Chapter 779: Traditional Delicacies in the Countryside

After New Year’s Eve, it was the new year!

The children received many big red packets. Every adult in the family gave them a red packet. Then, when the villagers saw them, they would also give them a red packet. The amount of money didn’t matter, and it was the intention that counted.

Xiao Letong, Xiao Ling, and Rourou, Lulu were almost buried under the Red Packet Mountain.

Xiao Letong opened these red envelopes and said happily, “Wow, the New Year’s money received this year has already reached 100,000 RMB. Hehe.”

The few children received about the same amount.

If it weren’t for Xiao Lingyu’s insistence that the children couldn’t have too much money, the adults probably would have given them a bigger red packet. The money would have been more than a million.

Even with the warning from Xiao Lingyu, the adults loved Xiao Letong very much. Normally, they didn’t know how to express it, so now, they showed their love through the red packet.

Every single one of them gave a few thousand or more.

Even the villagers and other relatives and friends gave at least 300 to 500 RMB.

With all these added up, the money surpassed 100,000 easily.

Old Master Gong sneaked to Xiao Letong’s room. “Tong Tong, can I come in?”

“Yes, Great-grandfather!” Xiao Letong ran over to open the door for Old Master Gong. “Great-grandfather, please come in!”

Seeing that the four children were in the small room, Old Master Gong took out four red packets, one for each of them.

Xiao Ling held the red packet in her hand and asked in puzzlement, “Great-grandfather, haven’t you already given us a red packet?”

“Shh!” Old Master Gong reached out a finger to stop Xiao Ling from speaking. Then, he said very carefully, “This is the extra red packet that I gave you behind Tong Tong’s mother’s back. Don’t let your parents find out about this, okay?”

The four children’s eyes lit up, and they immediately nodded in agreement. “Okay!”

Old Master Gong looked at the red packets that filled the bed and said with a smile, “Then you guys continue counting the red packets. Great-grandfather will be leaving.” Old Master Gong left quietly and even closed the door carefully.

The moment he left, the children exclaimed happily, “Wow, we have red packets again!”

The happiest thing for children was to open the red packets during the New Year.

The four children immediately opened the red packets and saw dozens of hundreds inside. They immediately poured them out and counted.

“One, two… ten, one, two… ten…”

Rourou said happily, “6666! So much money!” They had never received such a large red packet before.

Lulu looked at the money and was actually very happy in her heart.

But…

Lulu asked with some worry, “Tong Tong, auntie said that we shouldn’t take red packets that have too much money from the adults. However, great-grandfather’s red packet definitely has a lot of money. If auntie knew, would she be unhappy?”

Rourou’s happy little face suddenly changed. She said very seriously, “Tong Tong, great-grandfather, and the others have already given us red packets. Great-grandfather gave us an extra red packet. Is this…”

Before Rourou could finish her words, there was another knock on the door.

Xiao Ling ran over and opened the door. When he saw Grandpa Xiao standing outside, he immediately called out in confusion, “Great-grandfather!”

“Ling ‘Er, good boy!” Grandpa Xiao gently stroked his hair, then stuck his head in and called out, “Tong Tong, Rourou, Lulu, can great-grandfather come in?”

“Of course!” The three children answered in unison.

Grandpa Xiao walked in, turned around, and said to Xiao Ling, “Ling ‘Er, come in and close the door!” He was being very mysterious.

Xiao Ling obediently closed the door.

Then, the four children saw Grandpa Xiao take out four red packets from his pocket. Each of them got one. “Come, Great-grandpa will give you another red packet. Don’t let your mommy and your aunt find out, understand?”

“Yes, we understand. Thank you, Great-grandfather!” The four children took the red packet and looked very happy.

After Grandpa Xiao handed out the red packet, he saw that the bed was covered with red packets and said, “Then you guys continue to count the red packets. Great-grandfather has something to do, so he will go out first.”

After he left, the four children jumped up happily and said, “Ah, there’s another red packet!”

However, before they could finish counting the red packets, another group of adults came knocking on the door and secretly gave them red packets.

Xiao Lingye came to the children’s room and was discovered by Xiao Lingyu.

Xiao Lingyu walked into Xiao Letong’s room. She noticed that the children’s beds were already filled with red packets. There were a few red packets that were too bulky. It was obvious that there was something fishy going on.

However, she did not expose it immediately. This would make the children very unhappy.

Xiao Lingyu smiled and asked, “Tong Tong, tell Mommy. Other than accepting your uncle’s extra red packet, who else gave you extra red packets? Don’t worry. Mommy won’t take back your red packets. Mommy just wants to know.”

When Xiao Letong heard this, he knew that he might not be able to keep these red packets. His mother wouldn’t let them keep too much money. After all, they were still young and would not be able to use the money wisely.

Xiao Letong sighed softly. Then, he picked out the thick red packets from the pile of red packets and said honestly, “Uncle was the last one. Unfortunately, you caught him. This is the red packet that everyone gave us.”

Speaking of little uncle, Xiao Lingyu glanced at Xiao Lingye with her eyes. She did not agree with her brother’s actions.

Xiao Lingye, who was caught, blushed. He felt a little guilty.

He did not think that everyone in his family would have the same thought. But they were all exposed because of him. He knew that his sister would take the red packets away. He had really let his nephew down.

Xiao Lingyu raised her eyebrows at her son and asked with a smile, “So many red packets. Son, are you willing to part with them?”

Xiao Letong wiped his little face and shook his head. “I’m not willing! But if mommy has found out, what can I do?”

Xiao Lingyu sighed and asked, “Son, do you feel wronged and sad?”

Xiao Letong nodded honestly and said, “Yes, I’m a little sad and unwilling.” After all, his red packets were being taken away.

Of course, Xiao Lingyu’s main purpose was not to confiscate their red packets but to educate them.

These red packets, to put it bluntly, were actually money.

But among these children, the oldest was only eight or nine years old and had no concept of money at all. They would form the habit of spending lavishly from having so much money at such a young age.

This was a very bad habit, and Xiao Lingyu was determined to curb it.

Xiao Lingyu sighed lightly, “Son, actually, mommy doesn’t want to take all of your new year’s money. It’s just that mommy thinks that this money should be saved. When you grow up and when you need to go to school and buy things, wouldn’t it be better to use the money then? Look at the money in your hands now. There’s so much money. How do you plan to spend it?”

Xiao Letong’s eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly, “Save it? Mommy, do you mean you will save the money for us? You won’t take them?”

Xiao Lingyu gently patted his head and said with a laugh, “This new year’s money is given to you by your family. It’s your personal property. Mommy doesn’t have the right to take your money away.

“However, you are still young, and this money is too much for you at your age. Therefore, I will save them for you for now. When you grow up and know how to spend money wisely, I will return them to you.”

When Rourou and Lulu heard this, they immediately handed a few big red packets to Xiao Lingyu and said very sensibly, “Auntie, please help us save our money too!”

They were no longer the little girls who coveted the pennies in other people’s hands. After being with the Xiao Family, they did not lack food, clothing, and accommodation. Moreover, they had beautiful clothes and delicious snacks. Usually, they also had some pocket money so that they could buy a lot of candy to eat.

They didn’t quite understand the concept of cash yet. They only knew they could buy things with money. However, they did not know how much they could buy. Naturally, they were more inclined to have their aunt save the money for them.

Later on, Xiao Lingyu deposited the money into the bank for the four children. She made a fixed deposit for each of them.

The four kids’ red packet money was quite large. The bank was very happy, so they gave them a few small gifts.

The children took these gifts and played with them happily.

Xiao Lingyu did not mention the matter of the red envelope anymore.

But the others realized their mistakes. They understood that they had gone overboard. If they gave them too much money, the children might gain vanity, comparing the money with others. That was not a good thing.

Giving red packets was a new year tradition. The money didn’t matter. It was a good intention that counted.

According to the customs and traditions of Taoyuan Village, there was no visiting on the first day of the New Year. That happened on the second day.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Xiao family stayed at home. They gathered together to chat, play mahjong, or go to the village square to chat and play mahjong with the villagers.

Other than a few children who had gone out to play, the Xiao family did not go out much. They moved the mahjong table from the storage room into the courtyard.

The courtyard became lively all of a sudden.

Gong Tianhao accompanied Grandpa Xiao, Grandpa Gong, and Grandma Xiao to play mahjong.

There was nothing they could do. Compared to playing cards, the three elders preferred to play mahjong.

Father Xiao and his brothers gathered together to play cards. Naturally, Gong Tianhao took on the task of accompanying the three elders.

All year round, things were very busy. Usually, they didn’t have the time to rest.

Now that everyone was together, mother Xiao soaked 30 catties of rice last night.

What was she doing soaking so much rice?

She was making two kinds of traditional snacks in Taoyuan Village. The first was called Mi Guo, and the second was called Fen Pi. Both snacks would be stuffed.

Mi Guo and Fen Pi were made from rice milk, which was a traditional delicacy made from rice.

The rice was soaked for less than six hours and then directly poured out.

Then, one would have to burn dry straws, wood chips, and so on. The ashes were tightly wrapped up in cloth. The bag of ashes was thrown into a pot of water to boil. After that, the ash water was filtered again.

One catty of ash water would be paired with one catty of rice water. Then, with some leeks, the mixture would be made into green rice home. Of course, there was a difference in how each family made rice milk.

The rice milk used to make Mi Guo needed to be mixed with a little bit of cooked lime. This was to increase the solidifying power of the Mi Guo.

After the rice milk was beaten into rice paste, it was placed in the pot and boiled. Big fire at first, and then after the mixture was boiling, the fire would be turned down.

While the mixture was boiling, one had to stir the pot continuously, or the rice milk would be charred.

As the rice milk was stirred, it slowly began to solidify. Eventually, it would solidify into a ball. When it was not too sticky, the ball could be lifted up and placed on the prepared table. The table had to be smeared with cooking oil, or the ball would stick.

The stirring process was too exhausting, so the task was left to the young and strong Xiao Lingye.

During the cooking of the rice milk, a few women were preparing the fillings. There were radish meat fillings, eggplant meat fillings, pickled cabbage fillings, raised meat fillings, beef fillings, and a kind of salted radish stuffing stir-fried with chili.

The rice ball was kneaded evenly and cut into smaller balls. The women used the tool to flatten the small ball. It was like making dumplings. After that, the filling would be added.

After the filling was wrapped, it was placed in a steamer. Mi Guo would be steamed for fifteen to twenty minutes. The ready Mi Guo would be green, hot, and fragrant.

As for the Fen Pi, it was much simpler to make.

There was no need for lime to make Fen Qi. After the rice milk was ready, the milk was filtered through a pan woven from thin bamboo strips. Then, the filtered milk would be cooked on a big fire. After a while, the milk would solidify. Then a chopstick would be used to cut the solid milk into four parts. After stuffing them with fillings, they could be eaten.

Xiao Lingshuo held two plates of freshly baked Fen Pi and shouted loudly, “Let’s eat the Fen Pi.”

Fen Pi was easier to make, so they were ready first. The Mi Guo would still take some time.

When Gong Tianhao heard that the Fen Pi was ready, his eyes immediately lit up.

He said carefully, “Grandpa, grandma, we’ve played Mahjong for the entire morning. You must be hungry. Should we eat Fen Pi first? We can continue after we’re full.”

He immediately ran away.

Gong Tianhao was very nervous at the mahjong table.

On the one hand, he wanted to go easy on the elders, but he couldn’t make it too obvious. Playing mahjong like this made him tremble in fear.

Later in the afternoon, he would let Xiao Lingye accompany them to play.

However, he really liked eating these traditional rural snacks. They were homemade, and they were really delicious.

He felt that they were even better than dumplings. He loved the Fen Pi with the salty radish. It was spicy and salty.

“These Fen Pi are really delicious!” After everyone ate it, they all praised it.

In the past, they would have the luxury of enjoying these snacks whenever it rained. Their wives would prepare these snacks since they couldn’t work in the fields. However, things had gotten so busy since Taoyuan Village became a tourist destination. Their wives didn’t have time to make these snacks anymore. They only had the chance to eat these snacks during New Year.

Xiao Lingyu saw Gong Tianhao eating seriously and asked, “Tianhao, do you like to eat these Fen Pi?”

Gong Tianhao nodded and said, “Yes, I like to eat them. They are very fragrant and delicious.”

Xiao Lingyu smiled when she heard that.

Her smile was very bright and filled with happiness.