Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 134 New Year's Eve Reunion
At 3 p.m., the reunion dinner was ready and everything was served on the table.

Not counting those servants, there were only Liu Dongshan and his wife, their apprentice, adopted son, and two little kids at home to celebrate the New Year. Since there were few people, Lin Ruolan didn't cook many dishes.

The table was filled with ten dishes, including stewed chicken with mushrooms, braised pork elbow, stewed river fish, braised pork with pork belly, soft-fried meat slices, fried eggplant boxes, pork liver and tongue platter, braised venison with green onions, and stewed pork ribs with sauerkraut.

"Come on, let's all sit on the kang and eat. This is the first time our family will be together for the New Year. Let's eat and drink well."

After the food was ready, Lin Ruolan greeted everyone with a smile.

Last year, Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang spent the New Year in the mountains, leaving Lin Ruolan and Xiaozhi alone at home, making it quite deserted.

This year, Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang finally don’t have to go up the mountain. With the addition of two new kids, Shuanzhu and Xiaofeng, this year is much more lively.

Qu Shaoyang heated a pot of wine, took two wine cups, sat down face to face with Liu Dongshan, and poured Liu Dongshan a full glass of wine.

"Master, this is the first time that we two have spent the New Year at home. Come, let me toast you first."

Liu Dongshan picked up the wine glass with a smile and clinked it with Qu Shaoyang. They each drank half a glass of wine.

"Oh, I've been working in the Northeast for so many years, but this is the first time I get to spend the New Year at home. It's great, it's great to have a home."

Liu Dongshan will be fifty after the Chinese New Year. He has been alone and wandering for most of his life, but now he finally has a family, a business, a wife and a child. How can he not feel emotional?
"Master, don't worry, our lives will get better and better in the future.

When Xiaozhi grows up and gets married, you and Master's wife will be able to have grandchildren. You will be even happier then."

Qu Shaoyang picked up two pieces of fish and put them in Liu Dongshan's bowl.

The fish was bought. There were people who specialized in fishing on the riverside. In winter, they would dig holes in the ice on the river surface to catch fish and freeze them to store.

During the Chinese New Year, people emphasize having plenty every year. No matter how life goes, we always have to prepare two fish to cook, so the fish business is pretty good.

Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang were both very busy and didn't have the time to dig holes in the ice to fish, so they specially ordered some fresh fish from someone.

This big carp weighed over three pounds and was specially served on a square plate, with the whole fish complete with head and tail.

Liu Dongshan took a bite of fish, took a sip of wine, and then smiled.

"Do we still have to wait for Xiaozhi to get married? Next year, when you get married, your master's wife and I will have grandchildren."

Qu Shaoyang thought about it and it made sense. Master, master, is both a master and a father. So his child would be the master’s grandson, right?
"Yes, I didn't think it through. Come, Master, let's have another drink."

It was the New Year and everyone was happy, so Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan started drinking together.

Lin Ruolan was still breastfeeding and couldn't drink alcohol, so she kept picking up food for Xiaozhi.

As for Xiaozhi, he watched the adults drinking all day long. They all looked so intoxicated, as if they were drinking some kind of nectar.

Xiao Zhi was curious, so while Liu Dongshan wasn't paying attention, he dipped some wine with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

It didn't matter that it tasted so spicy that Xiao Zhi stuck out his tongue.

"Ah, it's such a spicy thing, why are my dad and brother drinking it so happily?" Xiao Zhi muttered while sticking out his tongue.

Lin Ruolan had just seen Xiaozhi's little trick, and she deliberately didn't stop him.

Children of this age have begun to have their own ideas and will not listen to others' advice.

If Lin Ruolan said that the wine didn't taste good, Xiao Zhi might not listen. Instead, he would think that Lin Ruolan was lying to him.

He must be allowed to taste it for himself and make his own judgment.

"You are still curious, you little brat, and you are still tempting me to drink."

Qu Shaoyang was so happy to see Xiaozhi like that that he quickly picked up some food for him. "Hurry up, eat some food to calm your nerves. Let's see if you dare to be curious about everything again in the future."

"No, I won't think about this thing anymore.

I really don't know what you and dad were thinking, this thing is obviously spicy and bitter, but you two are still drinking it so happily."

Xiao Zhi quickly stuffed some food into his mouth, and only then did he feel that the taste was less tasty.

"You are just a kid, you don't know shit. Just eat your meal. When you grow up, you will understand it yourself."

Qu Shaoyang raised his hand, rubbed Xiaozhi's head and smiled.

While they were eating, Shuanzhu and Xiaofeng, who were sleeping on the kang, woke up.

When Lin Ruolan saw this, she quickly put down her chopsticks, carried the two children to the ground floor to help them urinate, and after she had done that, she took their meals out of the pot.

These two kids started adding rice when they were about four months old. In the beginning they had egg cakes and millet porridge, but now they eat soft noodles, wontons and other things.

You know what, these two kids have big appetites and they eat anything you feed them.

Lin Ruolan steamed egg cakes and cooked some noodles in advance, and put minced meat and some cabbage leaves in the noodles.

The two children put on their little smocks and sat on the kang, a little distance away from the table. Then Lin Ruolan held the bowl and fed the children one spoonful at a time.

After becoming a mother, almost every woman has never had a peaceful meal, let alone taking care of two little kids.

Lin Ruolan was already used to this, so while feeding the baby, she also took the opportunity to eat some more.

Fortunately, I had just eaten a lot of food, so eating a little more would be enough.

After the reunion dinner, Xiaozhi stayed behind to coax the children, Liu Dongshan went to fry melon seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts and other nuts, Qu Shaoyang went to chop the stuffing, and Lin Ruolan went to knead the dough.

This is not just about preparing dumplings for four people, the dumpling filling and dough must also be prepared for the waiter.

That bunch of bachelors might just cook some random meals to get by on, but making dough and stuffing is a technical job, how could they know how to do it?
I have hunted wild boars several times before, and the meat was hard and tough, and had a fishy smell, so I usually ate it in stews or something.

The meat of sows is of better quality, but the best ones are the old-year-old and yellow-haired ones.

Lin Ruolan specially saved some meat from the previous year to use for chopping stuffing and making dumplings during the New Year.

Qu Shaoyang was strong. He held a kitchen knife in each hand and chopped for a long time. He chopped a whole bowl of meat filling.

The mountains in Guandong are not like those in the south. There are not so many vegetables in winter. When making dumplings in winter, the fillings are nothing more than cabbage, sauerkraut, and radish.

The radish is grated in advance, blanched, squeezed into balls and frozen. After it is slowly opened, just chop it up.

The cabbage is the freshest one taken from the vegetable cellar. Wash it, cut it into strips and chop it, then add a little salt, drain out the water and squeeze it dry.

After the vegetable filling is chopped, it is put into another bowl. After Lin Ruolan finishes kneading the dough, mix the vegetables and meat, add the seasonings, and stir evenly.

Then Qu Shaoyang called two waiters to take away the dumpling stuffing and dough. He also followed them and taught them how to make dumplings.

"How was dinner? Are you all full?" Qu Shaoyang walked into the tube room where the servants lived and asked with a smile.

"It's delicious, we prepared several dishes tonight.

Pig's trotters, pig's head, big bones stewed with pickled cabbage, fish, pork elbow in sauce, pork jelly, pork belly stewed with cabbage and vermicelli, pig's liver and pig's heart, etc. It was delicious. "

The guys were all very happy. Even at home, they couldn't eat such delicious food during the New Year. It seemed like they had made the right decision to come to Kanto.

(End of this chapter)