The Chinese New Year is about to officially arrive. All the men working outside have returned, and the village has suddenly become a lot more lively.
Aunt Qin's son Pei Shaorong also saw it. He had heard Aunt Qin talk about her son a long time ago. The couple got married late and had a son late too. Uncle Qin was in his thirties when he gave birth to this son, named Qin Musheng.
Qin Musheng is not very old, only sixteen years old. He has been learning the craft from an old carpenter in the town. He is the pride of Aunt Qin.
In ancient times, craftsmanship was very important. Many people relied on a craft to support their families and make a fortune. If you wanted to learn someone else's craft, you couldn't just pay money.
If you want to learn, the master will first look at your qualifications, then your filial piety, and finally see if he is in a good mood and is willing to teach you.
Even if the master accepts you as an apprentice, it is up to him how to teach you. Generally, you have to be an apprentice for a few years before learning the craft. That means you will do odd jobs first. Not only will you not get paid, but you will also have to give money and things to the master as a gift.
Aunt Qin's son went there when he was thirteen years old. It has been three years now. He has learned very well and can even make furniture by himself.
It's not because his master taught him well, but because Qin Musheng is talented. He is like Aunt Qin, with a smart mind. He learned many skills in private. In the past two years, he has been quite liked by his master.
As the saying goes, teaching an apprentice will starve him to death. People will not really pass on their ancestral skills to outsiders. Usually, they are passed down from generation to generation in the family, and outsiders can only learn by stealing!
The Chinese New Year is a good day. Both adults and children enjoy it. All the New Year’s goods have been bought, and the only thing left is the pork for the New Year.
Linjiang Village is not rich, and every household is very frugal on weekdays. It is common to see no meat on the table for ten days or half a month.
But it's the end of the year already, and after a tiring and hard year, I must reward myself and indulge myself.
Therefore, at the end of the year, the village chief would buy a few big fat pigs on behalf of the entire village, and then the villagers would line up to buy them one by one. Generally, a family would only buy a few kilograms, and no one would be willing to buy more than that.
If there is any extra money left at the end, the village chief will take it himself. The village chief's family used to be one of the more well-off families in the village. Ever since his daughter got married, the village chief's family has become the richest in Linjiang Village.
Because the man his daughter married was a capable man, who passed the imperial examination with a marginal score and did well enough to become the county magistrate of Yueyang. Upon hearing this, Pei Shaorong realized that the village chief actually had a background!
Early in the morning, the villagers ran to the small square of Linjiang Village to line up to buy pork. Pei Shaorong saw the festive atmosphere and pulled Mo Xiaobao over to join in the fun.
"Brother Pei, why should we go buy meat when we already have meat at home?"
Mo Xiaobao followed behind Pei Shaorong, wearing newly made cotton clothes and a camel-colored scarf around his neck. His face and nose were rosy, and he looked so cute.
Pei Shaorong found the scarf specially in the space. It has a beautiful style and is comfortable to touch. Mo Xiaobao likes it very much.
There are people in the village who wear something around their necks in winter, but no one has such a beautiful and comfortable scarf. Most of them make it themselves with leftover cloth from making clothes.
When she saw that Pei Shaorong was also wearing the same scarf as her, she felt even happier. She wore it with her all day long and was reluctant to take it off when eating. She would put it on as soon as she got up in the morning.
Mo Xiaobao looked at Pei Shaorong in confusion. His family had no shortage of meat to eat, so why should he spend money?
Pei Shaorong turned around and stretched out his hand to help Mo Xiaobao adjust the scarf around his neck and said, "It's cheaper to buy meat with everyone else in the village. Our meat is used to sell for money, and the New Year pork is more fragrant than our meat..."
"It seems so... OK, Brother Pei, buy some meat today and I'll make dumplings for you. My cooking skills were taught to me by my mother!"
Mo Xiaobao nodded seriously, squinting his eyes to show off, not modest at all. Recently, the task of cooking at home was finally taken over by him.
His cooking skills have successfully conquered Pei Shaorong's stomach, making him very happy in the past few days. He has finally found his self-worth and will no longer be treated like a pig by Brother Pei!
"Sure, Chef Po, my mouth is watering just listening to it!"
Pei Shaorong also responded with a smile, and pulled Mo Xiaobao, who was beginning to jump for joy again, to line up quickly. There were good and bad kinds of pork, and only by queuing up to the front could you get the good ones.
When they arrived, there was already a long queue in the small square. There were many familiar faces in it, and Old Lady Qin was at the front of the line.
Father Mo was not far behind, following behind her, waiting to buy the best piece of meat. The other villagers also looked ready to fight for the pork at any time...
After greeting Aunt Qin with a smile, Pei Shaorong pulled Mo Xiaobao to line up at the back. They were all fellow villagers from the same village, and if they went to join the queue, they would be hated by the village in the future.
"It's Brother Pei and A-Bao... Oh, A-Bao's clothes are so pretty, they look like they were made by a cloth shop in town! Oh, what kind of fabric is that around his neck? It's so pretty!"
"That's right, the material of this dress is the finest cotton, and the one around the neck must have cost a lot of money!"
As soon as they lined up, people in front and behind started to greet the two of them. Although Pei Shaorong had only been in Jiang Village for a short time, he was usually quite good at pretending and being a good person, and there was no sign of the indifference of people in the last days.
After hunting in the mountains and picking wild fruits, when I return to the village I meet children and aunties who will generously give a few to them. When I sell skewers in the town, I will give villagers who come to buy one or two extra skewers.
These are some insignificant and harmless favors, but they are very cost-effective for the villagers who are always frugal and love to take advantage of small bargains.
In addition, Pei Shaorong always looks honest, gentle and smiling. Since his marriage, the villagers have been very warm and fond of him.
However, his family's way of life is still disapproved by many elderly aunts and grandmas in the village.
It was no secret in the village that Pei Shaorong took Mo Xiaobao to the town to make a lot of clothes after getting married.
Every family’s new cotton clothes are kept for visiting relatives during the New Year and other festivals, but ever since the two got married, the villagers have seen Mo Xiaobao wearing new clothes whenever he goes out.
There were people in the village who were envious and jealous, but most people felt that Pei Shaorong didn't know how to live. His family hadn't even bought any land, and it was hard for them to have enough food and clothing, yet he spent money so lavishly.
Today, I saw Mo Xiaobao wearing new clothes and a beautiful scarf. The old people in the village didn't say anything, but the young bride and boys were so envious.
"Abao, your husband is so good to you..."
Several new brides came up to Mo Xiaobao and whispered, "That's great. Although her husband is poor, he is willing to spend money on his wife. Even if the family has no land, it is enough for them to envy!"
“………”
Mo Xiaobao smiled embarrassedly, not knowing how to answer. It was not that he liked to wear new clothes to show off, but all his old clothes were taken away by Pei Shaorong, and no matter how he refuted, it was useless.
Every time he refuted, Pei Shaorong would always hit back with a sentence "Don't treat yourself badly".
Later, after wearing good clothes for a few days and then secretly putting on his old linen clothes, Mo Xiaobao stopped resisting. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality!
Being envied and teased by everyone, Mo Xiaobao felt embarrassed, but at the same time he had an illusion of happiness bubbling up, which made the new brides and young men envious again.
But there are also those who are jealous, such as Liu Meihua, who had competed with Mo Xiaobao for her husband. Because of the grudge between her and Mo Xiaobao, she can't stand Mo Xiaobao being better than herself.
She was jealous and unwilling to accept it when Mo Xiaobao got married last time. Today, it just happened that she and her husband Wang Afu were standing behind Pei Shaorong and Mo Xiaobao. Seeing everyone staring at Mo Xiaobao with envy, she felt even more unwilling to accept it.
Why does Mo Xiaobao live better than her? Isn't it obvious that Mo Xiaobao, who lost to her, married better than her and her husband is not as good as him!
She looked at Mo Xiaobao's clothes jealously, snorted twice, and then, imitating Mo Xiaobao, reached out and hugged her husband Wang Afu's arm and yelled.
"Brother Afu, the pigs look really fat this year. Let's buy five pounds and make some pickled vegetables and steamed meat. Meat is more practical. We can't show off like some people who don't even have a field!"
Liu Meihua looked at Mo Xiaobao as she spoke. No matter how well Mo Xiaobao dressed, his family had no land and food and drink were problems. No matter how well he dressed or how ostentatious he was, he was just pretending to be rich. Humph!
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but everyone around heard it. They subconsciously turned to look at her with surprise on their faces. An ordinary family with seven or eight people would only buy five kilograms of meat for the New Year, but her family, with only four people including the child, was going to buy five kilograms?
Someone couldn't help but say with envy, "Meihua, is your family really going to buy five kilograms of meat?"
"Yes, of course we have to eat enough meat during the Chinese New Year, but we can't queue up for half a day like some people do just to buy a pound of pork, that's too much trouble..."
Liu Meihua smiled proudly, staring at Mo Xiaobao with eyes full of boasting. This year her family had a good harvest and made some money, so she could still buy five kilograms of pork.
After thinking for a while, Liu Meihua continued to shout proudly, "I want to buy some ribs later. Who wants to buy together?" During the New Year in the village, ribs are sold by the fan. They are expensive, so usually several families buy together.
After saying that, Liu Meihua looked at Mo Xiaobao and continued, "Oh, by the way, Abao, forget about your family. Spare ribs are so expensive. You should save the money to buy a field. Don't let your husband go hunting. In this cold winter, if your husband stays in the mountains, you will have to be a widow..."
“Liu Meihua, what did you say…” Mo Xiaobao’s face changed, and he stepped forward to start a fight. Before he could finish his words, Pei Shaorong pulled him back, signaling him not to speak.
Biting his lip, Mo Xiaobao glanced at Pei Shaorong and shut up obediently. He didn't understand why Pei Shaorong didn't want him to speak, since he was being bullied by him...
Seeing this scene, Liu Meihua felt proud again. With Mo Xiaobao's reputation and temper, it would be strange if this Pei guy could always like him. Look, it's only been a short time since they got married and he's already despised.
Pei Shaorong saw Liu Meihua's expression, smiled gently and didn't care. He held Mo Xiaobao's hand comfortingly and continued to queue.
When it was their turn, Pei Shaorong responded to the village chief's question and said with a smile, "Village chief, look at how much meat is left? I want it all!"
The village chief opened his eyes wide "..."
The villagers who were still queuing at the back and the villagers who were watching the excitement around all fell silent. Mo Xiaobao stared at Pei Shaorong with his mouth open, also stunned.
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