Crossing the green wheat ears

"Brother, brother, look at that lantern." Wei Cheng ran over and grabbed Xiyuan's hand. He was very optimistic about that lantern and wanted his brother to buy it.

"Brother, brother, I want this." Xi Wei was more straightforward.

Xiyuan took a closer look, and it turned out that an old man was selling lanterns. What Xiwei liked was a rabbit lantern, made of spun yarn to form a rabbit body, two red rabbit ears, and a red three-petal mouth. Eyes, what attracts Xi Wei to this little guy is nothing but two rabbit eyes. I don’t know how the lantern maker did it. When you touch it with your finger, the rabbit’s eyes will move, which makes Xi Wei very surprised. .

Wei Cheng is optimistic about a tiger lantern. The whole body of the tiger is black and yellow, and there is a "king" character on the forehead. The tail will move when the lantern is lifted.Xi Wei had to admire that there were also skilled craftsmen in ancient times, and even this kind of workmanship can make a living with craftsmanship in modern times.

After asking about the price, it was much more expensive than other lanterns. Xiyuan bought two more red lanterns with yellow tassels on the bottom. He gave the old man five hundred Wen in total. Give Zhuzi the big red carp lantern that Zhuzi was looking forward to. Zhuzi was very nervous holding the carp lantern. He knew that if the old man gave it to them, he could take it home. If the family is concerned about the money, the grandparents will definitely not let it go, they must give the money to the elder brother, and he will have to be scolded if the adults in the family love the money.

Xiyuan struggled for a long time, but the old man had no choice but to ask Xiyuan to add another ten yuan, saying that it was the capital. Xiyuan gave him twenty yuan, and the other ten yuan bought two packs of small candles for several children.

The three children happily carried the lanterns and stopped running around, for fear that they might break the lanterns.Xiyuan touched his deflated wallet. He bought lanterns for the children with his own private money and the change he got from grandma, but there were still a few pennies left, and Xiyuan didn't keep it. The two little guys each bought a bunch of candied haws.Then lead a few children to find the adults at home.

Grandma and the others are researching what kind of cloth to buy to make clothes at the cloth shop. Grandma has taken a fancy to a piece of blue cloth with small florals, which looks beautiful and plain.But grandma is a bit too expensive.The old lady hasn't been to Wande Town for many years. She usually spends a few cents at home. She is not used to spending tens or hundreds of pennies, and she is reluctant to part with them.The same goes for Grandma Wang San, the two old ladies have been muttering for a long time, and the same is true of Niang Xiyuan and Aunt Wang next to her.The clerk in the cloth shop became impatient, and looked at a few people and curled his lips.

As soon as Xiyuan came in, he immediately reversed the situation. Xiyuan would bargain, and put together the items that the two companies wanted to buy.In the end, the clerks in the shop were almost crying by Xiyuan, and they kept saying that if I sold it at your price, the shopkeeper would scold me to death.

When Xiyuan saw that the price had really been reached, he raised it a bit less, and the man agreed to sell it.

Grandma and Grandma Wang San didn't bother anymore. From their point of view, the price of other people's things is the same, and Xiaoyuan gave so much less for a single conversation. This is a bargain for nothing.People have the mentality of taking advantage, thinking that this is suitable for their own family, and it would be a fool not to take advantage of it, so they bought the cloth happily.

Over there, Xi Mingwen and Uncle Wang Shun also chewed and bought almost all the food for the New Year. For a farmer's family, it is just a few catties of meat for the New Year, and some candy for the children.At this time, Xiyuan saw a stall not far away that sold frozen fish.There is no big river here in Yansui County, so there is no fish production, and there is no fish for sale in summer. This fish is probably drilled through the ice on the river in winter, and it will freeze as soon as it comes up, so it will not spoil.

"Father, give me some money, and I'll go buy some fish." Grandma gave all the money to Xi Mingwen before she left the house, because she was afraid of losing it when she was old.

"Why do you buy fish? It doesn't taste good after cooking. The fish is very fishy." I seldom eat fish at home, and I don't know how to cook it. I bought frozen fish once before, but when it was cooked, it smelled fishy. Not tasty at all.

"It's okay, it won't be fishy when I cook it." Xiyuan asked for a hundred yuan with shamelessness, and came to the fish stall. The fish is not expensive. Xiyuan bought five big fish for one hundred yuan and sold them. He tied the fish with straw ropes and put them in the basket that Xi Mingwen was carrying.

"Far away, is the fish really not fishy after cooking?" Uncle Wang Shun asked. He was a little tempted when he saw that the fish was not expensive. The children in the family had never eaten fish, but he heard others said that the fish was cooked well. It's delicious, but people in the village don't know how to make it.

"Uncle Wang, don't worry about buying it. I'll teach my aunt how to make it when I get back home. During the Chinese New Year, I will make a new one." Xiyuan laughed.

"Hey, you kid just caught up and helped me yell. Did you hear that, there are more than one fish every year during the Chinese New Year?" The fish seller really yelled at Xi Yuan's words.

"Then give me a hundred cents too." Uncle Wang didn't hesitate anymore, he knew that Xiyuan didn't talk empty words.

"Yo, Boss Wang, you are buying fish. Hey, Brother Xi." Xi Yuan turned his head and saw Cheng Yi, Zhao Lin's father, Zhao Laoba, and Xie Mingli's father, Xie Xuedong, standing behind them. It also came together with this big episode a few years ago.The three of them have more common topics because their children are all literate here in Xiyuan, so they have more contacts recently.

"Uncle Cheng, you and Uncle Zhao Bashu should also buy some, go back and ask your aunt to come to my house, and I will ask my mother to teach them how to cook fish." Xiyuan said hastily, intending to close the relationship with several families.Here, it is important for men to stay away from the kitchen. Although it is impossible for the men of the farmers to not stretch out their hands, there are really no men who cook.Xiyuan also doesn't want to be unique, although he can't be called a man yet, well, he is still a little man, so Xiyuan decided to go back and teach his mother how to fish, and then let his mother teach others.

"Okay, then I'll have some too." Cheng Yi was straightforward, and also weighed a few fish, and the other two Zhao Laoba and Xie Xuedong saw that Cheng Yi bought it and weighed a few fish.

This made the fish seller very happy. The frozen fish he sold from the Xinlan River fifty miles away, others said that the fish here is not easy to sell. He didn't believe this evil, but today he stood at the fair all morning. Only a small part was sold, and he was worried. Xiyuan came to rescue him. Looking at the remaining two small fish, he put them into Ximingwen's back basket without being stingy.

After shopping, the family hurried back.There were only two families when we came here, but when we went back, the team grew bigger. The men walked together, and the women took turns in the car. The car was loaded with some shopping, and the men also carried some in their back baskets.

Several men walked together and chatted, and the women also talked to each other about what they bought and what they planned to do with the things they bought.

"Hey, Xiyuan his mother, you go back too?" On the way, I met Aunt Li and a few people. They had little money in their pockets and couldn't buy a few things at the fair, so those who came back were earlier than the Xi family. .

"Ah, I'm back." Niang Xiyuan replied with a smile.

"Hey, Xiyuan, make room for my aunt, and my aunt will also sit for a meeting." Aunt Li didn't take advantage of it enough, she was tired from walking and wanted to take a donkey cart.

"Auntie, there is no land. There are things on my side and I can't move them." Xiyuan refused to talk to her.He no longer wants to pay attention to the people and things in the village, and he also knows that this Aunt Li is not less concerned about gossip about his family.

"Yeah, his aunt, didn't you see that we were all walking?" Mrs. Wang answered, it's hard for Niang Xiyuan to say this, but she can say it.

"Tired after only a long journey?" Cheng Yi over there asked half-jokingly and half-seriously when he saw the situation here.

"Ah, it's a little bit, but it's okay. You'll be home soon." Seeing Cheng Yi's conversation, Aunt Li immediately fell silent. Why did the family set up Cheng Yi?

Cheng Yi glanced at her with a half-smile, then turned around and continued talking with the other men.

When we got home, Grandpa was looking westward at the gate. One of them was worried about his family members, and the other was worried about his beloved donkey. He was afraid that the boss and the others would tire the donkey out. An'an came back, the little donkey was also alive and kicking, and the old man smiled happily.

Cheng Yi and the others went back to their home as soon as they entered the village, and made an appointment with Xiyuan to let the family come over to learn how to cook fish tomorrow. Xiyuan thought, this guy has to teach his mother how to cook fish today.

"Xiaoyuan, how much did this lantern cost?" Grandma Wang San asked Xiyuan.There were other people on the road, so she resisted asking, but judging from the workmanship and the use of spun yarn instead of paper, she knew that this lantern would not be cheap.

"Third Grandma, you can play with Zhuzi without worry. I gave this to Xiaowei, Chengzi, and my family when I bought lanterns. I bought a lot, and they gave me one more, so I gave it to Zhuzi."

Zhuzi next to him heard his grandma asking about Xiyuan's lanterns, his nervous face turned pale, and he held on to the handles of the lanterns tightly. Last year he was envious of Xiwei and Weicheng's lanterns, and this year's ones are worse than last year's. Well, if grandma returns it to brother Xiaoyuan... Zhuzi thinks this is worse than the sky falling, and it makes him feel uncomfortable.

"Really? Xiaoyuan, don't lie to me and your third grandma?" Aunt Wang also asked.

"Oh, why am I lying to you? How did you buy that cloth and I bought this lantern. You can't believe me about this?" Xi Yuan said with a smile.

"Xiaoyuan said so, and that's what happened. Don't feel sorry for it. Take the child back quickly." Grandma said.

"That's right, you don't believe what a lantern Xiaoyuan said!" Uncle Wang Shun said.Aunt Wang gave Uncle Wang a blank look, men are just careless, how can I not tell him about the lanterns with so much money.But after hearing what Xiyuan said, they also felt at ease, led the pillars and took their things and walked home.

Holding his red carp lantern, Zhuzi let out a long sigh of relief, which startled him a lot!But when I go back, I can also score for my younger sister to play. He is an older brother, so he can't just play by himself.

After returning home to rest for a while, Xiyuan lazily got up to cook fish.First of all, take the fish into the basin, pour some cold water to dissolve it, then remove the gills, viscera, and fishy lines to clean up.What kind of fish do you make? People in the north have strong tastes. Why don’t you make a douban fish? There is soy bean paste at home.

Xiyuan cut four or five knives on both sides of the cleaned fish, then coated with wine and pepper to marinate, chopped onion, ginger and garlic into fine pieces, and sprinkled a thin layer of flour on the marinated fish to prevent When the fish is fried, the skin is broken and sticks to the pan. Pour the oil into the pan and heat it up. Put the fish into the oil. Shake off the excess flour before the fish is put into the pan.Fry the fish on both sides until golden, take out the pan, take out some of the oil for frying the fish, turn down the heat to low, put the bean paste in the remaining oil, stir fry the bean paste over a warm fire until it is crispy and fragrant, and then add the green onion Minced ginger and garlic, stir-fry over low heat, then add soy sauce and wine and sauté over high heat, then add an appropriate amount of hot water and a small amount of sugar, put the fish in after boiling, cook on low heat for a while, turn the fish over and cook for a while, Put the finished fish on a plate, add a little starch to the remaining soup in the pot to thicken the soup, add a little vinegar when it is bubbling, add chopped green onion, and then pour the soup on the fish.

Xiyuan cooked the fish well. Originally, crucian carp was the best one to make watercress fish, but crucian carp is usually very small, so Xiyuan had to use frozen carp to make do with it.When frying the fish, the smell of the fish came out. Xi Wei and Wei Cheng came to play with their own small lanterns in the back room, and ran out after smelling the smell, lying on the stove to watch his brother cook the fish. On them, he hurriedly asked them to stand back, and the two little guys were drooling while watching their brother cook fish. Except for the small dried fish bought by Xiyuan last time, the two of them had never eaten real fish. That.

Niang Xiyuan also stood by and watched Xiyuan carefully. She still has the task of teaching others how to cook fish tomorrow.Grandparents and grandparents also stopped their work, watching Xiyuan make fish, they didn't know how to cook fish before, and seeing Xiyuan make a fish cost so many processes, they all clicked their tongues.

When they used to make fish, they cleaned up the fish, put the oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and water, put the fish in, heated it, and started to eat it when it was cooked. No wonder it had to be delicious.This literacy is good, how much Xiaoyuan has learned from the book, there is everything in this book, even how to make roast duck, how to make chicken feet, how to stew fish!Since Xiyuan learned to read and write with Dr. Li, all the strange things he handled were pushed into books, anyway, the family members were also illiterate.

When the fish was ready, the whole family sat around the kang table. Xiyuan first took a piece of fish meat for each of his grandpa and grandma, and carefully picked out the fishbone, so as not to tie the old man.

Next to it, Xi Wei and Wei Cheng couldn't wait for their brother to pick it up, so they picked up a piece by themselves, and carefully picked out the fishbone. My brother told me to pick out the fishbone, otherwise it would puncture the throat.

"Well, it's delicious. No wonder people say fish is delicious." Grandpa said with a smile after eating a mouthful of fish and drinking the sorghum wine that his eldest son bought today.

"That's right, the old saying is still true. We used to think it was bad because we didn't know how to do it." Grandma sighed.

"Brother, it's so delicious, let's make it tomorrow." Xi Wei stared.

"Well, it's delicious." Wei Cheng also echoed.

"Okay, we will still eat fish tomorrow, and our mother will teach Aunt Wang how to cook fish tomorrow." Xiyuan returned.

"Yuan, do you think mother can do it well?" Xiyuan's mother was a little apprehensive, she hadn't cooked fish yet.

"It's okay mother, I'll watch beside you when you do it tomorrow." Xi Yuan comforted his mother.

"Hey, I feel at ease when you're by my side." Once she heard that Xi Yuan was by her side, Xi Yuan's mother stopped being entangled.

The next day, Aunt Wang and Aunt Cheng came to Xi's house on time. Niang Xiyuan taught them step by step according to Xiyuan's fish cooking steps yesterday. How particular about it, I wish my children would say that the snacks made by Xijia’s brother are delicious. This way, Chinese cabbage can also be made with personal ginseng flavor!

Several daughters-in-law were chatting while studying in the main room. Everyone wanted to have a good relationship, so they talked very sweetly, and there were bursts of laughter from time to time.The shadow caused by the beard incident at home slowly dissipated.