New Year's Eve arrives in the blink of an eye.
This day was the most important day of the year in the Song Dynasty.
Every household must clean the courtyard, change the door gods, hang bells and talismans, and nail peach charms.
It is also the busiest day of the year for the mistress, and no mistakes are allowed for the whole family.
The Xu family just moved back to Bianjing this year, and more than half of the servants are new, making management more tiring, so Lu has been preparing for this day for a long time.
At about nine o'clock, Mrs. Lu woke up, stood up and glanced at Xu Gucheng who was sleeping beside him. After tucking him in, he started to dress lightly.
Dongmei heard the commotion from outside, came in with hot water, helped Lu wash up, and then combed Lu's hair.
Today is New Year's Eve, and there is a vigil in the evening. Lu's headdress and clothing are much more grand than usual.
Two extremely gorgeous gold hairpins are inserted diagonally in the bun. There are combs on both sides of the bun. The face is covered with fine powder, the lips are very red, and a red lotus-shaped hairpin is pasted on the forehead.
She wears a red jacket with gold thread piping, a navy blue six-piece long skirt with auspicious cloud patterns, and large ginger sleeves.
The whole person looked very dignified and wealthy.
Xu Gucheng woke up only when Lu had everything sorted out.
"Mother, thank you for your hard work." Xu Gucheng looked sleepy, with endless doting on his face. He rested on the couch with one hand and lifted the quilt with the other to get up.
"Master, please sleep a little longer. It's still early. Let me see how the preparations are going. If you get up, I will be late there." Lu frowned and then said slowly.
When Xu Gucheng saw Mrs. Lu frowning, he immediately lay back and covered her with the quilt tightly: "Go quickly, I won't delay you."
Seeing Xu Gucheng who was as obedient as a child, Mrs. Lu chuckled and left without saying anything. After going out, she asked Dongmei to help Xu Gucheng wash up later.
The first place Lu went to was the kitchen. Apart from etiquette and customs, the most important thing on New Year's Eve was eating.
When she went there, there were many people in the kitchen, and an older man greeted her: "Second Madam, you are here."
"Well, are you preparing the dough for wontons and ravioli?" Mrs. Lu smiled as she talked to the old man, without any condescending expression on her face that an ordinary hostess would have.
The Song Dynasty was the peak period of Chinese culture. At this time, on New Year's Eve, people would eat Chaos and dumplings, and drink Tusu wine.
While these treats are the basics of New Year's Eve, the rest are more numerous and complex.
Madam Lu not only asked the kitchen to prepare food for the second and third bedrooms of the Xu family, but also asked them to prepare the New Year's Eve meals for the servants of the Xu family so that they would not have time to prepare when they returned.
This decision made many servants work harder.
The dumpling is a square piece of dough, half a foot square and as thick as a thousand sheets of tofu.
When wrapping, put the stuffing on it, pinch a corner, and fold it diagonally. You can't fold it into a triangle, but deliberately stagger the corners, fold it into an irregular-looking octagon, and then pinch the edges tightly.
After pinching it, fold it in half again, and then pinch it tightly again. Hold the stuffing in your palm and push it up, and press the edge with your fingers to turn it out. This will form a lotus flower the size of a child's fist. The bud in the middle has not yet opened. The two outer petals have bloomed proudly.
Wontons are similar to today's dumplings, with more fillings than wontons.
The Xu family celebrated the New Year in the capital for the first time in many years, and the third family also stayed here, so Lu made great preparations.
Mrs. Lu settled down from the mansion, and when she returned to Yingcheng Courtyard, Xu Gucheng was already up, and Xu Nuo, Xu Pingyi, and Xu Pingqi were also waiting in the room.
"Mother." The three of them stood up and said in unison, saluting at the same time.
Xu Pingyi was wearing a brown brocade robe, with a slender figure, handsome and calm, and a bright smile on his jade-like face.
Xu Pingqi's clothes were exactly the same as Xu Pingyi's, but the color was slightly lighter. His little face still showed calmness, and every move he made when he saluted looked serious.
Xu Nuo's clothes were much more colorful than the two of them.
Chun Tang devotes herself to the goal of wearing the best clothes even though she is not a good worker. She prepares clothes for Xu Nuo during every festival. Today, Xu Nuo still wears the coat and skirt embroidered by Chun Tang herself.
Xu Nuo is wearing a pink jacket, and the buttons and collar and sleeves are all very delicate.
As long as you look carefully, you will be moved by the intention.
Under the promised pink coat is a long yellow skirt with jasmine flowers embroidered on it, matching the branches on the shoes.
Xu Nuo used many hair accessories today, but there were three hairpins, and they were all gold.
Wearing a hair ornament, she was afraid it would fall off when she saluted, and her neck was stiff.
Fortunately, Mr. Lu said quickly: "Your third uncle and third aunt will be here soon. Please sit down first."
When Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived, Xu Gulei came in with a chuckle: "Second sister-in-law, we will be there soon."
There was a hint of amusement in his voice, and his ordinary words actually made everyone laugh.
Behind Mrs. Zhong was Xu Silang, who was wearing a blue coat. She personally held the one-year-old Xu Wulang, who was still sleeping in a daze, and said hello to Xu Gucheng and Mr. Lu with a smile.
"Second sister-in-law is so beautiful today, I can't bear to take my eyes away." Mrs. Zhong said as she handed Xu Wulang to the wet nurse beside her.
Mrs. Lu smiled, looked at Mrs. Zhong's clothes, and said, "I can't take my eyes away from you, third brother and sister."
Mrs. Zhong always dresses well, and no one can find anything wrong with her. Even if she is not well-dressed, Mrs. Lu said it is no problem.
After a while of excitement, breakfast started. Everything on the dining table was so exquisite that you couldn’t bear to put down your chopsticks.
During the day, the sound of firecrackers kept ringing in Xu's courtyard.
Originally, Xu Silang wanted to play, but he didn't dare to light the firecrackers after half a blast.
Xu Nuo was worried and volunteered to help. How could Xu Pingyi let his ladylike and gentle sister do such a thing, so he took the firecracker from Xu Nuo's hand and lit it.
His hands were a little rusty after not lighting firecrackers for many years, but he lit them smoothly.
The firecrackers he lit had just gone off when he heard the same noise coming from behind him. He turned around and found that Xu Nuo had taken the firecrackers and was setting them off.
When Xu promised to get more firecrackers, Xu Pingyi hurried over and took the fire in her hand, and said seriously: "What if it's burned? I'll set it off, and you can watch from the side."
Several people spent the whole day setting off firecrackers.
It wasn't until it got dark that everyone put down their things and went back to the house.
New Year's Eve dinner requires drinking Tusu wine first.
Tusu wine is different from ordinary wine in that the elders do not drink it first, but the youngest one among the younger generation starts drinking it.
Xu Wulang was only old enough to clap his hands, so naturally he didn't know how to drink. But in order to feel the joy of the festival, Mrs. Zhong dipped some with a chopstick and put it on his lips.
Xu Wulang licked the wine on his lips. He was stunned for a moment, then scanned the room with his dark eyes, then he stared at the wine glass and smiled, reaching for it. r1152
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