Compared with other people's beautiful fireworks, Youjuan and the others all think that their own fireworks are more beautiful and more beautiful, and they are not inferior to those from wealthy families at all.

In these gorgeous fireworks, the smiles and expectations of Chen Tianhua's family are reflected, creating a happy family portrait.

Coupled with the beautiful fireworks, we have to say that this is Chen Tianhua’s first New Year’s Eve masterpiece.

The crackling sound of firecrackers heralds celebration and joy, and heralds the arrival of the new year.

Chen Tianhua's heart was like a firecracker, full of excitement and happiness. The new year, 1901, slowly arrived in this joyful atmosphere.

New challenges, new expectations.

The sound of firecrackers on New Year's Eve has gradually faded away, and it's time to enter the vigil. Chen Tianhua took out a few red envelopes and handed them to his mother, "Well, Mom, it's up to you to give out these red envelopes."

Xue Wanzhen pushed away her son's hand that handed him the red envelope and said kindly:

"Gener! You are now the only male in the family. Although you have not married, you have established a career. Now you are the head of the family. From this year, you will be the one to give out red envelopes at home and abroad."

"I understand, mama!"

He deeply understood the meaning of his mother's words, which meant that he had the responsibility to shoulder the responsibility and he had to be brave enough to take it on.

"Come on, little sister Youjuan, this is the new year's money sent to you by my brother. I wish you are one year older, smarter and more energetic, and study hard!" Chen Tianhua smiled and handed a red envelope to Youjuan.

"Haha, I don't want...Brother! I made a lot of new clothes this year. Besides, I have to go to school and have to pay tuition." Youjuan waved her hand and did not accept it.

"You are such a little fool. This is called lucky money. As the name suggests, just take it and put it under your head when you sleep at night. It will keep you safe year after year and make you one year older when you wake up."

"As for whether you use this lucky money or not, or what you want to use it for, that's your own right. I don't care about you, do you understand?"

Chen Tianhua patiently explained to his younger sister Youjuan the general meaning of the lucky money.

"Oh, it turns out that the new year's money has this meaning, okay, I'll take it, thank you brother...hehe..."

Youjuan happily accepted the red envelope, holding it with both hands on her chest, her spirited eyes rolling, thinking about how to use the lucky money.

Chen Tianhua sent another red envelope to his eldest sister Tingjuan, but she waved her hands and refused to accept it. He gestured for a long time, but she didn't understand it.

Finally, with Youjuan's joint explanation, she finally understood and accepted it.

It seems that this is the first time for both sisters to receive lucky money.

Yes, my family is extremely poor, how can I have any spare money to give out lucky money?

Mother also gave everyone new clothes, new pants, new shoes... Anyway, everything was new inside and out, and the whole set was distributed to everyone.

She smiled and said: "Keep it by yourself tonight. Tomorrow is the first day of the first lunar month. Put it on as soon as you get up early in the morning."

My mother's words are very clear, which is to replace the old with the new.

Of course Tingjuan and Youjuan are happy, especially Tingjuan. She made a lot of gestures tonight, probably meaning that she never dreamed that this year's Chinese New Year would be so good.

Time has passed midnight, which is the beginning of the first lunar month. According to custom, it is the beginning of the new year.

My mother saw that the whole family was yawning non-stop, so she suggested that they go to bed and lie down for a while.

The New Year's Eve of 1900 passed like this.

…

The first day of the first lunar month is the first day of 1901.

As soon as it dawned, my mother got up early and opened the doors of the main room and the west wing, letting in the cold air from outside.

The custom in rural areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is: to close early on New Year’s Eve and to open early on New Year’s Day.

"Gen'er, you can sleep a little longer. Why are you getting up so early?" Xue Wanzhen said in surprise when Tu Gen also got up.

"No, no...spring comes all year round, and I have to get up early on the first day of the new year." Chen Tianhua replied with a smile.

"Yes, getting up early is a good sign. Then you can light the stove and help my mother make the fire later. I'll make chicken soup rice cakes."

"Yes." Chen Tianhua nodded in agreement.

Mother washed her face and prepared to cook the first meal of the New Year for the whole family.

She cut rice cakes into pieces, shredded vegetables, and then used pure chicken soup and shredded chicken to make the traditional 'chicken soup rice cake'.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the folk customs of Zhejiang during the Chinese New Year were:

On the first day of the first lunar month, every family eats rice cakes, which means that life will get better year by year from now on.

The fifteenth day of the New Year is the Yuanxiao Festival, and you must eat glutinous rice balls on this morning. The Shaoxing dialect is called "Tuantuan", which means reunion.

The custom of eating rice cakes on the first day of the first lunar month is the same in every family, but the ways of making rice cakes are different.

There are fried rice cakes, steamed rice cakes, and boiled rice cakes.

Some are salty and some are sweet.

As for the custom of Xibutou Village in Shuangqi Township, most families like to eat 'chicken soup rice cake', or chicken juice rice cake.

Chen Tianhua used a match, now called a "self-fire", to light the straw balls, then stuffed them into the stove, igniting a fire.

Mother scooped out the frozen chicken soup into a pot and brought it to a boil. She added thinly sliced ​​rice cakes, then added fresh shredded vegetables that had been beaten with frost, and then cooked shredded chicken. Boil for three to five seconds.

Just minutes.

Just add a little salt before cooking.

The green vegetables that have been beaten with frost are a little sweet in nature, the chicken soup is so fresh that your eyebrows will fall off, and the shredded chicken. In addition, the rice cake is freshly made, so the taste is naturally delicious.

For Chen Tianhua, this was the first time he had tasted this amazing green food. Compared with the delicacies of later generations, it was infinitely more delicious.

He ate a full bowl and drank half a bowl of soup before finishing it.

The first rural Spring Festival after traveling through time was an unforgettable memory for him in this lifetime.

According to local customs, on the first day of the first lunar month, you are not allowed to visit relatives and friends' homes, so you can spend it alone.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, women in every household in the village were doing laundry, washing all the old clothes that their families had changed into last night.

This is called ‘washing out the old and replacing it with the new’.

The men really became big men, smoking cigarettes, drinking tea, eating melon seeds and peeling peanuts.

The children put on new clothes and ran and jumped innocently and happily in the open space.

Roll hoops, kick shuttlecocks, spin tops, etc. to play tricks and spread the joy of childhood.

The boys and girls in the village put on new clothes, ate peanuts and fruits, went to temple fairs and watched plays in groups.

Early in the morning, after eating some rice cakes in chicken soup, Youjuan was dragged out to play by the little sisters in the village, saying that she was going to the town to watch the drama "Walking High".

She put on a complete set of new clothes, with peanuts in the left pocket and "little walnuts" that Chen Tianhua bought in Shaoxing City on the right, which are fragrant and crispy hard fruits.

Judging from her high spirits, she probably wanted to show off her new outfit.

The eldest sister Tingjuan is very sensible and helps her mother wash her clothes.

In the first month of the year, the lake water was bitingly cold, and the mother and daughter's hands were all red from the cold. Chen Tianhua couldn't stand it anymore, so he boiled pots of hot water on the stove and soaked it into the basin to raise the water temperature to make their hands feel better in the water.

.

"Genna, just leave us mother and daughter alone. We can go out for a walk on the first day of the new year, put on new clothes and walk around. Don't stay bored at home like an antique."
Chapter completed!