Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11973

So what if she wore the wrong clothes? She can change them whenever she wants. What matters most is Xiaohua's desire to see Mrs. Sun.

Luo Fengtang and Da'an also got up and walked towards the entrance of the main room. Yang Ruoqing did not get up, but continued to sit in the fire pit to warm herself, because she knew that everyone would come in soon.

Even without getting up to look, Yang Ruoqing could imagine the scene of reunion in the courtyard just by listening to the sounds.

The three grandchildren hadn't been seen for half a year. Both Mrs. Sun and Mr. Yang Huazhong are the kind of people who love children the most. Seeing a group of grandchildren playing in the yard, the old couple must have been overjoyed.

“Oh my, my Feng’er is a big boy now, he’s as tall as Grandma.”

"Fuwa has grown up and is getting more and more beautiful. Oh my, your braids are so pretty and you look so dashing. Did your mother do your braids?"

"Jun'er, come here, let Grandma hold you..."

"Oh my, my Jun'er has grown so much! This little dress looks familiar... Oh? It belongs to his brothers..."

"..."

There was a long exchange of pleasantries outside, which gradually subsided only after Xiaohua and Da'an went out.

The truth is that after the children briefly greeted their grandparents and exchanged kisses, their interest quickly returned to the game they were playing.

After the snow stops, the icicles under the eaves are their favorite. The thick icicles are crystal clear, and holding them in your hand evokes endless fantasies.

Children's imaginations are boundless, especially children of this age. They are full of energy and have plenty of things to do, so they are not afraid of the cold. Who would be interested in spending time with you two old folks?

So in the end, Xiaohua and Da'an greeted Yang Huazhong, and Sun entered the main hall of the Luo family.

"Come quickly, come to the fire bucket." Yang Ruoqing sat in the fire bucket, waving and smiling at Sun Shi and Xiao Hua.

Luo Fengtang then invited Yang Huazhong to sit down and personally brewed tea.

Actually, Luo Fengtang didn't need to brew the tea himself at all, because Shaoyao had already done it for him.

It was simply that Shaoyao first handed the brewed teacup to Luo Fengtang, and then Luo Fengtang presented it to Yang Huazhong and Madam Sun with both hands.

"Mom, Xiaohua, come in and sit down." Yang Ruoqing moved aside to make room for her.

"I'm not cold, Hua'er, go up and warm yourself by the fire." Sun quickly pushed Xiao Hua into the fire bucket.

"Mom, I just came down from the fire bucket. I'm not cold. You can go up here!"

“I’m not cold either. You’ve been in the carriage for so long, coming back from Changhuaizhou, how could you not be cold? Hurry up and get on…”

Well, the mother and daughter started pushing and shoving each other outside the fire bucket just because of who got to warm themselves by the fire first.

Yang Ruoqing was completely exasperated. She patted the empty seat next to her and said, "I'm so fed up with you two old hags. There's enough room for three more people in this brazier, why do you two have to stand outside and be so polite?"

"Listen to me, Xiaohua, come back the way you came, you go first."

"sister……"

"Stop talking nonsense. If you don't want Mom to keep dawdling, hurry up and come up!"

Xiaohua smiled, nodded, bent down, took off her shoes, and came up again.

Then, she noticed the problem with the shoes and covered her mouth in embarrassment: "Oh dear, look at me, I was so busy getting to the door that I wore all of my sister's shoes."

"It's alright, neither of us has athlete's foot anyway, so we don't have to worry about mixing and matching." As Yang Ruoqing spoke, she pulled Xiaohua and Sun Shi onto the fire bucket all at once.

With Sun Shi joining the family, the three women truly lived up to the saying: "Three women make a drama."

The main room was about to become quite lively, but unfortunately, Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian were not home at the moment. The two had gone to the village, and no one knew what they were doing.

Here, Mrs. Sun inquired about Xiaohua's life in Changhuaizhou over the past six months, covering everything from food and drink to the children, leaving no detail untouched, creating a warm and familiar atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Yang Huazhong asked Da'an whether the journey had gone smoothly, when they had set off, whether the children had behaved well on the way, whether Jun'er had been making a fuss, and whether, as the governor of Changhuai Prefecture, he needed to make arrangements for the affairs of the prefectural government after returning from his New Year's holiday, as well as about which day of the new year he would be leaving to return, and other related matters.

In short, the questions asked by the mother were mostly related to daily life, while the father was more concerned with work and career. The focus of attention differed depending on the gender.

It is precisely because of these differences that a complete, harmonious, and warm thing called 'home' is formed.

A short while later, Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian returned from outside, carrying many things in their hands.

Clearly, the two of them had gone to Black Phoenix's general store and returned carrying a lot of things.

"Uncle, Auntie, what are you buying?"

After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang came over to help take the things they brought back, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

Luo the blacksmith said, "Well, I'm going to Zhoujia Village the day after tomorrow. I might stay for two days. I've bought the incense, candles, paper money, and firecrackers needed for welcoming the ancestors on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month in advance, so you and Tang Yazi won't have to go out to buy them."

“Uncle, you’re so kind. Give me these things, I’ll put them away.” “Okay. I’ll go talk to your father and Da’an.”

Wang Cuilian accompanied Yang Ruoqing to the side room next to the main room to put away the firecrackers and paper. She said to Yang Ruoqing, "I originally wanted to bring some small firecrackers that the two kids like to play with, but we looked at the small firecrackers that Hei Feng's general store bought this year, and there weren't many that were suitable for children. They were too big, too long, and too dangerous."

"Hei Feng said to wait until the New Year holiday in a few days before going to buy more, as we need to go and restock. Your uncle told me privately that when we go to town, we should check out the big general store there and see if we can buy those three-legged jumping frogs."

The "three-wheeled vehicle" that Wang Cuilian mentioned is not the modern three-wheeled vehicle.

It's a type of firework popular among kids during holidays in this era.

Yang Ruoqing had seen it before; it was small and delicate, with three legs standing upright, about the size of a palm, and looked like a three-legged frog when placed on the ground.

After the fuse is lit, it spins in place and jumps three times while being set off, just like a jumping frog, hence the name "Three-Jumping Frog".

Yang Ruoqing smiled and nodded: "Okay, we'll buy it in town then, it might even be cheaper than Hei Feng's."

In those days, unless a family in the village was so poor that they couldn't afford to eat and were about to starve, any family that could manage to make ends meet would save money during the once-a-year special occasion of the Lunar New Year to buy a string of firecrackers to set off before the New Year's Eve dinner. They would also make an exception and buy some small firecrackers and fireworks for the children to play with.

The Lunar New Year is a special day, regardless of time or place, for everyone from high-ranking officials to ordinary people. It is a day filled with special expectations, and everyone hopes that New Year's Eve can become a watershed moment.

Say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new; leave all the bad and unpleasant things in the past year.

May the new year bring even greater things, amidst the sounds of firecrackers.

In later generations, many urban dwellers would post on their WeChat Moments on New Year's Eve, with almost identical captions: "In the new year, please be kind to me!"
Hope is beautiful, but reality... can be cruel sometimes.

The truth is, in the new year, you'll just do what you always have to do, sigh!
"Qing'er, Da'an and Xiaohua are back today. Let's invite them to dinner at home tonight!" Wang Cuilian glanced at the lively main room next door, where Sun Shi and Xiaohua were still chatting and warming themselves by the fire.

Luo the blacksmith also chatted happily with Yang Huazhong, Luo Fengtang, and Da'an.

Yang Ruoqing glanced behind her; the atmosphere had already reached this point, so dinner was definitely in the works.

"Are there no vegetables at home?" Yang Ruoqing asked Wang Cuilian.

Actually, the so-called lack of vegetables at home doesn't mean there are no vegetables at all.

How could the Luo family not have any vegetables?

The phrase "no food" here specifically refers to the fact that the ingredients usually kept at home are insufficient to support a banquet.

Wang Cuilian thought for a moment and said, "Pretty much. The yellowtail and shrimp they sent a couple of days ago are still there, untouched."

"Kill another chicken, kill another duck, and make a few stir-fries, is that enough?"

Yang Ruoqing thought for a moment, "It's not just about the same, it's very lavish."

"Then I'll go and call Rong Gu and the others to do it together?" Wang Cuilian is a woman of action!
But Yang Ruoqing stopped her.

"Auntie, I have an idea."

"What's the idea?"

“It’s getting late, it would be too rushed to kill a chicken or anything like that,” Yang Ruoqing said. “When my parents came back from the pasture earlier, Duo’er brought back some beef bones and beef.”

"I'll go to the backyard later and make some beef bone broth. We can have hot pot in the broth tonight, a half-and-half pot, so we can eat and cook at the same time. It's simple and will satisfy the tastes of everyone, young and old."

Yang Ruoqing had calculated that from killing the chicken and fish to cooking each dish, it would take at least an hour and a half, or three hours, before they could eat dinner.

At this time of day, which is almost 5 p.m. in Beijing time, we won't be able to have dinner until 8 p.m., which is three hours later. It's too late, and the children will probably be sleepy.

But hot pot is different. Now you go and boil beef bones to make soup. Use a high flame to boil it for half an hour, which is one hour.

During the hour it takes to simmer the soup, you can prepare all the other ingredients for the hot pot and cook the rice.

In other words, dinner can be served in an hour, and we can have dinner at 6 pm. This time is perfect, and everyone can relax.

"That's a good idea, let's have hot pot then. I'll go prepare the broth..."

Wang Cuilian turned around to put her plan into action, but was stopped by Yang Ruoqing again.

"Auntie, you go warm yourself by the fire and chat. I'll take care of things in the kitchen."

"No way! It's rare for Xiaohua and the others to come back, you must have a lot to talk about."

"Hehe, it's alright. They'll be staying home until the Lantern Festival, so there'll be plenty of time to talk. There's no rush," Yang Ruoqing said. "I'll go to the kitchen first and prepare a welcome dinner for them."

"Alright then, I'll go to the main room to talk to Xiaohua. Just let me know if you need anything."

(End of this chapter)