The next step is to prepare the delicious food for the New Year.
Old man Jiang and his wife ground beans at home to make tofu, and served out soy milk with a little sauce for each child to taste.
Chunniang and her sister-in-law steamed buns and rice cakes for the festival.
Some steamed buns are made into the shapes of cows, sheep, pigs and rabbits, with red beans as eyes, and red flowers painted on the white dough with sumac water, which is very beautiful.
In another big pot was a pot full of sausages, pork trotters and a pig's head.
There was also a pot of cooked soybean braised chicken, the fragrance of which could be smelled from far away.
The happiest people at this time are the children, because they don’t have to write or study or do any work, and they can still get lucky money.
On the first day of the New Year, Chunniang and Jiang Sanlang got up before dawn and gave each of their sleepy children two pieces of cloud cake, which meant a happy and cheerful new year.
After urging them to finish eating the cake, the two went to the kitchen to boil water to make dumplings and glutinous rice balls, implying a smooth and happy reunion in the new year.
Yingbao knew she couldn't stay in bed at this time, so she got up quickly, put on the new clothes and pants that her mother had placed at the head of the bed last night, put on the beautiful tiger-head shoes, thought for a while, and put on the tiger-head hat.
The new cotton-padded jacket has a red background with yellow flowers, and the lapels and back are embroidered with the Five Blessings pattern. The collar is also trimmed with a circle of white rabbit tail fur, which looks smooth and beautiful.
Paired with green pants and a tiger-head hat, I paint dolls all year long.
After getting dressed, Yingbao went to pick up Xiaojie and Xiaowu, put clothes and shoes on them, put on tiger-head hats, and took them to wash.
"Come and eat dumplings!" Chunniang brought out a pot of dumplings from the kitchen, placed it on the big table in the main hall, and then brought back a few bowls of glutinous rice balls.
There are only four in each bowl, which means everything goes well.
The family sat around a big table eating glutinous rice balls and dumplings. After the meal, Chunniang gave Yingbao two small silver ingots, each weighing about one or two taels, and gave one to each of her twin sons.
Yingbao and her two younger brothers knelt down and kowtowed to their parents to wish them a happy new year.
The two twins were very happy to get the silver ingot and they rushed out to show off to their brother Hu Zi.
Chunniang grabbed them and said, "Give me your New Year's money and I'll keep it for you. If you drop it outside, you won't be able to find it."
Xiao Wu immediately refused: "No! It won't fall off."
Xiaojie agreed: "It won't fall off! Let's put it in our pockets."
"What if it falls?" These two guys are crazy. How can a pocket hold anything
"Can I give you some candies?"
"No, no!" The two boys struggled hard and finally escaped from A Niang's clutches.
Seeing his wife upset, Jiang Sanlang smiled and said, "Let them be." It's only two taels of silver. If it's lost, go and look for it.
Then the family of five went to Jiang Dalang's house to pay New Year's greetings, and Yingbao and her brother received another wave of New Year's money.
Xiao Wu stuffed his New Year's money into his sister's hand and asked her to keep it for him.
Seeing this, Xiao Jie gave all his New Year's money to his sister and glanced at his mother slyly to prevent her from snatching it away.
Next, several boys took the ball that Yingbao bought, divided into two teams, and competed for the ball and kicked it around. They were having so much fun that they didn’t even have time to eat.
The next day, Chunniang, her husband and her three children returned to her parents' home to pay New Year's greetings.
Xujia Village is not far from Dongchen Village, but not close either, only about seven or eight miles away.
The eldest nephew Jiang Cheng first drove his third uncle's family to the place, and then rushed back to take his parents and younger brothers and sisters to visit his uncle's house to pay New Year's greetings.
Xu Chunniang has an older brother and a younger sister. Her father passed away long ago. After her younger sister got married, the widowed mother Xu Laonian lived with her only son Xu Da.
Old Lady Xu had been standing at the door early in the morning, looking forward to it. When she saw her eldest daughter's mule cart arrive at the village entrance, she trotted over to greet them.
"Oh my grandchildren." Old Lady Xu hugged Xiaojie and Xiaowu, extremely happy.
Yingbao called out, "Grandma."
"Hey!" Grandma Xu put her two grandchildren down and picked up her granddaughter: "My precious child has grown so big."
Yingbao hugged her grandmother's neck and said with a smile: "Bao'er is already four years old."
"Yes, yes. In the blink of an eye, Bao'er is already four years old." Mother Xu carried Yingbao home.
The two little grandchildren behind him kept yelling, "Grandma, please put my sister down. We want to kowtow to you and wish you a happy new year."
"Okay." Old Lady Xu put Yingbao down and pulled the three children into the house.
Xu Chunniang and her husband also came in with large baskets and small bags, distributing gifts to her brother, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces.
"Mother, I made this piece of cloth from cotton. It's very soft and has no color. You can use it to make a shirt."
"And there is this piece of ramie material, the color is beautiful, you can make a dress for yourself." It's not that Chunniang doesn't want to make it for her mother, but Xu's mother likes to do it herself, saying that the clothes she makes are suitable and comfortable to wear.
Old Lady Xu touched the fabric happily and said, "Mrs. Chun, why did you buy so much fabric? I am buried up to my neck in dirt, so why do I need new clothes and new fabric?"
"Don't say that. You can live to be ninety-nine, why don't you wear new clothes and new fabrics?" Chunniang took out a five-liang silver ingot and a string of copper coins and stuffed them into the old lady's pockets. "This is your son-in-law's filial gift to you."
When Xu Lao Niang saw a silver ingot, she opened her eyes wide and tried to refuse: "Hey, why are you giving me so much money? I'm not going anywhere, so I don't need to spend money."
"Put it away quickly." Chunniang stuffed it into my mother's hand. "You are the elder, how can you not have a penny? The children at home will give you New Year's money, and Daniu's wife is coming soon. It would be unreasonable for you not to give her some gift."
Da Niu is Xu Da’s eldest son. He is sixteen years old this year and will get married in a few months.
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Mrs. Xu accepted the silver and copper coins.
Since her husband passed away, she has been dependent on her eldest son and really doesn't have much spare money.
Even during the Chinese New Year and other holidays, when her two daughters occasionally gave her some pocket money, she gave it all to the children.
At this time, Sister Xu walked into the room, and Chunniang quickly picked up two pieces of cloth and handed them to her: "Sister-in-law, this is the cloth I bought for you and your brother."
Mrs. Xu quickly took it and said with a smile, "Oh, Chunniang, you've spent money again."
"No way, you've been taking care of me at home, and I haven't thanked you yet." Chunniang took out four bags of candies and snacks and placed them on the table, as well as hats, hairpins and combs for her nephews and nieces.
Nowadays men also wear flowers, the kind of very bright silk flowers. Chunniang bought some and distributed them to her nephews and nieces.
Then he pulled Yingbao and the two children over and said, "This is your aunt. Go and wish her a happy new year."
Yingbao and her two younger brothers shouted, "Happy New Year, Auntie. May everything go well for you!"
"All is well." Mrs. Xu took out the ten or so coins she had prepared for the New Year from her pocket and gave them to the three children.
Yingbao and her brother took it and kowtowed to their aunt.
Mrs. Xu smiled as she held the fabric in her arms and said, "Second sister will be back soon. Big sister, you can chat with mother for a while. I'm going to cook."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law." Chunniang stood up and saw her sister-in-law out.
At this time, three children swarmed in from outside. They were all from the eldest brother's family. They were the sixteen-year-old nephew, the twelve-year-old niece, and the eight-year-old nephew.
"Happy New Year to our aunt!" The three children knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Chunniang.
Chunniang smiled and gave each of them ten cents as a New Year's money, and also distributed the hair ornaments and combs she had bought to them.
"Thank you, aunt!" The three children thanked her, took the money and ran out happily.
Suddenly, someone outside laughed and said, "Brother-in-law is here so early, where's sister? Why can't I see her?"
Then the door curtain was lifted and Xu Qiuniang walked in.
"Hey! What are you doing hiding in the house? Why don't you help sister-in-law with cooking?"