It is customary to eat dumplings on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. Every year, this meal is made by Wei himself. She had to put the dumplings wrapped in peanuts and put them in the bowls of designated people, such as Du Shicheng, Erjin, and Sanjin.

After a busy year of hard work, it is time for the villagers to enjoy themselves. During the Chinese New Year, every household eats and plays, visits relatives and friends, listens to singing operas and watches rowing boats.

Qinghe County is the closest county seat to Jiangling City, while Dujiagou is the closest village to Qinghe County. There are mountains and rivers here, the land is fertile, and it is a rich village with ten miles and eight townships. Therefore, both the troupe and the jugglers are willing to come to Dujiagou to perform and earn money.

On the grain mill, a big stage was temporarily erected.

In the melodious and tactful silk and bamboo string music, the two good-looking Hua Dan and Xiaosheng sang lingering and sympathetic on stage.

As soon as the singing ended, a group of flower faces dressed in red and green, painted with red, white, blue and black oil paint, and with flags behind them, came up and played a sonorous play with flower guns in the sound of gongs, drums and cymbals.

Later, an old Dan appeared, pacing back and forth, chattering and singing in the sound of erhu, but her singing words made people unable to understand a word.

After breakfast, the four Dumei sisters went out to watch the play with the children in the village, the sun was shining warmly, listening to the "Book from Heaven", and they couldn't help but want to doze off a little.

"Come and see, the rower is coming!" The sharp-eyed boy on the side roared coldly.

The rowing boat is also called the rocking boat. Tie a boat shape on the waist of the boat girl, and the boat shape is inserted with various flowers and plants made of silk paper. A man next to him dressed up as a captain, and the two sang and harmonized, mostly in auspicious words. Four other young women sang on both sides, followed by erhu, drums, and cymbals.

They don't set up a stage, they walk the streets and alleys to perform, and they stop in front of the rich households. Onlookers can ask all kinds of questions, and the smart and experienced captain can deal with them easily. If the performance satisfies the host, you can get old clothes of rice noodles and steamed buns, and even a reward. These people are all from remote places, and the whole family is fighting together. I can't eat on weekdays, and I don't care if I have the New Year, I come out to earn some rations.

The Du Mei sisters followed the crowd and saw the rowing boat in front of the patriarch Du Huaibing's house.

Du Mei's house is the first in the village, in previous years, rowers had to make trouble in front of her yard, but this year it was a flash. Those who do this line of work rely on sharp eyes and sharp ears, and probably because they get the rumors, they don't stay.

The second stunned man's leg may be healed, and he is sitting on the branches of the big elm tree, and talking meat words to the boatlady. The onlookers laughed, and the women blushed.

Du Mei couldn't listen to it, so he took the three little ones home.

Dajin and Sanjin went to their uncle's house to pay New Year's greetings. Erjin was newly mourned, and Wei was afraid that his brothers would be taboo, so he didn't ask anyone to follow.

"Mother." Du Mei pushed the door into the house, and Xu was breastfeeding.

"Why don't you play outside a little longer?" Although Xu was in the house, the sound of drums outside reached her ears intermittently.

"Those who sing can't understand the opera, they are only sleepy." Du Gui sat on a small stool and yawned.

"Hey, the dry boat rowing is not as fun as last year." Du Tao sighed like a little adult.

"It's still a good story told by my mother." Du Ying said with a smile.

"Mother, you still teach us to read and write." Du Mei could already recognize a word or two on the couplet outside, which made her more eager to read words.

"It's good that I have time now." Juniper slept when he was full, very well-behaved.

Xu taught from flowers, birds, insects and fish to mountains and rivers, from the four solar terms to the sun, moon and stars, Du Mei learned very easily, it is simply unforgettable, never forgetful, obviously more talented than cooking.

Du Ying and Du Tao often confuse some similar words, and simply read half of the words. Caused a lot of jokes. And Du Gui is young, he talks too much, he can't remember, his left ear goes in and his right ear goes out.

The Dajin and Sanjin families had to have lunch at their uncle's house before coming back, so there were few people in the Du family for lunch. There were still some dishes left from last night, and Du Mei didn't wait for Wei's to call, so he quickly heated it up. Du Shicheng likes to drink duck soup, Du Mei remembered it in his heart, deliberately added some water, and stewed for a while.

Du Shicheng's cough has improved a little, I don't know if it was Zhong Yu's adjusted prescription that had an effect, or the duck soup was nourishing. At noon, he drank two more bowls of soup, and the duck meat was a little firewood, but he still ate some.

Having spent the afternoon studying arithmetic, Du Mei admired her mother, who she thought was no match for her cooking and embroidery.

Now, she can not only explain words into a picture, a story. I can also do mental arithmetic, abacus, and read account books!

Du Mei is naturally the best learner, Du Ying and Du Tao are very sensitive to numbers, and they learned it all at once, one of them asked questions, the other answered, and they had a lot of fun. Du Gui was not happy, when they could blurt out, she still had to count her fingers.

"You're still young, you look as big as your sister, you can do anything." Du Mei touched her head.

"Hmm." Not to be outdone, Du Gui continued to wrench his fingers.

Xu looked at the four daughters with loving eyes, because the second gold was newly mourned, and the money was spent on the second gold, so the four sisters only wore old clothes in the New Year, but they were washed clean and tidy.

The next day, the second day of the new year. It is the day when the married daughter brings her husband and son back to her parents' house to pay New Year's greetings, and the clothes she wears and the gifts she brings can not be sloppy, which shows whether her daughter is married well or not, and whether her life is smooth or not, and it is also a way for neighbors to compare.

Xu has never returned to her parents' house since she was rescued by Erjin and returned to Dujiagou, she only said that she fled from other places, but she couldn't tell which place it was. Therefore, the four sisters of Du Mei have no special impression of the second year of junior high school, just the same as the first year of junior high school, they went out to play, and the four sisters had a new way to play - to recognize the words on the couplet.

Xie's parents died, and she was an only daughter, so she had no home to go back to. Sanjin fulfilled the appointment to go to the scrap manuscript house to read the strange book he wrote.

Among the three daughters-in-law, only Zhou, although his parents are gone, has five elder brothers. Every year during the Spring Festival, she takes turns to entertain her, which is a sign that she feels more important than the other two daughters-in-law in the Du family.

Whether in the capital or in the countryside, her mother's family is the backer of a married woman. From the marriage of the right family to the mediation of husband and wife, the mother's family plays a very important role.

The reason why the Zhou family dared to bully the second room unscrupulously in the Du family was not only because the Xu family was kind to be bullied, but also because she did not have a maiden family who could support her.

But this year, Zhou would rather be like a second and third room, and not have to go back to his parents' house. Last time, she was beaten by the county lord for the matter of Jin Yuanzi, but also donated 500 taels of silver to Xiao Wu'er, the nephew of her mother's second sister-in-law.

Cui Xishun, who was forced to donate money, will definitely pour his anger on Xiao Wu'er, he just happened to be the second sister-in-law's turn this year, and this is going to make trouble, and he really has no face to see people.

Zhou thought about it ninety-nine and eighty-one times in his heart, but Dajin didn't think about anything, he couldn't think of anything. He was dressed neatly in the morning, and seeing Zhou's grinding, he couldn't help but be a little angry, but it was not good to be angry and unlucky during the New Year, so he had to endure it.

After all, the Zhou family couldn't stand it, and the family returned to their parents' home. His five elder brothers have all been separated, each with a yard. She walked to the courtyard of her second brother and found that it was General Tie who was guarding the door. She called a few times through the door, but there was no answer. She felt inexplicably relieved.

Dajin muttered: "This second brother is too disagreeable, he knows that we are coming back, why don't he leave anyone?" ”

"Forget it, forget it." Zhou waved his hand.

The three Du Shu brothers were also a little disappointed, it was almost time to eat, they were all hungry, should they run back to Dujiagou to eat?

"What then?" Daikin raised the two boxes of snacks in his hand and said.

"Let me see, are the other brothers at home?" Zhou frowned and said.

The Zhou family called the door one by one, but none of them answered her. It's a strange day.

Did the third brother's family forget to turn off the chicken when they went out? Chickens run all over the yard and poop everywhere.

The chimney of the fourth brother's house is still smoking, and he made breakfast, and he forgot to seal the stove?

The clothes drying in the yard of the fifth brother's house are dripping with water, so unfortunately, the front and rear feet are missed?

The eldest brother's house is a little far away, her sister-in-law's family is only a nephew, and there is no reason for the elders to pay New Year's greetings to the younger generations.

The door of the eldest brother's house was empty, and there were voices of laughter.

"Big brother, big brother." Zhou craned his neck and shouted.

The laughter in the room stopped abruptly, and there was a deathly silence.

"Brother, brother, I'm my sister." Zhou raised his voice and shouted, and the neighbors next door heard it.

In the middle of the night, the door opened, and Zhou's eldest brother, Zhou Dahu, came out: "Hey, old sister, why are you here?" ”

This year, it was the turn of the second brother, and Zhou Dahu was not prepared to entertain their family.

"Second brother, I'm not at home. The other brothers are not here, I can't ......" Zhou was a little sad.

His five elder brothers, when they returned to their parents' house, actually rushed back to their in-laws' house to eat. Even if her mother-in-law didn't say it, Sanfang Xie would definitely seize this opportunity to humiliate her, so she would rather be hungry than go home for lunch. But what about Dajin and his three sons?

"Come in first." Standing at the gate of the courtyard like this will provoke the gossip of the neighbors.

This second child's family is too much of a thing, the door is locked, and he is happy. One of the third, fourth, and fifth families is better than the other, either hiding at home or sneaking out to play.

If it weren't for the fact that there happened to be a guest at home, he would have to pretend to be dead.

Zhou Dahu reluctantly took the Zhou family back home, and his wife Deng gave him a fierce look.

There was a guest sitting in his house, about forty years old, dressed in a blue cotton robe, with a bronzed face, and smiling at the sight of people.

"This is ......" Although Zhou has been married for more than ten years, she still recognizes the people in the village, and this person is born.

"Oh, you don't know, this is Master Chen from Chen Qian Village, your nephew's master." Zhou Dahu gave a brief introduction.

Only then did Zhou remember that the eldest brother's son was an apprentice in a restaurant in the county, and this one was probably in charge.

"This is my sister and her family." Zhou Dahu smiled and turned to introduce to Master Chen.

During the Spring Festival, every family entertains guests at home, and the business of restaurants is light. Zhou Dahu finally invited Master Chen out and prepared to entertain him at home, but he didn't expect to be disturbed by Zhou.

Zhou is not stupid, she hurriedly put down her things and went to the kitchen to help.

Dajin talked with him in the hall, and the three brothers were a little restrained in front of strangers, only silently eating melon seeds and peanuts and not speaking.

Deng was a little embarrassed to see Zhou come to the kitchen to help. After all, it is a guest who passes through the door, not to mention that the girl at home is a delicate guest when she returns to the province, and there is no reason to roll up her sleeves and work in the kitchen.

"Don't meddle, get your clothes dirty." Deng pushed her with his elbow.

"Sister-in-law, I'm born fine, and I can't accompany guests." Zhou neatly landed in the stove and lit the fire.

Deng couldn't refuse too harshly, so she had to do something simple.

The New Year's meals are easy to make, most of them are ready-made, and after a while, the hall will be opened.

The men gathered around to eat and drink, and Zhou Dahu and Dajin accompanied Master Chen to drink soju. Chef Chen is in charge of things in the restaurant, and he has all the good wine and food, but he doesn't pick the coarse tea and light rice in the countryside. The three adults drank quite heartily. The three brothers did not dare to make a mistake, and only ate in a regular manner.

Deng and Zhou's sister-in-law sat in the kitchen, saying something that didn't hurt.

"His sister-in-law, on the night of the thirtieth night of the Chinese New Year's Eve, your second sister-in-law's brother and sister-in-law came to the door!" Deng looked at Zhou, hesitated for a long time, and said quietly.