My humble days in ancient times

Jiang was so angry that she stamped her feet and her voice changed: "You useless thing, are you going to live like this for the rest of your life? Don't you want to think about our future life?"

Wang Erdan snorted coldly and said, "I'd rather die than work for others. My old job is better. It pays well."

Jiang shook her head helplessly, knowing that it was difficult to change his nature.

Jiang said, "Stealing is risky. This time, I'll sacrifice my dignity and kneel before Ruyi, begging her to forgive you. Only then can you escape unscathed. Don't dwell on your glorious past; think about the time when you were down and out and discovered. How humiliating that would be!"

Wang Erdan couldn't stand the nagging anymore, so he turned around, covered his head with the quilt, and soon started snoring.

Jiang was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.

Jiang Shi looked at Wang Erdan's stubborn demeanor and couldn't stop her tears from flowing. She choked up and said, "Why did I marry such a good-for-nothing like you? How am I going to live my life from now on?"

Wang Erdan was annoyed by Jiang's crying. He sat up suddenly and yelled, "Cry, cry, cry, all you do is cry. It's so depressing!"

Jiang was so frightened by his roar that she stopped crying and stared blankly at Wang Erdan.

Wang Erdan also felt that he had gone too far, and his tone softened a little: "Alright, stop crying, I know what's going on."

But Jiang knew that his so-called knowing what was going on was just a perfunctory remark.

Jiang's heart was completely chilled. She knew that as long as Wang Erdan didn't change his bad habits, there would never be peace in this family.

The Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer, it is already the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month.

The prelude to the Chinese New Year begins with the "Little New Year" on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month. This day is considered the day when the Kitchen God ascends to heaven, and people offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, hoping that he will "speak good things to the heavens and protect peace in the world below."

Next is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, which is also "Dust Sweeping Day". Every household cleans up the cobwebs and dust, which means getting rid of the old and welcoming the new.

On the 25th day of the 12th lunar month, there is a folk custom of "making tofu by grinding a mill". Legend has it that the Jade Emperor will visit the mortal world on this day and eat tofu dregs to express his austerity.

The twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day for preparing meat for the New Year.

On the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, people slaughter chickens and go to the market to buy items needed for the Spring Festival.

On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, people make rice cakes, steam buns, and paste flowers on them. They also start preparing staple foods and putting up New Year pictures and couplets.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, people visit the graves of their ancestors and offer sacrifices.

New Year's Eve, which is the 30th day of the 12th lunar month, is the last day of the year. On this day, people put up Spring Festival couplets, hang lanterns, eat New Year's Eve dinner, stay up late, and the family gets together to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

From that day on, the village becomes increasingly lively and full of the festive atmosphere. A festive atmosphere permeates the entire village, with the sounds of children playing and laughing, and adults busying around.

Xu Ruyi said to Xu Qinghe, "The New Year is coming soon, so the store should be closed soon. Let Lei Da and Lei Er clean up the store and then go back to the village!"

Xu Qinghe nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go over and bring them back today."

Xu Ruyi then said to Xu Qinghe, "Let's make more buns and fried meatballs this year. In short, let's buy more meat and noodles!"

Xu Qinghe smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll buy the rest as well."

Xu Qinghe drove the horse-drawn carriage and rushed towards the county town with a "clattering" sound.

After buying a bunch of things in the county town, he went to the shop where Lei Da and Lei Er were diligently cleaning. The students from the school had gone home one after another recently, and the shops on both sides of the street were deserted, looking particularly bleak.

Xu Qinghe said, "Lei Da and Lei Er, come back to the village with me today!"

Lei Da and Lei Er were a little stunned when they heard this, their eyes full of surprise. They originally thought they would live in the shop, but when they heard Xu Qinghe say this, their hearts suddenly warmed. They thought the village was not bad, it was quite popular, and the New Year had a bit of the New Year atmosphere.

Lei Da and Lei Er cleaned up the remaining place neatly and put things in place carefully.

Xu Qinghe was worried and checked it carefully again. Then, they loaded the unused ingredients onto the carriage and happily headed back to the village.

When we arrived at the new house, Shopkeeper Zhao also arrived. With a smile on his face, Shopkeeper Zhao said, "This is my last visit today. I won't be here before the New Year. I'm here to wish you a happy New Year. Happy New Year!"

Xu Qinghe also quickly responded: "I also wish Shopkeeper Zhao a happy new year, abundant wealth, and prosperous business!"

After Shopkeeper Zhao left, Du Lei brought the chili oil account book and income to Xu Qinghe for review. Lei Da also hurriedly brought the store account book and money.

Xu Qinghe sat at the table, looked at the account book attentively, nodded with satisfaction, and left with the silver.

It is said that when Lei Da and Lei Er were in the living room, they accidentally saw the portrait on the wall. Their eyes lit up and they couldn't help but praise it: "It's really well painted, so lifelike, just like the real thing!" They were full of doubts and curiously guessed who had such high painting skills!

The production of chili oil was stopped, and Xu Ruyi specifically asked Du Lei to leave 200 kilograms in advance.

Because the New Year was approaching, many people in the village wanted to buy some chili oil to take back. Seeing Shopkeeper Zhao driving his carriage away, many people also came to the new house in groups of three or five.

Mrs. Jiang, Luo Daying, Aunt Zhang, Aunt Li, Zhang San and Widow Wang were all there.

Widow Wang said, "We all came here to buy chili oil today."

Only then did Song Ping'an open the door and let them in.

We came here when the new house was being built. It's been a while since we last visited, but now we find it's in great shape. There's a kennel in the yard, and inside it lies a large yellow dog, lazily basking in the sun.

Onions and garlic are planted against the wall, lush and vibrant. I've also planted spinach and other vegetables in a vegetable garden, which are growing well. The cabbages and radishes should have been brought in by now.

Widow Wang and the others looked around, everything seemed new to them.

Several people quickly came to the kitchen and took out basins, bowls and other things one by one. Song Ping'an weighed them one by one.

Zhang San waited behind them and simply looked around. He looked at the large warehouse in the back. The blue bricks inside were smooth and flat, which was a good thing. Then he went to the reception room and saw two portraits on the wall: Huang Guiyun and Wang Erdan. The question was, how could they be so like? The eyebrows and expressions were as if they were real people hanging there.

While Zhang San marveled at the painting's skill, he couldn't help but wonder why the two portraits were hung there. Was it to guard against them?

Zhang San pulled Widow Wang over to him mysteriously. Widow Wang couldn't help but exclaim "Oh my God!" when she saw the portrait. Now everyone came over.

When everyone saw the portraits of Huang Guiyun and Wang Erdan on the wall, they were stunned for a moment, then they couldn't help but burst into laughter. The laughter echoed in the room, full of joy and amusement.

Aunt Li covered her mouth and laughed. "Oh, isn't this the portrait of Huang Guiyun and Wang Erdan? They're so like the real people, they look just like them."

The others also nodded in agreement, their eyes full of surprise.

When Jiang heard this, her face suddenly darkened and she became unhappy. She frowned and said, "Why would you paint them so peacefully? Really, it's just causing trouble for no reason."

When everyone heard what Jiang said, they fell silent and the atmosphere became a little awkward.

Jiang bit her lip and was about to walk over to tear down Wang Erdan's portrait when she heard Du Lei's deep and powerful voice: "Young lady, please don't touch anything here, or I won't be able to explain to the young lady."

Jiang was stunned for a moment, then said, "Big brother, you may not know that the person in the portrait is my husband, so I want to take the portrait down and take it back. I hope you can help me."