Chapter 66: New Year’s Here!

Chapter 66: New Year's Here!

Starting from the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month, the Shen family's little school took a break.

The atmosphere of the New Year was already very strong. Even though folks weren't well-off back then, it was precisely because of this that the New Year seemed especially important. Folks had been pinching pennies all year, but during the New Year, even the poorest families would scrounge up some treats they usually couldn't afford.

Better-off families, besides preparing food, also had to buy new items and even make a new piece or two each year. It was impossible for everyone to make new clothes every year, but they could take turns making a new piece or two annually.

The grain quota had already been met, and the task pigs had also been submitted. The brigade accountant had crunched the numbers early. This year, their brigade had a good harvest, and the pigs were well-fed. Each work point was worth five cents and two mils, which was significantly more than the four cents and four mils from the previous year.

The brigade wasted no time and handed out the money on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, along with some grain. The grain had already been distributed once after the autumn harvest, but the New Year was different. Handing out a bit more was a way to spread some holiday cheer.

The Shen family got their cut too. After all, the original father and daughter had put in more than half a year's work, Shen Shaoyuan had also worked for a while, and their family now had Fu Mingze, who had worked a full year. Based on their work points, they were supposed to get over two hundred yuan. But with the costs of building the house and Shen Moer's wedding, Shen Shaoyuan had borrowed from the brigade. After all the deductions, they ended up with eighty-nine yuan.

After slaving away all year, they were left with just eighty-nine yuan.

Still, that was a pretty good haul for the whole Yangliu Brigade.

Even though some families had more strong hands and pulled in more work points, these families usually had more mouths to feed, which meant higher food costs. In tough years, instead of getting cash from the brigade, they might end up owing the brigade for grain. This year was a good one, and getting a few dozen yuan had everyone grinning from ear to ear.

Once the money was handed out, folks slowly made their way to the commune. Before, there was talk of shutting down the sparrow market, but with the New Year coming, it stayed open. In the final days of the twelfth lunar month, the market was open daily, though it was rumored to close for good after the New Year.

Shen Moer and Fu Mingze snuck off to join the fun again, picking up a few things on the sly, and then came the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the day the brigade butchered the New Year pig.

Shen Shaoyuan still had to work and left early in the morning after breakfast. Shen Moer was about to take a broom to sweep the floor when Mao Mao led a group of mischievous children to the courtyard gate, shouting, "Sister Moer, my grandma told you to bring an enamel mug to get pig blood. Each household can get a bowl of pig blood. Pig blood tofu is delicious and very tender!"

Shen Moer put down the broom and went into the kitchen to get an enamel mug.

In such times, families with fewer members had an advantage. There was only so much pig blood, and it couldn't be distributed per person, so it had to be distributed per household. Some families in the village had several generations living together, and a household with dozens of people could only get one bowl, barely enough for each person to have a taste. Their family had only three people, so getting a bowl of pig blood was like adding a solid dish.

Fu Mingze was washing clothes by the well at the brigade headquarters. Shen Moer stood at the intersection and called out, "Fu Zhiqing, are you coming to watch the pig slaughter?"

Fu Mingze was wearing a sweater with a hole, pouring water into an enamel basin. Amid the sound of splashing water, he looked up at Shen Moer, who was holding an enamel mug and looking excited, and couldn't help but laugh. He said, "You go ahead, I'll finish washing soon and come right after."

Shen Moer immediately said, "Alright, then I'll go with them first. Hurry up."

She happily walked away, holding Mao Mao's hand.

A group of mischievous children shouted, "Pig slaughter! Pig slaughter!" and ran ahead cheerfully. Shen Moer also quickened her pace with a smile.

Fu Mingze clicked his tongue, amused by her excitement. She didn't even look back at him.

He quickly scrubbed the clothes in the cold water of the enamel basin, finished washing, and took them back to the courtyard to hang on the bamboo pole.

Meanwhile, Shen Moer followed the group of mischievous children to the threshing ground. The pig was already tied to the slaughtering bench, squealing loudly. The bench was surrounded by layers of people. Shen Moer enjoyed the excitement but was afraid of getting dirty, so she stood outside the crowd. Mao Mao volunteered and squeezed through with her enamel mug. Not long after, Shen Moer heard his loud voice, not inferior to the pig's squeals, "Grandma, grandma, this is Sister Moer's family!"

Zhou Zhaodi stood beside Shen Moer and muttered, "Mao Mao's voice is really loud."

Shen Moer laughed and patted her head, asking, "Has Yang Daniu been making you work these past two days?"

Zhou Zhaodi looked up and smiled, not upset by Shen Moer's question. She knew Teacher Shen cared about her and said with a hint of pride, "I've done all the work I was supposed to do. She's afraid I'll steal food, so she doesn't let me work in the kitchen. I'm free now."

This child, who used to be timid, had become more outgoing over the past six months. It was hard to say whether it was the confidence from winning the painting competition or spending time with the mischievous Mao Mao that made her more playful. Maybe it was both.

Yang Daniu's belly was very big, and she probably didn't have the energy to manage her before giving birth. But when Yang Daniu had her baby next spring, the household chores couldn't be expected from Zhou Xiaoshuan and his father. The two younger ones might end up being taken care of by Zhou Zhaodi.

Shen Moer frowned. This child had a lot of talent in painting. She would have to find a way to let her continue learning after the New Year.

Suddenly, a wave of chaotic screams erupted from the crowd, mixed with the sharp squeals of the pig and the joyful cheers of the people, like something had just exploded.

Two pigs had been slaughtered in quick succession, and soon Mao Mao carefully emerged from the crowd holding an enamel mug: "Sister Moer, Sister Moer, your family's pig blood!"

The steaming pig blood was presented to Shen Moer, who was speechless.

To be honest, Shen Moer had never actually eaten pig blood before. The original host's memories did include experiences of eating pig blood tofu, and in those memories, pig blood tofu was even a rare delicacy that she longed for. So Shen Moer was curious and wanted to give pig blood a try.

But that didn't mean she was eager to face a huge mug of steaming pig blood.

"Give it to me."

A hand reached out from behind her, with fair and slender fingers gripping the edge of the enamel mug. Shen Moer turned around and met Fu Mingze's gaze. Seeing her reluctant expression, Fu Mingze couldn't help but chuckle: "Why didn't you grab the one with a lid?"

There were two enamel mugs at home. One was the old one without a lid and with chipped paint, and the other was a new one with a lid that Shen Moer had bought later. Thinking the pig blood would be messy, she grabbed the old one, not considering that without a lid, she would have to face the bloody mess directly.

It was definitely a mistake.

After all, the mess could just be washed off later.

Fu Mingze smiled: "Alright, I'll take it, don't look."

Luckily, each household only got one bowl of pig blood, which didn't even fill half the mug, so there was no need to worry about spilling.

Once the pig blood was handed out, it was time to divide the meat.

The workers were all seasoned pig slaughterers from the village, and they were very skilled at butchering the pigs. In no time, they had neatly butchered the two pigs. The innards filled two big wooden basins, the trotters and ribs were chopped into piles, and then came the most prized parts with the least bones, especially the thick layer of fat, which gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

The pork was distributed based on the number of work points each household had earned. At this point, households with more people had a clear advantage. For example, Zhou Gencai's family, with four generations living together, had far more able-bodied workers and people than others, so they were the first to receive a piece of the fattest meat.

Envious and jealous murmurs immediately spread through the crowd: "Wow, they got such a big piece of meat, tsk tsk, it's so fatty!"

The Shen family had the lowest number of work points, so they were naturally at the end of the line, but neither Shen Moer nor Fu Mingze were in a hurry. Shen Moer had never seen the annual pig slaughter and meat distribution before, and Fu Mingze was almost the same. Last year, when he first joined the village, he wasn't familiar with the villagers. When the village slaughtered pigs, many from the educated youth group went to watch, but he didn't go, so this was actually his first time witnessing the annual pig slaughter and meat distribution.

Both found it fascinating and watched with keen interest.

Among the Shen brothers, Shen Laosan's family was the largest and was the first to receive their share, picking a fairly fatty piece of meat. Shen Laosan's family was the smallest, with just his son, daughter-in-law, two grandsons, and his unmarried youngest daughter Shen Chunfen, so by the time it was their turn, there wasn't much fat left. Cao Mei could only pick a piece of semi-fatty meat, looking both pleased and a bit disappointed.

However, when Cao Mei saw Shen Moer and Fu Mingze in the line, she inexplicably felt happy again. She deliberately walked over to the line and said with a grin: "Oh, the fat on our piece of meat is too little, just this much, but thinking about it, it's still better than the leftover bones. Even if they give more bones, they can't compare to meat."

Before Shen Moer could say anything, the people around her in line had already started to snap back.

"Cao Mei, get out of here. If we hadn't split the family, wouldn't we be ahead of you? What are you so smug about? Getting a bit of meat has really gone to your head."

"That's right, what we get is none of your business. You're really meddling, tsk, causing trouble during the New Year, how despicable."

"You just want to say that Shen Moer's family won't get any good meat, right? Cao Mei, have you forgotten that their family has two workers who get meat ration tickets every month? Oh, I'm really impressed. While they're eating meat, you're still eating chaff and vegetables."

"If you had any brains, you wouldn't have been tricked into stealing food. Go on, hurry up and leave after getting your meat."

Since Shen Moer took Mao Mao and the others to the provincial capital and won an award, the villagers felt that Shen Moer had brought glory to their Yangliu Brigade. Their favorability towards her skyrocketed, especially after the Embroidery Factory incident. The brigade leader had said that Shen Moer had secured the most positions for their brigade, not to mention she personally taught everyone. This essentially gave their brigade over a dozen opportunities to become workers. The villagers now considered Shen Moer a lucky star for their brigade.

Isn't she a lucky star?

With the competition award and the Embroidery Factory incident, their brigade had become quite famous in the surrounding areas. Before the New Year, the young men and women of the village had become much more popular in matchmaking, as many people thought that marrying into their brigade might lead to opportunities to become workers.

So not only did Cao Mei's words offend a lot of people, but even those who had already received their meat couldn't help but speak up for Shen Moer as they passed by.

Cao Mei was livid: "What did I say? Did I point fingers? I just casually mentioned our meat isn't great, can't I even say that?"

"If the meat’s not good enough, just toss it, haha."

"Wow, Uncle Ding, Cao Mei’s griping about the meat you gave her!"

"What the hell, you think I’m nuts? I got the meat, and you want me to toss it? Why don’t you chuck your own meat?" Cao Mei said and quickly turned around to leave with her meat. If she continued, she might really annoy Old Ding, who was in charge of distributing the meat, and next year she might get an even worse piece.

Nearby, Tian Fang, clutching her portion of meat, watched Cao Mei scurry off and smirked.

What’s Cao Mei thinking? With Shen Moer’s standing in the village, how could she dare to snipe at her in public? Isn’t she just asking to be scolded?

Even if they don’t like Shen Moer deep down, they’ve got to butter her up in public. After all, she’s a worker at the provincial Embroidery Factory—that’s like hitting the jackpot.

Tian Fang’s face clouded over. She couldn’t figure out how this father and daughter got so lucky. Why didn’t her daughter Shen Lingling win the competition? Why didn’t Shen Lingling catch the Embroidery Factory’s eye? If it were Lingling, wouldn’t her whole family have a shot at becoming workers?

Tian Fang’s eyes gleamed with scheming.

Shen Moer didn’t catch Tian Fang’s look. After a long wait in line, it was finally her turn. The pork was being handed out by Ding Dewang, the older brother of accountant Ding Shouchang. Folks his age called him Old Ding, while Shen Moer’s crowd called him Uncle Ding.

Uncle Ding pointed to the remaining meat and said with a smile, "The rest have some bone. The trotters are good—more fat—and the ribs are nice too. Less meat, but they’re still tasty if cooked right."

Shen Moer thought it over and grabbed some trotters, ribs, and a marrow bone for New Year’s soup. With a small family, taking a bit of each meant they could sample everything.

Uncle Ding swiftly cut the meat, tied it up with straw rope, and tossed it aside. Zhou Peijun weighed it, Ding Shouchang logged it, and then Zhou Peijun passed the meat over.

Shen Moer thanked them, and Fu Mingze picked up the straw rope. The two happily headed home.

After the New Year's pig was distributed, it felt like the New Year was just around the corner, and in the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.

The family of three worked together to prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, complete with fish, meat, and plump, fragrant dumplings.

Shen Shaoyuan brought out a glass bottle from his room: "Let’s all have some wine on New Year's Eve."

Fu Mingze glanced at it. The bottle was from a local distillery in Jiangbei County, not particularly fine wine, but in the countryside, people usually only drank homemade liquor, so this bottled wine was considered quite good. He and Shen Moer had drunk this on their wedding day, but Fu Mingze remembered that they had finished all the wine they bought that time, and he hadn’t seen Shen Shaoyuan buy any more since then.

When Shen Shaoyuan poured the wine and handed it to him, Fu Mingze took a gentle sniff. The wine smelled refreshing and sweet, quite different from the local liquor. He took a sip and found it mellow and smooth, with a long aftertaste. Fu Mingze was slightly surprised.

During the engagement banquet, he had noticed that the wine his father-in-law prepared was good, but the wine from that day couldn’t compare to today’s. This wine seemed to rival the best on the market.

"What kind of wine is this?" Fu Mingze couldn’t help but ask.

Shen Shaoyuan’s hand holding the wine cup paused slightly, and then he said without changing his expression, "This is wine I brewed myself."

Fu Mingze: "???"