My village can't be like this

Chapter 627 Chinese New Year
The twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, New Year's Eve arrives, and this year is another year with one less day.

"Zhang An, get up. We have a lot to do today."

Just after the rooster crowed for the last time in the morning and the sky was still gray, Su Ying woke up Zhang An who was sleeping soundly beside her.

"What time is it? It's still early."

Zhang An rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked out the window.

"It's getting late. It's almost seven o'clock. Didn't we agree to let mom rest this year? Hurry up."

Su Ying didn't care about him and just threw his clothes and pants onto the bed.

Seeing that his wife was already awake, Zhang An had no intention of continuing to sleep.

Otherwise, my mother will definitely nag me soon. At the end of the year, for the sake of a quiet home, I should be more self-conscious.

"Mom, let me do it."

After going downstairs, the stove had been cleaned and would be lit in a moment. Wang Fang was still cleaning the stove in the kitchen. Zhang An walked over and took the fire tongs.

Today is different from the past. The demand for fire is very great. Not only the stove needs to be lit well, but the fire stove also needs to be lit.

Wang Fang did not insist. She gave the fire tongs to Zhang An and went to wash herself.

This is her daily habit. She gets up first and cleans the stove, and then she can use it directly after she comes back from washing up.

Zhang An took the fire tongs and poked the stove hard a few times. Although the fire was extinguished by the coal lumps used at night, the burning speed was very slow.

But it had been a long night, and the charcoal in the stove had long since burned to ashes.

If the coal ash is not cleared away, the coal fire in the stove will not be able to light.

After doing all this, Zhang An carried the small bucket of coal from home to the coal pit outside, knocked out a bucket full of coal, brought it back, and filled the stove.

"Are you done? If you are, go wash your face. The water on the stove is boiling."

At this time, Su Ying handed over the washbasin. The water heater in winter was not so reliable, so the hot water needed still had to be boiled by oneself.

While Zhang An was pouring water to wash up, Su Ying was already cleaning the house with a broom.

Some people from the village will surely come to our house to pound rice cakes with the stone pestle later, so we have to sweep the floor clean early.

After washing up, Zhang An hurried to burn incense, which was the top priority during the New Year holidays.

When the fire on the stove was burning brightly, Zhang An picked up the large iron pot and placed it on the stove. He poured water into the pot and put the steamer on it.

Then take out the glutinous rice that has been soaking in the basin for a day and wash it again.

After a while, hot steam began to come out of the steamer on the fire, and it was time to put rice in it.

Because I went to Zhang Xinmin's house to make some rice cakes this year, I don't need to make as much this year, but there are still about ten pounds left.

Ten pounds of soaked glutinous rice is not a small amount, but it also filled half a steamer, which is half less than in previous years.

After finishing all these, Zhang An carried the stone pestle from the main room to the outside of the yard.

Although the main room is not small, when other people come, they will not be able to move around freely, so they have to go to the yard for convenience.

"Xiao An, the glutinous rice in the steamer is ready, you can lift it now."

Wang Fang in the kitchen used a pair of long chopsticks to push the glutinous rice in the steamer. Based on her years of experience, she knew that the glutinous rice in the steamer had been cooked.

Today's stove was in great shape, and I was very impressed by Zhang An's skills. After just one meal, the fire started to burn violently.

In less than twenty minutes, half a steamer of glutinous rice was cooked.

Upon hearing this, Zhang An walked into the kitchen, opened the lid of the steamer, carried the steamer to the yard, and poured the food into the stone pestle.

Then the father and son swung up the sticks used to beat the rice cakes, and rushed towards the stone pestle, taking turns to hit them.

"Mom, you soaked our glutinous rice very well this year. It's not difficult to rinse it."

Zhang An just swung the stick a few times and could feel that it was much easier than in previous years.

"I used to use cold water, but this year I'm using boiled water. It has to be better, otherwise it would be unfair to me for boiling so much water."

Wang Fang was also happy. She was holding a small winnowing basket and sprinkling a layer of flour on it to catch the rice cakes later.

"Dad, I want to eat."

The little fellow, wearing new clothes, had been waiting beside the stone pestle.

Smelling the fragrant aroma from the stone pestle, his mouth was almost watering.

"It's almost there, just wait a little longer, don't just think about eating, watch and learn well, you will have to come and join me in the future instead of Grandpa."

When Zhang An was a child, every time his family made rice cakes and Zhang An squatted beside them to watch, Zhang Jianguo would say this to him.

So now, he passed these words to his son exactly as they were, which can be considered a kind of inheritance.

But the little guy still stared at the stone pestle, and it was not known whether he understood it or not.

"Xiao An Ge, your family is so quick, they have already rushed in. Uncle, let me and Xiao An Ge come, you take a break."

At this time, Huang Ming walked in from the door and found that Zhang Anjia had already started, so he said.

"No need, Damingzi. We are almost done here. Have you finished steaming the dumplings at your place? If they are, just bring them over here so you don't have to wait any longer."

Zhang Jianguo didn't give him the stick in his hand. The next second, he and Zhang An pried out the soft and glutinous rice cake from the stone pestle and put it in the small winnowing basket that Wang Fang had prepared long ago.

When Huang Ming heard this, he immediately turned around and ran back home.

Wang Fang returned to the main room carrying the hot, freshly-baked rice cakes, and the little guy followed closely behind her.

After she had twisted a few balls of chocolate into a bowl and placed them there, Wang Fang pinched a small one and handed it to him.

The things in the bowl are for worshipping Buddha and ancestors, so they cannot be eaten first.

Afterwards, Wang Fang fried some meat and tofu fillings, and made some rice cake pies with Su Ying.

Zhang An originally wanted to go too so he could wrap and eat at the same time, but Huang Mingjia had already brought over a steamer of steaming glutinous rice, so he had to help.

By noon, the task of making rice cakes is completed.

Then Su Ying picked up the keys and drove into the city to pick up the little guy's grandparents.

Zhang An took a breath and continued to catch the chickens and ducks.

In fact, preparation of foods that are more time-consuming and laborious to prepare, such as braised pork, bacon, sausage, pig's trotters and pig's heads, had already begun yesterday.

But killing the chicken cannot be done in advance, it has to be done today.

Zhang An's skill in slaughtering chickens is average. The chickens will flutter a few times after being killed. Unlike some people with better skills, the chickens will not even move after they have been slaughtered.

After the chickens, it’s time to get the ducks, and then there are rabbits and fish waiting in line.

In the past Chinese New Year, their family was always dominated by Wang Fang and Zhang Jianguo.

He took over this year and found that there were so many things to do in a day. After finishing one thing, there was another one. It was extremely tight.

By the time Su Ying brought Wu Qiuping and Su Shaowen back, everything was almost ready and they could start cutting vegetables.

As soon as Wu Qiuping arrived, she immediately found an apron, put it on, and started to help.

The three of them worked together and the speed was much faster than before. In less than an hour, all the vegetables had been cut.

Just as the food in the pot was about to be cooked, Chef Zhang officially began his performance.

But in order to save time, Wang Fang also picked up another pot and started cooking on the stove.

In the afternoon, a large table of New Year's Eve dinner was prepared. Zhang An looked at the table full of dishes and felt very accomplished.

After dinner, Zhang and his party rushed back to the temple as usual.

The rest of the family gathered around the stove to watch TV. This year's Spring Festival Gala was more exciting, probably because it was the beginning of the new century. Even Zhang An, who had not been very interested in it before, watched it with great interest.

After the New Year's Eve, Zhang An checked the barn before going back to sleep.

The next morning, when Zhang An got up, he found that his son was already up.

"Qiqi, why did you get up so early today?"

It is not appropriate to wake people up on New Year's Day, so Zhang An originally planned to let him sleep in until whatever time he wanted.

But unexpectedly, the little guy got up earlier than him and was already dressed and washed his face.

"Don't say that. When I woke up this morning, he was already awake. I don't know why he was so sleepy."

Wang Fang also didn't understand. Other children slept until noon, but her grandson woke up earlier than the adults in the family.

"Children can't sleep in."

When the little guy heard this, he opened his eyes wide and spoke seriously in an adult tone.

In a word, everyone in the room was extremely happy.

On the morning of the first day of the new year, one has to avoid eating vegetarian food, so Wang Fang cooked some rice noodles for breakfast. There was no meat on the toppings, but only vegetables, and it was cooked with rapeseed oil.

As we all know, rapeseed oil is not considered meaty, and many monks in temples also eat rapeseed oil.

"Qiqi, come quickly, we are waiting for you."

While they were eating, Zhang Tie and his friends were already calling out at the door.

The little guy was eating rice noodles obediently, but when he heard someone calling him, he dropped the rest of the bowl, slid off the chair and ran outside.

Zhang An followed him out and found that Zhang Tie, Yan Zi, Zhang Xing and Zhang Bin were all there.

"Brother, let's call Qiqi to go and pay New Year's greetings together."

Seeing Zhang An, Zhang Bin said with a smile on his face.

"Okay, go ahead then."

Zhang An then realized that his son had gotten up early and was waiting for them to come and wish him a happy new year.

He immediately smiled and shook his head, but it was better this way as it saved him from making a trip.

"Where are Tiewazi and the others? Call them to come for dinner."

Looking at Zhang An going back to the house alone, Wang Fang asked in doubt.

"Forget it, these guys, call Qiqi to go and pay New Year's greetings."

Zhang An estimated that it would be impossible to call them back now because they would get lucky money for paying New Year's greetings.

"Here, there's still half a bowl left. You can eat it all."

After Su Ying finished eating, she poured the half bowl of rice left by the little guy into Zhang An's bowl.

"Why don't you eat? I still have half a bowl."

Zhang An looked at the increasing amount of rice noodles in his bowl and said helplessly.

"I can't eat it. Besides, this is what your son left over. If you don't eat it, who will?"

Su Ying ignored him and took the empty bowls on the stove back to the kitchen.

My son is my father’s debt. Zhang An sighed and continued to eat.

It was almost noon when Zhang An's family sent away all the relatives who came to pay New Year's greetings. At this time, Xiao Siqi, who had gone out to pay New Year's greetings, finally came back.

"Dad, look, there are so many New Year's money."

As soon as the little guy came back, he jumped into Zhang An's arms with a bright smile on his face.

Then he reached into his pocket and saw a pile of money falling out.

There were basically no one-yuan and five-cent notes, only five-yuan and ten-yuan notes, and even a few fifty-yuan and one-hundred-yuan notes.

Originally Zhang An thought there was only one pocket, but it turned out that he was too naive. After emptying one pocket, the little guy did not stop, but moved to the other pocket.

Just like that, after taking out the clothes, he put on the pants, after taking out the front, he took out the back, and there was a pile of money on the ground.

When Su Ying saw it, she hurried over to sort them out one by one. The little guy was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at his New Year's money.

It took Su Ying a long time to sort out all the money. After counting it, the total amount was more than eight hundred.

"Zhang An, this is too much, right? Why don't we return it to them?"

Su Ying looked at the money in her hand and said in disbelief.

It is normal for sons to go out and pay New Year's greetings to their elders, and they should also receive lucky money.

But it’s a bit exaggerated to collect so much money just for a walk around.

She originally thought that a few dozen or a hundred yuan would be a lot, but when her son came back, he actually brought back two months' salary.

"What are you going to return? Don't say anything unlucky, but no one has ever said anything about returning the New Year's money. Besides, I should take it. I gave birth to a son just for this."

Unlike Su Ying's worry, Zhang An looked very happy.

When he didn't have children a few years ago, he gave out New Year's money every year. Now that he has a son, it feels like he can finally collect the debt he lent.

Besides, those who can give so much are usually close relatives.

Even if other people want to save face for the adults, if the adults don't go with them, they won't give too much. After all, if the children don't say anything, it will be wasted.

So what others can give is given sincerely, and if they ask for return, it would be a bit hurtful.

"Don't worry. I took a look and found that the ones who gave more were our second and third uncles. It's normal for other families. It's just that your son gave New Year greetings to too many people, so a little bit adds up."

Zhang An took the money and took a look at it, and he roughly knew what it meant.

According to the little guy's current status in the village, he will probably get New Year's money if he meets his relatives on the road.

"Mom, money, money."

When the little guy saw that the New Year's money returned to his mother's hand, he pointed and said.

"Come on, stop arguing. You can't take care of so much money. I'll keep it for you first and give it to you when you grow up."

Without thinking, Su Ying put the little guy's New Year's money into her pocket, and then took out a dollar from her own pocket and gave it to the little guy.

"Don't leave it there or he'll lose it."

When Zhang An heard his wife's words, he felt something familiar.

Then he remembered that this was what his mother often told him.

It’s just that he didn’t get much New Year’s money in those years, but it was gradually lost.

"I want you to be more talkative."

Su Ying glared, took the money and went upstairs to her room.

After getting married, Su Ying is no longer as gentle as before.

Especially after giving birth to little Siqi, she became even more ferocious. Just a glare from her was enough to force Zhang An to retreat.

"Come on, son. Daddy will take you out to play."

Zhang An shook his head and looked at his son pitifully, fearing that this small treasury was gone.

I don’t know how many years it will take before I can control my own New Year’s money.

(End of this chapter)