Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 596 595 New Year’s Eve

It is said that Tang Zhitong sat in Yan Xiongfei's house for a while and went out at exactly five o'clock.

Because it was New Year's Eve, the roads were filled with people rushing home to celebrate the New Year.

Whether you have money or not, you have to celebrate the New Year.

There are not many opportunities to eat to your heart's content throughout the year, and the Spring Festival is one of them.

Adults and children are all looking forward to this day.

By the time Tang Zhitong slowly returned home, it was already dark. There were no more children playing on the flower market street. Smoke was rising from every household, and laughter and firecrackers could be heard from time to time, and the aroma of meat could be smelled from time to time.

Even Uncle Zhu in the bathroom lost interest in watching people through the window, but the light was on in the bathroom, so he was probably making dumplings in there, right?

Tang Zhitong arrived at the gate and saw that the couplets had been posted. They were neat and tidy, and it was pleasing to the eye.

First, he quietly placed the bicycle under the gate, then locked the gate. Tang Zhitong then pulled out a sack from the space, which was half filled with mackerel, hairtail, and prawns.

The Spanish mackerel we put in wasn’t too big, but the hairtail we chose was flathead, and the prawns were also the size of a palm, and they weighed more than 100 kilograms with ice.

In addition, Tang Zhitong also picked up two extra pieces of lard, each weighing five pounds, and planned to give one to his mother-in-law when he went to Chunshu Hutong after the New Year.

After thinking about it, Tang Zhitong hung the things Yan Xiongfei gave him on the handlebars.

Then Tang Zhitong carried the sack onto his shoulder and carried it directly into the bathroom.

There were a lot of things and no suitable place to store them, so Tang Zhitong simply poured them into the bathtub and planned to find some bamboo shoots to cover them.

Zhang Guifang heard the noise and came out to check it out with Xiao Wang.

After finding the bathroom and seeing that it was Tang Zhitong, Xiao Wang laughed and said, "You were so quiet that my mother thought there was a thief."

"Haha, every household has people during the Chinese New Year. How stupid of a thief would choose to strike on New Year's Eve?" Tang Zhitong pointed at the sack in the bathtub while holding a piece of lard. "There's another piece in there. Let's go to Chunshu Hutong and bring it to our mother."

"So many?!" Zhang Guifang lifted the sack covering the fish and shrimps, took a look at the fish and shrimps inside, and exclaimed in surprise.

"It won't be much for both families. There's heating over there, so we can keep it here first and take it whenever we want. Mom, you cut this piece of lard into pieces and refine it. I'll pick some long bamboo shoots to cover it to prevent it from being disturbed by mice at night." Tang Zhitong handed the lard in his hand to Zhang Guifang, afraid that she would ask about the price.

Just now, he was just thinking about replenishing the family's supplies. When he heard his mother's surprise, Tang Zhitong remembered this. Even according to the market price, these would cost at least 30 or 40 yuan, but he had no money at all!
"There is something on the handlebars. Please bring it into the house." Tang Zhitong did not let Xiao Wang go, and was also afraid that she would mention it.

Perhaps it was because it was the New Year, but when Tang Zhitong cleaned up the bathroom and returned to the main house, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law seemed to have discussed it beforehand, and no one asked about the price, which made Tang Zhitong feel relieved.

There were four dishes tonight, all very tough.

The main dish was a plate of pig's head meat, which was quite large. In addition to the pig's face and lips, it also included the heart, liver, intestines, and lungs. Zhang Guifang put some of them in.

In addition, there are stewed Spanish mackerel, stewed cabbage with tofu, and scrambled eggs, but the eggs look like they are fried with tomatoes.

"Mom, is this fried persimmons?" Tang Zhitong leaned closer to smell it, and it was indeed that smell.

"Didn't you steam some persimmon jam before going to school? Use that to fry it." Zhang Guifang did not deal with the lard immediately, but took out the wine, put down the chopsticks, and prepared to eat first.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it." Tang Zhitong chuckled and scratched his head. He has been busy lately. After the food problem was solved, he has not paid much attention to the supplementary food. He needs to reflect on this.

"Okay, let's eat. Would you like some wine?" After setting the table, Zhang Guifang looked at Fengzhi, who was already drooling, and asked her son.

"Then I'll go get some wine." The year is gone with the sound of firecrackers, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tu Su. People in ancient times knew to drink some Tu Su on New Year's Eve, so I naturally couldn't lag behind. Although there was no Tu Su at home, there was white wine.

I haven't drunk much since I came here, and there's still a half-finished bottle of Maotai in the room.

"Wenwen brought it here. It's on the table." Zhang Guifang called out to her impatient son and pointed to the eight-immortals table with an incense burner on it. The table was against the north wall, on which hung photos of Grandma Tang and Father Tang.

"Okay." Tang Zhitong took the wine bottle from the Eight Immortals Table and glanced at the wine cups on it. There was wine in each cup, but none of them were full.

Old people are like this. Even if they are full of longing and gratitude for their deceased relatives, they will not fill the wine cups that are offered, because the contents of the wine cups will eventually be poured out...

I haven't had meat properly for a while. The last time I ate meat was the yellow mutton given by Fang Yuan, which was very smelly.

The whole family sat down. Tang Zhitong took out a wine cup and poured a glass for Zhang Guifang first: "Mom, it's been a year and you've worked hard. You should have a drink too."

The wine cup is the most common type, with a few small flowers on the white glaze, and a full cup only holds two cents of wine.

It's not the kind of high-footed white porcelain wine glasses that Wu Haiyang has. It's not that I can't afford it, but this kind is more cost-effective.

"Okay, let's have a drink." Zhang Guifang doesn't drink alcohol, but she has tasted it before and described it as a glass of spicy water. However, faced with her son's kindness, she gladly accepted it.

"Have a drink too. Thank you for your tolerance, support, and dedication to this family over the past year." Tang Zhitong also poured a drink for Xiao Wang, and he couldn't miss any polite words.

"Thank you too." Xiao Wang smiled, took the bottle and filled Tang Zhitong's glass.

"Brother, sister-in-law, what about us?" Fengzhi was originally staring at the meat, but after seeing the lively scene tonight, she felt a little left out.

"Okay, I'll make a bowl of honey water for you two." There were no drinks these days, and there was no preparation in advance, but there was some honey at home. Tang Zhitong got up and took two bowls, gave each person a large spoonful, and then diluted it with warm water.

"Mix it yourself with chopsticks and let it cool down first. Mom, do you want to say something?" Tang Zhitong finally sat down after finishing all this.

"What did you say? Mom hopes that you will have smooth work and that the two little ones can make further progress in their studies. Okay, eat." Zhang Guifang was a little embarrassed. As a housewife, she had never seen such a scene in the past forty years, but given the atmosphere today, she still managed to say a few words.

Seeing Zhang Guifang speak and move her chopsticks, Fengzhi took the pork head.

Classmate Wang also likes this dish, but she didn’t make spicy food tonight. She prepared a bowl of hot sauce, put a piece of pork liver in the bowl, and put it in her mouth with a thick layer of chili. Tang Zhitong felt his stomach burning just by looking at it.

It’s strange to say, although they are both spicy things, Tang Zhitong can drink white wine but can’t eat too many chili peppers. He sweats every time he eats them. They taste good but he suffers from defecation the next day.

On a festive day, no one would say anything to spoil the fun.

Zhang Guifang served food to the younger generations. Fengzhi had also grown sensible and took the initiative to pick up a piece of pork head with lots of fat for her mother.

In this year, from the highest to the lowest, I am afraid there is no one who does not like fatty meat. If guests come, being served a plate of big, fatty meat would be the greatest honor, the highest courtesy!

Zhang Guifang took small sips of the wine, frowning with every sip, as if she was being tortured.

Xiao Wang was not much better, he only drank half of the cup and gave the rest directly to Tang Zhitong. Tang Zhitong took it cheerfully, and after taking a sip of the wine he frowned and made a hissing sound, but it was not a painful sound, but a sound of immersion in joy.

Beibei had his first taste of meat today. Although he didn't get to eat any meat, he still ate all the bones of the mackerel. Whoever finished eating the fish would throw the bones on the ground. As long as he was called, he would run over happily.

Beibei has been here for more than a month and has grown a lot.

After coming here, in addition to the mice that Beibei caught himself, Zhang Guifang would always prepare a meal for it, and Fengzhi would occasionally accidentally drop some steamed bread crumbs through her fingers, not to mention that Tang Zhitong would give it a snack almost every day.

Tang Zhitong felt that Beibei had been with Jiang Ye for about two months, but he didn't get enough nutrition at that time, so he looked small in size.

The reason why Beibei has grown so fast recently is also due to its nature. When it comes to food, it is so clingy that it rubs against people's trouser legs to act cute and will not stop until it gets the food. But once it gets the food, it will immediately run away.

Although he is not very clingy, every time Fengzhi lures him with steamed bread and rubs his hand, Beibei just looks like he has lost all hope and lets her do whatever she wants without getting angry or scratching anyone.

It is precisely because of this that Beibei has a place here. If it was wild and scratched people, Tang Zhitong would never let it stay. There is no rabies vaccine these days. Once scratched, the mortality rate is so high, and there is no medicine for regret.

Fengzhen and Fengzhi did not stop eating tonight. Almost all the people in the old city, as long as they have commercial grain household registration, would not restrict their children from eating tonight.

Eat as much as you can. After these few days, you have to eat as much as you can to make up for today's ration.

Fengzhi was thinking about setting off firecrackers, so she stopped playing with Beibei. After finishing her meal, she gulped down some honey water. She touched her mouth with her little hand and asked Zhang Guifang, "Mom, can I go out and set off some firecrackers?"

"Stay in the yard, don't go to the street." During the Chinese New Year, Zhang Guifang relaxed her control over her children.

"Okay!" Fengzhi was overjoyed. She stood up and took apart half of the whip, took a stick of incense from the table, put it into the stove and lit it, then ran out with it.

After a while, the sound of firecrackers was heard outside.

"Fengzhen, if you want to play, just take apart a few and set them off outside." Tang Zhitong looked at his older sister. Although she didn't say anything, it was clear from her expression that she was paying close attention to the sound of firecrackers outside.

Fengzhen hesitated for a moment and shook her head slightly.

"It's okay. At worst I can give Fengzhi another shot tomorrow. Go ahead." A dragon has nine sons, each with different temperaments. Although Fengzhen and Fengzhi are from the same mother, she is cowardly and keeps many things to herself.

After hearing what her brother said, Fengzhen nodded slightly and moved her chopsticks faster.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" classmate Xiao Wang asked suddenly.

"It's okay. What's wrong? Do you want to go out?" Tang Zhitong asked while taking a bite of tofu.

Before coming here, he seldom ate tofu. Most of the tofu sold on the market was gypsum tofu. Even if he came across tofu sold at the market, the soy milk was not as fragrant as that made by stone mill because it was ground by machine. There were many foods to choose from, but the tofu soup was watery and not appetizing.

But after coming here, Tang Zhitong gradually started to prefer eating tofu after eating too much bland vegetables.

"I'm fine with either. Our company is renting a movie theater tomorrow. You can go if you want to watch it." Xiao Wang said, and also pouted at Tang Zhitong, indicating that he could take his sister out to play.

"Where do you want to book the venue? Near your workplace?"

"It's in our unit. The unit contacted the projectionist and there will be a show in the afternoon. After the movie, there will be a carnival and a party in the evening." Student Xiao Wang introduced.

"Wow, it has to be your literary and artistic system. There are so many tricks. Can we bring family members?" Although Tang Zhitong was not very interested, he saw Feng Zhen's inclined ear and asked.

"Sure, it's always lively and exciting."

"Okay, let's go there together tomorrow." Tang Zhitong said, and then asked Zhang Guifang: "Mom, will you go with us?"

"I'm not going, you guys can go. It's a holiday, ask Jingying and Jingmin if they are free, we can go out and have fun together." Zhang Guifang smiled and shook her head, not wanting to get involved.

"Okay, let's bring the lard over when the time comes." Tang Zhitong agreed. In such a cold day, the mother-in-law might not necessarily take her sister-in-law and brother-in-law out to play. Nowadays, whether children can go out to play depends on whether their parents have the financial resources and the time.

In comparison, some key schools do organize regular outings for students, which are a bit like suburban study tours. However, the schools around the flower market have never had such an activity.

After simply settling the matter, Fengzhen ate and drank her fill, opened some firecrackers for her sister, lit some incense, and went out.

Tang Zhitong continued to sip his wine, one sip at a time.

A cup of wine cost only two coins, which would not be enough for a sip in Qi and Lu. A two-and-a-half-liang cup of wine was drunk seven times, which means that each sip averaged nearly two cups of wine.

However, Tang Zhitong did not drink too much. He drank only three or two glasses of wine, ate another steamed bun with the leftover soup, and helped Zhang Guifang refine the lard that she had just brought back today.

The oil residue will never see the sun tomorrow. When it cools down, it will be mixed with cabbage and made into dumplings.

People in Beijing have the custom of staying up on New Year's Eve. In addition to cherishing time when bidding farewell to the old, it also means praying for parents' longevity. Therefore, if there are parents at home, people will not go to bed before the early morning today.

Classmate Xiao Wang had already gone to the yard and was having fun with his two sisters-in-law. From time to time, laughter could be heard into the house.

Tang Zhitong was in the house making stuffing and wrapping dumplings with Zhang Guifang. The dumplings would be used when they burned incense and offered sacrifices to their ancestors, and the young people could also take them with them for a midnight snack.

After offering sacrifices to the ancestors, it is customary to set off firecrackers.

Some people say that setting off firecrackers is to drive away the evil beast - Nian, while others say that setting off firecrackers is to celebrate.

Tang Zhitong personally feels that the term "Nian Beast" is somewhat unreliable, because the term "Nian Beast" first appeared in the Shanghai County tabloid "Diamond Diamond" on January 1933, 1.

This is like a novel author writing about cultivating immortals, qigong or something like that, and creating a complete set of theories in it, and then, hey, some people take it seriously!
The oracle bone script of the word "year" is composed of "grain on top and man on bottom", which means the grains are ripe and a man is carrying the grains. It means the grains are ripe.

Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year, from ancient times to the present, has always been more of a celebration. Tang Zhitong thinks it is more appropriate to say that it is to pray for a good harvest in the coming year.

As for setting off firecrackers, it was actually a form of sacrifice in ancient times. The book "Zhou Li·Chun Guan" records that the third of the nine sacrifices was the explosion sacrifice.

However, there were no firecrackers at that time, and people used burning bamboo to make crackling sounds. Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, there was a record of "burning bamboo is the same as setting off firecrackers."

This is how the word “firecracker” in fireworks and firecrackers came about.

So much so that later on, people would hang up a hanging scroll whenever there was a happy event, just to celebrate the occasion. It would be a stretch to say that it was to drive away evil spirits, because where would evil spirits come from on such a happy occasion?
After making dumplings and offering sacrifices to the ancestors, Tang Zhitong took his two younger sisters to set off fireworks, and Fengzhen lit all four fireworks.

Looking at the happy smiles of his family, Tang Zhitong felt that this was what he needed to protect when praying to his ancestors during the New Year.

(End of this chapter)