Li cut the meat into long strips, strung them with hemp rope, and hung them under the eaves with garlic, corn, and red peppers, showing a flourishing style.

A basin of pig blood is poured into a blood sausage. This blood sausage was not originally a product of Xuzhou Mansion, but the old man Li was selling horses outside when he was young, stayed in Kanto for two years, learned how to do it, and came to the house to teach Mrs. Li, and Mrs. Li taught it to the Li family. When the weather is cold and the ground is freezing, cut a bunch down, with onions, garlic and ginger, chop large pieces of Chinese cabbage, hot oil, throw it in the pot and grunt together, a bowl to warm the heart and lungs.

Li's side was filled with blood sausages, Chen Xueru took Jing Hao and Xue Jiao to refine half a pot of pork fat an inch thick into half a pot of oil, filled three jars of oil jars, and the oil residue fished out was intended to make dumplings.

Chen Xuejiao likes to eat lard residue, so she went halfway down the plate, and the corners of her mouth were full of oil.

It's such a happy day.

The New Year is coming up in a few days, and Li has calculated that there are still a lot of things to do. Croquettes, steamed steamed buns, chopped fillings, fried noodles, oil, one by one, must be prepared, not fully prepared is not considered the New Year.

&n.; Taking advantage of today's good day, it would be a matter if you put all these things in your heart today.

Li Shi looked at the chicken, duck and fish hanging under the beams of the house, such a rich year was unimaginable before. In the past, when the family was not separated, even during the Chinese New Year, the adults and children in the big house would take some fat meat under Mrs. Chen's nose to moisten their mouths, and stretch out their chopsticks to clip an extra piece of meat on the New Year's dinner, and Mrs. Chen's eyes flew over with a swish. This is not the end, after the have to learn from the Li family, the cold day let the laundry, no hot water, no use of the yard well water, can only go to the Xiaohuai River to wash. smashed the ice, and the heavy winter coat was full of ice slag when it was carried up, and blood blisters were frozen all over the hands. The second child of the Li family was washing clothes in the Xiaohuai River that winter, and when he came home and shivered all night, the five-month-old child was gone.

As early as two days ago, the Han family, Wen Ying, the Zhao family, and Jia's sister-in-law sent New Year's gifts one after another. Lee cleaned up. prepared a few thick gifts, and asked Chen Qi'an to push the flat car to send them to each family one by one.

Because the Xianglian family next door took more care of their family on weekdays, the Li family cut a piece of hind leg meat, took a jar of lard, and ten salted duck eggs, put them in a bamboo basket, and let Xue Jiao take them and send them away.

When Xuejiao came back, there were more fruit cakes in the basket, which Grandma Xianglian had forcibly counted.

This is also the full preparation of this year's New Year's goods, and I can't send them if I want to send them in previous years.

According to the village custom, the New Year pig was killed. Invite friends and family to eat pig-killing dishes.

Mrs. Chen has always been lonely, so she was afraid that others would take advantage of her, so she only invited her mother's family and Wen Yan's family. Thinking that Wen Yan was far away, he cut half of the pork that was distributed to his own family and ordered Chen Zifu to send it.

I just gave a New Year's gift yesterday, and I went again today, what has become of it. And yesterday Chen Zifu fell into the water, and he got up early in the morning and coughed non-stop. I was reluctant to go over, and I didn't dare to say a word in front of my mother. Cai held his stomach and cried in the upper room.

Chen Zifu couldn't go, so Mrs. Chen asked Chen Zichang and Chen Zigui to go. Zhao's face turned white at that time, and he had to pass through the town to go to Wen Yan's house, in case his man was hooked up by the fox spirit Qingbi of Cuihualou, it would be a bad thing. When Chen Zichang heard that he was sending something, he didn't want to live or die, and it was a cold day. Stepping on ice and snow makes my bones hurt just thinking about it. It was Chen Zifu's turn to be even more reluctant to provoke this stubble, and the fat pork had not yet been eaten, so he had to send it out, and he was 10,000 unwilling in his heart.

Mrs. Chen sat on the kang. Gritted his teeth and scolded: "I don't have a good son." ”

Zhang stood on the side of the kang, knocking melon seeds in his mouth, stretched out his hand and wanted to take the oranges on the table, swallowed the melon seeds one by one, and then said: "Mother, just such a little meat, the big house is divided into half, and the rest is not enough for us to make a tooth sacrifice, so I gave it to Wen Yan, why don't we celebrate the New Year." ”

As soon as the words fell, Old Lady Chen's cold gaze flew to Zhang's face like a knife.

Zhang peeled a petal of orange and stuffed it into his mouth, a spirit, bit the seed, put his toothache aside, grinned and spit it out: "Who doesn't know that my mother hurts my sister, as long as my mother is willing, even if I give the whole pig to my sister, it's not too much." But the sister is now a member of the Duan family, even if she gives all the pork to the sister, how much can it get into her mouth? ”

Mrs. Chen was silent, and the words of the fourth daughter-in-law made sense. Wen Yan's life is not good, the sister-in-law above is suppressed, the mother-in-law is dedicated to protecting the eldest son, she has only two daughters in the past few years, and she has come back home to complain. If it weren't for Old Man Chen's obstruction, Old Lady Chen would have wanted to meet that old pious woman.

Zhang thought that he had persuaded his mother-in-law, and he couldn't help but be proud. Mrs. Chen glanced at her, her heart trembled with pain, and she removed the fruit plate from the table and locked it in the box. Zhang pursed his lips, shook his handkerchief and muttered: "I usually can't eat it, and I won't eat it during the New Year." ”

At this time, I heard a loud voice outside: "Sister, are you there?" ”

Old Man Chen had already greeted him: "Oh, my sister-in-law is here, and Baozhu is here, okay." ”

Mrs. Chen stood up and was about to go out, but before the curtain was opened, her sister-in-law, Mrs. Wang, had already come in, followed by Wang Baozhu and his wife.

Wang Baozhu carried four bags of fruits in his hand, two jars of burning knives and wine, and a leg of mutton, and put them on the table. Mrs. Chen looked at the red and colorful paper bag of fruits, new and new, knowing that it was newly bought, smiling and seeing her teeth, she sighed in her heart that her sister-in-law had changed her temperament, and last time she twisted her waist, and asked her nephew to send medicine and food, and this time she came back to eat pig-killing dishes at home and brought these gifts.

Usually, it's not like this, and don't even think about digging out the things at home if they are moldy and rotten.

So, the eyes that looked at my sister-in-law became more and more affectionate.

The two concubines of Zhao and Zhang served tea, and Mrs. Chen personally unlocked the lock of the bedside table, took out the fruit plate that had just been swept in from it, and beckoned her sister-in-law and nephew to eat.

Mrs. Wang unceremoniously picked up a red apple from it, clicked and bit it, and pulled Mrs. Chen's hand to climb up the house.

Qingyu poured tea for her mother-in-law in front of Mrs. Chen, and tasted it herself to test the temperature of the water before serving it to her mother-in-law. Her gesture of serving tea is good-looking, and she keeps smiling.

After taking care of her mother-in-law, Qingyu went to the big house.

Old Mrs. Chen stared at Qingyu's back and sighed: "I thought it was a person who couldn't live a life, but I didn't expect it to be a low-eyed person." ”

"That's not it, she serves my foot wash every day. Take care of the whole family. Mrs. Chen finished the apple in two bites and became proud.

There is one thing she didn't reveal, Qingyu is based on her acquaintance with Baozhu, she is not as easy to handle as the dead Wen Xiu. She has silver in her hand, and if she doesn't have a good one, she will turn her face, and she will beat her when she comes to Baozhu last time. She shouted to sue the official to reconcile and leave, so frightened that Baozhu didn't dare to say anything anymore.

On the surface, she is respectful to her mother-in-law and docile and friendly to Baozhu, but in private, she is in charge.

Li hung up the last string of blood sausages in the north wing, and Qingyu came in.

Several children were in the house, quickly got up to give up their seats, served tea and poured water, Qingyu smiled before speaking, and took Jinghao's hand to take a closer look.

Chen Xuejiao looked at her carefully. She was wearing a blue waist-cinching jacket with a large fur collar, and a pomegranate skirt of the same cyan underneath, embroidered with elegant lilies, which was a little red in the white, just like the fair and ruddy face. His hair was simply tied up, with a silver hairpin loosely inserted, and two grains of gold and rice on his ears.

She sat and talked to Li Shi, and noticed that Xue Jiao was looking at her. He smiled softly and lowered his head to open the package he was carrying.

Food, play, and clothes are all in it. She took them out one by one. Two of the four treasures of the study were given to Chen Xiucai and Chen Qi'an, food and play were given to Chen Qiping, and Li's was a bamboo and green carved silk skirt. He took out three more pleated skirts, the same azure color, embroidered with a little green plum on the top, and embroidered with colorful flowers at the corners of the skirt. Wear it and spin it around and give it to a flower fairy.

"These three pieces are for Xueru, Xuejiao, and Jing." Qingyu said with a smile.

The three girls saluted and thanked them.

Li looked at the table full of things, knowing that these things were only for the big house, and he was embarrassed: "How can you bring so many things?"

"Cousin-in-law, don't say that." Qingyu waved her hand and turned her head to laugh at Jing. "The eldest girl of our family lives in your house, and it's too late for me to thank you."

Li is a simple and kind person, and when he heard this, his heart warmed up first, and his prejudice against Qingyu Qinglou's background had long been lost.

The sun is at noon, and it is the New Year's Festival, so it is only right to hurry up and prepare lunch.

The more lively the pig killing dish, the better, Old Man Chen made a decision, and the two rooms will eat together today.

The task of cooking naturally fell on the three concubines of the Li family, the Zhang family, and the Zhao family.

Li got up to cook, and Qingyu went with him.

Although there are only three people in the Wang family, no matter how few people are, they are also Mrs. Chen's maiden family, so they have to make a big table of dishes, otherwise Mrs. Chen should say that it will scare her face.

Li originally thought that Qingyu was a ten-finger person who did not touch the spring water, but he didn't expect her to scrape fish, cut vegetables, and chop meat, which was better than Zhao and Zhang's.

The Zhao family and the Zhang family hindered the face of their good women, and they looked down on Qingyu a little, and they refused to touch the dishes that Qingyu had touched, and Qingyu didn't care, and smiled and discussed the side dishes with the Li family.

Soon, the board was full of scraped fish, piles of chopped ribs, and sliced onions, garlic and ginger. Zhao and Zhang stood and watched the tacit cooperation between Li and Qingyu, but they couldn't stand it, they couldn't smell the fishy smell, and walked out with a smoke.

Li Shi was used to it, wiped his hands, and quickly cut the sauced beef and put it on a plate.

Four big dishes, four stir-fried dishes, four cold dishes, two soups, a total of fourteen dishes are all completed by Li Shi and Qingyu.

Mrs. Chen listened to her sister-in-law say that the benefits of Qingyu came at noon, and she ate at one table, deliberately let her four daughters-in-law stand and set rules for her, and stood behind with chopsticks.

The man had a table in the hall, and Mrs. Chen and her daughters set up a table in the room, and the four daughters-in-law were standing in a formation, and Old Man Chen naturally couldn't see it.

In front of her sister-in-law, she deliberately pressed her daughter-in-law, and didn't show her mother-in-law's money, how could she show her majesty in front of her sister-in-law. The four daughters-in-law stood behind, taking turns to pick up vegetables for her.

"I don't eat these ribs, I have a toothache." When Mrs. Chen saw that Zhao had sandwiched a piece of pork ribs, she opened her mouth and taught Zhao a lesson, "I'm old, can I eat this dish?" The table is full of dishes and nothing else, but all these things that are not eaten. ”

Zhao jumped his eyebrows, if it weren't for the daily Mrs. Chen's love of eating pork ribs, where would she dare to clip it. This rib is crispy, the meat melts in the mouth, and it is not for her to eat the bones, there is nothing to eat.

Naturally, she didn't dare to say this, endured her grievances, and smiled: "It's because I didn't pay attention, and I can't eat this." ”

Zhang's sandwiched a piece of fish over, this fish Li deliberately passed the oil, wrapped it in the dough and put it into the oil pot, the thorns were all crispy, and the tofu was stewed in a casserole, which was so fragrant and fragrant.

"Give me this? This fish has a lot of bones, and it wants to stab me to death? Mrs. Chen was still not satisfied.

Zhang's drooling greedily, he didn't dare to have a hard top with his mother-in-law, swallowed his saliva and said with a smile: "What my mother said is true." ”

When she arrived at Li's place, she gave her mother-in-law a chopstick to fry spinach. Mrs. Chen loves to eat spinach every day, and she has used meat oil, which is green and fairy, not salty or light, and she can't find fault with it after chewing for a long time, and she said lightly: "There is too much oil." ”

Chen Xuejiao's fast interface: "We use our oil. ”

Old Mrs. Chen wanted to speak and stopped, and glanced at Chen Xuejiao fiercely.

Qingyu pursed her lips and smiled, gave Mrs. Wang a chopstick fish, and said, "Mother, you eat this, it's fragrant." ”

I took another chopstick and handed it to Mrs. Chen, and said with a smile: "Auntie, my mother loves me, and I naturally honor my mother." My cousins-in-law, all of them are filial to you, I think you should love them more. ”

When Mrs. Chen heard this, her eyelids jumped.

"Yes, where in the countryside in our township is there a daughter-in-law who makes rules, hurry up, let a few nieces and daughters-in-law sit down." Old Lady Wang naturally looked towards Qingyu.

Mrs. Chen was silent, pointed to the bench, and the four second daughters-in-law sat down one by one.

Li smiled gratefully at Qingyu. (To be continued......)