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Perhaps because Tan Sanyuan had always taken such good care of Little Qiyue, the Tan family had long gotten used to it, and no one thought much of it anymore. Second Aunt Liu had seen it a few times as well and had gotten accustomed to it.
After a quick breakfast, everyone went about their own business.
Wan Chunmei still had three jars of pickled vegetables to prepare. Second Aunt Liu handed Little Qiyue over to Tan Xiaomei, rolled up her sleeves, and came to help.
She was quick and efficient. In no time, two baskets of red-skinned radishes and a basket of cabbage were thoroughly cleaned.
Wan Chunmei was pleased and handed over the remaining work of slicing and drying vegetables to Second Aunt Liu, leaving her to prepare the important sauce.
Once the three jars of pickles were ready for pickling, Second Aunt Liu quickly took out the flour and started kneading the dough for buns and steamed buns.
Fortunately, she had brought back some old dough prepared by the village women, which meant she only needed to knead the flour and let it rise, much quicker than making the starter dough from scratch.
To help the dough rise faster, Second Aunt Liu heated some water on the stove and placed the dough on a rack over the hot water, covering it with a cloth to wait.
Just as she was wondering what kind of filling to use for the buns, Tan Erqian returned.
Not only had he come back, but he had also brought home half a pig.
“Father, Mother, I’m back!” Tan Erqian entered with half a pig over his shoulder, smiling as he saw his Second Aunt. “Second Aunt is here too!”
Second Aunt Liu was stunned for a moment as she stared at the half pig. “Erqian, where did you get this pig?”
Tan Erqian placed the pig on the table and grinned. “It’s almost New Year’s Eve, so I bought half a pig to celebrate the New Year.”
After speaking, he quickly glanced inside and outside the house, then asked with a smile, “Second Aunt, have you seen Little Qiyue?”
Second Aunt Liu pointed outside. “Your aunt took Little Qiyue and Liujin outside to bask in the sun.”
Tan Erqian took out a packet of mung bean cakes from his pocket and placed them on the table. “Alright, I’ll wait for them to come back before eating.”
As he spoke, he turned and walked outside.
Wan Chunmei entered from the backyard with a wooden basin and called after him, “Erqian, where are you going?”
Tan Erqian turned around and smiled. “Mother, there are still things in the cart. I’m going to get them.”
Wan Chunmei put the basin down and laughed. “What else did you buy this time?”
“Don’t worry, Mother, everything is useful,” Tan Erqian answered with a smile, then walked out again.
Second Aunt Liu watched his retreating figure and couldn’t help but smile. “This child is becoming more thoughtful.”
“Yes, although he was a bit silly before, he’s always been obedient,” Wan Chunmei replied as she gazed at the half pig on the table. “Second Aunt, come, let’s cut this pork up and store it in the ice cellar.”
A few days ago, when it had snowed heavily, Old Tan had specially dug out some ice blocks to make an ice cellar. While the ice wasn’t the oldest, it would still be enough to store food for about a month during the winter.
Second Aunt Liu eagerly agreed. “That’s a good idea. We can also cut some to make meat-filled buns.”
“Exactly,” Wan Chunmei nodded.
At that moment, Tan Erqian came back carrying a small bag of salt and a large bag of rice. “Mother, here’s the salt and rice. Please take them.”
Wan Chunmei’s face lit up with joy, as they had just run out of salt, and this came at the perfect time.
“Good, good. You can put them down,” she said.
Tan Erqian placed the salt and rice down, then turned and walked back outside.