On this morning, all the men in the clan would put on their cleanest clothes, take the offerings prepared the day before by their wives and mothers, and go to the Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall to worship and pray for a bountiful harvest in the coming year.
The four members of the Zhou family, father and sons, also went to the ancestral hall early to make preparations with offerings.
By Chen Shi (7-9 AM), almost every household had arrived.
After the old clan chief led everyone in kowtowing and paying respects to their ancestors, he also announced several important matters concerning the clan.
Actually, everyone already knows this; this is a way of informing our ancestors so they can know.
The old clan chief announced three things. First, he would step down starting next year and no longer serve as clan chief. Zhou Shizhou would then take over as the next clan chief.
The second matter is that starting with the new clan leader next year, in addition to the four elders, the clan will also have a guardian elder, whose main responsibility is to defend against external enemies who may harm the villagers. And the first guardian elder they have chosen is Zhou Quan.
The third thing is that, besides planting their own fields in the spring, if any families have spare people, they should go to the new clan chief to register after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Zhou Quan's wife is going to build a workshop in the village and needs people. As for the wages, we'll find out then.
In addition, whichever family's woman knows how to weave, she should start weaving more. Zhou Quan's wife said that if she wants to open a clothing shop, she will need fabric. When the time comes, anyone with woven fabric can go to Zhou Quan's wife to sell for money.
When the clan chief announced these things, everyone was excited and happy. They hadn't expected that this would happen when everyone was worried about what to eat in the spring and didn't want to spend all their money.
Of course, they knew in advance. The elders and other senior members of the clan knew this beforehand, and that's why they stepped down immediately after selecting a new batch of elders without any hesitation.
They also have a lot of confidence in young people.
Several young people questioned whether Zhou Quan could protect their clansmen. When Zhou Zhong and the others heard that someone doubted Quan Ge's ability, they immediately felt an urge to argue.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Quan slapped out with his palm, and a corner of the table next to him was neatly missing.
Immediately, people fell silent, and no one dared to hold Zhou Quan accountable for damaging the table.
Everyone now believes in his abilities.
After Zhou Sanli and his family returned home, Zhou Lei recounted the scene of his elder brother scaring people in the ancestral hall. Zhao Shi and Zhou Tao were immediately amazed. The two of them looked Zhou Quan up and down, saying that they never expected their elder brother to have such great abilities after he stood up again.
Li Mai and Zhu Zhu were petting the cat while watching the family's recognition and admiration for Zhou Quan's strength with smiles on their faces.
The Zhou family prepared a large table full of dishes for their New Year's Eve dinner. Li Mai also cooked a few dishes, and Zhou Quan learned to cook from Li Mai, learning two dishes as well.
The whole family sat together happily and excitedly; this was the first time the family had ever had such a prosperous New Year.
Once the family had almost finished eating, the food was cleared away and replaced with fried dough twists, tea, and some small snacks made from quinoa. The family would then gather around to drink tea and chat, or take turns telling stories and auspicious sayings about the New Year.
Zhao let the young people play, and she washed the bowls. Li Mai wanted to wash them, but Zhao sent her back.
After playing around for a while, Li Mai and Zhou Quan went back to their own homes to light lamps. At midnight, they returned to the Zhou family compound to light a bonfire and turn it around, praying for a peaceful and prosperous old age.
Next, it was time for the family to happily set off fireworks.
Perhaps only a few families in the entire village are willing to spend money to buy these fireworks. They disappear in the blink of an eye, yet they cost money, so many people are reluctant to buy them.
Despite the concerns about these families setting off fireworks so close together, the villagers seemed quite happy and entertained watching the spectacle.
The villagers looked around and tried to guess whose house it was.
Zhou Quan's family had the most fireworks, and they kept them going for the longest time. Everyone knew that was Zhou Quan's family.
Even the clan chief's family wasn't spared.
After that, the Zhou family members all went back to their own rooms to stay up all night.
Zhuzhu was a little sleepy, so Limai and Zhou Quan carried her back to their place to rest.
There were no entertainment facilities at that time, and they couldn't stay up all night, so they went back to wash up and rest.
The next day, as soon as I opened my eyes, it was the start of a new year.
After the family got up, they exchanged New Year's greetings. Li Mai and Zhou Quan prepared a lucky bag for Zhu Zhu, containing a message of blessing written for her and three golden beans as New Year's money.
Zhuzhu was overjoyed. After counting the gold coins, she carefully put them into a box in her room and locked it up.
She will save the lucky bags her parents give her every year from now on.
Although she doesn't recognize the words on the papers her parents gave her, she will try her best to learn to read as soon as possible and know what her parents wrote for her.
Her parents only told her that those were blessings, and that she should study hard every year so that she could understand them herself.
After washing up, the family put on their newest and best clothes, left their house, and went to the Zhou family compound.
When they got there, it was quite lively!
The adults of families in the village who had a relatively good relationship with them were required to kowtow to the village elders to acknowledge their seniority and status.
Doing this will also allow them to receive a New Year's gift or a lucky bag.
"Hello, Grandpa Quan! Happy New Year, Auntie!"
Upon seeing them arrive, the older children offered their New Year's greetings to the couple, and Zhou Quan would reciprocate by giving them a small lucky bag containing a gold bean.
They were delighted to see a small golden bean inside; it was their favorite New Year's money they had received all morning from visiting relatives and friends.
The morning was bustling and noisy, but by noon the people coming to pay New Year's visits finally stopped.
The family had a lively lunch together. In the afternoon, Li Mai and Zhou Quan played Gomoku (Five in a Row) and taught their younger siblings. Zhu Zhu also stood aside and learned attentively.
An hour later, Zhuzhu Xu also learned it, and Zhou Lei learned it too. The two of them started playing.
Zhou Lin and Zhou Tao still made some mistakes, so Li Mai continued to teach them diligently until they learned it.
They realized that among the family, Zhuzhu and Zhou Lei were the most quick-witted.
Although Zhuzhu is only three years old, she has a very good memory and comprehension skills.
While Zhuzhu was watching the game, Limai suddenly asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up, Zhuzhu?"
Zhuzhu thought for a moment and said, "Mother, can I learn medicine?"
Li Mai asked in surprise, "Zhuzhu wants to learn medicine?"
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