Chapter 100： New Year Painting Doll

The next step is to prepare the delicious food for the New Year.

Old man Jiang and his wife ground beans at home to make tofu, and served out unmarinated soy milk for each child to try.

Chun Niang and her sister-in-law steamed steamed buns, steamed buns and rice cakes for the festival.

Some steamed buns are made into the shapes of cows, sheep, pigs and rabbits. The eyes are dotted with red beans, and the white dough is painted with red flowers using hematoxylin water. It is very beautiful.

In another large pot, there is also a pot full of sausages, pork trotters and a pig's head.

There is also a pot of braised chicken with soybeans that has been cooked, and the aroma can be smelled from afar.

The happiest thing at this time is the children, because they don’t have to write, study, or work, and they can still get lucky money.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Chun Niang and Jiang Sanlang got up before dawn and gave each of the sleepy children two slices of cloud cake to taste, symbolizing joy and happiness in the new year.

After urging them to finish the cake, the two went to the kitchen to cook underwater dumplings and glutinous rice dumplings, which symbolized a smooth and happy new year.

Yingbao knew that she couldn't stay in bed at this time, so she quickly got up, put on the new clothes and pants that her mother had put on the bedside last night, put on her beautiful tiger-toe shoes, and thought about it. Put on the tiger head hat again.

The new cotton-padded coat is red with yellow flowers on it, and the Five Blessings are embroidered on the skirt and back. The collar is also trimmed with a circle of white rabbit tail fur, which is smooth and beautiful.

Pair it with green trousers and a tiger hat on your head, and you will look like a doll throughout the year.

After getting dressed, Yingbao picked up Xiaojie and Xiaowu, put on their clothes, shoes, and tiger hats, and then took them to wash up.

“Come and eat dumplings!” Chun Niang brought out a basin of dumplings from the kitchen and placed it on the big table in the main room. She also brought several bowls of glutinous rice balls.

There are only four in each bowl, which means everything goes well.

The family sat around the big table eating glutinous rice **** and dumplings. After eating, Chun Niang gave Ying Bao two small silver ingots, each weighing about one or two, and gave one to each of the twin sons.

 Ying Bao and her two younger brothers knelt down to kowtow to their parents for New Year greetings.

The two twins were very happy after getting the silver lock, and rushed out to show off to their brother Huzi.

Chunniang grabbed them both and said, "Give me the new year's money to keep for you. If you lose it when you go back outside, you can't find it."

Xiao Wu immediately refused: "No! It won't fall."

Xiaojie echoed: "It won't fall off! Let's keep it in our pockets."

“What if it falls?” These two boys are crazy. Where can Doudou put things?

“Can you please give me some candies, please?”

“No, no, no!” The two boys struggled hard and finally escaped from their mother’s clutches.

Seeing his wife's annoyance, Jiang Sanlang smiled and said, "Let them go." He only had two taels of silver, so if he lost it, he would look for it.

Then the family of five went to Jiang Dalang's house to pay New Year's greetings, and Ying Bao and her younger brother received another wave of New Year's money.

Xiao Wu gave his sister his lucky money and asked her to keep it for him.

Seeing this, Xiaojie also gave all the new year's money to his sister to keep, and even glanced at his grandma to prevent her from snatching it.

Next, a few boys took the ball that Yingbao bought and divided into two teams to fight and kick each other. They had so much fun that they didn't even bother to eat.

The next day, Chun Niang, her husband and their three children returned to her parents’ home to pay New Year’s greetings.

Xujiacun is neither far nor close to Dongchen Village, only seven or eight miles away.

The eldest nephew Jiang Cheng first drove his third uncle and his family to the place, and then rushed back to take his parents and younger brothers and sisters to his uncle's house to pay New Year's greetings.

 Xu Chunniang has an older brother and a younger sister. Her father is long gone. After her younger sister got married, her widowed mother, Mrs. Xu, lived with her only son, Xu Da.

Mrs. Xu stood at the door early and looked forward eagerly. When she saw the eldest daughter's mule cart arriving at the entrance of the village, she ran over to greet her.

“Oh my grandson.” Madam Xu hugged Xiaojie and Xiaowu, she was so happy.

Ying Bao called from the side: "Grandma." "Hey!" Mrs. Xu put her two grandchildren down and picked up her granddaughter: "My baby has grown so big."

Ying Bao hugged her grandmother’s neck and said with a smile, “Bao’er is four years old.”

"Yes, yes, Bao'er is four years old in a blink of an eye." Madam Xu carried Yingbao home.

The two grandsons behind me kept shouting: "Grandma, please let me down quickly. We want to kowtow to grandma to celebrate the New Year."

“Okay.” Mrs. Xu put down the Yingbao and took the three children into the house.

Xu Chunniang and her husband followed with big baskets and small bags, distributing gifts to her brother, sister-in-law, nieces and nephews.

“Mom, I made this piece of cloth from cotton. It’s soft and has no color. You can use it to make a shirt.”

“There is also this piece of ramie material, the color is beautiful, you can make the dress yourself.” It’s not that Chun Niang doesn’t make it for her own mother, but Xu Lao Niang likes to do it herself, saying that it is suitable and comfortable to wear.

Mrs. Xu touched the fabrics happily and said, "Chun Niang, what are you buying these materials for? I would bury you up to your neck in dirt. How can you wear these new clothes and new materials?"

"Don't say that. You can live to be ninety-nine, so why don't you wear new clothes and new materials?" Chun Niang took out another five taels of silver ingots and a lot of copper coins and gave them to me, "This is your son-in-law's filial piety." To your body.”

When Mrs. Xu saw a silver ingot, her eyes widened and she quickly declined: "Oh, why are you giving me so much money? I'm not going anywhere. I don't need to spend any money."

"Put it away quickly." Chun Niang forced it on me, "You are an elder, how can you not have a penny in your hand? At home, the children will have to pay New Year's money, and the rich wife is about to enter the house. You can't justify not giving me some greeting gifts. "

Da Niu is Xu Da’s eldest son. He is sixteen years old this year and will get married in a few months.

Seeing that Mrs. Xu couldn't refuse, she accepted the silver and copper coins.

Since her wife passed away, she has been living with her eldest son, and she really doesn’t have much money left in her hands.

Even if the two daughters occasionally gave her a private house during the New Year and holidays, she would also provide subsidies to the children.

At this time, Sister-in-law Xu walked into the house, and Chun Niang quickly picked up two pieces of clothing material and handed them over: "Sister-in-law, this is the clothing material I bought for you and my eldest brother."

Sister-in-law Xu quickly took it and said with a smile: "Hey, Chun Niang, you have spent money again."

“In other words, you are taking care of grandma at home. I haven’t thanked you yet.” Chun Niang took out four packs of candies and snacks and put them on the table, as well as hats, flowers and combs for her nieces and nephews.

Nowadays, men also wear flowers, and they are still very colorful silk flowers. So Chun Niang bought some and distributed them to her nephews and nieces.

He then pulled Ying Bao and the two children over and said, "This is your aunt. Please give her a happy New Year."

Yingbao and her two younger brothers shouted: "Happy New Year, auntie, may everything go well!"

"Everything is fine, everything is fine." Sister-in-law Xu took out the ten yuan of New Year's money she had prepared from her pocket and distributed three dolls as a gift.

Yingbao and his younger brother took it and kowtowed to their aunt Congshan Ruliu.

Sister-in-law Xu held the fabric in her arms and said with a smile: "Second sister will be back soon. Sister, please stay with me and talk more while I go cook."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law." Chun Niang stood up and sent her out.

At this time, three children rushed in from outside. They were all from the eldest brother's family. They were the eldest nephew who was 16 years old, the eldest niece who was 12 years old, and the younger nephew who was eight years old.

“Happy New Year to my eldest aunt!” The three children knelt down on the ground and kowtowed to Chun Niang.

Chunniang smiled and gave each of them ten pieces of lucky money, and then gave them the hair combs she bought.

"Thank you, aunt!" The three children thanked them, took the money and ran out happily.

Suddenly I heard someone outside laughing: "Brother-in-law is here so early. Where is eldest sister? Why didn't you see her?"

Then the door curtain was lifted, and Xu Qiuniang walked in.

"Hey! What are you doing hiding in the house? Why don't you go and help your sister-in-law with the cooking?"