Chapter 92: Chinese New Year 3/3

In the south, they didn’t eat dumplings; for the New Year’s Eve dinner, they ate rice.

For most families in the village, the most sumptuous meal they would have all year was the New Year’s Eve dinner.

However, even so, they wouldn’t get much meat.

Whether it was chicken, pork, or fish, it was all reserved for entertaining guests during the New Year. Each family member getting a piece of meat and chicken was already considered good.

But even without meat, chicken soup and meat broth were still edible. The meat broth used for stewing dried bamboo shoots or cooking tofu skin was particularly fragrant. Chopped chicken intestines and liver cooked in chicken soup with a few eggs cracked into it made a big pot of soup that everyone could enjoy…

In the past, when Li Laogen was at his younger brother’s house, he would at most have a few sips of chicken soup and nothing else.

But Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye gave him a big piece of chicken breast, a big piece of pork, and a full bowl of chicken soup. There were also fish on the table, and he could have as much as he wanted.

“I’m not eating dinner tonight!” Li Laogen happily gnawed on the chicken breast.

This was the biggest piece of meat on the chicken. Li Qingzhi gave it to him, which was really too kind of him!

Li Qingzhi was also eating chicken breast. Each of them had one, while Jin Xiaoye ate two chicken wings with small chicken legs, and Li Damao and Li Ermao ate chicken legs.

They planned to finish off a chicken tonight!

There was absolutely no problem with this. If others couldn’t finish, he could clean up the leftovers.

While eating meat, Li Qingzhi also ate some cooked water chestnuts.

After buying some at the temple fair, Li Qingzhi fell in love with them!

They could be eaten raw as fruits, but they were even more delicious when cooked.

He bought a basketful and would eat them whenever he had time.

Jin Xiaoye was quite satisfied with this. Li Qingzhi eating water chestnuts at home was definitely better than going to the fields to pick garlic leaves.

The people in Miaoqian Village didn’t stay up to greet the New Year. Some households didn’t even have oil lamps, and there wasn’t enough firewood. They couldn’t just sit in the dark as a family.

The Li family didn’t stay up to greet the New Year either, but after having the New Year’s Eve dinner, Li Qingzhi meticulously cleaned the two children.

Jin Xiaoye had made new clothes for them, and later, Fang Jinniang made two more sets… These two children could wear new clothes and shoes from head to toe tomorrow.

He, Jin Xiaoye, and Li Laogen were the same. Tomorrow, they could all wear new clothes.

Lying on the bed with Jin Xiaoye, Li Qingzhi was in a pretty good mood.

Jin Xiaoye was also very happy: “I’m really happy to celebrate the New Year this year. I hope we can be this happy every year from now on!”

“We definitely will be,” Li Qingzhi said.

The next day, they were awakened by firecrackers.

Setting off firecrackers when opening the door on the first day of the new year ensured a smooth year ahead!

Li Qingzhi put on his new clothes and went outside. He saw that the clouds in the east were dyed a beautiful orange by the sunlight. The thatched houses in the village seemed to be coated with a layer of gold under the sunlight.

It was really beautiful.

Thanking the heavens for giving him a chance to start over, Li Qingzhi was just sighing when Miaoqian Village started bustling.

The new year has begun. In the following days, everyone would visit relatives one after another.

According to the customs of Miaoqian Village, they had to invite all their relatives to their home for a meal.

One family for lunch, one family for dinner, and sometimes even two families at once… Basically, by the tenth day of the new year, all the relatives would have been invited.

Of course, if they could do it quickly, it would be better to invite them sooner. The chicken cooked on New Year’s Eve might go bad if left for too long…

Li Laogen had a bad relationship with his second brother’s family and never interacted with them in previous years. He didn’t even interact with his younger brother. Naturally, he didn’t visit other relatives from the Li family either. Now, he only interacted with Zhao Laosan.

The Jin family had many relatives, but Jin Xiaoye was married, so they only visited her parents’ home.

So, in their family, there were only two relatives to visit.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were feeling quite depressed. They wanted to visit more relatives, but Jin Xiaoye noticed and said, “Do you think visiting relatives is great? When you visit someone else’s house, you can’t touch the meat unless they offer it to you. Do you understand the concept of ‘seeing meat’? Some meat placed on the table is just for show and cannot be eaten.”

Jin Xiaoye explained some of New Year’s customs, such as how in most households, the chicken cooked on New Year’s Eve is steamed again every day. When guests come, they take it out and put it on the table. This continues until all the guests have been entertained.

Guests wouldn’t help themselves to the food either. Every household was in a similar situation. If they ate the chicken, the next time they hosted guests, they wouldn’t have anything to serve!

Pork was a bit better; the salted pork was sliced thinly, so most people could have a piece.

Dishes like egg soup, dried bamboo shoots, and kelp on the table could be eaten freely. In short, visiting someone else’s house was not as good as eating at home.

As she spoke, Jin Xiaoye suddenly said, “I remember when I was seven years old, I went to my eldest aunt’s house. It was already the eighth day of the new year, and we were the last guests she invited. The chicken was ready to be eaten, and she gave me a piece. It had been left out for too long and had a strange taste, but I didn’t mind at all. I was so happy. Then, my aunt picked up a chicken leg, dipped it in soy sauce, and put it in Jin Moli’s bowl. As a result, Jin Moli burst into tears and said she didn’t want to eat the smelly chicken leg. She even refused to eat the rice in her bowl and asked for a clean bowl…”

At the time, she couldn’t understand why Jin Moli didn’t want to eat the chicken leg.

Later, she realized that Jin Moli simply didn’t need that kind of food.

After understanding this, she wanted her children to live a life like Jin Moli’s. She didn’t want her children to be like her, unable to get a chicken leg and having to treasure a piece of chicken with not much meat on it.

Li Qingzhi held Jin Xiaoye’s hand.

During the apocalypse, he had eaten everything, not to mention smelly chicken, but hearing Jin Xiaoye say this still made him feel sorry.

However, before Li Qingzhi’s sorrow could last a few seconds, Jin Xiaoye stood up: “My life now is much better than Jin Moli’s! I’m wearing new clothes today, and I’m going to dress up a bit and go out to show her later! I also have a silver bracelet; I’m going to take it out and wear it too!”

After saying that, Jin Xiaoye found the silver bracelet that Zhu Qian had given her and put it on her wrist. Then she took out the silver hairpin that Li Qingzhi had given her and used it to tie up her hair.

After Zhu Qian gave her jewelry, Li Qingzhi went to buy a silver hairpin for her. She had been afraid of losing it before, so she hadn’t worn it.

Jin Xiaoye didn’t know how to dress up; she only knew the simplest way to tie her hair. Seeing this, Li Qingzhi said, “Xiaoye, let me help you with your hair.”

He had seen various hairstyles in the county town. Some girls there styled their hair beautifully.

He was smart, so he could figure out how to braid the hair just by looking at it. Even if he didn’t know how others did it, he could still create a similar hairstyle.

At the moment… he felt he could create a super complex yet attractive hairstyle for Jin Xiaoye!

Before, he didn’t do it for Jin Xiaoye because he thought she wouldn’t like it, but now… Li Qingzhi insisted Jin Xiaoye sit down and began to work.

Jin Xiaoye runs an embroidery shop, so they have no shortage of accessories like headbands. Jin Xiaoye’s hair isn’t particularly good, but it’s long enough, suitable for braiding…

With Li Qingzhi’s skillful hands, her long hair was transformed into various braids and elegantly arranged.

With a new hairstyle, Jin Xiaoye looked much more beautiful than before. Next, she could even put on some makeup…