Rebirth 2004: I can make money by writing.

"Pork belly 5.80, spare ribs 6.50..."

"Cousin, give me ten pounds of pork belly..."

Hao Qiang, his mother and others went to the market to buy meat first. They had to buy meat early, otherwise they would only be able to pick what others had left.

As soon as you step into the vegetable market, you can hear the loud cries of the pork vendors, the clash of knives and chopping boards, and the bargaining between customers. It is very lively.

From the perspective of later generations, the price of pork in this era may not seem high, but everyone’s wages were not high.

In addition, during the Spring Festival, the price of meat is still slightly higher than usual.

In which year later, the price of pork soared to more than 30 yuan per pound, which seemed to be more expensive than beef.

Locals like to use pork belly when making rice dumplings. This part of the meat is in high demand, so it is easier to sell and the price is higher than usual.

Hao Qiang's family makes 20 big rice dumplings, so six pounds of meat is enough, but they also need to make braised pork, so they have to buy more pork belly.

His family, his uncle's family, and his grandparents had a New Year's dinner together, but they bought some things separately.

Last night, he gave his grandparents 5,000 yuan each and let them spend it as they pleased, which made the two old people smile from ear to ear.

In previous Chinese New Years, I didn’t have enough money to give red envelopes to the younger generations, which made me feel stingy.

"Boss, give me 20 kilograms of pork belly, five ribs, four pig's trotters, and two pieces of pork intestines..." Hao Qiang walked in front and visited several meat stalls. When he saw the meat on a stall was pretty good, he started to buy it.

Most of the pork sold in the town comes from pigs raised by farmers themselves, and pig traders purchase it from various villages, rather than from large pig farms.

In a decade or so, it will probably become increasingly difficult to taste pork raised by farmers themselves.

I don’t know which idiot expert came up with this suggestion, but farmers are not allowed to raise pigs and need certificates.

Now the source of pork has been greatly reduced, the price cannot be controlled, and the price of pigs has skyrocketed.

Moreover, as the source of pork decreases, its quality has also shown a significant decline. The taste of pork is getting worse and worse, and everything is raw.

In Hao Qiang's opinion, it is best not to use any black technology when it comes to food.

Genetically modified oil, plant-based artificial meat, carbon dioxide synthesized starch...

With the continuous development of human technology, the quality of food does not seem to have been improved accordingly. Instead, it has shown a downward trend due to the excessive pursuit of output and efficiency.

After Hao Qiang and his family finished buying pork, they put the goods in the car and continued shopping for New Year's goods.

The fireworks and firecrackers cost nearly a thousand yuan, which is quite a luxury.

After two or three hours, the shopping was finally completed. The carriage was filled with a wide variety of New Year's goods.

It feels so good to have enough money in hand and not have to hesitate about spending too much. The total cost of this shopping trip was less than 2,000 yuan, of which the cost of fireworks accounted for more than half.

According to previous years' experience, spending only three or four hundred yuan to prepare New Year's goods is considered good.

When I got home, it was already past eleven o'clock, and Hao Jianjun and my uncle had already prepared dinner.

After lunch, Hao Qiang continued to work on typing.

It won’t take many days to upgrade the third-level technology store.

The next day, New Year's Eve arrived as scheduled.

Every household is busy cleaning and putting up auspicious couplets.

According to local traditional customs, if you need to take a bath or wash your hair today, do it today. Do not eat meat or fish on the first day of the Lunar New Year. It is also not advisable to wash your hair to avoid "washing away the good omen."

However, some young people don’t care and wash and eat secretly without letting their elders know.

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Hao Qiang's family and his uncle's family began to busy themselves preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

The women sat together, wrapping large rice dumplings with their skillful hands.

Hao Qiang and his cousin were responsible for plucking the chicken and duck feathers and cleaning the internal organs.

Hao Jianjun started making fried braised pork belly, a local specialty.

The fried braised pork belly should be soaked in water to soften the skin, then steamed and stewed to perfection. The braised pork belly is fat but not greasy, and has a completely different flavor from the braised pork belly with preserved vegetables.

If it is not cooked well and becomes oily, it will be greasy and taste bad.

Around six in the afternoon,

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the countryside, and the loud sound of firecrackers can be heard from time to time.

In Hao Qiang's kitchen, the fire was burning brightly, the aroma of meat filled the air, and the festive atmosphere was particularly strong.

Hao Qiang and his cousin went to the village temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. On the incense table were a cooked but uncarved rooster, a piece of braised pork, a piece of pork belly, five spoons of wine, three small cups of tea, and some colorful cheap candies.

When burning incense and lighting candles, there are certain rules for how many incense sticks and candles to put in an incense burner.

Every Chinese New Year, Hao Qiang would forget these traditions and had to ask his mother, who would then nag and criticize him every time.

While burning incense and worshipping Buddha in the temple, Hao Qiang gave cigarettes to the male villagers who were smoking, celebrating the New Year with each other.

After pouring wine for thirty minutes, they began to burn incense and paper, set off firecrackers, and finally poured tea and wine, and the whole ceremony was considered over.

Back in my lobby, I have to do it again.

Hao Qiang used chopsticks to poke three holes in an apple, lit three cigarettes, took a puff, and then stuck them in.

Put your hands together, look pious, and pray silently: "My ancestors, please bless our family to prosper and our descendants to be prosperous. I will burn Huazi for you every year."

"My dear ancestors, is there any way to help me get two wives? Please don't create a Shura field. I am the descendant who will spread the branches of the family."

"This is all the descendants ask for. Bless!"

In fact, Hao Qiang's request was a bit embarrassing for the ancestors.

If I knew that there was such a shameless descendant among my descendants, I would probably die with regrets.

After Liu Fengqing saw her son finish praying, she also stood in front of the incense table, clasped her hands together and said, "May the Hao family's business prosper and make a fortune every year; may they have many children and grandchildren..."

After his mother finished praying, Hao Qiang smiled and said, "Mom, actually, our family has always been wealthy.

As the saying goes, poverty cannot last for more than three generations. If you are too poor, you will not be able to get married, so how can you have offspring?

So, my family will definitely always make a fortune.

But, if I have a house full of children and grandchildren, wouldn’t that mean I can marry more wives? Can you lower your requirements? "

"You're talking nonsense." Liu Fengqing slapped his son's arm and scolded him with a smile, "You're not being respectful in front of our ancestors. If you have the guts, marry more."

Hao Qiang joked, "Mom, forget it, this is a society ruled by law.

If it were in ancient times, I would have a large singing and dancing troupe for you, with every member as beautiful as a flower and a perfect figure."

"What nonsense again, a song and dance troupe? Who would do that? Don't say that in front of Yuqing. I think she's very devoted to you."

"Don't worry, Mom, it's just a joke."

Hao Qiang smiled and said that after completing the central hall process, he would go to the front of his car, put a piece of white radish, and insert three incense sticks, but there was no need to worship. The meaning was to pray for safe entry and exit.

After all the trouble, time had quietly passed seven o'clock and the New Year's Eve dinner was just ready.

Taro braised pork, boiled chicken, lemon duck, steamed sea bass, braised crucian carp, pork rib soup, braised pork... a total of ten dishes, representing perfection.

There is no seafood, but it is full of local flavors.

There is no seafood for sale in the town, and it is too troublesome to go to the provincial capital or county town to buy it.

The two families sat together, sharing delicious food and every bit of the past year.

After dinner, Hao Qiang went back to the bedroom and called Han Qingying.

Thinking of Han Qingying and her grandmother spending New Year's Eve alone, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart.

Hao Qiang chatted with Han Qingying for a long time, and then chatted with Han Qingying's grandmother for a while before hanging up the phone.

The rest of the family gathered in the main hall to watch the Spring Festival Gala, which was pretty good these days.

The dance "Thousand-Armed Guanyin", the song "Heavenly Road" sung by Han Hong, and the sketch "Kung Fu" are all very good.

"It would be interesting if Aqiang also appeared on the Spring Festival Gala," said my aunt.

Hao Jianjun agreed: "I think my son's three songs are very good, but it's too difficult to get them on the Spring Festival Gala."

Hao Qiang came to the main hall and listened to his family talking about the Spring Festival Gala, and somehow the conversation turned to him.

If he is invited to perform on the Spring Festival Gala one day, will he choose to accept?

However, he quickly dismissed this idea.

After all, at the moment, he doesn't have that kind of fame, let alone those complicated interpersonal relationships.

Time passed quietly and soon it was early morning.

Hao Qiang was urged by his mother to burn incense and set off fireworks and firecrackers. After burning incense, he and his father took the fireworks and firecrackers and placed them in the parking lot.

At this time, the sound of firecrackers from every household rang out one after another, deafening and breaking the tranquility of the countryside.

Hao Qiang lit firecrackers and fireworks one after another. In an instant, the lights and shadows of fireworks and firecrackers intertwined in the night sky, deafening, flames splashed, smoke curled, and the air was filled with a strong smell of fireworks.

In previous years, the village would look at which family had the most dazzling fireworks, which basically meant that family had a good income in the previous year.

After a while, his cousin came to his house with a flashlight and helped him set off fireworks.

It can be said that on that night, the sky above Hao Qiang's house was the most brilliant and dazzling in the entire village.