Four Foods in the Mountains

In Yunxi Village, the backyard of Lu's house was already full of people.

Yao Chunling caressed the red mat of the new house again and again, making sure that no trace of wrinkle could be seen before stopping.

Aunt Qian next to her laughed at her: "I said Chun Ling'er, the second boy's marriage will make your sister-in-law very busy."

"That's right, a sister-in-law is like a mother. My mother-in-law left early. As a sister-in-law, I shouldn't worry about Chuanzi."

Aunt Qian said again: "Chuanzi is holding a banquet today, so you really don't want to call the person from the other end?"

The other end refers to Lu Dexing and Wang Fengyu.

Yao Chunling curled her lips when she heard the names of these two people, and said, "I don't dare to call these two, Auntie, I'm talking to you, just talk about how many miles around this place, which man asks for a wife, as a father's question." Didn't even ask a question? When Yun Lang went to my house to propose a marriage, the two brothers worked day and night to help others to collect money for the dowry. Even my parents couldn't stand it when they saw it. A copper plate?"

"The stepmother came during the banquet. She came empty-handed. She took away the chickens and ducks in the kitchen, and she wanted to come into the house to find my dowry. How could there be such a shameful person? So this When Chuanzi got married, we didn’t tell the other party, and we didn’t ask them to bring gifts to the banquet, we just asked them not to make trouble, and just throw our family members in front of the new husband.”

Seeing that Yao Chunling's face turned angry, Aunt Qian hurriedly said something else: "It's a big day, let's not talk about that. Are the dried fruits ready? It's time to sprinkle them."

"I prepared it early, and I specially picked the plump and big ones." Yao Chunling was happy when talking about the marriage, and brought a small basket containing dried fruits, and the two of them grabbed it and sprinkled it on the bed.

Red dates, longans and peanuts are intended to give birth to precious children early, to have more children and more blessings, and to win a good fortune.

"Chun Ling'er, Chun Ling'er, you're back, the bridegroom is back—" an aunt shouted outside the door.

"Are you back?!" Yao Chunling stuffed the basket into Aunt Qian's arms, straightened her clothes and hurried out.

The sound of joy moved from far to near, and when the sedan chair stopped at the gate of the back yard, all the people in the courtyard looked at the husband in the sedan chair, and the gate was blocked.

Yao Chunling beamed brightly and said, "Everyone sit down, we will start the banquet after they have worshiped."

Lu Yunchuan carried Cen Ning out of the sedan chair, and walked all the way to the front of the main room before putting it down. The two of them held hands and stepped over the brazier to worship the hall. There were no elders sitting in the hall, only the plaques of Wei Zhuming and Lu's grandparents were placed.

"Is it true that Chuanzi didn't invite his father over to get married?"

"It's a happy day, don't look for bad luck to mention it."

"Seeing if the bride-to-be has the dowry, three men have to carry it together. The second boy is lucky."

Everyone said something to each other, but they immediately lost their mouths.

Once the newcomers entered the house, it was time for the feast to begin in the yard.

In the village, there are ten unified bowls for weddings and funerals, but each family’s ten bowls are different. Whether the dishes are served in large bowls or small bowls, and how many of the ten bowls are meat depends on the owner’s family. How to do it.

How well the marriage banquet is held also represents the importance that the family attaches to the married daughter-in-law and elder brother. Although the two brothers of the Lu family are poor, they are very particular about wedding banquets.

There are four vegetarian dishes in ten bowls per table, including cold daylily, tofu with shallots, fried spring bamboo shoots and a plate of stewed taro.

The five meat dishes include a large bowl of braised pork, a plate of fried pig ears, a bowl of stewed pork belly, a bowl of smoked duck and a plate of fish. Although the soup is vegetable tofu soup, there is also an egg in it, not to mention It is said that there is a basket of steamed steamed buns placed on each table, without any mixed noodles, but chubby white flour steamed buns.

For a while, the villagers ate without raising their heads.

The location of Yunxi Village is good, the soil is fertile, and there is no shortage of food for every household, but each family can only cut a few slices of bacon or stir-fry eggs in a day. It is not a festival, so how can they be willing to cook so much meat.

"The last time I had such a good banquet was when Lu Da married his wife." A young man said with a mouth full of oil.

When I looked up, I saw that the thick-headed boy sitting next to him was the eldest grandson of the village chief's family, and leaned over to him and said, "Big Huzi, the banquet where your third uncle married his wife is the most delicious. That plate of fried sausage Very much."

Yeah?Da Huzi thought to himself, when his third uncle married his third aunt and Uncle Langzi married Aunt Yao, he was only a little over one year old, and he was eating rice cereal, so he missed it.

Picking up a chopstick dish for his younger brother Er Huzi, the eldest Huzi said: "Uncle, I have a big name, He Ziqin, can you stop calling me by my nickname?"

"Hey, you are a tiger-headed tiger-brained, what do you call a big tiger?"

"Okay." Da Huzi shook his head helplessly, and gave his brother another piece of chopsticks to buckle the meat.

Children have small stomachs, Erhuzi cleaned up the meat in the bowl, burped his mouth greasy, and said, "Brother, I'm full."

"Success." Da Huzi wiped his brother's mouth clean, turned around to see his grandfather and father drinking, and said to his brother, "Then let's go to the kitchen and talk to Aunt Yao before we go home."

"En." Er Huzi nodded.

Da Huzi took his brother's hand and walked to the kitchen. Everyone was eating in the yard, and he, Aunt Yao, was the only one busy in front of the stove in the kitchen.

"Aunt Yao, we're done eating. We're going home. You should go out and have a bite too." Da Huzi said.

"It's a big tiger, are you full with your brother?" Yao Chunling turned her head and asked with a smile when she heard the voice.

"I'm full, but it's so delicious. Aunt Yao has taken care of it."

Yao Chunling liked Dahuzi's politeness, and she was even more grateful when she thought that Chuanzi's marriage was connected by the village chief's wife.

So he said: "Big Huzi, take your brother to sit on the bench for a while, Aunt Yao is making sugar water eggs, I'll give you a bowl to try."

Hearing the sugar-watered eggs, Er Huzi belched again excitedly, his stomach was full with meat and white flour steamed buns, but if it was sugar-watered eggs, he could drink it for a while.

"Thank you, Aunt Yao." Da Huzi led his younger brother to sit down on the bench in front of the stove. He didn't know if he sat down, but Aunt Yao was not the only one in the kitchen.

There was also a limp little brother sitting next to the stove, but because of his small size, he was blocked by his Aunt Yao.

Da Huzi knew that this was his Uncle Langzi and Aunt Yao's elder brother, called Brother Zhi, who looked like a small white flour bun.

Brother Zhi was not yet four years old, and was sitting quietly next to his aunt. When he saw the big tiger and the two tigers sitting over, he bent his big eyes at them.

Really beautiful, I want my mother to give birth.

"It's hot, drink it slowly." Yao Chunling filled a bowl full of sugar-watered eggs and put them on the stove, and then filled a large bowl and handed it to Da Huzi.

"Aunt Yao, let Brother Zhi drink it, he hasn't gone out to eat." Da Huzi said, pushing the bowl back.

When Er Huzi saw it, tears welled up in his eyes, but he also sat down and said nothing.

"Brother Zhi has eaten egg custard, you can drink it, big tiger is really sensible, your grandfather taught you well."

Da Huzi just took the bowl, blew it to Er Huzi's mouth, and blushed a little shyly because of being praised.

The bowl of sugar water eggs on the stove had cooled down a bit, Yao Chunling picked up the bowl and handed it to Brother Zhi to hold it, and said, "Hey, don't spill the bowl when it's ready."

Brother Zhi nodded while holding the bowl, and walked towards the side room in small steps.

Dahuzi knew that this was food for Uncle Chuanzi's husband, and the new husband's face could not be seen casually by others until Uncle Chuanzi finished lifting the hijab, but the little brother was fine after seeing it.

It just so happened that Lu Yunchuan opened the door and came in. Seeing Brother Zhi holding the bowl, he knelt down and said, "Good brother Zhi, call the little mama first before entering the door, and open the door to go in after the little mama answers, okay?" This is because he was afraid that brother Zhi would go in suddenly and make a noise, which would scare the veiled Cen Ning.

Brother Zhi liked his second uncle, and when he heard his second uncle's order, he nodded vigorously and went to the side room to meet his little mother.

"Uncle Chuanzi." Waiting for Lu Yunchuan and Yao Chunling to say something nice, Da Huzi called out to Lu Yunchuan.

His Uncle Chuanzi probably drank a lot of wine outside, and he smelled heavily of alcohol, but he looked calm on the surface, unlike some uncles who went crazy when they were drunk, which was very scary.

When Lu Yunchuan saw Da Huzi, he felt grateful to the village chief's family and wanted to talk to Da Huzi, but someone in the yard called him out for a drink.

In a hurry, seeing Er Huzi drinking deliciously with sugar water eggs in his hands, he broke a piece of caramel from the cabinet and handed it to Da Huzi, patted his head and went out.

Da Huzi thought, Uncle Chuanzi looked very imposing even breaking candy.

Asking Aunt Yao for a piece of cloth to put the caramel in, Da Huzi said to Er Huzi who was anxious, "Don't look, this is for my younger sister and elder brother at home."

Today at dinner, he and his brother and two children came to the house, and the two younger sisters and brother Yao stayed at home.

His third aunt gave birth to a little sister who was in confinement some time ago, and the candies and eggs at home had to be used by the third aunt to make up for her body. This piece of candy was brought back to give to her younger sister and Yao Geer Tiantianzui.

Hearing what his brother said, Er Huzi stopped looking at the candy, and put the bowl to his brother's mouth: "Brother, drink it quickly, it's so sweet."

Here Brother Zhi went to deliver sugar water eggs to his little mother, and when he came back, his little face was blushing.

Pulling the corner of Yao Chunling's clothes, she said, "Aniang, my little mama is pretty and fragrant, just like Aniang."

Thinking of Xiaoma hugging him and wiping his hands, feeding him sugar water eggs first, and peeling longan for him to eat, Brother Zhi liked Xiaoma so much, he held his face and smiled alone.

It was getting late, the dinner guests dispersed, only her family and a few aunts who had been invited to help clean up were left in the back room of Lu's house. Brother Zhi was young and sleepy early, so Yao Chunling asked Aunt Qian to take him back asleep.

The tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks in the yard were all borrowed from the villagers. Yao Chunling and a few aunts cleaned them quickly and returned them tomorrow.

There wasn't any food left at the banquet, but there were still some unfried pigs in the kitchen. You can't be stingy on the big day. Yao Chunling asked several aunts to share and take them home to eat.

After taking the money and pigs into the water, the aunts returned home with smiles, and only Lu Yunlang and his wife and Lu Yunchuan were left in the yard.

Lu Yunchuan drank a lot of wine today, Yao Chunling handed him the dried kudzu flower soaked in water to drink to relieve the alcohol.

It was getting late, Yao Chunling glanced at the side room, and said to Lu Yunchuan in a low voice: "The new husband should be tired after sitting for a whole day. Your elder brother and I will go back first. You can quickly enter the room."

As soon as Lu Yunlang and his wife left, the yard fell completely silent.

Oil lamps were lit in the side room, and the soft light could be seen through the windows.

After Lu Yunchuan inserted the courtyard door, he clenched his hand hanging by his side and pushed open the door of the side room.