My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 214 Steamed Buns and Dumplings for the New Year

"Why is Wheat Ear back?"

"Bring some meat to my mother. The couplets are up quite early, may she be wealthy."

"Yes, we should put them up as soon as possible, because we still need to steam New Year's buns after that."

On the morning of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, when Chen Ling came out with paste to put up Spring Festival couplets, a young married woman wearing a bulky cotton coat and carrying a basket walked over.

This is Wang Maisui, the youngest daughter of Aunt Wang Er. She and Chen Ling were often classmates when they were in school. Later, she married and moved to Taoshugou, which is not far from her parents' home. She is very filial to her mother and always makes sure to visit her during festivals.

"I heard you talking to Mai Sui'er just now. It's going to snow again soon, why is she coming back?" Wang Susu came out with the Spring Festival couplets and glanced at Wang Ershen's house.

“What can we do if they don’t come back? We can’t count on a good harvest in a year like this. Can we really expect Second Aunt to make New Year’s buns and put up couplets all by herself?”

As Chen Ling spoke, he looked up at the sky. It was past nine o'clock and the sky was still gloomy. It was going to snow again.

"That's true."

Wang Susu nodded.

Wang Ershenzi's two sons, like the two old folks in Wang Chunyuan and Chen Erzhu's families, moved to the county town a long time ago and rarely return to the village. Their mother doesn't take care of them much either.

Wang Susu thought to herself, if her two older brothers didn't care about their parents like this, she would definitely be worried and would brave the wind and snow to go back to her parents' home.

Fortunately, my two older brothers are very good, my two sisters-in-law are very good, and now my husband is also very good.

Thinking about it this way, she already felt that she was living a better life than most people.

"What's wrong? Missing home too?"

"No, it's just that I feel sorry for the wheat ears."

Wang Susu smiled, picked up a brush made of sorghum stalks, dipped it in paste, and helped Chen Ling paste the Spring Festival couplets.

After putting up the Spring Festival couplets, put up the "Fu" character; after putting up the "Fu" character, put up the New Year pictures.

Before long, the yard, under the eaves, on the walls, in the kitchen, in the storeroom, in the sheepfold, in the cowshed, and everywhere else was covered with red stickers. At first glance, it was a bright and cheerful red scene that was very pleasing to the eye.

At noon, light snow began to fall again.

"Sister-in-law Dongmei is putting up couplets..."

Mai Sui'er's voice came from outside the courtyard again, but there was no response.

After a couple of seconds, Wang Chunyuan's slightly embarrassed laugh rang out, "Maisui'er, you're back to see your mother? Why aren't you staying in the snow?"

At this moment, Chen Ling and his wife were kneading dough in the kitchen when they heard the voices outside. Wang Susu gently said to Chen Ling, "Dongmei holds a grudge. She had a fight with her second aunt and now she won't even talk to Maisui..."

Chen Ling shook his head and scoffed, "She won't even let her sister into the house now, let alone Mai Sui'er."

At this point, he looked up at Wang Susu and used his flour-covered hand to gently pinch her nose: "Comrade Wang Susu, who did you learn this from? Now you're like a village old woman, always gossiping."

"Pah, no way." The young wife wrinkled her nose and glared at him, then used her flour-covered hands to pull his ear.

After the young couple laughed and joked for a while, Wang Susu kneaded the dough and said, "It's not that I'm gossiping, it's just that Dongmei always does things that are worth talking about. I'm afraid she might have bad intentions towards our family. She used to peek at our house all the time."

"Hey, don't worry about that, she wouldn't dare now."

Chen Ling's smile genuinely reflected his confidence.

When he was building the farm a while ago, he hired a construction team from the city. Moreover, Liang Yuemin's Beijing-plated car was frequently seen coming and going. This news spread throughout the village, and Wang Chunyuan and Qin Dongmei were also secretly alarmed. Wang Chunyuan now treats him like a lapdog whenever he sees him.

It just means that Chen Ling didn't care and didn't tell Wang Susu about it.

Besides, even if this didn't happen...

The dogs and cows at home aren't just there to eat.

Especially the two dogs, who had been bullied by Qin Dongmei since they were puppies, later knew everything about her family.

Even the chickens that Qin Dongmei raised were killed by them.

Chen Ling used to think, like everyone else, that it was the work of weasels, especially after his own house was also attacked by weasels.

But later, when the two dogs grew up, they would bark at Qin Dongmei, but they didn't act like they were seeing an enemy. It was more like they were just going through the motions to scare her.

Chen Ling found this strange.

He knows best whether the tree he planted is straight or not, and he knows the temperaments of the two dogs he raised.

They are the type to seek revenge, no matter if it's a wolf or a tiger; if provoked, they'll charge in and fight.

Qin Dongmei bullied them both badly when they were young, so there's no reason she wouldn't hold a grudge now that she's grown up.

Until that time when Heiwa brought back a hunting rifle from Qin Dongmei's house, and Xiaojin brought back a jar of homemade explosives, and they knew exactly what their water pipes were like...

Chen Ling then realized that his two brothers had probably already taken their revenge.

After all, there are always times when you're not paying attention, day or night. Who knows how many bad things your own dog has done at Qin Dongmei's house.

As for the chickens, those two weasels were just scapegoats.

No wonder when Wang Laishun bought Qin Dongmei's two chickens, they looked so timid and dejected when he brought them to her house.

……

"That's right, our dog isn't just for show."

Hearing Chen Ling's words of comfort, Wang Susu felt relieved.

"Okay. Let's finish lunch early, knead the dough, steam two pots of buns tonight, and then work hard all day tomorrow. Once the New Year's buns are ready, why bother with anything else?" After kneading the dough, Chen Ling went to wash his hands and get the pot to eat.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, after pasting up the New Year pictures, we prepare the dough.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, we chopped meat, steamed cakes, and steamed buns.

After the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, time, like a startled wild donkey, gallops faster and faster each day.

Busy here and busy there, the New Year is just around the corner.

So on the afternoon of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Chen Ling and his wife kneaded two large porcelain basins of dough. After steaming two batches of steamed buns, they continued kneading dough. On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, the two of them carried a thick and long rolling pin, each holding one end, and pressed it back and forth on the cutting board, still kneading dough to steam buns.

The steamed buns made at this time are called "steamed New Year buns".

A lot of New Year's steamed buns were made.

Steamed buns, small pieces of steamed buns, flower rolls, various flower-shaped steamed buns printed with birds, beasts, insects and fish, and ceremonial steamed buns, etc.

Some were for their own consumption, and some were for offerings to gods and Buddhas.

On the day of steaming New Year's buns, outsiders are generally not allowed to come. If someone accidentally enters the house, you must add some firewood to the stove or burn a pinch of salt, otherwise the "ghost" will grab the bun.

If the steamed buns are ruined, they must be "sent away like ghosts" before being steamed again.

Doing so can avert disaster and turn misfortune into good fortune.

On the 28th and 29th, almost every household in the village was steaming New Year's buns. Not many people came to visit. Chen Ling and Wang Susu were busy from morning till night, steaming several batches in a large pot and finally putting them all into a clean snakeskin bag.

As for whether we can finish all these steamed buns?
There's absolutely no need to worry.

According to northern customs, these steamed buns and mantou are eaten throughout the entire first month of the lunar calendar.

Because people don't work during the first month of the lunar calendar, it's a leisurely month. People do nothing but eat and play, taking a break from the fatigue of a year's hard work. Steaming it early saves time and allows them to relax and enjoy themselves.

……

After steaming the New Year's buns, there wasn't time to steam the New Year's cakes before New Year's Eve arrived.

Early in the morning, Chen Ling had a freshly steamed white flour bun in his mouth and was chopping meat on the chopping board in the yard with two knives in his hand. He was chopping meat filling for dumplings.

He would chop for a while, then stop for a while, take a bite of the steamed bun. The steamed bun was fragrant and sweet, fluffy and chewy. After Chen Ling finished eating, Wang Susu handed him another one, and then went to the side to scrape radish shreds and cut sauerkraut.

This year, I made two kinds of dumplings for Lunar New Year's Eve: one with radish and pork filling, and the other with pickled cabbage and pork filling.

The young couple finished mixing the dumpling filling and sat in the kitchen, chatting as they made dumplings.

They were busy without stopping for a moment, but neither of them felt tired.

While making dumplings, we talked about our hopes for the coming year, and before we knew it, we had made almost half of the dumplings.

"This time next year, I'll probably have just finished my postpartum confinement. If the baby is well-behaved, that's fine, but if the baby is naughty and starts making a fuss, you'll be the one making all the steamed buns and dumplings for the New Year."

Wang Susu winked at him with a grin.

Chen Ling smiled helplessly upon hearing this: "What's the big deal? If all else fails, we can call our parents and older brothers over, and the whole family can celebrate the New Year together in a lively atmosphere. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Hmph, you talk a good game, but you just want to slack off." Wang Susu curled her lips and snorted at him, but in her heart she was already looking forward to it. How wonderful it would be if her parents could come over for the New Year and the whole family could be together and have a lively time.

This year she became pregnant, and her belly is getting bigger and bigger, making it inconvenient for her to go back to her parents' home during the first month of the lunar calendar.

When my older brother Wang Qingwen sent me photos they took while rushing between markets a while ago, he mentioned in his letter that our parents didn't want to trouble them anymore. If it couldn't be done this year, then next year would be fine. Their health and the children were more important.

When Chen Ling took Wang Zhenzhen home, his father-in-law and mother-in-law said the same thing in front of him, telling them to just stay home and take care of themselves, since the road was difficult to travel and there was no need to make such a long trip.

They've already given instructions to their daughter and son-in-law, so they definitely don't need to go back to her parents' home this year.

Seeing his wife lost in thought, Chen Ling tapped her head, smeared flour off her forehead, and stood up, laughing, "I'm going to start the fire. We'll cook dumplings for the offering later."

On New Year's Eve, around noon, after cooking dumplings, we first offer them to the gods and Buddhas worshipped in the family.

Similar to the Mid-Autumn Festival, it's also the women in the family who take care of the preparations.

……

After cooking the dumplings and burning incense, Wang Susu said to Chen Ling, "Alright, Ling, you can set off the firecrackers now."

Chen Ling then brought out the firecrackers and double-bang firecrackers.

Firecrackers went off with a crackling and banging sound, making the village quite lively.

Smelling the rich aroma of firecrackers and eating piping hot dumplings, the New Year celebrations truly begin.

"Hmm...it really is Chinese New Year. The dumplings taste better than usual. The pickled cabbage dumplings are delicious, and the radish dumplings are delicious too." Wang Susu tasted a dumpling, squinting her eyes to savor the flavor.

The flour that Chen Ling had mischievously smeared on her forehead hadn't been cleaned off yet, making her look adorable to her young wife.

"If you like it, sit down and eat more. You've been so busy these past few days. I'll go make a couple of dipping dishes." Chen Ling walked out of the kitchen, bringing not only dipping dishes but also a jar of wine.

He said to Wang Susu, "You eat dumplings, I'll drink wine. For every dumpling you eat, I'll drink a whole glass."

"Okay, I'll get you drunk today."

The young couple finished their lunch with laughter and chatter.

We started preparing the New Year's Eve dinner in the afternoon.

There was chicken, duck, fish, pork, and everything else, but it was clearly too much for two people to finish.

But it's okay, it won't break in winter.

……

On the afternoon of Lunar New Year's Eve, the young couple were preparing their New Year's Eve dinner when it started to snow lightly again.

It's been snowing non-stop these past few days, but it's all been light snow, falling for a while and then stopping, so it hasn't had much of an impact.

With the New Year approaching, the couple fed their chickens, ducks, and livestock to their hearts' content. The two dogs had a meal of meat, and Chen Ling tied red ropes around their necks. The little white calf also had a new bell hung on its neck. The whole family was filled with joy.

In the evening, after the New Year's Eve dinner was over and everyone was full, Chen Ling took his wife's hand and strolled around the village.

On New Year's Eve, every household in the village was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and there were people beating drums and performing lion dances on the old stage.

The firelight and lanterns cast a reddish glow on our faces in the night.

The whole village was filled with a festive atmosphere, truly a joyous celebration of the Lunar New Year.

(End of this chapter)