Compared to the capital, the weather in Zhangjia Village in Northeast China, thousands of miles away, is even colder. There is not a single ghost on the road at night, not to mention the night of the Little New Year when every family closes their doors and secretly worships the Kitchen God.

According to legend, the Kitchen God was originally a star in the sky. Because he made a mistake, he was banished to the mortal world by the Jade Emperor and became the "Eastern Kitchen God".

He sits in the middle of every household's kitchen stove, recording how people live and behave. Every year on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, the Kitchen God ascends to heaven to report the good and bad deeds of the family to the Jade Emperor, who then rewards or punishes them. Therefore, people offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month to send him off to heaven.

Zhangjia Village is located in the north of China. Unlike the south where the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is celebrated as the Little New Year's Eve, it has always followed the tradition handed down from ancestors that the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is celebrated as the Little New Year's Eve.

According to the custom, “men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the Kitchen God”, so worshiping the Kitchen God is limited to men.

In the kitchen, Father Zhang drove away the women and children, took out a picture of the Kitchen God from his underwear pocket, and respectfully placed it in front of the stove, muttering "Don't blame me".

Four things are placed on a table in front of the stove: candy, water, beans, and hay. A piece of toffee is melted over fire and stuck on the mouth of the Kitchen God.

Years ago, people used Guandong sugar to seal the mouth of the Kitchen God so that he would not say bad things to the Jade Emperor. It was also intended to make the Kitchen God speak sweetly and say only good things.

But Zhang Dad felt that gods were human too, and would probably prefer milk candy to Guandong candy. Since he wanted to sweeten the mouth of the Kitchen God, he had to use the best.

Didn't you see that since the Zhang family started using milk candy, their lives have been getting better and better. For this reason, he had been privately telling his two old brothers since last year that they must use milk candy.

Regardless of whether Uncle Zhang and the others believe it or not, he is unwilling to tell ordinary people!

Father Zhang led the two brothers Zhang Guofu to kneel on the ground and kowtow three times. Then they stood up, took down the image of the Kitchen God and the straw horse, and set them on fire, kowtowing and praying as they burned.

After completing the ritual of worshipping the Kitchen God, Zhang Dad signaled his wife and his daughters-in-law to come in and clean up the mess. Even if each family tacitly performed the worship secretly, it might not be noticeable to outsiders, but it was better to avoid causing trouble.

In the main room, Father Zhang sat on the kang with his legs crossed. He took out a long pipe, took out tobacco leaves from the basket, lit it, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled with his eyes half closed.

"Dad, are you feeling comfortable?"

Zhang Guofu laughed happily as he watched his second brother winking and pounding his father's back.

"That's right, you keep pounding tonight."

Hearing this, Zhang Guofu could no longer hold back his laughter.

"Dad, are you two really going to the capital after the New Year? It's better not to go. My eldest brother and I are both in the county. If there is anything, we can talk to you and mom. If it's too far, we two brothers will just be groping in the dark."

Zhang Guofu shook his head in disapproval. "We have to go. Jiaojiao is pregnant, and it wouldn't look good if no one from our family went. Dad, you and Mom should stay for a few days and come back."

"Brother, do you think this time, like last time, you can just stay there for a week and then come back? Our Xiaowu writes to me every day asking if the food supply is low, how are our parents, and how good the capital is. I think if he goes there this time, he won't be able to come back for two or three years."

Father Zhang grinned as he recalled what his eldest son had written to him, saying that the palace could be seen from the room in the alley courtyard, and that they would not be close if he didn't have his grandson by his side.

"Dad, don't worry about laughing. Think about what's in the capital. We still have your old brothers in our village, and you still have a lot of old buddies in the county. What's there to do in the capital?"

Zhang Guofu heard that his parents were going to live there permanently, that was not okay! He was silent for a while, looking at Zhang's father eagerly: "Dad, you'd better not go. Let my mother go for a while, take a look at Jiaojiao and come back."

Father Zhang rolled his eyes at him.

"Hey, let my second brother and his wife go with mother."

"No. She's almost like my sister-in-law. Mom, don't go. Dad, you go! When the time comes, just say you're worried about Mom. As long as Mom doesn't go to the capital, Xiaowu won't dare to keep you."

Father Zhang was worried his two daughters-in-law would hear him, so he glared at him and said, "What nonsense! We've already agreed that after the first lunar month, your mother will bring your daughters-in-law, the three of them, to Beijing. When Jiaojiao is about to give birth, mother and I will go there and discuss it later. Stop worrying about it. Even though your Uncle Zhou only has Jiaojiao, there's no shortage of people at home to take care of her after she's born."

Zhang Laoer frowned. What was the point of the woman going there? She'd be so tight-lipped, she'd come back and say anything she wanted. And his sister-in-law, even though she seemed to have changed for the better, who could guarantee her true nature?

Zhang's father was an old and shrewd man, so how could he not see that his two sons disagreed. But what his daughter Jiaojiao said made sense: he should show some muscles to others, and not hide them.

He knew the temperaments of his two daughters-in-law. He could take them over to let Jiaojiao teach them a few tricks and see how the men in the capital were acting, so that they wouldn't get carried away and implicate his son in the future.

"Dad, I'm going to see if my eldest sister can get some leave so she can go with my mother."

Father Zhang rolled his eyes at his second son and said, "Let Old Zhang take charge of the family? Your eldest sister can't leave. She has to take care of the family. Your brother-in-law is a good man, but he has no opinions."

"Where's my second sister?"

Father Zhang shook his head: "A daughter who is married off is like spilled water. She has her own little family, and her children are still young."

Zhang Guofu and his brother looked at their father in surprise. You know, their father treated all five of them equally and didn't favor boys over girls.

Father Zhang hesitantly took a puff on his long pipe and whispered, "I'm going to ask your mother to take your wife out to see the world. Only after she's seen enough dangers and gained a lot of experience will she not dare to live her life to her own devices."

The Zhang Guofu brothers looked at each other.

"I'll write Xiaowu a letter later, and he'll understand what I mean. A family not only needs a man who is capable and determined, but also a wife who is sensible and knows her limits. Only then can life become more and more prosperous."

Zhang Dad finished speaking and then shut up. Some things can only be figured out by themselves; there's no point in talking too much.

At night, in the main bedroom, Zhang's mother blew out the light, lay on the kang next to her husband, and felt a little uneasy when she thought of the surprised and happy faces of her two daughters-in-law.

"Dad, do you want to discuss this idea with Xiaowu first?"

Father Zhang smiled and said, "No need. As long as your son finds out that you're bringing his two sisters-in-law with you, he'll be able to guess what he's planning."

"What about Jiaojiao? Should we say hello to her first? I'm worried that this kid is so stupid as to not know how to hide the family's wealth and will spend everything he has."

"No. She doesn't trust anyone except the two of us."

"That's right. I'm just worried that these two will cause trouble."

"Brother A Guang told me some time ago that the storm was going to come again. I'm not worried about our children, but I'm worried about these two daughters-in-law. This time, ask Jiao Jiao to calm them down for me, especially the eldest daughter-in-law."

"You're talking more and more mysteriously. You should go with me. I'm worried it won't work out."

Father Zhang patted his wife and said, "I can't leave during the first month of the year. The village has been busy all winter, and it's almost over. I have to keep a close eye on what's going on. Your eldest son is secretly leading the village in this matter, so I have to make sure he doesn't get dragged into this."

Also, when you go there, ask Xiaowu what will happen to the school after the baby is born. If it really doesn't work out, we might have to go over and take care of the grandson. No matter how attentive the servants are, they can't compare to us taking care of the child ourselves."

Seeing her husband say this, Zhang's mother stopped trying to persuade him. Her husband had a plan in mind, but she didn't understand what it was, so she just followed his instructions.