Traveling through the 60s, living a life of wealth and prosperity

Chapter 137 New Year’s Eve

On New Year's Eve, Widow Du got up from the kang early, without waking up Wang Yuanchao and Zhang Yuanyuan beside her, and got up to fill the kang and the fire wall with firewood, and began to prepare frying New Year's goods and making dumplings.

In previous lives, people’s living standards were getting higher and higher, but their expectations for the New Year were getting lower and lower, and the festive atmosphere was getting weaker and weaker.

Wang Yuanchao opened his eyes and lay on the kang. After staying in bed for a while, he got up, put on his clothes, put on the deerskin boots made by Widow Du, stepped on the heavy snow, and started shoveling snow.
Although there is no Spring Festival Gala and no fireworks now, Wang Yuanchao can truly feel the strong New Year atmosphere in the Northeast in this era.

In the Hongqi Brigade, every household was happily pasting couplets and preparing reunion dinners despite the cold weather.

The children called their friends and went in groups from house to house looking for unlit firecrackers. Their laughter and cheers lingered over the village for a long time.

On this day, the adults in the Red Flag Brigade were particularly tolerant and easy to talk to. As long as they didn't poke a hole in the sky, they could play however they wanted.

Speaking of fried New Year's goods, it can be said to be a feature of the New Year in many places. It is a delicacy that has been passed down from generation to generation, implying prosperity in the coming year.

After Wang Yuanchao got up early in the morning and shoveled the snow, he began to help his mother-in-law prepare food. This was his first New Year since he came here, so naturally he had to celebrate it in a grand manner.

After some consideration, Widow Du decided to make fried vegetarian meatballs stuffed with radish, pure meatballs, fried spare ribs, fried crispy pork and fried eggplant boxes.

Wang Yuanchao worked silently beside them. Zhang Yuanyuan was a pregnant woman and the protected animal of the family. In such a cold day, the family would not let her leave the room.

That's right. Throughout the winter, Wang Yuanchao's family only had a kang and a fire wall in Wang Yuanchao's room. His mother-in-law, Widow Du, slept on the same kang with Wang Yuanchao and his wife throughout the winter.

In this era, on New Year's Eve, Wang Yuanchao prepared sugar, peanuts, melon seeds, walnuts, frozen pears, frozen persimmons, and hazelnuts early in the morning and placed them on the coffee table in the middle of the sofa.

My mother-in-law, Widow Du, first fries the frozen noodles in a large water tank into oil residue and sprinkles a little salt on it. It is also delicious!
Then fry some vegetarian meatballs, meatballs, fried spare ribs, fried crispy pork and fried eggplant boxes.

Then the most important thing is steaming the New Year's buns. As the saying goes, "If you don't steam buns, you're just steaming (for) breath." Steaming New Year's buns, steamed dumplings, steamed buns made of two-grain flour, and also a big flower bun, garnished with some red dates, takes most of the day.

As soon as it got dark on New Year's Eve, the tranquility of the entire Red Flag Brigade was broken by bursts of firecrackers.

Wang Yuanchao really didn't expect that when everyone had just enough food to eat, so many people would still spend money to buy firecrackers.

After waiting for the fireworks to finish, Wang Yuanchao's family finally prepared the New Year's Eve dinner.

Wang Yuanchao's family had a very rich New Year's Eve dinner.
A dish of pork stewed with vermicelli from Northeast China, a dish of chicken stewed with mushrooms, a braised crucian carp, a dish of Wang Yuanchao's pork with preserved vegetables, a dish of Mao's braised pork, a dish of steamed cured meat, a dish of four-happiness meatballs, a dish of braised rabbit meat, and a dish of hanging pot duck.

They are all hard dishes, all meat dishes, and no vegetables.

The sound of firecrackers outside continued one after another without stopping. It seemed as if every family was competing with each other to see whose firecrackers were the loudest and lasted the longest.

This was also the era in which Wang Yuanchao lived in his previous life, when fireworks had been banned for many years.

Later, some cities gradually relaxed their policies to allow the setting off of fireworks.

However, people can no longer find the feeling they had back then, and most people set off firecrackers just to get the mood.

New Year's Eve dinner, New Year's Eve dinner, in fact, the country is so big from north to south,

The customs in each place are different. In Hunan Province where Wang Yuanchao lives, New Year's Eve dinner is eaten in the morning.

The New Year's Eve dinner in the old city is around 5pm. But in Heilongjiang Province, the New Year's Eve dinner is a formal one, which starts at 10pm and lasts until 1am on the first day of the new year. It is a formal New Year's Eve dinner.

However, this year Wang Yuanchao's family has a key protected animal, Zhang Yuanyuan. After discussing with his mother-in-law, Widow Du, Wang Yuanchao decided not to tire out the pregnant woman and move the New Year's Eve dinner to the evening.

Widow Du brought Wang Yuanchao and Zhang Yuanyuan to the easternmost wing of the house, put up a sign, burned a few incense sticks under the sign, and placed some white flour buns with a red dot on the top.
Then, under the leadership of Widow Du, they kowtowed to their ancestors. In the Northeast, this is called "gong dazhi".
In Wang Yuanchao's hometown, on New Year's Eve, the younger generations are required to go to the ancestors' tombs to burn incense and paper, and invite the ancestors to come back for a New Year's dinner.

After bowing her head, Widow Du said to Wang Yuanchao:
"Yuan Chao, we are getting ready to eat the New Year's Eve dinner. Please set off some firecrackers on the porch."

"Okay, right away."

After saying that, Wang Yuanchao moved two bundles of firecrackers, spread them on the porch, linked the two bundles together, and lit the firecrackers.

After a burst of firecrackers, the festive atmosphere in the house became more intense.

Wang Yuanchao's family came into the house happily, preparing to have the New Year's Eve dinner.
Wang Yuanchao's family prepared so much food for the New Year's Eve dinner, and the room was very warm. The family ate the dinner leisurely without any rush.

Wang Yuanchao even specially took out five kilograms of wine so that he and his mother-in-law could slowly drink and eat throughout the evening.

Zhang Yuanyuan is pregnant and easily tired, so it is prioritized that after Zhang Yuanyuan has eaten, she can go to bed early if she wants to sleep. If she doesn't want to sleep, she can accompany Wang Yuanchao, watch Wang Yuanchao drink and chat together. Wang Yuanchao thinks this arrangement is more scientific and reasonable.

In the Northeast, people stay up on New Year's Eve to celebrate the New Year and cook dumplings to welcome the God of Wealth. Wang Yuanchao didn't know this before, as this custom does not exist in Hunan Province.

But now that Wang Yuanchao lives in the Northeast, he naturally adapts to the local customs.

Zhang Yuanyuan was pregnant and heavy. She chatted with Wang Yuanchao and Widow Du until ten o'clock. She could not open her eyes and fell asleep. Wang Yuanchao helped Zhang Yuanyuan onto the kang, covered her with a quilt and let her sleep.
He then went to the sofa and started drinking with Widow Du.

"Yuan Chao, this wine is really good, not too strong, very easy to drink, very comfortable to drink. You can make more next year.
During the winter, drinking a little every day is a real treat. "

"Well, mother-in-law, we still have a lot of it at home. Come, let's have a drink. If you want to drink it every day, we can satisfy you at home now."

"Well, cheers, Yuan Chao, it's great to have you,
Even when my mother followed Yuanyuan's father to join the army, she didn't have such a good life.
Eat meat every day, eat fine grains every meal, and drink wine.

Mother is very grateful, so she is very grateful to you for allowing us to live such a good life."

"Hey, mom, you are drunk, why are you saying this?

We spend this day together. If you are happy, I am happy too.

And Yuanyuan is now pregnant with my child, so our lives will become happier and happier in the future."

"Well, yes, that's great. Come on, cheers to a happy life."

"cheers."

Before he knew it, it was twelve o'clock. Wang Yuanchao set off two firecrackers and returned to the house. Widow Du shouted in the kitchen:
"Yuan Chao, go call Yuan Yuan, it's time for us to eat dumplings and then go to bed."

"Yes, mother-in-law."

(End of this chapter)