The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Chapter 417 New Year's Eve Dinner

The Zhang family has always had the New Year's Eve reunion dinner together since Zhang Ping'an was born, and in previous years, the three Xu sisters-in-law also prepared it together.

This year, Zhang took the initiative to suggest eating at the second house.

The first and third wives all knew the reason, but since they were also benefiting from it, they naturally had no objection.

When Zhang Ping'an got home, everyone was already there.

When the nephews saw Zhang Ping'an, they were extremely sweet to him. They kept calling him "uncle" and surrounded him.

"You guys, don't be in a hurry to please me now. After you finish staying up all night tonight, remember to wish me a happy new year. I will give each of you a big red envelope then," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

"Oh, oh, little uncle is the best." The children were even happier after getting the promise.

Needless to say, the adults were in a very good mood when they saw this scene.

Xu no longer feels sorry for the New Year's money.

It’s just that the first and third wives have grandchildren who can receive the red envelopes, but there is no younger generation in her family who can take them back, so she always feels like she’s losing out.

She is really envious of having a grandson!

Moreover, Xu had a secret worry in her heart. She was afraid that her son would also have daughters before her. She was so old now and didn't know how many years she could wait.

Alas, I hope my daughter-in-law will give birth to a boy as her first child. If she really does, she will definitely go to the temple to offer more incense money to the Buddha to fulfill her wish.

It gets dark early in winter, and soon, the sound of firecrackers can be heard outside.

Zhang Laoer had already prepared firecrackers in advance. When he saw some of his neighbors starting to light them, he took the men in his family out and lit the firecrackers at the door of the house.

After a crackling sound.

Seeing that the firecrackers had all burned out, Zhang Lao Da rolled up his sleeves and said, "Okay, let's go in. It's really cold out here. Let's go in quickly so we can have dinner and eat something hot to warm ourselves up."

The children also echoed: "Oh, let's go in and eat!"

As they talked, they jumped and ran towards the house together.

Zhang Laosan hurriedly shouted from behind: "Slow down, be careful not to fall!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the little grandson fell to the ground.

But children at that time were all tough. The little guy didn't even cry. He got up by himself, brushed the dirt off his hands and legs, and then ran away with his brothers.

Zhang Laosan smiled helplessly from behind: "These kids are really enjoying themselves now. If we were kids and fell down and got our clothes dirty, we would have been severely spanked by our parents!"

"Life is better now, so this little thing doesn't matter to me," Zhang Laoer said happily.

He is now free from worries.

Now that all seven of his children have started their own families, his mission is accomplished. If he can have a grandson as soon as possible, his life will be even more perfect!

No worries about food and clothing.

Just thinking about this day makes me happy!

The servants have already lit up all the lights in the mansion. The whole house is brightly lit and looks festive.

The lantern must remain lit until the next morning, symbolizing a prosperous new year.

When I returned to the main room, the servants had already set the table.

Everyone moved to the dining room.

Since it is the New Year’s Eve dinner, it must not be shabby.

The table was filled with all kinds of dishes, both seen and not seen before, with more than thirty dishes in total.

There were three tables and it wasn't crowded at all.

As the head of the family, Old Man Zhang should take the lead in raising his glass, and then everyone can follow suit. This is the rule.

In order to save his stomach, Boss Zhang didn't eat much at noon and couldn't wait any longer.

Seeing that his father hadn't moved, he couldn't help but whispered, "Dad, it's your turn to raise your glass!"

I don’t know if Old Man Zhang didn’t hear clearly, but he was still laughing.

Boss Zhang had no choice but to remind him again, and he leaned over and said, "Dad, please say a few words!"

"What? Raise your glass, right?!" Old man Zhang suddenly asked in a hoarse voice, scaring everyone.

Seeing this, Zhang simply handed the wine glass over to the old man and said lightly, "Drink."

Old man Zhang then raised his glass and said to everyone with a smile: "Everyone, let's go together."

Zhang Laoda couldn't help but mutter to Zhang Laosan who was sitting next to him: "What's going on? Is our father getting senile and confused?!"

Zhang Laosan said angrily, "You should wait for our father to come. I think he is more sober than any of us. My sister-in-law said he eats two big bowls of rice at every meal, which is more than I eat!"

"I'm just stating the facts," Boss Zhang said in a muffled voice.

With Old Man Zhang taking the lead in raising his glass and picking up the first piece of food, everyone followed suit.

The men mainly drank, while the women sat at a table by themselves, eating and chatting, feeling very comfortable.

The children's table was the most lively because there were no adults supervising them. They couldn't stop eating anything delicious and ended up eating too much.

When Qian Youyi saw this, he was afraid that the children would get hurt from overeating, so he ordered his servants to look after them and not let them eat or drink too much.

She also asked Nanny Rong to ask the kitchen to boil a pot of hawthorn tea and bring it over to help everyone digest their food.

She was full after eating two chopsticks of rice cake and was drinking slowly from a bowl of rock sugar bird's nest.

The New Year's Eve dinner lasted for more than an hour.

The servants will do the cleaning work.

Everyone moved to the flower hall to drink tea.

The next step is to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year.

Staying up all night to welcome the New Year is only for the men in the family.

If the female members do not want to keep the vigil, they are not forced to do so and can go to their rooms to rest first.

Xu had already asked the servants to arrange a guest room in advance.

Qian Youyi had no interest in staying up all night to celebrate the New Year. It was torture enough for her to sit for more than an hour during the New Year's Eve dinner. Now she just wanted to go back to her room and rest.

Therefore, after bowing and apologizing to all the elders, she returned to the inner courtyard with the maids and servants.

Old man Zhang and Mrs. Zhang were old and could not bear it any longer. In addition, they were of higher seniority and no one criticized their rules and etiquette, so they went back to their rooms to rest.

Li and Ma didn't want to go to bed so early, so they secretly encouraged Xu to play mahjong with them.

When it comes to playing cards, Xu is not that good. She can neither count cards nor react fast enough. Last time, she said she wanted to help her daughter-in-law win back some money, but in the end she failed.

But there is always some people who are not good at it but have a strong addiction to it.

Xu had some of the same idea.

Although she could see that her two sisters-in-law wanted to win money from her.

But think about it, maybe hitting it a few more times will help!

So he didn't refuse and told the maid to bring the cards over.

Li was very excited when she saw this. She was the best card player among the three sisters-in-law. If she got lucky today, maybe her eldest grandson could save some money on his salary next year.

Erhe's wife was also eager to try it out when she saw it. She was a girl from the town and her family had been well-off since she was a child, so she was more lively.

In addition, Erhe has received education and has a high status in the third house. As a wife's status depends on her husband's, she naturally has more say in front of her mother-in-law, Ma.

After briefly mentioning it to Ma, Ma only warned: "Don't play with money!"

So I didn't care.

The more people play Leaf Cards, the more fun it is. Erhe's wife excitedly went to pull Dazhu's wife Mei Zi: "Mei Zi, let's play. Together with my second cousin's wife, four people will be perfect!"

Mei Zi had no interest in these things and shook her head, saying, "No, if you're sending someone, ask Sister Ying to come along. I still have to look after the child. Niu Niu is only half a year old now and can't leave him alone!"

Erhe's wife didn't think much of it: "Just let the eldest cousin's wife help watch it for a while, she has nothing to do anyway."

The eldest cousin's wife is Yingniang, who is now almost half invisible in the eldest house.

I am always unknown at every gathering and try to minimize my presence.

After being called, he said in a hoarse voice: "Meizi, give the child to me. I will help you take care of it."

"Really, no need. It's nice for us to sit together for a while," Mei Zi said with a smile.

After that, he said to Erhe's wife in a gentle voice: "Can't you three play too? Don't worry about us."

Now that things have come to this, Erhe's wife can no longer force it. She just muttered in her heart that it's really impossible for a pheasant to climb onto a branch.