Chapter 161 It’s Chinese New Year

It had snowed for two days and two nights. When I opened the door on the morning of the 30th, I saw that the ground was completely white, covered with a thick layer, and it made a creaking sound when I stepped on it.

　　Ye Annian stood at the door of the hall, looking at the heavy snow covering the yard in trance.

　　There was a sudden weight on his shoulders. Jiang Zhu picked up a cloak and put it on him.

　　"Come in, it just snowed and it's cold outside."

　　"It's okay." Ye Annian sniffed, "We have to clear a way. No one can leave this yard."

　　"I'll just come," Jiang Zhu said.

　　He turned around to get the shovel, and Ye Anyian followed suit and got the broom out: "I'll come with you."

　　Seeing his persistence, Jiang Zhu didn't force himself anymore and walked in front to clear the path with a shovel. Ye Anian followed behind him and used a broom to clean up the path he had shoveled.

　　The two of them cooperated in a tacit understanding and worked hard, but they heard a strange sound coming from the distance.

　　As soon as Ye Annian looked up, he saw a black thing rushing out of the snow.

　　He quickly whispered: "Be careful!"

　　Jiang Zhu looked up when he heard the sound, but it was too late. The copper coin covered with snow was like a black sesame glutinous rice dumpling with thin skin and large filling, and plunged into Jiang Zhu's arms.

　　The collision caused him to stumble and almost fall.

　　Ye Annian quickly helped him up. Seeing that Copper Coin was still sticking out his tongue, he stupidly pounced on Jiang Zhu, raised his hand and patted Copper Coin on the head: "Stinky Copper Coin!"

　　Maybe it was because he didn't hit hard, but after being beaten, Tongqian became even more excited. He barked "woof" twice, and then like crazy, he jumped into the snowdrift next to him and rolled around.

　　Ye Anyian:...

　　"I can't keep this dog."

　　Ignoring the copper coins and going crazy in the snow, the two of them continued to clear the snow in the yard. After working for a long time, they were able to shovel a path.

　　Fu Zai and Ding Qiu also got up at this time. Seeing the snow in the yard, they happily shouted that they wanted to build a snowman.

　　Ye Annian didn't stop them. He went back to the main room and found some good-looking red peppers and longan cores for them to use as eyes and noses.

　　Jiang Zhu thought for a while, took out a pack of wolfberry from his medicine house, and used it as a mouth for the snowman.

　　Fuzai and Dingqiu took the things and happily built a snowman in the yard.

　　Ye Annian looked at the busy backs of the two little ones, curled his lips, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

　　Jiang Zhu saw him looking at the two children and giggling, and waved his hand in front of him: "Why are you laughing? Do you want to build a snowman?"

　　Ye Anyian shook his head: "I want to make a mold."

　　"What mold?" Jiang Zhu asked.

"A mold for playing with snow." Ye Annian winked at him, mysteriously, "You'll know when I make it."

　　What he was talking about was the modern snow clip that can make little ducks, hearts and small gourds with just one clip. It can also be made from wood.

　　Ye Annian did what he said and dove into his newly built wood carving room.

　　Seeing his excited look, Jiang Zhu smiled helplessly and went back to the main room to cook.

　　It was almost noon when Ye Anyian came out of the wood carving room, holding three strange-shaped wooden clamps.

　　In the yard, Fu Zai and Ding Qiu have already built a small snowman.

　　The snowman is round and fat, with longan cores as eyes, red peppers as nose, and small wolfberries as mouth.

　　The two children found a piece of red silk cloth from nowhere and tied it around the snowman's neck. They also inserted two branches into it as hands.

　　"Brother, Brother Jiang!"

　　Fu Zai's little hands were red from the cold, but he didn't feel cold at all. He shouted into the house: "Come and see! Brother Qiu and I have built the snowman!"

　　Jiang Zhu came out after hearing the sound and gave the two children a thumbs up: "Awesome."

　　"Does it look good?" Ding Qiu stood aside and looked at the two of them expectantly.

　　Ye Anyian nodded: "It looks good, so cute."

　　"hey-hey."

　　Both children smiled happily.

　　At this time, Jiang Zhu noticed what Ye Anyian was holding and raised his eyebrows: "Is this the snow-playing mold you mentioned?"

　　"Yes." Ye Anian nodded, gave one to him, then handed another to Ding Qiu, and led the three of them to a place in the courtyard where the snow was thick.

　　He manipulated the wooden clamp, clamped a piece of snow, pressed the handle hard, and then found an open space to slowly loosen the clamp.

　　Three people and six pairs of eyes stared at the wooden clamp.

　　Then, a snow-white little duck appeared in the clearing.

　　"Wow, little duck!"

　　Fuzai touched it with his finger in surprise: "It's so cute."

　　Ye Anyian handed him the wooden clip in his hand: "You know how, can you try clipping one yourself?"

　　"good!"

　　Fu Zai responded, took the clip and ran to the side to play.

　　Ding Qiu and Jiang Zhu were also eager to see it. They imitated what he had just done and picked up a bunch of snow with a clip. After pressing it, they slowly opened it.

　　A cat's head and a shaky little gourd suddenly appeared on the ground.

　　"Interesting." Jiang Zhu poked the cat's ears and started playing with the two children with the clip.

　　After a while, several rows of little ducks, cat heads and small gourds were neatly arranged in the open space in the yard, as if there was a meeting.

　　Ye Anyian had already laid out the lunch meal and helplessly called the three of them in to eat.

There was nothing else to do in the afternoon, so Ye Anyian went to the wood carving room and made a few snow clips. This thing was very popular with children. Maybe he could make more and sell them in Guangyin Shop.

　　However, it is rather limited and can only be played when it snows.

　　The afternoon passed quickly, and towards evening, Ye Anyian and Jiang Zhu began to mix noodles and stuffing, preparing to make dumplings for the evening.

　　Jiang Zhu prepared two kinds of fillings, one with fungus and egg, and one with pork and cabbage.

Ye Anyian also dug out two copper coins, washed them, and planned to wrap them in dumplings. It is said that those who eat them will have good luck and prosperity.

　　"Let's make two more sugar dumplings." Jiang Zhu took two candies out of the candy jar. "The kids will be happy if they eat them."

　　"Okay." Ye Anyian curled his lips.

　　By the time the two of them had prepared the ingredients, the sky was getting dark.

　　Jiang Zhu boiled ginger syrup to ward off the cold, and Ye Anyian went out to fetch the two children in. He heated hot water for the two little ones to wash their hands and keep them warm.

　　After washing, each person drank a cup of ginger sugar water, and his whole body immediately felt warm.

　　Ye Annian carried the two of them to the kang in the east room. The four of them formed a circle and started making dumplings in an orderly manner.

　　Fu Zai and Ding Qiu rolled out the dumpling wrappers, and Ye Annian and Jiang Zhu started wrapping them. In less than an hour, they had three large dumplings filled with them, enough for several people to eat.

　　The water in the big pot began to boil. Jiang Zhu tilted the lid into the pot, and the round dumplings jumped in "plop" and "plop". After a while, the pot was full.

　　He covered the pot, added more firewood to the stove, and said to Ye Anyian, "The dumplings will be ready soon."

　　Ye Annian responded, took out the jar of soaked Laba garlic, picked up a few pickled emerald green Laba garlics and put them in the bowl, and poured some Laba vinegar, which was sour and spicy, and the taste was very strong. .

　　Not long after, the hot dumplings came out of the pot and filled a large basin.

　　Fu Zai and Ding Qiu held their own small bowls and stared at the dumplings eagerly, while the copper coins squatted at their feet, drooling "bata" and "bahta".

　　"You can eat the dumplings first. There are also some steamed bowls and fried goods, which will be ready soon." Jiang Zhu said when he saw the two children looking at each other eagerly.

　　The two mouths agreed, but no one moved their chopsticks. Ye Anian was helping Jiang Zhu, and he laughed.

　　However, he was very pleased that the children were sensible.

　　Soon fried goods and steamed bowls were also served on the table. As Jiang Zhu said "dinner," the table suddenly became lively.

　　The dumplings have thin skin and big fillings, and they are topped with Laba garlic. They are so delicious that you can't stop eating them.

　　Fried goods are meat stuffing rolled in oily bean skin, boiled in oil, and become crispy and fragrant.

　　The steamed bowl is a classic braised pork belly with pickled vegetables. The stewed pork belly is so tender that it melts in your mouth. The salty pickles are slightly sweet, which is very refreshing.

　　The four people were in a hurry, and soon the bottom of the pot of dumplings was gone.

　　Suddenly he heard Ding Qiu's "yeah" sound and took out the half-bitten dumpling from his mouth.

　　I saw a shining copper coin wrapped in the dumpling.

　　"You're lucky." Jiang Zhu narrowed his eyes and smiled.

　　Ding Qiu pursed his lips and smiled too.

He was relatively quiet, but Ye Anyian still saw that he was very happy.

　　"If you eat copper coin dumplings, you will have good luck in the coming year." Ye Anyian touched his head and said.

　　Fu Zai looked at it with hot eyes, pulling Ye Anyian's sleeve and shaking it: "Brother, I want it too."

　　Ye Anyian poked his forehead: "This is a matter of luck. You can't force it. My brother can't find any dumplings that are copper coins."

　　Fu Zai was a little unwilling, but he would not lose his temper. He touched his belly and felt that he could eat more, so he handed the empty bowl to Jiang Zhu.

　　"Brother Jiang, give me another bowl!"

　　"okay."

　　Jiang Zhu took the bowl and served him dumplings. After all, he was afraid that he would be full and mixed a sugar dumpling in it.

　　After a while, he ate it.

　　Feeling a sweet taste spread in his mouth, Fu Zai's eyes suddenly lit up.

　　"It's so sweet. What kind of dumpling is this?"

　　Jiang Zhu smiled and said: "These are sugar dumplings. Eating them will bring you good luck. It means sweetness and happiness in the new year."

　　"Hehe." Fu Zai laughed happily.

　　Looking at the remaining half of the sugar dumpling, he handed it to Ye Anyian: "Brother will eat it too."

　　Ye Annian cooperated and took a small bite, and Fu Zai happily gave it to Jiang Zhu.

　　After walking around and returning to his place, there was only a dumpling left. Fu Zai didn't mind it and ate it all in one bite.

　　After dinner, the family of four gathered together to watch the New Year.

　　Ye Anyian took out the red envelope he had wrapped in advance.

　　One for Fu Zai, one for Ding Qiu, and one for Jiang Zhu.

　　While the two children were looking down at their red envelopes, Jiang Zhu quickly kissed Ye Anyian on the face.

　　"It's great every year."

　　Ye Anyian's ears felt hot and he rolled his eyes at him.

　　In front of the child, this person is getting more and more arrogant.

　　In this era without mobile phones, computers, and televisions, staying up late on New Year's Eve is quite boring.

　　Fortunately, Ye Anyian had anticipated this situation in advance and took two Rubik's cubes and some other gadgets from the shop.

　　So the four of them played with these toys and chatted about them.

　　However, Fu Zai and Ding Qiu were still too sleepy after a short time. Ye Anian sent the two children back to his room to sleep. When he returned to the room, he saw Jiang Zhu waiting for him with a handful of flowers in his hand. .

　　Seeing him come back, I shook the flowers in my hand and went out to play for a while?

　　Ye Anyian curled his lips and smiled and nodded.

　　Jiang Zhu took a thick cloak and put it on him, and the two of them took the flowers and went to the yard.

　　To stay awake tonight, every room in the house was lit with candlesticks. Copper Coin had already fallen asleep, but when he heard the noise outside, he came out of the nest again and wandered around the feet of the two of them.

The two moved small stools and found a snow-free place in the courtyard to sit down. Jiang Zhu lit the flowers he was holding with a fire stick.

　　Suddenly, a bright little flower bloomed in Jiang Zhu's hand, radiant and colorful.

　　Ye Annian held the flower stick in his hand and approached it, and then, two gorgeous little flowers bloomed together in the dark night.

　　Tongqian didn't know what it was, and barked "woof" around the two of them, looking novel and excited.

　　Jiang Zhu looked at the two little flowers that were close together with the flickering light of fire, and said to Ye Annian: "Would you like to make a wish in the new year?"

Ye Anqian said softly "Hmm", closed his eyes, and recited the wish silently in his heart several times.

　　When he opened his eyes, Jiang Zhu was looking at him with his chin in his hands: "What wish did you make?"

　　Ye Anyian shook his head: "It won't work if you say your wish."

　　"All right."

　　At this time, the sound of crackling firecrackers came from the village, and for a moment it seemed that the entire small village woke up and welcomed the New Year in this lively atmosphere.

　　Jiang Zhu stood up, stretched out his hand to pull Ye Anian up, and the two returned to the house.

　　"Fu Zai and Ding Qiu have gone to bed. Let's set off firecrackers tomorrow morning," Jiang Zhu said.

　　"Okay." Ye Anyian nodded.

　　He lowered his head to untie the straps of his cloak, took off the heavy cloak, and hung it on a shelf nearby.

　　The moment he turned around, he was pulled back by a force.

　　He staggered and was pulled into Jiang Zhu's arms.

　　"Every year, in the new year, peace and joy."

　　Ye Anian was hugged from behind by him. He turned around to look at him, but his chin was gently held by someone's hand. Then their lips and teeth met and they fell into a sweet kiss.

　　With the candlelight inside the house warm and the sound of firecrackers outside, Ye Anyian felt his heartbeat getting clearer and clearer, and replied in his heart: Happy New Year.