Travel back to ancient times and open a Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 132

Tiedan opened his mouth. His front teeth were fine, but the molars at the back had black spots on them, probably due to cavities.

"If you keep eating candy, you'll end up like our village's sixth uncle, who can only eat porridge!"

Zhong's mother said this as she passed by behind them, and Tiedan was so scared that the tears in his eyes finally fell.

"Wow, wow, I don't want to become Sixth Uncle, wow!"

The sixth uncle in the village is the oldest man in the village. He often sits under a tree at the entrance of the village, and when he smiles, he reveals his toothless gums.

The more Tiedan thought about it, the more frightened he became. He ran to find Zhong's mother crying.

"......" Zhong Ruyi.

She heard the voices of Cuicui and Shitou at the door. She went out to take a look and found that they were playing with firecrackers.

Several children in the village who were good friends with Cuicui Shitou were also there. When they saw her come out, they called her "Auntie" obediently.

In the yard, Mr. Zhong and his elder and second brothers were busy killing chickens and ducks. His elder and second sisters-in-law and Mother Zhong were also in the kitchen.

She wanted to go in to help, but was kicked out.

Mother Zhong put a handful of melon seeds in her hand and said, "Go sit for a while. If you feel sleepy, go to bed early and take a bath at noon."

Zhong Ruyi gave the melon seeds to Cuicui and the others at the door, rolled up her sleeves and wanted to help her third brother pluck the chicken feathers, but was sent away with a few words.

"No, no! Working in the store is tiring enough. When you get home, just rest up and have fun!"

She could only go to the door and watch Cuicui and the others playing with firecrackers.

At noon, they just had a quick meal and Zhong's mother boiled a few pots of hot water for the children in the family to take a bath.

Taking a bath at noon on New Year’s Eve means bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, washing away the bad luck of the year and not bringing bad luck into the next year.

According to the custom in Xinghua Village and several surrounding villages, people can take a bath at noon on New Year's Eve, but not at night, because night is the same as the next day, and taking a bath at this time is tantamount to bringing bad luck from the previous year to the next year.

So now every household in Xinghua Village boils water for bathing.

Mother Zhong took a large wooden basin and asked the three boys to take off their clothes and wait inside.

She picked up a wooden bucket filled with cold water and poured it over the three children.

"Grandma! It's too hot!"

The stones screamed and squeaked from being burned. Xiao He and Tie Dan jumped up and stood outside the wooden basin, hugging each other and shivering.

Mother Zhong frowned and reached out to touch it. "Isn't the water temperature just right? The weather is so cold, you should heat it up! Shitou, you go first."

Shitou wanted to cry but had no tears. He squatted in the wooden basin while Zhong's mother rubbed him vigorously with a cloth.

Soon the water in the basin became turbid and the entire stone turned red.

She frowned, "Look at this water! Normally, if I tell you to scrub more after taking a shower, the water wouldn't be this dirty."

Shitou hugged his chest and put on his clothes, followed by Xiaohe and then Tiedan.

It took the three of them nearly half an hour to take a bath, and they changed the water twice.

Mother Zhong wanted to wash Cuicui, but Cuicui flatly refused.

Just kidding, Shitou and the others were crying, but she couldn't bear this hardship. She still remembered the shadow that her grandmother had brought to her when she gave her a bath a few years ago.

She took her clothes and went to find Zhong Ruyi who had already taken a bath, "Aunt! I'll bring the water to you so you can wash, okay?"

Zhong Ruyi nodded, and the little girl skipped over to fetch water.

After waiting for a long time for the whole family to take a bath, it was already time for dinner.

The table was filled with dishes: fried meatballs, stewed pork elbow, a steamed fish, braised pork, stir-fried bacon with garlic sprouts, poached chicken, and a plate of dumplings.

With fish, meat, vegetables and chicken, this New Year's Eve dinner can be considered sumptuous.

Mr. Zhong happily poured a small glass of wine for everyone and filled his own large teacup.

Mother Zhong tried hard to hold back her anger, silently thinking that today was New Year's Eve and she shouldn't hit anyone.

After the meal, the eldest sister-in-law took out two Fenghong cigarettes with a smile and gave one to Zhong Laosan first and then to Zhong Ruyi.

"Little sister, we have made some money from your stewed food recipes. This is a gift for you. You can use it to buy something delicious."

After Zhong Ruyi took it and said thank you, her second sister-in-law's Feng Hong also came.

She happily took it and met her second sister-in-law's eyes with a gentle smile, "I will be seventeen after the Chinese New Year. I hope you can find a husband of your dreams."

"Yes, yes!" the eldest sister-in-law agreed, "I will be waiting to drink at your wedding."

Zhong Ruyi felt embarrassed by what the two said. When she thought of Chen Dongzhi, her cheeks turned slightly red.

Mother Zhong interrupted immediately, "It's New Year's Day, why are you talking about whether to get married or not?" She smiled and handed over a red envelope, "I hope my daughter will be safe and sound in the new year, and all her wishes will come true."

Zhong Laosan waited for a long time, but his mother only gave him his younger sister and several nieces and nephews. He said with some grievance, "Mom, don't you have me in your heart?"

Mother Zhong rolled her eyes at him, but still took out a red envelope from her bosom and gave it to him.

Father Zhong also gave one to Zhong Ruyi, "My daughter, this is given to you by your father. No one else has it."

Zhong Ruyi was very touched, she knew her father was most impressed by her words.

As expected, her father looked very proud, and Zhong's mother said unhappily, "Come on, you're going to get it on your face after drinking two more cups of cat urine, right?"

Cuicui and her friends had already happily run out to play after receiving the seal of honor.

Today is New Year’s Eve, and we have to stay up all night.

My sister-in-law and her family had already prepared some fruits and snacks, so we could eat and chat in the second half of the night.

By the second half of the night, the children were almost all sleepy, and the excitement they had at the beginning of the stay-up had faded.

Not to mention the children, Zhong Ruyi felt that she would fall asleep if she sat there for any longer.

Zhong's mother advised her to go to bed. Zhong Ruyi thought she could hold on at first, but her eyelids were fighting each other, so she could only go back to her room and go to bed in a daze.

The next morning, she was awakened by the sound of children setting off firecrackers outside.

After washing up, I pushed open the gate. The door was already covered with red firecracker debris, and Cuicui and a few others were laughing and playing.

She stood at the door with some emotion. This was her first New Year here and also her first time celebrating the New Year with so many people.

Before, in the orphanage, everyone would gather together on New Year’s Eve to have a reunion dinner and set off firecrackers, but the director’s mom didn’t allow that, saying it was too dangerous. They were not allowed to go out and could only stay in the orphanage.

So many times the children in their orphanage would gather at the fence gate of the orphanage and watch other children being brought out by adults to set off fireworks and firecrackers.

When she grew up, she needed to make money and had no time or interest in these things. She rushed to work in a fast-paced way in various part-time jobs.

Until she came here and had a family that loved her, even if all this would have to be returned to the original body in the future, this brief moment of happiness and being loved was real.