Meng Yan's Transformation

Zhan Ziqiang finally woke up under the treatment of Aunt Zhang and Yunqing. After three days of high fever, his internal organs seemed to be boiled, and one of his lungs was burned. From then on, Zhan Ziqiang lost his upright posture, his body became hunched, and his broad shoulders were uneven...

As Zhan Ziqiang was very weak after his illness, he still needed Yunqing's care. Without Ziqiang's help in the preparations for the New Year, Yunqing was extremely busy and overwhelmed. Yunqing not only lost a good helper, but also felt more self-blame and heartache, and even more resentment towards Zhan Yu's cruelty and ruthlessness.

At dawn on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Yunqing got up early to feed Ziqiang millet porridge and secretly cooked two eggs for him, so that Ziqiang could lie down and rest. He wanted to carry a bag of millet distributed from the production team to the processing plant to be ground into yellow rice, but he couldn't carry it. Ziqiang struggled to help carry it. If Ziqiang hadn't been sick, he would have carried it alone, but today he was exhausted. Yunqing was afraid of hurting Ziqiang again, so she divided the bag of millet into several half bags and sent it to the processing plant. After it was ground into yellow rice, it was washed with water and sent to the processing plant to be ground into flour.

Yunqing went to Aunt Zhang's house to ask for "old dough" and started to steam buns, make rice cakes and sticky bean curd. The children used their imagination to make the buns into various shapes such as longevity peaches, small animals, and flowers. Many families in the village have to steam enough buns for the whole family to eat for about a week on this day, which is called "eating every other year". Steaming sticky bean curd is also a beautiful scenery during the New Year in Heilongjiang. The method and steps of steaming sticky bean curd are very particular. If it is not done well, it will taste tasteless and have a bad taste. Some families also stick a piece of perilla leaf under the sticky bean curd. When it is steamed in the pot, the aroma of the perilla leaf penetrates into the sticky bean curd. There are also corn husk leaves under it. If there are many people in the family, five or six pots are steamed every time, and they are put in the warehouse and frozen in the basket. When they are ready to eat, they are picked up and re-steamed in the pot for consumption. It tastes fragrant, sweet and sticky. Dipping it in sugar is simply a synonym for deliciousness!

There are many things to pay attention to when making steamed buns. For example, making the dough is a technical job, and the people in the village are superstitious about the flour not being able to rise. For example, if the steamed buns are overcooked and have cracked, you are not allowed to say "cracked", but "laughing". The steamed buns with cracked mouths cannot be used as offerings. Some steamed buns and bean curd are dotted with red dots, which means good luck and great fortune, to show good luck.

Yunqing is good at making dough. The steamed tofu does not require alkali and is not sour. It is chewy and sweet. Brothers and sisters all love to eat it. Neighbors are very envious and often come to her home to learn from her. Yunqing never tires of teaching the villagers.

In the Great Northern Wilderness, there is a custom of not moving from the first to the fifth day of the first lunar month, because steaming is homophonic with "fighting", and frying is homophonic with "quarrel", which sounds unlucky, so the tradition of steaming buns with extra dough is preserved. It also allows people to have a good rest at the beginning of the year.

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month has another nickname, "Little New Year's Eve", which is the day before New Year's Eve. In some years, there is no 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, so the 29th day is the New Year's Eve, and the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month naturally becomes the Little New Year's Eve. This year, the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year's Eve. Since it is nicknamed Little New Year's Eve, it is also a very important day. Generally speaking, by the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the New Year's goods that should be prepared are basically ready. The house and the outside are also cleaned. Perhaps many people think that this day is just waiting for New Year's Eve. In fact, on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, in addition to steaming steamed buns and steamed bean curd. People also go to the market to buy wine on this day. The word "jiu" and "jiu" in wine have the meaning of long and long, so it is considered to have a good meaning to buy wine on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. More importantly, it is to go to the grave to ask the ancestors for a big offering.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, we visit the graves and offer sacrifices to our ancestors. The Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in my country. On such an important day, it is necessary to comfort our ancestors. We Chinese attach great importance to filial piety. On every important traditional festival, we offer sacrifices to our ancestors. Our descendants burn incense devoutly and pray for the blessings of our ancestors, hoping for a happy and harmonious family and a bright future for our children and grandchildren. This activity usually takes place early in the morning, so it is better to get up early on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Zhan Yu's ancestral tomb is in Liaoning, not in the Great Northern Wilderness of Heilongjiang. It is impossible to visit the tomb to pray to the ancestors, so Zhan Yu wrote the ancestral tablet in the morning. Zhan Yu's ancestors were descendants of the Eight Banners, under the Bordered Yellow Banner, and had the surname Aixinjueluo. So Zhan Yu wrote the tablet in both Manchu and Chinese. Just after offering the sacrifice, he was called by the villagers of Sangou Village to treat a child with a fever...

Zifeng brought his younger brothers Zi'an and Zixun to fill the water buckets at home. The water was boiled in advance. Zifeng said that ice made from boiled water has better finish. Zifeng put the buckets filled with water outside. When the ice around was about five or six centimeters thick, he made a hole in it, poured out the water in the middle, and roasted the buckets with fire. Then the ice lanterns could be taken out. Yunqing cut plum blossoms, puppies, etc. and pasted them on the ice lanterns. Put candles inside and they became beautiful ice lanterns. After the ice lanterns were made, Zifeng led his brothers and sisters to find sorghum stalks, preparing to get up early tomorrow to tie lantern frames for his brothers and sisters.

Late at night, Yunqing was still under the kerosene lamp, rushing to make new clothes and shoes for her family. The soles of the shoes were all handmade, and then the uppers were put on. The soles had been made long ago, but four of the seven pairs of shoes had not been put on. The sleeves of Mengyan's small flower cotton jacket had not been put on yet, and the crotch of Ziqiang's cotton trousers had not been sewn yet...