Childhood tastes and good memories

Near the end of the year, a strong flavor of the year has filled the streets. Trees on both sides of the street and the walls of storefronts are covered with red lanterns with blessings and red couplets depicting Phnom Penh. Candy, fireworks, clothes, snacks and gifts are dazzling, which makes people overwhelmed. The whole street was ablaze, beaming and intoxicating.

When I was a child, I especially liked Chinese New Year. I can wear new clothes, eat good things that I can't usually eat, and most importantly, I can earn lucky money. At that time, the family's economy was not affluent. I am usually the successor of my brother's clothes, and I can only get preferential treatment during the Spring Festival. Visiting relatives is also my favorite thing. I put on my new clothes and walked dozens of miles with my parents to my aunt's house, so that I could earn rich lucky money. With this money, you can get bags of broken eggs, which are cheap and affordable, and the noise is not under the fireworks. The so-called broken egg is a small egg wrapped in paper that rings when it falls. This time is also the happiest time. A few friends were together to see who had the brightest voice, and laughter floated around with the noise. While adults are not looking, secretly buy a bunch of candied haws or marshmallows. The three brothers and sisters go to a deserted place, so you can improve your life.

In rural areas, from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household begins to celebrate the New Year. From the festival to the New Year's Eve, killing pigs, grinding bean curd, steaming rice cakes, frying fruits, cleaning and pasting couplets. ...................................................................................................................................

Killing pigs is the first thing every family prepares for the New Year. At that time, the professional killer in our village was my own uncle. Killing pigs and sheep is his unique skill. As long as there are weddings and funerals in the village, he will kill pigs and sheep, and he is not afraid of being dirty or tired. Every year, after the main family prepares a big pot of hot water, the uncle will come with a shiny black rotten smile, with knives of different lengths, stones for beating pig hair, hangers for hanging pig skin, hooks for hanging pork and so on. At that time, I liked to watch my uncle's every skillful action, especially the procedure before scalding pig hair, which made me admire him very much. He opened his mouth above the pig's feet, poked a long iron bar in the pig's body, pulled it out and put it there to blow hard. After a while, the whole pig gradually swelled up and finally tied up with a rope. Especially after the pig hair was fished out of the hot pot, a glistening pig crawled round and round, which was very cute, just like an cartoon, and it impressed me so far.

After the new year, my mother began to clean up every corner of the house, washing and wiping, removing all the stains from the previous year and welcoming the new year with a brand-new look. Steaming Chinese New Year's steamed bread and frying Chinese New Year's goods, the whole family is busy together and have a happy New Year.

What impressed me the most was the scene in grinding bean curd. At that time, there was no electricity in my hometown, and the most primitive operation was to make tofu with a stone mill. At this time, the young and middle-aged people in the village worked together door to door. They tied three long sticks evenly to the top of the stone mill. Two adults are on a stick, and the old one in the middle uses a spoon to add beans to the eyes above the stone mill. As long as the spoon shouts "hang up", everyone pulls and pushes hard, and the stone mill runs rapidly with the sound of "squeaking", and the fine tofu powder flows from the gap between the stone mills to the cauldron below. They talked and laughed, and Xing Lai's uncle shouted "My ancestral home is Hancheng County" twice. In this way, one by one, the spirit of unity, cooperation and mutual help makes me feel very precious. Now the electric equipment has replaced the original stone mill, but I still often think of when I was born and raised in the countryside.

Now I have entered middle age, but it is still so long to calm down and chew the childhood New Year. What remains in my memory is the warmth and joy of breaking eggs as soon as I fall, visiting relatives with Chinese New Year buns, killing pigs and flying around the stone mill, and having a happy New Year with my family. ...