The wet nurse watched Mei Jiqin grow up, and they relied on each other for so many years. They were master and servant in name, but mother and daughter in reality. Seeing her own girl wasting her time until now, the wet nurse felt sad and felt that she had failed to live up to the master and the mistress's last wishes.
The issue of getting married has always been a hurdle that the wet nurse could not get over. She felt that only by marrying into a good family and having a lifelong support could her life be complete. When she was old, she would have children who would be filial to her and would not have a miserable old age.
However, Mei Jiqin doesn't think so. She feels that her current life is already perfect enough.
But she also knew that the wet nurse was doing this for her own good, and she couldn't bear to refuse her, so she said, "Wet nurse, if I can find a family with open-minded parents, no concubines, and a noble character, I would be willing to marry him."
Mei Jiqin is not really opposed to getting married, but she is worried that she will not be able to entrust her trust to the wrong person. In that case, it would be better not to get married and live happily alone. However, if she can really find someone who meets her requirements, she will naturally be willing.
But such a person is probably hard to find in the world. Even if she is found, how could the other party be interested in her?
So she put forward this condition, which was just a disguised rejection.
Unfortunately, the nurse didn't know and thought she was really moved by her words. She was very happy and said, "Okay, the nurse will ask the matchmaker to find a good husband for our girl."
Shanghe Village, the home of Doctor He.
In the main room, two old friends, He Shen and Feng Xian, sat together, drinking fine wine and eating delicious food, looking very leisurely.
Most of the dishes on the table were sent by the Xue family.
Feng Xian came here early this morning, thinking that since He Shen was alone, the two old men could just get together.
He Shen said he disliked his arrival, but he was actually happy in his heart.
On weekdays, I feel peaceful when I am alone, but on this day when every family is reunited, listening to the sound of firecrackers coming from other families in the village, and then looking at myself all alone, I feel a little lonely and desolate in my heart.
But with one more person, this emotion immediately dissipated.
"Come on, Lao He." Feng Xian picked up the wine glass.
He Shen was already a little drunk, so he waved his hand and said, "No more drinking, eat the food, eat the food."
The Xue family's New Year's Eve dinner lasted until after seven o'clock, and it was eight o'clock when they finished cleaning up.
But tonight is New Year's Eve, and we have to stay up all night, so it's never too late.
The family cleaned the main room and the kitchen, lit lights in every room, and lit the red lanterns under the eaves, making the house inside and outside brightly lit.
The door gods and couplets posted on the door are reflected very brightly.
It is said that there is a vicious beast called "Xi" which comes to the human world to eat people at the end of the year. Even the Kitchen God who protects the safety of the house cannot do anything about "Xi", so he goes to heaven to ask for help - a god named "Nian".
This immortal possessed immense magical powers and possessed two instruments: one shaped like red silk and the other like a bamboo pole. The former, when used, would emit a brilliant light and blaze with fire, while the latter would produce a loud, crackling sound.
"Nian" used these two magic tools to eliminate the Xi beast. This day happened to be the last day of the twelfth lunar month. In order to thank and commemorate Nian for eliminating Xi on this day, the people called this day "New Year's Eve" and the first day of the New Year "Guo Nian".
Because they worshipped and appreciated Nian very much, common people used red silk and firecrackers to commemorate Nian, which was also a way to scare away the night beast.
Later, red silk gradually evolved into the red couplets that every household posts during the Chinese New Year, while firecrackers are still firecrackers.
The lights lit in various places in the house also evolved from the scene when the red silk magic instrument was performed.
It’s hard to just sit there and stay up on New Year’s Eve, but you have to play some games too.
Xue Huan suggested playing Mahjong. There were exactly five people in the family, so four of them played first. When one of them lost, the last person would play.
Then the sound of rubbing mahjong tiles could be heard in the room.
Everyone becomes excited when they play cards.
Pei Ji did not play in the first game. He sat next to Xue Huan with his arm resting on the back of her chair, making it look like he was hugging her whole body.
He had never played Mahjong before, but he learned it by watching a few rounds.
"Hahaha, I won, give me money." Xue Huan pushed her cards down and happily extended her hands to others.
Even though we are a family, it would be boring if we don’t play for money, so we just did it for real.
But now everyone in the family has plenty of money. Not to mention Xue's mother, as the owner of Jinluoyi, she earns hundreds of taels a day. Not to mention Xue Huan.
The remaining three younger ones, Pei Ji, Xue Yao and Xue Jun, all received pocket money. They were not the type to spend money recklessly, and after saving for over half a year, they had quite a bit of money in their hands.
It was Xue Yao who had played the wrong card just now (playing the wrong card means that the card you played was eaten by someone else, causing that person to win the game), so it was time for him to leave, and Pei Ji took his place.
Xue Yao sat next to Xue Jun.
Everyone present was a player driven by luck, not technique. Things changed over time. At the beginning, Xue Huan won a few games in a row, but later on, she kept losing.
After the shooting, she asked, "Do you want to eat roasted sweet potatoes?"
Xue Yao: "Eat!"
The brazier was still burning. Xue Huan went to the kitchen cellar and got a few small sweet potatoes, then put them in the charcoal brazier and roasted them slowly.
Roasting sweet potatoes takes a long time, so she prepared two fruit plates and a plate of melon seeds and pastries and placed them on a high table so that she could eat them anytime when she felt thirsty or hungry while playing cards.
Xue Huan used a bamboo stick to pick up the fruit and fed a piece to Xue's mother and Xue Jun respectively. Xue Yao opened his mouth and said, "Sister, I want some too."
Pei Ji also looked over.
Xue Huan: "Both, both."
While cracking melon seeds, Xue Huan suddenly remembered the little Bodhi tree in Lingyun Temple!
Today every family is celebrating the festival and having a reunion dinner, so Lingyun Temple must be more lively than usual, but the little tree spirit is all alone. It’s hard to blame her when I think about it.
She used the excuse of going to the toilet, filled a large food box with food, released the mole, hung the food box on its tail, and asked it to help deliver it to little Bodhi.
When the mole beast came back, it also brought a return gift to little Bodhi, which was its true form - the Bodhi fruit grown on the hundreds of years old Bodhi tree.
After midnight, people start to feel sleepy.
Xue's mother was reluctant to let the children stay up until dawn, so she said, "You all go to sleep. I'll keep watch."
It would be okay for Xue Huan to not sleep all night, but Xue Yao and Xue Jun were still growing, and children couldn't stay up late, so she also sent them to bed.
"Mom, you should go to sleep too. Akang and I will be watching over you. We are young and can handle it."
She finally persuaded Xue's mother into the room after much persuasion.
So, Xue Huan and Pei Ji were the only ones left in the main hall. Oh, and there were also Dahei, Taiji and the other three little ones.
Keeping vigil is not just about sitting there. The main thing is to ensure that the incense in the incense burner does not go out. Once the incense is about to burn out, a new one must be inserted immediately.
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