Back to 1978: Getting rich starts with treasure hunting

The first day of the first lunar month.

It snowed all night last night. After the roosters crowed in the evening, the sound of firecrackers began to rang out one after another over the city.

There is really no quiet moment during the New Year in this era. Firecrackers will be set off during the New Year’s Eve dinner, and before midnight every household must close the wealth door, which is the door into the house, and firecrackers will be set off after closing the door.

Go to bed after celebrating the New Year. Maybe you haven’t slept for long before the roosters crow outside, and some enthusiastic people get up to be the first to stick incense and set off firecrackers.

This ceremony is the most important and indispensable procedure on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

That is, the head of the family burns incense to the ancestral tablets, opens the door to wealth, and sets off firecrackers to welcome the gods and ancestors, which can also be called welcoming the new year and new atmosphere.

Families without ancestral tablets will burn incense at the shrine in the main hall, where the gods and ancestors can sit.

You may not know that no matter whether it is a village or a county town, as soon as the first string of firecrackers is blasted, it will be followed by the sound of firecrackers one after another from all directions.

This is probably what it means to get rid of the old and welcome the new.

Gu Jiu and Lin Shu did not rush to get up and set off firecrackers as soon as the rooster crowed like others. Instead, they waited until the sky was slightly bright before Gu Jiu got up, burned incense and set off firecrackers.

Then we boil water to make tea, and put snacks such as melon seeds, peanuts, fried food, and candies on the table.

After Lin Shu finished washing up, she sat down with him to drink the first cup of hot tea of ​​the New Year, and they exchanged New Year greetings.

This year Lin Shu is pregnant, so Gu Jiu rolled up his sleeves and started to prepare the first breakfast of the new year.

The customs in the south and the north are different. The first breakfast of the New Year will not be noodles or dumplings or something like that. That is too simple and does not seem grand at all for the head of the family.

We have the same New Year’s Eve dinner again, except that some dishes have been changed, and the sumptuousness is just as great as the New Year’s Eve dinner.

I go into the kitchen at daybreak, and by the time the food is ready, it's probably around seven or eight o'clock.

When Lin Shu saw that the meal was ready, he helped to serve the dishes, set the table, warm the wine, and arrange the bowls, chopsticks, and wine glasses.

The first breakfast of the first day of the new year was so rich that they both felt a sense of accomplishment.

Amidst the blessings, the two clinked glasses and tasted delicious food. It was the first meal of the new year. They were full of wine and food and felt extremely satisfied.

They got married last year and this year is their first New Year after their marriage. According to local traditional customs, the couple has to pay New Year's greetings to all the relatives of the man's family.

There was a thick layer of snow outside, and it was inconvenient for Lin Shu to travel with her bulging belly. Today, only Gu Jiu could go to pay New Year's greetings alone. After paying New Year's greetings to the most senior elder in the family, he and his brothers would go to pay New Year's greetings to other people.

Lin Shu prepared a big red envelope and countless small red envelopes. The big red envelope was for Gu Jiu, wishing the head of the family good luck on his trip. The small red envelopes were prepared for the children of the family. When Gu Jiu went to his family to pay New Year's greetings, he could give a red envelope as a blessing to the younger generation of the family.

The amount of money in the red envelope doesn’t matter, what we want is auspicious meaning.

After Gu Jiu was dressed up and left the house, Lin Shu cleaned up the house and put the tea tray on the table again, which was filled with a lot of fried food, such as glutinous rice noodles, small twisted dough sticks, sugar cakes, etc. There were also candies, biscuits, melon seeds, peanuts, etc.

Lin Shu put out everything that could be used as snacks, and then washed a plate of apples and a plate of oranges.

Prepare boiling water so that if guests come to your house to pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the New Year, you can make tea to entertain them at any time.

Just as everything was ready, the door outside was pushed open. Hearing the laughter of children, Lin Shu knew that it was the children from the neighbors who were visiting every household to wish a happy new year.

The leaders were Dabao, Dabing and Ergou.

"Sister, Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

"May you be happy and prosperous!"

"May all go well with you!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I saw the children saying blessings while their eyes were glued to the snacks on the table.

"Thank you. I also wish you a happy new year and progress in your studies."

"Come on, come on, each of you take some snacks back."

Lin Shu prepared a small purse made of red gauze for each child, which contained candies, biscuits, glutinous rice sticks, etc. that she had prepared in advance. She put a little bit of each in, and when the ribbon on the opening was tightened, the purse was filled to the brim.

It was the first time for the children to receive red gauze purses, which were small and creative. They all smiled happily and ran out happily, heading to the next house in groups.

When Gu Jiu brought his brothers to his home to pay New Year's greetings, it was almost eleven o'clock. Everyone sat down and drank tea and chatted for half an hour, and when the time was almost up, they got up and said goodbye.

Gu Jiu sent the people away and turned back. Lin Shu asked in surprise, "Did you visit all the relatives in just one morning?"

"You can basically finish visiting relatives before noon on the first day of the New Year, so you don't have to visit relatives in the afternoon."

Everyone gets up early and finishes breakfast early, just to visit relatives on the first day of the new year.

In a few hours, the whole family was visited.

If it is a small family, it is okay, but for a big family, both legs have to be thin.

In order to save time, people usually just pass a cigarette or a candy to each other and say a few New Year greetings.

Only when people go to the homes of the elders who are of high seniority in the clan, will they go in to have a cup of tea before leaving.

"What do you want to eat for lunch?" Gu Jiu asked while rubbing his stomach.

Lin Shu noticed his little action: "What do you want to eat?"

"I've had enough water this morning, so I'll just eat something."

I spent the whole morning greeting people one by one, and drank a belly full of water. Even now the water in my stomach is still rumbling when I walk.

"Then heat up the breakfast."

"it is good."

No one came to pay New Year's greetings in the afternoon, and they didn't want to visit other people's homes, so the couple stayed at home to catch up on some sleep.

I was woken up by the sound of firecrackers not long after I fell asleep last night, and I was busy all morning. I am really sleepy now.

On the second day of the Chinese New Year, married daughters return to their parents' home to pay New Year's greetings.

Gu Jiu got up early and got ready.

After Lin Shu got up, they each ate a bowl of dumplings, and Gu Jiu hung the prepared gifts on the bicycle.

Lin Shu looked around and saw liquor, cigarettes, candies, biscuits, firecrackers, and finally a large bag of frozen dumplings, which were the dumplings they had made on New Year's Eve and frozen in the snow.

"It's snowing for two days. The road outside must be frozen. Is it okay to ride a bike?"

Gu Jiu hung as many things as possible on the handlebars on both sides of the bike. "Someone sweeps the snow on the main street every day, so it's not slippery."

They can ride bicycles on the main street, and on other paths, they push their bicycles, which is easier than carrying the gifts themselves.

When I came out of the house, I met old neighbors on the old street. Everyone greeted each other. When I got to the main street, I saw couples or couples with children returning to their parents' home to pay New Year's greetings, either on foot or by bicycle.

Gu Jiu asked Lin Shu to sit on the back seat while they rode their bicycles.

Lin Shu saw the road had been swept clean, but still sat on it with trepidation.

Fortunately, the distance was not far. After riding for more than ten minutes, they turned into the road leading to the old house. Gu Jiu knew his limits, stopped the bike, and let Lin Shu get off and walk.

He would rather push it than ride it.

"The snow on this road hasn't been cleared, and the road is slippery. If you turn in without paying attention, you and your bike will definitely fall."