Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

After eating dumplings, Xiaolan, Xiaoting and Xiaowen all wished Shengxuan and Zhang a happy new year. They smiled and took out the red envelopes they had prepared in advance and gave them to the three children one by one.

This was the first time that the three siblings received a red envelope. They were so happy that Xiaowen happily hid the red envelope again.

Eating dumplings at midnight was like staying up all night to celebrate the New Year. The family washed up and went to bed. When Xiaolan woke up the next day, it was still dark outside the window, but Xiaoting next to her had already gotten up.

The family had breakfast when it was just getting light. It is not customary to sweep the floor on the first morning of the New Year. There are many rules and taboos on this day. It is said that sweeping the floor will alarm the broom star, thus bringing bad luck, and sweeping the floor on this day will sweep away the blessings and wealth of the year. On this day, garbage cannot be thrown away at home, and even water cannot be poured outside the house. Xiaolan's family prepared a large bucket to hold waste water.

Zhang took out the new cotton-padded clothes she had made before the New Year. Although the colors were the same, Zhang was very skillful and embroidered different patterns on everyone's clothes. Zhang put on the newly bought bracelets and hairpins today and looked at herself in the mirror. She was very satisfied.

Xiaoting and Xiaoman also took out their jewelry boxes and put on bracelets, hairpins and earrings.

After the family got dressed up, they went to Old Sheng's house to wish the old man and Mrs. Cui a happy new year.

Pushing the door open, I saw bamboo hanging on the north side of the main room, on which ancestors of all generations were enshrined. On the altar were placed a whole pig's head, a whole big fish, jujube cakes, peanuts, persimmon cakes, candies and hawthorns. In the middle of the outer edge of the altar was an incense burner with three incense sticks burning in it.

There were several cushions under the altar. Sheng Xuan and Xiao Wen first knelt down and kowtowed three times to the ancestors. After standing up and bowing a few times, the family moved to the old man's room in the main house.

Each family only needs to worship one of this kind of bamboo. Now it is worshipped by the old man. When he gets old, the bamboo will be passed to his eldest son Sheng Nuo, who will continue to worship it.

The Shengjia Village was very particular about celebrating the New Year. Grandpa Sheng and Madam Cui had been sitting on the kang waiting for the arrival of the festival. There were several futons spread on the floor. First, Sheng Nuo and Sheng Hong from the first room knelt down and kowtowed to Grandpa and Madam Cui. Then it was Sheng Kai, Sheng Yuan, Sheng Liang and Xiao Cao from the second room. Then it was Sheng Xuan, Xiao Wen, Xiao Ting and Xiao Lan's turn. Then it was Sheng Hao, Xiao Ye and Xiao Tao's turn. Xiao Ru and Madam Wang from the first room were not there. As for Daya, she was too young to kneel down and kowtow because she was still held by her mother, Madam Xu. Daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law did not need to kneel down. They were probably considered to be from other families. Anyway, the rules of the older generation were passed down in this way.

Mr. Sheng was in high spirits and asked everyone to stand up.

After Chunhua paid New Year's greetings to the old man and Mrs. Cui, this family ceremony was over.

When Xiaolan's family walked into the house, her home became the focus. The mother and her two children were all dressed in new clothes, especially the jewelry on their heads and hands, which were very eye-catching.

"Old Third's family, you look really smart today." Shen said exaggeratedly, "Look at the jewelry on your head and the bracelets on your wrists, they are all made of gold, right? They are so beautiful in their golden glory."

Xiao Lan said, "Second Aunt, we are a hardworking family that got rich. We didn't steal or rob, so we are not afraid of people seeing us. Besides, all the things in my house are displayed out in the open. We are not like others who keep the best things at the bottom of the box. I don't know when they will take them out for me to see so that we can open our eyes."

As soon as Xiaolan opened her mouth, she implied the two families. Shen immediately stopped talking. Xu was afraid that the war would spread to her side. After all, everyone saw Wang taking out silver and gold jewelry to treat Xiaoru's injuries. They were different from Xiaolan's family. They didn't split up.

Cui glared at Shen and Xu quickly. Last time when Wang took out the silver, gold bracelets and hairpins, Cui was sure that her daughter-in-law had hidden something, and suspected that they had hidden a lot. Now that Xiao Lan had pointed it out, she snorted coldly. After all, it was the New Year, and family harmony was very important. She would settle this account later, and she would no longer focus on the third brother's family.

After Xiaolan's family came out of the upper room, Xiaolan and Xiaoting went home, while Shengxuan and Zhang took Xiaowen to visit various places to wish a happy new year. Girls here don't need to go out to wish a happy new year.

The two sisters called Xiaoye into the house to play and took out melon seeds and candies to treat her.

"Ye, why didn't I see Sister Xiaoru and Auntie when I was paying New Year's greetings?" Xiao Lan asked the doubts in her heart.

"Sister Xiaoru is recuperating in the town. According to my sister-in-law, Xiaoru's injuries are very serious and the doctor has ordered her not to move around freely. So Wang is staying with her in the town." Xiao Ye said hurriedly.

Xiaolan and Xiaoting were both surprised. The New Year was a big family event. When did the old man and Cui become so tolerant? Even if Xiaoru was resting, she could still be raised in the village. Why didn't she even come back for the New Year?

"While making dumplings on New Year's Eve, I overheard my eldest sister-in-law and eldest brother gossiping. It seemed that my eldest aunt wanted to find a husband for Xiaoru and wanted to marry her off as soon as possible."

Xiaolan and Xiaoting suddenly realized that Wang and Xiaoru had this idea in mind for not coming back for the New Year. They might have been really scared by Sheng Nuo, and she wanted to cut the Gordian knot to prevent Xiaoru from entrusting her trust to the wrong person and wasting her life.

The New Year's greetings in the village lasted until noon. When Shengxuan Zhang brought Xiaowen back, Xiaowen immediately took out a lot of candies from his pocket. These were the candies he got when he followed his parents to pay New Year's greetings to the elders. He couldn't bear to eat them, so he brought them all back. Xiaolan happily accepted them and put them in the candy box, waiting to eat them slowly later.

At noon, I heated up yesterday's leftovers and leftover dumplings from last night. I made a lot of food yesterday, which is also very particular. Leftovers represent surplus food and wealth, which has a meaning. The more leftovers, the richer the life will be in the coming year.

After lunch, Xiaolan told Xiaoru about Wang taking her to the town for a blind date.

"It's Xiaoru's blessing that your aunt can do this." Zhang was silent for a long time and then said this.

Xiao Lan agreed with this statement very much. From the fact that Wang took out money to pay for Xiao Ru's medical treatment and exposed her own secret fund to make Cui hate her, Xiao Lan could see that she was indeed a good mother. But a good mother is not the same as a good person. She was just being good to her own people out of selfishness.

In the afternoon, Sheng Xuan and Zhang went out to visit friends and relatives again, during which time Sheng Xuan accepted invitations from several families.

Farmers have the custom of inviting guests to dinner during the New Year. They will choose a day to invite relatives, friends and those who have taken care of their family in the past year. In one afternoon, Sheng Xuan agreed to invite three families, Wang the Butcher, Sheng Yugui and Sheng Chunzhu.