Chapter 211 Preparations before the New Year (I)
The next morning, Baoya woke up and found that the tuft of red deer tail hair was still in her hand.
She stretched and sat up, remembering what was written in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas": In the mountains of Zhuyang, there is a beast, its shape is like a horse with a white head, its pattern is like a tiger with a red tail, its sound is like a ballad, its name is Lu Shu, wearing it is good for descendants.
It is said that there is a wild beast on the Zhuyang Mountain that looks like a horse, with a white head, tiger stripes all over its body, a red tail, and its cry sounds like a human singing.
Its name is Lu Shu, and it is said that wearing its fur can bring prosperity to your descendants.
Remembering the contents of "Classic of Mountains and Seas", Baoya instantly understood.
My mom and dad have never had children of their own. Although they have adopted me now, they must really want a child.
Besides, my eldest uncle and second uncle both have two children, but I am the only one left to my parents.
Baoya thought of the time when she took care of Hu Zi and let Hu Zi call her sister, and suddenly she also wanted a little brother or sister.
Thinking of this, she quickly stood up, tied her hair and put on her clothes, planning to sew a small purse and stuff the tail hair into it for her mother to wear.
When she was halfway through sewing the purse, she remembered that her second uncle's family already had two girls, Yunhua and Yunyue, but no boy.
Although grandma didn't say anything and my second uncle didn't care, my second uncle's wife seemed to have always wanted a boy.
Otherwise, give a handful to my second aunt.
With this in mind, she threaded the needle with her deft little hands and finished sewing both purses in just one morning.
Although the sewn material looks crooked and not very pretty, at least it can hold things.
She stuffed the two tufts of deer hair into her purse, and Yunyue's voice was heard outside the door.
"Baoya, it's time for lunch! Are you still awake?"
"I'm coming!" Baoya stuffed the two purses into the desk drawer and ran out happily.
It can’t be given yet. My aunt-in-law doesn’t have a gift yet. She has to think about what to give her.
In the small hall on the first floor, the table was already filled with sumptuous dishes.
Wang Cailian enthusiastically served food to everyone in the family, and her uncle was grinning from ear to ear.
The tofu shop that was converted from the east wing and the granary that was converted from the west wing have both been completed.
"Eat, everyone! Eat more!" Zhao Zhilan said with a smile, "Cai Lian prepared all the dishes on the table today, and Chun Xiu, Rong Yue and I just helped out."
"Let's see if her cooking skills have improved. Everyone, don't be so reserved!"
They are all family members, so even without her saying anything, everyone would eat to their heart's content.
Bao Ya looked at Wang Cailian's rosy face and said that her elder brother would be home in a few days, and they would prepare something delicious at that time.
Suddenly, an idea came to me. My aunt has always been proud of my eldest brother, so why not give him some gifts to bless his academic success!
So after lunch, Baoya went back to her room and took out a small wooden board that was polished very smoothly from the small treasure box.
This piece of wood was picked up from the firewood pile in the woodshed when she was at Chen's house. It looked neat and smooth at the time, and she thought it was good, so she picked it out and put it away secretly.
I didn’t expect it would come in handy now.
Baoya planned to carve the words "High School" on a wooden board, then string it with a red tassel and hang it for her aunt.
Engraving is easy, but punching holes is not so easy for her.
Remembering that Li Chengyong had worked in various places before, Baoya was smart enough to go to him for help and successfully made two small round holes in the wooden board.
Feng Mengru enthusiastically taught her how to use the red rope to make tassels, and the wooden plaque was soon made.
All that was left was to carve the words. Baoya first used a small knife to gently scratch out the outlines of two words, and then began to carve them.
I carved a little secretly every night, and by the day before my eldest brother was about to come back, I had finished it.
She ground the ink and picked up the brush, traced the carved words with the brush, and let it dry.
Looking at the two Chinese characters "高中" (high school) written in a flamboyant style, Baoya was particularly satisfied, and she felt that her uncle, aunt and elder brother would also be very satisfied.
That night, Baoya prepared three gifts and gave them to her mother, her eldest aunt and her second aunt respectively.
The three sisters-in-law were so happy that Dalang, Erlang and Sanlang started fighting over it, and kept asking Baoya to prepare New Year gifts for them as well.
Baoya felt helpless when she saw these three grown men asking her for gifts in a childish manner, and she promised to give them the gifts on New Year's Eve.
In fact, I haven’t prepared gifts for not only my dad and two uncles, but also for my grandma.
However, Zhao Zhilan claimed that she was old and did not want to argue with her sons and daughters-in-law.
But Baoya knew that her grandmother, as an old child, must be jealous.
Tomorrow is the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and my eldest brother’s Yucai Academy will also start its holidays.
Since the 26th day of the 12th lunar month, the whole family has officially started to prepare for the New Year.
Twenty-six, buy some meat.
Twenty-seven, buy roast chicken.
Twenty-eight, buy a duck.
Twenty-nine, guard the door.
On the night of the 30th, stay up all night.
Go out on the street on the first day of the new year and dance.
This nursery rhyme sung in the streets and alleys is very apt.
Early the next morning, Baoya was woken up by He Chunxiu. She changed her clothes and went to the town with her uncle, aunt, brothers and sisters to buy meat and New Year's goods, and to pick up her eldest brother home.
Zhao Zhilan's arrangements were very appropriate, and the meat and vegetables needed for the New Year at home were almost ready.
Starting from the 26th, it is the eldest family's turn to go to town to buy things, whether it is New Year's goods for the family, small items for the children, or gifts for the daughter-in-law to bring back to her parents' home. They can spend their own money and buy whatever they want.
Today is the day when Baoya, Yun Chenglu and the other four children go to the town with Yun Dalang and Wang Cailian and his wife.
Baoya sat on the ox cart with Yun Chenglu, Yunhua and Yunyue. Each of the three little girls brought a gift for Grandma Yu.
Ever since they last discussed what gift to give to Grandma Yu, they have been preparing it seriously.
Yunyue brought a pot of beautiful wintersweets, Yunhua brought a carefully woven auspicious knot bracelet wrapped in a soft handkerchief, and only Baoya carried a large bucket filled with various ingredients. She was going to the shop to wait for Grandma Yu to come and cook a home-cooked dish for her.
He Chunxiu and Yun Sanlang drove their donkey cart to the town early in the morning. Considering that Wang Cailian and her family had to bring several children with them, they left the ox cart to them.
The group rode a ox cart to the town and first stayed at He Chunxiu's Yunji breakfast shop.
Several children were waiting for Grandma Yu in the shop, while Wang Cailian and Yun Dalang went to the town to go shopping.
As a result, the four children waited until noon when it was time to pick up their eldest brother, but Grandma Yu didn't show up.
Baoya was a little worried for some reason, and ran in to ask He Chunxiu, "Mom, has Granny Yu come to our shop for breakfast these days?"
"Which Granny Yu?" He Chunxiu was a little confused about the name and the person.
"That's the old woman with gray hair, a hunched back, and who walks slowly with a cane!"
He Chunxiu thought about it carefully, then shook her head: "No. Ever since you accepted the handkerchief she gave me that day, I haven't seen her come to our shop again."
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