Chapter 671 People Change Every Year
In this era, famine was common, and the average lifespan was only forty or fifty years. Living to sixty was considered a long life, let alone seventy-eight.
The oldest person in the village passed away, and the village committee was responsible for organizing the funeral, which was a very lively affair.
Zhu Huzi was not a stingy person. In addition to the village committee paying for the funeral, he also paid a lot of money for the funeral himself. He held a three-day banquet and even invited an opera troupe to perform, making a lively send-off for his grandmother.
After Old Lady Zhu was buried, New Year's Eve arrived as scheduled.
The earlier heavy snow stopped, and there was no more rain. On New Year's Eve, the weather was sunny and the wind was gentle, with a hint of spring in the air.
The family was busy from early morning. Just like last year, the whole Zhao family was celebrating the New Year together. Everyone felt that it was more lively with more people.
The Zhao family is growing. Da Shan has two daughters, Er Gou has a son who is pregnant, Da Wang has a son, Chun Hua is pregnant, and next up is San Niu. But unfortunately, San Niu is in the capital, and his marriage is still far from settled, so there's no way to worry about it.
"Our family is thriving, and it's getting better and better." Old Zhao was overjoyed and raised his wine glass, saying, "May our whole family get better and better every year from now on. Come on, let's all have a drink."
“I’m not worried about anything else, I’m just worried about San Niu.” Old Mrs. Zhao sighed. “You Jin died on the battlefield, I’m afraid San Niu will too…”
"What nonsense are you spouting during the New Year!" Old Zhao said sternly. "Back then, Youjin went to the frontier to defend the country, while Sanniu served as a garrison soldier in the capital. Now that the country is peaceful and prosperous, how could Sanniu have the chance to go to the battlefield? Stop scaring yourself. Come on, eat and drink, everyone, start eating..."
Sun said with a grin, "Now three of us in the family are officials. If Sidan becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, will our Zhao family really change its status?"
Seeing her smug look, Old Mrs. Zhao said irritably, "If the main branch changes its status, it's the first branch that changes its status. What does it have to do with your third branch?"
“Look at what you’re saying, Mother. Aren’t we family?” Sun Shi hugged Cheng Wanwan’s arm. “If you move to the capital in the future, please don’t forget us. My Xuanxuan is still waiting for your help in the imperial examination.”
Cheng Wanwan has a headache.
Sun told everyone that Xuanxuan was a reincarnation of the God of Literature. She could tell that Xuanxuan was very clever, but he didn't use that cleverness on his studies. Instead, he used it all on how to please Xiaozhuzhu.
Despite being of a higher generation, Xuanxuan eagerly followed Xiaozhuzhu and called her "sister."
At this moment, Xuanxuan ran behind Xiaozhuzhu, wanting Xiaozhuzhu to let him play with the things in her hands for a while.
She called me "sister" so sweetly.
"Oh dear Xuanxuan, how can you be so stupid?" Donghua said, holding a bowl and staring at the two children, her mouth stuffed full. "It should be Xiaozhuzhu calling you 'uncle,' why are you calling him that? You even said it's the God of Literature descending to earth, but I think it's an idiot descending to earth."
"Zhao Donghua!" Sun roared, hands on her hips. "Your brother is still young. If he doesn't understand, teach him. How can you call him stupid? If you really call him stupid, I'll beat you to death."
Just then, Cheng Jia entered through the door with a beaming smile: "My lady, a letter has arrived from the capital."
Cheng Wanwan hurriedly got up and took the letters. There were several letters, including those from Cheng Zhao, Zhao Sanniu, the Shen family, and even a letter from Lord Zhang.
In addition to wishing everyone a Happy New Year, Lord Zhang also sent some books in the Assab language, asking Cheng Wanwan to translate them and send them to the capital before June of next year.
The Shen family simply paid their respects for the New Year and caught up on recent events. Shen Dongming's official career was going well, and everything was fine.
Cheng Zhao also wrote about recent developments, mainly concerning the situation at the Reading Pavilion in the capital. The Reading Pavilion is developing better and better, and due to its large number of members, it will open a second branch in the west of the city after the new year. The Reading Pavilion's rapid development is due to two factors: firstly, its novel business model, and secondly, Master Yu's analyses of past imperial examination questions, which have caused quite a stir in the capital and have elevated the Reading Pavilion to a higher level.
He also mentioned a joyous occasion: a month ago, Situ Man gave birth to a daughter. His words were filled with immense joy, and in the letter, he asked Cheng Wanwan to give the child a proper name.
Finally, there was San Niu's letter. This kid always got straight to the point in his letters. The first sentence was—Mom, I've become a centurion!
"Oh my goodness, our San Niu has really made something of himself!" Old Mrs. Zhao's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. "A centurion! He can command a thousand men. He's much more capable than his father!"
Zhao Sidan leaned over to read the letter and said with a smile, "Third Brother is now following Master. With Master's support, Third Brother will definitely be promoted again soon."
"You make it sound like San Niu owes everything to Master He," Zhao Ergou snorted. "Although San Niu is a bit stupid, a bit clumsy, and a bit brainless, he still has some fighting skills. It's not surprising that he was promoted to centurion."
Cheng Wanwan chuckled and said, "When Sanniu comes back, I'll tell him that you two brothers said bad things about him, and see how he deals with you."
The whole family chatted and ate, and before they knew it, it was late at night.
In the middle of the night, the town was filled with the sound of firecrackers, fireworks rose into the sky and bloomed, and then faded away one by one.
Because every household in Dahe Town is well-off, they are willing to buy fireworks for the New Year. On New Year's Eve, the fireworks are set off from midnight to dawn.
Cheng Wanwan was filled with emotion. She had reached the age of thirty-seven. Year after year, the flowers were similar, but people were different each year, and she was getting older...
The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year. Every household visited each other to exchange New Year's greetings, and the town was extremely lively. In particular, Cheng Wanwan's house was bustling with people coming to pay their respects. One wave left and another came, and there was no rest until nightfall. Fortunately, Wu Huiniang was able to handle the situation, otherwise Cheng Wanwan might have been exhausted to death in her own yard from entertaining guests.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Grandpa Qian sent an invitation. The wedding date for Qian Hui and Miss Leng was set for the eighth day of the third lunar month, an auspicious day according to the Chinese calendar. The wedding would be held in Baiyun County, which was not far away. Cheng Wanwan would naturally have to go and attend the wedding.
Once the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is over, the annual holiday will be over, and Dahe Town will officially get busy.
The coal mines were under construction, the market opened its doors to customers, the school started classes, and all sorts of boats came and went at the docks, creating a thriving scene.
Cheng Wanwan also got busy. The ponds in Lijia Gou were already ready, just waiting to start raising crayfish after the spring.
Last year, due to heavy rain, many crayfish in Wu Xiaochui's pond were washed away, and some wild crayfish also appeared in nearby villages. In order to make money, the villagers desperately caught wild crayfish to sell at the market. Because they were eliminated quickly enough, the crayfish did not cause serious consequences, but it did serve as a warning to Cheng Wanwan.
She had people pile some stones at the bottom of the pond to prevent crayfish from burrowing and escaping. Losing money if they escaped was a minor matter; what was worse was affecting the grain yield per acre.
Potatoes and tomatoes have also begun to be planted on a large scale. Apples have not yet borne fruit, and strawberries are still in the experimental stage, so we need to wait patiently for another year.
Furthermore, regarding flower cultivation in Nanyang City, last year only people from Qing'an County planted flowers, and some people in Nanyang scoffed at it. However, later everyone was surprised to find that flower cultivation could actually make money, and the market price wasn't low. So this year, many people in Nanyang also requested to grow flowers...
Cheng Wanwan naturally wouldn't plant as many flowers as she had land. Her workshop was only so big, and too many flowers wouldn't be enough to consume, and it would also affect agricultural development.
She asked Cheng Yuanyuan to go to Nanyang again to select villages with suitable climate and soil, and then choose two or three more villages to plant flowers, which would be about right...
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