Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

In the kitchen, Jia Ronghua and Hu Xirong were constantly chopping vegetables, while Shuanzhu's wife and Ji Liu's nanny Chen Shi also brought their own bowls, plates, and chopsticks to help boil water and cook.

Yang was running around like a spinning top, one minute calling Jia Ronghua in the kitchen to feed the baby, the next calling Hu Xirong to wash vegetables, and then calling Shuanzhu's wife to knead dough... the next minute she was calling Ji Manchuan in the yard to get this, and Ji Manqing to tidy up that, not even sparing the children, and then ordering Ji Yongning to fetch firewood, and then telling Ji Yongling to pull up scallions and cut chives...

After finally calming down, she squatted by the kitchen door and washed a few handfuls of vegetables. Suddenly, she remembered something, and like a gust of wind, she rushed into the kiln and stirred things up. Then, like a gust of wind, she came out and moved tables and chairs around the yard.

Three large square tables have been set up under the trees in the courtyard, with several long benches placed around them.

In Niujiazhuang, every household was poor, and unless it was their first child, daughters were usually not celebrated beyond their one-month birthday. Ji Yong'an was not originally supposed to celebrate either, but Old Master Ji and Madam Yang believed that Ji Yong'an was Ji Manchuan's child, born after several years, and that his birth was accompanied by a "dragon turning over" and a "heavenly dog ​​eating the sun" incident. They thought celebrating his one-month birthday would bring good luck, ward off disasters, and protect him from the year's misfortune.

However, Ji Yong'an's one-month celebration was nothing special; only immediate family members came over for a simple celebration, without a formal banquet.

"Manchuan—Congratulations!"

The first person to arrive was Liu Lü, who had several sheets of red paper and a calligraphy brush tucked under his arm and a pair of small cloth socks in his hand. He congratulated Ji Manchuan.

Ji Manchuan hadn't quite reacted yet. Since there was no feast today, no villagers had been invited. He took a few steps towards the door and hurriedly called out, "Hey, Brother Liu Lü, what brings you here? I wasn't planning on having a feast today, look at you—"

Liu Lu raised his hand to stop Ji Manchuan from saying anything more, and said, “Brother Manchuan, let’s not stand on ceremony. I know you don’t celebrate Er Yatou’s weddings or hold banquets, but when relatives and friends come over, we still need to give gifts, and we definitely need an accountant to write the gift list. I, Liu, am not very capable, but I will do my best to fill in.”

As she spoke, Liu Lu took the red paper and calligraphy brush from under her arm and held them in her hand.

Having said all that, Ji Manchuan could only thank him and gesture for him to come inside.

Liu Lü handed the little socks in her hand to Ji Manchuan and said, "I asked my sister to make these for me, so I don't need to include this in the gift register."

Ji Manchuan was both amused and exasperated. These little socks, plus the red paper in Liu Lü's hand, this favor was really not cheap.

Helpless, Ji Manchuan set up a table at the door. Liu Lu sat upright at the table, spread out red paper, and waited to record the gifts from the visitors.

Soon, Ji Mantun and his family arrived.

Zhao Yunxia made a small hat and a pair of small shoes for Ji Yong'an. She even embroidered a few flowers on the shoes, showing that she had put a lot of thought into it.

After Zhao Yunxia finished offering her gifts, she rushed into the kitchen to help, leaving Ji Yongling puzzled for a long time.

She always felt that Zhao Yunxia was sometimes very decent and generous in her actions, but sometimes she was very muddle-headed, especially when it came to people and things related to the Ji family. She would argue and make trouble, which made her a very contradictory person.

It's also possible that when outsiders are present, given Zhao Yunxia's pride, she doesn't want to be seen as stingy or unvirtuous, so she acts meticulously to impress others. However, when dealing with the Ji family, she always feels taken advantage of, always wanting more, more to fight for, and more to demand. In Yang's words, she can never have enough.

Next to arrive were Ji Yongling's maternal relatives. Her maternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal uncle, and maternal aunt pulled a cart with two children sitting on it and carrying a bundle of steamed buns on their backs. They came over, looking travel-worn.

When Ji Manchuan saw his wife's family arrive, he hurried to the door to greet them and called Ji Manqing to help take the cart. He then helped Ji Yongling's maternal grandfather, Old Man Jia, into the courtyard.

When Grandpa Ji heard that Ji Yong'an's maternal grandparents had arrived, he came over to greet them. As soon as he saw Old Man Jia, he quickly reached out and grasped Old Man Jia's hand, asking him about his well-being, the children, and the harvest, his words full of sincerity and enthusiasm.

Seeing the accountant sitting at the door, Jia Rongkui quickly took the bundles off the cart and showed them to Liu Lü one by one.

Liu Lu wrote on the red paper stroke by stroke: "Her eldest uncle, a coat made of mulberry leaves, a pair of trousers, a pair of tiger-head shoes, and a hat."

As Jia Rongkui watched Liu Lu write, he corrected him, "Jia Rongkui, my name is Jia Rongkui."

Liu Lu rolled her eyes and said, "Her maternal uncle, Jia Rongkui..." and then continued writing.

Jia Rongkui's wife entered the courtyard without even looking at Ji Yong'an. She rushed into the kitchen, first giving the steamed buns meant for the funeral to Yang, and then preparing to roll out the dough.

The custom of sending steamed buns to a daughter's family after she gives birth is still preserved in some places in later generations, but only the form has been retained and the original intention has been lost.

In times of food shortage, driven by the ancient patriarchal ideology, there was a saying: "Respect the in-laws, fear the officials." The bride's family would send steamed buns to the groom's family, hoping to reduce the husband's food burden and that, in return for the steamed buns, the groom's family would treat their daughter better and not divorce her.

Of course, at other weddings and funerals, relatives and neighbors would also give steamed buns in addition to gifts or money to ease the food burden on the family celebrating the occasion. However, before the guests left after the meal, the family would add slices of fatty meat to the steamed buns and return some of them to the family.

This ancient and sincere exchange of human relationships is nothing less than a genuine blessing and mutual assistance.

When Yang saw that Jia Rongkui's wife was holding a rolling pin that was almost 2 meters long, she hurriedly said, "Auntie, you are a guest today. Go sit outside. This kitchen is full of smoke and fire. It's not a place for you."

Jia Rongkui's wife laughed heartily and said, "Aunt Ji, let my sister go take care of Yong'an. I'll do it here. I've been running around making noodles for wealthy families these days. I'm very good at this job. I'll make some noodles for you today and show you my skills." As she spoke, she went to the large cutting board near the stove to knead the dough.

Seeing that Jia Rongkui's wife was straightforward and honest, Yang said to Jia Ronghua, "Go out and keep your mother company. If Yong'an wakes up, bring him out for everyone to see."

After thanking her sister-in-law several times, Jia Ronghua turned around and went out to greet her parents.

The Ji Mancang family also rushed back. Yesterday, when Ji Manchuan went to the county to buy meat, he made a special detour to visit his elder brother and tell him about Ji Yong'an's one-month celebration today. So this morning, Ji Mancang asked his employer for leave, had someone cover for him, and took his family back to Niujiazhuang. They didn't even have time to go back to their own courtyard and went straight to the old courtyard.