Chapter 150: Chapter 85: The Warmth of New Year’s Eve

Regardless of whether Laicai would be attending school, the New Year still had to be celebrated. The family didn’t want the matter to dampen their spirits, so they dropped the subject.

All four members of the family were capable workers. This year, because they had prepared plenty of New Year’s goods, they were in high spirits and bustled about with extra enthusiasm.

On New Year’s Eve, the family started bustling about early in the morning. Mrs. Yang and Juhua were holed up in the kitchen, boiling and stir-frying, the fragrant aromas wafting outside. Zheng Changhe and Qingmu pasted red paper inscribed with “Prosperity to the Livestock” on the pigpen and chicken coop.

Qingmu could now recognize characters. He remembered the decorations at Li Gengtian’s house and bought a pair of couplets to post on their door. He had also wanted to hang a centerpiece scroll on the central wall of the main hall, but their house, though humble, was far from elegant, so he gave up on the idea. Mrs. Yang, on the other hand, had bought a painting of the God of Wealth at the market and put it up.

After a night of heavy snow, the flurries hadn’t stopped by the morning of New Year’s Eve. Fine snowflakes were still drifting down from the sky.

Juhua’s family lived alone at the foot of Little Qing Mountain, so no matter how busy they were, they didn’t make much noise. In the distance, however, Qingnan Village was a lively scene, with smoke curling up from kitchen chimneys, endless laughter, and the interspersed sounds of barking dogs. This prompted the little Black Dog to stand at the courtyard gate, facing the village and occasionally letting out a couple of “WOOF WOOF”s in its young voice to join in.

Today was New Year’s Eve, and even if they couldn’t eat it all, the meal on the table couldn’t be simple. That would suggest a lack of prosperity.

And so, the pig’s head was cooked with the tail threaded through it, symbolizing a complete and proper year, “from head to tail.” A fish dish was a must, as the word for fish sounds like the word for “surplus,” representing abundance year after year. They also slaughtered a chicken to wish for the prosperity of their livestock!

In the end, with all the other dishes, they managed to cover the entire table with a huge feast.

Mrs. Yang bustled about, beaming from ear to ear. In previous years, they were poor, and there was nothing to be done about it. This year, they cooked so many dishes not just for the sake of eating, but to show that their family’s life was getting better and better. That was why when it was time to slaughter the chicken, Juhua had tried to stop her. Mrs. Yang had to explain that this particular chicken couldn’t be spared, and only then did Juhua agree.

They were so busy that they didn’t even have a proper lunch. Mrs. Yang boiled a pound of noodles, and the family hastily ate them with some stir-fried greens to tide themselves over before getting back to work.

As evening approached, the sound of firecrackers started popping up from neighboring houses, one after another. It meant people were starting their New Year’s Eve dinner and celebrating the New Year.

Mrs. Yang said with a cheerful laugh, “Goodness! Some people are starting early! Changhe, hurry and visit the ancestral graves. Our dinner is almost ready!” she called out.

Zheng Changhe and his son were still busy with miscellaneous chores. It was considered bad luck to work from the first to the third day of the New Year, so they had to bring in extra firewood, harvest more vegetables, and tidy up the house. The two of them also shoveled all the snow from the courtyard. In short, such is the life of a farmer; there’s always something to be done if you look for it.

Hearing her, Zheng Changhe quickly called back in agreement. He cleaned himself up, picked up the long-prepared joss paper, incense, and a few bowls of food, and went with Qingmu to the graves. Women were not allowed to visit the graves during the New Year.

As dusk fell, the New Year’s Eve dinner at Juhua’s house was finally served.

Zheng Changhe and Mrs. Yang looked at the table overflowing with food, their faces beaming. Qingmu also smiled happily. Only Juhua felt full before she even took a bite. She was already full just from the smell of the cooking fumes—a classic case of what people called being “New Year’s full”!

Zheng Changhe set off a long string of firecrackers, followed by a few large ones. Amidst the lingering gunpowder smoke, he first set out bowls and chopsticks to honor the ancestors. Mrs. Yang also placed a small earthen incense burner on the old narrow table at the head of the room and lit three sticks of incense.

This ritual would take a little while. Later, when clearing the bowls and chopsticks, they would typically pick up the chopsticks to check them. If there was no condensation, it meant the ancestors had returned.

Juhua thought, ’The rice in the bowls was just served. With the chopsticks resting on top, how could there not be any condensation?’

As it turned out, when they were clearing the tableware, there were indeed two pairs of chopsticks that had no condensation.

Zheng Changhe was overjoyed at the sight. He said to them, “Ah! It’s my mother and father, they’ve come back. They must have seen that our lives have improved, so they came back early for the reunion dinner. Why haven’t Grandpa and Grandma returned? They came back last year.”

Mrs. Yang comforted him, “Perhaps Grandpa and Grandma are busy. We’ll invite them again on the fifteenth.”

Juhua was stunned. She went over, picked up the chopsticks, and studied them for a long time, but she couldn’t figure out why there was no condensation. She could only think, ’These two bowls of rice must have gone cold.’ She certainly didn’t believe that her grandparents had really come home for the New Year. But she knew she could never, ever say that to Zheng Changhe.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep