Transmigrated Little Farm Girl Bringing Great Fortune

The first day of the first lunar month.

Wear new clothes and pay New Year's visits.

Lu Qingyao got up at the sound of the rooster crowing and set off firecrackers in the courtyard.

Then, the sound of firecrackers rose and fell from every household.

The sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking filled the air.

The birds in the peach tree were startled and flew back to the woods, probably not daring to fly back to the village for the rest of the day.

Chirp hid inside the house, tucking its neck into its feathers.

The little wolf cub trembled as it was held in its second brother's arms.

Some were terrified, some were overjoyed...

The small mountain village was immersed in an atmosphere of joy.

This year, every family in Taoxi Village will have a good New Year.

We have new clothes to wear, fine grains to eat, meat to eat, and the sound of firecrackers...

The village children all went out to show off their new clothes to their friends.

Jiang Miaomiao was carried into the house by her older brother, who hid her under the covers and covered her ears with his hands.

I was afraid she would be frightened.

Although she wasn't afraid of the sound of firecrackers, a baby should be.

Otherwise, it would seem like she's acting too abnormally.

She let out a few suggestive sobs...

"Don't be afraid, Miaomiao, Mommy's here..." The little baby then fell into her mother's arms.

Mother dressed them in new clothes.

Jiang Miaomiao received a red floral jacket and a tiger-head hat.

As she dressed, the mother muttered to herself, "My little darling is the family's lucky charm. Today she has to dress festively. Her hat has to be red, her clothes and pants have to be red, her socks have to be red... from head to toe, she has to be all red!"

Jiang Miaomiao: "......"

Forehead!

She must look just like a little baby right now!

Place it inside the house, and it will bring wealth and prosperity...

According to the custom of Daqing, on the first day of the first lunar month, everyone, young and old, dressed in their finest clothes and paid their respects in turn, offering pepper and cypress wine, Tusu wine, peach soup, and eating an egg. [1]

Each of the brothers received an egg.

Jiang Miaomiao received a bowl of steamed egg custard.

Jiang Miaomiao felt that the ancient New Year customs were a bit too complicated, but her brother said that this was only half of it.

It has been simplified a lot compared to before.

In the past, the New Year was more complicated, involving the holding of greetings and ceremonies.

Grandmother prayed to the gods for blessings.

My father visited relatives and friends, exchanging New Year's greetings everywhere, living like a social butterfly.

Even if they are too busy to attend to everyone, they will still send a greeting card as a token of their congratulations.

He's a savvy businessman, a natural-born official.

Only the mother and her two children remained in the mansion, and she couldn't even see her father for a whole day during the Lunar New Year.

He was probably also struggling with whether to go to his wife's room or his concubine's room.

Fortunately, the gate of my maternal grandfather's house was open for them early on, and the two elders stood at the door, eagerly waiting to welcome them.

But this year.

There are only four people in the family.

Although my uncle's family and the villagers started visiting to offer New Year's greetings early in the morning.

It still cannot make up for the regret of not being able to reunite with his maternal grandparents.

Whenever the holiday season, think twice.

The mother led them to kowtow and pray for their distant relatives.

The ceremony is over...

Jiang Miaomiao saw her mother take out three red paper-wrapped items from her bosom.

The eldest and second eldest brothers immediately smiled and accepted the gift, saying, "Thank you, Mother!"

Jiang Miaomiao wondered, "This must be my New Year's money. Is it silver or gold?"

Three red seals.

She got a share too!

I remember seeing on TV that people gave gold and silver ingots as New Year's money.

Given her family's current situation.

If a gold ingot isn't valuable, it must be a silver ingot, right?

This will be the first New Year's money she has ever received since she came into this world.

“Eeya ya ya…”

The little baby got excited and reached out to grab the red paper.

Seeing her daughter's reaction, Lu Qingyao figured she must have thought the red paper contained food.

Can't help but laugh.

Then I opened the red paper and showed it to her...

Xiao Miaomiao's smile vanished instantly. Her eyes widened, her mouth gaped open, and drool flowed uncontrollably.

Inside the red paper.

Eight copper coins were strung together on a red string...

Only eight!

How could there only be eight?

How can the brothers laugh so happily?

Then her mother cleared up her doubts.

Her mother must have felt that she was just born and was full of curiosity about everything around her.

So I started explaining things to her.

A beautiful woman was smiling and chattering incessantly to the three-month-old baby in her arms.

He muttered to himself as he wiped her drool...

Regardless of whether she can understand it or not!

"My dear, this is New Year's money, also called money to ward off evil spirits. In our Great Qing Kingdom, whether rich or poor, every family gives their child eight copper coins as New Year's money, exactly eight... Legend has it that these eight copper coins are the incarnations of the Eight Immortals. Your mother will put them under your pillow to protect our Miaomiao, ensuring her safety, health, and smooth growth..."

And just like that, before the New Year's money even passed through Jiang Miaomiao's hands, it was placed under her pillow.

Jiang Miaomiao also learned something new.

So this is what New Year's money was like in ancient times; it wasn't always better to receive more.

"Dong dong dong~~~"

Jiang Zifeng thought it was Li Sanlang coming to see him, so he happily went to open the door.

After going through thick and thin together, their friendship reached a new level.

"Uncle Fu!"

Jiang Zifeng was taken aback for a moment, then cupped his hands in a bow and said, "Uncle Fu, congratulations on the New Year!"

Lu Qingyao hurriedly carried the baby out. She was supposed to be the one to visit him first to wish him a Happy New Year, but he came first.

"Miao Miao's mother, a letter has arrived from your home..." Uncle Fu handed the letter to his mother as soon as he entered the door.

When he left, his mother gave him a New Year's plate.

There was cured meat, Tusu wine, and fruit, as well as a "Fu" character written by the second brother, Jiang Ziyan.

Uncle Fu was grinning from ear to ear.

The gift carries great weight, and so does the sentiment...

Jiang Miaomiao saw her two older brothers gather around, and her mother opened the letter with trembling hands.

Her eyes were filled with tears of joy.

It was a letter sent by my maternal grandfather.

This was the first letter they had received from their maternal grandparents' family since they moved to Taoxi Village.

In ancient times, carriages and horses traveled slowly, and so did letters.

My mother sent it over, and then we waited for their reply. It would take at least a month or two for the whole thing to go back and forth.

The letter said that although the place of exile was located in a desolate and remote area, it was fortunate to be surrounded by mountains and rivers, and had a pleasant climate...

It was very warm even in winter, and the padded jackets that my mother sent over were not needed.

He added that, fortunately, his maternal grandfather's family were all military officers who were stationed on the frontier for many years and marched around constantly. The hardships of exile were nothing to them.

Tell Mother and brothers not to worry, to rest assured, and to take care!

Finally, I wished them a Happy New Year.

It must be said that my maternal grandfather was thoughtful; he had timed the letter perfectly before sending it.

but......

The climate in the place of exile is pleasant... This is probably for Kuan Niang's sake.

In ancient times, places of exile were often places with harsh environments.

It's so warm in winter, I don't even need a coat...

Jiang Miaomiao had a vague idea of ​​where it was.

It's either Lingnan or Yazhou.

Those places were said to be extremely wild and untamed in ancient times. The winters were bearable, but the summers were unbearably hot and rife with diseases...

Medical conditions were extremely poor, so you can imagine what would happen if someone got sick...

She now understood somewhat why her mother had chosen to be exiled to Jiangzhou.

Jiangzhou is located in the southern region.

Compared to the capital, they were already very close to their place of exile.

It facilitated correspondence with my maternal grandparents and made it easier to send them supplies...

Jiang Miaomiao's respect and love for her mother grew even stronger because her mother was a dutiful daughter.

However, in her reply to her maternal grandfather, my mother only reported good news and not bad news.

They lived in a large mansion...and had servants to wait on them...

Qingshi Town boasts beautiful scenery that is picturesque in all four seasons...

The whole family was overjoyed to receive the letter.

Even little Jiang Miaomiao was delighted.

Perhaps because her mother and brothers were happy, she couldn't help but empathize with them.

Her mother gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and looked at her. "My little darling, shall we go to the temple fair?"

Note [1] is from Zong Lin's "Chronicle of Seasonal Customs in Jingchu" from the Southern Liang Dynasty.