Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Zhixiang brought back a lot of things, half of which were dowries for Huixin, which made Mrs. Chen very beautiful. "Huixin, come and see, your fifth brother has brought back so many good things for you. Now your dowry cannot be missing. Okay, let's show it to the Tao family. Our family is not trying to catch them. Family." Mrs. Chen had always been concerned about the Tao family's initial attitude, so she said this.

Several little girls were playing in Jingya's house. They heard that Uncle Wu was back, because they all ran over. As soon as Jinghan looked at the things on the kang, she knew that Zhixiang had brought them back. This Changbai Prefecture became Changbai County in later generations. Opposite there was North Korea and it was also the port for trade between China and North Korea. Goryeo is the predecessor of North Korea. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Yalu River has been the national boundary between the two countries, so Changbai Prefecture should also be an important place for transactions between the two countries. The oil and water in Changbai Prefecture is not light. Just look at Uncle Wu and you will know that he has only been there for a few months and he can get so many good things back.

Jinghan looked at those things but wasn't too interested. He turned around and asked Zhixiang, "Uncle Wu, is Changbaizhou fun? The other side is Korea, right? What do the Koreans look like?"

When Zhixiang heard Jinghan ask this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed. "The Koreans are just like us, and they look similar. However, they like to put things on their heads and carry them, and they can walk very smoothly, which is an ability. Moreover, these Koreans are good at singing and dancing, and they wear colorful clothes. , very beautiful. They are rich in Korean ginseng, Korean cloth, etc., do you think the cloth I brought back is different from ours? "

Jinghan nodded. It turned out that Goryeo at this time was not much different from North Korea in later generations.

Zhixiang picked out a few things from the things he brought back and gave a few to Jinghan. They were all small things, very interesting. There are also several pieces of cloth left to make clothes for the children. Naturally, the little girls didn't refuse and returned to Jinghan's house holding the things they liked.

Mrs. Xue saw that it was getting late, so she hurriedly started cooking. Mrs. Zhu also helped, and the two sisters were busy in the kitchen together. It didn't take much time to prepare the meal, and everyone had dinner together.

After dinner, Zhixiang called Wenhan and others to test their homework. Wenhan was okay, he could answer the general questions. His literary achievement was a little worse, but his study time was relatively short, which was good. Wenxuan and Wenchang, on the other hand, were able to memorize a lot of poems, which surprised Zhixiang. After asking, he found out that Wenhan taught them every day.

"That's good. You can review what you have learned. In addition, Wenxuan and Wenchang can have a basic foundation so that they won't be unable to keep up when they go to school. I think these two little guys are very smart. Wenchang should also go to school next year. I will talk to your grandma later and let you go to school next year, right?" Zhixiang passed the exams for several nephews and found that the two younger ones were good prospects. He said he wanted them to study too. "Besides, Wenhan, you'd better go to another place to study next year. This school only teaches you how to read and write. If you want to take the imperial examination, you'd better find a better school." Zhixiang said to him This eldest nephew has high hopes, "You are better than me. When I was your age, I didn't study as solidly as you. Study hard and you will be successful in the future." Zhixiang patted Wenhan on the shoulder.

Wenhan nodded after listening to his fifth uncle's words. In fact, he felt that he could no longer learn anything in this school. But when I went to other schools, I was afraid that Shu Xiu would be too expensive, so I never dared to speak. If there is a fifth uncle, then he doesn't have to worry about it.

"Okay, it's getting late. You should go back to the house and go to bed. The day after tomorrow is the Chinese New Year, and we still have a lot of things to do." Zhixiang sat in the children's room for a while, then went back to his own room. The house went.

The four Jinghan sisters slept on the same bed, and the four girls were chatting and laughing together, which was very lively. Jingwan is eight years old, one month younger than Jinghan, but she talks and behaves like a little adult, which is quite fun. Everyone chatted for a long time, until they couldn't bear the sleepiness anymore and then gradually fell asleep.

The next day was the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, and it was almost noon before Zhide returned with his wife and children. A family of four came back empty-handed with nothing. Mrs. Chen felt a little unhappy when she saw it, but she didn't say anything. She still smiled and hugged Wenxing and gave her a kiss.

Wenxing was still the same as before, twisting and turning in Chen's arms, dishonestly. When Chen saw this, he let go of Wenxing. Wenxing immediately ran to Han's side and hugged Han's legs without letting go.

When Zhi De saw it, he wanted to scold his son. Mrs. Chen waved her hand, "Okay, for the Chinese New Year, this kid doesn't come back often, so he won't be close to me. It's okay. Just come back often when you are free in the future." Ms. Chen also understood that her grandson had been raised by the Han family since he was a child, so naturally he had no feelings for her.

When Zhide and the others come back, the family will be reunited. When the old man saw this, his face lit up with joy. All elderly people are like this. They just like having their sons and grandsons around, making it lively and lively. Wenxing is the youngest grandson, and the old man also wants to kiss him, but Wenxing resists letting the old man hold him, which makes the old man a little unhappy. After thinking about the Chinese New Year, it was hard to get angry, so I endured it.

Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Xue found the beddings at home and put them on the kang to warm them up, so that they could cover them for Zhide and his family in the evening.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and my family is almost ready for the New Year. The steamed buns were steamed a lot, and once they were steamed, they were placed outside and frozen for the first month of the year. Today, Mr. Xue sent out two more bowls of noodles, for steamed jujube steamed buns. Mrs. Xue happened to see that the noodles in the basin had opened, so she took them to Jinghan's room to make steamed buns. There are too many people in the old lady's house and there is no room.

White flour is not produced here, so the white flour is bought from the town. Naturally, we can't buy much. This year has been pretty good. Mrs. Chen ordered me to buy fifty kilograms of white flour. In addition to steaming steamed buns, I also have some left to make dumplings. Mrs. The method of making jujube steamed buns is basically the same as that of steamed buns, that is, jujubes are inserted at the end. Use a knife to lightly score two small marks on the kneaded buns, then use the little fingers of both hands to poke in next to the two marks, and lift them up to form a transparent little nose. Then just insert the jujube cut in half into the little nose. Of course, you can insert one jujube or five jujubes into a steamed bun, and the resulting steamed buns can be steamed in a pot. The red dates on the snow-white steamed buns look very festive.

Mrs. Xue made these very quickly, and Mrs. Zhu also came to help, so a pot of jujube steamed buns was made quickly. Jinghan quickly went to light the fire. When the water in the pot boiled, Xue placed the steamed buns on the pot curtain and put them into the pot. Cover the pot with a lid, and cover some places that are afraid of ventilation with a rag to prevent ventilation. "Jinghan, just watch the pot here. Just wait three-quarters of an hour after the pot boils again. Call me then. I'll pick up the buns."

Jinghan nodded quickly, "Okay, mom, let's make the steamed buns quickly. Isn't there another pot?" Jinghan looked at the fire at the bottom of the pot, stuffed the firewood from the pit, and asked the pot to boil quickly.

Mrs. Xue went into the house again to knead another pot of steamed buns. Jinghan was good at lighting the fire, so she didn't need to worry about it. Not long after, another pot of steamed buns was also made, still with jujubes inserted.

When the first pot was steamed, Mrs. Xue opened the lid, revealing the big, fat steamed buns in the pot. Jinghan looked at the red dates on the white steamed buns and found them quite interesting. "Mom, when can we eat these steamed buns?"

"It's just after New Year's Eve. These steamed buns are for sacrifice. You can eat them after they are used up on the 30th night." Mrs. Xue found it funny when she saw her daughter's greediness. I picked up the steamed buns on the curtain, then added some water to the pot, put the second pot of steamed buns into the pot, and steamed it just like the first time. "Okay, let's go play. I'll just take care of the pot."

Jinghan turned around and went back to the house. All the panels and other things in the house had been cleared away. It happened that Jingwan and Jingxian also came from the upper room, and the girls played Galaha together. The kang is very hot. Two pots of steamed buns have been steamed. How can the kang not be hot? Everyone sat on the kang, which was warm and comfortable. Jinghan didn't let Jingya do any more needlework, "Sister, it's almost the Chinese New Year, so you have to take a break. How can you do embroidery all day long? My eyes can't bear it."

Jingya put down the things in her hands, put them all into the box, and then went to play Galaha with them.

Xue and Zhu steamed the steamed buns, and then cooked dinner for the evening. At the end of Shen Shi, everyone had dinner and then went to rest.

On the morning of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, the old man and the men in his family set up a lantern pole outside and hung up the lanterns. Then put on the couplets, the words "Fu", the words "Full of Grain" on the barn, and the words "Prosperity of Livestock" on the pig pen, all written on red paper, looking very happy. After all this was done, the old man took the men to visit the grave, took a lot of incense, candles and paper products, and went to the mountain with his children and grandchildren.

At home, Ms. Chen and her several daughters-in-law were cooking and frying, and they were also very busy. The pork belly has been cooked a long time ago, and it needs to be oiled again. In addition, the meatballs are also fried, some with meat, some with vegetarian food, and the vegetarian ones are stuffed with tofu. The rest are like fried eggplant boxes, fried small fish, and day lilies that are dried in the summer are wrapped in flour and fried. The golden color is also very beautiful. There are also winter mushrooms that are soaked in water, torn into small pieces, mixed with seasonings and fried, which is also delicious. Anyway, many things can be fried in this way. There are not many vegetables in the winter in the north. In order to increase the variety during the Chinese New Year, I have to fry more things. At the end of the year, this is the only time when you can open up and use oil. How can you be willing to do this on weekdays?