Women are naturally drawn to sweet talk; otherwise, how could so many women be deceived every year?

It's a pity that my brother is a little lacking in sweet talk; I'll have to teach him more when I have the time.

There is a crossroads at the intersection of Liangshuiwan Village and the county highway to the south.

I don't know who left this rule, but we have to go to a crossroads to burn paper money for the New Year and invite the ancestors to the New Year. It is said that only when you are at a crossroads can the paper money you burn reach the ancestors.

This is either fooling the living or fooling the dead.

When Liang and his brother arrived, there were already quite a few villagers from Liangshuiwan Village there, burning paper money and incense and setting off firecrackers, making it quite lively.

Liang Liang greeted the others and also burned incense and paper money.

Liang Feng brought a tray of 30,000 large red paper offerings and hung it on a tree by the roadside. As soon as Liang Liang lit the paper incense, he set off firecrackers.

After the firecrackers stopped, Liang Liang picked up a small green stone by the roadside, muttered "Our ancestors have come home for the New Year," and then turned and walked home.

When you get home, you put that small blue stone on the altar, which means you've invited your ancestors back for the New Year.

Their mother had already cooked the dumplings and was waiting for the two brothers to eat.

Liang Liang asked Liang Qiuqiu if she had cooked dumplings for her.

If she didn't help cook, he planned to ask for the 100 yuan back.

After finishing her meal, Liang Liang found a new set of clothes and changed into them.

Even though I don't have children anymore, I still want to wear new clothes for the New Year.

The jackets sold in the store for 100 or 200 yuan, and the pants of the same price, were only worth a little more than those 3515 military-style sneakers, which cost only 256 yuan.

After changing his clothes, Liang Liang went out for a stroll. When he passed by Xu Mei's house, he turned into it.

The Xu family has now switched to a large, color TV. Even though there are still more than two hours before the Spring Festival Gala starts, Xu Mei's mother is already ready to watch it.

Her focus, of course, was on her beloved daughter.

"Xiao Liang! If you don't go on the Spring Festival Gala this year, what will my Mei do when she comes back tomorrow?"

"What? What should we do? Just fly back!"

“I know she can take a plane, but how will she get to the section from Lianwan to Yahe by herself? What if she gets lost?”

It sounds really awkward to hear this during the Chinese New Year.

"Bin and I will pick her up tomorrow, otherwise she might really get lost."

Given Xu Mei's careless nature, she might really get lost if no one picks her up.

Liang Liang sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) at Xu Mei's house and chatted with Xu Mei's parents. Liang Liang told them a lot of Xu Mei's silly stories, which made her parents laugh non-stop.

“My daughter has been a bit of a scatterbrain since she was little, there’s no cure for her. If she doesn’t find a shrewd son-in-law in the future, her life will be a complete mess.”

That's a difficult question to answer.

Liang Liang chatted with them until 9:30, when Xu Mei and the others took the stage.

The three girl groups, Ocean Waves, Flash Girls, and Glamorous Girls, performed a medley of popular songs from their new albums, each sung a section of one of the songs.

Fifteen beautiful young women sang and danced on stage, bringing the Spring Festival Gala to its first climax.

These girl groups have truly succeeded. The Korean versions of their albums have sold nearly a million copies in South Korea, and South Korean entertainment companies have already sent out invitations to invite them to perform in South Korea.

However, the timing of the three girl groups' European tour in 1999 is still under negotiation.

When her daughter was performing on stage, Xu Mei's mother didn't even blink. Once her daughter was offstage, she lost interest in the television.

After Xu Mei finished her performance, Liang Liang left the Xu family. There was still more than an hour before the Lunar New Year celebrations and the setting off of firecrackers, so he wandered aimlessly along the north-south main street at the west end of the village.

The temperature is very low tonight, probably around minus ten degrees Celsius.

The streetlights on both sides of the road illuminated the avenue very brightly, and several children, about eight or nine years old, were setting off firecrackers under the lampposts ahead.

Their ideal was grand: to blow down the lampposts with firecrackers.

This idea must be encouraged. Liang Liang gave each of them ten yuan and told them to go to the shop to buy firecrackers and try to blow up the lamppost tonight.

The children ran excitedly to the shop to buy firecrackers.

They probably believe that firecrackers can actually blow up lampposts.

Seeing the children cheering and jumping for joy, Liang Liang felt extremely happy.

A roadside arcade caught Liang Liang's attention.

The arcade has a fairly large operating area, with more than ten arcade machines and several mahjong machines.

The arcade games were surrounded by children over ten years old, while the mahjong machines were mostly occupied by young people.

Liang Liang originally wanted to watch the excitement and kill some time.

But the air inside was too polluted, and the smell of tobacco burned his throat. He only stayed inside for a few minutes before he was choked and had to run out.

The sound of purple whips being set off began to echo throughout the village and its surroundings.

During this period, it is almost always businesses that set off firecrackers. Businesses set off firecrackers a little earlier than families, and it's just the right time for families to set off their own firecrackers after they finish setting them off at their homes.

Individual households usually set off purple whips around 11 o'clock.

Seeing that it was already ten o'clock, Liang Liang stopped wandering around in the night and went home to prepare for setting off firecrackers to welcome the New Year.

When they arrived at the guitar factory gate, Liang Feng and other factory night watchmen, along with a dozen or so young people, were carrying fireworks and firecrackers to the gate.

About 30 to 50 meters away from the factory gate, many adults and children were waiting to watch the excitement.

These people are from both this village and neighboring villages.

One type waits to watch the excitement, and after the excitement is over, waits to ask for a small amount of money.

The dozen or so young men who helped move the firecrackers were all workers from the guitar factory, some from the village and others from other villages who came specifically to help set off the firecrackers.

The firecrackers weren't set off for nothing; the Liang family paid for them.

You get 30 yuan for setting off firecrackers, but not just anyone; it's only for people between 18 and 30 years old.

They are quick-witted, agile, and good at handling any unexpected accidents.

Therefore, when the guitar factory was booming, young people from families without businesses would come to Liang's guitar factory to earn some money for cigarettes. Every year, thirty or forty people would help out.

This year, perhaps due to the increase in businesses in Pingshan Village, the number of people helping with setting off firecrackers has dispersed, and tonight there are only about a dozen people helping with the firecrackers, making it seem rather deserted.

Although fewer people are setting off firecrackers, the guitar factory is setting off just as many.

The gunpowder-smelling smoke from over thirty firecrackers was enough to make the guitar factory gate appear as ethereal as a mirage.

This greatly affected the viewing experience of the fireworks.

All I could see was flashing lights in the air; I couldn't make out anything.

After the last firecracker went off and the smoke cleared, the children lined up in front of the guitar factory, waiting for the boss to hand out their money.

The money wasn't much, so we chose an auspicious number: eight dollars and eighty-eight cents.

They were put in red envelopes, one for each child.

In this case, it's suitable if you have many children; you can take two or three.

This tradition was established by Liang Liang.

After Liang Feng took over the guitar factory, he continued this tradition.