Because she was busy with Erjin's funeral first, and then Xu's premature birth, Du Mei was busy looking for rations for her brother like a spinning top all day long. Then something happened that caused her to leave the year behind.

Dusting, cleaning, dismantling and washing bedding, killing pigs, grinding tofu, steaming steamed buns, making dumplings, and even making Chinese New Year's Eve rice...... None of this is anything that does not involve Dumay. Du Mei had no choice but to pack up what he had in his dreams first, prioritize all kinds of messy things, and do them in an orderly manner.

Dusting and cleaning, each room is busy with its own furniture. But the kitchen, the hall, the firewood room, the mill, the cowshed and all the lower rooms are the scope of Du Mei's sisters' labor, Du Shicheng is not in good health, and Wei is not in the mood to stare at the work of his daughters-in-law and granddaughters. In short, what the big house and three rooms don't do are the work of the girls in the second room.

Xie only cares about the dressing and grinding of shoes for his family of four on weekdays, sewing and washing. She was afraid of dirty, and when she dusted the dust, she wrapped herself like a dumpling, and when she did something, she screamed that her back hurt and her arms were sore.

Sanjin likes Xie's coquettishness and touching, so naturally she is reluctant to be affected, and she is not allowed to do anything other than what she must do in her own house. Du Xing can't do rough hands through embroidery, and his fingers don't touch the spring water.

Dajin doesn't have the same pity and pity as his third brother, but their family is hurt, and the Zhou family uses the excuse that his heart hurts, and he is still making do so in his house, let alone doing anything else.

The eldest aunt and the third aunt all thought of a way to steal and cheat, and only the four sisters of Du Mei were suffering. Du Mei went to his own mountain forest to cut some wild bamboo, and the leaves of the bamboo in winter were all falling, leaving only some branches.

She tied the wild bamboo to a long pole and swept the dust from the roof and the cobwebs from the corners of the walls with a swift movement, Du Gui followed to sweep away the fallen dirt and clean the corners, and Du Ying and Du Tao wiped all the tables, chairs, benches, doors and windows. The four sisters worked together, and they were happy, and after one day's work, the Du family became bright and clean, and even the blue brick floor in the hall was brushed.

Ketian Qian'er is a matter of the three boys in the big house every year, and this year the second King Kong passed away, and the second room is not sticking to the red Spring Festival couplets and Tianqian within three years. In the first year of this year, nothing can be posted.

In previous years, the three brothers played around and did this job, but this year Du Zhu's foot was injured, and Du Zhu's face was injured, so Du Zhu had to do it alone.

It's just that the day is a meticulous job. A whole piece of red paper was cut into several rectangles of the same size, and twenty sheets were fixed in a bundle, and the painted patterns were covered with flowers, birds, insects, and fish, as well as corresponding auspicious words. For example, a big carp must be matched every year, rich and auspicious, and naturally painted with peony flowers.

In the past, these patterns were drawn by Xu with charcoal, but now that she is in confinement, Wei has no heart to take care of this. Since Dafang stole chicken soup, the four sisters have the same hatred and hatred, and they don't have a good face for Dafang, and Du Xuan doesn't have the face to come to the second room to ask for it.

Early in the morning, Du Xuan counted the days, and there were still three days before the New Year, so he had to fix the cut red paper on the wooden board where the money had been carved in previous years, thinking about whether to let his mother ask his grandmother.

Xu is used to doing it every year, although she is in mourning and confinement this year, she still took advantage of the juniper sleep to draw three different patterns.

Du Mei came in to deliver breakfast, and Xu said, "Meizi, after a while, you will give the tricks to your cousins." ”

"Mother, why are you looking for your own guilt, grandma didn't force you." In order not to block the Xu family, Du Mei did not tell her mother about Dafang stealing chicken soup.

"Your grandma takes care of grandpa every day, where can you take care of these little things? If I don't paint, they will naturally have nowhere to go, and then we will only look stingy, and it will be the Du family that is ugly, and it will also bring the reputation of your sisters. Xu patiently explained.

"Okay." What the mother said was not entirely unreasonable, and Du Mei had to agree.

"How is your grandfather's health?" Du Shicheng coughed every night, and even Xu, who had been staying in the house, heard that something was wrong.

"I asked Dr. Zhong, and he said that Grandpa smoked too much, coupled with the dryness in winter, lung fever, and cough attack, he would be fine by taking a few pairs of medicines." Du Mei saw Zhong Yu coming today, and asked carefully.

"Meizi, you make some soft food in the kitchen for your grandfather, he is still very good to you. It should be filial piety for your father. Xu Shi said the back, and his eyes turned red again.

Seeing this, Du Mei hurriedly stopped talking. Sending Xu to dinner, Du Mei hugged Juniper and playfully teased. Seeing that their sister and brother were in harmony, Xu's mood eased a little.

"Humph!" Du Mei took three patterns and slapped them on the side of the bowl where Du Bolt was eating.

Du Xuan looked at it, didn't say a word, picked it up, and received it in his pocket.

"What's the spirit? I didn't finish the painting until now, and I wasted my time! "Where has Zhou's eaten such deflated, let alone seen her son deflated, she is like a lit cannonball, beeping and horn began to explode.

"If you have the ability, you can draw it yourself, don't just wait to pick a ready-made one." Du Mei didn't want her mother to work hard, but now her kindness is not rewarded, and she said angrily.

Zhou is a young woman at home, and she is not very proficient in female popularity. The clothes and shoes and socks of the four seasons are all arranged by the old lady to be made by the sisters-in-law. married into the Du family, sewed clothes for Dajin with thick needles and marijuana, and was often scolded by Wei. When the three children were young, they often mourned for their sister-in-law or Xu's help. Therefore, the female red is a reverse scale of the Zhou family, and it is absolutely impossible to mention.

"You...... Looking for a ......" Zhou was so blocked by Du Mei that he couldn't take a breath, and his face was red.

"Why don't you think this house is messy enough?" Wei sent back the soup bowl where Du Shicheng drank medicine, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw that Zhou was about to go crazy, and scolded him.

Wei Shicheng served Du Shicheng untiedly, after all, he was old, but in a few days, his face was sallow, he had lost a lot of weight, and his face was even more relaxed.

Zhou consciously closed his mouth. After eating, Du Xuan went to the yard to carve the money without stopping, and the small hammer struck the small chisel, clanging and clanging.

After lunch, Butcher Zhang came with a mule cart, he was a stout man with five big shoulders and a round waist. His real name is Zhang Zhaokui, although he is a foreigner, but he has lived in Dujiagou for 20 years, and he sells meat for a living, the price is fair, and he is not bullied. The people in the village didn't treat him as an outsider, so they called him Butcher Zhang.

Butcher Zhang unloaded a long waist basin from the cart and placed a hemp rope with roots as thick as a baby's arm on the edge of the basin. In addition, he carried a small wooden barrel containing various knives.

Dumay drove the mule cart aside, grabbed a handful of hay for the cows, and let the mules chew slowly. Du Gui boiled water in the kitchen. Du Tao placed two benches side by side in the yard closest to the well. Du Ying found the basin in the kitchen, put some water and salt, and prepared to catch the pig's blood.

The pigs hadn't been fed since last night, and they were so hungry that they were grunting. Butcher Zhang didn't want anyone to help him catch the pig, holding the pig's ears with both hands, his arms seemed to have a thousand strengths, and the pig fell down directly with just one twist. He bent down, took the pig's front and back legs, and put the pig, which was struggling desperately, onto the bench.

He controlled the squearing pig with one leg, and as soon as he reached out from the bucket, he pulled out the cold, thin-bladed pig-killing knife and took it in his mouth.

"Basin!" He didn't say much, but he was concise and to the point.

"Whoa." Du Ying hurriedly put the basin in the place he designated.

I saw Butcher Zhang wrenching the pig's head with both hands, saying that it was too late and that it was fast, and the knife fell in his hand.

Poof, hot blood sprayed into the basin like a column.

Villagers raise pigs, even if they keep them for the New Year, they kill and eat meat, and there is no taboo about killing or not killing. There are many people around the courtyard of the Du family, and there are not only children who come to see the pig killing, but also some idle people, who see the end from the beginning to the end, and secretly compare which family's pig is fat and which family's meat is better. It's as if Butcher Zhang is not killing pigs, but juggling. The Lord's house will not be disturbed, but will open the door for people to see.

The Dumei sisters poured all the two large pots of water into the long waist basin, and Butcher Zhang tested the temperature of the water, put down the thick hemp rope, and only put the two ends on the edges of both sides of the basin, and he easily threw more than 100 catties of pigs into the basin.

Immediately afterwards, the first climax of killing pigs came, and I saw Butcher Zhang grasping the ends of the hemp rope with both hands, leaning back slightly, rhythmically dragging alternately, as if dancing a powerful dance.

The pig's body is stirring in the water, from the pig's head to the pig's tail, like a bath. The actual is similar to the bath, but the hemp rope is rubbed with pig ~ hair. In the continuous impact, sewage mixed with pig~ hair splashed everywhere.

It is now the cold winter wax moon, and the people who watch the excitement are wearing cotton clothes and holding their hands, but Butcher Zhang is only wearing a short coat, sweating all over his head, and he is steaming white.

Butcher Zhang's arm muscles are spurting, the lines are rough, the tiger head muscles on the upper arm are swollen and bulging, and more than 100 catties of pigs, under his hemp rope, are like a ball of white noodles, let him turn over and over, rub ~ at will.

After adding hot water a few times, half an hour later, the pig's hair had faded, and Butcher Zhang took a wooden plank from the mule cart and put it on a bench. took the bare pig out as a white beauty, rested it on the wooden board, and scooped a few scoops of well water to wash the pig clean.

Butcher Zhang cut a pig's foot, leaned his head to blow air, tied the broken ~ place with a rope, and did the four feet in turn, at this time the pig swelled up like a balloon, looking at 300 catties. This is the second climax of Zhang's juggling.

Butcher Zhang scraped the pig's bulging skin with a knife. The spatula is extremely sharp, blowing and breaking hair, leaving nothing behind. When the knife passed, Butcher Zhang also stroked it with his hand to confirm that there was no hair left. After pouring water and washing it a few more times, he untied the ropes on his four hooves, and 300 catties retracted back to more than 100 catties.

"Ladder." Butcher Zhang still cherishes words like gold.

Du Shuan hurriedly put the ladder at home under the eaves of the kitchen, and Butcher Zhang easily hung the pig up.

At this time, his son Zhang Hongtai came from the first family with a wheelbarrow, and the father and son looked almost carved out of a mold. Xiao Zhang is completely inherited from his father.

Lao Zhang sat down to smoke and drink tea, and the rest of the work was Xiao Zhang's.

Soon, two hot red meats were placed on the cutting board.

"Uncle Du, look, how do you divide the meat?" Butcher Zhang took his son's knife and asked.

At this time, it is natural to be the master of the family.

"First cut the flesh of the folks." Du Shicheng stood by the board and looked at the meat with satisfaction.

Wei had previously cut five ribs at his sister-in-law's house to make bacon, and now he naturally has to pay it back. and the day before yesterday, the Fang family's also returned. Seeing the excitement of the crowd, the crowd was in a commotion, pushing and shoving, but no one stepped forward to cut the meat. This made Du Shicheng's old face unbearable, you know, last year, his family's meat was divided, and his own family was almost not enough.

Looking at Du Shicheng's Tie Qing's face, Butcher Zhang turned his head to look at Wei.

"Sell one to you, and keep the rest." Wei also knew that the villagers didn't want his family's meat, one was that the family had just had two gold, and the other was that the gold was in trouble.

Du Shicheng went back to the house, and Butcher Zhang cut the meat retained by the Du family into large pieces and divided it, weighed a whole fan of meat, and handed it to Wei. He piled the meat in his son's wheelbarrow, and then packed up his fellows and prepared them for the next house.

Xiao Zhang handled the pigs with his hands and feet.

Watch the lively crowd surround Zhang Butcher, and rush to the next house to continue watching.

The water vapor in the kitchen was steaming, and Du Mei coagulated the pig's blood into the water into large pieces, and then changed the knife to keep it in a pot.

After a while, Xiao Zhang cleared the basket into the water and pushed the cart away.

The excitement of more than an hour has vanished. Only a yard of blood and water was left dirty, waiting for the Dumei sisters to clean up.