frightfiction Chapter 206 The New Year's atmosphere in the village is strong
Chapter 206 The New Year's atmosphere in the village is strong
The Li family, including the eldest and aunt, as well as the second uncle and aunt, also came to the village to celebrate the New Year. The eldest uncle dragged a pig into the village on a sled.
After helping the Lu family slaughter their New Year's pig, Li Ju'an returned to the Li family's old house and, together with his eldest and second uncles, continued to slaughter the pig.
The second uncle's two sons came together, but the eldest uncle's son, Li Changqing, didn't. The eldest uncle, with his pipe in his mouth, waved his hand irritably and shouted, "Don't bother with that kid, he's got a lot of ideas."
Li Ju'an chuckled, knowing that Li Changqing had probably gone south with the Zhang family and hadn't returned to the old house for years. He made up his mind.
The Li family's New Year's atmosphere was no less festive than the Lu family's. They loudly called out to the pig, and Aunt Zhang's son, nephew, and neighbors all came to help.
Several strong young men held down the pig, and Li Ju'an stabbed it in the throat with a knife, and the pig screamed in agony. He swiftly and decisively cut open the pig's neck, while his mother, Song Lanhua, caught the blood in a bucket below, filling it to the brim.
The two sons of the second uncle built a stove out of bricks in the yard, boiled water, and then heated the pig after it was slaughtered.
Inflating a pig is a skill; you have to inflate it until it's puffed up like a ball so that it's easier to pluck the hair and scrape it cleanly.
The men wielded large knives and began chopping fresh meat and bones, while the women carried offal, blood sausage, and sauerkraut to the kitchen to start a fire and stew a large pot of stewed pork. Then they began making dumplings.
A table was set up under the snow shelter in the courtyard, with steaming, fragrant dishes. A large table of food was laid out: meat, pheasant, and hearty dishes like spare ribs, braised pork hock, and stir-fried pork slices. The crispy and delicious stir-fried pork slices were even more famous than sweet and sour pork, making it quite a lavish meal. The men poured themselves a few glasses of strong liquor, each praising their own sons and children, drinking and chatting animatedly.
If the villagers who came to help went home early, Song Lanhua, the mother, would scoop up a large bowl of stewed pork and have Li Ju'an deliver it to Aunt Zhang next door.
The people in the village were full of warmth and human kindness, which was also an unforgettable taste of the New Year in the 80s.
Li Ju'an was waiting to set off firecrackers at midnight to celebrate the New Year. He quickly stood up, said "yes," and then took a plate of stew to Aunt Zhang's house next door.
There were also many children from the Zhang family next door, filling the house with the rich aroma of baijiu (Chinese liquor). Uncle Zhang was dipping chopsticks in the liquor and letting the younger generation taste it, playing with the children. The pungent smell of the baijiu was irresistible.
"Oh, Ju'an's here! It's so cold outside, come in quickly."
"Aunt Zhang, bring another dish."
"Song Mei'er is too kind, she even had her child bring over stew. Come on, Ju'an, have some dumplings that Auntie made."
Aunt Zhang led her daughters-in-law in making dumplings for the New Year's Eve vigil. According to tradition, a coin should be placed inside each dumpling, symbolizing good fortune and blessings.
Li Ju'an picked up a plump, white dumpling with his chopsticks and dipped it in his mouth. He took a bite and felt his teeth snap hard. He pulled a coin out of his mouth.
The Zhang family laughed with delight, "Let's see who gets to eat it! Ju'an is such a lucky child."
Li Ju'an also gave red envelopes containing New Year's money to the Zhang family children. Although the amount was small, only a few cents, the joy it brought to the children was immeasurable.
During Li Ju'an's stay at the Zhang family's house, the second uncle at the Li family's dinner table was praising his two sons like a loudspeaker.
“Our two children are so filial. Look at this Swiss plum blossom watch, it was assembled in China. Our eldest son and daughter-in-law bought it for us.”
“This belt of ours is a famous brand in Shanghai. My youngest son went to Shanghai for work and brought it back for us from a department store. You can’t buy it here.”
Second Uncle had drunk too much baijiu, his face flushed red, and he kept praising his son and daughter-in-law, showing off without any restraint. He had absolutely no bottom line.
The mother, Song Lanhua, listened with a smile, busily preparing the meal and occasionally offering a few words of praise. But the elderly couple didn't give her a warm welcome.
The old man's only son, Li Changqing, for some unknown reason, became rebellious and insisted on going south with Zhang Yingnian to do business. He even skipped the New Year and hurriedly took the train south before the holiday. When the old man and woman returned to the village, everyone knew that Li Changqing had ignored their plans to go south, which made the two elders very embarrassed.
The two sons of the second uncle noticed that their father's expression was off and his face darkened. They quickly pulled their father and said, "Dad, stop talking and let's eat. We've all had too much to drink."
"Go to hell! You think I can drink that much? We're known as the family village, where you can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk and ten thousand cups without falling over. Back in the day, when your dad went drinking with Old Master Lu, I got the entire Lu family drunk, hahaha."
Second Aunt was a true woman from the Xing'an Mountains, forthright and warm-hearted. She told Song Lanhua to sit down and eat quickly, while she busied herself washing and preparing the dishes. As she served the dishes, Second Aunt yelled at her husband, "Get lost! Stop nagging, it's annoying."
Second Aunt was very perceptive. Noticing that her husband and aunt's expressions were off, she quickly shut her husband up and changed the subject, saying, "Lanhua, does Ju'an have a girlfriend yet? Such a good young man like him should be introduced to someone soon. In the future, it would be best if he could have twins. You can have two grandchildren in a year, how lively it would be to have two grandchildren."
After delivering vegetables to Aunt Zhang's house, Li Ju'an had just stepped into the yard when he heard his second aunt advising his mother about this matter. He was both angry and amused, and said, "What do you mean by 'double-bang'? The wife hasn't even entered the house yet, it's not even close to being settled."
The women were happy to introduce potential partners to the young man, and the older woman enthusiastically said, "Find a girl from a family with twins. I've heard that's a good way to have twins."
"She still has to take the prescription. I heard that the Li family's daughter-in-law went to the temple to get the prescription, gave it to her husband for three months, and then she got pregnant with twins."
"What remedy is so effective?"
"According to Li's daughter-in-law, it has to be wine made with deer placenta and penis. And it can't be ordinary deer placenta, it has to be the placenta of twins."
"Oh dear, that's hard to find. Where can you buy a deer fetus with twins? The deer that hunters hunt in the mountains are all empty-bellied, and I've heard that hunters are also superstitious about this stuff."
Listening to his aunts' back-and-forth banter, Li Ju'an finally understood. His aunt wasn't urging him to find a blind date; she was clearly using his words to give her two daughters-in-law a heads-up, telling them to get some deer placenta and deer penis for their husbands to drink so they could conceive twins.
He shared a sip of baijiu with the old man and said with a smile, "It really is hard to find. Hunters in the mountains really don't hunt pregnant animals with young. It's a big taboo."
After he said that, his second aunt got excited and earnestly advised him: "Ju'an, you have to take this matter very seriously. Your second aunt really can't buy a deer fetus with twins, so we're counting on you."
During the Lunar New Year, relatives were naturally eager to come over. Before Li Ju'an could speak, Zhang Cui, the eldest daughter-in-law of the second aunt, objected. Women from the Xing'an Mountains are warm and generous, but also straightforward and outspoken.
After helping out in the kitchen, Zhang Cui wiped her hands on her apron and came out shouting, "What nonsense! Eating deer placenta twins will make you have twins? That's pure bullshit. The man will have twins first."
Zhang Cui glared at her husband, and Li Wei, the eldest son of the second uncle, immediately wilted. Appeasing his wife was the priority. He quickly pulled his mother down to sit properly, grinning and snuggling close to her, advising, "This can't be forced. What you're saying is pure nonsense, like when you were little you said you were supposed to be able to replenish what you eat—heart to replenish heart, pig's blood to replenish blood. If I ate pheasant wings, I might actually grow a pair of wings!"
His words made the children laugh heartily.