Chapter 25
There is permanence in the way of heaven, it does not exist with Yao, and it does not perish with Jie.Regardless of the various changes in the court, regardless of the changes in the world, the Lord of Time always stands quietly outside the sky, concentrating on completing his work.The winter solstice has passed, and with the falling of several heavy snowfalls, the originally cold autumn wind has now turned into a biting wind and snow, like a steel knife, blowing across the ground from time to time.

Although the weather is cold, people's hearts are warm.

The New Year is approaching, no matter how rich or poor, every household has started to prepare and actively start buying new year goods.Small merchants and hawkers also yelled and sold their goods on the street all day long, making the market more lively.

Liangguo Mansion is even more active in preparing for the New Year, but different from ordinary small households, these honorable families have two more things besides going to the streets to buy, one is to reward the servants in the mansion, One is the reciprocal favor of welcoming and sending.

In the past few days, the housekeeper in the mansion distributed some money to each of the servants according to their positions. The few may be a few coins, and the many may be a few coins.Xu Ruyi, as the school boy accompanying young master Lan Chun, also got a tael of silver.The whole house was full of enthusiasm, and they worked extraordinarily hard. Xu Ruyi got a tael of silver, which is considered a lot, but the one who got the most should be Lao Li, the concierge.It has been several days in a row, and every day there are always officials and lords coming to visit Liang Guogong, and of course the accompanying New Year's goods and rituals are also indispensable.Civil servants may have less gifts, after all, their salaries are not much, and Zhu Yuanzhang is also strict about corruption, but it is different for the nobles.Although they will not come to the door in person, the gifts sent by the housekeepers are extremely rich, and the rewards for the concierge are naturally indispensable.

"Hehe, Ruyi, why are you here?" Lao Li said with a smile, "Are you going out?"

"Uncle Li" Xu Ruyi nodded, "Happy New Year, I wish you an early year"

Xu Ruyi first saluted Lao Li. After all, he is an elder, and the gift cannot be ignored. "I want to go to the street to buy some ingredients, and I will cook something delicious for my godfather today."

"Okay, okay, it's rare that you have such filial piety," Lao Li said, "Go early and come back early, is the money enough? Do you want Uncle Li to give you some?"

I have to say that Wang Fang's staff in the mansion are pretty good, they are friendly and they don't put on airs based on their relationship with Lan Yu.

"Haha, thank you Uncle Li, but the money I brought is enough." Xu Ruyi was polite, waved her hand and left.He also knew that Lao Li was a bit stingy, so the so-called giving some money was of course just a polite word, and it couldn't be taken seriously.

Today is the New Year's Eve, Xu Ruyi wanted to cook a delicious meal for Uncle Wang. Although there is a family banquet in the mansion, the guests are all relatives of Lan Yu and his wife, and the servants are not allowed to participate. Xu Ruyi and Wang Fang are no exception.

"Let's make braised pork." Xu Ruyi thought for a while, "Buy another jar of good wine." '

It's just the two of them eating at night, and it doesn't need to be too complicated. It's perfect to make a pot of braised pork at an affordable price.Wang Fang was born in the army and loves to eat meat, Xu Ruyi has already understood it.

First, I went to the Market King Butcher to cut a large piece of fine pork belly, weighing about four or five kilograms, and then bought some condiments of oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.Finally, I went to the wine shop to buy a large jar of wine. The wine shop was relatively close to the back door of the mansion, so Xu Ruyi went back to the mansion through the back door by the way.

"Are you back?" Wang Fang was cleaning in front of the house, when Xu Ruyi opened the back door, he bumped into him.

"Well, I'm back," Xu Ruyi nodded. At the end of the year, the young master is often dragged by Lan Yu and Mrs. Mu to meet guests. Sometimes he is at the house, but most of the time he still has to go out.Xu Ruyi was also put on leave, and spent the whole day with Lao Wang doing groceries and chatting about household chores.

"The stove has been set up, and I have prepared the iron pan and frying spoon. It is on the table in the room. Do you see if there is anything missing?" Wang Fang said casually.

Xu Ruyi had already greeted Wang Fang in the morning about cooking.The stove cannot be placed outside the house, after all, it is cold and windy outside.Meals can't be cooked in the kitchen of the mansion. After all, there is a family banquet today. The kitchen has been preparing for the evening banquet since the morning. If there is any spare time, it will be used to prepare meals for the servants of the mansion. Think about it Go, it's still a whole guy, it's best to do it in your own cabin.

Xu Ruyi checked the utensils, bowls and chopsticks in the room, and found that there was nothing wrong with it, so she took a kitchen knife and cutting board and started to prepare.Furnaces are readily available and have added up long before the cooler weather.In winter in Nanjing, it is really difficult to live without a stove in the house.Now it is probably the same as Weishi, but after all, braised pork needs to be cooked and stewed to taste, so there is no harm in making it early.

Wang Fang outside the house was almost cleaned, and he also walked in, "Ruyi."

"father"

"I prepared a new set of clothes for you over there, and I put them on your bed. Remember to change them at night."

"Well, thank you dad"

"It's nothing." Wang Fang waved his hand, "After all, it's the Chinese New Year, and you have to get a new one. You should prepare first. I'll go to the kitchen. Calculate the time and the dumplings in the kitchen should be almost ready."

"kindness"

Wang Fang gave a few more instructions to be careful not to cut your hands, then turned around and went out again. . . . .

Life in Dead Man's Lane is still difficult, but it's better than before.Although the weather is cold, but after the Chinese New Year, there are more people on the streets in the city, and the common people are more generous than before. No matter who they are, they can always ask for a few more pennies.What's more important is that the weather is colder, and the epidemics here are much less. Colds and the like are indispensable, and some people still die because of it, but the occurrence of other malignant diseases is much less.

In an open space beside the Alley of the Dead, more than a dozen large pots were set up at this moment, and some miscellaneous things were cooked in the pots, such as rotten vegetable leaves, leftover rice, and some wild vegetables.There is plenty of water in the pot, and the firewood below is also very hot.There was a gurgling sound in the pot.This kind of big pot stew is a tradition in Dead Man's Alley. Every New Year's Eve, everyone will pool some money or ingredients to make such a few pots of "Pearl, Emerald, White Jade Soup", which can be regarded as New Year's Eve.Today is a little different than in previous years. There are four or five chickens in each pot, and there are some extras such as pork belly and lamb lung.

The bad people heard that this was a suggestion from the new Uncle Yun to Third Master Men, saying that it was to celebrate Brother Yao's death.For this proposal, Men San'er readily accepted, bought some chickens from the farmers, and touched two of them while no one was looking.Brother Yao is finished, and he is still alive. This is indeed worthy of celebration. More importantly, this is what the uncle surnamed Yun said, and he dare not disobey it.

Men San'er could feel that since Brother Yao's death, the power of his small gang had indeed increased, but his own strength had decreased.Yun Zheng didn't give him any orders, but just hang out with his subordinates and those rotten people below every day.Many people know that this new Uncle Yun is good at martial arts, so he intentionally flatters him, and Yun Zheng doesn't put on airs, and always smiles. After coming and going, he has become the boss in name, and the second in reality .

"Oh, I hope he can save my life for the sake of my best efforts." Under a pine tree, Man San'er just finished draining the water, and while fastening his belt, he sighed.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you." A thin voice sounded from behind.

Men San'er's hair stood on end, but when he looked back, he didn't find anyone.

"Yes... I'm the one scaring myself." Men San'er's upper and lower teeth were chattering. . . . .

New Year's Eve is the last day of the lunar calendar, and the night of this day is also called New Year's Eve.According to tradition, on New Year's Eve, every family must get together and have a reunion dinner.

In Wang Fang's hut, Xu Ruyi and Wang Fang sat opposite each other, chatting with each other about family affairs, talking about the past, and also talking about their expectations and wishes for the New Year.Now that the time of day is approaching, the hustle and bustle in the mansion has gradually calmed down.The banquet in the front hall hadn't ended yet, but only the men and heads of the house were left, and the women, children and children had already returned to the back house to rest.After all, the night was a little late, and the men were not tired of drinking and punching, but the women and children couldn't bear it.

The midnight arrived, and the banquet in the front hall reached its final peak with Lan Yu's voice of "Drinking Victory".

"Father, Happy New Year!" Xu Ruyi knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Wang Fang.

"My son, get up quickly." Wang Fang stretched out his hands to help Xu Ruyi up, and took out another piece of silver from his bosom, which was about five taels depending on the size.

Wang Fang reached out and handed the money to Xu Ruyi, "This is your new year's money, so dad won't wrap it with red envelopes for you, it's so troublesome."

"Thank you dad." Xu Ruyi reached out to take it in her arms and put it in her arms. . . .

The new year has finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)

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