"Wow, it smells so good!"

The little ones were very hungry after playing all morning. They salivated when they saw so many delicious foods on the table.

"Come, let's have a dinner."

As soon as the old lady spoke, everyone started to use their chopsticks. Because there were many people, two tables of rice were served.

The meat dishes include braised pork, braised pork, steamed fish, fried chicken, and scrambled eggs. The soup is kelp soup.

Because there are few green vegetables in winter in the north, the vegetarian dishes are spicy tofu, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, fried cabbage with oil, rice bowls, and the only green vegetable, fried spinach with fungus.

Today I did not drink soda, but drank fermented glutinous rice liqueur. This stuff is really good. Add local jujubes and cook it in a pot. It is both delicious and nourishing to the stomach.

Seeing her children and grandchildren eating delicious food, the old lady's eyes were blurred with tears for a while.

"How many years has it been? How many years have I not had such a sumptuous meal?"

The old lady still vaguely remembers the day when her husband was forced into adulthood more than 20 years ago.

That day happened to be the wedding day of the eldest brother Li Deyou.

At that time, the house was full of relatives and friends, and there were seven dishes and eight bowls on the table, which was very sumptuous.

But on the day the eldest son got married, the village issued a notice. The bald man came to recruit a new man again, and this time it was Li Deyou's turn to have a baby in his family.

The eldest, Li Deyou, had just gotten married, and the second, Li Dezhong, was still young, only fourteen years old. Neither of the two sons could go!

At that time, the old man was still young, in his early forties, in his prime. Finally, he decided to become a young man instead of his son.

Three years later, of the twenty-odd people in the village who were forced to become young men, less than six came back, and one of them was carried back.

On the day of return, most families in the village were in tears, and Li Wen's family was no exception.

In the few years since the old man was captured as a young man, the village has never had peace, nor has it had such a sumptuous banquet.

In those years, soldiers and bandits were rampant, often robbing and exploiting people's harvests. Fortunately, Sanxing Village was a clan force with its own armed forces, so some small groups of bandits did not dare to cause trouble.

However, large groups of bandits and scoundrels often fought with each other in the village. Although the Li family was not afraid of them, they still paid protection fees in the end.

After all, there is no comparison between villagers wearing shoes and bandits with bare feet. From then on, the Li family slowly depleted their family resources, and it became difficult to even have enough to eat.

It wasn't until after the founding of the People's Republic of China that these bastards were defeated, the life of the villagers gradually became better.

In the past, there was no food to eat, let alone having children. After life improved, the village ushered in a population explosion. Several little ones in Li Wen's family were born in those years.

However, within a few years of good times, natural disasters struck again, and life became difficult again in the past two years.

The country has also been in great difficulty in recent years, but it still does not forget to support and help the people. Therefore, although life has been a little worse in recent years, as long as we work hard, people will not starve to death like in the old society.

Looking at these meals, the old man couldn't help but bring back memories deep in his heart.

"Mom, why are you crying?" Cui Yanzi, the second daughter-in-law, looked at her old mother with tears in her eyes and asked in confusion.

"Mom is so happy, so happy! Our family hasn't had such a sumptuous banquet in decades. Mom is so happy." The old lady wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said with a smile.

"Yes! I have never seen such a good meal since I can remember. The best thing is the food in the village when we ate in the canteen." Li Wu said with his mouth full of meat.

"Don't call me a kid, I've been your second uncle for half my life, and I've only had this kind of noodles a few times when I was a kid." Li Dezhong said with a smile.

Li Deyou may have guessed the reason why his old mother was sad, and he felt very guilty about that incident. So he didn't speak and just buried his head in eating.

Originally, the spot for becoming a young man was his. But he had just gotten married at that time. If he had been chosen as a young man, the villagers would have laughed at his father. In the future, when the second brother grows up, no one will marry him.

Li Deyou clearly remembered that night, when his strong father called the couple into the room. He told her that from now on the family would depend on Li Deyou and his wife, and told her to be filial to her mother and support her second brother to grow up and have a family.

Wang Chunmei also knew about this, so from then on the couple took on the burden of the family, supporting their old mother and second brother, and marrying him a wife.

"Mom, I want to be happy on New Year's Day this year."

"Boss and the others will go to work in a few days. Our family's life will only get better and better in the future, so you can enjoy it with peace of mind." Finally, Li Deyou couldn't help but say.

"Okay, okay, I listen to you, let's eat!" The old lady became happy now.

"Look, it's snowing. It's snowing on the first day of the new year. This auspicious snow heralds a good harvest! Next year will definitely be a good harvest year. It seems that the bad year is about to pass." The second aunt pointed to the falling snowflakes in the sky and said happily.

.

"Yes, there have been several snowfalls this winter. The wheat will definitely grow well next year." Wang Chunmei said with a smile.

"Okay, let's all have a drink together to celebrate the New Year and wish for a bumper harvest this year, peace and prosperity for the country and the people." Li Wen stood up and raised the mash liqueur in his hand.

"Okay, Awen said it well, don't we common people just want to have a full warehouse and a peaceful country and a peaceful people? Let's go one by one." Second uncle Li Dezhong laughed.

Everyone took an extra long time to eat today's meal, and they were extremely happy. So much so that everyone was full.

After eating and resting for a while, the whole family gathered at the village committee to watch the performance.

The second uncle, his father and the men were holding cymbals and waving them on the wheat field. The women in the village were not to be outdone, beating the drums and dancing the Yangko dance. Some of the people watching were also attracted by the atmosphere.

Infected, he joined the performing team.

One afternoon, all the men, women and children in the village watched and played very happily.

Li Wen sat on the stack of wheat and couldn't help but stare at it. What simple emotions and pure folk customs!

On this day, the whole village had a whole day of eating, playing and resting. On this day, everyone released their natural instincts and did not return home one after another until late at night.

The next day is the second day of the Lunar New Year. In many places, people go to their father-in-law's house on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but according to local custom, it is indeed a special day to go to the family on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

When a relative of a family passes away, within three years everyone will go to his house to visit relatives on the second day of the Lunar New Year. This is to show respect by putting the deceased first.

Today Li Wen's family has to leave several relatives. The eldest aunt of Li Wen's family passed away the year before last. The second aunt also had an elderly relative in her natal family pass away. Her mother Wang Chunmei's natal family also passed away an elderly person last year, so she has to go all day long.

So today everyone has to spread out in several waves to visit relatives.

My father and second uncle took Li Wu to visit their aunt's house. Because they were direct relatives, my father and second uncle had to go. And they had to be polite, and the third generation eldest son of the family also had to go.

The mother and second aunt are more casual. Because they are children, there is no need to pay special attention to relatives attending weddings at their parents' house, as long as they are present.

If there are too many people there, people will think that you are there for dinner and they will not like it.

When visiting local relatives, they usually go to the third generation of direct relatives. Relatives who have moved out of the third generation usually do not move around during the Chinese New Year.

However, there is an exception for white matters. If someone dies in the family, relatives within the fifth server will usually be notified and worship.

If you have relatives in the fifth server, you will become a complete outsider. You may not even say hello when walking on the street, because they are too far apart, and you may not even know them.

One of my relatives, Li Wen, didn't go there today. Although my aunt's family is close to her, there were so many people there that she looked like a wealthy family.

The mother took Li Min away, and the second aunt took away the two naughty guys.

Today, the only ones left at home are the old lady, the second brother, the second sister, Li Wen and the little girl Li Juan.

It's not that Wang Chunmei didn't take the little girl with her, but it snowed yesterday and the road was difficult to walk. If she took Li Juan with her, she would have to hold her all the way.

Li Wen's task today is to take care of the baby.

Visiting relatives usually takes place in the morning, and it would be awkward to go to someone's house at noon. So my parents left early.

(Nowadays, people visiting relatives during the Chinese New Year are just doing errands. They visit five or six houses a day, visiting relatives at noon and afternoon. It’s just a fool, it’s better not to go. Some people bring gifts worth more than ten yuan and secretly unpack them.

I ate a few pieces. I really think people appreciate your gifts. The Chinese New Year is about family ties and friendship, not gifts worth tens of dollars.)

In the morning, Li Wen helped his second sister and the old lady make soup noodles in the kitchen. The five of them ate the leftover dishes from yesterday.

Li Wen and the little guy Li Juan came to the door carrying the radio.

Just after dinner, an old man and an old lady sat at the door of Li Wen's house and urged Li Wen to listen to the radio.

Li Wen couldn't help it. Everyone in the village was surnamed Li. There were grandfathers, grandmothers, and aunts everywhere. No one dared to offend him, otherwise he would go home and prepare to be whipped by his father.

Li Wen stood on a stool and hung the radio on the gatehouse, letting the uncles and grandmothers listen to the Qin opera. He took a set of backgammon and played chess with the little girl.

The little girl is very close to Li Wen now. Her brother often secretly gives her sweets and even dark chocolate, which is very kind to her.

He spent the whole morning playing blocks or checkers. When Li Wen got tired of playing, he let the little people from the village play with the little girl while he watched.

Many adults in the village have gone to visit relatives today. If they don't look at the little ones, they will easily run out of the village. It is not safe outside the village in the winter.

There were few people at home today, and neither his mother nor his second aunt were here. Li Wen did not ask the old lady to go to the kitchen, but volunteered.

For lunch, we had rice and boiled meat slices, which was very hearty. But the old lady felt a little distressed after eating it.

This rice was grown by Li Wen himself from seeds. Li Wen took ten kilograms home. The old lady and mother were very precious.

Local people rarely eat rice. It’s not that they don’t like it, but that they don’t have it. They grow crops such as wheat, millet, corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes locally. So if there is rice at home, they will keep it to entertain guests.

The rice Li Wen brought back was for the family to prepare for entertaining guests on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Unexpectedly, Li Wen made a lot of preparations in advance.
Chapter completed!