The whole village was shrouded in white, as if wearing a silver suit, a thick layer of snow fell on the roofs of the trees, and there were long ice skates under the eaves.
At this time, most people in the village do not go out, and most of them stay at home around the Ondol cat. After working for a whole year, I can only have a few days of leisure in winter. Many people will prepare some small snacks such as fried beans, fried melon seeds, etc., and sit on the kang surrounded by the quilt.
At this time, Xue Tingxiang was also like this. He was sitting on the kang wearing a thin jacket, with the bed and quilt covering his legs and placing it under the kang table. There are several small dishes on the kang table, which are filled with fried melon seeds, fried fennel beans, fried peanuts, etc. There is also a small bamboo basket for shells.
He also made a pot of tea, which was placed on a small stove the size of a palm. It was cooked by Xue Tingxiang himself. There were sour plums, oranges, and frozen pears in it. It looked weird when it was cooked, but it tasted delicious. Sweet and sour, it warms the stomach and digests food.
Xue Tingxiang has gained a lot of weight recently, and his cheeks are bulging up to the naked eye. He was born fair-skinned and handsome, so he looked a little fleshy, and he had a tendency to develop into a baby face.
Now what he hates most is Zhao'er pinching his face, because Zhao'er always has itchy hands, and every time he sees him, he wants to come up and pinch him, just like when Heizi was young, he smoothed his hair. But now Heizi doesn't have this kind of treatment. Zhao'er dislikes Heizi when he grows up, and his hair is not as soft as before.
At this moment, Hei Zi was squatting beside Zhao'er, one person and one dog watching the roasted sweet potatoes in the brazier intently.
For heating in the countryside, in addition to the kang, it is the brazier. Some people who are very particular also get a tile basin or something, while others just use bricks to find a place to build a random one. When winter is over, just move the bricks away without any delay.
Zhao'er likes to do it.
At this time, the square table in the middle of the second house was removed and replaced with a large brazier half a meter square. Around the brazier, a few small tadpoles were built with bricks and covered with a layer of cotton cushions, which made it very comfortable to sit up.
The sweet potatoes in the brazier are already ripe, and a special sweetness fills the air.
Xue Tingxiang's eyes when reading a book, looked over from time to time, Heizi was even more impatient, and he wanted to fish directly with his claws. Before the big black-haired paw stretched out, he was slapped back by Zhao'er.
"I'm in a hurry, and I'm not afraid of burning your hair."
Heizi stuck out his tongue and let out two breaths of hot air haha, that dog face was a bit of a scumbag. It's just that the dog spit out people's words.
"Wait a little longer, I'm not familiar yet." This is said to dogs as well as people. For a job like roasting sweet potatoes, Zhao'er can tell the heat just by smelling the smell with his eyes closed.
She turned over the sweet potatoes with tongs. The sweet potatoes were afraid to put them in the charcoal fire, otherwise they would be mushy. Put it on the edge of the brick pot and bake it slowly, it will not stick and it will be very fragrant. This is why Zhao'er likes to use a brick brazier to bake a sweet potato and eat a hot pot, which is very convenient.
After a while, the sweetness was even stronger, and Zhao'er took a few sweet potatoes out of the brazier.
One was thrown on the ground, and the others were placed in the bamboo basket on the side and brought to the kang.
"Come and try it."
"Cold or not, come in quickly."
Two voices sounded at the same time, Zhao'er smiled and said, "I'm in front of the brazier, how could it be cold."
"That's not warm on the kang."
Zhao'er couldn't beat him, so he could only go across from him and tuck his legs into the quilt under the kang table. As soon as she entered, her feet were occupied by two domineering legs. Xue Tingxiang put her feet under his own and tucked the quilt around her.
Just a short while later, Zhao'er's cold legs and feet became hot.
At this time, the sweet potato was no longer as hot as before, Zhao'er took one and broke it in half, and the orange-red flesh was suddenly exposed, exuding a fragrant aroma.
"Give you."
Xue Tingxiang took it, took a bite and said, "Sweet sweet potatoes with frost."
He finished eating three or two, and went to get another one to eat. Zhao'er was so hot that he blew his breath, wondering how long his mouth was, wouldn't he feel hot
"Don't eat too much, I'll have dinner later at noon."
At this time, the quilt was pulled and pulled, and the two of them looked over and found out that it was Heizi.
The one with the sunspot has already finished eating. No, if you haven't had enough of it, just ask for it.
"Look at how fat you are recently, I won't like you if you eat cauliflower tomorrow." Xue Tingxiang scoffed at it.
Hei Zi's eyelids are too lazy to tease him, just act like a spoiled child to Zhao'er.
People who don't have a daughter-in-law can't be compared with a dog with a harem like it. Its black boss goes out and countless little bitches stick up. And he is just a little rookie who still can't handle his daughter-in-law and only acts like a spoiled child.
Heizi has a sense of vicissitudes that does not belong to it, and he is coquettish with exhaling and licking his mouth.
It looks rustic, like a local dog, it is not spirited, its head is sluggish, and it is frustrating to look at when it is coquettish. But Zhao'er just ate this set, was amused by it and laughed, rubbed its big head in pain, and gave it a sweet potato from the bamboo basket.
Hei Zi went down with his mouth in his mouth, and gave Xue Tingxiang a look before going down. Look, that's what it is, and it can't be compared to some people.
Xue Tingxiang said to Zhao'er sourly, "You're the only one who looks so ugly."
"Where is Heizi so ugly, so energetic!"
Just as he was talking, Heizi stretched his head up again, bumped his nose in Zhao'er's palm, and Zhao'er rubbed it before it continued to eat its own delicious food.
The harmony between one person and one dog is inexhaustible, and the one who is ignored is so sour.
Xue Tingxiang was so angry that he didn't even eat the sweet potatoes, and fell asleep in the quilt behind him. Zhao'er glanced at him and knew that the little man was angry again.
This person is getting bigger and bigger, and his learning is getting better and better, but his xinxing has not grown, he is like a child.
It's also that the two have been facing each other a lot recently, and Zhao'er is not so unfamiliar with Xue Tingxiang anymore, there is always a feeling that the two hate each other. I used to see each other every few days, and everything was always close to him and coaxed him.
After she finished eating the sweet potatoes in her hand, she picked up the cloth towel next to her and wiped her hands. Xue Tingxiang is very particular. If he wants to eat or just eat, he wants to clean his hands. But I was too lazy to get off the kang, so I put a cloth towel next to it.
After wiping her hands clean, Zhao'er took out the ledger and abacus. She was studying arithmetic recently, and the teacher was naturally Xue Tingxiang. In my heart, I recited the formulas in the alchemy scriptures, and moved the abacus with every move.
On the other side, Xue Tingxiang waited for a while, but he didn't see her coming up, instead he heard the voice of the abacus beads, not to mention the grievances in his heart.
I wanted to call her but she was shameless, so I rubbed her feet with my calf and crushed her with hatred.
"Don't recruit me, wait until I'm done with this." She swept him with her legs in disgust, and Xue Tingxiang's resentment grew even more. Just as he was about to say something, a voice came from outside, followed by a familiar voice, it was Mao Badou.
The two got off the kang in a hurry, put on thick clothes again, and then pulled up the cotton curtain and went out.
A mule cart was parked in front of the courtyard. Not only Mao Badou, but also Li Datian and Chen Jian came.
The three of them wore thick cotton jackets and cotton hats on their heads, their cheeks were red from the cold, and their mouths were spitting out white air.
Holding the wooden ladder, Xue Qinghuai said, "Tingzi, they said it was your classmate."
"Fourth uncle, it's my classmate." Xue Tingxiang responded and said to the three of them, "Why are you here? How did you find them?"
Zhao'er greeted from the side: "Come in and sit, come in and talk."
Li Datian went to drive the mule cart in. At this time, Xue Qingbai also got down from the ladder, and Xue Qinghuai and Xue Qinghuai helped to untie the mule. Then one pulled the cart aside, and the other led the mules into the barn.
It's freezing cold, and livestock can't be frozen.
Li Datian thanked him hurriedly, and then walked into the house with everyone.
Mao Badou smiled and said: "Your home is from Yuqing Village, and the road is under your nose, so I found it. I was also bored in the house, so I ran to Datian, and took Datian to find it. Ah Jian, I came to you at the end."
The cotton curtain hanging in front of the door was lifted, and a burst of hot air rushed towards him.
Mao Badou stomped his feet a few times, stomping off the snow on his feet, and then said, "Hey, it's really warm here." After speaking, he moved closer to the brazier.
Several people sat in a group in front of the brazier. Mao Badou was still praising how well this brazier was built, and said that he would get one at home when he returned.
Li Datian sneered at him, saying that he was fooling around. The town was different from the countryside. There were very few people who burned kangs. Most of them burned charcoal and built braziers.
In advance of this, Mao Badou is a bitter tear. In terms of how comfortable it is to spend the winter, the town is really not comparable to the countryside. The countryside is full of firewood. From the beginning of autumn, the villagers began to collect firewood and save it for the winter, and in winter they kept the cats warm at home.
But not in the town, because the place is small, and it is inconvenient to burn firewood. Don't look at Mao Badou's fatness, but they are all puffy. They are neither heat-resistant nor cold-resistant. As soon as it snows outside, they huddle on the couch and can't get down. It's not just that after staying at home for a long time, it will give birth to the interest of playing in the countryside.
"Your fire pit is really big, and your dog is fat." The young man from the town came to the country and felt that it was rare to see anything. He was so praised that Heizi looked at him with dog eyes. Master.
"When you dry your trouser legs, go to the kang, and the kang will be warm."
"Sister Zhao'er is beautiful and diligent, she is like a flower in our Huyang Township." Mao Badou said sweetly immediately.
Li Datian showed him the bottom line next to him: "You have said this to Sister Yanran."
"Really?" Mao Badou looked shocked: "You must have misremembered."
Even if Xue Tingxiang smeared more than once, Zhao'er still thinks that Badou is a living treasure and likable. She smiled and said: "I bought a lamb before it snowed at home, and the meat was frozen outside. I chopped a piece of it and thawed it yesterday. Just when you came, I'll make a mutton pot for you to eat at noon."
"Sister Zhao'er is so nice, I knew there was delicious food here."
This is the reason why the four of them would rather run so far and come to Xue's house, because there is delicious food.
Zhao'er laughed, picked up some small snacks prepared at home and put them away, then clapped his hands and went to the kitchen.
When it was time to eat at noon, Mao Badou was surprised again, because the Xue family's eating pot was very different from other people. It turned out to be an iron rack and directly put the pot on the brazier to eat.
Zhao'er also prepared a lot of dishes that can be cooked, such as white scallops, radishes, shiitake mushrooms, sauerkraut, and frozen tofu.
"Sister Zhao'er, do you have a place in your house? I want to stay here for two days." Before he finished speaking, he also felt a little shameless, and said hurriedly and earnestly: "It's been a long time since I discussed knowledge with Ting Wei, let's be together. Discuss and discuss. By the way, I went to the teacher's place before I came, and he asked me to bring you a few books. "
It is inconvenient to go to the town from the countryside when it snows this time, so Mao Badou goes to Lin's house many times to fulfill his 'filial piety' as a disciple.
"The place at home is spacious. The kang is so big, it's enough for you to sleep, and there are plenty of bedding. The pigs will be killed in two days, and the pigs will be killed when the time comes."
"Pig-killing dish? What is pig-killing dish?"
Sure enough, it's a baby in the town, and he doesn't even know what pig-killing food is. Several rural children looked at each other with an unfathomable smile.
Li Datian said: "Killing pig dishes are dishes you have never eaten before."
"Hello, Li Datian!"
Mao Badou just wanted to rush over to make some trouble, but unfortunately, across a large iron pot, Zhao'er said again: "It's easy to eat pig-killing vegetables, but you have to help me with one thing before."
"What's up?"
Zhao'er smiled without saying a word, saying that it was after dinner.
What Zhao'er said was to help her write Spring Festival couplets.
Not only did she write the Spring Festival couplets, but also all kinds of blessing characters, and she had prepared the red paper.
"It's time to test your knowledge, I'm not good at writing Spring Festival couplets, so I'll leave this to you. I'll be responsible for cutting paper for you, and when I finish writing all these papers, I'll take you out to have fun. "Zhao'er took out a thick stack of red paper and put it on the square table.
This red paper is different from other papers. It is wide and long, and it looks like it has not been cut. Mao Badou and others used visual inspection to write down all these red papers, probably hundreds of them
"Sister Zhao'er, why do you want so many Spring Festival couplets?" Mao Badou smacked his lips.
"Sell it! Before the New Year, I can save some money to buy snacks."
The four of them were pulled like this, and they wrote the Spring Festival couplets in the house for an entire afternoon. Fortunately, the house was warm and there were many people. You said I was laughing, and it was not difficult to pass the time.
After writing one, Zhao'er took it to the kang head and spread it, and the ink on it soon dried. Then four people were in charge of writing, and Zhao'er was in charge of receiving. When it got dark, nearly 500 pieces were written, and there were several hundred pieces of blessing, which I didn't count anyway.
Only then did Zhao'er cook with a smile. Several people were so tired as dogs that they almost collapsed on the kang. Mao Badou sighed again and again, saying that Sister Zhao'er was so cruel, he just ate a meal, and she wanted his life.
However, dinner was made up for them again. When the meal was over, Zhao'er boiled water for them to wash and took out a few new beddings that she had just made this year, while she went to the third room to sleep with Xue Tao'er.
Looking at the back of Zhao'er leaving, Xue Tingxiang had the urge to beat a few people out.