The winter of 1979 was not as cold as last year. Except for several heavy snowfalls in early December, no raindrops fell. Therefore, the dirt roads in the countryside have been dried by the wind and sun for half a month, which makes the nearby market even more lively. Women are carrying bamboo baskets, husbands are carrying children, and everyone has a smile on their face.
Seven or eight kilograms of pork, half a basket of radishes, a few cabbage, kill a chicken, and take out the eggs and duck eggs that have been pickled for several months. Even the most stingy people are happy to buy new year's goods at the end of the year.
This year Yangjia Village had a fertile year, and there was a rare winter fishing. Each family had at least two big fish, plus the rapeseed oil that Yang’s father and others exchanged from the city’s supply and marketing cooperative, they chopped the fish into pieces. It seems that you don't need to be as stingy as usual when you coat it in flour, and it's good to fry it.
Rural people have the habit of worshiping their ancestors at the end of the year. Women and girls chop and stuff dumplings at home to make dumplings. My father and his son take advantage of the fact that it is not completely dark yet, and bring fire paper, and all the young and old men in the village go to the cemetery to burn paper to worship their ancestors.
On the night of New Year's Eve, only paper is burned, and a few firecrackers are randomly set off to remind the ancestors and tell them to get ready to "pick up money" during the New Year.
Yang Dongxu followed his father and kissed the old man himself. Father Yang personally lit the fire paper on the grave of his great-grandmother, and put more fire paper. Then he started to throw fire paper on the graves one by one, and each one was interested in it.
The firecrackers were lit and crackling, and everyone moved back to the front of the entire cemetery. The oldest ones stood in the front row, then the second and third rows. People in each row stood with the same seniority. After the firecrackers were set off, everyone knelt down and kowtowed three times, first wishing their ancestors a good year.
After kowtowing to the end, the little kid rushed over with a loud bang, receiving a few slaps on the butt from time to time as the adults yelled, or picking up some firecrackers that hadn't exploded.
There is still gunpowder in the unexploded firecrackers. Peel them off and light them in a string. The flash of fire makes the little kids scream. This is the favorite game of rural children during the New Year.
Yang Dongxu also rushed over and picked up two and then stopped. It doesn't matter if you pick more or less, the important thing is to participate.
I followed my father back home and gave the cannon I picked up to my little sister to play with, which was considered an explanation. Seeing his mother and sister making dumplings, Yang Dongxu rolled up his sleeves and wanted to help, but his mother kicked him out of the kitchen. He forgot to wash his hands and almost got beaten because his hands were so dirty.
After being pulled by my sister to peel off the firecrackers, the two little firecrackers quickly completed their final mission.
"Go to your grandpa's house and see if they come to celebrate the New Year?" Yang's mother shouted to Yang Dongxu.
Although we don’t have much dealings with our grandparents all year round, during the Chinese New Year we have to let go of all prejudices. Even people with whom we usually have bad relationships still have to nod and say hello to each other when we meet during the Chinese New Year, let alone become relatives.
"Oh, I got it." Yang Dongxu took his sister's little hand and left the house.
My parents have separated from my grandparents and are living alone, and my younger father has joined the army and is not married yet. So every year, it became Yang Dongxu’s task to go back and ask the grandparents if they wanted to come over to the eldest son’s house for the New Year. Although every mission will fail, the grandparents will not come. But the process of the task must be walked through.
"Go and shout to Teacher Zhou." Just a few steps out the door, my mother's voice came again.
"I know." Yang Dongxu responded.
The grandparents refused as always, but this year they smiled a lot more. They also grabbed a lot of fried peanuts for Yang Dongxu and his sister, and stuffed rock candy in their mouths.
Peeling a peanut and blowing off the thin fruit coating on it, Yang Dongxu stuffed the slightly yellow and crispy peanut kernels into the mouth of his sister who was still unsatisfied with the candy.
Mr. Zhou also refused to celebrate the New Year with Yang Dongxu's family. He had already guessed it on the way here, even though this was the first time this year that he called Mr. Zhou to celebrate the New Year.
The New Year's Eve dinner in the evening was so sumptuous that Yang Dongxu's mouth was full of oil, and he finally felt like he would have a big meal during the New Year in future generations. There is no electricity and the smoke from a kerosene lamp is unpleasant.
After dinner, Yang's mother packed her things, and several little girls who were going to school came to play with their sister Hongying.
"Take them both with you." Seeing Father Yang about to go out, Mother Yang shouted.
Father Yang frowned, obviously he didn't want to take care of the child at this time. He was going to the carpenter's house on the threshing floor to play cards. He could play cards all year round on the New Year's Day. Moreover, his pocket was so rich this year, so he naturally wanted to have a good time. If he brought his children there, if the children made a fuss, he would not be able to play cards. Ways to play cards.
"I'm not going, I'm playing at home." Yang Dongxu shook his head, pulling the blinking girl to take out the glass ball.
Dad Yang's face, which was originally frowning, instantly turned into a smile: "Xu Zi is the best. Dad will buy you candy tomorrow if you win money."
Yang Dongxu rolled his eyes. In his previous life, Yang's father would play cards at the end of the year as long as he could remember. As for whether he had won, he definitely had. But most of the time he lost and went home to quarrel with his mother, so he no longer had any hope for his father's promise.
"Don't be too big." Yang's mother warned again.
"I know, I know, I just played with them for a while and 'run fast' and got two dollars in my pocket." Father Yang waved his hand.
"Two yuan is still less, how much more do you want?" Yang's mother snorted and continued to put away the dishes.
'Run Fast' is a card game that can be played by three of the four players, including Big King and Xiao Wang, three 2s and an Ace are removed.
Under normal circumstances, there is only one card left that is 'Alarm' and you won't lose. A card costs only one and two cents. As long as you are not too unlucky, two yuan is enough for Yang's father to lose until dawn.
In fact, one cent or two cents is not too small. You must know that in the early days, Grandpa Yang Dongxu sold Chinese cabbage for one cent or two catties, and it only rose to two cents and three catties in the new year.
However, Yang Dongxu's family has some wealth this year. Even if they lose all two yuan, Yang's mother will only be unhappy and say a few words to Yang's father, and there will probably be no quarrel. So Yang Dongxu didn't care and accompanied his sister to play with glass balls on the bed under the yellowish kerosene light.
"Xuzi, I'll go sit at your aunt's house. You can play with your little sister at home and I'll hang the door from the outside and unlock it." After packing her things, Yang's mother said to Yang Dongxu, who was lying on the bed.
"I'm going, I'm going to play." Dandan threw away the glass ball in his hand, Gululu slid down from the edge of the bed, and opened his arms for Yang Ma to hold.
"Clingy." Yang's mother glared at her daughter and reached out to hug her. She looked at her son and found that he was very happy playing with glass balls by himself. She hugged her daughter and turned around to go out.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Yang Dongxu stopped playing and lay on his back on the bed, staring at the gray strips hanging down from the roof and starting to be in a daze. He didn't know what he was thinking about specifically, his mind was blank.
Yang Dongxu, whose eyes had been unfocused for a long time, began to regain consciousness, stood up and blew out the kerosene lamp, plunging the room into darkness. The scenes after he was reborn with his eyes closed began to replay in his mind. After recalling what happened after his rebirth, Yang Dongxu couldn't help but think of his life before his rebirth.
"It would be great if there is a computer. If not, I can use a Xiaobawang learning machine." Yang Dongxu muttered.
Thinking of all kinds of things in his mind, he fell asleep without realizing it.
Yang Dongxu felt vaguely like someone was calling him, and he didn't know whether he responded or not. Then the clothes on his body were taken off, and he turned over and snuggled into the quilt, chewing his mouth comfortably. He received a slap on the buttocks, and Yang Ma covered the corner of the quilt for him.
When Yang Dongxu was sleeping comfortably, he was reluctantly woken up by his father. It was almost time to welcome the New Year, and the sound of firecrackers outside had begun to crackle.
I brushed my teeth and washed my face and cooked the pot, then set off firecrackers and picked up some unexploded ones for my sister to play with. I ate two dumplings, but I really didn’t want to eat the steamed buns, so I took one bite and put it down to eat.
Then Yang Dongxu, who had always been confused, refused several invitations to pick up firecrackers in front of other doors with lanterns, took off his clothes and got into bed again.
If he had been reborn before the New Year, he would have been more energetic and could pick up firecrackers and run faster than anyone else. But before rebirth, I experienced all kinds of things like rubbing firecrackers, throwing firecrackers, and even buying a plate of firecrackers and taking them apart for fun. Picking up firecrackers now is obviously not as important as sleeping. Anyway, I just picked up some enough for my sister to play with for a while. After completing the task, I continued to sleep.
When it was just dawn, Yang Dongxu was pulled up again. Mother Yang's sister Hongying and sister Dandan can continue to sleep. He is going to pay New Year greetings with Father Yang.
Although Father Yang's seniority is not low, Yang Dongxu's grandparents are still there, and there are also great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers from other families, so it is not his turn to visit Yang Dongxu's house to pay New Year's greetings.
Yawning, I was led by my father into my grandparents' house.
Grandma, who usually didn't love him very much, grabbed peanuts and stuffed some candies into his pocket. Father Yang was encouraging Yang Dongxu to kowtow to his grandparents.
"You haven't gotten up yet to join the army?" Seeing Yang Dongxu being hugged by his mother after kowtow, Yang Dongxu's uncle still didn't show up, so Yang's father looked into the back room and asked.
"I was called by Yinshan and the others last night. They haven't come back since the end of the year. They said they were going to the town to play." Grandma Yang Dongxu said with a rather proud tone. It seemed that it was normal for someone to come to play with her son. It's a glorious thing, even Yinshan is a loser now.
"Why are you running to town during the Chinese New Year?" Dad Yang muttered.
We talked and received several waves of villagers who came to Yang Dongxu's grandparents' house to pay New Year's greetings. Yang's father took his son and followed the New Year's greetings around the four houses.
Then I went home, picked up paper and firecrackers, and continued to worship my ancestors. Compared with the previous night, this time was larger and more lively. Firecrackers crackle, and the yellow paper in front of the grave can burn for a long time.
"If you burn your clothes, why don't you go back and wait to be beaten?" Father Yang shouted as he watched his son being dragged by a few friends to the cemetery to pick up firecrackers. Then he hurried a few steps to his father and said, "You joined the army and haven't come back yet?"
"No, who knows where the wild man has gone." Compared to Grandma Yang Dongxu's doting on her youngest son, Grandpa Yang Dongxu is a little annoyed with his youngest son.
Especially a few years ago, Yang's father basically helped sell several thousand kilograms of Chinese cabbage. His youngest son was always lazy and kept asking for money, which made him even more dissatisfied.
"Has Yinshan come back?" Father Yang asked.
"It seems not." Grandpa Yang Dongxu looked at the crowd and shook his head.
As soon as I left the cemetery, someone rushed out of the house. When I got closer, I saw that it wasn't Yinshan.
"Grandpa Qi, Dad Xuzi, go back quickly, hurry up... beat... beat someone." Yinshan shouted as he rushed over.
"Why are you fighting? Tell me clearly?" Yang's father was stunned for a moment.
The fellow villagers who went to the grave together heard that something might have happened in the village, so everyone quickened their pace and ran towards the village.
