Chapter 774 Night Watch
Old Zhou's expression froze for a moment. He touched the red beads on his belt and asked, "Are these all fake? How come they look so good?"
"Your craftsmanship is good," Manbao said quickly, fearing that her father would feel bad, "It was very cheap when I bought it, so Dad, you can use it however you want."
Old Zhou touched his belt and looked at it for a long time, then shook his head and said, "Although it's fake, it makes me nervous. I'd better not take it out. Just look at it for fun."
Manbao took out a bracelet from his bag and gave it to him. "It's okay. I also think this belt is too eye-catching. You can just wear this one."
Old Zhou didn't expect that he had a bracelet. Although he had never seen a man wearing a bracelet, he was very happy. After all, it was a gift from his daughter, right?
Who knew that Manbao also gave bracelets to his brothers, but the colors and styles of the beads were different.
Zhou Dalang and his companions looked at the brightly colored bracelet again and again, but still couldn't figure out what it was made of. So they asked, "This thing looks like iron but it's not iron, like stone but it's not stone, and it has so many colors. What is it made of?"
Manbao touched it and said, "I don't know, but it should be a stone. I just don't know what kind of stone it is. Anyway, it looks good."
That was true. Zhou Dalang and the others didn't think much about it and tried them on. They then discovered that there were many bracelets in the bundle and asked, "What are these..."
"For Big Head and his friends."
She prepared it for her mother and sisters-in-law, which made her father and brothers jealous. So she prepared it for Daya and the others. If she didn't prepare it for Datou and the others, wouldn't they be jealous again?
So it’s better to buy more at once.
Manbao waved his hand generously and said, "I bought it in a package, it's very cheap."
Old Zhou couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that the people outside are really amazing. They can dye the stones so beautifully. But why are these things worn by men?"
Zhou Dalang also asked Zhou Silang, "Do men in Yizhou City like to wear bracelets?"
Zhou Silang himself was a little skeptical. "Most of the people I see are laborers like us. How can they work with these things? Maybe they are just the masters and children of wealthy families who like to wear them?"
"I haven't seen Mr. Bai and Young Master Bai wearing them either."
"Oh, Mr. Bai's sleeves are so big that we can't see him even if he wears it. As for Young Master Bai, he's still going down to the river to catch loaches. How can he wear it to hold anything?"
Everyone thought so, so they stopped worrying and put the bracelets on their hands. After taking a look, they said happily: "Don't mention it, it's really pretty."
Xiao Qian and the others also thought it looked very beautiful.
When it was almost dark, Datou and his friends finally had enough fun and ran back home to keep watch. They received a gift and the party became lively again.
Daya and Erya pulled Manbao and Sanya into her room, holding a bronze mirror and wanted to dress each other up.
Zhou Lijun said: "I have learned several hairstyles, I will do them for you."
Daya envied, "You teach me."
"OK."
When teaching how to comb hair, there naturally needs to be someone sitting down as a reference. San Ya is still young, and her hair is not long enough or thick enough, so Man Bao was pulled to sit on the chair.
Zhou Lijun combed Manbao's hair and said, "Auntie, your hair is so beautiful."
It was so black, sleek, and straight that it could slide right out of my palm. Daya was envious, "My mom told me to take care of my hair, but how do I take care of it?"
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "Wait a minute. I'll look it up in the medical books and tell you when I know."
Daya smiled and said, "Okay."
The four little girls discussed how to comb their hair together, put the pearl flowers they had just received on their heads, put on earrings, then changed into new clothes and ran to the main hall to show them to everyone.
The room suddenly became lively.
Qian pulled Manbao to her side, eyes full of satisfaction, "Our Manbao has grown up."
Old Zhou nodded in agreement, and then woke up after sleeping for only three hours after keeping watch. It was still dark outside, but the roosters had already crowed.
In the past, some people in the Zhou family would get up, but New Year's Day is a special day, and no one would get up so early.
So when Qian heard the noise, she looked up at him. Seeing him take out the glittering belt, she couldn't help but sigh, "I hadn't seen enough last night. I told you it was fake."
"If it's not fake, how much would it cost? Even if it's fake, it's still Manbao's filial piety."
Qian snorted and said nothing.
Old Zhou took the belt and sat down on the edge of the bed, whispering, "I thought we could put this thing in a box and bury it in Old Two's grave. How about that?"
Qian paused and said, "Can't you bury something nice? These are just for show but not for use. Even a silver lock would be better than burying a tattered belt."
"How are they the same? This was a gift from Manbao. The silver lock I made is not her filial piety. Besides, who would bury silver in a tomb? Isn't that..." a waste of gifts?
Money can be used and consumed by the living, but what’s the use of giving it to the dead?
As he spoke, Old Zhou had already taken out a box. He folded his belt and carefully placed it inside. He said, "Today I'm taking Manbao to the grave and asking her to kowtow to Lao Er twice more. I'll also tell Lao Er that Manbao has become more and more successful. I'll ask him and his sister-in-law to bless Manbao from down there."
Qian murmured in response, then couldn't sleep anymore. She got up and said, "This year our family is doing better than in previous years. You should burn more paper money for your parents."
"Don't worry, I asked Dalang and the others to buy it early, so my parents won't be short of money."
They had no money when they were alive, but now that they are dead, we can give them more money.
Because she was on night watch, Manbao woke up late, which was unusual for her. She was finally woken up by a knock on the door. She got up and looked outside, and saw that Datou and the others had also been woken up.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, all the male members of the family must go to worship their ancestors.
As for the girls, it seemed that Manbao was the only one from the Zhou family who had gone with them. Because she had been doing so since she was a child, Manbao had never thought there was anything wrong with it before. But this time when she went to Yizhou City and met more people, Manbao realized that in some places, girls were not allowed to worship their ancestors on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
While washing her face, she looked around and asked her sister-in-law who was busy at the stove, "Sister-in-law, where are Daya and the others?"
"I haven't gotten up yet. I slept late last night. I guess I won't get up until the sun comes out."
Manbao couldn't help but mutter, "Why don't they go to worship their ancestors?"
Xiao Qian paused for a moment, then turned back and smiled at her, "They are younger than you, so you should go because you are the elder. When you go, kowtow to them a few times and ask the ancestors to bless them to find good husbands in the future, okay?"
Man Bao agreed, twisted the towel and said, "Let's wish them good health and a bright future, and hope they make a lot of money in the future."
Xiao Qian smiled and said, "Okay."
Good night
(End of this chapter)
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