Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

When Wang An arrived home, Comrade Liu Guilan was preparing dumpling filling. Upon seeing Wang An return, Liu Guilan quickly greeted him:

"Xiao An, the dumpling filling is chopped out. Hurry up and mix it in."

Wang An agreed and went into the kitchen.

Ever since Wang An showed off his dumpling-making skills that time, whenever Wang An's family eats dumplings, if Wang An is home, it's basically his job to prepare the filling.

There was nothing they could do. Even though Wang An had taught Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing how to make dumpling filling, the filling they made using the same method just didn't taste as good as Wang An's. No wonder!

It has to be said that this is a rather puzzling matter.

Wang An took the bowl of minced meat and added Sichuan peppercorn powder, soy sauce, MSG, salt, and chopped green onions and cilantro that Liu Guilan had already prepared.

He then used chopsticks to stir the mixture in the bowl very quickly, clockwise.

When stirring the dumpling filling, remember not to stir clockwise and then counterclockwise, because doing so will cause the filling to fall apart after cooking.

Therefore, it must always be clockwise or always counterclockwise.

When you find that all the meat filling in the bowl has formed a bulge, the dumpling filling is ready.

It's best to let the meat filling sit for a while after mixing to allow the seasonings to fully infuse the meat. Only dumplings made with this kind of filling will be the most delicious.

After mixing the dumpling filling, Wang An called Wang Yi, and the three of them swept the yard together with brooms.

Last year we spent the Spring Festival in the old courtyard, which wasn't very big. This year we're spending it in the new courtyard, so sweeping the yard is definitely a very tiring task.

The main problem is that Wang An's yard is really too big. The area of ​​the front yard alone, which is the area from the east wing to the west wing, from the main house to the deer shed, pigsty and sheepfold, is more than three acres, or more than 2 square meters.

And to sweep an area of ​​more than 2 square meters by hand with brooms, you can imagine how much work that would take.

Fortunately, Wang An's yard was relatively clean, and the three of them simply swept it with a broom.

Of course, even so, the three of them didn't finish sweeping the yard until almost 6 p.m.

During this time, Shen Wei and Zhao Cuiyun also rushed over from their homes and fed all of Wang An's livestock.

After finishing all the chores, Wang An's entire family, along with Shen Wei and her daughter, and Zhao Cuiyun and her daughter, all stayed in the living room of Wang Dazhu's house, eating snacks and watching TV.

The only pity is that this year's Spring Festival Gala has not yet started. What is being broadcast on TV is the "National Literary and Art Workers' Spring Festival Gathering," which is actually a pre-recorded program.

Of course, even so, everyone still watched with great interest.

After watching TV for a while, Liu Guilan moved the cutting board, rolling pin, dough bowl, dumpling filling, and other materials onto the large coffee table in the living room. After everyone washed their hands, they slowly started making dumplings for dinner while watching TV.

I must say, Liu Guilan is really clever; she actually came up with such a brilliant idea just to watch TV.

Last year during Chinese New Year, Wang An put 16 one-cent coins into the dumplings, while this year, he prepared 30 coins directly.

Wang An also plans to put 30 coins in the dumplings for the New Year's Eve dinner every year from now on.

The main point is "New Year's Eve". On the night of the 30th, put 30 coins in the coin box. This way, the coins will match the number 30 and "bite the coin with each bite". There is absolutely no problem with that.

When Wang An boiled 30 coins in hot water and placed them on the cutting board, not only were Shen Wei and Zhao Cuiyun stunned, but even Liu Guilan and Wang Dazhu, who had already witnessed Wang An's incredible feat, were bewildered by the 30 coins. Wang Dazhu, while rummaging through the pile of coins, said with a look of astonishment:

"What are you doing here? Are you trying to put so much money in the dumplings?"

Liu Guilan also said with a speechless expression:
"Last year's amount was much more reasonable. You've come up with so much more this year. If you put all that money in dumplings, it wouldn't even be enough to fill your teeth."

Mu Xueqing said, both amused and exasperated:
"Yeah, you know, it would be so uncomfortable if you accidentally bit into money."

Wang An remained unmoved, and said with a grin:

"Isn't it good to have a lot of money? If you make money this year, you can spend it next year. I'm telling you, you can't go wrong by listening to me."

After a pause, Wang An said with a grin:
"Do you know why our family is doing so well this year? It's because we put a lot of money in the dumplings we made before last year's Lunar New Year. Let me ask you, didn't everyone in our family eat money last year? Think about it, doesn't that make sense?"

Although Wang An's argument is pure nonsense, who doesn't want good luck during the Lunar New Year? Who doesn't want to bite money with their mouth?

Liu Guilan, who was particularly interested in such mysterious and absurd matters, thought about it and felt it made a lot of sense. That's why she pretended to be helpless and said to Wang Andao:
"You're so good with words, you always have so many theories."

Turning her head, Liu Guilan instructed Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli, as well as Xiao Lai and Gou Shengzi:

"You four be careful before you eat dumplings, don't swallow money and get it stuck in your throat."

Liu Guilan was still a little worried about this, but Gou Shengzi would be 9 years old after the New Year, and even the youngest sister, Xiao Lai, would be 6 years old after the New Year, so it wasn't a big problem.

Moreover, since Shen Wei's mother-in-law passed away, Xiao Lai has been living at Wang An's house every day. She eats whatever Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli eat, so she is quite well-fed. If it weren't for the fact that there are coins in the dumplings, these three girls probably wouldn't have even eaten a single dumpling.

There's no way around it; kids who live too well are like that—they eat very little proper food.

In this way, all 30 one-cent coins were wrapped up in dumplings by the group.

After making dumplings, everyone ate snacks and watched TV, and before they knew it, it was past 11 p.m.

At this time, everyone is usually already asleep, so the four children couldn't stay awake any longer and were already sleepy.

But today is Chinese New Year, and according to local custom, people don't go to bed until after midnight.

So, led by Wang An and Wang Yi, Wang Xiaomei and Wang Xiaoli, along with Xiao Lai and Gou Shengzi, all went outside to set off firecrackers.

Wang An bought this year's firecrackers in Harbin, so they are quite a few more elaborate.

Besides the usual firecrackers like double-bang, bang bang, and strings of small firecrackers, Wang An also bought a variety of other children's firecrackers, such as snap pops, firecrackers, sky rockets, large firecrackers, and small firecrackers.

Most importantly, Wang An and his two companions also bought a lot of ceremonial cannons in Harbin. These cannons are also called ceremonial fireworks.

Compared to firecrackers, ceremonial cannons are much easier to set off. You just need to light the fuse, and they will automatically ignite the small firecrackers inside the paper tube one after another, sending them flying into the sky and exploding.

With so many fireworks and firecrackers, the children, who were initially quite sleepy, suddenly became energetic and excited, playing with great enthusiasm.

Wang An and Wang Yi led several children in a lively game until almost midnight, when Wang An finally had Wang Yi light the 40-meter-long red string of firecrackers.

Wang An himself then lit several celebratory cannons and fireworks. (End of Chapter)