I Opened a Restaurant in Ancient Times

42-43

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and the restaurant has hung up a sign in advance to say it will be closed from New Year's Eve to the tenth day of the first lunar month.

　　On the first day of official rest, Su Tian and the female family members started working in the morning.

　　All the ingredients are prepared in advance just for the reunion dinner in the evening!

　　For fried meatballs alone, there are four flavors prepared: radish meatballs, meatballs, lotus root meatballs, and carrot meatballs, not to mention fried fish, fried peanuts, fried crispy pork, etc. The oil pan was never stopped, and the whole house was filled with the aroma of oil.

　　While frying, Wu Fen sighed: "Life is still good now. In the past, I would never dare to heat up a whole pot of deep-fried food." She used the colander in her hand to knock the meatballs in the pot from time to time to prevent them from sticking together.

　　Su Miao put the meatballs into the pan one by one, and nodded continuously when she heard Wu Fen's words.

　　There was a basket of freshly baked meatballs next to the stove. Su Tian picked one up, let it cool, and handed it to An An: "Try it."

　　The slightly cooled meatballs were soft and still a little hot inside, with no moisture on the surface. They made a crunchy sound when eaten. An An took the meatball, took a bite and exhaled a breath of hot air, then chewed it carefully before swallowing it.

　　“Radish, delicious!”

　　Su Tian touched his soft and tender face, then picked out a few other flavors and put them in a small bowl for him to taste.

　　The kitchen was bustling with activity and the yard was no less busy. Outside, men were pounding rice cakes with all their might. Freshly steamed rice was mixed with glutinous rice to increase its toughness. Steam was rising from the stone trough. A wooden hammer weighing more than ten pounds pressed down on the rice balls again and again, pulling up sticky threads that became quite sticky after being pounded for a while, tough but not hard, soft and chewy.

　　The rest of the people were cleaning or putting up Spring Festival couplets. They were busy for most of the day and cleaned the house inside and out. They didn't stop until the sun went down. On this special day, they even lit a few more candles. The warm flames flickered, reflecting the bright red couplets and the word "Fu", making it look particularly festive.

　　Not to mention the reunion dinner in the evening, the table is filled with dishes for good luck, with six cold dishes alone, and there's "A House Full of Gold and Jade" made of pumpkin and pork ribs, "Auspicious Stars" made of cabbage wrapped in meat filling, "Nian Nian You Yu" made of a whole osmanthus fish, "Always Smiling" made of red dates wrapped in rice cakes topped with osmanthus honey, "Golden Balls Bringing Good News" made of fried shrimps wrapped in mashed potatoes, etc. They are all auspicious dishes and sound festive.

　　The whole family gathered together to talk, and the children were particularly happy. Amid the hustle and bustle, someone shouted, "It's snowing!"

　　Everyone was crowding outside, and sure enough, the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow. The yard was completely covered in silver, and even the trees were covered in snow a finger thick.

　　Several kids were clamoring to go out and play in the snow. The adults pulled them back and put layer after layer of cotton clothes on them, wrapped them in scarves and put on hats before letting them out. In an instant, the snow was filled with people, all rolling around on the ground.

　　Su Tian also put on her newly made thick coat and started playing with the kids. No one knew who threw the first snowball, but it later turned into a fierce fight.