2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 67 Chinese New Year (Part Two)

With the deepening of reform and opening up, compared with the 1980s and 1990s, the living standards in rural areas after 2000 have improved considerably due to the greater ease with which people can go out to work.

However, even for someone who is usually very frugal, there is still not much oil or fat in their belly.

Therefore, rural banquets emphasize affordability, with no high-end ingredients, just common pork, chicken, fish, and other common ingredients, with plates piled high.

The head chef was from the same village, and these days you don't have to pay him, but you still have to give him a carton of cigarettes.

Tan Jincheng's fourth uncle, Zhang Qingliang, is a good cook and often helps others cook during the Lunar New Year. However, since he is here today as an uncle to offer his congratulations, he cannot accept the job, as it would be disrespectful.

Apart from her two maternal uncles who always stayed in their hometown, the other three maternal uncles, who were born of the same mother, were meeting Tan Jinyue for the first time; there was no way around it, as they were all working away from home and the family was busy when they came back.

My uncle will be getting married on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year this year. I remember in my past life I climbed up to the rooftop platform to sprinkle wedding candy. I'm afraid of heights, and that time my legs were trembling so badly that I didn't dare to look down and sprinkled the candy with my eyes closed.

"Can I use your car on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year? I need it to pick up some guests," said Zhang Qingxuan, the younger brother, to Tan Jincheng, who was serving dishes, during a break between servings.

"No problem." Looks like we won't have to climb to the rooftop to sprinkle wedding candy this time.

With people coming and going today, and several of his uncles drunk, Tan Jincheng didn't get a chance to talk to his fourth uncle about the renovations after the New Year, so he had no choice but to give up.

We can only discuss it when visiting relatives on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, every household does a thorough cleaning, and the main road leading out of the village is bustling with people going to buy groceries to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner the next day.

The Tan family was also doing a thorough cleaning. To prevent Xiao Jinyue from inhaling dust, Tan Jincheng pushed her around in a stroller. When they passed by some farmhouses, they could hear the child crying from time to time.

This is what they call "skinning" – a punishment given before the Lunar New Year. Children shouldn't be beaten during the first month of the lunar year, so this is done to discipline the naughty child.

It is said that the old Tan family used to have a tradition of beating up Tan Licheng before the New Year. Apart from Tan Licheng's cousin Tan Jinen, none of Tan Jincheng's generation had ever enjoyed this treatment.

"Big brother." Speak of the devil and he appears. Just as Tan Jincheng was thinking of Tan Jin'en, he saw him rushing over from behind.

Seeing his flustered appearance, Tan Jincheng could guess what had happened: "Was she skinned again?"

"Yes, I stole my dad's lighter to set off firecrackers. He was going to hit me, so I went out to hide."

Ten-year-old Tan Jin'en said nonchalantly, and then reached out to pinch Xiao Jinyue's cheek, which startled Tan Jincheng, who quickly stopped her.

The mischief was stopped, but Tan Jin'en didn't care. She continued to follow behind Tan Jincheng, her big eyes darting around.

"Don't hurt your sister. She's still young and her skin is delicate. Your hands are all dirty," Tan Jincheng warned.

"No, I just want to touch her; by the way, could you buy me some firecrackers, I'm out of them."

"You've already fallen down before the New Year is even over?"

"Yeah, my dad won't buy them for me anymore. Big brother, do you have money? Could you buy me a few boxes?"

“Buying it isn’t a problem, but you can’t throw it into the haystack. If it catches fire during the New Year, that’s no joke.” “Okay, okay, I’ll go throw it in an open space.”

"Let's go check out the shop then, see if they still have any left."

Upon hearing this, Tan Jin'en immediately followed his cousin around like a puppy. This kid was very cunning; he noticed that ever since his older brother came back from the Mid-Autumn Festival, he seemed to have an endless supply of money and was also very easy to talk to.

I tentatively asked for some firecrackers today, and to my surprise, my older brother agreed so readily.

"Ugh, I should have gotten the sky rocket. It's more fun, but it's a lot more expensive than the snap pop."

The small shop at the village entrance isn't far away. It usually just sells meat and daily necessities to make ends meet. Every year during the Lunar New Year, it buys a lot of goods and encourages friends and family to buy New Year's goods from its shop. So, its reputation is very important.

Even if you're a child, the shopkeeper will greet you with a smile. It doesn't matter if you don't have money, since you're all from the same village and you know each other's kids.

This is especially true for people like Tan Jin'en, who are well-known in the village.

"Take whatever you like, and get some for your two older sisters too."

The two older sisters Tan Jincheng mentioned are his uncle's cousin and his aunt's cousin, both of whom are 12 years old this year. In addition, his uncle and aunt each have a younger brother, both of whom are currently 5 years old.

The reason why Tan Jin'en is younger than his cousin is that he has an older brother who died shortly after birth.

Perhaps for this reason, Tan Jin'en was pampered from birth, which fostered his mischievous personality. However, the boy grew up to be very mature and composed, completely different from when he was a child.

Children who grow up in the countryside are generally like this: they are naughty and mischievous when they are young, but they take on heavy family responsibilities when they grow up.

"Really? You can take whatever you want?" Tan Jin'en asked, her eyes shining.

"Yes, you can take all of them, but you can't take the big items, it's too dangerous."

Nowadays, the fireworks and firecrackers sold in these small shops are mostly produced by small factories in the surrounding area without any licenses, and the quality is not guaranteed. Every year during the Spring Festival, Tan Jincheng would hear news of someone being injured by fireworks.

Tan Jin'en felt that running out today was the right decision. Her eyes shone as she stared at the fireworks in the corner, but she knew her limits and only took a few of each type.

It must be said that these younger siblings, whether mischievous or not, have good family upbringing. Even if they grow up to be very successful, at least they haven't caused any trouble for society or their families.

Tan Jin'en wasn't good at studying, so he first learned to repair cars, and later followed his aunt to Zhili to work in the clothing industry. After a few years of struggling, he settled down and earned a lot of money. The new house and cars that his family later renovated were all earned through his own efforts.

The other two younger sisters and brothers all have good academic performance. My cousin is a key undergraduate in the province and a master's student at a prestigious university in Shanghai. My other cousin is also a medical school graduate. One of my brothers was admitted to a university in Anhui Province, and the other was admitted to a 985 university.

Such achievements are absolutely outstanding in a rural family. Relatives on my uncle's side, even those younger than me, have all been admitted to university, and I am perfectly capable of finding a job on my own.

His immediate family members are all independent and primarily focused on their studies; therefore, Tan Jincheng is not worried about how many relatives will come to his door to freeload. The problem of having many relatives that Zhang Xupeng mentioned does not exist for Tan Jincheng.

(End of this chapter)