guan had long thought about giving the money from the New Year's Eve dinner to Mrs. Wang, but Mrs. Wang refused to accept it, so they sealed thick red envelopes and gave them to the two children.
When he got home, the Wang family collected the red envelopes, and then distributed ten cents to each of them, letting them spend it themselves, saying that the rest would help them save.
When the two children walked out the door happily hand in hand, Mrs Wang turned around and gave Gu Yin the two red seals.
On the second day of the new year, when she returned to her mother's house, Mr. Wang naturally wouldn't touch the bad head—not to mention that the relationship was already bad, she said that she only had two children, and her two brothers had several grandchildren. Still at home.
On the third and fourth day of the middle school, the stage in the town was set up again.
Mrs Wang and Mrs Xu led their two children and could listen outside all day.
Gu Yin didn't like listening to dramas, and after taking a solid rest, she was a little restless and wanted to think about doing something else.
It was because she had to go back to Wen's house to go back to work after the New Year, but if the old man asked her if she had come up with anything else recently, it would be embarrassing if she said that she was only eating, drinking and having fun during the new year. Second, of course, it's still for my own small business.
My business was booming last year, so the main reason is the delicious food and the freshness. Just like when an ordinary store first opened, customers would want to try it when they saw it.
Those ones have been out for a few months, and it's time for a change.
Gu Yin remembered that she didn't seem to see preserved eggs during the Chinese New Year.
It is reasonable to say that during the New Year, every household will make cold dishes with preserved eggs. Is it not in this era, or is it just that Hanshan Town does not have this custom
When Mrs Wang came back from the play, Gu Yin asked her if she had eaten preserved eggs.
"What preserved egg, I only heard of leather hat and collar, what is this preserved egg?" Wang shook his head and said that he had never heard of it.
"Hmm, or Songhuadan?"
Mrs. Wang even went to ask Mrs. Xu, but Mrs. Xu said she didn’t know.
Both of them were from big families, especially the Xu family, who had lived in a big place like the state capital for many years, and they had a lot of knowledge.
Gu Yin started to make preserved eggs.
First make a bowl of strong tea for later use, then wash the fresh duck eggs and let them air dry.
Then filter out the tea leaves, put in salt and alkali noodles, and put in the quicklime left over from the last pankang, which is called "white ash noodles" in this era. After stirring evenly, put in the plant ash and stir again. When you get a pile of mud, put the dried duck eggs in and roll them in a layer, and finally put them in the rice husks and roll them again, and squeeze them tightly with your hands. Made.
Wang was very convinced of his daughter-in-law's craftsmanship, but he hesitated when he saw this thing: "This is to put white and gray noodles, and to remove the rice husk from the pillow... It can really make duck eggs delicious. already?"
Gu Yin made fifty preserved eggs in one go, and said with a smile, "It will be marinated for another half a month, it must be delicious!"
Wang was still skeptical.
On the fifth day of the fifth day, Gu Yin went back to Wen's house to report, and helped Xu Qingchuan to return the book, and then said a new year to the old man. At the same time, she told him that she had made something new, but she had to wait another ten days before she could eat it.
After a year, the old man has also seen a lot, no longer entangled in the old things, so there is no need to "embarrass" Gu Yin thinking of new things to pass his time.
So he didn't ask more, just looked Gu Yin up and down and smiled with satisfaction: "Yes, I still look energetic in this way, it's not the 'big bear' from years ago!"
Gu Yin turned around in a generous circle again, and showed the old man the plum blossom hairpin on her head - it was specially put on by Wang's that day.
"Isn't it, you have always said that I have to take care of myself."
The old man smiled and said, "It's still thin. You still have to learn from Chef Xu. I see him gaining weight again in the past few days."
"Okay, then I'll go to the kitchen and steal it in a while!"
The two talked for a while, and the old man asked Gu Yin to make some pastries, and let her go to the kitchen.
As the old man said, Chef Xu followed his masters to eat meat during the Chinese New Year, and saw that he had gained a lot of weight. When he saw Gu Yin, there were no slits in his eyes when he smiled.
After greeting each other for the New Year, they each started to do their own work.
In the middle of the first month, the weather started to get warmer. Before Gu Yin left her job, her preserved eggs were finally ready.
Wang Shi was stunned and didn't dare to say anything, but Gu Yin made a vinegar salad later, she also said that she was not used to it, and she said that she couldn't appreciate it.
Gu Yin presented the preserved egg to Mrs. Wen who could appreciate new things.
Grandpa Wen didn't dare to move when he saw the dark preserved egg. Only when Gu Yin reassured that he could eat it, he picked up chopsticks and tasted it.
"Not bad." The old man praised with a wrinkled face.
Gu Yin is a fool and can see his reluctance.
However, when the preserved egg was first eaten, it was indeed difficult to accept.
Gu Yin changed to make preserved egg lean meat porridge and spring onion mixed with tofu.
Now the old man can accept it. He especially likes preserved egg and lean meat porridge. He said that the taste is mellow, and coupled with Gu Yin's craftsmanship, it is simply the best porridge in the world.
For ten days in a row, the old man's morning meal was porridge with preserved eggs and lean meat.
When Gu Yin went to collect the bowls and chopsticks that day, she couldn't help laughing: "People like you are so fond of people, so I can rest assured. If I sell this in a few days, it will definitely make the business more prosperous."
The old man was stunned for a while after hearing this, and then said strangely: "You still want to set up a stall?"
Gu Yin said yes, "I meant to do it for two months. Isn't this the first month of the month? The weather is getting warmer."
In modern times, after the Spring Festival, the weather is getting warmer every day. There is no global warming in this era, and the winter in Hanshan Town is extremely cold, so it is not until the first month of the year that it is the season of spring flowers.
The old man hesitated, "How hard it is to set up a stall, is it bad to be a cook in our Wen family? Or is it in terms of wages..."
"No," Gu Yin said immediately, "the wages you gave are already very generous."
The salary is indeed rich, but Gu Yin doesn't just want to make money. She wants to sell food to more people. She likes to watch others eat her food, and she can't help but have a happy smile on her face.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I still have some skills. It's a little harder to set up a stall in the wind and the sun, but when I save up, I'll go back and set up a shop... This day, it's always better!"
The old man liked her optimistic, open-minded and energetic appearance. He was able to get out of the slump so quickly, and it was also slowly influenced by Gu Yin during this period of time.
When Gu Yin put away the bowls and chopsticks and left, the old man couldn't help sighing--there are all children and grandchildren in the family, why don't there be any daughters or granddaughters
Then he thought of the eldest nerd, and the second child's eyes, and the daughter born would not be too likable.
It was at this time that Mr. Wen Er, who was in the eyes of money, came over.
The second master was scolded by the old man a few years ago for coveting the dowry shop of his deceased mother.
He consciously lost face, and was afraid that the old man would continue to blame him, so he hid outside until the end of the year before returning home.
During this time, he looked at the old man in a much better mood than before, and his mind became alive again.
He entered the room and said with a smile, "Father, has already eaten it? It's unfortunate that my son is here, otherwise I'll try the porridge that my father likes recently."
The old man lifted his eyelids to look at him, then lowered his eyes again, the old god was asking him what he was doing.
Master Wen Er rubbed his hands together and smiled: "As soon as the first month begins, isn't the mother's dowry shop still vacant? Such a good shop, the market is good, and it's also close to our house. An empty day is a loss of rent for a day. , you see…”
That shop is indeed the good shop that Mr. Wen Er said. The reason why it is still empty is very simple. He specially operates it and does not lease it to the outside world.
I thought that even if the old man agreed, he would have to scold himself first, but he didn't expect that the old man not only didn't scold him, but instead brought a smile on his face.
Yes, there is still an empty shop at home!