New Year's Eve arrived. Fortunately, the snow had stopped last night. Early in the morning, Chen Qiang organized the farmhands to clear the way out of the village so that the people in the county town could return home.
The shops in the county town had originally planned to close on the 29th, but unfortunately, there were too many things to do that day, and the village roads were blocked by heavy snow, so no one was organized to clear them. The shopkeepers discussed and decided to open one more day and return on New Year's Eve.
After Tian An woke up, Mangzhong took a group of young maids to dress her up, bringing her new clothes for the Lunar New Year. The family had a cosmetics shop, and the maids had mastered the art of makeup. They each used their specialty to apply to Tian An. Some washed her face, some applied makeup, and some combed her hair. In no time, Tian An was dressed up beautifully.
The maids sighed and said, "Our girl is so beautiful. She looks so beautiful even with some light makeup on. Even the girls from wealthy families can't compare to her."
"Yeah! The girl is just too low-key on weekdays, so she has to dress up so beautifully every day."
Tian An quickly refused: "Today's tossing and turning has taken up half an hour. If I have to toss and turn like this every day, I won't be able to work anymore."
The girls had been with Tian An for a long time and knew that she had a good temper. They dared to joke with her. Dong Ru retorted: "Girls shouldn't do work. You can tell us what work to do. You just need to take care of Meimei."
Tian An laughed: "Then I will become a vase."
Seeing that the girls were about to say something, Tian An hurriedly stopped them: "Okay, let's just dress up for the New Year and other holidays, forget about it on weekdays! It's a waste of time."
Dressing up was a waste of time. When Tian An left, Tian Mingcai came over and took Xiaokang and Xiaoqi to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors. Zhao Yiming's last name was not Tian, so he only set up an incense table and offerings at home.
Chunxi got up early in the morning and had people prepare the offerings, including pork elbows, chicken, rabbit meat, quail, as well as fruits from the greenhouse and cakes sent by each family.
When Tian Mingcai brought his two younger children and his two sons to the ancestral hall, many families had already begun to worship their ancestors. After waiting in line for a while, when it was their turn, Tian Mingcai took in the offerings he had prepared and asked the two brothers Zhuangzhuang to place them.
Then he came out and took the two children's things from Chen Qiang's hands and took them in. Chen Qiang could not enter the ancestral hall and could only wait for a few people outside.
Watching the two children carefully display the rich offerings, the people who had not yet left the ancestral hall all looked at them with envy, "Xiaokang, Xiaoqi, your family has prepared a really rich offering, the best in the village."
Tian Mingcai was afraid that Xiaokang and Xiaoqi wouldn't be able to speak, so he was about to speak for them, but Xiaokang bowed to everyone like a little adult and said, "My uncles, thank you for your courtesy. The offerings are not much, as everyone's intentions are the same."
"Xiaokang is really good at talking!"
"Yeah! It's different after reading books!"
"Come to think of it, my kid has become much more sensible since he started studying with Mr. Han for half a year!"
"Don't mention it, it's true! My kid has been talking differently since he started school! It sounds quite reasonable."
…
Seeing that everyone had shifted the topic to Mr. Han and the children, Xiaokang turned around and took Xiaoqi to continue arranging the offerings. After they finished, Tian Ming helped them light candles and incense.
Then he took Zhuangzhuang and Kaikai to demonstrate to them. Each of them held three incense sticks and bowed three times to the incense table in the ancestral hall, and then bowed three times to the door. Then he sincerely said words to ask for the ancestors' blessings. After that, he went out and set off the firecrackers he had brought.
Xiaokang and Xiaoqi watched it and started to imitate it. After paying respect to the ancestors, Xiaokang said a prayer and Xiaoqi followed suit.
"Ancestors, we, the younger generations Tian Kang and Tian Qi, have come here today to pay our respects. With this filial tribute, we sincerely hope that the ancestors will bless us and protect us from all odds, illness, disaster, and prosperity..."
Xiaokang led Xiaoqi through a long recitation, and only stopped when he had said everything he remembered and thought about whether he had missed anything. After lighting the incense, he went out and asked Chen Qiang to help them set off the firecrackers.
The ancestor worship ended with the setting off of firecrackers. After the two of them collected their belongings, Tian Ming helped carry them out to Chen Qiang before returning to carry his own belongings.
After coming out of the ancestral hall, they walked together for a while until they reached a fork in the road, then they went their separate ways and returned home.
As soon as Chen Qiang got home, Chun Xi came to call him. Tian An was holding a meeting with several shopkeepers and asked him to come over as soon as he got home.
When he arrived, several shopkeepers had already finished their accounts. Tian An told him to go to the pawnshop after the New Year to sell the remaining shop. He gave them some other instructions before letting them go.
With the return of the people from the county town, the family suddenly grew larger and larger, and the atmosphere became lively as everyone got to know each other.
For lunch, they would eat the offerings they brought back and some vegetarian dishes. After everyone rested for a while, Chunxi led the others to prepare dinner.
The earlier the New Year’s Eve dinner is prepared, the better. After it is ready, you still need to put each dish into a small dish and place it on the incense table to pay tribute to the gods and ancestors.
Dinner was almost ready. After setting up the altar, Mr. Han, Zhao Yiming, Xiaokang, and Xiaoqi walked to the center of the main hall, facing the figures of Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents, and Teacher. They lit candles, each burned three sticks of incense, and knelt three times in kowtow. Then, each burned nine pieces of yellow paper and offered libations.
After that, they set off a string of firecrackers outside the door and began to set up the ancestral offering table.
Tian An's situation was somewhat special; they were now considered three families. Although Xiao Qi was adopted by Tian An, she hadn't asked him to move directly into their family, so he was still considered a separate family.
There were also Granny Qin and Mr. Han. In previous years, they had all done their own worship, but this year everyone lived together, so Tian An asked everyone to prepare together.
In the main hall, four round tables were set up, each with a red paper tablet bearing the names of ancestors. Each table was filled with the same dishes, served on small plates, along with six half-bowls of rice and six small glasses of wine. Chopsticks were placed on each bowl of rice.
After everything was set up, Mr. Han, Zhao Yiming, Xiaokang, and Xiaoqi walked to their respective round tables, lit candles, and burned incense.
Then divide the yellow paper prepared in advance into six portions, with three pieces counting as one portion, and place them on each bowl of rice.
Afterwards, they would return to their own round table and burn the divided yellow paper next to each seat. Every time they burned a piece of paper, they would offer a drink.
After burning six pieces of paper, he took a clean bowl and placed a little of each dish and rice on the table, then soaked it in water. He then took three pieces of yellow paper and three incense sticks and went out the door, dumping the rice and water aside, lit the incense, and burned the paper again. The ceremony was complete, and the ancestral altar in the main hall could be removed.
The altar was removed and the food was placed on the table again, and the New Year’s Eve dinner began.
Grandma Qin took the serving chopsticks and served the dishes to the younger ones herself.
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