inspire-indiana Chapter 366: My little disciple is burning paper for you
Chapter 366: My little disciple is burning paper for you
I don’t know if it’s because of the shape, but I always feel that good-looking steamed buns taste better too.
After steaming the buns, start boiling the pig’s head and chopping the pig’s trotters.
The big pot was never empty, so we had steamed buns for breakfast and the braised beef that the old man brought back from town yesterday. We forgot to eat it in the evening.
After the meal, the family started to go about their own business.
Zhou Gu took his two younger brothers Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi to prepare things for ancestor worship.
Zhou Guo took the old man and Zhou Su and several other kids to paste Spring Festival couplets and hang lanterns. She remembered that in her previous life, these things were done on New Year's Eve, but now they are all squeezed to start on the 29th. Is it different in each region, or did they squeeze it to New Year's Eve to save trouble?
"No, no, sister, go up a little, no... no, come a little closer, come closer to me... it's crooked..."
The courtyard gate, main gate, stable and cowshed were all pasted with stickers, and a red lantern was also hung on one side of the courtyard gate.
After Zhou Guo finished hanging the lanterns, he jumped down, put his hands on his hips, looked at the red spring festival lanterns, and smiled, "Master, look, it really looks like the New Year when it's hung like this, it's so red and beautiful."
The old man stroked his beard and nodded, "It's very good."
"Guoguo, come here and help your aunt." Qian from next door waved her hand and shouted.
When Zhou Guo saw what they were holding, he smiled and said to the old man, "Master, it seems that I haven't finished pasting the Spring Festival couplets yet!"
After saying that, she walked towards the next room. She helped a lot anyway, including chopping wood and carrying water. Pasting Spring Festival couplets was just a piece of cake for her.
Zhou Su and the other two also hurried over there. When their elder sister went to put up Spring Festival couplets, they went to help her.
Zhou Guo stood on the ladder, and Zhou Su and the other two, along with Wang Changsheng and his sister, competed to see who could shout the loudest, each one louder than the other.
"Left, left, a little higher up..."
"No, lower, a little lower, you can't go any higher."
The roof of the hut was almost blown off, and the sound was so loud that it was probably heard by everyone in the village.
Zhou Guo didn't listen to anyone. He took a look himself and stuck it on. Everyone shut up.
After that, she jumped off the ladder and stood far away to take a look. She nodded with satisfaction. With the experience from the previous times, her skills in pasting Spring Festival couplets had made a qualitative leap. Even if she was alone, she could paste them straight and upright. She muttered narcissistically, "Well, it's worthy of me!"
Qian came out and was very happy. She stuffed two steamed buns into their hands and said, "Although the steamed buns I make are not as good-looking as your mother's, they taste good too. You can try them."
Zhou Guo took a big bite and said with a smile, "It's delicious, sweet and soft."
The reactions of Zhou, Su and the other two were that they ate the steamed buns with extra sweetness. Qian was so happy that she couldn't help but go back to the house and get two more for them.
Zhou Guo accepted all the treats. It was New Year's Day and he couldn't spoil other people's fun, so he ate happily. Qian was even happier seeing this, and Wang Changsheng and his sister were also very happy.
……
The pig head, cakes, fruits and meat for ancestor worship were ready. The whole family placed the offerings in the yard towards the village entrance and burned a lot of incense, candles and paper money.
Every descendant of the Zhou family, regardless of gender, knelt on the ground and kowtowed. This was the first year that they settled down in the north, and the children all reported their safety to their ancestors. I think the old men and women in the underworld would be happy to see this.
Zhou Guo deliberately waited until they finished bowing before he bowed. He knelt on the ground and muttered a lot. After he finished muttering about his own ancestors, he started to recite about his grandfather's ancestors.
"Grandpas, grandmas, and ancestors, it's Chinese New Year. The old master is far away in the north and can't go back. Although I can't go back to visit his grave, it's the same wherever you celebrate the New Year. I think it will only take you a moment to get from the south to the north. Please fly around. I have burned a lot of money for you and prepared many offerings. You can spend as much as you want. When you have spent all the money, please come to me in your dreams and I will continue to burn for you."
Old man: "..."
It was somewhat funny to see the little guy kneeling on the ground with his hands folded, muttering devoutly about burning money for his family. Perhaps it was because of his age, he was quite touched. He had been wandering outside all these years and had not been back to visit the graves for many years. He did not know if he could still find his parents' graves.
After he finished muttering, Zhou Guo kowtowed three times very solemnly and devoutly, much more devoutly than when he worshipped the Buddha in his previous life.
She could travel through time from her previous life, and such a bizarre thing could happen. What else in this world is impossible? When it comes to ghosts and gods, I do believe in them.
Li was very pleased and took her hand and said, "You are more thoughtful than mother. I didn't even think of it."
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Mom, Master is my Master, this is what I should do."
It's already afternoon, and after offering sacrifices to the ancestors, we start to have dinner. Anyway, everything is ready, and many dishes have been stewed today.
Pig's trotters braised with soybeans, beef brisket stewed with radish, and the last few carrots stewed with lamb. There are also several bowls of braised pork with glutinous rice prepared by Zhou Guo, as well as various fried meatballs. For dinner, you just need to pick out these dishes and heat them up and eat them. The steamed buns are also ready.
There is a clay pot hanging in the middle of the fire pit, which contains stewed beef brisket with radish, fried crispy meat, meatballs, and tofu. It is cooking loudly. There is also a basket of washed cabbage on the stool next to it. You can throw some in if you want to eat it.
The Zhou family is from the south. There are no kangs in the south in winter, so the food gets cold soon after it is served. If they want to eat something hot, they can only hang it over the fire like this, just like eating hot pot. They have been eating this way since they were born, and they have long been accustomed to it. They even feel deep in their bones that this is the way to eat in winter to have the taste of winter.
A fire pit was specially dug for this purpose.
The whole family gathered around the small pot and ate happily.
Ever since Zhou Dacang and his friends left last time, Zhou Guo didn't allow the old man to go into the mountains anymore. Since then, his quality of life has dropped drastically. Every day, he has to eat all kinds of cured meat, including cured rabbit, cured pork, and cured pheasant.
Later, when I had almost finished the smoked bacon and got tired of it, I started eating radishes, cabbage, carrots, and various pickled vegetables in the jars. From time to time, I would cook a pot of pine mushrooms and small flower mushrooms. When I was really greedy, I would kill a chicken to eat.
Once they went from a life of plenty of meat and fish to a diet of radishes and cabbages, it only took them two days to adjust. There was nothing they could do if they weren't used to it, as they couldn't get meat.
Today was the first time in a long time that they had eaten fresh meat. Although it was beef, they had also eaten braised beef bought from the store and had even eaten beef tripe, so they felt even less guilty about eating the beef and ate it with great joy.
Zhou Guo picked up a piece of radish. The radish was already soft and rotten, and it was full of the aroma of beef brisket. It was hot and tasted better than meat. He kept picking up the radish and eating it.