"Then wash your hands first"
Shen Gongqi knew that she was still angry with her from last night, so he could only coax her away first.
After she washed her face, Shen Gongqi asked her what she wanted to have for breakfast, and he made it.
Fang Nuo, who was no longer so angry, made his request and asked him to go to the kitchen to work. He got on the kang, covered himself with a small quilt, took out the unfinished sweater and continued knitting.
Not long after, Shen Gongqi came back with cooked breakfast. After watching her eat, he put the bowl away and washed it.
Later, the family was sleeping at home for the winter, and it was soon entering the twelfth lunar month.
As we enter the twelfth lunar month, the New Year is approaching.
When Laba arrived a few days later, Fang Nuo got up early and cooked Laba porridge.
After it was cooked, Shen Gongqi sent a large bowl to Aunt Dahua's house and brought back a bowl of Laba porridge cooked by Aunt Dahua.
"Aunt Dahua got up so early. Why is the Laba porridge ready?" Fang Nuo asked after taking the bowl.
"My aunt said that she wasn't ready to go so early, but she thought that you sent it so early last year. No, I'm afraid you would go so early this year and she would cook it when she got up in the morning," Shen Gongqi said.
"Like this"
"Um"
"Okay, you go wash your hands and let's eat," Fang Nuo said.
"Okay, you go back to the room first, I will serve it later." Shen Gong went to see that she had prepared the dishes, chopsticks and pickles, so he asked her to go back to the room first, and he would serve them later.
"Okay, let me take the dishes and chopsticks over first. You can wash them and bring them over later," Fang Nuo said.
"okay"
After the two of them put everything on the kang table, they sat on the kang and started eating.
"Well, the radish salt this year is a bit light. We have to eat it before spring, otherwise we are afraid that it will go bad when the weather warms up." Fang Nuo said while eating the spicy diced radish he had pickled.
"I can definitely finish it. I see you didn't pickle it too much," Shen Gongqi said, scooping a spoonful of diced radish into his bowl.
"It's not much, but the three of us in our family all eat a lot of noodles, so the pickles disappear very slowly," Fang Nuo said.
"Then we will eat noodles from now on, and take some out and eat them with noodles," Shen Gongqi said.
"OK"
After breakfast, the two of them had nothing to do, so they just stayed in the house.
When Yaya woke up, she was washed and fed half a bowl of Laba porridge, and then the little girl played by herself on the kang.
"By the way, Brother Qi, you go to the bamboo forest tomorrow and chop down a bamboo tree. Cut off all the branches and leave the top ones. Then we will use them to sweep away the dust and cobwebs in the house." Fang Nuo knitted a sweater and thought about it. He said to Shen Gongqi that he would start cleaning the house in two days.
"Okay, I'll cut it back when I get up tomorrow," Shen Gongqi said.
"I don't know when the village will kill pigs and catch fish this year. After eating mutton for such a long time, I miss pork and fish a little bit," Fang Nuo said.
"It's almost time. I'll go out for a walk in a while and go to the captain's house to ask. If you like to eat, we'll change some more then," Shen Gongqi said.
"Okay, you can also go and ask if there is anyone who needs help during this period. If you are familiar with them, please help. Otherwise, I think you will be confused if you stay at home with me all day." Fang Nuo said
"Well, I know that. No one needs help during this time. But it snowed heavily a few days ago, and some people's houses in the village may need to be cleaned. I'll ask the captain. If you need help, I'll tell you They went out to help together," Shen Gongqi said.
"Okay, then I'll cook lunch and you can go after you finish it." Fang Nuo put down the unfinished sweater in his hand, packed it up and put it high.
Then I got off the kang, put on my shoes, and went to the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
At this temperature, she didn't want to cook the food, so she just cooked it in one pot.
In one pot, there are beans, frozen tofu, bacon, potatoes, dried eggplants, and a few steamed buns as the staple food.
After the water boils, simmer for ten minutes and then you can take it out of the pot.
After lunch, Shen Gongqi went out.
Once people go out, they don't come back until dark.
Sure enough, there are several houses in the village with only the elderly and children at home. The snow on the roofs has not been cleared. If it snows again, the houses will not be able to withstand the pressure.
The captain summoned several young people in the village to clear the snow from the roofs of these families.
One person can earn eight work points every day.
Seeing that he was back, Fang Nuo said: "He's back. Come back to the house to warm yourself up. The food is already prepared. I'll bring it over right away. Let's eat in the house."
"I'll serve it with you." Shen Gongqi turned around and went to the kitchen.
After the two of them had put the food on the table, Shen Gongqi sat down and told her what happened today.
"In that case, are you going to go out to help today?" Fang Nuo asked.
"We will only go if it snows continuously. If it doesn't snow, we will rest at home," Shen Gongqi replied.
"Then you asked, when will the pigs be killed?" Fang Nuo asked again.
"I asked, and the captain said that we will kill the pigs tomorrow. The killing is a bit late this year, so we will kill the pigs tomorrow and organize fishing in two days. Then I will also go fishing together, so that I can get a few fish." Shen Gongqi said
"Is fishing too dangerous?" Fang Nuo asked.
"No, the ice is frozen solid today. Don't worry, we will organize fishing during this period," Shen Gongqi said.
"That's okay." Fang Nuo then realized that he agreed to go.
The next day Shen Gongqi got up early and went to the village committee to help catch pigs and kill them. Fang Nuo was at home and waited until Yaya woke up before going to help.
But unexpectedly, everyone was still waiting for her to make soup.
She wanted to refuse, because if she went to help make soup, no one would be watching Yaya.
Unexpectedly, those people, in order to drink the soup she made, pulled Shen Gongqi out of the crowd of people handling the pigs and asked him to look after the children while Fang Nuo worked.
After handing Yaya to Shen Gongqi and taking her to the side of the fire to warm herself up, Fang Nuo took several aunts from the village to blanch the bones and then stew them, then drained the pigs and started cleaning them.
Clean it and take it to Aunt Dahua's house to blanch it in water and slice it into pieces for later use.
When the bone broth in the pot is almost simmered, add pig meat and shredded sauerkraut.
When it's time to divide the soup, sprinkle some chopped garlic sprouts and coriander.
Everyone happily shared the pork and soup and went home to enjoy it.
Shen Gongqi also took Yaya to get their share of pork.
When Fang Nuo saw that the team dividing the meat was empty, she handed over the task of dividing the soup to another aunt. She went to the chopping board and looked at the remaining pig heads, pig offal, and lean pork meat.
"Accountant Wen, give me the pig's head and pig's guts, and five kilograms of lean meat. Where are this year's pig's trotters? Are they gone?" Fang Nuo said, pointing to the things on the chopping board.
"The pig's trotters are still there. Your uncle, the captain, put them aside for you. No one wants those things. We discussed it and decided that if you take away the two remaining pig heads this year, then I’ll give you the pig’s trotters as a companion,” Accountant Wen said.
"Really? I want those two pig heads. How much do you think it will cost?" Fang Nuo said with a smile.
