You need to raise your pet using a system [Era]

Chapter 264 Going Home for the New Year

The 27th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Lu Yuanqing woke up at the crack of dawn.

Life is becoming more and more regular.

People who used to stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. would never sleep have long since become like the elderly, with regular sleep patterns and waking up at the appointed time.

When I have something on my mind, I can't sleep well.

Lu Yuanqing, who had just turned thirty, paused in his steps as he put on his shoes.

He must still be young!

I almost thought I was seventy or eighty years old!

I opened the door, brushed my teeth and washed my face, then stretched towards the gray sky.

creak.

A door opened.

Lu Yuanqing turned his head and saw Lu Mingnan walking out wearing a cotton coat.

"You're awake!" Lu Yuanqing said.

"Hmm!" Lu Mingnan said in a slightly sleepy voice, "Good morning, Third Uncle! I'll go boil some water first, and then we'll make noodles when Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt arrive."

After saying that, he asked in a questioning tone, "Third Uncle, how was the noodles for breakfast this morning?"

Lu Yuanqing readily agreed: "Sure!" As someone who doesn't cook, he usually doesn't comment on such matters.

That's right.

Even after all these years, Lu Yuanqing is still the one at home who "doesn't need to be fed".

Well, it's not as serious as people say. He just can't cook.

However, looking at Lu Mingnan yawning as he headed towards the kitchen...

Lu Yuanqing narrowed his eyes slightly. Could he be thankful that there were quite a few people in the Lu family who could cook?

And regardless of gender.

Only Lu Mingdong and he couldn't manage the kitchen; the food they made was so bad that even pigs would dislike it.

This is how people can continue cooking even after everyone leaves home; otherwise, Lu Yuanqing doesn't know how miserable his life would be.

Yes, it's time for the younger kids in the family to learn how to cook.

Lu Yuanqing rested his chin on his hand and made a decision so simply.

There are three young children in the family, and because they are young, they are spoiled a bit.

During the busy farming season, even six-year-old Lu Mingnan had to stand on a stool to help with cooking.

It's time to learn.

Anyway, I have to learn how to cook!

So, starting next year, Cheng Xiaobao and his friends can try learning to cook.

Just as Lu Yuanqing made this decision, he saw Lu Yuanbo and Xie Qianyu walking over.

Lu Yuanbo was still holding a handful of pea shoots in his hand.

I imagine he would go to his private plot as soon as he got up.

"Xiao Nan is boiling water in the kitchen. Perfect timing, we can cook the noodles now," Lu Yuanqing said with a smile.

Upon seeing Lu Yuanqing, the two smiled and said, "Okay, let's go straight to the kitchen."

Lu Yuanbo: "Brother, you can go and wake Xiaobao and the others up."

After saying that, Lu Yuanbo took his wife to the kitchen to help make breakfast.

Lu Yuanqing pursed his lips and turned to wake people up.

What a sin!

You should know that when he was a child, he hated sleeping in and being woken up by adults.

Especially in the dead of winter, when there's nothing to do, I just want to stay in my warm bed and enjoy the comfort. The worst thing is when an adult suddenly pulls off the covers.

I never imagined that I would become the parent I used to hate the most.

Lu Yuanqing curled the corners of his lips, thinking about how cruel it would be, how he couldn't bear it, but his hand did not hesitate at all when he pulled off the blanket.

"Ah!! It's cold, Uncle..."

"Uncle Three..."

Cheng Xiaobao and Lu Mingzhong slept together.

It's warm, and the two brothers have a good relationship.

The blanket was pulled off, and before I even opened my eyes, I already knew who did it.

Lu Yuanqing chuckled, "Get up quickly, the noodles are already being made. Get up and have breakfast."

For children in later generations, breakfast is easily given up compared to a warm bed.

Moreover, the Lu family lived a good life. Although they didn't live a particularly luxurious life, they could often enjoy the foods that they used to envy and could only dream of.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't care that much about a bowl of noodles.

But even at this age, children are still just as enthusiastic when they hear about food.

So even if I can't stay in bed, it's a little uncomfortable.

But when they heard Lu Yuanqing say that the kitchen was already cooking noodles, the two people on the bed opened their eyes and started getting dressed.

"Third Uncle, we're up. Go and call Xiao Bei!"

“Yes, Uncle, Xiao Bei prefers to stay in bed longer, so you should take off her blanket too.”

Lu Yuanqing raised an eyebrow.

Why would someone who's been rained on tear someone else's umbrella?

Lu Yuanqing shook his head speechlessly, "You guys get up now!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

It's amazing again that someone who can't cook has to complete the task of waking people up every day.

Lu Mingzhong is right, the hardest person to wake up in the family is Lu Mingbei.

I wonder if this little girl was the reincarnation of the goddess of sleep.

Mingming and Xiaobao, two boys, sleep together and chat for a long time before going to sleep at night, but in the morning, they still get up properly as soon as the covers are lifted.

But since he only has one room to himself and no one to chat with at night, he definitely goes to bed early, but he still seems to have trouble getting up in the morning.

Lu Yuanqing couldn't just go into her room and pull back the covers, so he would knock on the door and call for her every time.

Bang bang bang.

"Xiao Bei, wake up! Breakfast is almost ready!"

A familiar scene appeared.

A groggy voice came from inside: "Third Uncle, I want to sleep a little longer, so I won't eat breakfast."

Lu Yuanqing: Look, this is what it means to not care about a meal if you're just looking to sleep.

"Your aunt and her family are arriving today. Didn't you insist on going to town to pick them up?"

"How could we possibly get there in the morning? We'll definitely arrive in the afternoon. I'll get up later."

They started haggling.

Lu Yuanqing continued, "Get up, eat your meal, and then go back to sleep."

"No, Uncle! I don't want to leave my warm bed."

At this moment, Cheng Xiaobao and Lu Mingzhong both got up and came out.

Seeing that Lu Yuanqing was still complaining about having trouble getting up, he immediately said, "Third Uncle, just go in and pull off the covers! Let her be the last one to get up every day, she's so lazy."

"That's right, Uncle, if you won't come, I'll do it."

With that, Lu Mingzhong opened the door and went inside.

Cheng Xiaobao, also enjoying the spectacle, followed behind.

Lu Yuanqing shrugged.

Great, he doesn't need to wake people up anymore.

Lu Yuanqing turned and left with a sense of relief.

Sure enough, after taking only a few steps, a commotion broke out inside.

Is this some kind of daily morning tradition at the Lu family's house?!

Lu's breakfast is quite good.

Each person gets a bowl of white noodles, topped with pea shoots.

They even gave each person a fried egg.

After finishing his meal, Lu Yuanqing felt warm all over.

"Third Uncle, when will Aunt and the others arrive? I need to go pick them up!"

"I also need to go!"

"I want to go too. I want to see my younger brother and sister."

Lu Yuanbo couldn't hold back and said, "What are you going to do? I only have one tractor. If I take you all, what will happen to them?"

"Just wait at home."

The three little ones pouted, looking aggrieved.

Lu Yuanqing chuckled, "So eager to get things done? Come with me to my great-uncle's house to make tofu later."

"Ah!!! Okay then!!!"

…………

The most famous thing here is stone-ground tofu pudding.

First, soak the soybeans until they reach the appropriate consistency, then add water and scoop them into the small holes of the graphite one spoonful at a time.

The ground soybeans are filtered through a large gauze to remove the soybean residue.

Then put the separated white soybean water into a large pot and start cooking.

All the steps involved were completed at Lu Guobin's home.

The remaining step is to carry it home in a bucket and cook it.

"Uncle, Aunt, come over for some tofu pudding later!" Lu Yuanqing called out without turning his head, carrying the filtered soybean water.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" Zhang Panlan said with a smile.

The house still needs some tidying up.

Turning her head, Zhang Panlan said to Lu Guobin, "Just clean up here for me. You go over and help Yuan Qing so he doesn't burn the bottom of the pot again."

After all, Lu Yuanqing has such a 'glorious' history.

Lu Guobin had obviously thought of that too, and said with a smile, "Okay, then I'll go over and keep an eye on it."

Even though Lu Yuanqing is quite old now and has made the Lu family very prosperous over the years, in Lu Guobin and Zhang Panlan's eyes, he is still a child.

She still didn't trust him and wanted to keep an eye on everything he did.

This might be the same reason why, for elders, younger generations seem to never grow up.

Lu Yuanqing carried the buckets home and had just poured the soybean water into a clean pot. Before he could even call Lu Mingnan to start the fire, he saw Lu Guobin.

Lu Yuanqing smiled and said to Lu Mingnan, "Uncle is here. You go out and do your own thing. I'll start the fire!"

With Lu Guobin helping to watch over the big pot, he immediately changed jobs.

And you know what? In the dead of winter, everyone wants to be the one tending the fire.

Lu Mingnan understood this principle and quickly left.

"Uncle, thank you for your help!" Lu Yuanqing said with a smile.

Lu Guobin skillfully picked up the large spatula from the side of the pot and said, "What's the trouble?"

"Third Uncle, we brought back the chili peppers."

The chattering noises rushed out the door and into the kitchen.

"Third Uncle, chili peppers."

"Third Uncle, garlic."

"And houttuynia cordata!!"

They complete their tasks in a whirlwind, arriving and departing just as quickly.

Lu Yuanqing shook his head speechlessly, found a bamboo strip, skewered the green peppers one by one on it, and then put them into the stove that was burning brightly.

In an instant, the green chili peppers were charred by the 'sparks'.

The unique aroma of pepper then wafted out.

Lu Yuanqing had excellent eyesight. He stared at each chili pepper skewered on the bamboo strips, and as soon as the flame touched them, he immediately used fire tongs to remove them.

"These chilies are most fragrant when roasted over a fire like this!" Lu Guobin, who was busy at the stove, sniffed.

Lu Yuanqing was busy extinguishing the burning bamboo sticks when he heard this, and couldn't help but say, "It really smells good. It will be even less flavorful with tofu pudding later. I hope Xiao Huan and the others can catch it soon!"

Otherwise you'd be missing out on this delicious treat!

Lu Guobin also laughed, "Did Yuanbo go to town to pick them up?"

Lu Yuanqing said, "They went, they went very early. I told them it was still early, even if they took the earliest bus, they wouldn't arrive until noon! Just go according to the time, but they wouldn't listen, and dragged Qianyu to town!"

He had a 90 percent reason to suspect that the kid just wanted to wander around town with his wife.

Lu Yuanbo: That's called a date! A date!

Lu Guobin laughed heartily: "That kid!"

He used to look silly, but I never imagined he would grow up to look like this and marry a cultured wife. He's really hit the jackpot.

Lu Yuanqing smiled; he was very busy.

While keeping the fire in the stove burning, they also had to pick up the cooked chilies, dust them off, and put them into the stone pot.

Finally, I added garlic.

Lu Yuanqing held the stone pestle in his right hand and placed his left hand on the mouth of the stone bowl, covering most of it, and then began to move his right hand.

The chili peppers pounded this way are very fragrant. When paired with houttuynia cordata and salt, they can be used to dip tofu pudding. Lu Yuanqing can finish a whole bowl of tofu pudding in one go without stopping.

Boiling tofu pudding and pressing tofu are both things that require a lot of patience.

Lu Guobin stood at the stove, busy for a long time, and finally said, "Bring me a bowl, you can eat tofu pudding now."

People in the countryside don't keep their voices quiet, so they were talking in the kitchen! Lu Mingnan and the others, who had been waiting in the main room, quickly ran into the kitchen.

"Can I have some tofu pudding now, Grandpa? I want a big bowl."

"I'm starving, I want to eat two bowls."

"I also want……"

Lu Guobin was in the best mood when facing them. Upon hearing this, he immediately smiled and said, "Okay, okay, bring me a bowl, I'll scoop some more for you."

Sitting on the fire bench, Lu Yuanqing said speechlessly, "Uncle, don't scoop too much. Everyone has big eyes but small stomachs. It'll be a waste if they can't finish it."

Damn it, we were going to use it to make tofu! What kind of logic is it to eat it all!

"Uncle's chili sauce is always so fragrant. I can eat a lot of food with it," Cheng Xiaobao praised sincerely.

“Yes, yes!” Lu Mingbei and his sister echoed.

Lu Yuanqing: "..." So in the end, she blamed him for making the seasoning too delicious?

Just then, the sound of a tractor came from outside.

Immediately, the faces of everyone in the kitchen lit up with joy.

"It's Fourth Uncle who's back, and Auntie is back too."

Lu Yuanqing felt that in the blink of an eye, the kitchen had grown larger, and Lu Mingnan and the others had disappeared at the kitchen doorway.

"Wow, auntie, older sister..."

"Ah ah ah..."

Lu Yuanqing couldn't sit still any longer, especially after hearing the uproar outside. He threw down the fire tongs and hurriedly went outside.

After many years, the Lu family has reunited, and there are even more people now.

Where there is a home, there is warmth.

Everyone had big smiles on their faces, chatting and laughing while eating tofu pudding.

Lu Yuanqing held Xiao Ling'er tightly, reluctant to let go.

The little girl is very pretty and well-behaved.

Disturbed by everyone's loud noises, she just wrinkled her nose and went back to sleep, sleeping so soundly that her little mouth was slightly open.

While eating tofu pudding, Lu Yuanhuan talked to Xie Qianyu. He glanced up casually and saw his daughter sleeping soundly in her third brother's arms.

"Hey, is Third Brother asleep? Let me put her on the bed! It's tiring for you to carry her like this."

My baby is over a year old, and my arms are getting sore from holding him.