Obligations of the elderly

"Woof!", "Woof!", "Woof!"——

Early in the morning, the yard of Gongsi’s house was surrounded by the sound of barking dogs, and the owner and employees of the sled company woke up.

Wearing an old shirt, Malone yawned and pushed open the sliding door from the living room to the courtyard. The dogs who had been resting there rushed over to greet him in an instant.

"Haha! Good morning!" Laughing, Malone stroked each dog's head one by one.

The dogs had snow scum on their bodies, but steaming white air was blowing out of their mouths. They had obviously been playing in the snow in the yard.

Ai Min walked behind him, patted the heads of the dogs that were rushing towards him, and then stood up quietly. He didn't speak, but his eyes were full of admiration.

Admiration for this ice and snow world.

A thick layer of snow has accumulated in the yard that was cleaned yesterday, and it probably snowed again last night. Long icicles hang down from the eaves, which are crystal clear and of different lengths, like condensed crystal curtains, the color of the sky It is baby blue, the sun is about to rise, half of the face is protruding from the eaves on the east side, and the snow over there looks like it has turned into a light golden yellow...

"It's so beautiful." What Emin didn't say was uttered by Lin, and he also got up, also wearing an old man's shirt of Grandpa Jung's that the palace found out for them, and he also looked at the snow field outside the window. People picture, a look of admiration.

But the picture of the snow scene that amazed the two was quickly destroyed: Malone jumped into the middle of the dogs playing in the snow, and rolled around in the snow while fighting with the dogs Not to mention, he jumped back immediately, breaking off the two thickest and longest slivers of ice with a "crack", and then rushed into the room, poking the slivers directly onto the only sleeping bed on the floor. In the neck of Nilu...

"Ah!" Nilu jumped up all of a sudden.

Seeing him dazed and clutching his ice-stricken neck, Xingyun, who had just washed out of the bathroom, quickly handed him the hot towel wrung out in his hand, and stuffed it into his neck.

Not thinking about revenge at all, Nilu turned his head, and he was also attracted by the small courtyard outside. Although more than half of it had been destroyed by Maron, the snow was so thick, it was still very beautiful to look at.

At the same time, Gong Si brought Xi Liu and his younger brothers out with big steaming plates.

"Dinner!" He said succinctly.

"Oh yeah!" Malone came back in a moment of joy.

***

The place where Marlon Xingyun and the others sleep is the dining room and living room where they ate yesterday, and it is also the largest room in the Gong family. Gong Si originally wanted some of them to live in the room of himself and his brothers, but Marlon firmly insisted Refused.

"It's already very disturbing to be invited to play, we can't occupy your bedroom anymore, besides, this room is very warm, and it's very beautiful for everyone to play on the floor together!"

Nilu and the others also said the same thing, so the palace didn't force it, and the house was heated up, and thick mattresses were spread out, and he built a long floor for them.

Xiliu followed him to sleep upstairs, but there was no other way, the mattress was not long enough, even if Master Xiliu was a slender man, it wouldn't be able to fit him.

Breakfast is the most common soy milk and omelette.

The soy milk is ground from the green beans I bought yesterday in Qiuxia. It is said to be green beans, but it is actually a slightly larger soybean. It should have been an ordinary soybean variety, but when I came to the local area, I slowly changed the species, and it became bigger. , the taste also changed slightly: it became more delicious than ordinary soybeans.

It can be fried and eaten when it is just peeled off. It is sweet and glutinous and delicious; it can be steamed and smashed to make dessert fillings; it can be put in when stewing meat and stewed with the meat; Once soaked and beaten into a slurry, the slightly blue slurry has a sweet taste, and it tastes delicious without adding sugar; it is ground into powder and mixed with flour to make a paste, and you can spread small cakes by adding some chopped green onion.

"This is delicious!" After taking a sip, Malone's eyes lit up instantly.

"This pancake is delicious too." Nilu's eyes sparkled as he took a big bite of the pancake.

"This is green soy milk and green bean omelette, one bean and two meals." Gong Si explained simply.

The dogs who sent them back also had a portion: stewed green beans in broth, and the green beans with the taste of broth are also very delicious!

The palace also specially prepared a fish tail for the only carnivorous sled employee ← he secretly hid it from dinner yesterday, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was snatched from Marlon's mouth.

Breakfast is a feast for the guests and hosts.

After breakfast, Gong Si sent off the dogs pulling the sled.

"Goodbye! Next time we will take your sleigh!" Waving his hands vigorously, Malone enthusiastically said goodbye to Rhubarb and them.

In the sound of his farewell, the dogs pulled the sled and galloped away in the snow, and disappeared at the end of the path not long after.

"What are we going to do today?" Malone asked refreshed after a full breakfast.

Gongsi then said what he had planned a long time ago: "Go and buy some necessary things for the New Year, mainly red paper and other solar terms, and decorate the home to make it look more festive. Gotta buy red lanterns, fireworks!"

"I can help set off fireworks!" Malone excitedly said immediately.

"I can cut window grilles, hehe, I have practiced quite a lot of window grille cutting methods recently..." It was Xiliu who said this.

"I can draw talismans. If I have a brush, I can draw." Lin also took on a task. Incidentally, it is a popular Chinese New Year sticker painting here, which is probably a kind of pattern like a talisman seal, which should be pasted on all the doors. On the Internet, there are many types of patterns, each of which represents a different meaning. There are really not many people who can draw this, and most of them are bought.

"Huh? I... I used to buy it before..." For example, Nilu was a little dumbfounded when he saw his friends taking up the jobs.

"I think you can cook, Nilu, can you pickle vegetables for me later?" Gong Si said to him, "We pickle New Year's vegetables every year during the Chinese New Year here, and the vegetables that are pickled at this time of the year are delicious, so we have to pickle vegetables once a year." It is enough to marinate for a year, and the task load is still quite large..."

Before Gongsi finished speaking, Nilu nodded immediately: "Is it the pickled vegetables in yesterday's bone soup and stewed fish? We asked you yesterday why the taste of these soups is so good and special, and you said it was because of the pickled vegetables. The dish..."

Nodding, Gong Si said: "That's it. We like to use pickled vegetable soup for soup and stir-fries here, and we also need to add some pickled vegetables. The soup made this way is delicious."

"Ah! I want to help!" Nilu was even happier: "Can you give me a small bottle after finishing it? I want to go back and give it to my parents..."

"Don't worry, everyone has it. I'll make more this time. Qiuxia bought our usual amount yesterday. I don't think it's enough. I'll have to order more later..."

The teenagers discussed and discussed, and quickly figured out the next thing.

Because this time the palace had a large number of helpers, Qiuxia and Dongchun were liberated, and they bid farewell to their elder brother at the door, and the two went out separately: Qiuxia went to visit the teacher, and Dongchun went to find a good friend from the past For fun, he even brought them gifts from the city!

Aji was also taken away by Qiu Xia, wearing thick clothes, and before leaving, Qiu Xia held his hand and waved to everyone.

After locking the door, Gongsi and the others set off.

There are no buses this season, but there are sleds.

Gongsi’s house doesn’t have sleds, but many nearby have them. Every year at this time, people with sleds will walk along the bus route. First, the road is spacious and easy to walk. Second, it’s to see if there are any. People are there, you can piggyback on them.In addition, there is also a sleigh cart for supermarket delivery. If it is to the direction of the town center, they can also send a ride for free.

Gong Si and the others took this kind of supermarket sleigh cart. When they passed by, there happened to be a supermarket sleigh cart parked there. It seemed that the goods had just been delivered, and there were still vegetable leaves hanging from the back.

Gong Si also saw Grandma Lin—the same Grandma Lin who knitted woolen socks for Aji before.

Seeing Gongsi, Grandma Lin greeted him with a smile: "Gongsi is back, I saw the lights in your house turned on yesterday. Are these new classmates?"

On the note that Gong Si left at home, he wrote the reason for his departure: Qiu Xia was admitted to a school outside, and they went out to study.

"Well, yes, they celebrate the New Year here this year." Gong Si also greeted the old lady: "I just came back last night."

"I've prepared the New Year's dishes, and I'll give you some later." Grandma Lin said.

"Okay, when I'm done, I'll give you a bottle too." The most common New Year's gift in Lengshui Town is homemade New Year's dishes!Speaking of which, the reason why palaces cook New Year's dishes is to be able to return gifts!

Saying goodbye to Grandma Lin, Gongsi and his party got on the sled and left. Apart from them, there were other small town residents sitting on the sled. Everyone knew each other, but after greeting Gongsi and saying a few words They all stopped talking, and all of them huddled in the heavy winter clothes, their eyebrows and eyes were covered by fur hats.

The atmosphere of ordinary residents in Lengshui Town obviously made Malone uncomfortable: It doesn't look like they have a bad relationship, and everyone is very friendly when they talk...Why don't they usually chat?And the voice is still so low?

"I really like this place." But Lin gradually tasted the human touch here, shrunk his eyebrows and eyes under the fur hat, and quickly integrated into the atmosphere of the locals.

Generally speaking, except for Malone who was a little bit panicked, everyone felt good along the way.

Fortunately, they soon arrived at the town center of the grain drying field. It was a bit the same as but very different from the silver-clad Lengshui Town. Although it was also a world of ice and snow, there were lights and festoons everywhere, and various red traditional decorations filled every corner of the town. Not to mention a single street, there are all kinds of neon lights that have never been seen before. In addition, there are too many people here. no the same.

Although the town center at this time is usually crowded with people, most of the people come here to buy goods. There are basic decorations on the street, but it will not be so lively. After all, most people spend the New Year at home, and the town center basically There won't be many people, so there is no need to decorate so much.

The palace even saw a lot of amusement equipment, and even small rails were installed on the street. A fairy-tale locomotive was parked there, and there were people around it doing various adjustments for it.

"What's wrong?" Gong Si frowned.

He wasn't confused for too long. When he went to the supermarket to buy something, he saw the notice posted by the supermarket, and when he checked out, he also received a leaflet——

"A celebration of 400 years of being small town residents! You're welcome!"

After looking through it carefully, it turned out to be a Chinese New Year celebration held by several nearby towns. The venue is in the town center of the threshing ground. At that time, there will be all kinds of food and entertainment, various performances, and Big fireworks show!

"Uh... you've caught up, this is the first time we've done something like this here." Gong Si said, handing the flyer in his hand to Marlon next to him.

"Wow! It seems very good! I must come!" Malone said excitedly.

It is rare for students to come here, and the palace is happy to let them have fun. The scenery in Lengshui Town is good, but it will not be very lively even during the Chinese New Year. It may be too deserted for people from big cities. If there is a celebration now , might be better.

With a lot of people and a lot of power, Gong Si quickly bought things, and then took the students back home.

The character of the painting, the one who cuts the window grilles, the one who does the cleaning, the one who cleans the house, and the palace takes the rest of the people to make pickles, and when the sky is about to get dark, he takes the students to go to the bus station again and wait. I went - the flyer said that today there will be a number of supermarket sleighs parked here, picking everyone up to the town center at any time.

Sure enough, there were already many people there when they passed by, and everyone got on the sleigh car in an orderly manner. After greeting each other, everyone lowered their voices and whispered on the sledge, and the noise on the sledge was louder than usual. Coming to this rare celebration finally brought a lot of surprises to everyone, and everyone seems to be looking forward to it.

Accompanied by people's whispers, the sleigh drove all the way, and finally arrived at the center of the town just after dark, and the town center at this time was different from the town center they had seen during the day.

All the lights were on, and the town center of Threshing Ground looked like one huge, lively fairground!