Chapter 29 Chapter 29 (Revised) The New Year is coming and we are filled with joy...
"What's the big deal? Just go back and bring the old man home to enjoy his life as soon as possible."
Xu agreed immediately. With Master Pei living next door, the Zhen family felt much less worried. He was polite, and it wasn't much of a hassle to just help look after the house.
Pei Yanqing handed over several wrapped gifts in his hand, including four kinds of dim sum from several famous dim sum restaurants in Beijing, and two jars of Tusu wine.
Xu finally accepted it after she had no time to refuse. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and every household will be putting up peach charms and door gods. She asked Master Pei about this, but found out he was too busy to prepare any. She went into the house and gave him some of her own extra. "They're not worth much, but before you leave tomorrow, at least put some up at home too. It'll bring good luck and happiness to your family, and may it bring you good fortune, promotion, and wealth next year."
In previous years, he always lived in the government office. Most of his superiors and subordinates had settled in Bian Jing. The yamen took turns to rest during the New Year. Since he was alone, they would take turns to rest with him. There were many things to do during the New Year, so he had no time to care about customs and etiquette. At most, his subordinates would come to help paste some window decorations and door gods, and the chaos of the New Year would pass by.
Only after living next door to the Zhen family this year did I understand what liveliness meant.
As the twelfth lunar month approaches, people start stockpiling fruits and vegetables to make bacon, and pickle jars of pickled cabbage and spicy vegetables. This is even more so as the Chinese New Year approaches. The chimney seems to be constantly smoking. There are fried meat and vegetarian dumplings, and all kinds of meat are braised. The aroma is everywhere. Many neighbors know that the Zhen family’s cooking skills are good, so they come specifically to buy the Zhen family’s fried meat and vegetarian dumplings.
After the dumplings were fried, Xu also sent over a few bowls. Pei Yanqing came back late at night and was hungry, so he put some in the noodles. The noodles, which originally had no taste, were so good that he could eat two bowls after adding the dumplings.
Early on New Year's Eve, every household was sweeping the dust and wiping the windows. After their homes were clean, the eldest brother began to put up peach charms. He opened the door and saw that the neighbors had already put up their own charms and had also posted new door gods. Baozhu recalled the sound of horse hooves she had vaguely heard before dawn. It seemed that people had gone back to their hometowns by then.
He only took a quick look and then looked away. There were many things to do on New Year's Eve. According to local custom, people don't use knives on the first day of the new year. He was going to set up a stall tomorrow, so it would be inconvenient to use knives and scissors. He had to prepare the ingredients in advance today.
Business gets busier as the New Year approaches. Zhen Jia Dalang went to the duck farm and bought duck bones, old duck, duck blood and duck offal. He then went to the shepherd and bought two sets of mutton offal and mutton bones. He told both parties that he would have the same amount delivered to his home tomorrow.
People in this dynasty are keen on dressing up as ghosts and gods. If you are strolling outside on New Year's Eve, you will be frightened to death at the first sight. Even during the day, many poor families dress up as ghosts and gods to ward off evil spirits and pray to the gods, going from house to house to beg for money.
Zhen Jia Dalang drove a mule cart, dodging left and right to avoid the strange-looking people on the street. He had been scared when he was a child and was particularly afraid of ghosts. Even if he knew that they were people pretending to be ghosts, he would still be frightened when he saw them for the first time.
However, no one in the Zhen family knew about this. His younger brothers and sisters all thought that the eldest brother was strong and reliable. He also believed that as the eldest brother he should be able to protect his younger brothers and sisters, so he always looked calm on the surface, but he was actually very scared inside.
For example, last time the night barbarian came knocking on the door, a ghost face appeared when he opened the door. Baozhu was so scared when she saw the ghost face that she screamed. Seeing him standing there expressionless, she thought that her elder brother was calm, but she didn't know that he was so scared that his whole body was stiff.
There were ghosts and gods everywhere inside and outside the city. Zhen Dalang drove his mule cart to avoid them and it took him a lot of effort to deliver the things he bought back.
These need to be processed in a timely manner. It is cold in winter and food needs to be stored for a long time. Cook it in advance and put it outside to freeze. Then just reheat it when you set up the stall tomorrow.
The Zhen family had their New Year's Eve dinner in Bian Jing for the first time. They first offered sacrifices to their ancestors and burned incense in front of the tablet of the Zhen family's grandfather before the family began to set the dishes and eat.
Drink Tu Su wine on New Year's Eve to ward off evil spirits and avoid obstacles. This wine was given by Master Pei yesterday. I opened a jar and drank it at night, and opened another jar when the Dong family came to visit.
Grandma Zhen had a lot of money of her own and often gave it to her brothers and sisters. However, the children were old now and could earn their own money, so they were unwilling to accept any money. Now, during the Chinese New Year, Grandma exchanged some gold and silver ingots early and gave each of the children a big red envelope.
Zhen's father and Mrs. Xu also took out the red envelopes they had prepared earlier as New Year's gifts. Everyone received one or two taels of silver each. A Zhong and A Xiu each received five cents of change.
It was bustling outside on New Year's Eve, but the Zhen family didn't plan to join in the fun. Instead, the whole family gathered around the fire to stay up all night.
After dinner, Ah Xiu went back to the house. The family was warming themselves by the fire when she brought out a few cashmere vests, each carefully wrapped in fine red cloth. From Grandma Zhen to the brothers and sisters, everyone got one.
Baozhu took it, opened the fine cloth and took a look. The stitching of the shirt was dense, and it was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into it. She touched it over and over again, unable to let it go. "These cashmere must have cost a lot of money. Thank you, Sister Xiu."
Seeing that everyone liked it, Ah Xiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks to the madam and the girls for their kindness, they're just a few waistcoats, they don't cost much. It's cold in Bianjing, and ordinary clothes can't keep out the wind. I heard people say cashmere is warm, so I asked my eldest son to bring some leather from the shepherds and send it to the saltpeter so that I can make a few before the New Year. I hope you don't mind."
I asked Madam Xu for the sizes. She made each piece a little looser so that it wouldn't be noticeable when I wore the waistcoat underneath. If you like to wear something that fits you well, it's easy to alter it later.
"Everyone try it on. If it doesn't fit, I'll modify it." Ah Xiu scratched her fingers embarrassedly.
"It fits perfectly!" Baorong had already put the waistcoat on over her clothes and touched the fluff on the shirt with satisfaction. "Sister Xiu has the most skillful hands!"
Xu asked, "Can you do it yourself?"
"I'm originally from the north and I'm not afraid of the cold." Ah Xiu was silent. "The girls just came to Bian Jing and can't stand this cold weather."
Before he could say anything else, he heard someone outside calling Zhen's father to play Pai Gow. During the New Year, the ban on gambling in the capital was lifted, and gambling stalls of all sizes suddenly flooded into Bianjing. After dinner on New Year's Eve, neighbors gathered together with their friends and started gambling.
It was not known which family had invited him, but Zhen's father did not want to go anyway. After some refusals, the outsider said that he was just gambling for fun.
Only after Xu cursed did the noise from outside die down. Playing cards and backgammon at home was fine, but gambling with those people outside was probably because they felt the family wasn't disbanding fast enough.
The firecrackers in the palace would be set off all night long, and even those living in the outer city could hear the noise.
The fireworks on New Year's Eve are more numerous than on any other festival of the year, shooting into the sky like they are free. Even the poorer families would buy a string of small firecrackers to join in the fun, and the sky was so bright that it seemed as if it were daytime.
That night, every household stayed up all night, and the Zhen family chatted over tea and snacks. Xu, Grandma Zhen, Baozhu, and Zhurong gathered around a table to play cards. At midnight, Grandma Zhen couldn't stand it anymore and went back to take a nap, and the rest of the people stayed until dawn.
By the fifth watch, everyone was so sleepy that they could hardly lift their heads. Xu, on the other hand, was more alert and went to call Zhen Erlang. This year they had to take the college entrance examination, which was the most important event for the family. Regardless of whether it would work or not, it would be best for them to go to the street and sell their stupidity so as to pray for a clear mind in the new year and avoid dementia.
This is an old custom in Suzhou, but I didn't expect it to be practiced in Bianjing as well. When the Zhen children were still little, they were taken to the streets by Xu on New Year's Eve to peddle sardines. At the time, they and their friends were just having fun, competing to see who could make the loudest noise.
Xu thought that it was because she had asked some of her children to sell dementia during the Chinese New Year when they were young, so all her children were smart and clever.
Erlang was silent. He was already nineteen after the New Year, and he didn't expect to go through this again. Erlang opened his mouth but said nothing, standing out among a group of children pretending to be mentally retarded.
A group of children were running around hawking their wares, asking everyone they saw if they wanted to buy something stupid or demented. When they saw that a grown-up man was selling something stupid or demented, they would still laugh a few times.
Children love the Chinese New Year the most. They can stay up all night and still have plenty of energy. But as they grow up, their worries become less serious. Erlang looks at these carefree children and feels a lot of emotion in his heart.
When it was dawn, the Zhen family washed their faces and began to prepare breakfast.
The first day of the Lunar New Year was the first day of the year, and it was time to set up a stall. Although it was New Year's Day, Baozhu didn't plan to rest, because there were many people during the New Year. Ah Zhong and Jiang Shi didn't leave until after the New Year, and Jiang Shi had already told his family about it.
With these two people here, we have someone to help at the stall today.
Xu stayed home today. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, neighbors visited each other, and the table was already set with snacks and fried food. She had to entertain anyone who came. Zhen's father had taken a day off yesterday, New Year's Eve, and from now until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he had no day off. Restaurants were closed during the Lunar New Year, and even invitations to private banquets were turned down.
During the New Year, the shopkeeper is very strict. If someone reports you for having a private banquet, you will lose your job. Since Zhen's father is not here, my eldest brother has to stay at home today and visit the neighbors to wish them a happy new year.
After eating snacks and drinking tea all night, they were still not very hungry in the morning. Baozhu could only eat half a bowl of meat dumplings and could not eat anymore. After A Zhong and the others finished eating, they pushed the cart to Zhouqiao together.
Baorong and Axiu carried the colorful cloth and went to the other end to sell paintings and silk threads.
I wore new clothes for the New Year. The outer garment I wore was the one that my mother had custom-made at the end of the year, and the inner garment was a cashmere waistcoat. The waistcoat was really warm, and it protected my chest and back, so I didn't feel cold even when the wind blew.
There are stalls along the way, selling everything from pearl-flowered headwear to children's toys, clothes, shoes and boots. There is a constant stream of people and cars on the road.
The stalls on Zhouqiao Street are lined up next to each other. Fortunately, I had reserved a stall before the New Year, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get a spot no matter how early I got up.
During the Chinese New Year, the most common things on the streets are gambling stalls, such as tea-drinking competitions and backgammon games. The simplest ones are those that roll dice and play Pai Gow.
There weren't that many food vendors today. Baozhu had arrived not too early, so after setting up her stall and hanging colorful flags and streamers, her stall gradually began to look brighter.
First, I cooked a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup and mutton offal vermicelli soup, and asked Jiang Shi and A Zhong to go to the stall to eat. I thought this would liven up the atmosphere. After all, it was a new stall, and customers coming and going would not be willing to be the first to try it when they saw that there was no one at the stall.
Gradually, more people came to ask about the food. Baozhu was cooking vermicelli. Jiang Shi was smart. After eating, he looked for customers and went to solicit them. He was a big shot in the market and his mouth was much more eloquent than Zhen Jia Dalang. He spotted those who had won money and were about to leave, and put his arm around their shoulders and said that the food at Zhen's food stall was delicious.
Many of them had been gambling outside all night and were hungry. They were groggy and asked Jiang Shi to take them to sit down and ordered vermicelli soup.
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