After discussing the matter, everyone went home.
But I still can't sleep.
It's not even midnight yet!
According to tradition, people stay up all night on New Year's Eve. After midnight, they set off firecrackers, burn paper money, and cook vegetarian dumplings to worship the gods.
Only after all this is done can I go to sleep.
Normally, most elderly people and children would feel sleepy before 10 p.m., but today was different.
Besides the Chinese New Year, another reason is that everyone is growing mushrooms and has become richer.
With money in hand, people buy more New Year's goods.
In previous years, even if we bought melon seeds, peanuts, and candies, we would only buy a small amount to serve guests when they came to visit.
This year, however, every household bought a lot, and they ate as much as they wanted without any problem.
That's why everyone was chatting and eating sunflower seeds, looking quite energetic.
As soon as midnight struck, the sound of firecrackers began to ring out.
Li Weidong also took the firecrackers to the door, placed them down, and then said, "I'm going to light them now, cover your ears."
Li Xiaoli darted behind Zhou Xiaoye and covered her ears while peeking out.
Zhou Xiaoye found it amusing: "If you're scared, then go inside. Why are you making a fuss here?"
"I...I'm not scared at all!"
Li Xiaoli forced herself to remain calm: "It's just setting off firecrackers, who's afraid?"
Zhou Xiaoye remained silent, waiting for Li Weidong to ignite the fire, before pulling away her hands that were covering her ears and laughing, "If you're not afraid, why are you covering your ears?"
Before Li Xiaoli could react, the deafening sound of firecrackers rang out.
She was so frightened that she trembled and her face turned pale.
Zhou Xiaoye, however, was not afraid.
After all, she had set off firecrackers quite often when she was at the Zhou family's house, so she was used to it.
Seeing Li Xiaoli so frightened, she burst into laughter.
Li Xiaoli was mocked, and feeling both ashamed and angry, she chased after her and started hitting her.
The two girls chased each other in the courtyard, their laughter carrying far.
Li Weidong smiled, shook his head, and went into the kitchen.
The vegetarian dumplings that Zhao Xiulian cooked were just ready.
Upon seeing him come in, she greeted him, "Take these to offer to the gods first, then tell your sister and the others to eat dumplings. After they eat, it's time for them to go to sleep."
"I have to go visit relatives and friends for the New Year first thing tomorrow morning!"
Because there are many families to visit during the New Year's greetings, people usually get up around 6 a.m. The younger generation of the whole family gathers at the ancestral hall before setting off to visit the elders' homes to kowtow and offer New Year's greetings.
Li Weidong nodded and beckoned Zhou Xiaoye and Li Xiaoli over.
The family ate dumplings amidst the joyous sounds of firecrackers before going to bed.
That night, everyone dreamed of a better future.
the next day.
Before dawn, lights began to come on in every household.
Everyone was dressed in new clothes, brought New Year's gifts, and gathered in a grand procession at the ancestral hall.
Li Baotian wore a brand-new cotton-padded coat, and he looked much more energetic.
"Is everyone here?"
He called out, "Now that everyone's here, it's time to set off and pay our New Year's respects to Master Wei!"
"Okay!"
The crowd's cheers were deafening.
The entire Taohuayu area is not entirely populated by one surname; there are also many families with other surnames.
In previous years, it was the younger generation within the same family who would exchange New Year's greetings, but this year, people from all families, regardless of their surnames, gathered together.
Even those who hadn't followed Li Weidong in growing mushrooms came now. The entire village turned out, with over a thousand people following behind Li Weidong in a grand procession.
These people hadn't planned to grow mushrooms before, but after seeing everyone's profits last year, they all changed their minds.
You can earn money by going out to work, but you can't take care of your family, and you can't save much money at the end of the year.
It's different for growing mushrooms.
If given a choice, who would willingly leave their hometown?
If they could grow mushrooms with Li Weidong, they could stay at home to take care of the elderly and children and earn more money. So this year, all of them brought gifts to pay their respects to Li Weidong.
Everyone's trying to build good relationships so they can get a spot at the start of the year!
The group walked towards Li Weidong's house, their steps uneven and their steps uneven, and they were all very excited.
The Li family.
Li Weidong was awakened by the noise.
As soon as I got dressed and stepped out of the room, I bumped into Zhao Xiulian.
Li Xiaoli and Zhou Xiaoye also got up, rubbing their eyes and looking sleepy: "Why is it so noisy outside?"
Why are you sending New Year's greetings so early this year?
Zhao Xiulian frowned, somewhat flustered: "Weidong, it's too late! Hurry up and pack your things to get to the ancestral hall. You can't be late!"
Paying New Year's visits is a big event; the entire clan must set off together. Anyone who is late will be scolded!
Li Weidong nodded and opened the door to brush his teeth.
But when the door opened, everyone was dumbfounded.
There stood a pillar perched on the wall of his yard, about to jump down!
Seeing that he had been caught red-handed, Zhu Zi immediately chuckled sheepishly: "Um... Brother Wei Dong, why are you awake so early?"
Li Weidong then came to his senses and said irritably, "You brat, why aren't you at the ancestral hall waiting to pay New Year's respects? What are you doing climbing my courtyard wall so early in the morning?!"
It's fortunate that it was Zhu Zi, who knew him well; if it were anyone else, they might have suspected him of breaking in to steal!
Zhu Zi, perched on the wall, scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly: "That's right..."
"Oh dear, I don't know what to say, just open the door!"
Everyone's waiting outside!
The original plan was to have Zhu Zi climb over the wall and open the courtyard gate so that the people who came to pay New Year's visits could come in and wait in the courtyard to give Li Weidong a surprise.
Who knows if I'll get caught while climbing over the wall?
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