For many children, the New Year means there are many delicious foods and new clothes. For housewives, the New Year means busy preparing New Year’s goods and cutting new clothes. For men who are heads of the family, the New Year is a disaster. At the end of the year, the general account must be calculated. If the year is good and the harvest is good, then you will have a happy year and no worries.

If the harvest is not good this year, or even if there is a serious illness or minor disaster at home, or if you borrow money from a wedding or a wedding, you will feel sad if you carry the debt on your back. You have to send some gifts to the creditors in advance, say some good things, and ask to push the accounts until next year.

But no matter how stress is, you always have to have a New Year atmosphere during the New Year. If you have money, prepare more New Year’s goods, and if you don’t have money, prepare less.

In the past, when they were in Bashang, Li Town, in the second half of the twelfth lunar month, they would start killing New Year pigs. Kill one of the fat pigs raised in their homes and invite their neighbors and relatives to have a meal, which is also considered as contact. Of course, most people who kill New Year pigs are not all left behind.

We made appointments with several relatives, each of which left some meat to make bacon, ham, and sausage. The rest were chosen to sell the remaining ones to the villagers.

If the family is in a bad situation, they are reluctant to kill the New Year pig, but sell it directly. Just wait for someone to kill the New Year pig, just weigh it a little, which is a little more economical.

Killing New Year pigs is quite lively. Whose family has killed pigs during the New Year also means that this family is living a good life this year.

However, this year, most people have no New Year pigs to kill. This year, the drought is severe and there is no harvest of food. Even the pigs fed with pigs are not easy to make and pigs are difficult to raise. Most people's pigs have been slaughtered long ago. Pigs are reluctant to kill and eat them themselves, and they can't afford to eat them. They are not willing to eat meat. They have sold them to the landlords and officials to exchange them for some relief grains.

The Li family lives in Xiangyang now, and of course the big house in the city does not raise pigs, but the Li family also has several farms outside the city of Xiangyang, and some pigs are raised in the farms. The Li family has already decided on these pigs and they were called Li family during the Chinese New Year.

The Li family didn't give them money, but instead exchanged them for food.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, the manager of the mansion takes his servants to the countryside to catch pigs and kill them. After the killing is done, the meat is brought back. There are so many people in the mansion, and the amount of chicken, duck, fish and meat needed for the Chinese New Year is quite large. Although it is a period of famine, the Li family will not worry about these. If even the Li family can't eat fish and meat, millions of people will probably starve to death in the Tang Dynasty.

"Kill the New Year pig, make sticky bean buns, make tofu, make rice cakes, make dumplings, steamed buns, and steamed buns......"

Zhao Siniang, the head of the inner courtyard, sat down and reported to Li Chao and Cui Yingying who were holding the child. Zheng Wanyan had just given birth, and Hong Shi was still a few months away, but her belly was not small. Li Chao and Shisanniang no longer let Hong Shi take care of the family affairs and let her concentrate on raising the baby.

Qi Niang was busy taking care of the children. She didn't care about the family affairs, but she always left it to her daughter-in-law. Now Cui Yingying is pregnant again, so the family affairs are all handed over to Zhao Siniang.

Last time Cui Yingying smiled and said she wanted Li Chao to accept Zhao Siniang. That was very sincere, but Li Chao refused. No, because of anything else, Li Chao just felt that this was very disrespectful to Zhao Siniang.

A few years ago, Li Chao and Zhao Siniang did have a good impression of each other, but there was no further development. Later, Zhao Siniang entered the Li Mansion, completely squandering her original idea, and devoted herself to being an internal manager of the Li Mansion, and strictly guarding her relationship with Li Chao.

In the past two years, she worked diligently and was very attentive. Now she has been accepted as her adopted daughter and has a special status in the Li family. Li Chao intends to introduce a husband to Si Niang, but she does not accept it.

If Li Chao said he wanted to take her as a concubine at this time, it would be a kind of pity. Without feelings, this practice is very disrespectful, it is pitiful and charity. Zhao Siniang is a very good woman, and Li Chao doesn't want to do this.

After that, if you find the right person, it is better to help match it.

During the Chinese New Year, there are a lot of things to prepare, and eating is definitely a major theme of the Chinese New Year.

No matter rich or poor, you always have to prepare something like this and that during the Chinese New Year. The Li family has foodies like Li Chao, so they are more concerned about these snacks during the Chinese New Year.

I just made rice cakes at home, and it took tens of thousands of pounds at one pound. Of course, it was not enough. Now the servants went to the farm to kill New Year pigs and donkeys. But there was a lot of food for the New Year.

Sticky bean buns are also a good thing. They are made with brown rice and bean stuffing. Many people make them during the Chinese New Year. The richest ones are as high as hundreds of kilograms, and the fewer ones are also as low as a few kilograms. Moreover, this thing is not afraid of being bad and can be eaten for a winter.

In the south, a rice fruit is also made, ground with japonica rice, and rolled into a ball the size of a ping-pong ball. After steaming, wrap it with a layer of bean flour on the outside. The bean flour is the powder ground after the soybeans are fried. The white rice fruit has a layer of yellow bean crumbs on the outside. If you stick some sugar when eating, it is a different delicacy from rice cakes. Li Chao has eaten this rice fruit called bean crumb cakes before.

The sticky bean buns in the north and the bean crumbs in the south are all delicious.

"Make these two more sticky bean buns and bean crumbs, so make them tens of thousands of pounds. It's okay to give gifts during the Chinese New Year, and you can eat them yourself. Anyway, you can eat them for a long time and it won't break."

Li Chao is very concerned about food, not only because of his love of eating, but because of these things, it makes him feel the strong taste, which is also a kind of emotion.

"You also need to fry some of the mozzarella, make some sesame candy slices, frozen rice candy slices, popcorn candy slices. Fry more melon seeds, pine nuts, and hazelnuts." Li Chao pinched his chin, with a bright look in his eyes, and told Zhao Siniang a series of snacks for the New Year.

"Make a few more fried mozzarellas, remember to make some sugar-wrapped outside."

Cui Yingying teased her eldest son while listening to Li Chao's prodigality, and ignored this one with 10,000 pounds and 8,000 pounds. Although this year, the Li family's income is growing more and more. The Li family's money shops and pawn shops have been opened in more than 100 states in the Tang Dynasty. In the next few years, we plan to have more than 300 states in the 17th roads of the Tang Dynasty, and each state has a Li Ji money shop and pawn shop.

In addition, the Li family's business is becoming more and more prosperous. The Li family is in tea shops in various parts of the south, ranches in Longyou, salt farms in Shuofang, sugar factories in Lingnan, porcelain cellars in Jingdezhen on West Road in Jiangnan, paper mills, book printing workshops, newspapers, and wineries that have been temporarily suspended.

Even if the farms in various places have lost money this year, it will be a drop in the bucket for the Li family.

Now that Hanjing is under construction, Li Jizhai has directly contracted several major projects in it, and even more than a dozen workshops in Hanjing City are directly contracted by the Li family. The Li family directly owns the property rights of more than a dozen street shops.

A large amount of investment was invested in the construction of many neighbors in Hanjing, and investment in Sihai Company, etc., but for the Li family, it was nothing. The Li family now has no match for the operation of capital.

An ordinary farmer, who has been in the year, still knows that he has to cut more than ten kilograms of meat to buy some fish, pull a few feet of flower cloth for his wife, and buy a pair of new shoes for his children.

What is the Li family’s current home business?

During the Chinese New Year, you can make more at home. In addition to eating at home, you can also give it to others. The ones you make are more reliable and reliable than those you buy in the market outside.

"Make some more tofu and make more tofu during the Chinese New Year."

The New Year is approaching day by day.

Prime Minister Li Chao has no annual leave and still has to go to the palace to discuss matters every day.

"The New Year is coming soon, and the Hanjing construction site will also have a half-month vacation, so that everyone can have a relaxing New Year. I suggest that all regions can take out batches of grain and give each household a sum of New Year's food. Distribute according to population, and not by households, and each person must be given at least one dou." Li Chao proposed in the Political Affairs Hall.

"After the New Year, I'm just a day?" Changsun Wuji, who came back from Shuofang, recently entered the Political Affairs Hall to discuss matters, after all, he still had the title of Pingzhang on his head.

Several prime ministers were a little surprised by Li Chao's proposal. One person is a bulldozer, and 10 million people will have to pay one million stones? There is no food enough, and it is so luxurious for the New Year. What should I do after the New Year?

Next year, the famine will be even worse.

"I also know that the food is still tight, but everyone has been suffering for half a year. It's very hard to survive. Now, we have to make it easier for the New Year. I will give you some New Year benefits to give you so that you can have a good New Year. Many people are hungry, especially the old and weak. The little bit of relief food they receive every day is almost starving to death. There are no wild vegetables and fruits during the New Year, and life is not easy. Now I can give some food to give you some nutrition."

"People's hearts are stable, and disaster prevention and relief are easier. Now there are so many hungry people, everyone is hungry and suppressed. If they are dissatisfied, they will be like a river breaking the dam."

Li Shimin nodded. He has lost a lot of weight recently. He is not short of food, but he just can't eat it. After hearing Li Chao's words, he nodded, "Wen Yuan said something makes sense. The New Year is celebrated once a year, and this year is the first year after the disaster. We must let everyone celebrate the New Year, let alone let anyone starve to death. As Wen Yuan said, everyone will give New Year's food rewards, each person will give each person a bucket."

The emperor opened his mouth and the matter was settled.

After the discussion, I returned home. I had just changed my clothes and the housekeeper came to report that the prince had come down.

Cheng Qian came with a lot of gifts. He was not only Li Chao's student, but also Li Chao's prospective son-in-law. The New Year is coming soon, so this New Year's gift is of course indispensable.

Especially this year was the first New Year of engagement, Li Shimin and his wife asked Cheng Qian to prepare a generous gift. After pulling a lot of cars over, Li Chao took the gift list from Cheng Qian.

It's indeed abundant.

Basically, it was taken out by Li Shimin from the inner treasury, tributes from various countries and places, the beautiful scenery in Shu, white porcelain from Hebei, etc., and even tea, sugar, and wine tributed by the Li family to the court. After a walk, they were sent by the prince as a gift for the adultery.

In addition to these, there were actually ten cows, one hundred sheep, whale meat, etc. in the gift, which was so rich that it was unreasonable.
Chapter completed!