Chapter 16: Beggars Wait for Chinese New Year's Eve

The high madmen were well-informed and knew that they were worshipping the Bodhisattva of the Stove King.

He felt that there was nothing fresh about it, and it was similar to a small family that had died and asked an ordinary "duangong" to do the dojo. It's just that the Buddhist hall of the Xie family is more magnificent than the dojo of ordinary people. He was so hungry that he screamed "grunt, grunt", and had no intention of looking any further. He secretly figured out to himself, according to the appearance of the Xie family worshiping the gods and worshiping the Buddha, after worshipping the gods on the portrait in turn, he had to go to the mourning hall next door to worship his ancestors, and it would take more than an hour to start the meal.

The high madman sat bored in the guest room, and finally survived the time, only to hear the shouts of "eat Chinese New Year's Eve" from the girl of the Xie family. Before eating, there was a long period of verbosity, setting off firecrackers and handing out red envelopes, and only after these cuts were over did a servant come over and lead the high madman to the "upper eight" in the main hall to sit.

The Xie family eats "Chinese New Year's Eve dinner", and it is also particular about sitting in the "upper eight".

Maniac Gao was "honored" to sit on the "Eight Immortals Table" in the middle of the hall today, and his seat was facing the gate and next to the right head of Old Lady Xie. The reason why this "position" is called "upper eight" is because from the first position on the left side of the table, that is, the position where Mrs. Xie is sitting now, count down in a clockwise direction, and count to the position to the right of Mrs. Xie is exactly the eighth, and this position is in the upper position, so it is called "upper eight". On weekdays, this position is occupied by Mrs. Xie, the oldest person in charge of the Xie family. If there is an honored guest in the house, no matter how high the status of the woman is, she will not be able to eat at the table. Although the old lady in charge of the Xie family will not hide her rice bowl in the stove to eat like a woman from a small family, she is also not allowed to go to the table to accompany the guests to eat. The guests were naturally invited to sit in this position, and ate on an equal footing with the old lady Xie who was in charge.

The madman Gao was still yelling outside the gate of the Xie family just now to sit on the "upper eight", in fact, he just wanted to get the Xie family's attention to him and reward him with a little food and drink, and he did not have the luxury of expecting that the Xie family would really let him sit on the "upper eight" for the "Chinese New Year's Eve dinner". Now he looked at the room full of people wearing gold and silver, no matter how thick-skinned he was, he felt uncomfortable sitting there. He secretly glanced at Old Lady Xie who was sitting on the left, but saw that Old Lady Xie didn't look at him directly. He looked at the old and young men of the Xie family sitting around the table, as if there was no such person as him at all, they only happily said compliments to each other, and occasionally persuaded the people around him to drink and eat.

The madman waited for a night, and finally sat down at the dinner table, he was already hungry and salivating. He looked at the chickens, fish, ducks, geese, cows, sheep, pigs, and rabbits on the table, and he didn't care about the people of the Xie family, and they snubbed him. Anyway, he's a begging man, he's used to seeing other people's cold eyes, and he has a meal to eat, so what do you care about so much? When the madman Gao thought of this, he didn't care about "three-seven-twenty-one", and opened his stomach and chewed and swallowed. When he ate until his stomach felt bloated and painful, burped for days, and smelled farts, the main dish of the Xie family's "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner" "Ten Bowls" was served. Gao Madman used to only hear people say that the rich man's family had a "ten bowls" when eating "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner", and he just didn't have the opportunity to take a look. Today, he looked at the girls of the Xie family, and the "ten bowls" that were constantly served, finally opened his eyes.

Which "Top 10 Bowls"? The high madman opened his eyes and took a closer look: it was "Whole Chicken with Dumplings", "Braised Pork Shoulder", "Whole Fish with Beans", "Duck with Sauce", "Steamed Beef", "Steamed Pork with Dumplings", "Glutinous Rice Longan Meat", "Squid Crispy Broth", "Salted Roasted White" and "Ten Highlights of Sea Cucumber Roast". These "ten bowls" are all used in the sea bowl, the slice of meat is cut as long as chopsticks, the fingers are thick, and the meat is as big as a fist. After looking at these dishes, the madman Gao realized that the pickled, smoked, roasted, cured, fontanelle, mixed and wild game on the table just now turned out to be these big fish and meat, which were just "appetizers" for the Xie family before eating.

The people of the Xie family just politely persuaded others to invite each other, but they didn't see them move their chopsticks by themselves. For a wealthy family like the Xie family, eating "Chinese New Year's Eve" is not about eating the stomach, but about enjoying the process. Since the beginning of the month, their family has been busy with this "Chinese New Year's Eve dinner". From this morning to now, they are still busy with this "Chinese New Year's Eve dinner". Before this, the adults of the Xie family had already eaten what they should have eaten, and they had already drunk what they should drink. Even the babies are in and out of the kitchen early, and when they see what they like to eat, they take a little and stuff it into their mouths, and when it is time to eat, the whole family, including girls, servants, and housekeepers, there is no one who can eat anything. They still want to make the "Chinese New Year's Eve dinner" so grand and grand, just to be auspicious. To eat the "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner" on the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, there must be leftovers, the more you do, the better, and the more leftovers, the better. If there is too much left, it is a good sign of good luck in the coming year.

At this time, the madman only hated that his stomach, which had never been filled on weekdays, was too small, and just now he filled his stomach with the "appetizers" that the Xie family had placed on the table, and the main dish came up, but like the people of the Xie family, he couldn't eat a bite. He looked at the "ten bowls" in front of him, although his stomach was so swollen that he couldn't eat a bite, he still felt that this life was not in vain. In this life, how many people can have the fate to take a look at the legendary "Ten Bowls" like he is today? With this blessing, even if you die, it's worth it!

The madman Gao looked at the sumptuous "Chinese New Year's Eve dinner" at the table in front of him, and suddenly remembered that he could sit here "on the eight"? He looked at the few family members standing around him glaring at him, and he was secretly stunned in his heart. He touched what was hidden in his bosom and gained a little courage. He raised his head several times and looked at Xie Jizu who was sitting beside him, and when he saw Xie Jizu's smiling expression, he didn't dare to say anything with his cheeks. He saw that the people on the table who were eating the "Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner" were ready to disperse, and knew that if he didn't give the Xie family an explanation now, he might be here for the rest of his life.