Even Fangzhou's family got up early in the morning, wearing bright new clothes, chatting and laughing constantly.
After a simple breakfast, they began to post Spring Festival couplets and hang red lanterns. In a blink of an eye, because of the hanging red lanterns, pasted red Spring Festival couplets, blessing characters, and New Year pictures, every household looks different from usual everywhere, looking extraordinarily festive.
Generally, after breakfast and posting the Spring Festival couplets, the New Year’s Eve dinner is started. The New Year's Eve dinner is usually eaten earlier than usual, and it is eaten around the end of the afternoon. After eating, adults and children will invite friends to visit and play, and the village will become extremely lively.
Although the preparations started early, today's meal took a lot of time because there were a lot of dishes to make, and they were extraordinarily delicate. lively.
Regarding tonight's dishes, Lian Fangzhou and Sangu's grandma discussed it a few days ago, stewed yellow lamb leg, steamed sausage, sweet and sour carp, steamed pork with dried plums, braised fried chicken nuggets with dried bamboo shoots and mushrooms, pork ribs in sauce, stuffed tofu , stuffed winter melon, and prepared several kinds of green vegetables, cabbage, yam, bean curd sticks, vermicelli, pork liver, pork loin and lean meat, etc. I plan to put the stewed yellow lamb leg soup on the stove at night, and eat it while boiling the vegetables, otherwise the vegetables will be cold in winter quick.
Last night, the whole carp was wrapped in flour and put into the oil pan. It was cooked after paying homage to the ancestors with the whole chicken. The braised pork was made from the best pork belly specially set aside when the pig was slaughtered the day before yesterday. It was washed and used at that time. After marinating with five-spice powder and salt, the whole piece was boiled in a pot, and the skin was coated with honey and put in the oil pan. After repeated tossing this way several times, the whole piece of meat basically had no fat and oil. The skin was crispy and the floss was cut today. Chunks of chopped plum vegetables are steamed on the bottom and the fragrance is overflowing.
The fillings for stuffed tofu and stuffed winter melon are freshly prepared. Lian Fangzhou and Grandma Sangu made three kinds of fillings. The two kinds are mainly yellow mutton and plum meat, with a little chopped leek and Celery, another kind of Chinese cabbage, vermicelli, yuba and other vegetarian dishes, seasoned with meat.
Lian Fangzhou and Grandma Sangu were busy all the time, and even Fangqing and others came and went to help from time to time. Only Ah Jian never touched the kitchen. After feeding the cows and donkeys, she warmed herself by the fire and looked at them with a smile.
After paying homage to the ancestors, the cooking officially started. The whole chicken was chopped, and the whole fish was taken out of the oil pan again to make sweet and sour. The Yong Tau Foo has also been fried, and the Stuffed Winter Melon and Meicai Pork are steaming in the pot.
When all kinds of dishes are ready and firecrackers are set off, you can prepare to eat.
Lian Hai came over again, said happy new year with a smile, chatted with Lian Fangzhou's siblings for a while, approached Lian Fangzhou and asked her in a low voice if she would like to have dinner together to make the New Year's Eve more lively
Normally speaking, Lian Fangzhou's family has no parents, so of course the two families eat together, but for the Lian family's eldest room and the second room, it is not necessary.
Facing Mrs. Qiao, Lian Fangzhou believed that his siblings would not be able to eat anything. No matter how big the New Year is, I still look for Qishou.
He smiled and politely declined.
Lian Hai knew it well, and had expected this to be the case. After a few words of persuasion, he just smiled and said that he would come and sit with them after dinner. Lian Fangzhou is naturally welcome.
When all the dishes are about to be cooked, the sound of firecrackers can be heard from all directions in the village from time to time. It seems that every family has about the same time for dinner!
Lian Fangzhou also smiled and called Lian Ze and others: "Hurry up and bring the big firecrackers we bought! We should set off firecrackers too!"
This is the boy's favorite thing, Lian Ze and Lian Che resoundingly agreed, and quickly took out a large hanging firecracker that had been prepared.
Lian Fangzhou was worried about letting them order some. After placing the red firecrackers on the ground, Ah Jian took a lit incense and lit them.
The sound of crackling firecrackers filled the entire courtyard, bright red debris splashed everywhere, and the rising smoke with the smell of gunpowder gradually filled the air. Lian Fangqing threw herself into Lian Fangzhou's arms and covered her ears but giggled. Che had already been waiting for the firecrackers to go off to pick up the unburned ones and keep them for playing.
More firecrackers came through the wall, and the whole village was filled with sounds one after another. This is the busiest time of the year.
"Okay, okay! Good luck! Good luck! Go back to the house soon, it's time to eat!" Grandma Sangu smiled, and glanced at the reluctant Lian Ze and Lian Che on the ground, and said with a sharp look: "Come back soon!" Let’s go to the house and eat first, and pick up the cannon later, so we won’t run away! It’s still early!”
Everyone laughed and went into the room together.
"Fangzhou! Grandma Sangu! Are you ready for dinner?" Aunt Zhang and Li Juan came in from outside with smiles.
"Aunt Zhang! Ah Juan!" Lian Fangzhou hurriedly greeted her, and said with a smile, "It's about to eat! How about you?"
"Well, we are almost there!" Aunt Zhang smiled, holding a basket in her hand, and said with a smile: "I have cooked a lot of dishes, and I brought you something you didn't cook! Try something new!"
Lian Fangzhou and the third aunt quickly thanked them with a smile, and invited them into the house, and the third aunt went to the kitchen to get bowls to serve.
Two families who have a good relationship often do this.
Aunt Zhang lifted the lid of the basket, and put all the vegetables in the bowl into the empty bowl brought by the third aunt. There are several kinds of tamales, stir-fried twice-cooked pork, and steamed pork belly.
Lian Fangzhou also packed a lot of stuffed tofu and sauced pork ribs for Aunt Zhang, smiled and said a few words, and Aunt Zhang, mother and daughter went back.
After a while, Lian Hai brought over a bowl of vegetables, including elbows, ham, stuffed eggs, etc.
Lian Fangzhou also smiled and thanked him for taking it, and he packed some dishes for Lian Hai to take back.
It's just that the mood of receiving the dishes from these two families is different. Lian Fangzhou doesn't need to think about how ugly Qiao's face will be and how ugly he will say when Lian Hai delivers the dishes.
If the uncle and aunt really wanted to deliver food, it would be Qiao's instead of Lianhai.
But fortunately, it wasn't Joe's who came, otherwise, the Chinese New Year would affect my mood. Out of sight is pure, this statement is indeed very reasonable.
There was nothing else to do for a while, and the family sat around the table lively and had dinner.
Today's meal is a round table, which means reunion. The table frame supported under the circular table top is a square frame with grooves. In the middle of the tabletop there is a circular movable wooden board as big as the bottom of the washbasin. After taking it out, the small stove can be placed on the groove of the table frame. In this way, the top of the small stove can be even with the table, and the soup pot will not be too high when placed.
Put a charcoal fire in the small stove, put the small round pot of the lamb leg broth on it, and put all the dishes around it. Lian Fangzhou specially opened two jars of wine, one jar was A Jian's earlier, and the other jar was fruit wine bought from the Lin family's orchard.