Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Xue and Zhu were also busy there, soaking mushrooms and fungus. Fish and meat were all brought back from outside in the morning and soaked in water. The weather in the Northeast is cold, and things will freeze hard if left outside, so you need to bring them back in advance to cool down.

"Sister-in-law, the fish has melted, why don't you wash it out first?" Madam Zhu asked.

"Hey, just wash it when you see it has softened. This year our family has a pig, which has a lot of meat. My mother said that this year will be a rich year. The elbows, livers, hearts, etc. are all ready. , just cut it when the time comes. Stew the remaining ribs, and then cut some meat for stir-fry. By the way, chop some meat stuffing, and steam the bergamot cabbage. This is a traditional dish in our family, and it is a must. ." Mrs. Xue was also busy there, telling Mrs. Zhu whenever she remembered.

Mrs. Zhu is a capable person, and she is best at these tasks in the kitchen, so she knows what to do without being told. Get everything done that needs to be washed and cut, and then just put it in the pan and fry it later.

Jinghan brought back a lot of firewood from outside, put it on the edge of the stove, and then asked, "Mom, what else do you need to do?"

"Peel those onions and garlic, they will be used for cooking later," said Mr. Xue.

So Jinghan and Jingwan were grilling garlic and onions. Naturally, Jingya could no longer do needlework today, so she also went to the field to work with everyone. Help wash out the soaked mushrooms and fungus and pick them clean. Huixin is going to be a bride soon, so everyone won't let her work and just take good care of her.

Mr. Xue stewed the fish, which was frozen fish bought from the town. There were no live fish in the winter in the Northeast, only some frozen fish sold from other places, which was pretty good. "Her third aunt, please stew the chicken. Stew it early, it will become mushy."

When Zhu heard this, he stewed chicken in another pot. This year, Mr. Chen got ruthless and ordered two big roosters to be killed, one stewed with mushrooms, and the other wrapped in noodles and deep-fried to make muddy chicken. This confused chicken is also a traditional dish of the Xu family. In fact, it is just to produce more vegetables. A chicken can be fried like this in a bowl. Isn't it anti-eating?

The old man came back from taking his children and grandchildren to visit the grave. When he entered the house, he smelled various fragrances in the house. "Old lady, the food this year is quite rich. Okay, let's have a good time this year." The old man led his children and grandchildren into the house with a smile.

As soon as they entered the house, they saw Mrs. Han holding Wenxing in her arms and Jinghe sitting next to her. Mrs. Han picked up peanuts for the two children to eat. The old man's face doesn't look very good. Before the old man could say anything, Zhide said first: "Can't you just eat here? The kitchen is busy there, why don't you go over and help? Wenxing is five years old, and he doesn't even have a peanut." You know how to eat it? Besides, these peanuts are reserved for the first few people to come to celebrate the New Year. If you eat them like this, what will you give them to eat?"

Han didn't even raise his head, "Don't give me tasks. Let me tell you, my biggest task is these two children. If you didn't have to come back, I wouldn't come. I don't do any of this at home. After finally coming back, what are you asking me to do? "She didn't even look at Zhide, so she just did what she wanted. "Afraid of not having enough guests, why not buy more? Didn't you secretly give the old lady money? With your filial money, what can't be bought?" After saying that, he led his son and daughter to the west wing. .

Zhide really didn't know what to say. The Han family was interested in him at first, and he also fell in love with Han's beauty, so he married Han. At that time, the Han family wholeheartedly helped him open a school and spent a lot of money so that he could take the exam again in the future. But he took the exam once and failed, and he never thought about it again after that. Although the Han family was not dissatisfied openly, they probably had something to say behind the scenes. Alas, he has short hands. Now he listens to his wife in everything at home, so how can he control the Han family. "Dad, don't be angry. This is all your son's fault. He is spoiled. Alas, my son is incompetent." Zhide quickly apologized to the old man.

The old man glared at Zhide, "Fourth brother, I said at the beginning that the threshold of the Han family is high and we can't climb it. You have to marry her. Look, what happens now? Even your mother and I can't. Take it seriously. How can the old woman be busy in the kitchen and pretend to be an elder in the house? Zhide, the rule in our family is that you are not allowed to hit your daughter-in-law. This mother-in-law really deserves a beating. No wonder people say that if the wife is beaten, she will be beaten. When I came back, I felt so panicked. "I was celebrating the New Year happily, but now it happened. The old man just lay on the kang and didn't want to get up.

Zhixin and Zhiming also stared at Zhide, "Fourth brother, I'm not talking about you as a brother, but this sister-in-law is really a bit out of line. In the past, she didn't do anything when she came back. My mother saw that you came back. It doesn't matter if the times are small. In the first few years, the children were young, so it was just a matter of quitting. Now the children are older. Wenxing is five years old and Jinghe is three years old. Look at Jingxian, she is also five years old. Even at the age of 10, he can help pick vegetables and peel garlic. How can a child be so spoiled? He is like killing his own child. If he is too pampered, how can he become useful in the future?

Zhide always felt that he was better than his eldest brother and his third brother. The eldest brother was just a farmer, just digging in the dirt. Although the third brother lives in the county town, his life is not as good as mine. Besides, he only has two daughters and not even a son. He always thought that he was a scholar, had a school, and married the daughter of a wealthy family in the town. Living a good life and having a mother-in-law as a helper at home makes me feel superior to others. Unexpectedly, I was scolded by my two brothers today. Now his face was a little worried, "Brother, Third Brother, Xiujuan is a little wrong, but it's not like what you said, right? What does it mean to treat a child like a child? We just hurt Wenxing a little more, so what? ? Is it still wrong? Wenxing grew up in a town, so what’s wrong with being a little more delicate like these children? I still don’t understand, is it still wrong for us to be good to our children? Is it right to beat and scold you all day long?”

Zhixiang didn't say anything at first. He was the youngest and couldn't talk about his brother. Now he couldn't bear to listen. "Fourth brother, what are you talking about? Wenxing was able to grow up in the town because it was our father and mother who supported you in your studies and allowed you to become a scholar, so you had the opportunity to live in the town, right? If only our father had My mother asked my eldest brother to study, and now he can be famous. My eldest brother is very smart, no worse than you and me. Children of this generation grew up in the village, but Wenxuan is six years old this year. , I can memorize a lot of Tang poetry and Song lyrics. You are teaching, what have you learned about Wenxing? You will see, in the future, the eldest brother and the second brother will be no worse than me."

Zhide was a little annoyed now, "What's going on today? We came back to celebrate the New Year, not to be punished. You said this and that, you don't want people to have a good New Year, right?"

The old man was lying on the kang, and now he sat up in anger, "Yes, I just don't want to have a good New Year. You guys get out of here, and you don't have to come back again."

Naturally, the kitchen could hear the movement in the house. Mrs. Chen sighed and took the pot off the stove. "Jingya, watch it for me. Don't let them touch the oil in here. Be careful of burning it." After saying that, he put down the pot and entered the house.

"What are you doing? The Chinese New Year celebrations are still going on. Life has finally gotten better this year, aren't you all worried? Is there anything we can't talk about after today? Everyone, let's calm down for a while. Fourth brother, hurry up I have to apologize to your father. What do you want to do if you dare to anger your father? "The old lady doesn't know how to curse, and she rarely speaks in such a stern tone today.

Zhide was still not happy, but since his parents were the biggest and he couldn't make them angry no matter what, he would be extremely unfilial. So he hurried to the old man's side and said, "Dad, it was my fault. If you want to hit or scold me, you can do whatever you want to do to get angry. Today is the Chinese New Year. Our family is doing well, so don't be angry."

The old man sighed, "Fourth brother, it's not dad who has nothing to blame. No one wants to make trouble during this Chinese New Year. But what happened to you is too embarrassing. At the end of the year, where are you?" When we came back each time, we brought a lot of things. Didn’t we say nothing about your wife’s pickiness? When you came back, how could you bring a few things for the neighbors to see? Look, I have raised such a son, and even when I go home for the New Year, I don’t bring anything back to the old man. Where do you want me to put this old face?" The old man has been holding back his anger for a day. He was originally watching his sons come back. It’s not easy to celebrate the New Year, I don’t want to say it, but when it happened like this today, I couldn’t care less about it.

Mrs. Chen supported the old man on the side and kept patting his back. "Okay, please stop saying a few words. It's rare to come back. If the fourth child has made mistakes, just let him correct them slowly. Today is the Chinese New Year, so don't say anything unpleasant. I have two more dishes. It’s not finished yet. We’ll have dinner soon, and we’ll have to stay up late in the evening to make dumplings, so we’re busy. Okay, I’m going out to get some food. Please calm down.” Mrs. Chen glanced at Zhide and then came out of the room. .

How could Mrs. Xue and Mrs. Zhu not hear the noise in the house? It was hard for the sisters-in-law to say anything, and there were also several children, Jingya and Jinghan. When the old lady comes back, everyone will just do whatever they need to do, without mentioning the trouble just now, so don't be unhappy about it.

"Grandma, mother, let's chop all the garlic and green onions. If there's nothing else, we'll go out to play." Jinghan led Jingwan and Jingxian to put things away, and then walked out.