Chapter 156: Enjoying Every Day
Nine o'clock in the evening.
At this time of day, most people in Thatchfield Village, except for a few individuals, have already closed their doors and gone to sleep.
However, today every household is making ancient zongzi, which has been stewing since noon and is now basically finished. Therefore, except for the little kids and the elderly, most people have not rested, waiting to eat the ancient zongzi!
The best time to eat ancient zongzi is when it is just out of the pot and still hot.
Although it tastes just as good when it's cold, the flavor is still a little bit worse.
This delicacy is basically eaten once a year, and everyone craves it, so naturally, they want to enjoy it as soon as possible.
In the kitchen, Deng Shirong was scooping the ancient zongzi from the pot into a basket. The finished product of the ancient zongzi is as shown below:
After fishing out all the ancient zongzi, Deng Shirong said to his children and daughter-in-law, "Okay, you can eat it now. Be careful, don't burn yourselves!"
The children, who had been eagerly waiting, could no longer resist and chose either half-fat or pure lean meat zongzi according to their preferences. They blew on them while peeling the hot leaves.
Deng Yuntai peeled off the langsat leaves, threaded the zongzi with a pair of chopsticks, and then handed it to his wife.
Zhang Xiuping didn't hesitate to take it and took a happy bite.
After nearly ten hours of stewing, the glutinous rice in the zongzi had completely fused together, making it chewy and flavorful. And because the glutinous rice had been soaked in alkaline water, it had a very special fragrance.
The glutinous rice on the surface alone was incredibly delicious.
When you bit into the pork belly or lean meat, the aroma was overwhelming. The excellent texture and unbeatable taste combined made it truly irresistible.
It was so delicious that it was hard to stop eating!
Zhang Xiuping swore that this was the best ancient zongzi she had ever eaten in her life.
Not only her, but Deng Shirong's children were also amazed by the taste of the zongzi. They didn't care about the heat and ate one bite after another, stopping from time to time to blow on it, and only continued chewing when the zongzi in their mouths had cooled slightly.
Deng Yunsong ate the fastest. He finished one zongzi in no time, then picked up another one from the basket and praised it endlessly: "Dad, this zongzi you made is so delicious!"
Deng Yunzhu nodded as she ate, "Yes, this taste is indescribable. I've never eaten such delicious zongzi before!"
Zhang Xiuping added, "I've eaten zongzi this chewy before, but the flavor was far worse than this!"
At this time, Deng Shirong had just peeled open a zongzi and taken a bite, savoring it carefully. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "It's delicious, so take your time eating it. When the zongzi is cold, you won't feel sick no matter how much you eat. But if it's just out of the pot, don't eat too much at once, otherwise, you might feel uncomfortable later."
Deng Yunsong was already peeling his second zongzi. He paused and said, "Then I'll just eat two."
Zhang Xiuping looked at her half-eaten zongzi and asked, "Dad, I won't get tired of eating just one, right?"
"You won't get tired of one."
"Then I'll just eat one!"
After Deng Shirong's reminder, except for Deng Yunsong and Deng Yunhua, who ate two, the other children and daughters-in-law only ate one.
One reason was the fear of feeling sick, and the other was that it was getting late, and eating too much might make it difficult to sleep.
Except for Deng Shirong's family, almost all other households in the village also enjoyed zongzi at this time.
The next day was May 4th.
With Thatchfield Village as the core, everyone with the surname Deng in the surrounding villages began to worship their ancestors and celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in earnest.
The Dragon Boat Festival is called the May Festival in Bobai County. In addition to offering sacrifices to ancestors, every household also hangs mugwort leaves.
The so-called hanging mugwort leaves involves picking mugwort leaves from the mountains and hanging them on the door. This is believed to ward off evil spirits, plagues, and turn misfortune into good fortune.
In families with children, parents would pick eucalyptus leaves, peach leaves, mugwort leaves, red wormwood, roadside chrysanthemum, and other herbs, boil them in water, and use the infusion to wash their children's bodies. It is said that doing so can remove dirt and prevent or reduce the incidence of boils.
At the same time, the elderly would pick mugwort leaves and dry them to make moxa sticks. It is believed that the moxa sticks and moxa fire made on this day are particularly effective.
Deng Shirong, who was born in 1936, believed in these traditions more than people in later generations. After his rebirth, he believed in them even more firmly. Therefore, no matter whether the rules passed down by his ancestors made sense or not, he would meticulously follow them.
After all, it would be best if they worked. If they didn't, he would simply treat them as folk customs. He wouldn't lose anything either way.
...
Noon.
Deng Changfu's home.
For lunch, the family had sweet potatoes, while the pregnant Guan Yongying had egg noodles.
In this day and age, having egg noodles for lunch was a very good meal.
Ever since Guan Yongying became pregnant, her meals had always been the best in the family. Especially after she gave all the dowry her parents had given her to her mother-in-law, her treatment in her husband's household became even better. No matter what the rest of the family ate, her meals were always the best in the village.
After eating her fill, Guan Yongying said hello to her parents-in-law and walked slowly towards Uncle Jiu's house with her big belly.
During this period, she and Dai Fanglan would come to Uncle Jiu's house every now and then to chat with Aunt A Tai, who was also pregnant.
After all, they were all pregnant women, so there was a lot to talk about.
"Aunt A Tai."
"Yongying."
Under the longan tree, the two greeted each other and sat down to chat.
The Dragon Boat Festival had already passed, and the weather in Bobai was already very hot. However, sitting under the lush longan tree and fanning themselves, it was relatively cool.
Zhang Xiuping looked at Guan Yongying's frighteningly large belly and asked, "Yongying, can you still sleep lying down in this state?"
Guan Yongying replied, "Of course, but no matter which position I choose, it becomes uncomfortable if I stay in it for too long. I need to change positions from time to time to sleep more comfortably."
Zhang Xiuping touched her belly, which was already showing, and said, "I thought you wouldn't be able to sleep lying down when your belly got this big!"
Guan Yongying said, "Actually, there isn't much difference between the early and late stages of pregnancy. Our stomachs don't get bigger all at once."
Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "That's true. If we calculate the date, you're going to give birth soon, right?"
Guan Yongying replied, "It should be soon. I don't know the exact date yet, but my mother-in-law is always ready."
Zhang Xiuping sighed and said, "After you give birth, Alan will probably be born soon, but I still have to wait for a few more months!"
Guan Yongying rolled her eyes and said, "Aunt A Tai, you're not just enduring; you're enjoying yourself every day. Don't think I don't know that Uncle Jiu prepares food for you in different ways every day. A'lan and I are almost envious to death!"
Zhang Xiuping couldn't help but laugh and said, "From what you said, I know that your mother-in-law also gives you extra meals. Your food isn't bad either!"
At this, Guan Yongying couldn't help but smile and nodded, saying, "That's true. My mother-in-law is really good to me. I hope I can give her a grandson this time. Otherwise, I'd feel embarrassed."
"Look at what you're saying. Didn't you hear what my father-in-law said to Grandma Zhang Qi?"
"I have. They say that whether a baby is a boy or a girl isn't our business. It's decided by men."
"Since you know this, what are you embarrassed about?"
"That being said, I'd still feel embarrassed if I gave birth to a daughter."
"…"
(End of this chapter)