Reborn 92's Business Tycoon

Chapter 37: Spring Festival Overture III

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month was also a busy day.

In the morning, a large wooden steamer was borrowed from Feng Jiasheng's house. The glutinous rice that had been soaked overnight was placed inside, a pot of water was boiled in a large pot, a special wooden rack was placed on top, the steamer was placed on the rack, and the fire was turned up high to steam.

When it was ready, they tied the steamer with a rope and Feng Zhenchang and Feng Dongming carried it to the communal stone mortar in the village. Feng Jiansheng was waiting there with three sticks, as their family had just finished pounding rice cakes.

Feng Yiping ladled spoonfuls of glutinous rice into the mortar, and the three adults pounded it with their sticks. Making zi ba requires strength and is also a skilled job that requires a good rapport between the people involved.

It goes something like this: taking turns, one lifts a hot stick, and the next one follows suit, rising and falling in rhythm. If the rhythm is not good, the sticks will be lifted at the same time, and the uncooked zi ba will be lifted along with them.

The three of them shouted simple slogans and pounded with the sticks for nearly ten minutes, until their heads were covered in sweat. Only then did they finish pounding the sticky rice cake, lift the sticks, pry the rice cake up, and place it on the wooden board that had been sprinkled with flour. Feng Zhenchang handed the stick in his hand to Dong Ming, stuck his hand in the cold water in the basin next to him, and then grabbed the stick in the sticky rice with his hand. Dong Ming pulled hard on the other end and slowly pulled it out.

After all three sticks had been pulled out, Feng Yiping carried the wooden board and ran home. A large winnow had been prepared at home, and Mei Qiuping looked at it and said, 'The glutinous rice is good this year, and the sticky rice cake is also well made.'

Without stopping, she kneaded the sticky rice into several large cakes while it was still hot and laid them out in the winnow. When they had dried a little, she cut them into long strips and then fried or boiled them in the rice pot. This was a common way of eating sticky rice in the countryside.

Of course, there were too many to eat in the first month, and if the leftovers were left to dry, they would crack and fall apart. So, what couldn't be eaten in the first month was soaked in well water, so that even in the summer they were still whole and didn't go sour.

The long strips could also be cut into regular thin slices and fried in hot oil. After being fished out, they looked similar to prawn crackers and tasted very good. In the past, when everyone generally had difficulties and couldn't afford to buy snacks, every family would fry some for the New Year.

Some families would add chili powder to the glutinous rice in a mortar, then pound it out, slice it into rounds, deep fry it, and sprinkle it with salt, which would make a nice dish.

At noon, of course, they had to ask Feng Jiansheng and Dong Ming to eat with them. Feng Zhanchang went to the village and asked some more people to come over, and in the end, there were ten people sitting around the table.

This year, Feng Zhenchang finally paid off all his debts, and he was in a great mood. He encouraged everyone at the table to drink, and the meal went on until after 2 pm. Five bottles of bottled white wine were drunk. In the past two days, everyone has had a lot on their plate, and later, the women from several families came to look for their men, so the feast was finally over.

After tidying the table, the family was busy again. Feng Zhenchang, slightly tipsy, made a few catties of braised pork with the marinade he had brought back from the provincial capital, while Feng Yiping and his mother prepared to fry a type of snack.

This kind of thing is also sold in stores and is called cat ears. They have a more elegant name here, called cloud fruit.

It's very easy to make. You dilute brown sugar in hot water and use it to mix the dough, and if you're fancy you can add a few eggs. After the dough is ready, let it rest on the hot stove for half an hour, then roll it out, roll it up, cut it into thin slices, and fry it in a little oil over a low heat. When it changes colour, it's ready to be taken out of the pan. It's sweet and fragrant, and the children who come to the New Year's visit like it.

After the cloud-shaped fruit is fried, the glutinous rice balls are fried. This should be a local specialty, different from the famous Anhui dish of the same name. Glutinous rice flour is mixed with rice flour and flour, and finally rolled into small round cakes about the size of a teacup mouth, about one centimeter thick. They are finally fried in oil and when they turn golden brown, they are taken out. Every time you cook, put it on the top of the pot. When it is cooked in the soup, Feng Yiping really likes the taste.

After frying the glutinous rice balls, he will fry the radish balls, and then steam the fish cakes. In short, there is a lot to do.

In the past few days, every household in the compound has been doing the same thing. The fire in the stove is basically never extinguished, as everyone prepares food for the New Year. Usually, everyone saves on oil, but now it's different. Every household is frying something, and the compound is full of all kinds of aromas.

The dishes that are made are actually not expensive. One is that they take time, and the second is that there is a lot of frying, so the chances of making them normally are more or less the same, which is why they seem more important.

In households with tape recorders, such as Feng Weidong's, the sound is turned up to the maximum, and festive songs are played from morning till night.

After finishing all the preparations for the New Year at home, or if the young people don't want to help with these things, they gather together on the threshing floor, on the hills, and chat excitedly about the various experiences of the year.

Children enjoy these days even more. They dart from place to place, holding all kinds of firecrackers in their hands, and suddenly light one off. The adults, who are startled, don't get angry.

During these days of the New Year, even the most critical adults are much more tolerant of children. They rarely scold, let alone hit. If a child cries and whines at home during the New Year, it's a bad sign, isn't it? So these days are truly a paradise for children, with good food, fun and games, and parents who won't scold them if they do something wrong.

While the glutinous rice balls were still being fried, Feng Hongbing's mother brought over a small handful of fried dough sticks that her family had made. Her family had also fried cloud-shaped fruit, but not balls, so they took a bowl of balls back.

This situation was never seen again. Everyone had some money in their hands, and the variety of goods on the streets was becoming more and more abundant. No one wanted to go to the trouble of making these things themselves. They just bought them instead. During the New Year's holiday, everyone just stayed at home, eating snacks and watching TV. There were fewer people going out, and even fewer visiting, so it wasn't much livelier than the city.

Finally, after all the fuss, it was time to cook dinner. In the evening, Mei Qiuping invited a large group of guests over, including her uncle and Feng Mingzhi. Everyone had just started drinking when Feng Zhenchang remembered something and got up to go to the kitchen. He brought the lamb stewed with carrots to the table, and Mei Qiuping's face changed at that moment.

When it was past nine o'clock and the guests had been sent off, Mei Qiuping and Feng Zhenchang had another argument. 'I was stewing it for Yiping, why did you serve it? Isn't there enough pork, beef and chicken? Lamb is so expensive, where do you eat at a restaurant that has lamb?'

This was the way it was in the countryside. On the one hand, people were generous and sympathetic. If, for whatever reason, someone didn't have enough meat for the New Year, there was no need to worry, as there would be many people who would be happy to give it to them.

On the other hand, they are also extremely calculating. For example, my family uses three yuan cigarettes for hospitality, and your family uses two yuan ones. Similar trivial matters may be gossiped about for years, saying things like 'stingy' and 'unreasonable'.

Feng Zhenchang, who had been drinking, was also unreasonable, 'It's just a flat fee, why can't I eat? Besides, the reason people don't have lamb on their tables is because they didn't buy any.'

Mei Qiuping retorted, 'Zhi Cheng's family bought it, did you eat it when you went to their house to eat?'

The workshop in the village is run by Feng Zhi Cheng's family, which is considered a well-off family in the village.

Feng Zhenchang stiffened his neck, 'You just stewed it in the kitchen, and everyone could smell the smell. If you don't serve it on the table, I'm embarrassed to go out and meet people?'

Mei Qiuping was washing the dishes with great force, and Feng Yiping was worried that she would break the pot. He muttered, 'You just can't stand to have a few extra yuan in your pocket. Once you have some money, you don't even know who you are anymore.'

Seeing that she was getting more and more outrageous, Feng Zhenchang was getting more and more irritated. Feng Yiping really wanted to throw the troublesome leg of lamb out and feed it to the dog, that would be easier.

Feng Yiping knew that when they argued, it was useless to try to persuade them, because no one could be persuaded. It seemed that arguing was their normal state, and they would have a fight every few days, go cold for a few days, then make up as if nothing had happened, and start all over again a few days later. This was how they spent their days, year after year, and they were probably used to it themselves.

He still didn't understand his parents' world, and couldn't fathom it. They were always together, arguing a lot, but when they were apart, they missed each other terribly. That year, when their son was born, Mei Qiu-ping went to help out during the month-long confinement period, leaving Feng Zhen-chang alone at home. The two of them spoke at least once a day on the phone. Although they were reluctant to spend the long-distance call charges, they could only manage to say a few words each time. What they did say was nothing new: how was the day, were they tired, had they eaten, what had they eaten, had they slept well the night before? They went over and over the same things, but the deep concern they felt was obvious.

Of course, it is also possible that, as the saying goes, distance creates beauty.

Now with such troublesome parents, what can be done? Feng Yiping had to yell, 'Mom, forget it, just say less.'

Seeing his face, Mei Qiuping finally stopped talking.

Feng Yiping then said to Feng Zhenchang, 'Dad, it's time to cook the meat.'

He had already heard someone setting off firecrackers. According to custom, when cooking the New Year's meat, a string of firecrackers should be set off. He could also hear the sound of paper being struck coming from many households.

Paper striking involves using a die to stamp coins densely onto the yellow paper that is bought to be burnt for the ancestors the next day.

Although Feng Zhenchang was also full of anger, he still went to the tank as instructed, took out the prepared piece of meat, washed it, put it in the pot to cook, then lit a cigarette and went outside to set off a string of 800 firecrackers.

Feng Yiping and his mother were also busy, selecting the vegetables they would need tomorrow, boiling some water to clean them, and setting them aside.

When the meat was ready, as was customary, Feng Zhanchang cut off a few pieces of lean meat and told Feng Yiping to eat them, while he and Mei Qiuping ate a piece with both lean and fat meat.

While everyone was still in a good mood, Feng Yiping said, 'Dad, Mom, let's make a rule. In the future, if we need to buy something, you should discuss it at home first. If there is any argument, argue it at home, and once you have agreed on an opinion, write it down on paper and then go through it item by item. How about that!'

The couple were both a little stunned and a little embarrassed. They put aside their previous unpleasantries and looked at each other. It seemed that not only the father had an opinion, but the son also had an opinion. Have we been a little wilful?

Mei Qiuping replied casually, 'You're right. I'll discuss it with your father.'

Feng Zhenchang said, 'It's late, we have to get up early tomorrow, go to sleep.'

It was indeed late, almost midnight. After a hasty wash, the family hurried to bed.

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