The steward delivered the items to the Marquis's residence, making sure to deliver them to each person on the list. Even Xu Di and Li Yuexi, who were already married and living in the capital, received items delivered to their doors.
When the old lady saw the things prepared especially for her, she laughed heartily. After laughing, she said to Granny Shen, "Our master and mistress are treating me like a child."
Granny Shen smiled and said, "It's also to make the old lady happy during the New Year."
The old lady nodded. How could she not understand this? She would be eighty years old after the New Year. Looking around the capital, which old lady could still be properly cared for at home at her age? Thinking of those of her age who had already passed away, the old lady felt quite sad every New Year. As people get older, they are actually quite afraid of the New Year. They count the days, knowing that each day is one less, each year is one less. Where is the joy and excitement of the New Year that they used to have?
After putting everything into a box and placing it separately on the kang (heated brick bed), the old lady said to Granny Shen, "We two old folks have to live carefully. There are so many children in the family, some are officials, some have met their end. If I am not well, they will all have to come home and stay for three years. I can't do anything now, so living well is also a way of helping the children."
The Liang Dynasty valued filial piety. When an elder passed away, the family members would observe a three-year mourning period. Not only officials had to put aside their work and return home to observe the mourning, but those preparing for the imperial examinations also had to stop their studies and stay at home obediently. After three years, those who had passed the examinations could continue. However, for officials, if they went home to observe the mourning period and fulfill their filial duties, someone else had to take over their work. Therefore, after the mourning period ended, they had to find a way to be reinstated. Who knew what kind of position they would be assigned when they were reinstated?
When the Marquis came to the old lady's courtyard that evening, he found that she was in much better spirits. After asking her, he learned that it was because she had received New Year's gifts from Miaozhou. The Yongning Marquis's family was wealthy, and when their children sent New Year's gifts home, it was usually the children's good intentions that mattered, not the value of the gifts. After asking the old lady what gifts she had received, the Marquis praised Xu Di's thoughtfulness. At the old lady's age, she lived entirely on her spirit. If you wanted her to live a long life, you had to make her happy, give her something to look forward to, and give her hope.
This year, the people of both Miaozhou and Lüzhou had a very prosperous New Year. After working in the mountains for two or three months, they not only became stronger from the food, but also managed to save some money. With extra money in hand, they were naturally willing to buy things for the New Year. Things they couldn't afford in previous years, they were willing to buy this year. They wouldn't have bought two strings of firecrackers for their children in previous years, but they were willing to buy them this year. Not for any other reason than to set off two strings of firecrackers during the New Year, so that the crackling sound would bring a prosperous and better year than this year.
At the foot of the mountain outside Luzhou City, there is a village called Huitouling (Turning Back Ridge). It is named this because after reaching the village, there is no road ahead, and one has to turn back to find another way. During the road construction, a gap was blasted open on one side of Huitouling Village, carving a road across the mountain ridge. The men in the village initially went to work on the construction site. The construction site needed someone to cook, so they found a few women from the village to help with the cooking. Later, those women came to Xu Di and asked if there were any other women in the village who wanted to find some work to earn a few copper coins to supplement their income. Xu Di found these women jobs breaking stones, providing them with lunch. They earned less than the men each day, and the women in the village competed to do it. By the time the construction site stopped in December, many women in the village were holding large strings of copper coins.
Early in the morning, a child from a family at the village entrance kept calling for his parents, urging them to hurry up.
It was still early when the lady of the house came out of the house wearing a creased dress. As she walked, she ran her hand over the creases on the dress. The man beside her watched with a smile and said, "Let's go to the fabric shop and get some cloth to make you a new dress."
The woman glared at him and said, "Why bother with new clothes? I already have one. Let's take Gouwazi to buy some firecrackers, some flour, and some meat. We'll eat flour dumplings for the New Year this year."
The man said embarrassedly, "This dress is the one you wore when you got married. It's been several years. We're rich this year, so we don't need these things. Listen to me, let's tear off a piece of cloth and make a dress to wear for the New Year. Our life next year will definitely be better than this year."
The woman was deeply moved. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the child, who had already run quite a distance away, heard her and came running back excitedly, asking, "Mother, do we really want to eat white flour dumplings?"
The woman pulled the child over, patted the dirt off his clothes, and said, "Of course it's true. We have extra money this year. Can't we at least have some white flour dumplings for the New Year?"
The six- or seven-year-old children ran around excitedly, shouting, "We're going to eat white flour dumplings! We're going to eat white flour dumplings!"
Seeing the child's happy figure as he walked away, the man smiled憨厚ly and said, "This child."
The woman was initially happy, but then became somewhat sad. The child was so happy to eat white flour dumplings once in a year. In her heart, she thought that she must work hard to make the family's life better so that she could make white flour dumplings whenever she wanted.
The child ran ahead, and the couple followed behind. Before they even left the village, the gate of a house opened, and a man about the same age as the boy came out. Seeing the family heading towards Luzhou City, he smiled and asked loudly, "Erzhu, are you going into the city?"
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