Transfer Fubao four and a half years old

Chapter 563 Making Rice Cakes

Zishu was too young and had never seen an extra copper coin since he was a child. He didn't dare to take the extra silver. Apart from the usual monthly salary, he would only take a small portion for himself. He asked his master's wife to save all the rewards he received for him. Sister Luomei even joked that she would keep it for him to marry a wife in the future.

Zishu has smart eyes, but sometimes he is silly when it comes to serious matters. He doesn't know what he means when he is teased. When he is teased at the beginning, he said: As long as I follow the lady and don't get married, I won't go anywhere.

After being told twice, he started to be cunning and said with a firm look in his eyes: "If I want to ask for it, I will ask for the people around the lady like Master did."

Bayue was laughing so hard beside him, thinking that this little rascal was daydreaming, and quickly pulled Qiuli over to stand in front of him, saying jokingly, "You decide which of us is more suitable and worthy of you to take home."

Both of them are half a head taller than Zishu. Bayue doesn't know how to be shy, so Qiuli lets her pull her and make Zishu laugh.

Zishu looked at this and that, and thought he would read people's faces and randomly make choices, but he said without saying a word: "My marriage is naturally decided by the young lady and the master, and my words don't count!"

The little boy looked very serious, as if he said that because he was sure that it was true.

……

Time flies and the end of the year is coming soon.

After Yan Yongning discussed with Chuchu, they wrote letters to several families in the capital and Qingliu County, saying that they planned to celebrate the New Year in Xiangzhou County this year. Chuchu would not go back either, but she had carefully selected several families and sent people back early to deliver New Year gifts.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the housekeeper of the courtyard asked the mistress for her opinion and asked the two cooks to teach the maids how to make rice cakes, so that they could witness the beginning of the New Year celebrations in Jiangnan.

The japonica rice of the previous year is rubbed with graphite several times, ground into fine powder, cooked, pounded repeatedly in a stone mortar, kneaded into rice blocks, and then placed in a wooden mold to be printed into round and flat rice cakes. There are patterns on the front, usually figures such as two immortals in harmony, Liu Hai offering money, and the number one scholar.

Because Chuchu and several children were watching and wanted to help, the old woman specially took out the molds used to make small mooncakes in previous years, including ones with blooming flowers and small animals, and set up an extra table for them to play together.

Xiyue felt that rice cakes were too monotonous, so she asked her mother-in-law to fry some fillings of brown sugar mixed with sesame and peanuts. She also held Mingzhu and taught Chuchu and the others how to make rice cakes with fillings, which looked just like the small mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival.

Seeing her brothers and sisters clapping rice crackers with crackling sounds, little Mingzhu, who was thought to be frightened, leaned against her mother's chest and danced with joy, kicking her legs vigorously, as if she wanted to run in and play with them.

Seeing them stuffing rice cakes into their mouths while making them, Mingzhu wanted to grab them directly. She even drooled occasionally, which made everyone laugh. However, no one dared to let her play with a piece, saying that they were afraid that she would choke if she stuffed it into her mouth directly.

There are more than a dozen people making the rice cakes, and it takes almost a whole day. If ten pairs of baskets had not been bought in advance, there would be no place to put them.

There are many people in the courtyard now, so everyone must be given a few. The officials and runners in the yamen have worked hard for a year, so Xiyue also asked the housekeeper to have someone carry a load and give them a share.

According to the custom in Jiangnan, a married daughter has to send back a load of rice cakes when she returns to her parents' home for the first year.

When Mrs. Li got married, she went straight back to the capital and didn't come back for several years.

So her mother owed one load of money, and Xiyue made up for it this time. In addition, she had left the capital now, and her uncle's house was also her mother's home, so she sent two loads of money when she gave New Year gifts.

In this way, if you don’t do more, there won’t be enough points.

The climate in the south of the Yangtze River is not cold at all during the New Year, and you can have fun like this. Children love it the most, as it is the flavor of the New Year.

So not only Chuchu, but also Qiuli, Bayue and Zishu had a lot of fun and were glad that they were not left in the capital to guard Chu Garden.

Knowing that Chuchu will not go back to celebrate the New Year this year, the girls who used to study and play together in Shunguo Mansion must have gone back to their own homes. It must be much quieter than in previous years, so it is more fun and lively to stay with the young lady.

The main reason is that the weather is good and the customs of celebrating the New Year in the south of the Yangtze River are also different, so naturally everything seems new to me.

The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month is said to be the day when the Kitchen God goes to heaven to report on his affairs. Therefore, on the night of the twenty-third day, every household has to "send off the Kitchen God" and "offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God", thus kicking off the New Year celebrations.

On this night, every household worships the Kitchen God in the main hall. Ordinary people offer wine and fruits on the kitchen stove where there is a statue of the Kitchen God pasted on it. Every family also offers water chestnuts, water caltrops, good fish and good meat. There is a bamboo branch poem that says: "Fame and fortune are prosperous, with few right and wrongs, all thanks to the silent protection of the gods. There is nothing else to offer today, just fresh fish and fat meat." It describes the grand and lively scene of the Kitchen God worship in Jiangnan.

When "sending off the Kitchen God", you have to light up incense and candles, the house will be filled with smoke, and various offerings will be dazzling, and the atmosphere of the New Year will arrive all of a sudden.

After the worship, every household will use the offered chicken, duck, fish and meat to prepare a sumptuous meal to reward themselves for a year of hard work. The offered candies are distributed to everyone in the family, saying that eating them will bring blessings, good fortune and longevity.

It is naturally festive and auspicious. The host and the servants are all happy, and the merchants make a lot of money from buying and selling. At this time, people will not bargain when going out to buy things.

The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when the gods descend to the mortal world. According to tradition, every household sweeps the house inside and outside to remove the dust accumulated over the year and clear away the clutter that is usually piled up.

This year the weather is good and the sun is warm. Most importantly, except for the lack of flowers in the garden, many plants are still green. I wonder how much better it is than the dead branches and leaves everywhere in Beijing in winter.

The maids would even take down the tents and wash the quilts, wanting to be clean both in what they wear and in what they lie down during the New Year. After washing the master's room, they would also clean every corner of their own room.

Chuchu and her uncle and aunt all replaced their rooms with new quilts, mosquito nets and pillows.

Those were all prepared long ago from the capital. The entire Chu Pavilion, from top to bottom, inside and out, had a new look, which was much more pleasing to the eye.

The spring breeze is blowing, and we are filled with joy. The New Year has arrived.