Linxia

Chapter 110, Chinese New Year

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, let the dough rise; on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, steam the buns.

These buns are best when they are just taken out of the steamer and are so hot that you pour them from your left hand to your right hand. It’s not that they are not delicious when they are cold, but they have a different taste.

There are also fried beans, chestnuts, etc. I can't wait to put them in my mouth and eat them while they are still hot. They are so hot, just like the bustling New Year atmosphere.

Fang Lin wanted to help, but Fang's mother and Tian Xuan wouldn't let him and pushed him out of the kitchen. He had no choice but to eat a handful of beans and then strolled out to the dock.

Today is the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the dock is still crowded with sailboats with flags flying, lined up in rows like a long dragon, stretching for two or three miles... It is obvious that many people have just returned.

Getting off the boat and disembarking at the dock, no matter how everyone was dressed or how wealthy they were, they all had the same excitement on their faces as they carried their luggage. This was the feeling of going home for the New Year.

Thousands of ships are crowded, and people are coming and going in an endless stream.

Fang Lin watched, observed, and felt the liveliness of the New Year festivals in this era.

……

On New Year’s Eve, couplets and window decorations are pasted up, and the city is all red and green, full of joy and happiness.

Crack, crackle!

When the firecrackers explode, it is time for the New Year’s Eve dinner that countless children have been waiting for.

This was the first time that the Fang family had celebrated the New Year in the provincial capital. This year's New Year's Eve dinner was extremely sumptuous, with both meat and vegetables, chicken, duck, fish and meat, a total of eight dishes. These many dishes were only seen on weekdays when guests came or at banquets, but today they were prepared just for their own family.

Red lanterns were hung at the door, emitting a festive and soft light. Inside the house, all the oil lamps were lit, making the room bright.

The family sat around the table, poured the rice wine they bought, and started eating.

"Last year during the Chinese New Year, I could never have imagined that the next annual meeting would be held in the capital."

Fang's mother recalled and sighed: "This year, we came to the capital, and life is still so good. On the road, when I was sick, I thought..."

"What are you talking about on New Year's Day?" Father Fang picked up a piece of meat and covered her mouth.

"Yes, mother, the old year has passed, and the new year will be better and better. Come on, let's touch base as a family, and wish that in the new year, our whole family will be safe and sound, and everything will go well!"

Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers outside the window and under the blazing brazier, Fang's father, Fang's mother, Fang Lin, and Tian Xuan all held up their bowls and banged them together, causing the rice wine to splash in ripples.

The family talked about Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang from Xiaohe Village and their expectations for the next year. The New Year's Eve dinner ended amid the smoke and aroma of fish and meat.

After dinner, the leftover dishes will not be cleaned up tonight and will just be left on the table.

After a while, Sister Guihua and Su Xiaoqing also finished their meal and came over with dough and stuffing to make dumplings with Fang's mother. They gathered together and talked while making dumplings. Fang's father was at the door, chatting with Mr. Qiu.

Tian Xuan originally wanted to help make dumplings, but Fang's mother pushed her out and asked Fang Lin to take her out to play.

Go out.

The Xin family had also finished their meal. Old Master Xin and his son Xin You strung two benches together, with one holding the two front legs and the other holding the two back legs. As the little kid from the Lu family and several other children nearby clapped their hands, they danced rhythmically to the beat in various shapes.

Normally, Xin You doesn't look very smart, but at this moment, he is extremely clever. He keeps looking at his wife at the door, just like a child who has done good things and wants praise.

Snapped!Snapped!
Xin's daughter-in-law Sha Xiaoyun leaned against the door and watched, clapping along with the children, her eyes never leaving Xin You. A bright smile spread across her pale and thin face, and her happiness was clearly visible. Such ordinary happiness was so touching that it touched people's hearts.

“This is the bench dragon.”

Master Ou said to Fang Lin and Tian Xuan: "Two or three people can play, but it's not very interesting. After a while, there will be hundreds or thousands of people in the city at night, and the dragon of benches will stretch for two or three miles. That's really spectacular!"

"Then we have to take a look tonight. Master, come on, let's go out for a walk together?" Fang Lin invited.

"Yes, Master!"

"No, I'll go with my wife later. We old men can't play with you young people, so we won't disturb you two."

"Then we'll leave first." Fang Lin pulled Tian Xuan, whose face was blushing, out of the alley.

……

In the streets and alleys, you can see many children in groups of three or five, rummaging through red paper at the doors of each house, looking for unlit firecrackers. When they find them, they act as if they have found a treasure, and light them up with laughter and show off. They explode with a bang, raising smoke... Then, they look for them again, over and over again.

As you go deeper into the city, you can feel the bustling atmosphere more and more.

Amid the sound of firecrackers, the smoke lingers, tourists gather like ants, fireworks roar, lights are colorful, and the sound of flutes and drums is loud.

Get out!

Suddenly something jumped out and scared Tian Xuan. She subconsciously grabbed Fang Lin's arm. Looking closely, she found that it was a firecracker, which was wrapped around a person's clothes and kept spinning.

“It’s a ground rat.”

Fang Lin used the knowledge he had learned from Manager Liu to explain to Tian Xuan: "The one that makes a sound is called a 'cannon'; the one that jumps high into the sky is called a 'fire'; the one that makes a sound during the fire is called a 'third-level wave'; the one that doesn't make a sound and spins around people is called a 'ground mouse'."

Along the way, you can see many fireworks. Some have shells made of mud, like casseroles; some have shells made of paper, like flower tubes; and some are made of baskets, like flower pots... They are really weird.

The names of fireworks are also varied: Starry Sky, One-Zhang Orchid, Purple Grape, Bright Moon…

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
The baby's breath exploded and turned into a sky full of stars; the orchid rose into the sky, which was an orchid pattern; the purple grapes flew into the sky, and a grape tree bloomed in the sky, with thousands of vines, like an upside-down crystal curtain; it was as bright as the moon, dazzling and brighter than the bright moon...

In addition, there are: Lotus Picking Boat, Slow Lotus, Thousand-foot Chrysanthemum, etc.

As the day gradually darkened, the whole city was filled with fireworks.

People were coming and going, shoulder to shoulder, men, women, young and old. Oh, and there were even foreigners with blond hair, blue eyes and white skin, who were writing something down with pens in their hands.

Fang Lin pulled Tian Xuan over, patted the other person on the shoulder, and started chatting with this foreigner: "Hi, how are you, nice to meet you, my name is Fang Lin, are you from overseas?" Such directness is actually a bit impolite in Da Xia.

Tian Xuan was a little confused, but then she thought that Fang Lin knew a lot. Maybe that's how foreigners are. Their way of communicating is different from that of Daxia people.

"Hello, Fang, nice to meet you, I'm Missy Garcia, my Daxia name is Missy, from what you call Taixi..." Missy responded enthusiastically, speaking fluent Daxia dialect, but with a foreign accent. She always spoke with great force, as if afraid that others could not hear her clearly, and always used some erhua sounds in some strange places, which gave people a very funny feeling.

'The West in this era, corresponding to the previous life, should refer to Italy.'

Fang Lin thought about it and asked, "Taixi, I heard it's in a very far place...Mixi, it must have been difficult for you to come all the way here? After coming to Daxia, where have you been? How do you feel it is different from where you are?"

"Yes, you have to take a boat, and it takes a long time. It's not easy... In Daxia, I've been to Guangzhou, Shaozhou, Yuzhang... Daxia's cities are incredible, very big, so big that ten horses can run side by side... Just like Huai'an, there are too many boats at the dock, it's very prosperous... Fang, do you know how many people there are in Huai'an? I asked many people, but none of them could give me an accurate answer."

"There are probably 500,000 to 600,000 people... In the Jianghuai area, there are many cities like Huai'an. The capital of Daxia, Yingtian, is a large city with a population of millions."

"Oh! Oh! Incredible!" Missy kept saying, "This is unimaginable in our Taixi, or even the entire West. In our place, a city with tens of thousands of people is considered a big city, but in Daxia, it's just a town."

"Also, the cities I've been to, such as Guangzhou, Shaozhou, Yuzhang... are all very clean, completely different from where we are. Where we go out, you have to do this, this, and then this, jumping while walking to avoid stepping on feces..."

As he spoke, he twisted his body as if he was dancing ballet, which was very funny and interesting.

Tian Xuan listened and watched, and was so amused that she covered her mouth.

Many passers-by were also attracted and looked over, feeling it was strange and bizarre.

"Brother Lin is amazing. He can chat with foreigners so quickly." Tian Xuan felt a little proud.

"By the way, Fang, can you also tell me where all the feces in Daxia city go?" Missy obviously regarded Fang Lin as a knowledgeable wise man, and asked very humbly.

"This question is very complicated. I happen to have some industries related to this. Later, you may be able to go and investigate in person and come up with your own answer." Fang Lin deliberately left a hook. For him, Missy was a good window to understand overseas, so naturally he had to lay some groundwork.

"That's really nice."

From the conversation, Fang Lin learned that Mi Xi was the third son of a large merchant family in Taixi. He had been curious about the mysterious East since he was a child, and traveled to many places before coming to Daxia.

"That's right. An ordinary family, who worries about food and clothing all day long, can't cultivate such an interest, let alone have the financial resources to support coming to Daxia thousands of miles away." Fang Lin thought to himself.

"Fang, I heard that today is your New Year's Eve, and there will be a lot of fireworks to celebrate... Daxia's fireworks are very beautiful, and the level of fireworks is very impressive!"

Missy praised and read out her own records: "The people of Daxia are very good at fireworks performances and regard it as a major activity to celebrate festivals. Their technology in making fireworks is really excellent. Almost everything can be cleverly imitated with fireworks, such as fireballs, fire trees, fruits, etc...."

As he was talking, suddenly, there was a cry of surprise beside him: "Look, the dragon is coming! The dragon is coming!"

Fang Lin, Tian Xuan and Mi Xi looked in the direction of the sound.

In the distance, I saw a long glowing dragon that stretched for miles, dancing majestically and coming towards this side. Many children were screaming and running after it.

As we got closer, we could see that in front of the dragon there were ceremonial guards waving large flags, and next to it there were various bands playing drums and gongs.

Of course, the most eye-catching thing is the dragon itself, which is lifelike and seems to be alive, performing various movements.

"Oh my God!" The foreigner Missy was stunned for a moment. He didn't know how he learned it, but he had adapted to the local customs in expressing his shock. The pen in his hand dropped with a snap in shock.

Tian Xuan was also shocked and watched intently.

Fang Lin pulled them aside and explained, "This is a bench dragon. Look, there is a wooden board under the dragon's head. It should be made of bamboo strips, covered with colored paper, and then painted with dragon scales and cloud feet... Look, there is also a dragon ball at the dragon's head, with the words 'Abundant Harvest' written on it..."

Yes, this is a bench dragon. Its body is made up of benches connected in series. The benches are connected by a wooden stick, and each stick is held by someone. Each bench is decorated with a lantern, which illuminates the entire dragon. Words such as "good harvest" and "prosperous livestock" are written at the connection points of the dragon sections.

Following the drum beats, people manipulate it to perform various dance moves.

Especially when the bench dragon passed by, the warm and festive atmosphere reached its peak at this moment. Being in it, infected by such joyous and festive atmosphere, I felt an indescribable emotion in my heart.

——It is the cultural pride rooted in the blood and bones, which makes people's blood boil.

Fang Lin was so engrossed in watching that when the bench dragon team passed by, he discovered that only Tian Xuan, who was being pulled, was still there, while Missy had been squeezed away by the tide of people and no one knew where she had gone.

……

Xiaohe Village.

The last time they parted, Fang Boxian and his party, who had left the provincial capital, returned a few days ago.

On New Year's Eve, smoke rises from the village and the smell of meat wafts through every household. No matter what the family's financial situation is, everyone will do their best to let their children have a big meal and eat enough meat.

At the Qiao family, Qiao Cun was writing couplets. Fang Chuanzong and Fang Chuanhui came over to look at it, asking questions, learning, and gesticulating.

At the entrance of the village, Fang Yuyu was surrounded by a group of children. She stood on a bench, one hand on her waist, one hand pointing at the mountains and rivers, and vividly described how she was in the capital, how her brother Linzi took care of her... She spoke fluently and clearly, like a king of children.

Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang put on the jackets bought by Fang Lin's family and brought back by uncle Fang Boxian. Under the envious gazes of the surrounding villagers, they pointed at the clothes, patted their chests, and talked with saliva flying. Their old, wrinkled faces were filled with smiles like blooming chrysanthemums.

Through the windows, one can see the first, second and fourth rooms taking out the gifts brought by Fang Lin's family to decorate for the New Year, and also talking about Fang Lin's family far away.

Not only the Fang family, but also the Zheng family, the You family, the Fu family, the Geng family... every household was busy, preparing, and celebrating.

Snapped!Snapped!
Amid the sound of firecrackers, the New Year in Xiaohe Village has arrived.

……

On this day, across millions of square kilometers of land in Daxia, from north to south, from west to east, from prosperous metropolises like the capital and Yingtian to remote small villages, there was celebration everywhere.

With cultural heritage as the bond, people from all corners of the country are connected together. Under the same sky, hundreds of millions of people are celebrating the same New Year, full of the same beautiful expectations for the new year.

……

(End of this chapter)