The third day after the marriage contract is the Laba Festival. Early in the morning, the whole Meng Mansion began to be busy, preparing ingredients and boiling laba porridge. Lin'an people eat laba porridge divided into sweet and salty. Laba porridge should be added with mushrooms, water chestnuts, walnut kernels, pine nut kernels, gourd seeds, red dates, chestnuts, fungus, etc. If you are cooking salty porridge, add greens and oil to it.

The adults were busy, the children were having fun, and Meng Ran and Xiaolian played a game of chasing and playing in the small study.

The two of them were playing, if they were seen by someone who didn't know, they thought it was the two sisters and brothers fighting. It hasn't been many days since Xiaolian entered the Meng family, but perhaps because she is fully nourished, her whole body has risen a lot, and her originally thin cheeks have gradually become more even. Xiaolian looks much taller than Meng Ran, and with a quiet and indifferent appearance, people who don't know her may think of her as the eldest lady of Meng Mansion.

After playing for a while, Meng Ran became tired and stopped resting. Looking at his thin figure, he looked at Xiaolian again, and said with some frustration: "Sister Xiaolian, why are you taller than me?"

Xiaolian smiled faintly: "Young master, I'm older than you, so I'll grow taller." ”

"Didn't my mother say that we were about the same age?"

"It's pretty much the same, just a little bigger than you. ”

"Then Sister Xiaolian, how old are you?"

"Young master, the girl's age can't be easily told to others. ”

"Oh... But we're friends!"

"Friend?" Xiaolian was a little stunned, and said softly casually: "Xiaolian is just a maid, not worthy of being a friend of the young master." ”

Meng Ran, who originally thought that he couldn't wait for an answer, was a little discouraged, but suddenly heard Xiaolian say in a low voice: "I'm 12 years old this year." ”

Meng Ran was a little happy: "Then when I reach the age of twelve, will I be as tall as you?"

Xiaolian sneered and said, "Young Master, you will already be an adult when you are twelve years old, and you must be taller than me." ”

Hearing Xiaolian say that she would grow taller, Meng Ran was overjoyed and shouted loudly.

At this moment, Mrs. Meng's personal maid Xiaohuan came, saying that Laba porridge was ready, and called them to drink it together.

The two children followed Xiaohuan to the dining room.

In the dining room, Meng Hao and his wife were talking, and they didn't know what interesting things they were talking about, which made Mrs. Meng smile.

Seeing Meng Ran coming, Mrs. Meng got up, pulled Meng Ran to sit next to her, and asked with a smile, "Ran'er, what are you busy with today?"

Meng Ran called his father, and then turned to his mother: "I read the book for a while, and then I asked Sister Xiaolian to play with me." ”

After hearing this, Mrs. Meng said to Meng Hao with a smug face: "Look, I did the right thing." Since Xiaolian came, Ran'er has been a lot more lively. It seems that Ran'er didn't have any playmates because she didn't move before, but now it's much better. Save yourself from dropping in the stacks of books all day. ”

Meng Hao looked at the radiant lady, and said with a slight exaggeration: "That's really a loss to Mrs., Mrs. is a good housekeeper, and she also has a lot of experience in education, and she admires her husband very much." ”

After speaking, she made a fake gesture, which made Mrs. Meng laugh, and tears were about to flow out.

Then everyone drank laba porridge together.

As the folk saying goes, "After Laba is the year".

After the Laba Festival, the flavor of the New Year is strong day by day.

The snow is falling and the temperature is low and low, and the end of the year is just around the corner.

On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, also known as "Little Chinese New Year's Eve", after the whole family of Meng Fu ate a reunion dinner together, they began to sacrifice to the stove. Folklore has it that every Chinese New Year's Eve, King Stove would go to heaven to report the good and evil of the family to the Jade Emperor, so that the Jade Emperor would reward and punish him. Therefore, when the stove is delivered, people put candy, water, beans, and straw on the table in front of the statue of the king of the stove. Among them, the last three are prepared for the mount of the Stove King's ascension. When sacrificing to the stove, the Kanto sugar is melted with fire and applied to the mouth of the stove king. In this way, he can't speak ill of the family to the Jade Emperor.

According to the public's saying: because of the homonym between "dust" and "Chen", the New Year sweep has the meaning of "removing Chen Buxin", and its intention is to sweep all the "poor luck" and "bad luck" out of the door, entrusting people's wishes to break the old and establish the new and pray for the new.

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household began to make tofu. "Fu" has a similar pronunciation to "fu", and making tofu means "reaping happiness and good fortune in the New Year".

Twenty-six preserved fish, this day to kill the pig to cut the New Year's meat, began to buy New Year's goods. The so-called killing of pigs refers to the killing of pigs raised by one's own family, and the so-called cutting of meat refers to the fact that people who do not raise pigs go to the market to buy meat for the New Year.

Since then, everyone has also begun to buy all kinds of gifts, ingredients, and snacks for every household to use.

On the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, every household should "appliqué flowers", that is, paste New Year's paintings, Spring Festival couplets and window flowers, and express their yearning for a happy life and wishes for a better future.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, Meng Hao sent a butler to carry various sacrificial gifts first, and then he took his family out of the city and went to the farm where Meng's ancestral tomb was located.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, make dumplings, eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, burn gold paper, set off firecrackers, etc. And then there's the New Year's Celebration. On Chinese New Year's Eve, the whole family gathers together, has a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, lights candles or oil lamps, sits around the fireside and chats, waiting for the time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new.

As the night wore on, everyone was a little tired, and went back to their rooms to rest.

Early the next morning, Meng Hao took his family to the sacrifice.

After setting up the three livestock meals, three teas and five wines, etc., and displaying the offerings, Meng Hao stepped forward to burn incense, and then read the blessings, offered wine, and burned the blessings, and the whole family bowed.

After lunch at the farm, Meng Hao hurried back to Lin'an with his family.

That night, Meng Hao was invited to drink and returned in the middle of the night.

The next day, the second day of the Lunar New Year. Meng Hao had not yet woken up, so Mrs. Meng had no choice but to take her son Meng Ran to Zhang's house by herself. Although Meng Ran is still young and has not yet married, he has been engaged to Miss Zhang's family, and there should still be etiquette.

When I arrived at Zhang's house, only Mrs. Zhang was at home, saying that her lord had gone out to pay New Year's greetings. Mrs. Meng also gossiped with Mrs. Zhang and exchanged some auspicious words. Mrs. Zhang saw that Meng Ran was bored sitting alone, so she sent a maid to the backyard to call Xue'er to the front hall, so that the two children could play together and get acquainted with each other by the way.

The adults waved their hands, and the two children ran to the back garden of Zhang's mansion together.

That was the third time Meng Ran had seen Xue'er, and he didn't know what Xue'er's full name was, but he remembered that she was a relatively quiet little girl.

"Hello, my name is Meng Ran. ”

When Xue'er heard these dumbfounded words, she laughed out loud: "I know your name is Meng Ran." ”

Meng Ran looked up at Xue'er, who was smiling like a flower, and couldn't help but laugh with Xue'er.

Xue'er turned her head and just glanced at Meng Ran, her white cheeks instantly turned red, and even her ears were red, as if she would be bleeding the next moment.

The air in the garden suddenly became heavy at some point, and both of them stopped talking and looked at the rockery in the distance very tacitly.

After I don't know how long, Meng Ran said, "Xue'er, I don't know your full name yet, can you tell me?"

Xue'er whispered 'um': "Zhang Miaoxue." ”

At this moment, the air seemed to become light again, and everything became beautiful.

Near noon, Mrs. Meng came to the garden and said it was time to go. So after Meng Ran said hello to Miaoxue, he followed his mother back to his mansion.

It wasn't until Mrs. Meng returned home that Meng Hao woke up from a deep sleep, and then visited relatives and friends to celebrate the New Year.

In this way, the days slipped away day by day, and in a blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the first month.

Meng Ran Xu was a little bored, so he asked Meng Hao: "Father, Mr. has been gone for almost two months, when will he come back?"

Meng Hao frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" Are you bored playing by yourself?"

Meng Ran smiled embarrassedly: "It's a little boring, I'm tired of reading books by myself, and I want Mr. to teach me." ”

Meng Hao glanced at his son: "Count the days, it's time to come back." I estimate that I should be back in 20 days at the latest. ”

Meng Ran jumped happily and was knocked on the door of his head by Meng Hao: "You are already six years old, pay attention to your manners." ”

Meng Ran stuck out his tongue and grimaced, and then tried to make a serious appearance, but the smile between his eyebrows and eyes couldn't be hidden.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. In the afternoon, Mrs. Meng took her son and domestic servants out. Although this Lin'an county is not big, the annual lantern festival is impressive, which makes people like it very much.

Everyone first went to the temple fair, bought some strange things and some small snacks, and after eating and drinking, they found a teahouse to rest.

It was getting late, and the street lights were slowly turning on.

From the roads leading in all directions to the winding alleys of poor homes, there is not a single one that does not have lanterns, and there is not a single one that does not have a lantern shed. The lantern shed is built with two bamboo poles to cross the bridge, and a bamboo pole is horizontally hung in the middle, and a snow lantern and six lamp balls are hung. There are hundreds of light sheds on the streets and dozens of alleys. Looking back at the alley from the entrance of the alley, all kinds of lanterns are stacked on top of each other, with bright colors and fluttering, which is enough to move everyone.

In the wooden shed built on the main commercial street in the city, a large lamp is hung, on which are painted stories from the Analects, some of which are written with lantern riddles, and everyone stands around the lantern and guesses these lantern riddles. Therefore, the lantern market there is particularly prosperous, there are jugglers who perform lion dances and transformations, there are drumming, singing, and fireworks are set off, and they are crowded together. As soon as there is an open space in the small streets and alleys, the big-headed monk dances, the sound of gongs and drums is staggered, and there are people watching everywhere. Most of the women in the city walked with each other to the most lively places to see the lanterns, otherwise, they would be small families sitting in front of their doors, eating melon seeds and jelly beans, and watching the men and women who came to watch the lanterns.

It is night, the ten-mile long street is full of fire trees and silver flowers, the market is bustling, the sound of selling lanterns comes and goes, endlessly, all kinds of lanterns reflect the street market as bright as day, the lantern will be very lively, until the fifth watch.

There is a saying: "The east wind blooms a thousand trees at night." More blows down, stars like rain. BMW carved cars are full of fragrance. The sound of the phoenix flute moves, the light of the jade pot turns, and the fish and dragon dance all night.

Moth snow willow golden wisps. The laughter is full of dark fragrance. The crowd is looking for him thousands of times. Suddenly looking back, the man was there, and the lights were dim. ”