The children refused to sleep, keeping each other company and making merry all night.
In fact, the custom of staying up all night at the turn of the year has been popular since the Han Dynasty.
For the elderly, staying up all night on New Year's Eve signifies bidding farewell to the old year and cherishing time. For the young, staying up all night is to extend the lifespan of their parents and elders.
Therefore, on the thirtieth day of the year, from high-ranking officials and nobles to ordinary people, every household would sit together to wait for the New Year to arrive.
In Hejian, in an inconspicuous little courtyard, a middle-aged man of about thirty years old was busy in his kitchen with his wife.
The man's name was Zhang Ping. He was originally a tenant farmer in Liu Hong's mansion. Besides farming, he would work as a long-term laborer in the mansion or wealthy families to earn a living.
Although Liu Hong has now ascended the throne and become the emperor, he has not given up on Hejian. The Marquis's mansion and the land under his name have been handed over to Uncle Fu to manage, and the rules remain unchanged.
Therefore, the lives of the local people and tenants are much better than in other places. During the Lunar New Year, if they want to eat something good, they can still manage by gritting their teeth.
Inside the kitchen, the firewood under the stove crackled and popped, while above the stove, two earthenware pots, resembling cauldrons or pots, were bubbling and steaming.
"Ah! It smells so good!"
Zhang Ping lifted a ceramic lid, and a fragrant aroma of meat immediately filled the entire kitchen. Looking at the simmering chunks of meat inside, Zhang Ping's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Seeing Zhang Ping like this, his wife couldn't help but shake her head and laugh.
"That's about right, you can add the salt now!"
Seeing that a layer of oil had already floated to the surface of the earthenware jar, Zhang Ping's wife carefully took a clay pot from the side, then pinched out a handful of fine salt and sprinkled it into the earthenware jar.
"Hey, look at you! It's not like we ran out of salt, why did you only put in so little? How can that have any flavor?"
Seeing his wife's stingy manner, Zhang Ping couldn't help but complain.
"Hmph~, do you know how much money this refined salt can fetch? How much grain can it be exchanged for? That's already quite a lot!!"
The wife gave a soft snort, and as if protecting a precious treasure, prepared to put the refined salt away.
"You old hag, if you dare to take this salt out to exchange for money or grain, I'll beat you to death!! Give it to me!"
Zhang Ping glared at his wife, snatched the salt shaker from her hand, and then threw a handful of salt into the earthenware pot used for stewing meat.
"you.....!"
When her husband suddenly became angry, Zhang's wife was startled, her eyes reddened, and she immediately turned away to cover her face and weep.
"Sigh!"
After covering the pottery jar, Zhang Ping saw his wife weeping with her face covered and couldn't help but sigh.
Then Zhang Ping stepped forward, turned his wife around to face him, and said earnestly:
“Now that we have the Marquis’s mansion, we are not short of money and food. This fine salt is indeed precious, but it is food that the Marquis gave us. If you sell it, wouldn’t you be betraying the Marquis’s good intentions?”
Besides, such a precious item hasn't even been put up for sale by the Marquis yet. If we sell it first, who knows what trouble it might cause him? Our family owes the Marquis a life, and although we can't be of much help to him, we absolutely cannot cause him any trouble! Do you understand?"
"My husband is right! I was being ignorant, please forgive me!"
Hearing Zhang Ping's words, Zhang's wife stopped crying and bowed her head to admit her mistake.
"Hehe~, alright, the meat's almost cooked. Put the salt away, we'll kowtow to the Marquis in a bit, then we can start eating!"
As they spoke, Zhang Ping handed the salt jar to his wife.
"You used to call me 'Lord Marquis' all the time? Now you have to address me as 'Your Majesty'!"
Zhang's wife rolled her eyes at Zhang Ping, then casually took the salt jar and put it away.
"Haha~, yes, yes, call him Your Majesty!"
Zhang Ping laughed and then opened a cabinet.
Inside, there was a longevity tablet for praying for the emperor's health and long life.
Then Zhang Ping and his wife knelt solemnly before the memorial tablet.
"Zhang Ping, a commoner, along with his wife and the entire family, expresses his deepest gratitude to Your Majesty for saving our lives and providing us with a full meal. We hope that Heaven will protect Your Majesty, granting you good health and a long and blessed life!"
As Zhang Ping finished speaking, the couple touched their heads to the ground and kowtowed several times to the ancestral tablet.
In ancient times, ordinary people did not ask for much; they only wanted to have enough to eat to survive. Whoever could feed them was their parent, their heaven.
Therefore, in ancient times, it was not uncommon for ordinary people to set up longevity tablets for officials and virtuous people who protected the region.
Before long, Zhang Ping and his wife brought steaming hot food and stewed meat into the house.
"Come on, come on, dinner's ready!!"
After placing the food on the table, Zhang Ping invited a child of about five years old and an elderly person to sit down.
Wow, it smells so good!
Smelling the aroma of meat, Xiao Zhanghe couldn't wait to run to the table, his eyes fixed on the steaming stew, a drop of saliva drooling from the corner of his mouth.
"You little rascal, you're in for a treat today!"
Looking at his chubby-cheeked son, Zhang Ping's face showed a hint of doting affection.
"Come, Father, dinner is ready!"
After the family was seated, Zhang Ping personally served his elderly father a large bowl of rice and placed a few pieces of meat on top.
"Ah, very good, very good. I've lived my whole life, worked my whole life, and never dared to dream that I would be able to eat such good food in this lifetime."
The old father accepted the food with a smile on his face. Looking at the fragrant millet rice and steaming meat in the bowl, two lines of tears couldn't help but slide down the old man's face.
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