On the eighth day of the first month of the twentieth year of Dading, the sky is clear like washed by water, the sun hangs on the east side of the mountain, although the north wind is smaller than yesterday, but the temperature is still very low, as the saying goes, there are clouds, "Laqi Laba freezes off the chin". Even if there is a sun, you can't go out.

Before dawn in the morning, Situ Yan got up and prepared eight kinds of dried fruits and grains to be used for the Laba Festival. Put the things in a bowl and serve them on the kang table. When Li Dalang came back with his younger brothers to fight and washed his hands, he began to worship incense. The Laba Festival is dedicated to the god of the Eight Grains in order to pray for good weather and a good harvest of grains in the coming year.

Situ Yan took advantage of this time to go into the stove room to make laba garlic, put the peeled garlic cloves into a small jar, then poured vinegar, sealed the mouth and found a cool place in the stove room of the inverted room and stored it. This will not be considered until the garlic is soaked in jade jasper.

After Li Dalang and their sacrifices, they boiled enough glutinous rice, japonica rice, corn, red beans, mung beans, longan, pine nuts, red dates, eight kinds of dried fruits and grains together for nearly an hour.

"Xiao Wu, it's so fragrant, shall we eat this in the morning?" Shiro stared at the iron pot with his mouth smacked, wiping his saliva with his sleeve, looking greedy, which made Situ Yan smile and bend over.

"Yes, but I'll have to wait a little longer to get it, or Fourth Brother, you can taste it first!" Shiro was embarrassed by Xiaomei's words, but turned around and ran out of the stove room.

"Third brother, call the eldest brother and the second brother, and send some of these eight-treasure porridge to the people in the village."

"Okay" Saburo answered and walked out of the stove room. Situ Yan filled a small bowl for each of the Mura Zheng family, Li Aniu's family, Li Si's family, and Liangzi's family, and there were not many things, all of them were one mind.

When sending Li Dalang a few people out, he smelled a firewood mixed with the smell of rice from a distance, and it seemed that the people in this village had cooked Laba porridge, and told the four people to be careful of the basket, so they turned around and entered the courtyard, went to the stove room and put the porridge out in a casserole and put it on the kang table in the hall to warm it, waiting for a few people to come back and eat together.

The village Zheng's family just set up a table to have breakfast at this time, and took the porridge sent by Li Dalang, and Aunt Fu also sent back a bowl of Laba porridge cooked by herself, and then turned back to the main room.

Holding things and placing them on the kang table, he was amazed, "Ouch, just smelling this smell is fragrant, I don't know how this girl made it?" Daddy, try it. ”

"Well, it tastes good. Eldest daughter-in-law, divide this up and let the children follow suit. The old village was sitting on the kang, beating the cigarette bag and pot, and at the same time telling the eldest son's family to give the porridge to everyone in the house to taste.

"Dad, this porridge looks fragrant, and there aren't many of it, so you should eat it all the time, I'll just eat this." Thinking that the old people are old, they can eat some good food, and they, the younger generations, just eat their own cooking. Anyway, this porridge is just for a scene.

"What the little lamb said is true, you can eat this porridge!" Muramasa also felt that what his daughter-in-law said was reasonable.

Li Wangcai served his service, and Aunt Fu specially brought his daughter-in-law and children to celebrate the festival today. The rich daughter-in-law looked at the porridge in front of the old man with a disapproving face. Secretly angry with this sister-in-law in her heart, she muttered in a low voice, "You will be courteous." She looked at the porridge and remembered it, and now she listened to her sister-in-law's meaning, and she was not happy in her heart, and her face was revealed.

Lao Cunzheng glanced at the two daughters-in-law, and then looked at his granddaughter Orchid who was staring at the porridge with her neck stretched, and sighed secretly, "I have a handful of old bones, I haven't eaten anything, it's rare to have these delicious foods, give the babies a share of the fresh, just listen to me." Lao Cunzheng can see that the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law, as well as the two grandsons, are very filial, but at this time, the second daughter-in-law and her grandchildren are also celebrating the festival together in the house.

Aunt Fu saw that her father-in-law insisted, so she brought the porridge to the children and boiled it in a spoonful, and the family began to eat.

Aunt Niu's family has a simple population, only she and Shan Wazi, and at this time the two of them ate the porridge separately, and the mountain baby ate a mouthful, and did not forget to shout "delicious".

The fourth aunt's family also has a large population, but the father-in-law is sick and weak, and the old man can't even drink half a bowl of porridge on weekdays. This sickness is most afraid of not eating or drinking, as long as you can still eat, people will not have an accident. She was afraid that Li Si would not be at home, if this father-in-law was gone, she would not be able to explain when the head of the family came back. And her younger siblings are resting in the house at this time, and they don't know that Da Lang and they are bringing porridge, and they can save themselves from making trouble.

Liangzi's porridge was all given to Liangzi's daughter-in-law, and she naturally had to choose a good one to eat when she was pregnant.

When the four brothers came back from outside, the family gathered around to drink porridge for the festival.

"It's so fragrant, it looks different from what Aunt Fu gave?" It was the first time that Li Dalang had drunk laba porridge when he was so old, although the Cao family had also done it before, but only Li Zhaocai could eat it, and he and his younger brothers could only watch.

"There are pine nuts, longan, and red dates in it, so it's not the same as Aunt Fu'er, and the taste is better. The aunts gave more of the slag of millet and bud grains, and there were few things to put in, so the taste was different, but it was also delicious. Situ Yan didn't want to flaunt that what she made was delicious, after all, her own ingredients were better than others, and she didn't want the four brothers to go out and talk nonsense, hurting other people's face.

"I still think that Xiao Wu is the most fragrant and sweetest cooked, and I just ate a bite of it from my aunts." Li Erlang's words rushed out of his mouth, and after saying it, he realized that everyone was looking at him and laughing, scratching his head embarrassedly, and bowing his head to drink porridge.

"Second child, you can't steal food in the future. Didn't the book say, 'At the beginning of people, the nature is good, the sex is similar, and the habits are far away'" Li Dalang just learned the "Three Character Classic", and then he quoted the teaching of the scriptures. Now that life is good, some bad habits have to be changed.

Situ Yan felt that it was okay, she ate from her own family and not from someone else's, but Da Lang was the head of the family, and he could teach his younger brother the rules from the book, and she couldn't refute his face. If this person has no faith, he will not stand, and his prestige as the head of the family is still very important.

After breakfast, Da Lang took his younger brothers to the west to continue studying, Situ Yan returned to the east to continue to struggle with needlework and fabrics, Wu Jin's clothes and Li Dalang's padded jackets were not ready.

At lunchtime, the five families who helped cut the window flowers also sent Laba porridge over, and Situ Yan put some gifts from Aunt Fu as a return gift, after all, these families are currently only in a relationship with her to be hired and employed, and they are not close.

In addition to these families, there was also a family that came to the door, which made Situ Yan very surprised, looking at Li and his daughter-in-law who were sitting on the kang and chatting with her, Situ Yan sounded the alarm bell in her heart, this is nothing to be courteous, either a traitor or a thief. There is a ball of harmony on his face, but he is playing Tai Chi and dilute mud inside and outside the words.

"Xiao Wu, you see that my aunt has no other meaning to come this time, it is just that it is not easy to see that you have a few babies, there is not even an adult in the family during the New Year's Festival, and today it is Laba, I want to send some Laba porridge for you to taste." Li and his daughter-in-law chatted with Situ Yan while looking into the west room. He had just seen that it was the house that Da Lang had just entered.

"Thank you, auntie, I'm welcome, my eldest brother sacrificed to the god of eight grains early this morning, and the family also made 'Laba porridge', and my aunt will bring a bowl back to taste it later."

"Ouch, Da Lang is really capable, I like it when I look at it. You said that there is no adult in this family, and Da Lang is about to win the crown, I'm afraid that this marriage will be delayed? ”

Situ Yan listened to it for a long time, and finally understood the purpose of coming with her aunt. This and my aunt's family have a daughter, who is 13 this year, and will be married in two years, this is because I have a crush on Li Dalang and want to get married.

"What my aunt said is true, but the situation in my family, my aunt also knows, as long as two rooms can live in people, there is not even a piece of land in the family now, I am afraid that the eldest brother's marriage will be delayed for another two years, and when the days are good, then cover the wings of that thing!"

Li and his daughter-in-law were a little uncomfortable talking about these things with a six-year-old baby, but she waited for a long time, and she didn't see Li Dalang come out to greet the guests, so she mentioned it, but seeing that Situ Yan was not interested in marrying their family, she felt a little unhappy.

She also saw that Li Dalang's clothes and food were different from before these days, and even the people were clean and fat, and she knew that Situ Yan was from the city, and she probably had money to spare, and she was willing to give flowers to these four brothers, so she was moved and inquired about Li Dalang carefully.

I learned from the villagers that although these babies are not big, they have the right idea, and every time they catch a big market, they go to the county to set up stalls to sell things, and the days are getting more and more prosperous. And she has a lot of children in her family, and the head of the family went to serve again, if she can tell her daughter to Li Dalang, that is, in a village, she can help the family on weekdays, and she can get some dowry, so she is cheeky and goes to the door by herself. Now that she was slapped in the face, she naturally didn't like it in her heart, but Situ Yan was right, even if she wanted to say goodbye, there was no place to live in this house, thinking that she would wait for her to come back, so she politely went home.

Situ Yan sent away with her aunt, and before she could enter the house, she saw Li Dalang rushing out of the western room, "I don't get married." If there is such a thing in the future, the person will be driven away directly. ”

Situ Yan saw Li Dalang's eyes glaring, her face was red with anger and she was a little funny, this is a good thing to say that it is a good thing, she is still happy to have someone come to the door, she didn't expect Li Dalang to react so much. "Big brother, I know in my heart, this family is to be discussed, but I also have to wait for the family to live better. ……”

Before Situ Yan could finish speaking, Li Dalang yelled, "I can't get married." "I pushed the door and ran out of the house. Situ Yan was yelled at, and Erlang thought that the eldest brother and the younger sister had quarreled, so they all came out to persuade him.

Before a few people came back to their senses, Li Dalang ran back again, "Xiao Wu, I'm not murdering you, I've only had a good life in this family for a few days, and these people are worried about it, I just don't want to get married." Don't be angry. ”

Situ Yan is not in a hurry when she thinks about this, in her previous life, she only graduated from junior high school at the age of 15, let alone getting married, even if she finds a partner, she will be said to be a young love. So she didn't want Li Dalang to find one so early, and they couldn't take care of the children themselves, and living together was not a family wine.

"Okay, big brother, I wrote it down. It's cold outside, don't run out anymore, let's talk about something at home. The two chatted for a while, and the matter was over.

No one in the village knew about it, and the days were quiet and peaceful, but in the evening, a group of ragged people, carrying quilts on their backs and carrying two stretchers, walked into the village and completely shattered this tranquility.