Spring Jubilee. Chinese New Year's Eve.

Chinese New Year's Eve is a big festival. Early in the morning, the housekeeper entrusted the couplets and frieze eyes inscribed by the old men to Shouzhongju to the old lady. After reading it, the old lady admired the spring flowers, and then sent them down to post them on the doors of their respective houses.

At that time, Sanxi fetched water in the mirror flower Xie courtyard, ready to bring water to wash the girl's face, saw the housekeeper and others holding the door from Shouzhong to go out, thinking that it was the New Year, all the houses and courtyards were sticking red, she looked around at the mirror flower Xie, still winter, and there was no red joy Spring Festival scene, and wanted to come to Zhuangfu with the girl for more than half a year, others spent the Spring Festival, the New Year was strong, and their own courtyard was deserted. Because there is unwillingness and disobedience in my heart. Sanxi put down the basin and went lightly to Shouzhongju to look for Zhu'er, wanting to ask her for something.

Zhu'er helped the old lady dress inside, and served the old lady eye-catching. Mei'er, Lan'er and other girls placed all kinds of jewelry in the outer hall, and some girls came in and out with tea. A girl greeted Sanxi when she saw her looking outside the door. Sanxi only begged and said to invite Sister Zhu'er.

After a while, Zhu'er smiled and groaned, her face full of spring, and said with a smile: "It's a New Year's greeting for you." ”

Sanxi took the salute and responded with a smile: "I also gave my sister a New Year's greeting." He leaned up, took Zhu'er's hand, and said, "Sister, I saw that the housekeeper took a lot of couplets out, what are you going to post today?" ”

Zhu'er said: "It's not, today is Chinese New Year's Eve, sticking to the door to welcome the New Year." Isn't that the same in your hometown? ”

Sanxi said: "That's the case, so I'll ask." Do we want to post it over there? ”

Zhu'er showed a look of embarrassment, you must know that Shouzhong Jumen Lian has to wait for the master to paste, the yard inside was only pasted with frieze eyes in the old years, and Lianzi was not pasted. Now the mirror flower is Yu Li, if you say that you want to post, it is okay, but there was no such case in the old years. At this moment, it is not easy to return to Zhu'er.

Sanxi said: "Sister, if you still have a pair over there, reward us with a few couplets, and we will post a paste on the door of our courtyard, and we will also paste the doors of the first few rooms to celebrate the New Year!" ”

Sanxi only thinks about his own girl, after all, the Spring Festival hurts the girl's heart the most, and she is too cold, isn't it going to arouse her sadness again? In the hometown, where there is a door, all the pairs are pasted, the door is mainly linked to the wealth, wealth and peace, and the rest of the houses are based on the owner's family to manage the life and the situation in the future.

Zhu'er said: "It stands to reason that we can't post it, so we have to post it." ”

Sanxi said: "Why? We're idle and idle, we'll just post it ourselves. ”

Zhu'er said: "Sister Sanxi, how can we post it?" Not even the old lady can't. It has to be posted by the old man to be suitable. ”

Sanxi said: "But the old man won't enter the mirror!" We've been here for so long, and the gentlemen haven't come in. If you don't come, won't you be able to post it? ”

Zhu'er was about to return, and Mei'er inside said, "It's set." ”

Sanxi and Zhu'er turned to look inside, the colorful jewels were neatly arranged, and they had to help the old lady out to stand out.

Zhu'er hurriedly said to Sanxi: "You hurry back to serve your girl, come over to say hello later, and go to incense to your ancestors when you're done." This is grand! ”

After speaking, Zhu'er didn't open Sanxi and entered the house.

Three joys, melancholy, and depression return to the mirror.

Entering the yard, Sanxi went to the well to pick up the wooden basin, picked it up, fell again, and kicked it on the basin. The pot, turning over a few heels, lay under the tree and did not move.

So, Sanxi went up the stairs and walked inside with a face full of anger. When I got inside, I saw Yu Qi sitting by the kang, holding a hand mirror, and Zisu bent down to stand next to her and inserted beads into her.

Seeing Sanxi's scene, Yu Qi didn't think about what happened to her, and only asked: "New Year's head, why are you full of sorrow?" The New Year is sad, and the year is unlucky. ”

Sanxi said: "The bad luck should be someone else." We're going to get Gilgilly. ”

Zisu smiled: "What did you say, who made you unhappy?" ”

Sanxi clapped his hands and stomped up, came to Yu Qi, and said, "Girl, I just saw the housekeeper and Si'er asking a lot of couplets to go out, saying that they were going to post them." I went to ask Sister Zhu'er, we also have to celebrate the New Year in our hospital, and we have to post it. Sister Zhu'er said, don't say that we can't post it, and the old lady can't post it, it has to be the old man who can't post it. ”

Yu Qi said with a smile: "The big door family is like this, the man is the head of the family, and the man has to do this kind of thing." Zhu'er was right. ”

Sanxi snorted coldly: "The girl didn't see Sister Zhu'er's face just now." Said that in the old years, there were only some eyes pasted here. No matter how stupid I am, I can tell that our yard is just a New Year. ”

After hearing this, Yu Qi's face gradually calmed down, and the previous smiles froze.

Zisu felt that Yu Qi's thoughts flew away, maybe he missed his relatives. Therefore, the resentful eyes stared at Sanxi, Sanxi was interesting, but he was not convinced, and he was still angry.

After a while, Yu Qi said: "There are rules in the house. Follow the rules and it's over. Why do you have to ask people if they are not happy? ”

Sanxi muttered: "I think our yard is also going to celebrate the New Year, I'm afraid the girl will ......"

Zisu suddenly shouted: "Three joys! ”

Sanxi shook her hair and turned away, she knew that Zisu also blamed herself like the girl.

After Sanxi went out, Yu Qi took off the plugged hairpin, and Zisu was silent. After a while, Yu Qi got up and walked out without any ambition. When he arrived at the porch, Sanxi happened to come in from the courtyard to fetch water.

Zisu came over and hugged Yu Qi a little, asking her to go back and wipe her face.

Yu Qi looked at the courtyard, sighed, and said, "Sister, how did we celebrate the New Year when we were children?" Our yard is so clean. ”

Zisu said: "Wash your face first!" It's over later! ”

Yu Qi nodded and went in to wash his face. After washing her face, Zisu plugged in the hairpin that Yu Qi took down for her, but Yu Qi didn't say anything, just sneered. After that, there was a laugh outside the courtyard, I am afraid that the people in the house are waiting to come to Shouzhongju to ask for peace.

Yu Qi turned his face to Zisu and said, "Sister over? ”

Zisu shook his head.

Yu Qi nodded, and only said: "Okay", it's not called Sanxi, go and get a cloak by yourself, and walk out while tying it, Zisu saw this, pestle and didn't move, Sanxi came in again and saw it, and wanted to help, Zisu handed over his eyes, Sanxi consciousness, and stopped.

Waiting for Yu Qi to tie the cloak, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes, turned to a smile and said, "Then I'll go first, sister, if you're annoyed, play with Brother Parrot for a while!" ”

The parrot brother that Yu Qi said was a gift from Zhuang Jue to her.

At this point, Yu Qi went out from the mirror flower, Sanxi looked at Zisu's eyes, and followed behind Yu Qi in a disorderly manner.

Immediately after that, as usual, but the old men are here, and the heads and faces are also here. The host knelt for the old lady in the hall, and the family knelt outside the courtyard. After waiting, the eldest lord took the lead, and the other three masters followed, and the butler entrusted the couplet to follow the left and right. Outside the middle house, the eldest man personally stepped on the high stool to paste the New Year's door couplet. After pasting the gate, I turned around, because I thought of the courtyard gate of Jinghua Xie, and asked the housekeeper to take the frieze to paste, here, the housekeeper sent the little maids to do.

The old man went into the hall again to report to the old lady, saying that the New Year's couplet had been pasted, and asked the old lady to go out and take a look. Later, the old lady smiled and led the ladies out of the hall and went outside the door to see the stickers.

Sure enough, at the gate of the Central Mansion, the original wooden plaque has been removed, and the bare walls are pasted with glittering golden couplets on both sides, and the background is red paper with platinum flowers. I saw that the side wrote: "Rich and auspicious often flourish like a spring scene", and the side wrote: "Fu Lu Shou Festival stretches like a golden morning", the top horizontal batch is: "Spring Jubilee", there are five frieze eyes pasted under the eaves of the horizontal batch, from left to right, one is written with "Ruyi New Year", one is written with "Spring Blossoms", one is written with "smooth sailing", one is written with "auspicious star Gaozhao", and one is written with "No Ji Tailai".

The old lady looked at it and nodded frequently, not commenting on others, only saying to the five small questions on the frieze: "This year's 'No Ji Tailai' is in line with my liking, the spring is blooming, no Ji Tailai." It was smooth sailing. ”

As he spoke, he inadvertently glanced at Yu Qi.

Yu Qi stood silently behind the girls, saw the old lady's eyes, and then thought back to the old lady's words, presumably her visions were to say to herself.

The old man clasped his fists and said to the old lady: "Mother, the ancestral hall is ready, otherwise, let's go and offer incense to the ancestors and ask for tea first." ”

Yes, the rules of the Zhuang Mansion are prepared early on Chinese New Year's Eve with all kinds of delicacies and fruits, incense red candles, camphor red tents, wax paper money, etc., and the people of the government go to kneel and worship, invite the ancestors to eat tea, perform big gifts, and beg for a smooth and prosperous year. From Chinese New Year's Eve to the second day of the Lunar New Year, this ancestral ritual is divided into several steps: Chinese New Year's Eve, morning tea, noon worship, and dinner in the evening, all of which are nine knocking gifts. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, kneeling down to invite the ancestors to eat tea, begging for this year's blessings; On the second day of the Lunar New Year, kneel down to the ancestors to eat tea, begging to share the family and bless health and safety. From the third day of the first month to the fourteenth day of the first month, by the old men pour tea twice in the morning and evening, to the fifteenth day of the first month, there will be a chanting of Buddhist rites, the whole house people regardless of the size of the master and servant, all come to the scene to kneel and worship, finish, open a meal outside the ancestral ancestral hall, after the banquet, the old lady will say "send the ancestors". The year is over.

The ancestral shrine of Zhuangfu is in the backyard of Nanfu. After the old man asked the old lady, he led everyone to move to Nanfu.

In the mighty crowd all the way, it is not difficult to see that the eldest man is the eldest son of Zhuangfu, leading the way, and he is holding a big incense; The other three masters held the tray in their hands and followed behind the eldest master, in a word sequence. There are two bowls of white rice and six pairs of chopsticks on the plate held by the second master; On the plate held by the third master was tea, a total of six cups, and a jade teapot; On the plate held by the fourth master were six glasses of wine and a silver flask.

Behind the old men are Zhuang Xu, Zhuang Pu, and Zhuang Di, who also hold trays. The tray held by Zhuang has a plate of longevity peaches, the tray held by Zhuang Pu has a stack of melons, and the tray held by Zhuang Yu has a plate of salutes.

Behind is the old lady, she is supported by the Qin family and the Cao family, and the county lord and aunt are behind; On the back floor are the girls, standing in order of position, and Yu Qi is in front of the third girl, Zhuang Ying. The girls were followed by the aunts, and finally the relatives and domestic servants, and so on.

On the road of respecting ancestors, there is only one person missing, and that is Zhuang Hu, because she has married outside, so she is not in the ancestors. At this moment, Zhuang Hu and her husband Cha Shide took their children to the temple to offer incense, hands-free.

All the way, no one spoke, stepped lightly on the clouds, and walked slowly.

Walk through the gate of Nanfu, go to the backyard, and go to the ancestral shrine. This ancestral shrine was originally moved from the old house in the south of the city, compared with the house outside, here is a large house, * spacious. After entering several doors, I arrived at the ancestral hall.

Everyone didn't go in first, and when the eldest lord went to the incense first, the rest of the lord and the male heirs offered the goods, and the old lady led the family into the hall.

Inside, it is warm, fragrant, full of candlelight, and the red tent hangs; Above the main hall, there are several layers of tablets on the case, such as the god seat of "Taizu Kao Zhuang Gong", the god seat of "Xian Gaozu Kao Zhuang Gong", and the god seat of "Gao Zu Zhuang Mou Clan", which are stacked layer upon layer and cannot be counted. Zhuangfu people and others are family, all familiar, will not look at the details, only Yu Qi slightly attentively look at a few times, because standing a little farther, not very clear, knowing that the tablet for the release is the ancestors of Zhuangfu. Under the tablet, there are three layers of high and low tribute tables, and various offerings are arranged.

The first layer of the high cloud red table, there are three desk incense sticks, the incense stick in the middle is a square bronze tripod, has been inserted with the old incense stumps, on both sides is a small incense stick, also inserted incense. The table on the second floor is full of meat melons and fruits, full of rows, roast suckling pig in the middle, and exquisite and beautiful plates around it are chicken, duck and fish. In front of the dish, there are two small case tripods, with red candles inserted. The table on the third floor is for rice, tea, wine, etc.

On the rest of the ground, there are a number of kneeling mats neatly arranged, and there are high candlesticks on both sides of the house, high and low, scattered and lit.

The hall was silent, only the eyes indicated.

The men of Zhuangfu gave incense, tea and toast to their ancestors according to their positions. When it was over, the old lady knelt down with incense. After that, everyone knelt with the old lady. Complete the Nine Prostrations in the Butler's quote.

After the ceremony, the old lady smiled and said: "The ancestors of the Zhuang family are on top, everything is going well this year, the house is safe, and the children and grandchildren come to kowtow to the ancestors and congratulate the Spring Festival." Please watch from the heavens, take care of them, and bless them with all the best in the coming year. ”

After that, the old lady took the lead, served tea, and sprinkled tea.

When the old lady finished receiving the prayer again, the butler shouted to the outside: "Head cannon." ”

Outside the ancestral hall for a while, the sound of crackling firecrackers sounded, and the girls were like bees in the flowers, covering their ears to avoid and pushing each other. The cannon stopped, the smoke curled, and everyone took the smoke to move out of the ancestral hall.

Outside, the girls began to chatter and laugh as if they had been pardoned. Instead, the adults don't say it, and they don't stop it.

Yu Qi was quietly behind, and the sisters came to talk to her, but she just laughed and didn't answer. Later, the girls stopped talking. Seeing Yu Yu like this, Zhuang Jue also thought that she was a daughter from outside, and now during the Spring Festival, she must miss her relatives.

So, Zhuang Jue slowed down, and whispered to her around Yu Li: "Sister, I have to come over later to amplify the cannon, keep vigil at night, and the old lady will give a red envelope for the New Year." I dare say, your red envelope is the biggest. ”

Yu Qi turned his head and tilted his face and asked, "Why?" ”

Zhuang Ying said with a smile: "The old lady loves her sister the most, among our sisters and brothers, I have never seen the old lady treat anyone as well as her sister." I think that red envelope must be the biggest. ”

The corners of Yu Qi's mouth raised slightly. Also, if you are foreign, you are polite! These are nothing more than others taking pity on themselves.

Because of this thought, his eyes became hot, and in order not to let Zhuang Jue see it, Yu Qi turned his head sideways and endured it a few times.

When she turned her face to Zhuang Jue, she said, "Later in the show, are you ready?" ”

Zhuang Jue pointed to Zhuang Yu in front of him with a smile, and whispered to Yu Yu: "Fifth sister is ready, I'll help." Sister, how are you preparing? What is the show? ”

Yu Qi smiled and said nothing.

Then, everyone returned to Shouzhongju, and the old men wanted to invite the monks to the ancestral hall to kneel in the scriptures, but they didn't come, and the girls still gathered together to talk. Yu Qi listened there for a while, felt bored, and wanted to leave but didn't dare to get out.

At that time, Cao reported to everyone: "The New Year's clothes have been made in the past two days, but they have not been made in the amount they wanted." Each person is missing a piece and a half. I'm thinking about it, and I'll add it next year. ”

The old lady said, "You are in charge." For the Chinese New Year, it is difficult to make so many clothes for the tailor at one time, my suggestion, send more silver, as a New Year's red envelope. Scatter wealth, in order to gather wealth, so that everyone is happy and auspicious. ”

Here, the old lady didn't know that Ma Pozi was dead, and the clothes were temporarily bought by the Cao family from outside. Although the material is superior, but after all, the style is ordinary, and now the girls are wearing nothing more than some embroidered flowers for the Spring Festival, and the background color is either red or pink, or pink.

The old lady also said: "The color of this year's new clothes is festive, and the style is a little more vulgar. But it doesn't matter, they don't complain, and they are willing to wear it, which is good. In the evening, let them perform the show, thanking the second wife for working so hard. ”

When Cao heard these words, he didn't know how satisfied he was, and his face cracked with laughter.

The county lord and the aunt know about the Ma Pozi, and now, the New Year's clothes are implemented, and no one pursues the Ma Pozi, which is a good ending. I think it's time to settle down this New Year.

Therefore, everyone moved the topic to the Chinese New Year's Eve, the program performance, and said that the New Year greetings at the beginning of the year and other matters.

Yu Qi didn't have much emotion, and listened sullenly on one side.

It was about noon, the old lady asked people to set the table, and everyone lived in Shouzhongju to eat at the restaurant, and they didn't eat much, leaving their stomachs in the evening. When the dining spot was empty, Yu Qi saw that everyone was talking about it, and he quietly moved out.

Zhuang Jue saw Yu Qi walk out in a daze, and followed her unconsciously.