The later it gets, the louder the firecrackers outside.

By nightfall, the sound of firecrackers continued incessantly.

Countrymen will not be stingy with firecrackers during the New Year, even the poor families at home will buy two firecrackers to meet the occasion, but setting off fireworks is a thing only for the rich families in the town. The fireworks of Chen Xuejiao's house are the first time in the entire Maoshan Village, not only the children crowded into the courtyard of Chen Xuejiao's house to watch, but even the adults joined in the excitement to watch, and even those who climbed the wall and looked up at the sky.

The whole mountain village was boiling, and Li was mixing dumpling stuffing in the house, looking outside, lowering his head and pursing his mouth, happy in his heart.

Now their family is a first-class wealthy family in the village, and she is happy to be able to bring joy to the village.

In previous years, the days were immersed in the sympathetic eyes of the villagers, but now they are in the envious eyes of the villagers. It would be false to say that he doesn't care about the opinions of outsiders, Li is now full of honey flowers in his heart every day, and he is justified in walking in the village, and now that the New Year is over, the family is so lively, and his heart is more and more happy.

The fireworks dispersed, and when it was time to hold the lights, the people in the courtyard gradually dispersed.

Chen Xuejiao was in the dense light and saw Old Man Chen standing under the eaves of the upper house.

Old Man Chen was wrapped in thick cotton clothes, wearing a thick felt hat, twitching bags under his eyes, and the brim of the hat was pressed very low, so that he couldn't see his expression clearly.

At this time, Old Man Chen must not have a taste in his heart, Chen Xuejiao thought.

Old man Chen has always been proud of his many sons, this year's New Year, the big house was divided into a single one, the second and fourth hid in Xuzhou Mansion and did not come back, even his grandson Chen Qilin, who has always been distressed and proud, did not go home for a reunion dinner. Any era. Relatives pay attention to Spring Festival reunions, not to mention that in ancient times, when the ritual clan was the strictest, children and grandchildren did not reunite with the upper room. This blow to Old Man Chen was fatal.

What's more, Old Man Chen is a good-looking person, and he can't hide this matter even if he wants to.

Just now, when the people in the village came to Chen Xuejiao's house to watch the fireworks, some of them were quick or unaware, chasing after Old Man Chen and asking why Chen Zichang and Chen Zigui didn't come this year.

“…… Busy in town. Qi Lin is heavy in his studies, or I said, the road is far and snowy. It doesn't matter if you come or not. Old Man Chen's answer was repeated over and over again.

This is just rhetoric, and it is very pale, I am afraid that even Old Man Chen himself does not believe it, let alone outsiders. It's not like no one in the village is working part-time outside the village. There is Xuzhou Mansion. There are also places to go farther, as early as the middle of the month, everyone rushed back for the New Year.

If Chen Zichang and Chen Zigui wanted to come back, they would have come back long ago.

Xuzhou Mansion eats the New Year dinner at noon on the Chinese New Year's Eve, and the Dafang family has already expressed their stance that they will not go to the room to eat the New Year dinner alone this year.

Chen Xiucai also knew that this decision was difficult for Chen Laiyezi to accept, so he took a step back. said that on a day in the first month, the upper room, the big room, and the upper room will have a reunion dinner together.

Old Man Chen saw that the Dafang family was so resolute. So I agreed.

Today, at noon, Chen Xuejiao's family had a reunion dinner at their home for the first time, and the Li family also invited the tablet of Chen Xiucai's mother-in-law, Liu, to the table, and put it on the top of the dining table, and also put aside the dishes, chopsticks and wine glasses.

When Chen Xiucai saw it, tears flowed out.

In recent years, this is the first time that Liu's tablet is placed on the top when eating the New Year's dinner. The wine glass in front of the Li tablet was filled with wine, and Chen Xiucai took the children to salute his mother.

As soon as he finished the salute, Old Man Chen came uninvited.

It's not that Chen Xuejiao's family deliberately didn't invite Old Man Chen, but they knew Mrs. Chen's temperament, if they really invited Old Man Chen to have a New Year's dinner, Old Mrs. Chen would make a fuss, and I am afraid that the happy atmosphere of the New Year would be ruined.

Therefore, Chen Xuejiao's family discussed it and did not invite Mr. Chen.

After Old Man Chen came in, everyone let him go to the top, he stared at Liu's tablet, his face was calm, he drank a glass of wine, did not eat food, and got up to leave.

Chen Xuejiao noticed that his steps were messy on the snow in the yard.

Old Man Chen went to accompany the big house to have a New Year's dinner, and the entire Chen family compound saw it, but for some reason, Old Mrs. Chen didn't make a fuss.

Old Man Chen suddenly raised his head, and his eyes were lonely.

Just this evening, Chen Xuejiao found that Old Man Chen had gone to the entrance of the village, and he must have hoped that the second and fourth sons would come back from Xuzhou Mansion.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

"Let's start making dumplings!" Chen Qiping ran in and out happily, pulling Chen Xuejiao's sleeve, "Sister, come and make dumplings." ”

The custom of Xuzhou Mansion for the New Year, on the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, dumplings should be eaten to celebrate the New Year, and the whole family should make dumplings together.

"Hey, here we are." Chen Xuejiao agreed, and when she looked up, she found that Old Man Chen had already entered the upper room.

Everyone attaches great importance to dumplings at the age of Chinese New Year's Eve, not only to make them together as a family, but also to wrap a few dumplings with copper money, and whoever is the first to eat dumplings with copper money will have good luck in the coming year.

Li Shi has already taken Chen Xueru and Jing Hao to mix the stuffing. Lee's dumpling stuffing is particularly fragrant, especially when it comes to the Chinese New Year, as early as noon just after the New Year's dinner, Li scrubbed the cutting board and chopped the filling.

This year, several kinds of stuffing have been prepared, including pork filling, beef filling, mutton filling, and even more rare is the fresh shrimp filling, which is chopped with fine green onion and ginger, sprinkled with peppercorn noodles, dripping with sesame oil, and smelling fragrant.

Because Gu Siyuan and they kept the New Year together, Li also deliberately chopped a big bowl of vegetarian dumplings, mixed them with radish, cabbage, and vermicelli, thinking that ginger was also a meat dish in Buddhist teachings, so he only separated a little green onion and sesame oil.

"Mother, I was very sad to see our master just now." Chen Xuejiao took advantage of the time to wash her hands and whispered to Li.

"Yes, I don't think your father feels good about it." Li glanced at Chen Xiucai out of the corner of his eye, lest he hear it.

"I just want to tell you about this, in case you and your father are soft-hearted and go to the house to keep the New Year, what we did before will be in vain." Chen Xuejiao analyzed for Li, "A large part of the reason why my father is sad is because the second and fourth uncles have not come back, if they come back." If our family doesn't go to the room to eat the reunion dinner, it won't make me sad at all. ”

"That's right." Li nodded, Old Man Chen was worried about Chen Xiucai in his heart, but it was not as important as the second and fourth children in his heart. "Your dad knows that we're going to have to move out sooner or later, and if it weren't for the fact that the house in town hadn't been renovated, we'd be over there this year. Don't worry, your father and I won't go to the house to keep the New Year, it's already been said, how to change it? ”

Chen Xuejiao was waiting for this sentence.

The mother washed her hands. Li picked up the basin and flicked the noodles, and Chen Qi'an was carrying a stone to place a large table in the center of the room. A charcoal brazier sits next to the leg of the table.

The whole house was warm.

Chen Xuejiao raised her head and saw Gu Siyuan standing crampedly on the side, so she smiled and said to him, "Stay a minute, you will also make dumplings with us." ”

Shi brought several chairs and put them next to the table, Chen Xueru brought a thick cotton cushion from the room and spread it on it, and deliberately put the latest one on Gu Siyuan's chair.

Li greeted. Everyone sat around the table and made dumplings.

Lee's rolling. Everybody pack. Although the custom is that adults and children have to make dumplings, but in Maoshan Village, ordinary men will not be contaminated with women's work, and even dumplings in Chinese New Year's Eve are no exception, but Chen Xuejiao's family is different, whether it is Chen Qi'an or Chen Xiucai, they will make dumplings with Chen Xuejiao.

Where will the son who came out of Gu Siyuan's mansion wrap it, I saw him pinching his skin in embarrassment. The filling was exposed, and the flour was sprinkled on the clothes. Because of nervousness, he raised his hand and wiped his face, and now the flour was pasted on his face, which was very funny.

provoked Chen Qiping laughed.

"Hurry up and get water and wash, you just sit and watch." Li said to Gu Siyuan with a smile.

Where is Gu Siyuan, everyone is making dumplings, just he is sitting alone, how embarrassing. Besides, he has never made dumplings, and although he has revealed the filling of his hand, he only finds it novel and interesting in his heart.

"Come, I'll teach you." Chen Xuejiao said happily, took a dumpling wrapper and put it in his hand, and put the bowl of vegetarian dumplings in front of him, "It's okay, anyway, you eat it yourself if you don't wrap it well." ”

Li glanced at Chen Xuejiao.

Gu Siyuan is extremely serious about learning, Chen Xuejiao taught him one by one: "Don't put too much stuffing in it, curl the palm slightly, fold the dough in half, pinch the fingers hard, pinch the outer circle, not pinch the stuffing......"

Under Chen Xuejiao's command, Gu Siyuan wrapped a dumpling out, although it was ugly and collapsed on the table, but it was not exposed.

Chen Xuejiao gave him a thumbs up.

There was still fine snow outside, and the house was as warm as spring, and everyone was making dumplings and talking about interesting things, laughing from time to time.

The red lanterns under the eaves reflected a warm light, and the windows were newly pasted with lifelike window flowers, accompanied by the laughter and laughter in the house, Gu Siyuan felt that it was the happiest time after losing his mother, and such a lively New Year was the first time.

A family as big as the Gu family, coupled with the fact that it is the maiden family of the current Queen Mother, the pomp and circumstance of the New Year is bigger than that of ordinary wealthy families. Every year, three of them are invited to the light opera troupe, dozens of fireworks and firecrackers are lifted, all the flowers and trees are wrapped in red silk, and all the corridors are hung with red lanterns under the eaves, and the whole house is a mess.

But he only felt that it was not enough, every year he was eating, drinking and listening to the play, everyone gathered together, and the dishes on the table were unusually rich, but every time he ate it, it was cold in his mouth, and there was no taste at all.

They also eat dumplings, but they don't wrap them themselves, but they wrap them in the big kitchen and serve them, and they put them on the plates in front of them.

At this time, he was sitting in a simple farmhouse making dumplings, and such a living life of Chinese New Year's Eve was something he had never dared to think of.

The dumplings were wrapped, and Li took them to the pot house to cook, and here Chen Xuejiao was with Jinghao, Xueru mixed vinegar and sauce.

When the dumplings were cooked, Li took out three bowls of mutton dumplings, put them in a food box, and ordered the stone to be brought to Master Qin.

Master Qin likes to eat mutton dumplings, and every year on the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, Li will personally wrap them for him and send them over.

Immediately afterwards, Li Shi served two large bowls and asked Chen Qi'an to serve them to the upper room.

After all the dumplings were cooked, Li took Chen Xuejiao, Chen Xueru, and Jing Hao to bring the dumplings into the north wing one by one. Chen Xuejiao put the seasoning plates on the table again, Chen Xueru placed the dishes and chopsticks, and when they were all served, everyone sat around and ate dumplings.

Li deliberately placed the vegetarian dumplings beside Gu Siyuan.

Gu Siyuan ate a few in a row, and suddenly gritted his teeth, and a copper coin came out.

Chen Xuejiao's family looked at him with a smile, and Chen Qiping was the first to clap his hands and cheer: "Brother Siyuan has the best luck, congratulations, the coming year will be smooth." “

Everyone smiled together and congratulated Gu Siyuan.

Gu Siyuan also looked at everyone with a smile, he knew that this was a copper coin that Chen Xuejiao deliberately put on him, because this bowl of dumplings was wrapped by him, and it looked very ugly, in fact, one of them was pinched lace, it must have been Chen Xuejiao who taught him to make dumplings, and put it in while he was not paying attention.

Immediately afterwards, Li and Chen Xiucai also ate dumplings wrapped in copper coins, and finally everyone ate them, everyone was very happy, and the words of congratulations to each other kept ringing.

Gu Siyuan was a little stunned, he didn't expect that eating dumplings would be able to eat so many tricks.

After eating the dumplings, it was time for the child, and everyone was not sleepy at all, because there was another important thing, that is, to keep the New Year.

Removed the dishes and chopsticks, wiped the table, Chen Xuejiao, Chen Xueru, and Jing Hao put melons, fruits, pears and dates on the table. In order to please the mouth, the food placed is particular. There is a plate of jujubes, which means that spring comes early, a plate of persimmons represents everything going well, and a plate of almonds is a happy person to eat.

These fruits were specially purchased by the Han family when they gave New Year's gifts, and they were all of the highest quality.

In addition, there are also placed Fu orange cakes, honey three knives, croissant honey, rose cakes, melon seeds, peanuts and other food, Li is afraid that everyone will be thirsty when eating these things, so he specially gas the stove and boiled a large pot of hot tea.

As soon as it was placed, Chen Qiping picked up the largest almond and handed it to Gu Siyuan: "Give it to you, you will be a happy person if you eat it." “

Gu Siyuan only felt that the folk New Year's customs were interesting, so he took it and ate it, and his face showed real joy: "Okay, if you eat it, you will be a happy person." ”

Li was only worried that Gu Siyuan would not be able to bear it, so he smiled and said to him: "If you can't stay up, go to Qi'an's house to rest." ”

Gu Siyuan smiled and said, "Auntie, I also had to keep the New Year in previous years. ”

Everyone sat around to listen to Chen Xiucai talk about the past and the present, and listened to Gu Siyuan's scenery and experience all the way from Beijing to Xuzhou Mansion.

Before you know it, it's time for the rooster to crow. After the first rooster crow, the second round of firecrackers began in the village, and Chen Xuejiao's house was setting off artillery battles outside.

When the sound of firecrackers in the village gradually calmed down, Chen Xuejiao's family said happy New Year to each other, and the fruit and melon seed shells on the table were not cleaned up, so they rested separately. (To be continued......)