Chapter 378: A Fight Breaks Out (Part 3)
Chapter 378: A Fight Breaks Out (Part 3)
Seeing Tang Xin's hesitation, Xin'er explained, "We've already had lunch at home, so there's no warm food left. Take these buns back and heat them up, and this cotton jacket is quite warm. Put it on and keep yourself from getting chilled."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xin couldn't deny that she was being mistaken for a beggar. Whether it was anger or humiliation, she wanted to hurl the items back in their faces. However, clutching the soft cotton jacket, she felt a slight warmth seeping through her body, and she couldn't bring herself to do it!
Xin'er didn't know what Tang Xin was thinking as she stood there silently. Assuming she was shy, Xin smiled and said nothing, pulling Li Yan inside.
Watching their figures disappear into the courtyard, Tang Xin held the cotton jacket tightly in her arms, her eyes burning with a certain fiery determination...
Soon, it was Laba Festival. The day before, Mo Qingze had returned home, and Li Zhong had entrusted the rice mill affairs to Tie Tou and Wang Pangtou, staying back to help at home.
There were two main tasks for Laba Festival: one was the kinship recognition feast to entertain relatives and friends, and the other was to make Laba porridge for the festival. Combining these two tasks made for a busy day.
Luckily, there weren't too many guests invited, so three or four tables were sufficient. Mo Yan and the others had prepared ingredients and utensils ahead of time to avoid mixing up the feast with the Laba ritual.
Making Laba porridge required a bit of effort, as it wasn't just for their own consumption but also to be sent to relatives and friends. Those who could afford it would make extra to give to poor families, accumulating merit for themselves.
Mo Yan had planned to make extra Laba porridge to give to the poor in the city, but with the kinship recognition feast coinciding, they didn't have the energy to do both. Thus, she had Tie Tou and Wang Pangtou prepare some in the shop to give to those who came to collect rice at noon every day.
The main ingredients for Laba porridge included japonica rice, glutinous rice, Job's tears, Chinese yam, walnuts, pine nuts, red dates, and other items. Mo Family had prepared these two days in advance, and early that morning, they busied themselves making Laba porridge.
Making Laba porridge wasn't difficult, and Mo Yan made two large pots of it. The porridge was served in large bowls and carried by Xin'er and a few others in baskets to deliver to people like Yang Bao, Lin Yong, and Cai shi Ra, who were close friends.
Most of the porridge from the two pots was distributed, with the remainder kept for their own consumption. Usually, the leftover porridge symbolized surplus for the coming year.
Upon receiving Mo Family's Laba porridge, Wu shi brought her own Laba porridge and her eldest daughter, Mo Dani, to help.
Seeing that the other relatives hadn't come, Mo Yan casually asked.
Perhaps because of previous experiences, the men of the Mo family knew they wouldn't be welcome even if they went, so they had no intention of causing trouble. Niu shi was unwilling to accept this and planned to bring her two sons over for a meal, only to be stopped by Mo Yonglu with harsh words.
Hong shi also couldn't bear to miss out on Mo Family's good food. She had already taken Mo Yongxi out of the house and was harshly scolded by Elder Mo, warning her not to come near Mo Family or else he would break the legs of both mother and daughter.
Hong shi no longer dared to argue with Elder Mo and didn't want to miss out on this advantage, so she let Wu shi bring Mo Yongxi and other grandchildren to Mo Family. Wu shi didn't hesitate, refusing to bring anyone but capable Mo Dani over.
Mo Yan didn't say anything after hearing that and let Xin'er go to Wu shi's house to pick up the san Ni'ers for dinner. Elder Mo and the others were better off not coming to avoid causing trouble.
It didn't take long for those who received Mo Family's Laba porridge to bring their own Laba porridge over. In addition, each person brought a pair of large and small shoes or socks, which were gifts for Yun Zhao and his sister.
Although these shoes and socks were plain and made of coarse cotton, they moved Yun Zhao and his sister deeply. They joyfully thanked them.
The two little ones were well-mannered, especially Yun Zhao, whose speech was not like that of ordinary children. Seeing him affectionately hugging his shoulder, he looked like a smart person. When he saw that Zhen'er was close to his older brother, he understood why Mo Qingze had done so.
In front of everyone, Yun Zhao and his sister knelt down respectfully before Mo Qingze, kowtowing three times and respectfully calling him "godfather."
Mo Qingze was so happy that he couldn't see his teeth. He opened two wooden boxes on the table and took out Long life Beautiful bag.
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