After Laba is the New Year, people are in a hurry, so busy that they hit the back of their heads, so that they can prepare everything needed for the New Year before the year.

On the twenty-first day of the lunar month, it was a little cold on the second day, Song Haonian pulled the cart to deliver tofu, the soles of his feet slipped, and he accidentally knocked a board of tofu in the snow, and soon froze.

When he came back, he took another piece of tofu and gave it to him, and when Lily saw that the tofu was stained with some mud, he hurriedly asked, "Did you fall?"

Song Haonian said: "I'm fine, it's a pity that this piece of tofu has to be thrown away." ”

It's okay if people are fine, Lily smiled: "You go, I have a way to this." ”

She found a knife and cut off the dirty part of the snow, leaving the good tofu that was still snow-white and clean, and put it directly in the snow to freeze. It's cold, and I'm not afraid of it breaking.

When honeycomb-shaped holes appear on the smooth surface of the tofu, the tofu is considered frozen.

In the past two days, taking advantage of the good weather, Lily cleaned up Lamei's house, dragged the bedding to the sun, and made two pots of fire in the house to warm up, so as not to come back, the house was cold, and Aunt Wang was not afraid of freezing her at her age. On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, before noon, Wang Xiaofu and Lamei took Wang Auntie, Qingsong, Wenwa and others to hire two carriages to come back, the car stopped at the door of the tofu shop first, everyone was so cold that their lips were black, Lily hurriedly welcomed people into the store to roast the fire, and brought hot soybean milk and bean curd to him

We eat.

Everyone even ate and roasted the fire, and their stomachs and bodies warmed up, which relieved their breath.

Wenwa's father and mother were working in the tofu shop, and he didn't go home, so he talked to his father and mother with a smile in the back stove. His father and mother were very happy to see that he was now very tall and full of energy.

The middle lily took a look at the back, only to see Wen Wa Niang was smiling and wiping her tears, Wen Wa smiled and said: "Don't cry, our shopkeeper said that we will be given a wage increase in the coming year, and when I earn enough money, I will also take you into the city to enjoy happiness!"

Wang Xiaofu and a few people rested for a while, and then they were about to drive home, Lily said: "I will go to your house early this morning to make a fire, this time the house should be hot, you should ventilate before entering the door, so as not to smoke charcoal." ”

Lamei agreed to go one way, and pulled Qingsong to help her, Qingsong said: "Eldest sister, you don't know, the third sister is getting more and more spicy, I don't dare to mess with her!"

"Go quickly, pack up your things, and tell your third sister to go to my house for dinner at noon. "Lily can't wait for Lamei to be spicy, people who do business, it's good to be kind and make money, if it's really weak, it will be ridden on top of your head.

Wang Xiaofu and Lamei brought back a lot of things this time, and before it was nearly noon, Lily went home to cook first, and said to the sister-in-law: "Wait for you to eat first, and it's not too late to clean up after eating." ”

Lily left home in the morning to cook a pot of rib meat on the stove, simmered over low heat, and then went home and lifted the lid to see that it was cooking until the flesh and bones were separated, and the flavor was crispy.

She fished out the bones, tore the meat and put it on a plate to dry, then cut some sausages and blood buns, and put a dozen round meatballs on another plate, that is, two or three dishes.

Strain the broth in the pot, add salt and peppercorn noodles, and it is a pot of fragrant and hot clear soup. Lily found a deep pot for cooking porridge, put it on the tin stove, and poured the clear soup into it to cook.

After preparing the meat and vegetables, cut the frozen tofu in the first two days into small pieces and put it on a plate, send some sweet potato vermicelli with warm water and put it on a plate, wash a handful of bean sprouts, and finally cut half a cabbage and work together.

When Lamei's family arrived, Lily let people into the kitchen and asked Qingsong to borrow a few stools from next door, and a few people gathered around the pot to cook and eat, which was warm and fragrant.

First under the meat, the meat has long been cooked, this time it can be eaten as soon as it is hot, Lily takes garlic, autumn oil, vinegar, garlic sprouts, minced green onions, oil and pepper powder to adjust a dipping sauce, except for Aunt Wang can not eat spicy, the others have a small bowl.

Scoop up the meat and dip it, the pork that was killed not long ago is fragrant and tender, moderately fat and thin, and cooked so soft that people can't stop chopsticks.

Then pour the frozen tofu and meatballs into it and boil, slowly soak some sausages and blood buns, and when the meat is finished, the frozen tofu is just cooked thoroughly.

The frozen tofu is soft and porous, and the pores absorb the fragrant soup, which is very delicious, and then roll in the dipping sauce, and the entrance has the fragrance of tofu, the thickness of the broth, and the awakening of the chili, so delicious that you almost swallow your tongue.

Lamei let out a long breath, wiped the beads of sweat from the tip of her nose, and said, "This morning my five organs were cold, and now I can be regarded as alive." ”

Qingsong didn't speak, he was busy grabbing frozen tofu to eat, but he forgot that there is a saying called "you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry", the frozen tofu looked cold in the bowl, but in fact, the soup was full and hot, he was so hot that he gasped, his tongue was numb, and he refused to stop with tears in his eyes.

Song Haonian said with a smile: "What are you in a hurry, if you want to eat it, I'll make it for you, slow down." ”

Qing Song said vaguely: "It's hot, it's so hot that my heart hurts, but it's delicious!"

At the end, I put a few vegetarian dishes in to clear my mouth, in such a cold and humid weather, everyone sweats from eating, and even the cracks of the bones are hot, which is really comfortable.

After eating, Lamei and Wang Xiaofu went back to continue to clean up, and Lily left Aunt Wang: "Although there is a brazier in your house, you won't live for a long time, I'm afraid it's still cold, so your old man will spend a while here with me today." ”

Aunt Wang sat on the edge of the kang, only to feel that the bottom of her body was warm and very comfortable, and said with a smile: "In the end, the kang is warmer." ”

Wang Xiaofu said: "My mother is cold when she is old, so sit here with Brother Da Nian first, and then take you back when we pack up our things." At the beginning of the year, we also set up a kang in the house in the city to ensure that you can sleep comfortably. ”

Aunt Wang smiled and called them to go, and saw that there was a handful of hemp skins at the head of the bed, she was an idle person, and she refused to accept the benefits of others in vain, so she picked it up and rubbed the hemp rope, and after a while, she rubbed out the elder for a while.

Lily saw it and said, "In the end, your old man is skillful, I think I can rub it well on weekdays, but compared with your old man, it is still far behind." ”

In fact, her hands are more tender, although they are not as tender as the palms of the ladies of large families, but there are not many calluses. Like Aunt Wang, who has worked hard all her life, the thick layer of calluses in the palm of her hand is not worse than Song Haonian, and the hemp rope is fast and powerful, and the hemp rope is also evenly strong.

Aunt Wang called Lily to praise a lot: "My old bones are still of some use." ”

Qingsong was about to go back to the village after a while, and Lily left him: "You just stay, Ming'er will take your father and mother over, and we will celebrate the New Year in the town this year." ”

Qingsong shook his head and said: "How can you celebrate the New Year in someone else's house? "The ancestors of the Li family are all in Liushan Village, and the old couple of Li craftsmen must guard their ancestors.

Qingsong is the only male in the younger generation of the family, if he doesn't go back, which one will offer incense to the ancestors?

Aunt Wang also persuaded Lily: "The ancestors are important, otherwise we will have a good life in the city, why do we have to come back for the New Year? ”

Lily no longer left Qingsong, but said: "Then you wait, I'll find you a back, and you can carry some food back." ”

Qingsong complained bitterly: "My eldest sister, I brought back a lot of things by myself, and I asked her to clean up at the third sister, and if you ask me to carry it again, where can I carry it?"

"It's also simple," Song Haonian said with a smile, "I'll go back and borrow you a mule." ”

Although there was no need to memorize, Lily packed up a sack of things for Qingsong, which contained a lot of meat, rice, flour, oil, salt, corn, sweet potatoes and other things, as well as two pairs of rabbit skin knee pads, which were specially designed for the old couple to protect their knees from freezing.

It didn't take long for Wang Xiaofu and Lamei to come over in large bags, in addition to the New Year's goods that Qingsong bought by herself, as well as the things that Lamei brought to her eldest brother-in-law from the city, a lot of wine, pastries, wooden combs and earrings, etc., all for food.

Lily was dazzled: "These things! You don't want to keep your life to yourself, clean up the flowers." ”

Lamei said unconvinced: "If you are allowed to spend money on me, I am not allowed to spend money on you?" Her restaurant business is good, life is very good, and as soon as the days are good, she wants to repay Lily, "What are these, when I make more money, I will buy a golden hairpin for you to wear." ”

Song Haonian couldn't help but say: "Don't be busy, I should buy your eldest sister's golden hairpin, what are you doing to make a fuss? ”

Lamei glanced at Wang Xiaofu proudly, Wang Xiaofu smiled and said: "Brother Da Nian, Lamei wants to wear gold and silver, naturally I will buy it, and her pocket money wants to be spent on the eldest sister, we have no opinion." ”

A few people laughed for a while, Song Haonian went out to borrow a mule, tied two sacks to the left and right of the saddle and asked Qingsong to lead him. Sending away Qingsong, Wang Xiaofu and Lamei took Aunt Wang home, Lamei said: "Ming'er sweeps the dust, and will go to my house for dinner the day after tomorrow." ”

"Cheng, you've opened a restaurant, we have to try your craft. Lily and Song Haonian watched the little couple walk away with Aunt Wang in their arms, glanced at each other, and saw each other's faces relieved, and they both laughed.

The two of them, one is the eldest sister, the other is a righteous brother, they don't have children now, and looking at their brothers and sisters on weekdays is no different from looking at their own children. Seeing that Wang Xiaofu and Lamei were doing well, they were as happy as their parents.

The young husband and wife both knew what the other party was going to say, and it was difficult to say it for a while, only their faces were a little red. In the end, it was Song Haonian who spoke first: "It's cold outside, let's go inside first." ”

The tofu shop is open until the 27th of the lunar month, and it will be safe to celebrate the New Year in the future, and it will not reopen until the eighth day of the first lunar month. In the past two days, people from all over the country have come to buy tofu to prepare for the New Year, and the store is extremely busy, so they have to go to the store to hurry up the time to grind soy milk and order tofu to supply the soaring demand.