Chapter 228 I need to go out for some fresh air

Yi Zhonghai also returned to the courtyard with a tired face before the New Year. After begging his wife in vain, he used money to knock on the door of the Jia family and finally got to eat.

The courtyard was also very lively on New Year's Eve. People now pay attention to destroying the four olds. It's better in the village, but not so much in the city. If you want to hold a ceremony or something, you might be reported. Everyone just has a New Year's Eve dinner and sets off some firecrackers.

Zhang Xingwang and his family set out after lunch today. His eldest sister also took leave early. There was no room for everyone on the bicycle, so Zhang Xingwang could only push it by himself. After all, there was a sack tied to the back seat.

It's been very cold these past two days, so we just walked along. We have already reached the entrance of the village.

Liu Junming also suggested coming together, but Zhang Xingwang didn't think it was necessary. He just waited until the second year of junior high school and came with his aunts. It was only the first year anyway, and after a few years, it wouldn't be a big deal.

The village was obviously much more lively. The little kids were not afraid of the cold and were blowing up snow piles with disassembled firecrackers while sniffing their noses.

After seeing this, the little girl slid down from the front bar of the bicycle sleekly and ran towards her long-lost friend. Judging from the situation, she would not be able to see him until it got dark.

It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon, and the smell of meat could be smelled from the village canteen. Needless to say, the New Year pig had already been cooked.

It stands to reason that families whose registered residence has been moved out are not suitable to celebrate the New Year in the village. After all, today's pig-slaughtering dishes are for everyone to enjoy. It would be inappropriate not to give them a share, and if you do, there will be people gossiping in the village.

But Zhang Xingwang was not someone else. After he unloaded half a sack of sweet potatoes on his bicycle, Uncle Yougen immediately asked him whether he wanted to come and eat them or take them back.

When Wang Xiulan returned to the village, it was as if she had returned to the main battlefield. She chatted with everyone she met along the way and had a smile on her face all the time.

When they arrived at the old man's house, the old couple seemed to be preparing to go to the cafeteria to eat. When they saw Zhang Xingwang and his family coming, they were so happy that they couldn't stop laughing.

The old lady came over and took Zhang Xingwang's hand, looking left and right. The old man was very happy at first, but when he suddenly saw the sack on the bicycle, his smile slowly disappeared.

After stammering, I went to the cafeteria to get my meal, then left without looking back.

The old lady glanced at the old man's back with a reproachful look, thinking that this old guy didn't have any cunning at all.

When he turned around to comfort his grandson, he saw Zhang Xingwang dragging a sack into the kitchen. He felt that his grandson was indeed much smarter. At least he knew how to carry people on his back.

After watching Zhang Xingwang come out with an empty sack, he called Wang Xiulan into the kitchen to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. The old lady went in first, looked around, covered her chest with her hands, and veins in her eyes were throbbing.

He waved his hand to stop Wang Xiulan from entering the house. His facial expression completely failed, and he stammered:

"Xiu Lan, call Zhao Di over as well. She's very strong, so we need to deal with her together."

After Wang Xiulan and her daughter came in, they saw half a wild boar meat and five big carps on the ground. The most outrageous thing was that there was also a slightly hideous pig's head and five bottles of wine.

Wang Xiulan pointed at the pig's head and asked curiously:

"Mom, did the village hunt wild boars this year? How come they got so many!"

The old lady shuddered when she heard this, and she felt unwell all over. She looked at the mother and daughter for a long time with complicated eyes, then she covered her forehead and said:

"Well... we didn't catch much. Uh... the New Year pigs in the village are well raised. We have a large family... Uh... there won't be much New Year pork to share. We want wild boar meat."

"Oh... it's still better in the village. In the city, every household can only make a pound of meat to make dumplings, but in the village, we can eat as much as we want. We definitely can't finish it all during the New Year. How about making some bacon?"

After hearing this, the old lady couldn't help but feel that her grandson's brain was better, but not completely, so she said helplessly:

"You two should clean up first. I need to go out and get some fresh air."

"It's so cold outside, don't catch a cold. Zhaodi, go get Ruonan to help..."

After hearing this, the old grandmother walked quickly out of the door without even stopping. Through the window glass, she looked resentfully at her grandson lying on the kang, and then went to the gate of the yard to calm down.

Zhang Xingwang was not woken up until dinner time. After reluctantly getting down from the kang, he found that his aunt and her family were also there.

My cousin is fiddling with a wild boar's head in the yard, and my grandfather is helping him. I guess there's no hope of eating it with wine today. My cousin's wife is also busy in the kitchen.

Looking at Zhang Xingwang who was about to start, the cousin grinned and said:

"We are almost done here, you can just take a rest."

Zhang Xingwang looked at the progress and nodded in agreement. After a while, under the old lady's command, Wang Xiulan and her aunt prepared a table of dishes.

There were three different dishes of wild boar meat, plus two vegetarian dishes and a big carp, which made everyone drool.

As for the meat dishes and the remaining two fish that the old man brought back from the canteen, he placed them on the stove.

The old lady said that they would save it for tomorrow, which would also be a sign of abundance every year. The old man asked everyone to sit down and eat quickly, and even the little girl who was playing outside was pulled back.

After the group of people squeezed in and sat down, the old man said a few words of introduction and then started eating. Zhang Xingwang also opened the wine and filled the glasses for the old man and his cousin.

They started to clink glasses while eating. The eldest sister ignored Wang Xiulan's warning look and secretly drank a few glasses, smacking her lips because of the spiciness.

The old grandmother cried and laughed at the same time as she looked at the scene in front of her. Since her youngest son passed away, this was the most lively year for her family. The table was full of delicious fish and meat. Thinking about the wild boar meat and vegetables left on the stove, she never dared to look forward to this in previous years.

Last year, the three aunts scraped together some money and gave the old couple some corn flour and a few scattered banknotes before the New Year. They helped to clean up the house and considered it a good year.

As for Zhang Xingwang's family, there is no need to say more. He asked his eldest sister to send some meatballs distributed by the factory, and when he left, he still carried half a bag of corn flour back with him.

Zhang Xingwang also helped the old lady recall that it was the mother and daughter at home who spent the New Year with him. He still had a low fever at that time. The family mixed a little bit of white bread with vegetarian dumplings, which turned into a pot of vegetable paste when put into the pot, and was eaten with sauerkraut.

When the little girl saw the "dumplings" she had been looking forward to for a long time in the bowl, she cried for a long time unhappily. Even then, there were not enough for her to share. She vaguely remembered that her two elder sisters were probably not full.

They looked at each other, picked up the half bowl of vegetable porridge, added some boiling water to it, drank it in a few gulps, listened to the sound of firecrackers from Liu Haizhong's house outside, and went to bed early.

Zhang Xingwang's memories seemed to be becoming clearer and clearer. He remembered that last year's New Year's Eve was particularly cold. It had snowed heavily a few days before, and the door creaked in the cold wind.

The room was cold. All the money in the house had been used to buy Zhang Xingwang's medicine. The only thing left was cornmeal, which they planned to save until Wang Xiulan opened her business after the New Year.

The two elder sisters went to bed early because they wanted to cover themselves with their coats, so they went to bed early. The fourth sister and the little girl also huddled together early.