Chapter 201 The Taoist Priest Comes to Celebrate the New Year

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Niu Xiuhua sat in the courtyard and wailed loudly.

It's a bit unlucky.

Song Chunxue stood three meters away from her, looking down at her. "Don't mess with me anymore. I'm no longer the Song Chunxue you used to ridicule and humiliate. Niu Xiuhua, we used to be enemies, and now our enmity is even deeper."

She pointed at her with a rolling pin and said, "If you're not afraid of dying, keep crying. If you don't want your son and your husband to carry you back, you'd better hurry back home for the New Year."

Niu Xiuhua reluctantly got up from the ground, howling loudly in an attempt to attract the attention of others.

"Fourth brother, go outside and get two donkey dung balls to gag her," Song Chunxue ordered in a deep voice. "If that doesn't work, have Li Dazui take his mother-in-law back."

Niu Xiuhua immediately shut her mouth.

Song Chunxue wiped the rolling pin. "You have ears too, don't you? If you don't behave, I'll cut it off today and use it to make a dish for your son and daughter-in-law."

Niu Xiuhua's eyes widened like a cow's, and she pinched her ears in lingering fear.

The third child clenched his fist and pressed it to his lips, trying hard to suppress his laughter; his lips were even turning blue from biting them.

"If you know what's good for you, get lost. From now on, avoid me if you see me." Song Chunxue frowned and warned her, "You should have heard that I beat up those two foul-mouthed guys from Shangchuan in the car. Next time, that's what will happen to you. I won't do much. I'll just throw you into the water cellar and let you curse to your heart's content before I pull you out."

The third child and the fourth child turned around, as if they were seeing their mother for the first time.

"Remember this, don't go to other people's houses alone looking for a beating in the future. I have four sons. A gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years. If you dare to mess with me, I won't suffer any loss now. I'll burn your house down in the middle of the night, believe it or not?"

Niu Xiuhua walked out of the courtyard with a sidelong glance, afraid that Song Chunxue would kick her.

"Sanwa, keep an eye on her, and don't come in until she's far away," Song Chunxue said irritably. "She might even steal our family's troublemaker."

"..." Niu Xiuhua was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder.

She was careless.

The rumors are true. Song Chunxue is really sharp-tongued these days. She'll do anything without hesitation, and when she gets aggressive, she'll even stomp on a passing dog.

Sanwa and Lao Si stood by the roadside, watching Niu Xiuhua climb halfway up the mountain before returning.

The two brothers found it increasingly amusing, squatting by the door and slapping their thighs, laughing incessantly as if quail eggs had rolled away.

Song Chunxue said irritably, "What are you laughing at? Put up the door gods and come in for dinner."

"Wait a minute, we haven't received the paper yet." Sanwa's smile faded. "How about I go with Lao Si to fetch the ancestors home for the New Year, and then we'll put up the door gods?"

Receiving paper money involves burning paper money and yellow paper at the door to invite the Jiang family ancestors to celebrate the New Year at home.

On the evening of the third day of the Lunar New Year, burn some more paper money to send them off.

It's like the three-day Lunar New Year celebrations; even the deceased are at home for the holiday, so you can't say anything unlucky.

“Why not? Go quickly.” Song Chunxue said seriously, “Then I’ll scoop some noodles and offer them on the table in the main room so that our ancestors can also have something good to eat.”

Sanwa nodded with a smile, "My dad loves chicken blood noodles the most."

The fourth son didn't believe in these things and frowned, saying, "You two are really superstitious. Who knows if they're still around after they've passed away?"

Song Chunxue glared at him, "It's the New Year, don't say things you shouldn't. Just keep it to yourself."

"Oh." The fourth brother nodded and followed the third brother outside to burn paper money.

Their family doesn't have the custom of eating wontons on New Year's Eve, and they think chicken and chicken blood noodles taste much better than wontons.

Just as Sanwa and the others finished burning the paper money and turned to go back into the house, they saw someone walking this way on the sloping road.

"You look familiar. Can you tell who it is?"

Sanwa looked closely and said, "Judging from his clothes, he looks like a Taoist priest. Could he be a Taoist master?"

"Huh?" The fourth brother exclaimed in surprise, "Mother's senior brother? He wouldn't be coming to our house for the New Year, would he?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. He has a lucky charm on him that Mom hasn't learned how to use yet." Sanwa patted his shoulder. "It's good to have more people for the New Year."

Thinking of the lucky charm, the fourth brother nodded vigorously, "That's right, that's right, very good, very good, this is our family's honored guest."

Song Chunxue finished cutting the chicken blood noodles, carried the large firewood basket out of the yard, and immediately saw the Taoist priest talking to the two children.

"Senior brother?"

“Junior brother, I was just passing through this place. I originally planned to rush to Dongshan Mountain to celebrate the New Year, but I am the only one there this year. The monks are all vegetarian, and I don’t want to celebrate the New Year with them. So I’ve shamelessly come to celebrate the New Year with you. Would you be willing to take me in?”

It was clear that the Taoist priest was a little embarrassed; he clasped his hands together, looking rather docile, like a tabby cat.

"Yes, yes, I was just about to ask you a few questions. Your arrival is perfect, otherwise we would have already put up door gods."

"That's quite a coincidence. If the door gods were up, I wouldn't be able to eat properly even after entering the courtyard," Master Zhang said with a smile. "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."

"Come inside quickly, I'll go downstairs, the food will be ready soon."

"Alright." Master Zhang flicked his whisk and walked inside with a big smile.

After putting up the door gods, the two brothers went into the courtyard. One went to the north room to entertain the Taoist priest, and the other went to the kitchen to help.

Before long, the chicken was served.

Song Chunxue also made two cold dishes with yellow mustard greens and bitter greens. They decided to eat the meat first and then the noodles.

"Eat more, senior brother. Are you looking for something around here again?" Song Chunxue wondered if he was planning to dig up someone's grave again.

"No, I was invited to Gaojiazhuang behind the mountain to do some research for someone. They asked me to perform a ritual, which just ended this afternoon." The Taoist priest munched on chicken. "This meat is really delicious. Ever since I ate some good food from my junior brother's house, I've been craving it. I have desires in my heart and it's hard for me to calm down."

The fourth brother laughed and said, "Daoist, you're too kind. Come to our house anytime you want to eat. My mother's cooking is pretty good."

"It's not just okay, it's really good. This meat is so fragrant. The meat I cook myself is never good; it always has a fishy smell. Maybe I didn't add the right seasoning."

"Then I'll teach my senior brother to cook, and he'll teach me how to enter the Dao?" Song Chunxue picked up a piece of chicken for him. "Senior brother, please eat as much as you like. I killed four chickens this year, and my second brother brought two rabbits. I won't have to worry about not having meat to eat during the New Year."

Master Zhang nodded, "I'm glad you don't mind that I eat too much."

Before long, Song Chunxue cooked chicken blood noodles, poured a thick chicken broth over potato sauce, and served it on the table.

Each person ate two large bowls.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, the third child volunteered to wash the dishes.

The fourth brother stayed behind to listen to the Taoist priest's idle chatter.

"How did you celebrate the New Year in previous years, Senior Brother?" Song Chunxue asked curiously.

“In previous years,” Master Zhang rubbed his belly, his eyes smiling, “every year was different. Last year I spent it with a group of monks, the year before last I spent it with a wandering fellow disciple in a dilapidated temple, and the year before that I spent it with a hunter’s family in the deep mountains.”

The fourth brother blurted out, "What about the Taoist priest's family? Are they still alive? Judging from the Taoist priest's accent, he doesn't seem to be a local."

Master Zhang lowered his eyes, his emotions unreadable.

"Yes, I come from Zhongzhou. I lost contact with my family many years ago. I grew up in a Taoist temple and was closest to my master. Later, my family came to the temple, so I came here."

Song Chunxue knew that her senior brother didn't want to talk about his family.