Time: 2011-1- 12 22:33:03 Words: 4499
31. she visits relatives
On the first day of the first lunar month, the mother was the oldest.
I didn't have the habit of sleeping early, so I woke up as soon as I woke up. When I was getting dressed, sister-in-law in the room in front said,
"Su Hua, get up. Let's go make breakfast.”
Her brother said,
"You get up first. I'll get up immediately.”
When I walked out of the house, my father had already opened the door. He carried in a big tree bag and placed it on the place that had been burned last night.
"We'll burn it for the whole day!"
I walked to the kitchen and looked around. There were many cold dishes in the cupboard, and there were three chickens that had been killed long ago in the basin. I opened the stibine iron pot and found that it was filled with salt, tea, and braised eggs. Actually, my mother had already prepared them. This morning, she just heated them up. I brought the stibine iron pot to the central room. Father's firewood had already been arranged. There was a big tree bag, a small tree bag, and some firewood in the middle. Father put the grass target below and lit a match. It started to burn. I added some firewood on top and made a large number of smoke. I almost cried.
I was using a stick to stir the fire when sister-in-law opened the door and said,
"Su Ning, why don't you do something good? You're so smoky!”
She turned around and closed the door before going out to the kitchen. I put the stibine iron pot between the small tree pocket and the big tree pocket. The fire burned at the bottom of the pot and it rang. Sister-in-law came in again and asked her father,
"Grandpa, are we still going to make eggs this morning? Why didn't I find any eggs?"
I pointed at the stibnite pot and said,
"I cooked it yesterday. I just need to heat it up today.”
I opened the lid and the steam was already coming out. I took one with my hand and it was already a little hot. I threw it in my hand and placed it on the table. I peeled the eggshell and ate it. The salt had already entered. It was very delicious. His mother's voice came from the room."
"Su Ning, when it's done, bring a bowl over with Dad and Grandma.”
I thought about Auntie and that each of them would eat eight, so I wanted twenty-four. I went to the kitchen and found a big alms bowl. I used a spatula to turn over the heated ones and then used chopsticks to pick them up into the big alms bowl. Sister-in-law peeled the eggshells and placed them into the bowl. I asked,
"Why didn't you eat it?"
Sister-in-law pouted and pointed at mother's room. I understood. I brought it over. Father was getting firewood to light the fire. Granny was sitting by the door combing her hair. I handed the alms bowl to Granny.
"This is your morning tea."
Granny grinned and revealed her row of white teeth, which were even prettier than ours.
"Put it on the table."
When I returned to the fire, my brother had also woken up. Su Mei and Zhang Ping were talking about something in the room behind my mother. Zhang Bing was still sleeping.
"Hurry up and get up. If you're late, you won't have anything to eat!”
Sister-in-law touched me with her arm and stopped me with her eyes. I understood. Sister-in-law peeled six of them and scooped a little bit of salt water with a spatula. Then, she put the spoon into the bowl and brought it into her mother's room.
"Mother, have your morning tea. You can sleep early today. When the guests come, Su Hua and I will greet them…"
"Thank you, Aunt."
Saying " Gu 'er " seemed to be a catchphrase that his mother used to treat women like his sister-in-law. Then, he heard his mother wake up.
Father said to me,
"You should go over and greet Uncle Ming Yi for the new year. Others are older, but they came over first last year. It's not right.”
I took a bag of things and immediately went over to Dong Sheng and the others. Ming Yi Bo was sitting by the door, rolling a cigarette. I said,
"Uncle, I wish you a happy new year!"
As I said that, I knelt down. Ming Yi Bo immediately helped me up and said,
"Who still cares about old manners now! Get up. Dong Sheng! Get up quickly, Jianguo is here, get up and wish your Uncle Zhongkai a happy new year!”
I put the things on the table and walked into Dong Sheng's room. He was really sleeping soundly, but he tilted his head and said,
"You're up so early? Anyway, he had nothing to do today, so he slept a little more.”
I said,
"Aren't you going to visit your mother-in-law today?"
Ming Yi Bo's voice came from the main room,
"I'll pay my respects to my parents on the first day and my mother-in-law on the second day. I'll go tomorrow!”
When I came out, Ming Yibo had already lit up his cigarette. The strong smell of smoke reminded me of that year when we were playing at the Huang family's youngest father's place. The Huang family's youngest father had a very long pipe. He sat on a chair and smoked. The pot was placed on the ground. He often asked us children to light the cigarette for him. When we lit it, he said that he would reward you with a sip. Therefore, I took a sip and choked. I felt uncomfortable for almost ten days.
"Uncle, do you smoke cigarettes?"
"Cigarette cigarettes are boring."
I was about to speak when Zhang Ping came over.
"Happy New Year, Uncle. Little brother, brother-in-law is here. Big brother asked me to call you over.”
I said to Ming Yibo,
"I'm going over."
As she spoke, she returned with Zhang Ping. Her brother was talking to Brother Jin Zhong while her sister-in-law was serving dishes on the table. It was just a few plates. His mother came out, her hair still uncombed. She said to her brother-in-law,
"You guys are here? Peach Fragrance, there was also Duxin, Kidney, Shunfeng, and Zhuantou in the basket. Cut a little of them all.”
My sister brought a cold dish from the kitchen. I brought the chair to the table. My father had already taken out the wine bottle. My brother set up the wine glass and chopsticks and said to my brother-in-law,
"Golden Bell, come, let's drink!"
He refused to sit at the seat of honor and pressed his father down. His father said,
"Then make yourself at home. Our family isn't as polite as yours. Su Ning, open the back door a little and blow out some smoke.”
I opened the back door and sat down at the lower table. Of course, it was a symbolic gesture. However, when my brother advised my brother-in-law, he just drank. His face was flushed. My sister brought a plate of vegetables and placed it on the table.
"Drink less."
Brother Jin Zhong was about to say something when his brother said,
"Su Gui, let's drink today. Don't stop us!”
"You don't know, but he was almost done drinking during the reunion dinner yesterday!”
Her sister wanted to say something, but her father said,
"Today is the day to drink."
Her sister could only turn around and go to the kitchen.
"Big Brother, Big Sister, Ho, why didn't you wait for me to drink? -- Oh, even the golden bell is here? Brother, can you still sit at the top? Today, both the old and young son-in-law are here. How can you still sit at the banquet?”
Jiang Bei's son-in-law was still the same. He hadn't even arrived, but his voice had already arrived. We all stood up to welcome him.
"Drink first, then smoke. Ho-ho-ho-"
Jiang Bei's son-in-law's laughter was very unique, and he even made a curve. His father let the son-in-law sit at the seat of honor. The son-in-law pulled Brother Jin Zhong and said,
"Today, the two of us will sit at the top table. If son-in-law doesn't sit at the top table, who will? Don't you think so, Big Brother?"
Brother Jin Zhong was still giving way, and his father also pushed him to the upper seat. Brother Jin Zhong had no choice but to sit on the right side of the son-in-law, so he began to drink again. His father sat next to the son-in-law, and his brother sat next to Brother Jin Zhong. The son-in-law was still the talkative one.
"Big Brother, we drank together last year, right? Today, we brothers have to drink a few cups! Ho-ho-ho-, Golden Bell, you have to drink with me today. You're the new son-in-law, and I'm the old son-in-law. Today, no, I'll drink with you, and the old son-in-law will drink with the new son-in-law. Brother, look, I'm drunk before I even drink!”
"Happy New Year, Big Sister! Big brother, you damn Zhang Jin, you're acting crazy again. Today is the first day of the lunar new year.”
When his aunt came in, it was even more lively.
I put down my chopsticks and walked into the room.
"Where should I go this year?"
His mother used a hair clip to clip her hair and touched it a few times before saying,
"Let's go to my father's place first, then to my aunt's and aunt's. When we pass by the yard, we'll go to my aunt's place. Are you going today or tomorrow?"
I said,
"I have nothing to do at home anyway. Since the guests are here, I'll go today.”
"I'll give you the things later. This year, you can bring Zhang Bing there and let him familiarize himself with the road.”
Mother gave me the same thing as that year, two pig hooves, but much bigger. I took Zhang Bing to Yangchang and told him stories along the way. When I was studying in a teacher's college, I bought a book called " A Selection of Chinese Folk Stories " and told him the stories one by one. When we arrived at Yangchang, Zhang Bing asked me how far we were. I imitated my father's tone and said that we were almost there. After we finished walking this street, went up the embankment, and walked through the safety zone, we were almost there.
Yangchang Street was similar to Douhudi Street. The shops had moved their things out and placed them on the side of the street so that it was convenient for pedestrians to buy them when they visited their relatives. I noticed that Zhang Bing was staring at the food, so I took out a piece of rice candy from my pocket and handed it to him.
"Do you want to eat? I brought you rice candy."
He took it and started chewing. I walked to the place where I ran back that year and told him my story. He said,
"Little brother, I really can't walk anymore.”
So, we sat down by the embankment. The slope of the embankment was covered with yellow withered grass. It was very thick. I lay on the grass and placed the things beside it. Zhang Bing rolled on the grass and rolled down the slope of the embankment. I shouted,
"Stop! Stop! Rolling like this will make you dizzy!"
Only then did he stop. I took out another sausage and held it in my hand.
"Look, what is this?"
He ran over and snatched the sausage from my hand. Seeing him eat, I remembered how delicious I was back then. Dong Sheng's father often bought meat from the street and the fragrance often made me stand by the door frame of other people's houses and ask for food. Because of this, I was beaten by my mother twice. Seeing that he was almost done eating, I asked,
"Do you feel strong? Come, look, that's-"
I pointed to a place not far away and gave him hope. He said,
"It's that far? You're still running back?"
I said,
"They said they were only halfway there. I felt cheated and ran.”
In fact, Zhigang's father was right. Didn't the old saying say that a person who walked a hundred miles would only pass half of it? The reason was that the last ten miles were the hardest to complete.
Along that path, climbing up from that gap, the first house was my father's house. When I entered the door, I saw my father stirring the fire. The whole room was filled with smoke. I shouted,
"Father and Mother!"
His grandmother came over and pulled Zhang Bing, saying,
"My son, he's so young and has walked so far. My son has suffered a great loss! Wait for a while, I'll cook something delicious for you.”
My granny went out and I sat by the fire. My father took the pot from the hook at the end of the rope. The pot was full of smoke and dust. He took a cup from the table and poured the water into it. White steam came out, forming a sharp contrast with the black pot. Someone was setting off firecrackers outside, and Zhang Bing ran out. I held the cup of boiling water in my hands. It tasted really good. My father poured the rest of the water into the thermos bottle and filled it up again. I hung it on the hook. The cooking pot was swaying around the tree. My father held it up. I looked up and saw that the rope was tied to the beam of the roof. It had been smoked into a black line. My father plucked the firewood a few times and asked me,
"The girl I introduced to you last time, did you go again?”
I lowered my head and shook my head as an answer. Father said,
"She's a good girl. She's very filial, polite, good-looking, and has good craftsmanship. No matter when or what world it was, a craftsman would never starve to death. Besides, that girl looks so delicate and pretty, she's still worthy of you. What do you dislike? You haven't read any books? Her family was poor. In order to let her two younger brothers study, she took the initiative to leave school to help her parents. Her parents could not bear to let her go, so they let her learn. Besides, her craftsmanship is indeed not bad. Look, I played there for a day, and she made me a set of clothes. Look, it fits me!”
My father stood up. The clothes fit him very well. What can I say? I can only say that my father simply can't understand my thoughts. Logically speaking, he should have understood. Didn't Uncle find an aunt in Songzi coal mine? Didn't Father say that she was very good and called Uncle to stay in Songzi? Uncle came back and dumped his aunt and found a new aunt in the village. Didn't Father say," If you continue to be naughty, I'll beat you to death?" Thinking of this, I asked,
"Where's uncle?"
As I said that, the uncle that my granny brought over came over with a wooden frame. It was still steaming. I stood up and shouted,
"Hello, Uncle."
Uncle placed the wooden frame on the table and removed the cloth on it. The steam came out. Uncle said,
"Jianguo, have some biscuits."
Father shouted outside,
"Zhang Bing, have some biscuits!"
When Zhang Bing came in, his uncle said,
"Heh, Zhang Bing has grown so big!”
I took a piece of biscuit and put it into my mouth. It wasn't crispy like the biscuits I bought. It was soft and delicious. I said,
"This is better than the ones bought in the store."
Uncle said,
"Jianguo, sit down for a while. I'll go over.”
Father said,
"In the past, our Tuguo Alley was very lively. Every household would do business. Some made biscuits, some made flower stems, some made cloud cake…"
"There's someone who knows how to make cloud cake?"
In my heart, cloud slice cake is the best pastry. How can a person make such delicate and thin slices? Father plucked the firewood again.
"Cloud slice cake is nothing! In the past, merchants from Jiangnan and Jiangbei all came to our place to buy goods. What couldn't we do? However, after liberation, they declined and were all concentrated in the factories in the city. It was the New Year now, and everyone was cooking for themselves.”
I think it's a pity. At least, the biscuits I ate were very good. My feet started to feel cold. I took off my shoes and saw that the soles were already wet. I looked at my socks and saw that they were also wet.
"Take it off and roast it.”
I obeyed and took off my socks and shoes to bake. I asked my father again,
"Where's uncle?"
My father knew who I was asking and said,
"He went to play with his friends."
In my heart, my brother-in-law is a symbol of valor. He is tall, burly, and his shoulders are wider than my brother's. His tone of speech is very domineering. However, it has been two years since he came to our house. No, he might have gone. I didn't meet him. He is very respectful to my mother. He always calls her "big sister" and "big sister". When my mother goes to the kitchen, he will follow her. When my mother goes to the vegetable garden, he will follow her. My mother is very annoyed that he dumped his aunt who already had a son.
My mother-in-law came over and called us over for dinner. When we went out, the sky was already dark. Zhang Bing had already run over the concave slope and entered the door of the house.
When I go to bed at night, I plan to play for two days for my father, one day for my aunt, two days for my aunt, one day for my aunt, and one day for my aunt. I'll go to work on the eighth day of the lunar new year…
The article was reprinted from the Eastern Wealth Network blog: Visiting Relatives
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。