Chapter 123

Shuiqing is also making tofu balls.

They have their own stone mill and a donkey-driven mill, making the process easy and convenient. Therefore, they made plenty of soy products.

In addition to tofu balls, they also fried radish balls and lotus root balls.

Each one, coated with batter and fried to a golden crisp, was laid out to cool on bamboo trays, to be slowly enjoyed during the Lunar New Year and the first month.

Fan He would occasionally sneak over with Fan Hu to steal a ball or two.

“If Big Brother knew there were still such delicious things left, he definitely wouldn’t want to go back,” Fan Hu said with chubby cheeks, whispering.

A few days ago, Uncle Bai sent someone to bring Big Brother back home for the New Year.

Fan He didn’t mind, saying, “The Bai family is wealthy, they must have plenty of good food to eat.”

Fan Hu thought about it and agreed.

However, he still thought that the food made by their mother was the best!

He wouldn’t exchange it for anything delicious.

The two of them were like little hamsters, not only stealing to eat themselves, but also sneaking food away to share with Ling Ran, Yan Qiuxing, and a few others.

Shuiqing chose to turn a blind eye to their actions.

Nowadays, there was plenty of food, unlike when she had just arrived and struggled to eat and keep warm. They only took a little food, without waste, so there was no need to be strict.

The house was full of all kinds of delicious food, and the festive atmosphere grew stronger.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, after cleaning, all the bed sheets and covers were washed and dried, snacks and pastries were stocked up, and the food for the Lunar New Year was prepared. Rice wine sales would stop until the third day of the Lunar New Year.

The men were responsible for slaughtering chickens and ducks, while Shuiqing took Yan Qiuxing to prepare the time-consuming dishes.

On the twenty-ninth, they ate casually to fill their stomachs, and the whole family prepared for the New Year’s meal the next day.

The next day.

Just as the sky was getting light, the village of Shanshui echoed with a continuous popping sound.

It sounded just like firecrackers.

Of course, buying firecrackers was out of the question; no household in the village was willing to spend that kind of money.

It was the sound of burning bamboo.

Shuiqing’s family was the same.

Fan Jin got up early, lit the fire, and the bamboo had been cut yesterday, ready on the fire pit.

Soon, the popping sound echoed through the village of Shanshui.

Yan Qiuxing was scared and covered her ears.

Jiang Hehu, the three of them, jumped up and down in excitement.

Ling Ran looked at a certain little girl covering her ears, and couldn’t help but smile.

Shuiqing was busy in the kitchen preparing food.

The braised meats had been marinating since yesterday and were now heated up and served on plates before the meal; the old hens were stewed in a big iron pot in the morning, then transferred to a sand pot and simmered on charcoal.

Dry pot duck, boiled rabbit, braised pork, clear fish head soup… each dish was cooked and then simmered over a low fire on the stove.

The kitchen was steaming hot.

After the fireworks in the courtyard, the fire in the fire pit wasn’t wasted; it was moved to the corner of the dining room to warm up the cold house.

Fan Jin brought out a long table and set it up in the courtyard, then took out paper, ink, and brushes, leading the six children to write spring couplets.

“Yan Qiu, you write the spring couplets for your room,” Fan Jin said warmly, his voice gentle.

For over three months, Yan Qiuxing had been practicing calligraphy daily. Her writing might not be comparable to a calligrapher’s, but it was elegant and beautiful, already quite pleasing to the eye.

Yan Qiuxing steadied her wrist, concentrated carefully, and finished writing.

Then she looked up at her father, waiting for his evaluation.

“Simple and serene, natural and plain. It’s already very good,” commented Ling Ran, his tall figure bending down slightly, his voice low.

Yan Qiuxing heard the clearly high praise, and her smile was as bright as the morning sun.

She knew her writing wasn’t as good as Ling Ran said, but being praised always made her feel happy.

Fan Jin looked at Ling Ran, slightly surprised.

Listening to Ling Ran’s choice of words in his evaluation, his calligraphy skills must be quite good, but he didn’t know how good exactly.

He was curious to test him, yet felt it would be too obvious.

Turning to Fan Jiang beside him, he instructed, “Da Jiang, why don’t you try writing the pigsty?”

Fan Jiang was puzzled, “Dad, why should I write about the pigsty?”

“Your handwriting is ugly. I’m afraid that if you hang it on the door, it might affect your mood for the whole year,” Fan Jin pursed his lips, choosing to be honest.

Fan Jiang: … Dad, sometimes you don’t need to be so honest.

Really.

He also cared about his reputation!

Fan Jin felt he might have hurt his son’s feelings and tried to remedy it, “How about you write the pigsty first, and if it looks good, then you can write for your own room?”

Fan Jiang took a deep breath and awkwardly wrote: “Eat more, sleep more, get fatter, full of energy and flavor!”

Fan Jin looked at the crooked characters on the red paper and fell silent.

Everyone around was silent too.

Fan Jiang stared at the caterpillar-like strokes on the red paper, feeling that sometimes face wasn’t all that important.

Fan Jin cleared his throat, “Actually, as long as you don’t mind yourself, it’s fine. Don’t worry too much about what others think.”

In other words, if it’s ugly, it’s ugly.

Fan He comforted his older brother, “Brother, don’t mind it! Since it’s hung on your own door, it’s not like others will see it. As long as you don’t mind, it’s fine.”

Fan Jiang felt like crying without tears.

He did mind!

With such ugly handwriting, if his family knew, that would be one thing, but if others saw it hung on his door, everyone would know he wrote it!

“I… I don’t want it! Dad, please help me write the couplets for my room!”

He wanted something nice, the very best!

Fan Jin agreed.

The remaining children each wrote their own couplets.

Even the youngest, Fan Hu, wrote better than Fan Jiang.

This only strengthened Fan Jiang’s resolve to have the most beautiful couplets!

Finally, Fan Jin turned to Ling Ran and asked gently, “Would you like to write one too?”

Ling Ran instinctively wanted to refuse.

The five younger ones below quickly persuaded, “Big Brother Ling, why don’t you give it a try?”

“It’s okay if it’s ugly, Big Brother Ling. After all, Big Brother is here to support you.”

“Hmph! Big Brother Ling’s might be even uglier than mine!”

“Forget it, Big Brother, look at your handwriting. Anyone who can write should do better than you!”

“Big Brother Ling, I’m really curious about your handwriting. Write it, write it! I promise not to laugh.”

Saying this, they even handed him a brush soaked in ink.

Ling Ran could only smile helplessly and finished writing in one go.

The strokes flowed smoothly, with majestic momentum.

Fan Jin couldn’t hide his admiration in his eyes; he sincerely praised, “Powerful and vigorous! Excellent handwriting!”

Fan Jiang couldn’t see how good it was, looked up at his dad, and asked blankly, “How good is it? Is it better than yours, Dad?”

Dad could copy books, so his handwriting must be good.

Big Brother Ling was only fifteen. Could his handwriting really be better than Dad’s?

“Yes, it’s much, much better than Dad’s!” Fan Jin bluntly evaluated.

The five younger ones were in awe.

Their admiration for Ling Ran was evident in their eyes.

“Ling Ran, for the next few days, I won’t need to go to the prefectural city to deliver rice wine. I’ll take care of feeding the livestock. Would you be willing to teach your younger siblings how to write?” Fan Jin asked, seeking his opinion.

Caught by a pair of bright eyes nearby, his heart raced. Ling Ran hurriedly lowered his gaze and agreed, “…Alright.”