In this era, famines were very common, and the average life span of a person was only forty or fifty years old. Anyone who could live to sixty was considered a long life, let alone seventy-eight.
The oldest old man in the village passed away, and the village department was responsible for organizing the funeral, which was extremely lively.
Zhu Huzi was not a stingy person. In addition to the village committee's payment, he also paid a lot of funeral expenses himself. He held a running banquet for three days and invited a theater troupe to come and sing in a lively funeral for his grandmother.
After Mrs. Zhu was buried, New Year's Eve arrived as promised.
The heavy snowfall earlier stopped and it stopped raining. On New Year's Eve, the weather was sunny and sunny, and there was a vague feeling of spring.
The family got busy early in the morning. It was still the same as last year. The whole family of Lao Zhao's family celebrated the New Year together. Everyone felt that more people made it more lively.
The population of the old Zhao family is increasing. There are two daughters from the Dashan family, a son from the Ergou family, and there is another son in the belly. Dawang also has a son, and Chunhua is now pregnant. Next, it will be the turn. It's time for Sanniu, but unfortunately, Sanniu is in the capital, and his marriage has not been revealed, so he can't worry about it at all.
"Our family is getting better and better." Old Man Zhao was extremely happy. He raised his wine glass and said, "Every year from now on, our family will get better and better. Come and have a drink."
"I don't worry about anything else, I just miss Sanniu." Old Mrs. Zhao sighed, "Back then, when I had gold, I died on the battlefield. I'm afraid that Sanniu will also..."
"You're celebrating the Chinese New Year, what nonsense are you talking about!" Old Man Zhao said with a straight face, "Back then, Youjin went to the frontier to defend the country, while Sanniu served as a garrison in the capital. Now that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, how can Sanniu have a chance to go to the battlefield? Don't scare yourself. Come, come, eat food, drink wine, eat it all..."
Mrs. Sun said with a smile: "There are currently three people in our family who are officials. When Si Dan gets the first prize in the exam, will our Zhao family really change its family?"
Seeing that she looked like a villain, Mrs. Zhao said angrily: "Changing the courtyard is also changing from a big room to a courtyard. What does it have to do with your third bedroom?"
"Look what you said, we are not a family." Mrs. Sun hugged Cheng Wanwan's arm, "If my sister-in-law moves to the capital in the future, don't forget us. My family, Xuanxuan, is still waiting for my sister-in-law to be promoted in the imperial examination. .”
Cheng Wanwan had a headache.
Sun always told everyone that Xuan Xuan was Wenquxing who came down to earth. She could see that Xuan Xuan had a lot of intelligence, but that energy was not used on studying, but on how to please Xiao Zhuzhu.
Obviously Xuanxuan is older, but Pipipipian follows Xiaozhuzhu and calls her sister.
At this moment, Xuanxuan was running behind Xiaozhuzhu, hoping that Xiaozhuzhu would let him play with the thing in his hand for a while.
"Sister" in one breath, the cry was very sweet.
"Oh Xuanxuan, why are you so stupid?" Donghua stared at the two children with a bowl in her hand and said with her mouth full, "Xiao Zhuzhu should be calling you uncle, why are you yelling and talking about Wen Quxing? Coming down to earth, I think it’s a fool coming down to earth.”
"Zhao Donghua!" Sun yelled angrily with her hands on her hips, "Your brother is still young. If he doesn't understand, just teach him. How can you call him a fool? If you really call him stupid, I will beat you to death."
While there was a commotion, Cheng Jia came in from the door with a beaming face: "My lord, there is a letter from the capital."
Cheng Wanwan hurriedly stood up and took the letters. There were several letters from Cheng Zhao, Zhao Sanniu, the Shen family... and even a letter from Mr. Zhang.
In addition to congratulating you on the New Year, Mr. Zhang also sent some books in the Assab language and asked Cheng Wanwan to translate them and send them to the capital before June next year.
The Shen family just wanted to say New Year's greetings and talk about the current situation. Shen Dongming's official career is good and everything is fine.
Cheng Zhao also wrote about the current situation, mainly the situation of the Reading Pavilion in Beijing. The development of the Reading Pavilion is getting better and better. Because of the large number of members, a second one will be opened in the west of the city after the new year. The Reading Pavilion can develop so rapidly. The first is a fresh model, and the second is Master Yu’s analysis of past imperial examination questions, which caused quite a stir in the capital and brought the Reading Pavilion to a higher level.
He also mentioned a great joy. Situ Man gave birth to a daughter a month ago, and his words overflowed with joy. In his letter, he asked Cheng Wanwan to give the child a good name.
The last one is Sanniu's letter. This guy has a habit of getting straight to the point when writing letters. His first sentence is - Mom, I'm going to be a captain of thousands!
"Hey, our three cows are really promising!" Mrs. Zhao's eyes narrowed with laughter, "Commander, you can manage a thousand people under your command. He is more powerful than his father, much more powerful!"
Zhao Sidan leaned over to read the letter and said with a smile: "The third brother is following the master now. If the master promotes him, the third brother will definitely be promoted again soon."
"What you are saying is as if Sanniu is all dependent on Master He." Zhao Ergou snorted, "Although Sanniu is a little stupid, clumsy, and brainless, he still has some martial arts value and can be promoted. It’s not unusual to be a captain of thousands.”
Cheng Wanwan laughed and said: "When San Niu comes back, I will tell you that you two have said bad things about him and see how he deals with you."
The whole family was talking and eating wine and food, and it was late at night before they knew it.
In the middle of the night, the sound of firecrackers rang out in the town. The fireworks rose into the sky and bloomed, then withered and faded.
Because every household in Dahe Town has a good life, they are willing to buy fireworks during the New Year. On New Year's Eve, the fireworks are set from midnight to dawn.
Cheng Wanwan was filled with emotion, she had reached the age of thirty-seven like this, the flowers were the same every year, the people were different every year, and she was getting older every year...
The next day was the first day of the first lunar month, and every household paid New Year greetings to each other. The town was extremely lively, especially at Cheng Wanwan’s house. There was an endless stream of people coming to pay New Year greetings. They came one after another, and they didn’t stop until the evening. Fortunately, now Wu Huiniang can hold up the scene, otherwise Cheng Wanwan might die of exhaustion in her yard while receiving guests.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Mr. Qian sent an invitation. The wedding time of Qian Hui and Miss Leng was set. It was on the eighth day of the third month in Yangchun, which was an auspicious day. The wedding was held in Baiyun County, which was not far away. Wanwan will naturally have to go and have a wedding drink when the time comes.
As soon as the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is over, the annual holiday is over, and Dahe Town is officially busy.
The workshops and coal hills are under construction, the market is open to welcome guests, the schools are in session, and all kinds of ships are coming and going from the pier, creating a prosperous scene.
Cheng Wanwan is also busy. The pond in Lijiagou is already ready, waiting to start cultivating crayfish in spring.
Last year, due to heavy rain, a lot of crayfish were washed out of Wu Xiaochui's pond. There were also some wild lobsters in nearby villages. In order to make money, people in the village worked hard to catch wild crayfish and sell them in the market. , because the lobster was eliminated quickly enough, no serious consequences were caused, but it also gave Cheng Wanwan a warning.
She asked people to build some stones at the bottom of the pond to prevent the crayfish from digging holes and escaping. It would be a small matter to lose money if they escaped, but it would be bad if it affected the grain yield per acre.
Potatoes and tomatoes have also begun to be planted on a large scale. Apples have not yet begun to bear fruit, and strawberries are still being tested. They need to wait patiently for another year.
Then there is flower planting in Nanyang City. Last year, only people in Qing'an County planted flowers. Some people in Nanyang scorned it. But then no one thought that planting flowers can really be exchanged for money, and the market price is not low. So this year, many Nanyang people Also request to plant flowers...
Cheng Wanwan naturally cannot plant as many flowers as she has as much land as her workshop is only so big, so too many flowers cannot be consumed, and it will also affect the development of agriculture.
She asked Cheng Yuanyuan to go to Nanyang again to select villages with suitable climate and soil, and then select two or three villages to plant flowers...
