Chapter 172 New Year's Eve
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.
The Zhongxing Brigade was not greatly affected by the movement, but a number of posters with slogans such as "Break away old ideas and establish new tendencies" were still posted in the brigade office.
The captain announced on the radio early on that this year people would not hang up spring couplets, light firecrackers, or worship their ancestors during the Chinese New Year, and the lion dance and yangko dance would also be cancelled.
The members closed the door and prepared delicious meals at home. The whole family was happy, safe and happy. Nothing was better than being together.
It is because the weather in the Northeast is so cold that students cannot come to the village for the time being, so everyone can celebrate the New Year with peace of mind.
In provinces further south, people have to work in the fields all year round, and they can only take two extra days off during the Chinese New Year.
The students are also restless during holidays.
Everyone locked the door and ate something secretly at home like thieves. When they heard a knock on the door, everyone became nervous.
"Change the customs and celebrate the Spring Festival, and do not stop on New Year's Eve"
"We worked until the 29th day of the 11th month, and then we started working on the morning of the first day of the 11th month after eating dumplings."
Slogans are not just for show.
Three ounces of pork to bid farewell to the old year, and a pack of tobacco to usher in the new year.
This is the true portrayal of the vast majority of people in this meeting.
Of course, this does not include Xia Zhizhi and the others.
Han Youran, Jiang Xiurong and Tang Mingli got up early in the morning and knocked on her door.
Everyone is dressed smartly.
Jiang Xiurong and Han Youran put on the red sweaters they had knitted themselves. They researched the style themselves and it was looser than the ones you buy now. They looked indescribably foreign when they wore them. Their hair was tied with a big bow with a red ribbon, which was particularly festive.
Tang Mingli also changed into the red vest with diamond patterns that Jiang Xiurong had knitted for him.
Xia Zhizhi: It's warm in this room, so you don't need to wear a thick coat to feel cold.
Seeing that she was still sleeping, Han Youran and Jiang Xiurong dug her up from the kang.
Han Youran shook a new sweater and asked Xia Zhizhi: "Zhizhi, look, Sister Youran knitted it for you. We all have it. Doesn't it look good?"
"It looks good, it looks good." Xia Zhizhi was so sleepy that she didn't even open her eyes.
Han Youran put a sweater on her, then pinned a red ribbon to her hair and braided it.
Jiang Xiurong also stamped her forehead with rouge.
Finish dressing up Xia Zhizhi.
The three of them had already started working with a lot of clanging.
It's New Year's Day, why should we sleep in? We have to have a sense of ceremony. What's the point of waking her up?
Xia Zhizhi saw them busying themselves at the stove, so she pulled over the quilt and continued to sleep.
Breakfast was quickly prepared and served in her room.
During this time, they had been cooking in her room since the water tank froze. Sometimes they shared their meals, and occasionally they would set up a table on her kang and eat together.
Han Youran and Jiang Xiurong would stay on her kang when they had nothing to do during the day. Occasionally, when someone from the village came to visit them, they would also stay on Xia Zhizhi's kang.
The situation in the north is different from that in the south. In the south, people generally don't invite people to sleep in the same place. Most families have a living room where they usually eat and entertain guests.
It's too cold here in the Northeast. Under the pressure of survival, people don't care too much. When someone comes, they just go to bed and cover themselves. No one talks nonsense.
After breakfast, the three of them started preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner.
There was everything from fish to meat, a total of ten dishes, and two large dumplings with curtains were also made to cook and eat during the New Year's Eve.
I guess the kang table is too small and not big enough for this place.
Tang Mingli took Xia Zhizhi's two large boxes of clothes and put them together to use as a table.
It is filled to the brim.
The four of them closed the door and got on the kang. Xia Zhizhi was willing to light candles, making the room bright and spacious.
Jiang Xiurong brought a jar of sweet osmanthus rice wine and poured a large jar for each person.
People in the south drink this kind of low-alcohol sweet rice wine, which is not intoxicating and tastes good. In the Northeast, the local wine has a high alcohol content and they cannot drink it.
Several people were eating and chatting.
Tang Mingli occasionally picked up a piece of food for Jiang Xiurong with his chopsticks. When the two looked into each other's eyes, a warm feeling spread in their eyes.
Tang Mingli may not be worthy of Jiang Xiurong in most people's eyes, but he is what Jiang Xiurong wants.
The quality of most dishes these days is poor.
Gay men are prone to explosive anger and are chauvinistic. It is normal for them not to do any housework. If they don't beat their wives, they are considered a good partner. If they can coax them occasionally and can earn some money to support the family, then this wife will definitely be the object of everyone's envy.
Even if they are as outstanding as Cheng Yu or Cheng Zhao, at most they can bring back some money, and all the affairs at home have to be taken care of by their wives. Don't even think about expecting them to accompany you as attentively and thoughtfully as Tang Mingli.
Jiang Xiurong really didn't want to look at that kind of man again, after all, she had seen enough of him in her previous life.
Tang Mingli's only shortcoming is that he is poor. His stinginess and indecision in relationships are all caused by his lack of money.
As Jiang Xiurong said, it is better to be poor and inferior than to be poor and confident.
But he is diligent, gentle, emotionally stable, and patient with Jiang Xiurong.
Besides, now I have a way to make money. Even though I was caught once before, I will get better as I get more skilled. I can’t be caught all the time…
Things will get better and better for both of them.
And this is exactly what Jiang Xiurong wanted. Money can’t buy what you love. The more she looked at Tang Mingli, the more satisfied she became.
After dinner, Tang Mingli picked up the leftovers and put them on the kitchen shelf to cover them. He then washed the dishes, cleaned up everything and went to bed. Several people started to eat melon seeds to pass the time and keep watch at the same time.
After cracking some melon seeds, Xia Zhizhi felt bored, so she took out a deck of Dream of the Red Chamber poker and invited everyone to gamble: "Come on, let's play a couple of rounds. Bet small, 1 cent."
No, it's not small.
"You really have everything..." Han Youran looked at her box that could hold everything, feeling both surprised and normal.
Four people played the game of Strive to Be the Best. The rules were very simple. Xia Zhizhi explained it once and everyone understood it.
Among the group, Jiang Xiurong had the worst skills. She just played whatever she had in her hand without any strategy. She even played behind Xia Zhizhi and was often stuck. Even Tang Mingli played better than her when he played poker for the first time.
By 12 o'clock, I had lost dozens of dollars. With this skill, I basically said goodbye to gambling.
Tang Mingli went to the kang to cook dumplings. The fire in the stove was always on and there was hot water in the pot, so the dumplings were cooked quickly.
In addition to dumplings, he also cooked four glutinous rice balls for each person.
People in the south don't eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year, so considering Jiang Xiurong, Xia Zhizhi just came as a side note. Tang Mingli also made some extra dumplings with sesame filling, which tasted pretty good.
After eating the dumplings, the three of them gave Xia Zhizhi some New Year's money.
Han Youran found another red scarf and tied it on Xia Zhizhi: "This is a New Year gift for Zhizhi. I hope our Zhizhi will be safe, healthy and happy for a long time."