The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

Chapter 246 Whether you have money or not, you have to celebrate the New Year
West Cross Courtyard, No. 95, Nanluogu Lane.

The two mules snorted loudly on the ground covered with a thick layer of straw, curiously pointing their heads towards the house. If they had enough brains, they must be thinking at this time why they were not saddled today.

The stove outside the door was steaming. Li Feng's cousin Liu Lei squatted aside and used an iron hook to pick up the broken wood at the bottom of the pot from time to time to make the fire underneath burn brighter.

"The most important thing about fried dumplings is the heat. If the heat is good, they will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and full of flavor."

"These glutinous rice balls lack meat, and most of the flavor is missing. We only have meat and oil. We'll add them all in today's brainstorming. They'll be fried later. Let's send some to your aunt's house."

Old uncle Liu Qiang laboriously moved out a large bamboo basket that was not old and new from inside the house. It seemed that when he helped people move, he didn't want others to pick it up and clean it before keeping it.

The white and shiny balls of glutinous rice in the basket are all smooth and smooth. Just looking at them before frying makes people appetite.

"Uncle, I miss my mother and the others. They should also be frying dumplings at this time!"

Helping his uncle to lift the basket onto the old stool, Liu Lei was smiling just now, but then his thoughts gradually drifted to the south. It was the Chinese New Year, and the children who were wandering away were homesick.

"Help me tie the apron from the back!"

Liu Qiang picked up the gray apron on the table, put it on his head, turned towards his eldest nephew, gestured with his hands backwards, pondered for a moment and then spoke slowly.

"We will go home in half a year. They should have received the money we sent. If they don't have money, what will they use to celebrate the New Year!"

"Uncle, we have saved a lot in the past six months. Now they can open their bellies this year!"

Liu Lei put on an apron for his uncle. Thinking of the money sent back, the homesickness he felt just now disappeared instantly.

The two of them were wandering around just to make some money. As long as they could make their families live a good life, their emotions didn't matter.

"Think about it a little bit. I am a man in his 20s. I haven't even arrived for half a year and I miss home. I have forgotten how I was when I cried and wanted to come over. If you don't come over now, I will bring my boss to do it. !”

Feeling the temperature of the oil on the surface of the oil pan with his palms, Liu Qiang carefully rolled the glutinous rice balls in the bamboo basket into the oil pan.

There was about a bowl of oil in the oil pan, which was relatively small, so I didn't put many dumplings. Listening to the crackling sound in the pan, Liu Qiang's chopsticks kept turning the dumplings.

Liu Lei, who was rejected by his brother-in-law, blushed a little. He remembered how he was so stubborn when he wanted to come over. He was a little lucky because of his decision at that time. Otherwise, this year, the family might not be stable.

We owe famine every year. In the past two years, the only feeling of existence in my memory about the New Year is fear. Old debts have been paid off and new debts are due. Every year during the New Year, creditors come to the door.

A family that is easy to talk to can also provide the best, and provide people with good food and drink, which can delay the day.

Other people's families are also having a hard time, and they sigh after sitting down at home, and eventually have to give back the trivial change.

In the past six months, after excluding the dozens of yuan in rent given to Li Feng, Li Feng did not accept the payment he wanted to give last month. During the Chinese New Year, he directly sent nearly 100 yuan back, which is a huge sum of money for them who are from rural areas. .

"Uncle, how are those two pigs doing now that you called them?"

"Hey, I eat well and drink well. I have grown to almost a hundred pounds. My boss goes up to the mountain to dig bamboo shoots before dawn, and my younger brother has to cut pig grass after school. Those two pigs are really good at eating."

Taking the fried dumplings with golden skin out of the oil pan, Liu Qiang smiled even more as he thought about the two pigs at home.

One of them belongs to the nephew's family, and the other belongs to the Liu family. For a hundred kilograms of pigs, Liu Qiang's family will have to bear fifty kilograms. How can they be unhappy.

"Does it grow so fast? It's much heavier than a child's growth~!"

After some calculation, it was less than one hundred kilograms. When it was first delivered, it was more than ten or twenty kilograms. Now it is eighty or ninety kilograms, which is an increase of sixty kilograms. Liu Lei swallowed in surprise.

"That's nothing. There are no miscellaneous grains now, so people eat them. In the past, when the village was in good times, it was normal for the pigs fed the leftovers to grow more than 100 kilograms in six months!"

"Don't be stunned. This fried bowl will be sent to your aunt's house. While it's still warm, Xiaofeng probably hasn't gotten up yet, so give it to him for breakfast!"

The aroma of the steaming glutinous rice dumplings with golden skin went directly into Liu Lei's nostrils. After taking the bowl, Liu Lei licked the corners of his mouth and looked at the wall, holding back the glutton in his stomach. Also, you can eat it yourself.

"Ahem, uncle, it's Chinese New Year. I got up early, but Li Nan is still in bed!"

Li Feng's voice suddenly came from outside the door of the sitting room. Liu Lei hurriedly put the bowl of fried dumplings on the manger and went over to open the locked door.

"Hey, Xiaofeng got up very early today!"

"Happy New Year, Happy New Year. I wish you a happy New Year. I'm here to see what you need. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative later and buy some together!"

Li Feng bowed his hand towards his cousin who opened the door, and wished his uncle a happy New Year with a smile on his face. Considering that they didn't have a food book, non-staple food book, or some melon seeds and peanuts for the New Year, there was really no way to buy them, so he thought of coming over. Just say it casually.

"Buy whatever you want, don't spend money randomly, I have everything here, there is no shortage of things."

"Try it first. My uncle's fried dumplings are just ready to be sent to you. They won't taste good after they've been cooled and then reheated. You have to eat them right out of the pot!"

After saying that, Liu Qiang took the freshly fried meat out of the pot and looked around for the bowl where the dumplings had been placed, preparing to give his nephew a taste.

"My mother was also blowing things up and wouldn't let me talk. She rushed over here!"

"Oh, your grandpa is the same. He doesn't talk to anyone when he's blowing things up. At that time, I was hit with chopsticks!"

The old uncle nodded. It seemed that he knew this custom, but he just didn't abide by it.

"Oh, I didn't notice this one. There was a dumpling in the bowl just now!"

When Li Feng was hesitating whether to catch it with his hands, Liu Lei's voice came from behind. The two of them turned their heads and looked over. They saw that their cousin (eldest nephew) was holding an empty bowl in his hand, and he was about to cry without tears. look.

The two animals had already stood up from the ground, chewing and ruminating in their mouths, their long eyelashes blinking as if brushing Kazilan, staring at the empty bowl in Liu Lei's hand, and their rough tongues kept licking the back of Liu Lei's hand. , and asked him to take the bowl over. It seemed that he was not full and wanted to try again.

"Okay, look at the big flowers and the two flowers, we haven't eaten them yet, let them taste them first!"

Seeing Liu Lei holding an empty bowl next to the manger and the two animals leaning their heads together, Liu Qiang felt angry and funny. He picked up his chopsticks and nodded at his eldest nephew.

However, Liu Qiang was reluctant to hit or scold the two mules, and he cherished them very much. When the two mules were eaten by the two animals, he could only pat their heads sticking out of the stable and give them a beating.

"Uncle, the dumplings are good. They are even better than those fried by my grandpa when he was a kid." Li Feng grinned and tasted the hot dumplings. Li Feng stretched out his thumb and bubbled up the nose of the uncle who rolled his eyes at Liu Lei. .

"There's mainly no meat, just lard from the black market, otherwise it tastes better!"

Seeing that the five or six dumplings that he had worked so hard to fry were all wiped out by the two animals, Liu Qiang saw that his nephew liked to eat, so he hurried back to the oil pan and continued to roll the dumplings in.

"My factory still has meat stamps issued during the Chinese New Year, but there aren't many. I'll just buy them when I go to the grocery store. I still have mutton at home, so I'll give you the meat stamps to use directly!"

Holding the dumplings that had exploded out of the pot again, Li Feng looked inside the abandoned house. It turned out that the empty house was covered with brick beds, old tables, chairs and benches, but it was almost completely stocked.

"Leizi, I still have two dollars under my pillow. Take it and go with Xiaofeng. You can buy some while you watch and help carry some."

The old uncle who was busy frying the remaining dumplings pointed at Liu Lei with his chopsticks and asked him to follow him and help move things.

"Let's go, let's go, I've been so busy these past two days, I finally have a rest!"

Holding the bowl in hand, Li Feng took the lead and walked out the door.

"Xiao Feng~~! What are you holding in this bowl!"

As soon as we arrived at the entrance of the courtyard, we met Qin Huairu and Xiao Dang, who were heading straight to the public toilet. They bumped into Li Feng who was coming out of the back room.

"Sister Qin, when you go to the toilet, go to the toilet. Don't bury others. Whatever is in the bowl, you can definitely eat it!"

Rolling his eyes, Li Feng missed his body and was about to avoid it and walk over. Li Nan, a big slacker, hadn't gotten up yet, and what was in the bowl was the breakfast he had brought back for her.

"Mom, I'm hungry~!"

Xiaodang raised his neck, holding Qin Huairu with one hand, stuffing the index finger of one hand into his mouth, holding his finger and staring straight at the bowl of sea in Li Feng's hand.

"You kid, you said you had a stomachache just now, and now you're hungry. Your Uncle Li Feng's food was for Aunt Li Nan~!"

Qin Huai, who was pregnant, pulled his daughter's hand, his eyes drifted from the bowl in Li Feng's hand, with a smile on his face.

"Yes, the smell here is not suitable for eating. I have to go back first!"

Li Feng had no intention of sharing the food with the little white-eyed wolf. He pretended not to hear what the mother and daughter said, and walked straight to the courtyard entrance with the bowl in hand.

"Wait a minute, Xiaofeng, I haven't thanked you yet. Dongxu's boss Guo asked him to take the industrial grade assessment, and now he has passed it again!"

Li Feng, who had just arrived at the entrance of the courtyard, stopped. He heard Qin Huairu's words and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"This Jia Dongxu really passed the exam!"

Frowning, Li Feng walked home and saw that the greedy cat Li Nan had gotten up from the smell and was washing his face listlessly in front of the washbasin.

"My uncle's fried dumplings, eat them while they're hot, and finish your homework after eating. Don't wait until school starts after the Chinese New Year, so you can rush in a hurry!"

After putting the dumplings on the table and seeing Liu Yin still frying twists beside the pot, Li Feng didn't dare to go over and feel uncomfortable. After saying that, he went to the tin bucket under the bed to find the non-staple food book at home.

"Brother~~Brother, I can do the homework. Can you take me with you? I'll just watch, I won't buy anything!"

After washing his face, Li Nan heard his brother's words. While eating the fried dumplings on the table, he begged his brother to take him with him with pitiful eyes.

"My cousin is going to follow him too. He has to give him the back seat of the car and tie him a rope. You can stay behind and run, right?"

After getting the non-staple food book, Li Feng couldn't help but pick up the schoolbag hanging on the wall and threw it in front of Li Nan. He nodded the schoolbag without any doubt, and then Li Feng went to move the bicycle in the house.

Li Nan glanced at his mother who was frying mahua and opened her mouth, but did not dare to speak. She had tasted those long chopsticks in the morning.

"You finish your homework at home honestly, and I will bring you a bunch of candied haws when you come back. If you haven't finished writing, don't mention the candied haws. I won't even let you see the candied haws sticks."

After saying that, Li Feng pushed on his bicycle, took Liu Lei who was waiting at the entrance of the hospital, and rode to the supply and marketing cooperative together.

"You can't come to our place for the New Year's Eve dinner. My mother will kill that chicken later. Let's all have a good meal together!"

The cold wind blew across his face, and Li Feng gasped for breath with white mist in his mouth, and said to Liu Lei behind the car.

I just went to see my uncle and his wife on their table. There was nothing on the table. The radish and cabbage were cut well. When he saw that they only ate dumplings during the Chinese New Year, Li Feng couldn't stand it anymore, so he simply made an appointment with the two families.

"My aunt told my uncle about this before, and it means the same thing. We'd better make up for it on our own. I'll give my uncle two taels of wine later so he can eat and drink."

After listening to his cousin's words, Liu Lei stood behind the bicycle and looked at the endless flow of people on the road. He smiled and refused persistently.

"Then take some melon seeds and peanuts with you and take a good rest at home. You've been busy for so many months. I think you've been working like this all day and night. Sooner or later you'll get tired and get sick!"

"It's okay. Compared with farming at home, this is already a light job. While you are young and still have some strength, do more while you can move."

Thinking of what his uncle often said, Liu Lei licked his tongue and said nonchalantly, in fact, he went out early and came back late every day, and lived a very fulfilling life. Seeing the money in his pocket increasing day by day, it was a bit boring to have some free time during the New Year. Not used to it.

If the old uncle hadn't insisted on taking such a day off, Liu Lei would have put a saddle on Erhua and galloped on various roads in the capital.

I squeezed the two yuan that my uncle had just given me, and used my cousin's meat coupons to buy meat for more than one yuan. The remaining few cents were used for drinking. I brought two yuan here, but I didn't know what to buy better.

"Stop buttoning and swissing. My family needs to know that you have all sent your exes back. If you are living such a sad life, they will not be able to survive this new year either."

"Fortunately, I left a few dollars, which is enough for food and drink for the past two days. Anyway, we will continue to drive the car tomorrow, and the money will continue to come. Just have enough."

When he arrived at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Feng took a breath of air-conditioning as he looked at the pedestrians who kept coming and going. He didn't stay at home during the Chinese New Year, and all his emotions came to the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Haha, there are usually a lot of people on weekends. I can't even squeeze in at the department store now!"

Liu Lei, who jumped out of the car, looked at his cousin who was surprised and had never seen the world. He grinned widely, but when he thought about the countless businesses he might have missed today, his temples bulged involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)