"You two, come in and have some tea!”Secretary Zhang greeted politely.
"No, thanks! The two of us came to your place first. I haven't bowed anywhere else." Baldy Wu confessed his love to his son and left with him.
"Looks like we cooked dumplings late this year.”Secretary Zhang returned to the house and said," In the past, those who came to pay New Year's greetings came after dinner. This year, why did they come even after dinner?!"”
"It's almost 12 o'clock! The ones who came early this year were only the military brothers and Baldy Wu and his son. The others hadn't arrived yet!”Aunt Zhang retorted.
As if she was verifying Secretary Zhang's words, before Aunt Zhang could finish her sentence, she heard a series of noisy footsteps. Zhang Lian looked into the courtyard and saw a large group of people rushing in.
Following that, they heard these people shouting their names. Some called Secretary Zhang "Uncle Zhang", some called "Uncle Zhang", and some children called: " Grandpa Zhang." Secretary Zhang was confused. He didn't know where these people came from. Which family is it?
However, Zhang Lian saw it clearly and remembered it clearly. She said,"Most of those people just now are from the South Street Army's Hutong family, and a few of them are surnamed Zhang and Wu. There are more than 30 of them, and it looks like a huge black mass…"
"The Jun family has the most people. After this group of people passed, there were not many people left with the surname Zhang and the surname Wu.”Secretary Zhang said, looking helpless and tired." Lian 'er, I still need to sleep for a while. "If there are people who are here to pay their New Year's greetings, please greet them…" Secretary Zhang and Aunt Zhang entered their bedroom together.
Although there were many rules to follow on the eve of the New Year, the older people couldn't stand staying up all night. After eating the dumplings, many elderly people lay down to sleep. Even those who came to visit the New Year would sometimes lie down on the kang and say yes. No one would blame them for being rude.
However, Secretary Zhang was the leader of the village, and the people who came to visit were all filled with respect. If you lay down to sleep, it would seem a bit unreasonable. Even if you were extremely sleepy, someone at home would have to greet you. Unfortunately, Zhang Lian was a girl, not a son. It was not appropriate for a girl to greet a person who came to visit.
Therefore, Secretary Zhang's family urgently needed a man to deal with the situation. Jun Wu had undoubtedly become the ideal candidate. Secretary Zhang had fallen asleep after drinking her wine. It would be unreasonable if he did not accompany Zhang Lian.
As expected, just as the two old men entered the bedroom and lay down, they heard a commotion on the street. It was probably because two groups of people had met and were greeting each other.
These people might not really kneel and kowtow in the darkness, but they were shouting loudly,"I'll kowtow to you! I wish you a happy new year!" It was as if they were really prostrating themselves in reverence and reverence.
This kind of trick was actually a kind of New Year culture. People spent the New Year in a happy mood. Who would care about the other party's small actions?
"They're all here at once!" Zhang Lian seemed to have seen the people rushing into her courtyard. At the same time, there was a hint of panic in her eyes.
After all, these people were here to pay their parents a New Year's visit. Now, she had to deal with the situation alone. She suddenly seemed a little at a loss.
"Sister Lian, sit in the room. I'll go and greet them!”Jun Wu volunteered.
"Let's go together." Zhang Lian followed him.
"Uncle Zhang, Zhou Cai wishes you a happy New Year! Happy Chinese New Year!" Zhou Cai, who was at the front, entered the courtyard and bowed as soon as he fell.
"Uncle Zhang, Jiang Fu wishes you and Auntie a happy New Year! I wish you a fortune!" Jiang Fu followed closely behind Zhou Cai and also bowed respectfully.
"It's you two!" Jun Wu called out loudly," Come in and drink some water. Have a cigarette!"”
"Aiya! Brother Junwu, why are you here? Is the new son-in-law here?" Zhou Cai, Jiang Fu, and the others joked when they saw how close Jun Wu and Zhang Lian were.
"I'm also here to pay New Year's greetings. Come in!" Jun Wu knew that they wouldn't enter the house, but he still let them in enthusiastically.
"No, thanks! Let's hurry up and pay our New Year's greetings. After that, we'll go home and play a few rounds of mahjong. Brother Junwu, do you dare to go?" The two of them were challenging him, but in reality, they were trying to see if Zhang Lian would care about this matter.
"Isn't it just playing mahjong? What's there to be afraid of? If you have the ability, come here and play! I'll make you lose all your New Year's money!”Zhang Lian also joked with them openly.
After sending Zhou Cai and Jiang Fu away, Zhang Lian asked Jun Wu to go to her bedroom. Jun Wu saw that there was an armchair placed beside the ancestral tablets in the central room. It was for the people who were guarding the New Year.
In order to avoid Ji Mo, the head of the family would usually sit there and spend New Year's Eve with the ancestor. However, ever since the Spring Festival Gala, staying up late to celebrate the new year was just a legend.
After the Spring Festival Gala ended, the people ate the dumplings and felt sleepy. They could no longer watch the New Year. At most, they would offer incense and burn a few pieces of paper to show their respect to their ancestors.
"I'll sit here and watch the New Year!" Jun Wu felt that entering Zhang Lian's bedroom at this time was a little too much. What if someone came to pay a New Year visit?
"Thank you for your kindness. No need." Zhang Lian came to pull his arm.
"People are coming to pay New Year's greetings later.”Jun Wu reminded her.
"No one will come." Zhang Lian analyzed," There are a total of 50 households in the village. The two groups just now had more than 40 people. Even people with small surnames like Jiang Fu and Zhou Cai came. Where would there be people to pay New Year's greetings?
" The ones who come to pay the New Year's greetings are the old people and women who come to pay the New Year's greetings after dawn…" Zhang Lian saw that he was hesitant and unhappy, so she simply pushed him into her room.
"Then I have to sit here for a while.”Jun Wu thought that since he was here to support the Zhang family, he had to fulfill his duties. Otherwise, he would be letting down Secretary Zhang and his wife's love for him.
Seeing that Jun Wu was determined to stay up for his ancestors, Zhang Lian was too embarrassed to reject him too much. Therefore, she took a can of beer and a plate of peanuts and placed them in front of him."If you think Ji Mo is a good person, drink some beer and eat some peanuts.”
"Alright, I'll do it. Sister Lian 'er, go and sleep for a while!”Jun Wu felt that Zhang Lian was indeed tired. He urged her to go to sleep.
Zhang Lian returned to the bedroom. The sound of firecrackers outside became less and less, and slowly, it returned to silence.
Jun Wu sat on the armchair and looked at the offerings of incense and candles in front of the ancestral tablets of the Zhang family. For the first time, he experienced the mood of New Year's Eve. He remembered that there was an erhu song,"Good Night", which was inspired by the mood of staying up late.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。