Sacrifice to ancestors before the year, welcome the gods and Buddhas after the year.

On the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the whole house was lively early in the morning.

The second uncle's mansion brought several generations of people from all over to open the ancestral hall with Chengtaihou.

Rushing to worship in the morning, the people of the two prefectures set the table to eat together at noon, and bathed and changed clothes in the afternoon to welcome the Chinese New Year's Eve Chinese New Year's Eve dinner in the evening.

The whole day was very compact, and Ye Congwei, as a junior, had to arrive early.

Unfortunately, the weather was not very good in the morning, it was gloomy and cold, as if it was going to snow.

Ye Congwei wore a primrose-colored sleeved jacket with simple decorations, and set off to find her in Ye Congzhi's courtyard.

Halfway through, I met Ye Fenglai and Ye Yujian brothers, and the accompanying grandmother was carrying a bamboo basket in her hand, saying that Ye Yujian was sleepy and got up late, so she couldn't catch up early.

I hurriedly brought food over, and I wanted to borrow the kitchen to warm it up, so I padd my stomach first.

Ye Congwei paused and said: "There are still hot porridge and steamed buns in my courtyard, if my cousin doesn't dislike it, why don't you eat some first?" ”

"It couldn't be better, but ...... Will it disturb my cousin? Ye Fenglai was first happy, and then hesitated.

The hour is not early, and I will eat it early when it is hot, for fear that I will not be able to catch up with the ancestors.

"It's okay." Ye Congwei smiled lightly.

Ye Feng looked at her and was slightly stunned, and then arched his hand and said, "Then thank you sister." ”

Ye Yu saw the same: "Thank you, sister." ”

The second uncle's heirs were much more prosperous than the late old marquis, and the five sons got married, and most of the grandchildren born to them have grown up, and some have also married wives.

Ye Feng is Ye Congwei's cousin, but in fact, the two are the same age, and the difference is only more than a month.

Ye Congwei led them back to his courtyard for breakfast, and he didn't have time to go to Ye Congzhi's courtyard, so he rushed to the ancestral hall after eating.

It's so dangerous to catch up, but the hurried posture inevitably leads to a few more words.

Ye Congzhi glanced at Ye Congwei coldly and said, "There are no outsiders today, can you be so lax?" ”

Qiuyue, the maid beside her, held her hand and said, "Just now, our girl has been waiting for a while, and the fifth girl won't come and say it as soon as possible." ”

"I missed it, I was delayed on the way, and I forgot to tell my second sister." Ye Congwei didn't expect Ye Congzhi to wait, otherwise she would have asked Si Mei to inform.

"Can this be forgotten?" Qiu Yue's face was full of disbelief, and she almost pointed at Ye Congwei and said that she did it on purpose.

Ye Congwei didn't quibble with her: "It's not to compensate the second sister here." ”

Ye Congzhi stopped talking, stood back in his position, and stopped looking at her.

Ye Congwei lowered his head and followed her, vaguely sensing that there was a gaze poking this way, and when he raised his eyes, it was Ye Fenglai.

It is said that the two families are close to each other, and the mansions are next to each other, but they don't move around much, and after the death of the old marquis, they have less contact.

However, every year in the Qingming Festival and the like, the juniors of the two sides only play together.

The process of worshipping ancestors is not complicated, burning incense and bowing, and then standing down and listening to the lord of the two mansions read the letter.

Write a letter to your ancestors, talk about your family's gains and losses this year, and burn it in the incense burner after reading it.

In order to show filial piety, so that the ancestors could eat hot dishes on a cold day, a row of stoves were placed on the table, and stewed meat and stews were simmered over low heat.

Coupled with the burning of incense and candles, the whole ancestral hall is smoky and burning, not cold, but hot.

……

After the worship is completed, the snow is falling outside, and it is not small.

The maid and mother-in-law of the Hou Mansion had already prepared hot tea for the table and entertained the second uncle's family.

The old marquis has been gone for many years, and the second uncle is still alive, and he is the same generation as the old lady, sitting on the top.

Ye Congwei didn't know why the two families were not close, but looking at the annual ancestor worship, the scene was still very lively.

They are all discussing the noon dishes, talking and laughing, showing their joy.

In the hall, Ye Shuo and Ye Yu saw that a few half-year-old children had already played, Ye Shuo liked to pretend to be calm, but he was actually still childish.

He recently got a small dagger, and he was so happy that he couldn't show it off to the whole world.

Even if it is a young master, he may not get this kind of gift, and the elders are afraid that the junior will be injured, so they dare not give knives.

The dagger was a very special gift for Ye Shuo.

Ye Fenglai didn't play with them, and squeezed to Ye Congwei's side in the gap.

He said in a low voice: "Just now I saw my second cousin talking to you, and it seems that she blames you?" ”

Ye Congwei didn't expect his eyes to be so good, and said, "It's nothing." ”

"I still have to thank my sister, otherwise, my two brothers will be late." Ye Fenglai's tone was sincere.

Ye Congwei was about to answer, but Ye Shuo trotted over: "What are you talking about?" Fifth sister wants to go out with me to play in the snow? ”

Ye Congwei looked outside, it was blocked by the bamboo curtain, and he couldn't see clearly, but he guessed that the snow was not small.

Then he said: "You are playing with a dagger in the house and waiting for the meal to be served, what do you want to go out and get cold?" ”

"Don't you want to play?" Ye Shuo was a little disappointed when he heard this, "Anyway, I want to take a bath and change clothes in the afternoon......"

Just a chance to have some fun?

Ye Congwei pulled him over and said softly, "Your mother agreed?" It's fine if you're alone, but what about the other cousins? ”

If Ye Shuo takes the lead in going out to play, where can those few still sit still.

"It's also ......" Ye Shuo's head was smart, and he thought of it as soon as he mentioned it.

Even if you want to play in the snow, it shouldn't be today.

He touched the delicate scabbard in his hand and said with a little regret: "It seems that I can only show the fifth sister my sword dancing in the snow next time." ”

"Sword dancing in the snow?" Ye Congwei finally understood his plan.

I couldn't help but laugh: "First of all, you have to learn to dance the sword, if it's a sword." ”

Ye Congfei, who came over after drinking tea on the side, happened to hear it, raised her eyebrows and said, "What is the fifth sister teaching Brother Shuo?" ”

She sat down and snorted softly, "Dancing with swords and swords, reckless men do it." ”

Ye Fenglai said with a smile: "It's not such a remark, it's not bad to be healthy." ”

"Has my cousin ever practiced?" Ye Shuo's eyes lit up.

"I've never practiced swordsmanship," Ye Fenglai smiled, "I just prefer to ride and shoot." ”

His hobby undoubtedly went with Ye Shuoyi, and the two immediately chatted freely.

Ye Congfei saw that he didn't listen, so he had no choice but to glare at Ye Congwei.

******

The second uncle's family had a lively lunch, a cup of tea, and not long after, and each went back to the house to prepare for the evening Chinese New Year's Eve.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, the reunion night of the mansion was not suitable for guests outside, and no one was saved.

A heavy snowfall can be stopped.

Ye Congwei accompanied Ye Shuo to play in the yard for a while and threw snowballs, sweating profusely, before going back to bathe and change clothes.

Her new dress was a light crimson skirt embroidered with ruyi water ripples with orange and red silk threads, festive and gorgeous.

The earrings are two small gold bells, the hollow inside is not noisy, and the hairpin is made of two small lanterns made of red jadeite, and the whole body is warm.

"On the first day of tomorrow, the girl's body is very suitable, and the old lady will be happy when she sees it." Si Mei still regrets that the big red dress she likes very much, the girl only wore it once and pressed the bottom of the box.

Now that I've seen the New Year, how to wear it in the spring when the ice and snow melt soon?

Ye Congwei looked in the mirror before and after, and he was still satisfied with it.

After the year, many guests will come to visit, and the county lord of Qingning will also take her and Ye Congzhi out together, she hopes to behave well.

If a lady from a good family takes a fancy to her and comes to propose, she may not have to wait for summer to come.

Although it is slim, it still loses hope.

After the age of fifteen, it is the time to talk about marriage, and Ye Congwei is probably the boudoir girl who hates to marry the most.

……

There was a meal in the front yard, and before leaving, Ye Congwei took out the prepared red envelope and gave the people in the courtyard a new year.

According to custom, the New Year's money cannot be given after Chinese New Year's Eve, and she will go to eat and have fun to keep the New Year, and she will definitely come back after the time.

"Thank you, girl, I wish the girl all the best and good luck in the coming year!" Si Lan Si Mei was happy, took it and put it away carefully.

Ye Congwei finished the red seal, put on a cloak and went out of the yard, and when she finished eating the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, it was her turn to collect the money.

There are tables in the reunion restaurant, and there is no need to separate tables for men and women, and they can sit down according to their generations, which is more lively than usual.

The two aunts in the second master's courtyard were also allowed to dine together.

Ye Congwei ranked fifth, and the biological mother of the sixth sister Ye Conghui sat next to her, very restrained.

The rules of the Hou Mansion are strict, even if the aunt who gave birth to a child, she cannot leave her courtyard at will, let alone go to the hall to entertain guests or eat.

Ye Congwei can only see them when she asks for peace, and sometimes she can't help but wonder if her biological mother is alive now.

It's not good, it's not necessarily bad, it's guarding its own little world.

Ye Conghui was obviously a little happy, her aunt was able to eat with the whole family, and she had a few more words.

The old lady looked at the full house of children and grandchildren, and the granddaughter-in-law Chen hugged Brother Li to drink porridge, and the more she looked, the more happy she became.

One didn't notice that he ate most of the bowl of rice, and a bowl of dumplings with vegetables and meat, and supported it.

In order to eliminate food, the old lady asked Chunlan to put on her cloak and go to the yard to watch the children set off fireworks.

There is no doubt that Ye Shuo is the one who rushes the fastest, but unfortunately there are not two of them, and the second master appeared with his hands behind his back and asked him to recite two poems about fireworks to make fun of the old lady.

Ye Congwei listened on the side, his younger brother will inevitably be tested for knowledge during the New Year's holidays, and it is also difficult.

Let's take a look at her eldest brother and third brother, especially the third brother, since the release of the autumn list, the whole person has lost a lot of weight.

The old lady asked several times, and prepared the catering in the third brother's courtyard carefully, but it was not the best.

It can be seen that this is also a very stressful thing to learn.

The lord of Qingning County recruited a few stewards and asked them to take out the two boxes of copper coins they had prepared and distribute them to the servants in the house.

And the steward gave thanks, and went and gathered all the houses together to receive the reward.

With the brilliant fireworks and the crowd cheering and laughing, the joyful atmosphere is very strong.

After the fireworks, it was cold at night, and soon a group of people were driven into the house.

The elders began to distribute the New Year's money, and this year there was one more than in previous years, which was given by the Chen family.

Although she is a peer, her eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, and she still prepares red envelopes for her younger brothers and sisters.

After sending the New Year's money, the old lady went to rest first, and later she would get up to welcome the New Year.

Hou Ye arranged a drama troupe, and he kept the New Year for a long time, singing slowly, just to refresh himself.

Ye Congwei drank a few cups of tea and didn't feel sleepy.

She held the hot porcelain cup and watched her father and the county lord of Qingning, the eldest brother and sister-in-law and the second sister enjoying each other.

There were also several groups of people in the second room, and the second master sat next to his aunt and third brother, and he was suing him about his homework.

The second lady grabbed Ye Shuo's mouth and closed it one by one, not knowing what to say, Ye Congfei echoed on the side.

Ye Conghui and her aunt are the most attentive to watching the play, and they can sit together like this, but they are safe.

Looking at it like this, Ye Congwei wanted to go back to Yuzhou Courtyard to keep the New Year, and she was happy and quiet.