Time: 2011-1- 11 19:47:35 Words: 5105
30. shousui
The days of the twelfth lunar month were spent preparing for the New Year.
Beancurd was something that was done every year. The good soybeans were sold to the country. The ones left at home were either seeds or poor soybeans. Some were shriveled and some were rotten. Of course, they were not completely rotten. Therefore, they were soaked together. After about a day and a night, they were washed clean and then ground with a mill. I grind almost every year. It's so cold. As long as I grind three to five hundred rounds, it will inevitably heat up. Then I take off my cotton jacket and put on a single coat. It's still hot. After grinding, the water in the pot had already been heated, and then mixed into it to be evenly mixed. Mother took the sewn cotton gauze bag and poured it in one scoop after another. She clenched the bag tightly and then rubbed it hard to let the soy milk water filter out. Because the water was very hot, it was very comfortable to rub. I often finished this process alone. When he was rubbing, his mother would ask Zhang Bing to go to the store to buy half a catty of plaster and then put it in the stove to burn. After filtering, her mother scooped the soy milk water into the pot to boil, then scooped it into the basin. During this time, my mother wanted me to hammer the plaster into powder as fine as possible. When it cooled down, her mother sprinkled the plaster powder into the basin and then mixed it with a ladle. After a long time, let's take a chopstick and try to see if it can stand up. Mother scooped up two bowls while it was hot and asked me and Su Mei to bring them over for father and mother-in-law to drink. However, we usually don't like to drink it because it's a little bitter. The last step was to lift the table to the side of the manure pit outside. Mother called everyone in the family, each holding a cloth corner, scooping the tofu into the cloth, and the water flowed out. Then, she pulled a few corners diagonally over, pressed them well, took the lid of the pot, and pressed it well. Then, she moved the mill to press the lid of the pot, and the water flowed out continuously.
When she was done, she saw that Dong Sheng's house was lit up and there were shadows moving in the kitchen. She walked over and saw that her aunt was cooking a pig's head. The fragrance wafted out in waves. It was already cooked. He scooped it up and placed it on the chopping board to remove the meat. The best thing was the pig's ear. No, it was usually called Shunfeng. It sounded better. Next was the pig's tongue. No, it should be called turning its head. This was called business luck. Gongzui was also a good thing. He peeled it off and placed it together with Shunfeng and Zhuantou. Then, there was the pig's face, pig's brain, and a lot of lean meat inside. Aunt took a bowl and said to me,
"Jianguo, try it."
I took the bowl and tasted a piece symbolically. This reminded me of a mischievous childhood story. I can't remember which year it is, but we're all preparing for the New Year's at home. When we get out of school, we'll each take something out to cook. I carried the basket and stole a sausage from the kitchen. When we reached the irrigation canal, we found some dry branches and lit them with a match. Then, we put the things we brought out on the fire to roast. When the fragrance came out, we used a spatula to cut it open and each person took a small piece. However, the pork kidney that Dong Sheng stole was roasted for a long time. When we cut it open, it was still red inside. We took a few bites and threw it away. After Dong Sheng went back that night, he was beaten up by his father. Aunt came over to ask me if I had brought it out to cook and eat. I gave an affirmative answer, and Aunt said, It was not easy to buy some New Year goods on the street. They were all used to entertain guests, but he stole them out to eat. From then on, we never stole anything from our family.
Aunt filled a big bowl and handed it to me.
"Bring it to your mother."
I placed the bowl on the table and said,
"You don't have to give it to us. We also have pig heads.”
When I came back, it was true. Mother had already started cooking the pig's head. It was already past one o'clock in the middle of the night before it was cooked. At that time, Father came back and saw the pig's head.
"Yizhen, get something to eat. I'm starving!”
So, my mother picked up the pig's head, cut a large piece of the pig's face meat, then cut it into thin slices and put it on a plate. She asked me to bring it to my father in the central room. There was no table, so she put two long stools together and put them on it. Father had already grabbed some roasted dumplings and dried peas and placed them on a plate. He held the wine bottle in his hand and said to me,
"Su Ning, go get the chopsticks and wine glasses with me.”
I took a wine glass and chopsticks. Father began to drink and suddenly said to me,
"Su Ning, do you want to drink?"
I shook my head. My father no longer treated me as a child, and my name changed from "Jianguo" to "Su Ning". I felt that I had grown up. However, my mother was still the same. My aunt next door was the same as my mother and still called me by my nickname.
When I returned to the kitchen, my mother's pig head had already been cut into several large pieces and piled up in the dustpan, steaming hot. Mother handed me a bone and asked,"
"Are Mei 'er and Bing' er asleep? Sleeping? Then let's eat tomorrow."
Mother was usually the most generous at this time, allowing us to eat large pieces of meat. Of course, she didn't allow us to eat the important parts. Mother fished out a few things from the pot. I still couldn't recognize them all. I pointed to them and asked what they were. Mother told me one by one, which was the pig's heart. Because there was only one, it was called the sole heart. Which was the pig's liver, which was the pig's kidney? Of course, I knew which was my favorite sausage.
It takes a few days to spread the bean skins. First, I stir-fry the soybeans and broad beans until they are half-cooked. Then, I use a grinding shuttle to separate the shells. Then, I use a dustpan to scoop out the shells. I have never learned this skill. When I scoop out the shells, I always scoop out the beans. Therefore, my mother has never asked me to do this step. After selecting the shells, he soaked them in water and soaked the rice at the same time. It took about 20 to 30 hours to soak. Mother always used her fingers to twist it. If it was easy to break, she started to grind it. Of course, it was my business. Sometimes, when I was at a disadvantage, Mother asked Su Mei to help me push it for a while. At this time, his mother would feed very little into the grinding eyes every time. This way, the grinding would be finer, and the bean skin would be more delicate. Usually, after grinding it once, he would grind it again. The second time, of course, he would feed it more, and it would be much easier to push it. Spreading the beancurd skin was her mother's specialty. She took out the piece of soybean milk that she had used for many years from the cupboard. It was the shell of a clam. Of course, it was the kind that was especially big and thick. She scooped a piece of soybean milk from the basin and sprinkled it into the pot. She quickly wiped it with the piece of soybean milk and turned it into a beancurd skin. She peeled it off and threw it on the big chopping board. At this time, it was usually my mother's stall. I cut them into shreds. In the past, before my sister got married, it was mostly her who cut them.
Finally, after the stall was done, my mother asked me to leave a dozen skins for Dong Sheng's family next door. I would send five skins directly to them, and eight skins for my mother-in-law. Usually, Su Mei and Zhang Bing would send them together. As for me, I went to the vegetable garden to pull a few garlic stalks and washed them in the pit. Then, my mother cooked the beanskin for us to eat. She put a lot of oil in it and cut a little meat into it. The fragrance could be smelled from afar. Of course, the first and second bowls were brought over for my father and mother-in-law to taste. The third bowl was for my father. At this time, he was drinking while eating the bean skin. Su Mei, Zhang Bing, and I wolfed down the bean skin as if we had never eaten it in our lives.
Her brother and sister-in-law brought Fangfang back. Zhang Ping followed behind them, dragging a suitcase. It was probably clothes, diapers, and the like.
After dinner, my brother said to me,
"Su Ning, I'm fine now. Let's go to my aunt's house. It's the New Year, so I don't have time to go.”
I agreed. My brother asked for leave from his sister-in-law. I followed him and walked to the bridge. We turned to the shop on Team Nine's side and bought a catty of snow dates and a catty of flower stalks. Of course, my brother paid for it, and I took it.
When I was young, I went to my aunt's house. I turned around the middle line and walked back along the lotus root pit. There were only three houses.
"Guye, auntie, hello!"
Of course, I followed my brother's call, and my voice was also softer than my brother's. Aunt brought a chair for us to sit on. Brother Fabing came out of the room, his shoes still on, and it seemed that he had just washed his feet. Brother Fabing sat beside his brother and asked,"
"When did you come back?"
Her brother said,
"We were on holiday on the 26th. We went to Sha City for two days and brought them back. They just arrived at night. After today, I'm afraid we won't have time to visit them.”
His aunt said,
"It's rare for you to be so attentive."
The son-in-law said,
"It's rare for them to come here. Go get us some food and we'll drink some wine.”
Her brother said,
"We just ate."
Brother Soldier said,
"We just ate too."
The son-in-law glanced at Brother Fabing.
"What do you know? During the New Year, anyone who came would have wet mouths.”
Brother Fabing went out. He could see that he had gone to the hut beside the pit. After a while, he came in with a wooden box and put it on the table. The son-in-law got up to lift the table. Brother Fabing quickly got up and placed the table in the middle with Brother Fabing.
"Looks like you're here to drink.”
As he spoke, he opened a door next to the box, revealing the compartment inside. Soldier Bro took out some plates and placed them on the table. These were the legendary nine plates. Then, he took out the chopsticks and wine glasses and placed them on all sides. The son-in-law took out a bottle of wine from the next room. Brother Fabing took the bottle and poured it one by one. Then he asked his brother to sit at the table. The brother said,
"With son-in-law here, how can we sit at the top?”
Brother helped the son-in-law to sit on the seat of honor. He sat on the left side of the son-in-law. Brother Fabing sat on the other side. I sat opposite the son-in-law. The son-in-law raised his cup and said,
"Su Hua, you've always been visiting our house and have never disliked us. Come, let's have a drink.”
The son-in-law took a sip, and his brother followed suit and said,
"You're the son-in-law. How can I not come to see you?”
Soldier Bro took a big gulp and said,"
"Su Hua, I'm not saying that my youngest uncle is the person I respect the most. At that time, our eldest uncle's sons, Su Cheng and the others, thought that our background was not good and never came. They look down on us, so what? His youngest granduncle was a member of the Party and a cadre of the brigade. Even he could not do what they did! Anyway, I only acknowledge little uncle. Every year on the first day of the New Year, I go to little uncle's place. Big uncle goes symbolically and never eats.”
Soldier Bro picked up the bottle and drank again. I only drank a little. Soldier Bro said,
"Teacher, you've been drinking! We've already finished three cups, and you haven't even drunk half a cup. Hurry up!”
Her brother said,
"It's fine if he doesn't drink."
The son-in-law said,
"Su Ning, come to son-in-law's place. You have to be casual and drink.”
I finished the wine in my glass in one gulp. As Soldier Bro drank, he said,
"That's more like it! Your brother and I stole adults 'wine to drink when we were young, Su Hua, right?”
The son-in-law said,
"You still dare to say that! I was wondering why there was so much less wine in the bottle…"
As she spoke, her aunt came in and asked,
"Su Hua, Su Ning, how about I cook some bean skins for you?”
The older brother stood up and said,"
"Aunt, we just finished eating and came over. We're not hungry at all. Please don't cook.”
His aunt said,
"I was asking you to kill a chicken. You said I wouldn't cook it if you didn't eat it.”
Her brother said,
"Aren't you drinking? You should come too.”
His aunt said,
"You guys drink, I still need to boil some water.”
With that, he went out again.
I know that Aunt is very polite. When guests come, women don't attend the banquet. They use all kinds of excuses to go out. She remembered that her mother was the same. When her father's brother recovered that year, he invited several leaders of the Commune over for a drink. Her mother prepared a large table of dishes, and Secretary Yi of the Commune asked her mother to eat at the table. Her mother also used the excuse of boiling water and did not go to the table no matter what.
After talking for a long time, we bid farewell and left. Brother Fa Bing sent us to the main road and only went back under his urging. Her brother said,
"How is it? Did you see their old manners? The nine plates were all brought in in a special box. There were four layers inside, with three plates on each layer. At the bottom, there were chopsticks and wine glasses. They were all gathered in an instant, unlike our family, where we had to look for nine plates for a long time and had never really brought all nine plates. Did you notice? There was also a need to pay attention to the arrangement of the plates. On the top, in the middle, there was a single heart. There was only one pig, and it was usually not eaten. It would be served until the end of the first month. On both sides were Gongzui and Shunfeng, and they rarely moved their chopsticks. The middle three dishes were pig liver, head, and kidney. If you sit below, what are the three dishes below?”
I said,
"I recognize the plate on my right hand as a pig's tail, I recognize the sausage, and there's another plate that I can't name.”
The older brother started to show off.
"You don't know, right? This dish was handled flexibly. It could be pig brain, face meat, lean meat, or pig feet. Today, it was pig belly. You didn't recognize me, did you?"
Actually, I've never paid attention to these details before. Today, my brother's words really opened my eyes. When I walked to the small stone bridge, I remembered that back then, my brother was arranged to be a salesperson in a shop by the bridge. At that time, Youjiang Commune was right by the bridge. There were shops, hospitals, the office of the leaders of the Commune, and the armed forces. In short, it was very lively back then. Her brother had dumped the introduction made by his original mother-in-law. Now, her sister-in-law was a young scholar who came to look for her brother every day. One day, she even saw her washing her brother's shoes. Thinking back, her brother was a handsome man, tall and burly, and had charmed countless girls.
It was already very late when we returned home. Every year, Father would set up a tree bag and add some branches to it. The whole family would gather around the fire and gossip. When we joined in, we heard sister-in-law talking to mother about some things in their factory. Mother took a long time to interrupt.
Her brother only sat for a while before saying,
"Su Ning, let's play cards together?”
I agreed immediately. My brother took out the poker cards that he had prepared from his bag. My father said,
"Where should we fight? It was better to move the table to Su Ning's room at the back.”
So, I moved the table, my father and brother moved the chairs, and laid a rag on it. We fought. After two rounds, my brother said,
"This isn't enough. Why don't we make a little punishment? How about a dime per plate?”
His father said,
"I don't have money."
I immediately took out ten yuan and handed it to my father.
"Ten cents per plate, ten plates for one yuan. You can lose a hundred plates. You won't lose every plate, right?”
His father took the money and said,
"I don't have any change."
The older brother took out the money from his pocket and said,"
"Look, mine is all small change."
As we were talking, someone knocked on the back door. Mother opened the back door and three people rushed in. One of the young men in a coat held a flashlight and said,
"You guys are gambling, hand over your money!”
His father said,
"We didn't gamble. This is my eldest son and this is my second son. They are giving me money. I don't have money, so why would I bet…"
His mother was furious.
"Rich! Why didn't he have money? You said you have money!"
His father still said to those people,
"I really don't have money."
As he spoke, he took out his purse, but it was empty. The person with the flashlight pointed at the money on the table and said,"
"If this isn't money, what is it?"
His father said,
"This is my second son's money. He was about to give it to me.”
His mother interjected,
"Why not? Just say that you have money!"
The older brother placed the cards on the table and said,
"It's the new year today, and we're playing poker, yet you're here to cause trouble. You say you're here to catch a gambling den, but what gambling den? How could the three of them gamble? Have you seen it? Get lost with me, or I won't be polite to you!”
The person with the flashlight said,"
"Ha! We were ordered to catch gambling, why would we be afraid of you?”
At this moment, sister-in-law came over with her niece in her arms. She grabbed the man in the military coat and said,
"You look like Luo Zhizhong of Team 9. Is your father Luo…"
Before her sister-in-law could finish, the man in the military coat pulled the man with the flashlight and signaled him to leave. Sister-in-law continued,
"We're all from Team Shengyi. We'll see each other every now and then. We are poor, how can we have money to gamble? If you want to catch gambling, go to a rich family. You can get a lot of money…"
The few of them walked away while talking. Sister-in-law nudged her brother with her shoulder.
"You're the only one. Can't you talk things out nicely? Grandpa, you don't recognize these people?”
His father said,
"Why don't I recognize him? Isn't that Luo Lixian's son? He pretended not to recognize me!”
His mother was still talking about his father.
"Why do you say you don't have money? Today!"
I finally understood my mother's words and asked my brother quietly,"
"Are we still going to fight?"
Her brother said hatefully,
"What are you still fighting for? Move the table out. We'll drink and wait for the round clock.”
I moved the table out and placed it in the middle of the hall. My brother had already gone to the kitchen to bring out the cold dishes. There were really five dishes, namely pig's head meat, sausage, fried lotus root, fried peas, and pickled radish. It couldn't be compared to Brother Fabing's family. I placed the chopsticks and wine glasses on the table. Father sat at the top of the table without saying a word. Brother poured a glass for Father and said,
"Don't be angry. Let's drink!"
As they were talking, the firecrackers outside had already started.
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