Koi baby helps his mother farm and becomes the richest man

Aunt Zhao came back quickly, stomped off the snow on her feet outside the door, and when she entered, she cupped her hands to her mouth and blew out a breath of warm air, "It's really cold outside!" But there was a smile on her face.

Qin Ying poured hot water into the basin. Aunt Zhao washed her hands, took off her outer coat, and helped put the food on the table.

After worshipping the gods, everyone sat together and started the New Year’s Eve dinner.

As usual, each person drinks half a bowl of soup first.

Aunt Zhao stood up with her bowl in hand and said, "Let me say a few words."

The rest of the people also stood up. An An was too small, so he just stood on the bench.

Aunt Zhao said with a smile: "Today is the last day of the year, and God has been kind and it has snowed. This means that all the suffering is over today. From tomorrow on, we will have good days ahead!

"So, let's throw away all our worries today and welcome the new year with a relaxed attitude! Okay!"

There are taboos during the Chinese New Year. You cannot say unlucky words such as "finished", "gone", "broken", etc.

"Okay!" An An was the first to respond, "Grandma, that's great!"

Qin Ying also echoed: "Yes! You are right! All the bad things belong to the past, and we will get better day by day!"

The two sisters of the Zhou family also became excited, raised their bowls high, and drank the soup in one gulp.

After drinking the soup, everyone sat down to eat.

The dishes were slightly different from those at lunch and were more sumptuous. The dish placed in front of the two sisters was still pork trotters stewed with soybeans, but there was also some white radish in it.

Aunt Zhao said with a smile, "Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer. Winter radish is as good as ginseng. This one has been stewed for a long time and is very flavorful."

The two sisters tried it and found that radish seemed to be more delicious than meat. They nodded repeatedly, and Zhou Mian also picked up a piece of radish for An An.

Zhou Qi nudged her gently with her elbow and reminded her, "Meat."

Zhou Mian added two more pieces of meat, then picked up a spoon and divided them among Aunt Zhao and Qin Ying.

The two sisters did not refuse. This was a huge improvement for the two sisters and deserved encouragement.

After dinner, the two sisters even helped to clear the table.

There were too many dishes to eat, so they were all put outside to freeze. Then they were put into a small warehouse and hung on the beams to be eaten slowly.

After clearing the table, everyone went into the east room and placed some snacks on the kang table, including various dried fruits, fried dough sticks, fried pumpkin seeds, etc., and sat around to chat.

Aunt Zhao mentioned casually, "When I was a child, my grandmother's family was well-off. During festivals, they would play mahjong. I remember playing it as a child, but now I've forgotten all about it."

Zhou Qi said softly, "When we were young, during festivals, the elders in our family would play leaf cards or push Pai Gow, but we didn't."

Aunt Zhao asked curiously, "What are you playing?"

"Guess lantern riddles, pitch pots, kick shuttlecocks..." Zhou Qi thought for a moment, "My brothers might drink and write poetry when they get together.

"My sisters can also write poetry. They don't drink alcohol, but they might barbecue."

Aunt Zhao continued to ask, "Everything else is easy to explain, but what is this game of throwing pots?"

Zhou Qi explained with a smile: "It means throwing the arrow into the quiver. The arrow is different from a real bow and arrow, because it has no arrowhead.

"Quivers come in all shapes and sizes, some are more refined, some are cruder. The simplest ones are just a bamboo tube, with a few branches broken off, and whoever throws it in wins.

“The one who makes the most hits in the end wins and gets the prize.

"There are also more complicated ways to play, with so many names that I can't list them all."

Aunt Zhao turned around and asked Qin Ying, "Yingzi, do you understand?"

"I don't understand either," Qin Ying shook her head. "My father has no brothers, and my mother's family lives far away. We don't have any brothers or sisters, so we can never have fun together."

"Let's play now!" An An came over, "Whoever loses gets to tell a joke!"

Qin Ying went downstairs and fetched an old chopstick holder and a pair of old chopsticks. "We'll have to replace them with new ones tomorrow, so let's just play with one."

You don't have to get off the ground, just put it at the end of the kang and everyone starts throwing it at the head of the kang.

At first, no one could hit the target, but after two rounds, the adults gradually found their aim and were able to hit a few.

On the contrary, An An was small and weak, and never hit the target once. He couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, I knew it! Then I'll tell you! It's a lot of jokes. There are two acres of melons planted on the stove. A thief comes to steal the melons in the middle of the night. A blind man lights a candle, and a lame man chases him..."

Zhou Mian was stunned at first, then he burst into laughter, and Zhou Qi's shoulders also shook.

Qin Ying almost spit out a mouthful of water. Aunt Zhao hugged An An into her arms and said, "Oh, my precious child, where did you hear that?"

An An narrowed her eyes and said with a grin, "I learned this from Mrs. Wang!"

Here in Tongshutun, people call their parents’ grandmothers “Taitai”.

"No wonder," Aunt Zhao wiped her eyes and smiled, "Mrs. Wang has a lot of food in her belly! Come on, let's go to the next round!"

In the second round, An An lost again without any suspense. This time, Aunt Zhao told a joke for her.

Time flies by while we play around like this.

Zhao Hu's voice came from outside: "Mom, come out and turn on the fire!"

Aunt Zhao agreed and hurriedly urged: "Put on some warm clothes, let's go out and drive away the evil spirits and make the fire burn brighter!"

The so-called blazing fire is a pile of fire built in the yard, which burns vigorously on New Year's Eve, symbolizing the burning of all the bad things in the old year and the welcoming of prosperity in the coming year.

It was the first time that Zhou Qi and Zhou Mian heard of it, and they were both very interested.

Aunt Zhao was afraid that the two of them would feel uncomfortable, so she quickly said, "Hu Zi came here just to add more firewood. He will be gone by the time we leave."

"It's okay," Zhou Qi whispered, "Auntie, let Hu... Hu Zi come back to sleep later. It's New Year's Day, and it might not be good to sleep in someone else's house."

Aunt Zhao was still a little hesitant.

Qin Ying readily agreed: "Okay! Hu Zi will definitely be very happy."

When the five people arrived in the yard, the fire was indeed burning again. Aunt Zhao took the lead and An An followed closely behind, circling the fire three times clockwise and three times backward. Aunt Zhao was still muttering a prayer.

After the circle, Aunt Zhao said, "Roast your arms and legs, and you'll be stronger next year."

Everyone followed her and raised their legs and arms.

Aunt Zhao turned around again and said, "Warm your back so it won't get cold next year."

Everyone turned around in unison.

Aunt Zhao turned around and stuck her head out. "Roast your ears, so they won't get frozen next year."

Everyone stretched their necks again, looked at each other, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

In short, Aunt Zhao led everyone to roast from head to toe, and when they were all warm, she stretched out her hands and fanned them: "You all go in, I'll go tell Hu Zi."

Qin Ying agreed and let them go in first, while she went to get some frozen dumplings to cook.

When the sky turns to midnight, people eat dumplings.

When Aunt Zhao came back, the steaming dumplings were served on the table.