Siheyuan: Rebirth of Liu Ergou

The sound of firecrackers continued to crackle, as if cheering for the upcoming bumper harvest year. Liu Rui stood in the kitchen, looking at the dazzling array of ingredients in front of him, but he felt a little confused. He thought of the dusty cooking skill card in the system warehouse, and after hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, and decided to use it. In an instant, his brain seemed to be filled with a warm power, and the production process of various cuisines unfolded in his mind like a picture scroll, clear and vivid.

"Xiao Rui, what shall we do to worship our ancestors today?" Grandma came over with a cane and asked.

Grandma, please go and prepare the preparations for the sacrifice with your aunt. Leave this to me. You don't have to worry about it.

Xiao Rui, I'm not going to pay attention to you anymore. Liu Ying stamped her feet shyly and ran out.

Hahaha!

Aunt, run slower, don’t fall, I will feel bad. Listening to her husband, Liu Ying ran faster and accidentally hit the door sill, staggered, and almost fell.

The old lady smiled and shook her head. She was too lazy to pay attention to the younger generation's laughter and playfulness.

Liu Rui first lit the charcoal fire, hung the processed whole lamb and duck on the wall of the furnace, put the pork elbows, pig ears, and pork noodles into the marinade to simmer, and after all the side dishes were prepared, he lit a cigarette and started smoking contentedly.

After thinking for a while, Liu Rui took a deep breath and decided to start with the two dishes that required the most effort - boiled cabbage and Wensi tofu. He first selected a few fresh and tender cabbages, carefully peeled them one by one, and only took the most tender part in the middle. Then, he rinsed them repeatedly with clean water to ensure that every leaf was clean and flawless.

Liu Rui poured water into the pot and waited patiently for the water temperature to rise gradually. He knew that the key to boiling cabbage lies in the heat and the soup base. He specially made a pot of broth, which perfectly blended the deliciousness of chicken soup and the mellowness of pork bones, and the aroma was overflowing. When the water was bubbling slightly, he gently put the cabbage heart in, and gently pushed it with a spoon to ensure that each piece was evenly heated. After a few minutes, the cabbage heart became soft and transparent, and he quickly fished it out and arranged it on a plate like a poem and a painting.

Next up was the Wensi tofu. Liu Rui took out a piece of tender tofu, shook his wrist slightly, and cut the tofu into hair-thin strips in an instant with his knife skills as smooth as flowing water. This was not only a display of skills, but also the ultimate respect for the ingredients. He gently put the cut tofu into warm water to keep its shape. Then, he used chicken soup as the base soup, added a little salt and white pepper to season, and then slowly poured in the tofu, simmering it over low heat, so that every strand of tofu could fully absorb the essence of the soup.

At this time, the two sisters Liu Shan and Liu Fang had already impatiently gathered at the kitchen door, staring at the food in the pot with their eyes fixed on it, with smiles hanging on their lips. They swallowed their saliva from time to time, looked at each other, and their eyes were full of infinite anticipation for the food they were about to taste.

Sister, look, this dish smells so good!

Shanshan, please don't do anything rash. We haven't offered sacrifices to our ancestors yet, so you must not do anything rash.

I'm not afraid, my brother loves me the most and he will definitely not spank me, Liu Shan was about to enter the kitchen after she said that, but grandma coughed slightly and scared Liu Shan so much that she ran away. Liu Rui smiled and told Liu Shan not to run away and to help serve the dishes.

There were more than a dozen dishes filling the table, including pork elbow, braised lion's head, Dongpo pork, braised duck, steamed sea bass, goose stewed in an iron pot, boiled cabbage, Wensi tofu, pork ribs and cuttlefish soup, braised pork elbow, roasted whole lamb, cold beef, and braised pork tenderloin. Liu Shan and Liu Fang were drooling at the sight.

After all this was prepared, the annual ancestor worship ceremony was about to begin. The old lady was wearing a traditional dark robe, with gray hair combed meticulously. She held a bunch of incense in her hand and led Liu Rui and his wife Liu Ying, as well as Liu Rui's two sisters Liu Shan and Liu Fang, slowly into the ancestral temple.

In the ancestral hall, the ancestral tablets were arranged solemnly, and each tablet was engraved with the name of the family's ancestors, as if telling the glorious history of the family. The old lady reverently lit incense, then knelt down, put her hands together, and silently prayed for blessings. Liu Rui, his wife, and his sisters also knelt down, expressing their respect and gratitude to their ancestors.

The smoke of incense rose, and a solemn and mysterious atmosphere filled the ancestral hall. At this moment, time seemed to freeze, and everyone was silently communicating with their ancestors, feeling the family bond that transcended time and space.

After the ancestor worship ceremony, the family returned to the warm living room and prepared to eat the New Year's Eve dinner. The table was filled with sumptuous dishes, including golden roast duck, delicious steamed sea bass, roasted whole lamb... Each dish exuded an alluring aroma, making people salivate.

Everyone sat around the dining table, the old lady sat at the main seat, looking at everyone with a smile. Liu Rui raised his glass and extended New Year's blessings to the old lady, his wife, and his sisters. Then, everyone raised their glasses to celebrate this moment of reunion.

Brother, I want to eat lamb chops, Liu Shan said to Liu Rui with a smile. Liu Rui smiled and prepared it for grandma first, and then prepared it for everyone. Since Liu Shan was too young, he only gave her two lamb chops. The little girl pouted and said that her brother was stingy.

During the New Year's Eve dinner, there was a lot of conversation. Liu Rui and his wife Liu Ying talked about their achievements in the past year and their future plans, while his two younger sisters Liu Shan and Liu Fang excitedly shared interesting things in school. The old lady would occasionally interrupt and tell some family history and past events, which made everyone listen with great interest.

On this warm night, the family happily enjoyed the reunion time.