Four Foods in the Mountains

On New Year's Eve, Lu Yunchuan and Cen Ning got up early in the morning.

On the most festive day of the year, both of them changed into clean cotton clothes washed a few days ago, and Cen Ning even specially changed into a red headband to tie his hair.

He was sitting in front of the bronze mirror combing his hair, and Lu Yunchuan was standing behind him watching.

"The color is bright and beautiful."

Cen Ning raised his eyes to look at Lu Yunchuan from the mirror, pursed his lips and smiled: "Then I will often use this stick in the future."

Wash up and do nothing else, you have to paste couplets on the gate of the courtyard first.

In the past, the village chief wrote the couplets in the village, but this year is different. The village finally produced a scholar. Most of the red couplets in the village went to the Shen family to ask the boy from the Shen family to help write them.

The day before yesterday Lu Yunchuan went to Shen's house with a pack of preserved fruit and a few eggs, and returned with a pair of red couplets.

Both of them were illiterate, so they couldn't understand what was written on the couplet, but they heard that the boy from the Shen family said it was very auspicious and auspicious, so they happily posted the paste on the gate of the courtyard.

The paste was prepared yesterday, and the starch that had been dried overnight was mixed with hot water to form a paste.

Post up the couplets and have breakfast. It was agreed yesterday that all three meals today will be eaten in the front room.

The two of them went forward carrying their things, without wearing hats or headscarves, and walked in the snow.

The couplet in the front room was also pasted up, it looked red from a distance, and stepped into the courtyard door against the wind and snow, where Lu Yunlang was combing brother Zhi's hair.

Yao Chunling used the piece of red cloth bought in the town to make a new padded coat for Brother Zhi before the Chinese New Year. Brother Zhi was already white and tender, and she was wearing a red cotton padded coat sitting under the eaves of the snowy yard, looking more and more beautiful, just like the New Year pictures like a doll.

The little New Year's picture doll sat on the bench with her face propped up. Lu Yunlang's big hand held her head of hair and combed it into a mess, and her scalp was pulled from time to time, causing Brother Zhi to curl her lips in pain.

Seeing the two of them coming in, Lu Yunlang seemed to see a savior, and hurriedly said: "Brother Ning came just in time, your sister-in-law is busy in the kitchen, and Brother Zhi just got up to comb his hair. I haven't done such delicate work before, and it took me a long time to comb it. If you can’t braid your hair, this headband won’t work either.”

Brother Zhi also stared at Cen Ning with a pair of big eyes: "Little Mama combs, Xiao Mama combs it for me."

Cen Ning took the comb with a smile, combed Brother Zhi's hair in two or three strokes, and tied a little chirp on the top of his head.

He took out a small flower handkerchief from his bosom and pinned it to Zhige'er's cotton coat: "Xiaoma made it for Zhige'er, do you like it?"

It is not the size of an ordinary handkerchief, but Cen Ning specially sewed it small, which is just right for a little guy like Brother Zhi.

The two hugged each other and looked at the little red and green flowers on the handkerchief, they couldn't be more affectionate.

Just as Lu Yunchuan took the basket of venison he brought to the kitchen and handed it to Yao Chunling, he smiled unconsciously when he came out and saw the scene.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, you have to eat jujube cake and risotto. Jujube cake is ordinary rice cake with a few red dates on it, and risotto is made of potatoes, cabbage, tofu mixed with rice and sweet potato vermicelli. It was full of soup, and five people ate up the big pot made by Yao Chunling.

After breakfast, Lu Yunlang and Lu Yunchuan were going to the back mountain to worship their ancestors and visit their graves.

Huang Ba, fried New Year vegetables, rice and jujube steamed buns, and another half pot of wine was heated up. Yao Chunling and Cen Ning packed the ancestor offerings in a basket and handed them to Lu Yunlang and Lu Yunchuan.

"There are quite a lot of things this year." Lu Yunlang looked at the basket and said.

"That's right, bring more to the past, and let grandma and mother know that our days are getting better and better, so they can feel at ease over there."

Lu Yunchuan took the basket from Cen Ning's hand, squeezed Cen Ning's hand and smiled, Cen Ning also laughed, and said to him: "It's snowing, be careful when walking with your things."

In the village, only the men of the family went to worship the ancestors. Yao Chunling and Cen Ning sat at home and waited for them to come back.

After worshiping the ancestors until preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner, there is nothing else to do, so you can sit down and have a rest.

Yao Chunling and Cen Ning took Brother Zhi to sit in the main room warming the fire, eating snacks and chatting around the stove.

New charcoal was burned in the brazier, and Cen Ning took two oranges and roasted them on the tongs. The roasted oranges were hot and soft, and tasted sweeter than usual, not ice-cold.

The cold wind blows the frozen leaves, the remaining snow falls on the cold branches, and the snow on the apricot trees in the yard falls to the ground from time to time, forming a ball in the snow, while the fire in the main room is blazing, and there is a faint aroma of oranges.

After eating a few bites for lunch, in the afternoon, Yao Chunling moved the noodles and dumpling stuffing into the main room, and the four of them gathered around the table and started making dumplings.

Dumplings are indispensable during Chinese New Year. Yao Chunling prepared the stuffing early, which is cabbage and pork.

Lu Yunlang and Lu Yunchuan were in charge of rolling the dough with strong hands, Yao Chunling and Cen Ning were wrapping it aside, and Brother Zhi took a small piece of flour and sat aside to knead and play by himself.

Wrapping the dumplings, Yao Chunling talked about the basket of venison brought by Cen Ning's family: "I have neither eaten nor cleaned up such a precious thing. I really don't know how to make it."

Cen Ning took the dumpling wrapper from Lu Yunchuan and said with a smile: "I haven't eaten it much. I used to sell it in the town. I only heard from my father that the masters in the town bought it back. It’s eaten by roasting it over a fire or chopping it up to make porridge.”

"Hey, cooking porridge with such an expensive thing is the same as cabbage tofu. It can't be so bad." Yao Chunling said with a smile, "Let's roast it on the fire and try it. , How many pots of old duck soup can a piece of venison hold?"

Venison is rare, there is nothing to do in the afternoon, and they are all curious about the taste of venison, so after making dumplings, Lu Yunlang and Lu Yunchuan set up a fire in the yard to prepare to roast the venison.

Auntie Cen Ning had packed the venison, fearing that it would not be cooked for a while, Yao Chunling put it in the pot and stewed it for a while.

Sprinkle salt and spices on the meat, brush it with oil, put it on a bamboo stick and roast it on the fire.

The mountain was covered with white snow, it was icy and snowy, but the aroma of venison floated far away, chewing the meat, the snow melted on my body, and I didn't feel cold anymore.

"No wonder it's so expensive, it's really delicious."

Venison is fatter than chicken and thinner than mutton. After stewing for a while to remove the fishy smell, it still tastes fragrant. It is charred on the outside and soft on the inside. Brother Zhi ate two yuan more with a stick.

Fearing that there would be no appetite for the New Year’s Eve dinner, I picked up two large pieces of meat from the basket and roasted them before turning off the fire.

When the sky is getting dark and every household in the village lights up the oil lamps in the kitchen, it will be the highlight of the New Year's Eve.

Stir-fried vegetables, stewed fish and meat, the small village is very lively, the smell of big fish and meat wafts from the village head to the village tail, no matter how tight people's pots are, there is stewed meat.

Croquettes, fried chicken, duck in sauce, pork skin jelly and bacon sausage, which were prepared early on. The pots and bowls collided in front of the stove. Yao Chunling and Cen Ning were busy with a pot alone, dry-fried salted fish and fried pig ears , braised radish, tofu mixed with shallots, scrambled eggs with bamboo shoots, stewed vermicelli with cabbage and pork.

Then steam a pot of fragrant white rice and cook a pot of steaming dumplings. The meals are filled with square wooden tables that are not commonly used in the main room.

It was late at night, the food was fragrant and the wine was warm in the house, and the lights were amiable. Every yard at the foot of the mountain was lit with warm yellow light, accompanied by laughter and chatter.

These oil lamps will stay on until tomorrow morning, ushering in another year in the mountains.