Tang Qing slept in the Li family's old house until noon, and Auntie Shanghai and Carpenter Wang rushed over to look for her.
"Are you cold? You walked all this way to get here?"
I don't know when it started snowing, it was the kind of weather with light rain, sleet, and snow.
It has been raining and snowing in recent years, and this is true. Before the Spring Festival in Yancheng, it always rains and snows non-stop, like this nine out of ten years.
Tang Qing originally wanted to ride her "Erba Dagang" to the store first, but the road was slippery and the bike kept skidding on it, so she had to drag it along.
"Master Jiujin, Nong Xiao knows how to cut it? How anxious is Ara when Nong is missing?"
"Master Jiujin, the butcher almost called the police Xiao Wang after you disappeared."
Auntie Shanghai and Carpenter Wang helped Tang Qing hold the bicycle on the left and right, chatting while walking.
"I'm missing? Why am I missing? Why does the pig butcher care about me if he doesn't sell his pork well? It's true that the emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is."
Tang Qing was a little dumbfounded. She didn't expect that she would sleep until noon.
You're obviously not sleepy, but why do you fall asleep so fast as soon as you lie down?
I must be snoring, and Li Li must have heard me snoring.
Hey, how embarrassing that is!
I am a very good snorer. My dead husband said that I am definitely a world-class snorer and that ordinary men cannot compare to me.
Hmph, maybe I don't snore at all when I sleep, and he is deliberately making me sick.
"Master Jiujin, Master Jiujin?"
"Um?"
Tang Qing's thoughts were interrupted by Aunt Shanghai.
"How could you be trapped in the Li family's old house last night?"
"No reason."
"Why not? If the butcher hadn't gotten up early in the morning to kill pigs and saw the people's barber shop open and you were alone, we would have come to look for you. If we hadn't come to find you, you would probably still be sleeping there now.
.”
Carpenter Wang couldn't help but interrupt.
"Master Wang, my shop door is not closed? How is it possible? Could it be that the pig-butcher is blind and mistaken?"
Tang Qing remembered that when he and Li Li left the People's Barber Shop, they pulled down the rolling shutter.
"Huh, you are still being stubborn and saying that the pig butcher is dazzled. I think you are just losing your mind because of the power. You are confused!"
"Hey, Master Wang, what can I do to make you stupid? Don't bother me at all times."
"Master Jiujin, why did you stay at the Li family's old house last night?"
"I didn't stay at the Li family's old house last night."
"Look, look, Aunt Shanghai and I found you in the Li family's old house, and you still deny it."
"What am I denying? It was almost dawn when I arrived at the Li family's old house. How can I say that I stayed here last night?"
"What's the difference?"
"It's definitely different. Can it be the same at night and during the day?"
"You mean you didn't sleep in the Li family's old house?"
"Of course, why should I come to the Li family's old house to sleep? Is there really something wrong with my brain?"
"Then what are you doing here at the Li family's old house?"
"Isn't it snowing? I came over to take a look. I'm worried that the old house will be crushed by the snow."
"Editor, make up, with this little snow, are you worried that the old house will be overwhelmed by the snow? Do you think we are your little family?"
"Master Wang, Xiaoqiang is smart, Master Jiujin Yiga will definitely be able to tell the difference."
"Hey, Auntie Shanghai, you mean my IQ is not even that of my Xiaoqiang?"
"Master Jiujin, it's not that you have a problem with your IQ, you're just a fan of the authorities. Listen to my advice, it's better that you come less often to the Li family's old house in the future, and it's best not to come at all."
"Master Jiujin, I agree with Master Wang's opinion. It's better not to get involved with Li Zapo."
"Thank you for worrying about me. I know it myself."
Tang Qing knows that Carpenter Wang and Aunt Shanghai are doing it for her own good, but she doesn't know why she cares so much about her dating Li Li?
"Master Jiujin, are you here?"
"Master Jiujin, are you okay?"
"Then Li Zapo didn't do anything to you, right?"
When Tang Qing arrived at the People's Barber Shop, neighbors and customers waiting to have their heads shaved in the shop gathered around and asked.
"It's okay, it's okay. Let's get my hair shaved. Who will be the first to arrive?"
While Tang Qing was busy, he was thinking, how did everyone know that I was with Li Li last night? Why do you always ask me if there is anything wrong with me? And also ask if Li Li did anything to me?
No, there must be a reason for this. Carpenter Wang and Aunt Shanghai had something to say just now, and now these neighbors are asking strange questions, is there someone behind the scenes who is causing trouble?
Someone is causing trouble? Why is he causing trouble? What is his purpose?
Could this troublemaker be the same person who told Li Li the truth?
If it is the same person, then things are not that simple.
Just wait, I will definitely find you out!
No, let’s wait until after the Chinese New Year. It’s better to calm down for the New Year.
You come and I go, the People's Barber Shop has been doing nothing these days. Everyone leaves after shaving their heads, and they are all busy buying new year's goods.
Auntie Shanghai and Carpenter Wang saw that Tang Qing was busy, so they went home to do their work.
Twenty-five dozen frozen rice dumplings and twenty-six wrapped rice dumplings.
The New Year atmosphere among the people of Yancheng begins to intensify from the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the New Year officially enters.
Twenty-five dozen frozen means that on this day, every family will buy the best fish and meat, and the person with the best cooking skills in the family will cook it as the main dish for the New Year.
Among them, there are three indispensable dishes. One is braised pork, which is braised pork. One is braised tofu, which is stewed with pork belly. The other is braised fish, which is fried first, and then the fish and dried white beans are mixed together.
Braised in soy sauce.
After these three dishes are cooked, they are placed in a large earthen basin and frozen the next day. The soup is frozen like jelly for children, and it tastes extremely delicious.
People in Yancheng freeze the dishes to prepare for the New Year on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, mainly because there were no refrigerators before and the vegetable market was closed during the Spring Festival, so they prepared them in advance.
It is better to understand that on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, every household in Yancheng must wrap rice dumplings.
On this morning, the streets and alleys were filled with the fragrance of rice dumpling leaves. Housewives got up early in the morning to wash the rice dumpling leaves and steam them, waiting for the men to come back and wrap the rice dumplings. It’s not that women can’t wrap rice dumplings, it’s mainly because men have strong hands and can wrap them.
The rice dumplings are firm.
In the afternoon, the fragrance of the rice dumpling leaves turns into the strong fragrance of the rice dumplings. This strong fragrance is the product of the combination of the rice dumpling leaves and the glutinous rice. It can make your mouth water.
The child's gluttony was completely aroused by the strong aroma. When the adults in the family were not paying attention, he secretly stretched out his little hand to grab a cooked rice dumpling, grabbed a piece of frozen braised pork or fried tofu, and hid in the corner of the alley to devour it.
It’s better to taste it first.
But at night, his father's big hands would symbolically spank his little butt a few times. Tang Qing knew this deeply and remembered it vividly. He still laughs when he thinks about it now.
Because what are you planning for this meal? Thirty nights of food are waiting behind you.
The people of Yancheng also pay attention to eating and wearing clothes on the first day of the first lunar month on the thirtieth night.
The thirtieth night is New Year's Eve, and every household has delicious food and wine on the table, so they can eat and drink freely.
Tang Qing remembered that her grandmother and mother, who usually did not drink alcohol, would have a small drink on the 30th night, and would dip the wine in the chopsticks and let Tang Qing take a sip.
Wearing it on the first day of the first lunar month is even more expected by children.
At the end of the year, I have new clothes to wear on this day.
Every time Tang Qing puts on new clothes on the first day of the first lunar month, she will first visit her neighbors one by one, and then run from East Street to West Street, in order to let everyone see what her new New Year clothes look like.
Alas, as people grow up, they no longer look forward to the Chinese New Year. As living conditions improve, the flavor of the Chinese New Year becomes less and less intense.
However, Tang Qing is still looking forward to this year's New Year because she invited Li Li to celebrate the New Year at her home.
After finishing his business on the morning of New Year's Eve, Tang Qing couldn't wait to come to the Li family's old house.
"Huh? Why is there a lock outside the gate?"
Tang Qing's hot heart suddenly cooled down.
"Dong dong dong, dong dong dong..."
Tang Qing knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no movement inside.
The outside is locked, which means there must be no one inside. The door of the old house was never locked before. Could it be that she wanted to tell me by locking it that she was no longer in Yancheng and not to look for her again?
No, I have to find her and go to her big villa to find her.