After the embroidery workshop finished distributing New Year's benefits, the last batch of goods could be completed in the next two days. Yan Qingqing then arranged for them to have a holiday on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month and start work again on the 8th of the first lunar month.
Besides the embroidery workshop, Wang Dong and Wei Laosan also received New Year's benefits. Considering Tie Tou's special circumstances, Yan Qingqing gave him an extra piece of meat and ten catties of flour.
The embroidery workshop can stop work, and the shop can close, but these chickens and ducks cannot be separated from people and need to be raised by special people.
Wei Laosan knew about this situation, so he told Yan Qingqing that he wouldn't be going home for the New Year.
Anyway, he lives close to home and can go back twice a month, so it doesn't matter whether he goes home for the Chinese New Year or not.
However, Yan Qingqing did not think so. Everyone says that whether you are rich or poor, you should go home for the New Year. In modern times, when family ties have become weak, people who work away from home still go home during the New Year. How much more so in ancient times.
Fortunately, Tie Tou said he could take care of it by himself. He lived so close to home and had nothing else to do, so he could keep an eye on things.
Yan Qingqing thought that feeding the chickens and ducks wouldn't be too difficult, and that she could ask Li Xiangjian and the others to help out. So she sent Wei Laosan home.
But Yan Qingqing never expected that this would sow the seeds of disaster.
By the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Yan Qingqing's embroidery workshop had stopped working, and most of the shops in the city had also closed down. Li Xiangping and his brothers had also returned home.
Of course, once they got home, the group didn't sit idle. They helped Yan Qingqing and the others steam buns, fry meatballs, and cook meat.
Li Xiangkang and Xiao Mochen stopped hiding inside reading and started helping to clean the yard, look after the children, and occasionally tease Xiao Hei.
Now that Little Black has grown up, it goes out early and comes back late every day. Yan Qingqing has no idea what this silly bird is busy with all day long.
You might say this bird is silly, but it probably knows the New Year is coming. Since the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, it hasn't gone out and has been staying at home, wandering around aimlessly.
Yuan Huiniang was busy receiving and preparing New Year's gifts. Fortunately, she had become quite familiar with the process over time, so although the New Year was busy, things didn't get chaotic.
Yuan Huiniang prepared a gift list, but in the end, Yan Qingqing was asked to review it.
Yan Qingqing glanced at the items, which mostly consisted of cloth, wine, and homemade food.
When Yan Qingqing saw the gift list from Magistrate Ling, she asked Yuan Huiniang to bring out the cloth and add a few more braised chickens and Drunken Immortal Ducks.
Then Yuan Huiniang took out a few sweet potatoes and potatoes and put them in.
It wasn't that Yan Qingqing was stingy; firstly, she genuinely couldn't bear to part with it, and secondly, she was afraid that Magistrate Ling wouldn't appreciate its value.
Yuan Huiniang glanced at him and asked in a low voice, "Mother, aren't you afraid that Magistrate Ling might have other ideas?"
Yan Qingqing replied with a smile, "I'm just afraid he doesn't have any ideas. But from what I've observed, Magistrate Ling is a good official. If he has any ideas, he'll definitely come to our door in person. Once he comes, our sweet potatoes and taro can be sold openly."
As long as Magistrate Ling comes to her door, Yan Qingqing is confident she can persuade him, since no official doesn't want to achieve political success.
Before she knew it, it was the first day of the Lunar New Year. Yan Qingqing was woken up early in the morning by the sound of firecrackers, and only then did she realize that today was the first day of the Lunar New Year.
So she quickly got out of bed, changed Li Xiangyang's diaper, and started getting herself ready.
After all, it's Chinese New Year, so it has to be festive no matter what. Besides, this is Yan Qingqing's first Chinese New Year since she came to ancient times.
Yan Qingqing picked out a brightly colored dress from the wardrobe.
This dress was newly made for her by Yuan Huiniang, and the embroidery on it was done by Old Madam Yan herself.
After getting dressed, Yan Qingqing styled her hair in a neat way, but as soon as she looked in the mirror, her face fell.
Ancient bronze mirrors are truly indescribable. Not only do they make people's faces look sallow, but they also distort and deform them. Yan Qingqing really couldn't understand how they could tell whether she was good-looking or not.
Even so, it was incredibly expensive. This bronze mirror was something Li Xiang'an insisted on buying for her. It was the only mirror in the house, and Yan Qingqing didn't want to offend Li Xiang'an's filial piety, so she simply placed it on her dressing table. However, it wasn't very useful.
After breakfast, the New Year's greetings began. The whole family was present, including Xiao Mochen. Since Yan Qingqing was the eldest in the family after the division of the household, she sat upright in a chair with a pile of red envelopes beside her.
The first to offer New Year's greetings were Li Xiangping and his wife. The two knelt on the ground and said in unison, "We wish Mother good health and all the best in the new year."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Okay, you two are the eldest son and daughter-in-law in the family, you have the most to worry about, you two have worked hard." After saying that, she took out two red envelopes with their names written on them and gave them to the two of them.
The two touched the red envelope and felt its weight; it contained silver ingots. They quickly thanked Yan Qingqing with delight.
Next was Li Xiang'an, who also knelt down and said, "May Mother be radiant in the new year and achieve great success in her career."
Yan Qingqing couldn't help but chuckle. This child never seemed to forget about business. So she said, "Get up. You've had the hardest year, and I've seen it all. I don't ask you to make a lot of money; I just want you to be safe and sound."
After saying that, he gave Li Xiang'an a red envelope, followed by Li Xiangjian, Li Xinniang, Li Yueniang, and Li Xiangkang.
Upon receiving the red envelope, Li Xiangkang eagerly opened it. Inside were a full five taels of silver, which delighted him greatly. His mother was indeed very generous.
Once Xiao Mochen saw that the Li family members had all finished their prayers, he felt that it was finally his turn.
So he lifted his robes and was about to kneel down when Yan Qingqing quickly helped him up, saying, "Your aunt neither gave birth to you nor raised you, so you absolutely cannot accept such a grand gesture from me."
Although Yan Qingqing wasn't entirely sure what the child's status was, she was certain it wouldn't be low; she truly couldn't accept such a low status.
Xiao Mochen stubbornly replied, "Although my aunt did not give birth to me or raise me, she saved my life and took me in. Such a great kindness deserves my deepest respect."
Mo Chen wished his aunt eternal youth, a house full of children and grandchildren, and good health and longevity.
After saying that, he solemnly kowtowed to Yan Qingqing. Yan Qingqing sighed and helped him up, saying, "Alright, then Auntie will also give Mo Chen a few words of advice today, hoping that Mo Chen will remember them no matter when or where."
Xiao Mochen looked at Yan Qingqing and said, "Aunt, please speak. Mochen will remember it."
Yan Qingqing said, "Snow weighs down the branches, but they don't touch the mud. When the red sun rises, they will still be as high as the sky."
I hope Mo Chen can be like that too!
Xiao Mochen was deeply shocked as soon as Yan Qingqing uttered those words. What kind of courage did it take to say such a thing? And didn't it perfectly reflect his current situation?
Xiao Mochen recovered from his shock and bowed to Yan Qingqing, saying, "Mochen will always remember Aunt's teachings!"
Yan Qingqing smiled and took a red envelope from her sleeve and handed it to him. The envelope had the words "Mo Chen" written on it.
Xiao Mochen smiled contentedly. It turned out that his aunt had also prepared New Year's money for him. Of course, his aunt was so good to him and treated him like family, so how could she not give him New Year's money?
After exchanging New Year's greetings, Yan Qingqing let them go out and have fun. After all, who doesn't have a few friends during the New Year? Let them brag and show off as they please!
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