Chapter 71 New Year's Eve Dumplings

Chapter 71 New Year's Eve Dumplings

At first, the villagers said that Xie Wanniang was obviously not cut out for work, and that Jiang Yuan was blinded by lust and had lost his mind by spending so much money on doctors, food, clothing and shelter for her.

Later, Xie Wanniang began to harvest and process medicinal herbs. The villagers discovered that she was not entirely useless and could no longer be judged by the phrase "good at nothing but good at spending money." However, they still talked about Jiang Yuan behind his back because he was particularly willing to spend money on her.

Some, lacking any sense of propriety, even went directly to Wang Xiaozhi, adopting a hypocritical posture of "I'm doing this all for your brother's good," and condescendingly lecturing her.

They tried to change Jiang Yuan through Wang Xiaozhi, hoping to stop him from spending money on Xie Wanniang so readily. However, Wang Xiaozhi, who had always cared deeply for Jiang Yuan, remained completely unmoved this time.

Several women chattered on and on, but instead of showing any distress and going to Jiang Yuan to advise him to save money, Wang Xiaozhi turned around and lectured them in the same condescending manner.

"You don't need to worry about how my brother spends his money. You should spend your time worrying about your own family instead."

"Even if there are no other ways to make money, it would be good if you went up the mountain to dig up some wild vegetables! The more baskets you dig, the less cold water your family will have to drink."

"Or you could mend some old clothes for the kids at home. No matter how young they are, they can't always be running around outside with their bare bottoms showing, can they?"

"Oh dear, please don't take offense at my gossip, but I'm just worried about you because I see you're not doing well."

"......"

The boomerang, after flying around once, returned along the same path and accurately struck a few villagers who were watching the commotion, causing them great pain and making their faces turn pale.

They wanted to turn against each other, but Wang Xiaozhi was just giving them a taste of their own medicine. Even if they started arguing, they had no grounds for argument with the other villagers and the village head.

The group left dejectedly, seething with anger, and then began gossiping about Jiang Yuan even more fiercely.

Whatever Jiang Yuan bought for Xie Wanniang, they would occasionally see it and then spread the word throughout Mingfu Village.

In particular, the fact that Jiang Yuan specifically bought candied hawthorns, something only children eat, for Xie Wanniang made them laugh when they saw it.

However, villagers also crave novelty when spreading gossip. These people always harp on similar things, repeating them over and over again without getting tired of it. Soon, the villagers get tired of hearing it and stop listening.

As for Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang, the two people involved, they were busy making money and always maintained an indifferent attitude towards the rumors in the village, neither asking about them nor caring about them.

As for Wang Xiaozhi, she had already experienced firsthand the villagers' ability to spread gossip and distort the truth, so even when she heard these rumors, she didn't take them seriously.

As long as those people don't gossip about her brother to her face, she won't fight with them over such highly untrue gossip.

The women who were spreading the gossip had talked themselves hoarse, but Jiang Yuan and his family remained unmoved, continuing to live a comfortable and enviable life.

And so, their New Year's Eve dinner today successfully confused many villagers in the vicinity.

***

When a burst of firecrackers rang out from afar in the village, Xie Wanniang clapped her hands, stood up, and went to the kitchen with Jiang Yuan and Xiao Yang to cook dumplings.

Hao Yu wasn't idle either. He first ran to the yard and lit the firecrackers he had prepared beforehand. Then he moved the snacks on the table to the cabinet and wiped the table clean with a rag.

After Xie Wanniang and the others finished cooking the dumplings, Hao Yu ran to the kitchen to help serve them.

The plump, white dumplings lay in large bowls and plates, looking so appetizing that they whetted one's appetite.

Not to mention that Xie Wanniang also scooped up a bowl of pickled garlic, mixed a basin of sweet and sour radish, prepared a dipping sauce of soy sauce and minced garlic, and then brought the bottle of aged vinegar directly to the table.

With these side dishes and dipping sauces, even people who originally had no appetite could finish ten or eight dumplings, not to mention those who already had a good appetite.

Xiao Yang is still young, so Xie Wan Niang didn't dare let her eat too many dumplings in the middle of the night. "She can only have this one bowl. If she wants more, we can make more after the New Year."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, sister." Xiao Yang swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.

Xie Wanniang patted her head, "Good girl."

The little girl's eyes crinkled with a smile when she was praised.

After Hao Yu, Jiang Yuan, and Xie Wanniang had all started eating, she carefully picked up a dumpling, blew on it slightly, and eagerly took a small bite.

"Delicious!" *3

The three unanimous praises made Xie Wanniang smile as well, "If it's delicious, we'll eat it more often in the future."

After saying that, she picked up a piece of sweet and sour shredded radish with her chopsticks.

Hehe, it's sweet and sour, so delicious.

Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu scooped some minced garlic and soy sauce into their own bowls with spoons. Their eating habits were very similar, pure Northern flavors.

Xiaoyang also likes to dip dumplings in minced garlic and soy sauce, but she wanted to eat one plain first, so she didn't add any dipping sauce to her bowl right away.

Unlike them, Xie Wanniang prefers to dip her dumplings in vinegar, except when eating dumplings with sauerkraut filling.

"Hmm." When Xiao Yang ate her second dumpling, she found a red date that Xie Wan Niang had pitted and stuffed into the dumpling wrapper. She looked down and realized that she had just swallowed half a red date. She immediately tilted the remaining half of the dumpling slightly towards Xie Wan Niang, and said excitedly, "Sister, I ate a date!"

Xie Wanniang patted her head, "This means that our Xiaoyang will have a sweet and wonderful life like a date next year."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yang beamed with joy, "That must be because I've always followed my sister, and she's made me live a good life."

Xie Wanniang couldn't help but chuckle, and gently tapped her forehead with her right index finger, "Sweet little mouth."

Before she finished speaking, Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu were eating dumplings filled with peanuts one after the other.

Because peanuts are small, they are easily overlooked. Xie Wanniang's peanut dumplings contain three peanuts in each one, making it impossible to swallow them whole.

After them, Xie Wanniang was the first to eat the dumpling with a copper coin inside.

When Xie Wanniang bit into the dumpling and found a hard, flat coin inside, her smile widened.

Compared to the sweet life and longevity symbolized by red dates and peanuts, what she wants most for next year is the abundant wealth symbolized by copper coins.

Following her, Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan also ate dumplings with copper coins inside, while Xiao Yang ate one with red date filling and one with peanut filling.

After Xiao Yang put down his chopsticks, Xie Wan Niang and Jiang Yuan each got to eat one with red date filling and one with peanut filling, while Hao Yu only got to eat one with red date filling.