Chapter 75: The New Year is here

The Spring Festival is one of the most grand and distinctive traditional festivals among the Chinese people. It generally refers to New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month. It is the first day of the year, also known as the lunar year, commonly known as "Chinese New Year". From Laba or Xiaonian to the Lantern Festival, it is called Chinese New Year.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, before dawn, the sound of firecrackers could be faintly heard in the dim light, announcing the arrival of the new year.

The courtyard was bustling with activity as every household began the New Year's greeting ceremony. The atmosphere was filled with laughter and joy, and was filled with a festive atmosphere.

Liu's mother Deng Ru was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, with smoke rising and aroma filling the air. She skillfully wielded the spatula and cooked a variety of delicious dishes.

Liu Jingzhai, the father, took his three siblings, Liu Zhiye, Liu Zhitai and Liu Zhiruo, to kowtow to the ancestors in front of the ancestral hall and perform the ancestral worship ceremony. They looked solemn and moved devoutly, as if they were paying tribute to the family's history and traditions.

After the worship, Liu's mother shouted in the kitchen: "Children, come and help! Breakfast is ready!" Hearing this voice, the three brothers and sisters immediately rushed into the kitchen. They saw their mother busy taking out various delicacies from the pot, the aroma was fragrant and mouth-watering.

After breakfast, the three younger Liu Zhiye brothers and sisters, filled with the joy of the New Year, began their journey to pay New Year's greetings. Following past customs, they went to the homes of their elders in the compound to pay New Year's greetings.

They first visited the two neighbors in the east courtyard, Wei Jiahuazi's family. Because of their close relationship, they seemed very casual when visiting. After a few simple courtesies, the three brothers and sisters walked to the front yard.

In the front yard, at Third Uncle Yan Bugui's house, the children had all gone out to pay New Year's greetings, leaving only Third Uncle and his wife waiting for people to pay New Year's greetings. As soon as they entered the house, they greeted warmly: "Third Uncle! Third Aunt! Happy New Year!"

Seeing that it was Liu Zhiye's brother and sister, the third uncle and aunt immediately stood up and greeted them warmly.

"Good! Happy New Year, everything is fine!" The third uncle responded enthusiastically, "Come and sit on the kang, have a cup of tea."

Yan Bugui grabbed a handful of peanuts and melon seeds and handed them to his younger brother and sister affectionately.

Then, he turned to Liu Zhiye and said in a heroic tone: "Men! Come and smoke."

He did not take a cigarette from a box of "Da Shengchan" on the kang, but took out a box of "Da Qianmen" from his pocket, opened it, took out a cigarette and handed it to Liu Zhiye, expressing his respect for Liu Zhiye. This action seemed heroic, but in fact, his stingy character was fully exposed.

Liu Zhiye laughed inwardly, knowing that this was a move Yan Bugui had prepared long ago. He did not expose this little secret, but took the cigarette and lit it skillfully.

Afterwards, the brother and sister came to the middle courtyard and visited Yi Zhonghai's home. To be honest, Liu Zhiye really didn't want to see this old man. However, considering the sake of the aunt, he decided to go to his house.

Yi Zhonghai didn't expect that Liu Zhiye and his sister would come back to his house. He felt a little embarrassed for a moment, but the resentment towards Liu Zhiye still existed in his heart. He said a few words to them in a neutral tone.

Despite this, the brother and sister politely said goodbye and went to the home of the deaf old lady in the backyard to pay New Year's greetings.

The old lady got up early in the morning, washed and dressed neatly. On the table were some carefully selected peanut candies, ready for the children who came to pay New Year's greetings.

"Happy New Year, old lady!" His younger brothers and sisters behind him also said, and they followed suit, appearing particularly cordial.

The deaf old lady responded with a kind smile, "Okay! Everything is fine!" Her eyes were shining with joy, and she looked at Liu Zhiye and his two siblings with love in her heart.

She whispered softly, "I always thought your father was a blessed man. Now it seems that it is absolutely true. It is really gratifying that you three brothers can achieve such success!"

The younger brothers and sisters beside him listened and nodded in agreement.

She held Liu Zhiruo's hand again and handed her a candy. She smiled kindly and said, "Come here, girl, have some candy. It's so sweet! The old lady can't enjoy this with her teeth now!"

Liu Zhiruo deliberately tried to make his wife happy and said, "Old lady, please don't be angry. I will eliminate all these for you..."

They were chatting and laughing with the old lady, and now Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu came in holding Xiaodang, with Bang Geng following behind them.

Seeing that Liu Zhiye was also present, Jia Dongxu was stunned at first, then he walked past Liu Zhiye with his wife and children with an expressionless face, as if he was deliberately avoiding him.

This made the atmosphere a little awkward.

After seeing the Jia family also coming, Liu Zhiye had no choice but to say goodbye to the old lady. The old lady also understood what had happened before, but she sighed in her heart and nodded in response to Liu Zhiye's brother and sister's departure. After coming out of the deaf old lady's house, he and his sister went to the second uncle Liu Haizhong's house together.

Liu Zhiye treated him coldly. He felt helpless. There was no obvious conflict between the two families. He couldn't not visit the family for New Year's greetings for no reason. He couldn't let others pick on him and put himself in an awkward situation.

They walked into Liu Haizhong's house, and the scene in front of them made people laugh. Old Bangchui Liu Haizhong was still pretending to be serious, sitting at the eight-immortal table, listening to the radio with his eyes closed, as if he was concerned about national affairs.

After Liu Zhiye entered the house, he greeted him with a smile, "Second Uncle! Happy New Year! You still care about national affairs during the New Year?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong quickly opened his eyes, stood up, and greeted with a smile: "Happy New Year! Chief Liu! Come, come and sit down."

Liu Zhiye teased him deliberately, his voice full of smiles: "Second uncle, seeing that you have such a high level of awareness, the factory should arrange a position for you."

Hearing this, the second uncle's eyes flashed with pride, and he said, "You know what, the workshop really wanted to promote me a while ago..."

Liu Zhiye curiously asked: "What happened next? Did it work?"

At the side, the second uncle's wife, the second aunt, laughed and revealed his past: "Later, people thought that his education level was too low, he only had primary school education."

Liu Haizhong was a little embarrassed, and with a slightly red face, he corrected: "It's Gao Xiao, Gao Xiao culture."

Afterwards, Liu Zhitai and Liu Zhiruo also came over to wish them a happy new year, and the three siblings chatted with the second aunt for a while.

After the three siblings left, the second aunt looked at their receding figures with deep emotion. She said softly, "Look at Mr. Liu's children. They are really promising! The brothers Liu Zhiye and Liu Zhitai, one holds an important position in the factory, the other is a top student in college, and even the little girl has been admitted to high school. How enviable!"

"..."

They started their journey of paying New Year's greetings at around six in the morning and continued until around nine in the morning, when the three brothers and sisters had visited most of the families in the compound.

After completing this task, they hurried back home, ready to set off again to their hometown in the countryside to pay New Year's greetings to their grandparents and uncle's family.

When they returned home, Liu's father had already made full preparations for their trip and was ready to set off as soon as the three siblings arrived.

They left without delay, leaving Liu's mother waiting at home. The four of them squeezed into a three-wheeled motorcycle. With a bunch of gifts added to the load, the motorcycle was seriously overloaded.

Fortunately, in this era, traffic police have not yet checked the regulations on overloading, otherwise, even on Qian'anmen Street, their three-wheeled motorcycle would be difficult to drive and would most likely be detained.

Because of yesterday's snow, the ground was covered with a layer of white, making it difficult to walk. At about noon, they finally arrived at Liujiazhuang.

Grandpa and his uncle's family came out to greet them. Liu Jingzhai led the three siblings, got out of the car quickly, walked quickly towards his father, and knelt respectfully.

"Dad! I kowtow to you! Happy New Year!" he said affectionately, and the three siblings behind him also shouted: "Grandpa! Happy New Year!"

Their voices echoed in Liujiazhuang, filled with joy and affection.

Old Master Liu said with a smile, "Good! Everything is fine! Jingzhai, please get up quickly! Children, get up too, the ground is cold."

Hearing this, they all stood up and respectfully greeted the old man.

Then, the old man took out a few exquisite red envelopes and distributed them to the three siblings, and the atmosphere suddenly became more festive.

Afterwards, the family went to the uncle's family and exchanged New Year greetings. They exchanged blessings, laughed and talked, and were filled with deep family affection and joy. Such a scene made people feel warm and happy, as if time had stopped at this moment.

(End of this chapter)