The village was not as lively as imagined on New Year's Eve. There were no firecrackers or loud gongs and drums. Everyone stayed at home to celebrate New Year's Eve. Yan Bingfa led the cow back to the village, and Chunxiao followed him back to the village. Naturally, they had to spend the New Year at their parents' home.
On New Year's Eve, they cooked several large bowls of meat, including rabbit, roe deer, pork, chicken, and braised meat. Zhou said they wanted to eat as much as they could. Both adults and children were delighted.
Yan Bingfa lamented the changes in his family. This time last year, they were still happy to have noodles for the New Year, and they only dared to eat half a pound of meat. This year, they had several pounds of meat, not to mention all kinds of meat. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Chunxiao, who was sitting next to them, talking to Zhou and Tian. If she was lucky, she got divorced again. If she was unlucky, the family had changed drastically after her return. This girl must have brought good fortune to the family. They were lucky.
Chunxiao was also feeling emotional. She didn't expect that the Spring Festival would come so soon. This was her first Spring Festival here, but it could also be said that this was her 20th Spring Festival. No matter what, she had finally taken root here. Now she had some savings and the ability to make a living. At least she no longer had the anxiety that she had felt about her bleak future. With the company of her family, she lived a comfortable life. She only hoped that the coming year would be the same as before.
In the afternoon, everyone was waiting for the water to be boiled and queuing up to take a bath. As the saying goes, it is New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, so taking a bath is a must today. Fortunately, the weather was also good. After taking a bath, everyone started to wash clothes. Chunxiao's clothes were washed by Zhou. She originally wanted to wash them herself but was pulled aside by Zhou. She had no choice but to teach Shuwen and the others to read and count in the yard.
During dinner, Chunxiao took out the five taels of silver she had prepared long ago and gave it to Yan Bangfa. "Dad, Mom, this is the silver I give to you two as a filial gift. Please keep it."
"You kid, you're just a girl, why should you give me money as a gift? Just keep it for yourself." Yan Bing said with a serious expression.
"Take it back. We won't take it. I already give you a lot of small amounts of money on a daily basis. There's no need for you to give us extra."
"Yes, Chunxiao, if you give me this much, I won't be able to afford the money I gave as a filial tribute."
"Second brother, how can we compare? I feed my whole family, and you have a large family. I don't mean to belittle you. We should do what we can." She handed the money to Zhou again, "If Dad doesn't want it, Mom can keep it. If you don't need it, please save it for me. If I get into trouble one day, I'll have something to rely on."
"Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense are you talking about on New Year's Day? The more you say, the more outrageous it gets." Zhou took the silver and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for you. I'll give it to you when you need it."
After Chunxiao gave Erhe the money, he also took out two taels of silver and gave them to him. "Dad, Mom, this is my filial piety. It can't compare to Chunxiao's, but it is a token of my son and daughter-in-law's love. Please keep it."
This time, Yan Bingfa accepted it with a smile, "That's enough. In previous years, it was 500 wen. This year, I'm giving you 2 taels all at once. Great. I hope things will get better and better in the future."
As the eldest wife, Mr. and Mrs. Tian did not need to pay any tribute, so they said many auspicious words to the few people. In short, the atmosphere was very happy. Zhou asked Chunxiao to stay at home that night and asked Yan Bangfa to guard the house at the end of the village. After all, there were more than a hundred pounds of meat at that end of the house.
The next day, her nephews and nieces greeted her with a Happy New Year. She then distributed the copper coins she and Zhou had strung together the day before, each with a long string of 100 coins. The children were thrilled to receive the money; they had never received so much before; in previous years, the most they had received was two coins. But they also felt a pang of sympathy for their parents, fearing they would soon confiscate it.
Tian smiled unhappily, "Keep what your aunt gave you. Mother doesn't want yours. Look at the looks in your eyes. Do you think I'm a monster?"
The children were completely relieved when they heard that they could keep it for themselves. Soon, Zhou gave each of them another 10 copper coins and said, "I'm not as generous as your aunt, but I still give you some New Year's money. I wish you good health and safety!"
"Thank you grandma!" "Thank you aunt!" Words of thanks came one after another.
Zhang walked over to Chunxiao and said, "Little sister, you've given them too much. They're still young and will spend it recklessly when the time comes."
"It's okay if they spend money recklessly. As long as they are happy, that's all I want them to be happy." Chun Xiao looked at her second sister-in-law, "Second sister-in-law, are there any villagers coming to visit today?"
"Our father took my eldest brother and your second brother to burn incense. When they return, they will go to the village head to wish him a happy new year. The villagers who have good relations with each other will also visit each other."
She knew this, but she was concerned about whether she had to give New Year's money to people who came to visit with children. Before she got married, she didn't have to worry about these things, but now that she was a married girl, she went to ask Zhou again to be cautious.
Zhou said that there was no such thing. Relatives could give each other a few cents, and villagers didn't need to give anything. Children who came to the house could just grab the peanuts and eat them.
Peanuts had already prepared some at home, so she didn't have to worry about it.
The first to arrive was Fang, who brought her wife Du Juan and two grandsons and a granddaughter. They exchanged auspicious words as soon as they met. Zhou stuffed a lot of peanuts into the children's pockets.
"How did you make the eggs you gave us last time? The little ones kept asking for more, so I thought I'd ask."
Mrs. Zhou never held anything back when she spoke to her. "After the New Year, our family is going to use this recipe to do some business. This recipe was thought up by Chunxiao. How is it? It's really delicious, isn't it?"
"If it's really delicious, why would I lie to you?" Fang knew better than to ask about the recipe when she heard it was a commercial recipe. "How come your Chunxiao is so amazing? He can figure out everything. I think it will sell well if I sell it."
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