In the past few days, Mrs. Feng looked at Huzi from time to time. She deliberately muttered in a place where Huzi could hear: "It's almost the New Year's Day. There is still meat in the house but it's all dried meat and I don't know if that would be good on New Year's Eve. It would be good if we can eat fresh meat, even if there is no goat, a wild rabbit or pheasant would be fine."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Huzi lying on the ground ignoring her. She walked over and grabbed his ears and said, "Huzi, do you think we have this blessing?"
The Chinese New Year is almost here and Mrs. Feng is looking forward to the return of Huzi from hunting some fresh meat. The family is used to eating fresh meat, and eating dried meat is a little tasteless. But after a few days, Huzi had no movement. Madam Feng was disappointed, she also wondered if she became too greedy.
Old man Feng squatted in the yard and made lanterns. Once he had tied one, he put it aside. Seven lanterns were finished today. These were prepared for the seven children in the family. He heard his old wife was still nagging at Huzi. He turned around and said: "Come on, Grandpa Mountain God also went back to Heaven to rest after the Chinese New Year, why would he still give you meat to eat? Let's not embarrass Huzi, be careful that Grandpa Mountain God might get angry and he won't give us any meat in the future."
Madam Feng looked down at the languid Huzi, and immediately believed it a little bit, she quickly folded her hands together as if praying to the Buddha. "You are right Old man, we can't be too greedy. I was just thinking that if there is fresh meat, I can make minced meat for Mengmeng or something."
Mengmeng has grown four teeth recently, and the little teeth were like bamboo shoots that have emerged from the ground. White and tender. Not only that Mengmeng cannot eat too hard food but when she eats, she is always drooling.
Huzi used to go hunting for meat in the mountains every now and then. Madam Feng chopped the fresh meat finely and boiled it into porridge, minced meat, etc. for Mengmeng to eat. Now that she has teeth, she hasn't eaten well for several days in a row, and Huzi no longer went to the mountains to hunt. That is why Mrs. Feng is anxious?
She stood in the yard and sighed. She then bent down to touch the eggs in the chicken coop. Fortunately, Mengmeng also liked eating eggs. She can eat these eggs if we can't have meat.
Madam Feng had given up hope of having meat on New Year. But she didn't expect that the day before the new year, Hu Zi suddenly went to the mountains and brought back a small deer. It was still alive. The deer looked only six or seven months old. It should have been born last fall. The meat is sure to be tender and tasty.
The little deer was dying, and the tiger didn't care if it was thrown away. Madam Feng hurriedly called her family to slaughter the deer. When the deer was killed, they let it bleed. The venison was cut to pieces, they put it on the basket and hung it on the well with a rope.
With fresh meat, Mrs. Feng is relieved. Mrs. Feng cooked a bowl of minced meat for Mengmeng that day. Chopped the tenderest piece into fine pieces, added an egg and stirred it evenly, then put a little salt to separate it. It was steamed with water, the fragrance could waft out far away, Mengmeng fell in love with it as soon as she ate it, the chubby face smiled like a dumpling, and her saliva stopped flowing. A delicious bowl of porridge.
Madam Feng touched her bulging belly, and said to Hu Zi with satisfaction: "Hu Zi is really so smart. He knows that Mengmeng wanted to eat meat. I just told you that Mengmeng has no meat to eat, so you went to get the meat and come back. It's not in vain that Mengmeng picked you up."
Huzi squatted on the ground and gnawed at the flesh and bones without raising his head. If he could talk, he would definitely tell Mrs. Feng, that it wasn't because he didn't want to go to the mountains, but since Mengmeng had grown her teeth she lacked energy in the past few days. He was worried about her so he didn't go to the mountains.
Just after noon the next day, Madam Feng took advantage of the sun to bathe Mengmeng. Put on the new clothes on Mengmeng, it has big red flowers, which made her little face extra white and tender, like that enamel doll.
Mrs. Feng put her on the cot and let her play, and she started doing other chores with the other adults. When she was washing clothes, Su Wan was steaming the rice, cooking it into a big pot. A piece of venison is cut and sliced finely. Throw it in a frying pan and fry it for a while, then take it out. Then they oiled the fish that was caught from the sea this morning. They added some onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, etc. to braise it. Took off a piece of fat and air-dried it. Cut the meat into thin slices, stir-fry it with the sour beans, and finally boil the shells that Dawa & Erwa got from the seaside into a pot of soup. And now the fragrant meal for New Year's Eve is ready.
Throughout the afternoon, the old Feng's kitchen wafted out the fragrance one after another, causing the two children to drool.
Mrs. Feng came out of the kitchen, and the two children hurried up and asked, "Milk, when are we going to have dinner?"
"When your sister's porridge is ready, we'll have dinner. You guys go to the ancestral hall to see when your father and your grandfather are coming back?" Madam Feng sent them away casually to her old man and eldest son who went to the ancestral hall. It's almost time to come back from ancestral worship. Madam Feng turned around and walked into the kitchen again. Mengmeng's pot of porridge was still cooking on the stove.
This porridge is added with venison, fish and shell meat. It is all chopped and put into a casserole and slowly boiled over a small fire. After cooking, it becomes a pot of thick miscellaneous porridge with a layer of moist rice floating on it. This is the New Year's Eve dinner specially prepared for Mengmeng.
The sky gradually darkened, and the Feng family also came back. Madam Feng set up a table in the main room and put all the food on it, and the family sat around to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.
Dawa stuffed something in his mouth and said, "It's so delicious, milk, when will we be able to eat such a sumptuous meal again?"
Madam Feng smiled like a wolf with a big tail, touched his little head and said, "You will go to school in a few days. You need to study hard for me so that you will have a good future. By then you can always eat meat or any food that you want."
Da Wa didn't understand what milk meant, but when he heard that he could still eat this meal, he smiled and nodded his head like pounding garlic, and even Er Wa said, "Milk, I have to go to school too, and eat delicious meat."
"Don't worry, it'll be your turn soon." These two little boys are making trouble at home every day, and now they finally have a chance to send one away. Mrs. Feng plans to wait for the older one to go to school. When he comes back from school he can teach his younger brother so she can spare a lot of time to concentrate on serving Mengmeng.
In her opinion, the grandchildren can be beaten no matter how hard they are, and they can't be too spoiled, but the little granddaughter is different. The Feng family only gave birth to a girl one hundred years ago. She knows that Mengmeng is a special girl. They are only able to have a table full of food after Mengmeng arrives in their family. How can you not say that she is a lucky girl?
Thinking like this, Madam Feng took out a small red cloth pocket from her bosom, stuffed it into Mengmeng's hand and said, "Here, this is the New Year's money that grandma gave to Mengmeng. You will be one year old after the new year. Let Budha Bless our Mengmeng grow up safely."
Mengmeng sat on the small sedan chair just after her stomach was full, when suddenly there was a small red cloth pocket in her hand. She looked down and saw that Hong Yanyan was square. Her little hand was very dexterous. The blue-gray banknotes were all ten yuan and ten yuan in new money.
Su Wan saw the stack of money, and was moved but couldn't help but shirk: "Mom, Mengmeng is still too young, how can I take so much money from you?"
"What's wrong? We Mengmeng have been smart since we were young, and we must know the benefits of money. Grandma told you, this money can buy delicious and easy-to-use food, and you can use it when you grow up."
Mengmeng kept looking at the stack of money over and over again. At first, Madam Feng was worried that she would tear up the money. I didn't expect that when Mengmeng heard her words, her big eyes would shine. Qian waved it in his hand, and laughed out eight millet teeth.
"I knew that Mengmeng is smart, and she can understand everything grandma says." Madam Feng raised her chin and said with great pride, and took out two small red envelopes wrapped in red paper from her arms and stuffed them into Dawa and Erwa. "You two also have New Year's money. After the new year, you are one year older. You can't be naughty. Take care of your sister, you know?"
Dawa and Erwa took apart the red paper and took out ten cents from it. They were so happy that they couldn't figure out how much it was for a long time. They were pulling their fingers there.
Madam Feng couldn't bear to see it, why was she so stupid? She closed her eyes and said angrily, "That's a dime. You two are not allowed to spend it indiscriminately, do you hear?"
"Understood, milk." The two boys finished the New Year's Eve dinner. And with their New Year's Eve money in their hands, they ran out of the house and went to have fun. Although there wasn't even a shop selling things in the village, they knew they were rich at a young age. It's also good to show off with your friends.
As soon as the main room was cleaned up, the second and third children next door brought the whole family to pay New Year's greetings. Madam Feng also gave the same New Year's money to several grandchildren, and even gave them candy to eat, making the grandchildren happy. Home is good.
When Chen Hongmei returned home after praying for the New Year, she immediately wanted to grab the red paper for Wuwa & Liuwa, "Where's your New Year's money? Bring it to Mom so I can keep it for you. You can use it to marry your daughter-in-law in the future."
Liuwa didn't know what a daughter-in-law was, but Mom said she would give it if he wanted it. He obediently handed it over. Wuwa looked at him with disgust. How old are they both? We're still children, not even started going to school. If the money is given to his mother, he will definitely not be able to get it back. He is not that stupid.
Wuwa shrank his shoulders and slipped out of his mother's hands. As he ran out, he turned back and shouted, "Mom, I don't want to marry a daughter-in-law. I will keep the money myself."
It was completely dark, and Mrs. Feng lit two kerosene lamps and placed them in the main room. The family gathered around the kerosene lamps.
Mengmeng clings to the tiger after eating. She was chasing the tiger to grab its fur, how can she be faster than the tiger? It was Huzi who kept pace with her. Stopped when he saw that she could barely crawl, and ran again when she was about to reach him, making Mengmeng crawl around the room.
When she got tired of playing, Mrs. Feng brought her an old dress and spread it on the ground, and asked her to sit there with her back against Huzi, when Mengmeng took out her little red cloth pocket to play, Mrs. Feng teased her and said, "Mengmeng, do you want to keep this money for yourself, or do you want your mother to keep it for you?"
"Qian Ka Ka Ka..." Mengmeng pinched the little red cloth pocket and smiled very happily, and suddenly stuffed it into Hu Zi's mouth, Hu Zi grabbed the little red cloth pocket and ran out the door instantly, Feng Feng The family hadn't reacted yet. After a while, Hu Zi came back, and the red cloth pocket in his mouth was gone.
"Oh, Huzi still hides money." Everyone in the family knows that Huzi has the habit of hiding things, like the little cloth tiger that Mengmeng no longer wants to use as a toy, and no one can find it after it is hidden. But from time to time, it can be seen when mengmeng is playing with it. So they assumed that Huzi also hid the money when he went out just now.
Madam Feng thinks Huzi is a spiritual animal, and she has no doubt that it will lose money, and she also reminded: "Then you have to hide it for Mengmeng, and return it to her when she grows up. Don't forget her."
Huzi shook her big tail, walked to Mengmeng's legs, lay down and licked her little feet, making Mengmeng ticklish and giggling. She wanted to hide from Huzi to the side, Huzi chased after her wanting to lick her feet. Mengmeng's mouth Saying "bad bad", she suddenly grabbed the fluff on Hu Zi's body and stood up, and followed Hu Zi forward taking two steps.
The whole family can't believe that Mengmeng has learned to walk like this. She used to learn to crawl very quickly, and she learned to speak quickly, but now she learns how to walk by herself.
"Mengmeng, come to grandma's side."
"Go to grandpa's place."
"Mengmeng, father is here, come here, father will hold you up high."
"Mengmeng, come to mother."
Mengmeng's face was flushed with excitement because of her family's encouragement. She just felt that walking was also a very honorable thing. Take a few steps forward.
She didn't have enough leg strength. She wanted to reach out and ask someone to hug her when she was halfway there. Seeing that they didn't want to come over, Mengmeng prefers to crawl. She just bent down and wanted to squat or not, Mrs. Feng Immediately slapped her hands and said, "Mengmeng is good, grandma loves Mengmeng the most. You go to grandma's place and grandma will hug you."
Mengmeng regained some strength after listening to this encouragement. She grabbed the tiger and followed it a few steps. When it was about to get there, she loosened its fur, and staggered and swooped towards Mrs. Feng's arms. Sweetly called "milk", and let out a series of "giggle" silver bell-like laughter. The whole family were very happy as if they had picked up a treasure, and they surrounded her with loud compliments.