The festive atmosphere that began to permeate the twelfth lunar month finally reached its peak on New Year's Eve.

Smoke began to rise from the chimneys earlier than usual, filling the village with the aroma of burning firewood and meat.

The housewives gathered around the stove, the steam from cooking blurred the windows, and there was no shortage of meat on the cutting board today.

The children, with a few fruit candies in their pockets, chased each other across the threshing ground, the candy wrappers rustling in their pockets.

As evening fell, the sound of firecrackers for ancestor worship could be heard sporadically. The eight-immortal table in front of the door was set with wine, meat, vegetables, rice, and pastries, to express gratitude for the ancestors' protection and for a peaceful year, and to pray for an even better year to come.

Then the table was moved back inside, and the whole family began to eat their New Year's Eve dinner.

On the octagonal table, a bowl of braised pork, piled high and glistening with oil, rests in a rough porcelain bowl. Next to it is a bowl of chicken raised by the family, stir-fried vegetables, and fish, making the table even more abundant.

The dim light shone through the wooden window lattice, reflecting the heat rising from the table.

At Fang Meixiang's home, Fang Meixiang's father and Fang Damiao were sipping wine, while Fang Meixiang had already changed into clean clothes.

Fang Dong emphasized that Pi was playful and worried that his clothes would get dirty quickly, so he put on a cover-up that Mei Li had made for him.

Fang Meixiang's mother carefully picked out the fish bones and placed them on the plates for Fang Meixiang and Fang Dongqiang, saying, "Be careful when you eat."

Fang Meihao sat down next to Fang Dongqiang and said, "What do you want? Your auntie will get it for you."

"I wish every day was Chinese New Year."

"Little glutton."

At Fang San Di's house, there was still a vase of flowers in the middle of the dining table.

Fang San Di took a spatula to serve the braised pork.

"Don't serve it." Yu Jihong called out. Yu Jihong took chopsticks and picked out pieces from the pot one by one, arranging them neatly in a bowl.

"It's all in your mouth anyway, so it doesn't matter how you put it, right?"

"It's different. If it's presented nicely, it's more pleasing to the eye. It also makes eating more enjoyable."

"Hehe," Fang Sandi wouldn't stop Yu Jihong from doing what she wanted to do, "Does that pot of chicken also have to be arranged like this?"

"No need for the chicken, you can get it."

At Fang Shugen's house, Fang Shugen's mother looked at the food in the pot and thought of Ren Lutong, "Does that old guy have anything good to eat today?"

Thinking of him all alone on the mountain, Fang Shugen's mother sighed, then looked at Hua Mei, "Be more ambitious next year, and we can go together tomorrow."

After this meal, 1984 will be over.

As soon as the sun peeked out on the first day of the lunar new year, smoke began to rise again from the village chimneys.

Everyone stayed up late to celebrate the New Year last night, but it didn't affect their ability to get up early this morning.

"Dongqiang, how old are you?" Fang Meihao asked Fang Dongqiang before he was even dressed.

"4, oh, 5, 5 years old."

"Yes, Auntie told you last night that you woke up a year older, now you're 5 years old."

"Auntie, why didn't I ever wake up a year older after sleeping before?"

"You'll be a year older every day, then you'll turn into an old man soon."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Get up! The new year has begun!"

Fang Yu placed the new clothes on the bedside table: a red cotton-padded jacket with a slightly shiny corduroy fabric and fluffy cotton filling.

The collar and cuffs were sewn with a yellow trim, and the front was adorned with four shiny plastic buttons, also trimmed with yellow. Yu Jihong had specially visited the town's supply and marketing cooperative and department store to pick them out to match this outfit.

Fang Shugen's mother called Hua Mei early in the morning to go to the Buddhist temple with candles and incense.

"Hua Mei, today we're going to the Buddhist temple. You should also pray that you'll have a son this year. Come with me later, I'll pray and you'll pray too."

"Mother, didn't you also go and pray the year before last? Didn't you still get your wish? If everyone could get what they wanted, then everyone in the world would have money, and everyone would be praying to get rich," Fang Shugen interrupted.

"Pah, pah, pah! You have no guts. Maybe it was because Hua Mei didn't go that time. Today she went by herself. She's sincere. Buddha can grant her wish and bless her to have a big, healthy baby boy next year."

"Go ahead, go ahead, shall we take Huahua with us?"

"Huahua doesn't need to go. It's the first day of the Lunar New Year, so there will be a lot of people. You're free today, so take her around and have some fun. Go to the small shops. Damiao should be there too, so go there to play."

"Tsk!" Fang Shugen didn't like his mother's arrangements and didn't want to listen to her nagging. "Hua, let's go out and play."

"Huahua is going to the shop with her dad to play and buy some snacks." Fang Shugen's mother took out a dime and gave it to Huahua.

Hua Hua took the money and, as if propelled by a small motor, her shoes clattered on the ground, and she leaned forward as she ran towards the shop.

"Slow down, don't fall." Fang Shugen quickly followed Huahua.

"Hua Mei, when we get to the Buddha Hall, after we light incense, we'll kneel together in front of the Buddha. You can say to the Buddha, 'Bless you to have a son this year.' Just think it in your heart. Ask the Buddha for whatever you want, and he will bless you and give it to you."

Hua Mei pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“That’s right,” Fang Shugen’s mother said, pulling Hua Mei along quickly. “Hurry up, there are a lot of people worshipping Buddha today.”

The Buddhist hall was crowded with people, and wisps of pale blue smoke drifted in the air, rising from the tops of countless burning incense sticks and swirling around the incense burner in front of the hall.

The worshippers chanted prayers in front of the Buddha.

Fang Shugen's mother lit incense and stood to the side, waiting for the people kneeling in front to get up.

He immediately told Hua Mei to kneel on the prayer mat, saying, "Hua Mei, Buddha is efficacious. Tell Buddha what you want, and Buddha will bless you."

The incense stick in Hua Mei's hand was still trembling slightly. She looked up at the Buddha, then lowered her head to watch as a bit of ash fell from the incense. She whispered, "I want Nan to come back."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shugen's mother turned her head, her eyes widened, and her raised hand froze in mid-air. "Stop talking."

“Buddha, no, she’s crazy, don’t listen to her,” Fang Shugen’s mother hurriedly said, bowing to Buddha.

"Get up." She grabbed Hua Mei's arm.

Hua Mei got up and looked at Buddha with hopeful eyes.

"Buddha, please bless my family with..." Fang Shugen's mother lowered her voice and told Buddha her wish again, then bowed three times devoutly.

As they left the Buddhist temple, Fang Shugen's mother whispered through gritted teeth in Hua Mei's ear, "If we weren't in the Buddhist temple, and if it weren't for the first day of the Lunar New Year, I think you would be asking for a beating."

Hua Mei stubbornly turned her head to one side, letting her say whatever she wanted.

Hua Mei had a deep-seated belief: "I've spoken to Buddha, and I've told him that my daughter will come back."

The small shop was bustling with activity during the first month of the lunar year, with a mahjong table, a poker table, and onlookers all around.

The mahjong players rolled up their sleeves and tossed the tiles aside with a "clatter," their shouts of "Fortune!" and "White Dragon!" mingled with the smell of cigarettes and the heat from the coal stove, creating a cozy atmosphere.

Hua Hua stuck the money to the counter, and Fang Shugen picked her up. "Look, what do you want?"

Hua Hua scanned the shelves and pointed to the fruit candies in the glass jars.

"Okay, this is it." Fang Shugen bought a bunch of candy, peeled one for Huahua and put it in her mouth, and put the rest in her pocket.

Hua Hua patted her pocket with her hand, grinning contentedly with a candy in her mouth.

She had already been attracted by the children playing at the door, and after buying some candy, she broke free from Fang Shugen's arms.

"Just stay here and don't go anywhere else."

"Oh!" Hua Hua ran into the group of children.

Fang Damiao stood by and watched them play mahjong.

"Da Miao, aren't you going to play?" Fang Shugen greeted him.

“I just want to watch. Once I get into mahjong, I lose track of time. This year, I’m having dinner at my father-in-law’s house, so I have to make sure it’s on time and I can’t let them call me.”

"Among all the men in the village, Da Miao is the most fortunate. He raises his son without having to worry about him, and his father-in-law provides for him."

"Yes! It's really rare for Da Miao's father-in-law to have two younger sisters-in-law."

The people inside started chatting about this topic.

"Are you going out again this year?" Fang Shugen wasn't interested in their topic and asked the question he wanted to ask.

"I'll go after the fifteenth," Fang Damiao replied without turning his head, looking at the mahjong game.

"Was there any work available outside back then?"

"I won!" The person next to me pushed over the tiles.

"This round has multiple sets!" Fang Damiao leaned closer to count how many sets there were, "One Red Dragon, one White Dragon..." He seemed even happier than the person who won the hand.

Seeing how engrossed he was, Fang Shugen felt too embarrassed to ask any more questions and became absorbed in the experience himself.

The outcome of the card game was like a magnet, drawing everyone around, even the cat curled up in the corner perked up its ears, as if it were also watching the spectacle.

"It's rare to see tree roots playing here today," someone who had just arrived remarked casually.

"I had nothing to do on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so I brought Huahua over to play." Fang Shugen looked up and smiled.