Wu Sifu returned home, thinking that Wu Ming wanted to dry mats, bamboo sieves, shambles and other bamboo products, if you wait for the end of the New Year to cut bamboo, it will inevitably affect the breeding and growth of bamboo shoots, and will face the danger of yellow scorn insects, so take advantage of the first few days of the New Year, the bamboo to be used in the coming year is all ready.

Wu Sifu thought that Zhou Jueming's family was in difficulty, so he thought about finding Zhou Jueming and weaving a mat together, so that he could earn some money to weigh salt and buy oil.

After Wu Sifu told Pingping about this idea, Pingping said: "Let's start making it up now, and when it is handed over to Wu Ming next year, it can be completed completely independently, and there is no need for help." ”

Wu Sifu said: "It's a handful to be able to help, everyone is a hard-working person." ”

Pingping couldn't say anything, so he had to arrange it.

Wu Sifu found Zhou Jueming and told him about the preparation of the banquet, and Zhou Jueming was very happy. But then he became melancholy again, saying that he was not very good at making up a mat.

Wu Sifu immediately said: "I'll teach you then." ”

Zhou Jueming felt that Wu Sifu always thought about himself everywhere, and he was very grateful. took the initiative to say: "Sifu, you cut bamboo and call me, and I will help you drag it." ”

Wu Sifu knew that Zhou Jueming wanted to be grateful to him, so he readily agreed.

In the blink of an eye, Chinese New Year's Eve arrived.

On this day, the winter sun lazily climbed out from the side of the mountain beam, like a wise man who had been sleeping for many days, shaking off the laziness of the whole body, the red light shone on the earth, and the bamboo village that had been silent for a winter seemed to be full of vitality and vitality all of a sudden, and people welcomed the arrival of the Spring Festival with joy.

Young people in Zhucun who are working or working outside the village, and whose parents have stayed in their hometown, have returned to Zhucun in the past two days. Bamboo Village, which had been silent for a winter, became lively.

It's been a few days since Xiaotian came back from school. Now that my mother is back, there is a warm and warm atmosphere in the house, and Xiaotian's heart is also extremely relaxed and happy, in addition to reading books and doing homework every day, I try my best to help my parents do housework.

According to the custom of Zhucun, every Chinese New Year, men must dredge the ditches around the houses and clean up the weeds in the ditches; Women should wash all the quilts in the house, and change them into clean quilts on Chinese New Year's Eve; In the afternoon, the family also has to take a shower, wash their hair, and change into new or clean clothes from the inside out to show that they are getting rid of the old and welcoming the new.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, Xiaotian put down his textbook and followed his father to clean the front and back of the house. Wu Sifu scooped up the silt and put it into the basket, while Xiaotian carried it into the bamboo forest behind the house.

It was almost noon, and Pingping had already prepared lunch, so she asked Wu Sifu and Xiaotian to take a "knife head" (a square piece of fresh pork to worship the deceased), crispy meat, wine, and fragrant wax paper candles to the graves of her father and mother and the Wu family's elders to pay tribute to incense, and invite them home for the New Year.

The villagers of Zhucun still retain the previous customs, and they are used to reuniting the New Year at noon. The New Year's Dinner is the most luxurious and luxurious banquet of the year, and the good things that are usually reluctant to eat and drink will be taken out to eat and drink on this day, and chicken, duck and fish are all ready, and the amount of rice should have the amount of one or two days on Chinese New Year's Eve and the first month, which means that there is more than one or two days every year.

Xiaotian carried incense, wax paper candles, firecrackers and other incense worship things, and accompanied his father to the mountain pass. When they came to the ancestral tomb of the Wu family, they unexpectedly saw Wu Siguo, the son of Uncle Wu who was working outside, and Wu Sikai took his wife and children to worship incense in front of the ancestral tomb.

Xiao Tian respectfully greeted the two cousins and aunts, and placed an offering in front of the ancestral grave. The two cousins greeted Wu Sifu warmly, took out the cigarette again, walked one for Wu Sifu, and then kowtowed in front of the ancestral grave and set off firecrackers. The quiet, remote mountains and forests are bustling with activity.

Wu Siguo and Wu Sikai followed Wu Sifu to go to the graves of the second uncle and second aunt to pay homage, and the group walked to another mountain col. A family and generations of people with their own surnames gather in traditional festivals to jointly maintain the traditions and customs of the Chinese nation for thousands of years.

When Wu Sifu and Xiaotian Jingxiang returned, Pingping had already built a large pot of red fire in the center of the hall, and the three of them had lunch around the Eight Immortals table. I saw that the table of the Eight Immortals was full of cold dishes such as pork belly, pork liver, pork tongue, sausage, bacon, etc., as well as sweet and sour fish, stewed chicken with Xianggu, stewed pork knuckles with bamboo shoots, stir-fried pork with small garlic sprouts, and crispy meat soup with cabbage.

Xiao Tian looked at the table full of dishes, moved his nose and sniffed, and exclaimed that it was fragrant. But then he said, "Mom, you cook so much, how long will you eat it?" Leftovers are bad for your health. ”

"What do children know, this is called the New Year, and they should be rich and rich. The year is busy, and only during the New Year can I have the heart to get these big fish and meat. Eat fast, eat more. Pingping said angrily.

"Who hasn't eaten now? Why bother with all this? Big fish and big meat for the New Year is something you did when you were a child. Xiaotian said again.

"Eat, eat, where do you get so many words." Wu Sifu said to Xiaotian. Wu Sifu couldn't help but think that what Xiaotian said was right, big fish and big meat are indeed the memories of himself and his ancestors, who is still rare now? It's just that what Xiaotian doesn't know is that the reason why they want to be so rich is to appease the desolation in their hearts.

Wu Sifu poured a small glass of wine for the three of them, and as a parent, he picked up the wine and said solemnly: "Let's have a toast as a family!" ”

Wu Sifu and Pingping picked up their wine glasses and took a sip.

Wu Sifu put down his wine glass and said, "After today, it is a new year." We must have a new atmosphere in the new year. Xiaotian is in charge of studying and going to university, and Pingping and I are in charge of earning money to pay off debts. Although we owe a lot of debts, as long as we have industrious hands, I believe there is no debt that cannot be repaid. ”

"Dad said it well." Xiaotian couldn't help but smile and slap his face.

"Be serious." Pingping glanced at Xiaotian.

"Today's New Year, why be so serious. I strongly support Dad's opinion. Wu Xiaotian said while picking up vegetables.

When the three of them were having a lively New Year's lunch, Wu Sifu's phone rang. He took out the phone and saw that it was his sister Wu Hong calling.

"Brother, have you had lunch?" Wu Hong asked on the other side of the phone.

"The three of us are eating." Wu Sifu replied.

"Sister-in-law is back?" Wu Hong asked in surprise.

"It's back, it's back. Xiaotian is also back. Wu Sifu said happily.

When Wu Hong heard that her sister-in-law had finally returned, her eyes couldn't help but redden, and her voice was choked; Listening to my brother's voice, I seem to be in a good mood. This home finally feels like home, and Wu Hong can't help but feel relaxed.

She calmed down and greeted her sister-in-law: "Sister-in-law, are you okay?" ”

When Wu Sifu heard this, Wu Hong was calling Pingping, and hurriedly handed the phone to Pingping, and the two aunts and sisters-in-law chatted affectionately for a while, and then determined the time to come back to pick up the "new grave" for their father.

"Sister-in-law, have you eaten?" Xiaotian shouted from the side.

Pingping gave the phone to Xiaotian again. Wu Hong gave another advice as usual, and it was only after a phone call that he finished.

"Wu Hong said that when he came back in the second year of junior high school, the family came back to pick up the new grave for his father." Pingping said to Sifu.

"Okay, then set the time for my father to pick up the new grave on the fourth day of the new year. Siguo and Sikai also returned, and they were invited to a banquet together. Wu Sifu immediately responded.

"They're back? Has Sijia come back? Pinkie asked. Sijia is the youngest daughter of Uncle Wu.

"We just ran into them burning incense." Xiaotian added.

"Okay, then we'll set it for the fourth year of junior high school. I'll prepare in advance, and ask the third aunt, Da Cui, and Liu Rong to help me then. Pingping arranged

According to the custom of Zhucun, on the first Spring Festival of the deceased, children, brothers and sisters and other close relatives all gather together to worship incense and kowtow to the deceased to remember the deceased, commonly known as receiving the "new grave"; The children of the deceased are required to arrange a banquet for their relatives.

After lunch, Xiaotian helped his mother clean up the dishes and chopsticks, and then went to Wu Sanye's yard to play. He first went to the third master's house to say hello to the third master and the third wife. Uncle Wu's family saw that Xiaotian was well-behaved and sensible, and heard that he was in his third year of high school and had excellent grades, so Siguo and Sikai hurriedly took out a red envelope from their pockets and handed it to Xiaotian. Xiaotian hurriedly pushed and said no, Wu Sanye said next to him: "Xiaotian, take it." Uncles rarely come back; When you are admitted to college, ask your uncles to give you red envelopes again. ”

Xiao Tian didn't want to say anything, so he had to put the red envelope in his trouser pocket. After chatting with the two cousins for a while, he went to play with Lan Lan.

When I came to Lan Lan's house, I saw Lan Lan's mother Liu Rong cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks, and Lan Lan was washing her hair by the back door. Xiao Tian casually glanced at the dining table, there were bacon, sausages, crispy meat and seasonal vegetables on the table, but there were no chicken, fish and cold hard dishes, and his heart couldn't help but feel sour.

Liu Rong beckoned Xiaotian to roast by the fire. Xiao Tian sat by the fire and waited for Lan Lan while responding.

"Lan Lan, how did you do with the information you gave last time? How difficult is it? Xiaotian asked.

"This set of materials is very well bought, and it is much more difficult than what we usually do. I couldn't do it, so I asked the teacher, and I understood a lot of questions. Lan Lan replied while washing her hair.

"I said I only needed math and physics, why did I buy the whole set?" Lan Lan asked.

"The full set of information is more comprehensive. It's always good to do a little more. Xiaotian said again.

"But I don't have that much money for you right now." Lan Lan's voice deepened.

"Don't care about the money first, do your homework well, and be admitted to the county No. 1 middle school is the right way." Xiao Tian comforted again. Almost later, Xiaotian told Huzi about paying for information.

Lan Lan washed her hair and went to the fire pit to roast the fire. Xiao Tian looked at Lan Lan's waterfall-like hair, and a fresh fragrance hit his nose, and his heart couldn't help but throb.

The two talked about the problem-solving skills of mathematics, geometry and physical mechanics, and for a while, the conversation was full of interest and interest.

In the afternoon, after Wu Sifu and Pingping cleaned up, they also came to Uncle Wu's yard to play. Li Dacui and Zhou Jueming's families brought out bamboo chairs and benches for everyone to sit on. Everyone gathered in a big circle to bask in the sun, quite like the frame of the production team's team meeting.

Wu Sifu saw that everyone was there, so he said that he would pick up the "new grave" for his father on the fourth day of the first lunar month, and everyone had lunch together at noon. By the way, I asked Li Dacui and Liu Rong to help Pingping cook early.

Everyone agreed in a noisy. Children chase chickens, ducks, and dogs in the yard, women sit in circles and joke about melon seeds, and men stand in a group chatting.

Shen Xiaolong took out a cigarette and gave it to everyone. Wu Sifu remembered the last time Tang Xiaohong said that Li Dacui was going to build a road and occupy the compensation for forest land, so he wanted to find out what Shen Xiaolong meant.

Wu Sifu asked: "Are you tired of walking this way back?" ”

Wu Siguo sighed: "Brother, if this section of the road is hardened, it would be good, and our car could be driven to the door of our house." ”

Wu Sikai echoed: "Yes, how good is hardening." ”

Wu Sifu got some news: "Not long ago, Murakami asked a technician from the Transportation Bureau to measure it, and it is estimated that it will harden next year." ”

Zhou Jueming hurriedly said: "I am also in favor of hardening. If I occupy my forest land, I will occupy it, and I don't want compensation. ”

Shen Xiaolong also expressed his attitude: "I told my mother, it doesn't matter if you occupy some woodland, as long as the road is repaired." Building roads is a good thing for future generations. ”

Wu Siguo said again: "If the road in Zhucun is repaired, it is estimated that life will be better." ”

Yeah. Everyone chimed in.

After that, everyone moved on to other topics.

On this day, the land of Bamboo Village is peaceful and peaceful.