vrcanaries Chapter 181 Laba porridge
Chapter 181 Laba porridge
Just as Yangwa's family was discussing this, many villagers were lying on the kang at home late at night, discussing what had happened in the village in the past few days.
“Go go!”
At around five in the morning, accompanied by the crowing of roosters at home for the umpteenth time, Hou Xiaoge and his brother were called by their old mother.
"Mom, why do you want us to do this so early in the morning? The villagers need a pot, just lend it to them and let me sleep a little longer." Hou Xiaoge practiced boxing in the space for several hours last night and is still a little sleepy now.
"You are such a lazy boy! See which girl will follow you in the future. Today is Laba Festival, you have to eat Laba porridge in the morning and can't get up late.
I soaked the beans last night and cooked a big pot of Laba porridge this morning. Go and serve it to Erda’s family.” Wang Maimiao scooped a bowl of rice, enough for Erda’s family to eat today.
In addition to a few pots of Laba porridge on the edge of the kang, there is also a bowl of green Laba garlic, which are the favorites of people in western Henan.
Looking at the steaming Laba porridge, Hou Xiaoge was a little dazed, and then he suddenly remembered that he was already a Central Plains person and should eat Laba porridge instead of Laba noodles.
In his previous life, Hou Xiaoge was from Qin Province. In the Guanzhong area of Qin Province, people do not eat porridge on Laba Festival, but noodles. The noodles are no different from usual, except that they contain red beans.
Hou Xiaoge remembers that his mother would soak beans the night before Laba Festival every year and make a big pot of Laba noodles the next morning.
Wow, that big iron pot with a diameter of more than half a meter was filled with half a pot of noodles. We ate it in the morning, noon and night. If we couldn’t finish it, we would eat it the next day or the day after. People who ate it later lost their appetite when they saw the bean noodles.
But as I grew up and moved away from home, I could no longer eat the bean noodles made by my mother. The most I could do was to eat some noodle soup outside and spend the Laba Festival.
But now that Hou Xiaoge is a native of Central Plains, this custom has changed and become Laba porridge.
People in the Central Plains like to drink Laba porridge, eat Laba garlic, or Laba beans and Laba tofu.
For people from western Henan, the green Laba garlic is the most noble etiquette for every western Henan person living outside of Henan for Laba.
The Hou family did not make Laba garlic this year. The uncle bought some of it specially when he set up the stall yesterday, and distributed some to each family when he came back.
However, Hou Xiaoge could accept this Laba porridge. After all, he used to eat Eight Treasure Porridge often, and the taste was similar.
Without any delay, Hou Xiaoge hurried to Erda's house carrying a pot of steaming Laba porridge.
The door was ajar and Hou Xiaoge was occupying it. He didn't hesitate and kicked the door open gently.
"Erda, today is Laba Festival. Your nephew is here to bring you Laba porridge." Hou Xiaoge shouted after entering the yard.
Erda and Second Aunt were scooping spicy soup into the wooden barrel at this time. When they heard Hou Xiaoge's voice, they came out with a smile.
"Oh my! Your mother is so honest. With this full basin, we don't have to cook for the whole day.
"Suck, suck, suck! Look, these are all good things, jujubes, red beans, walnuts, longans, and white and plump rice, they smell good." Second Aunt took the basin and looked inside with joy.
"Haha! Laba Festival only comes once a year. This is the first Laba Festival we celebrate in Qin Province. Everyone, eat well." Hou Xiaoge followed the conversation and chatted with his second aunt with a smile.
"Okay, I'll pour out the porridge and free up the bowl for you, and then I'll make you some spicy soup to drink back home." Second Aunt carried the bowl and walked towards the kitchen with a smile.
"No, Second Aunt, my mother cooked a big pot. We have to eat Laba porridge today. We can't put the spicy soup. Let's eat it later when we have time!" Hou Xiaoge hurriedly stopped her.
"Oh! I forgot. It's best to eat Laba porridge all day long so that you will get rich in the coming year." Second Aunt slapped her forehead.
After pouring the eight-treasure porridge, Second Aunt carefully wiped the porridge in the basin several times with a cake, then washed the basin with hot water and returned it to Hou Xiaoge.
"Ever since we started making Hu La Tang, a lot of the manure from our bodies has been wasted every day. We must catch two piglets to raise at the beginning of the new year." Second Aunt said as she handed Hou Xiaoge the basin.
"Haha! Second Aunt, leave the task of catching the piglets to me. I know people and can get a bunch of pigs that grow very fast." Hou Xiaoge agreed with a smile.
"Oh! That's great. You must leave two for me. When we slaughter the pigs at the end of the year, Second Aunt will treat you to a feast." Second Aunt Li Cuihua laughed happily.
After leaving Erda's house, Hou Xiaoge whistled and strolled back home from the village entrance, twirling the wooden basin with his fingers. Along the way, some villagers had already stood up to empty the urine pots and greeted Hou Xiaoge with a smile.
"Not bad, very delicious." Laba porridge contains dates and longans, and it has a sweet taste when cooked.
Have a bite of the sour and slightly spicy Laba garlic, it goes very well with rice.
"Mom, if you have time, you can pickle some of this Laba garlic and sell it at our braised meat stall.
I'll tell you a recipe. When making Laba garlic, add some rock sugar and salt to make a kind of candied garlic, which is also a perfect match for our stewed meat." Hou Xiaoge was drinking Laba porridge and tasting Laba garlic, and immediately thought of candied garlic.
"Boy, how can you come up with so many ideas in one day?
We are eating now. You said I can't remember it either. There is still some garlic at home. You can teach me when you have time." Wang Maimiao put down the bowl and gave Hou Xiaoge a look.
"It's just a trivial matter. I'll handle it." Hou Xiaoge said with a smile in the Qin dialect.
"Brother, it's just a trivial matter. What does it mean to control it?" Xiao Shuanniu came up to Hou Xiaoge with a curious look on his face.
"I won't tell you, you little brat." Hou Xiaoge pretended to be mysterious.
"Humph!"
When eating Laba porridge, Big Head's father came to borrow the iron pot. Hou Xiaoge knew that most people in the village did not eat Laba porridge, so he gave him a bowl of Laba porridge.
When Big-Head Father left, Hou Xiaoge clearly saw the seven-foot-tall man carrying the steaming Laba porridge and his eyes became moist.
Today, Hou Xiaoge's house is completely quiet, except that his own pot has been passed on to someone else.
But Hou Xiaoge didn't care. It was a pot, a big thing, and it was impossible to lose it. My cheap mother was watching over it! I had to return it in the evening.
When there was nothing to do during the day, Hou Xiaoge followed several village elders to arrange for the villagers to build a stove in the public cave in the village.
The village really spent a lot of money this time. They bought ten small pots and two large pots, and a sack of rock sugar, which weighed more than 100 kilograms.
He bought dozens of baskets of hawthorn, weighing a total of 2,000 kilograms, and all the hawthorns on the market in Daobei were sold out in a short time.
Hou Xiaoge also suggested that the villagers buy apples, pears, oranges, and walnuts, which are common in the market in Qin Province in winter.
Several elders in the village didn't understand either, but since Hou Xiaoge, the technical director, asked them to buy, they all bought in.
After all the shopping, the village's working capital was suddenly exhausted, leaving only one dollar.
The Seventh Master, who was in charge of the clan property, said to Hou Xiaoge with a bitter face that this was the poorest time for the clan since it was founded. When they fled, they still had at least a dozen dollars!