Chapter 45 New Year's Eve (Part 2)
After posting the couplets, Kang Qirui and Diana returned to the living room, and saw Tianxiu holding a lot of red envelopes and hanging them on the peach blossom tree one by one. Diana When he saw it, he hurried to help, while Kang Qirui moved the table back to the utility room.
When Diana saw the words on the red envelope when hanging it up, she was very curious and asked Tianxiu: "Tianxiu, it says next year is the Year of the Snake. Do you know what it means? "
"It means snake." Tianxiu is so cute.
“Huh?” Of course Diana still didn’t understand.
After putting the table away, Kang Qirui returned to the living room and happened to hear Diana's question, so he explained: "The Chinese have twelve zodiac signs, also called zodiac signs. Two kinds of animals.”
“Oh, what kind of animals are they?” Diana is very interested in Chinese traditional culture.
Kang Qirui just sat down and planned to take a sip of tea, so he did not answer Diana immediately. But at this time, Old Dou became a teacher and took the initiative to say: "They are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, Twelve animals: dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig.”
Kang Qirui couldn’t help but laugh when he saw it. Old Dou was so angry when he saw Azu bringing Diana back. After fainting, it had only been half a year before he had completely accepted Diana, a foreigner. Old Dou had made great progress, from being unable to accept people from other provinces to accepting foreigners as his daughter-in-law.
“Why are there no cats? Instead, there are mice. Isn’t it true that when mice cross the street, everyone shouts and beats them?” Diana didn’t understand why there were no cats. It seemed that Diana was still a cat lover.
Old Dou asked Diana to sit down on the sofa, "Come and sit down, there is a story to tell." After Diana sat down, he continued: "By the way, cats and mice were originally very good friends. Yes, one day the Jade Emperor wanted to make a list of the twelve zodiac signs. "
"Both the birds in the sky and the beasts on the ground can be arranged in a first-come, first-served order. I was so happy that I immediately ran to line up.”
“But the mouse ran too fast and fell into the water. The cat felt that his friend must be saved when he fell into the water, so he put his tail into the water. , the mouse was very happy when he saw it. He pulled the cat's tail and the mouse came up, but the cat was pulled into the water."
"The mouse didn't even look at the cat and just ran away. In the end. The mouse was ranked first, but the cat was miserable. After finally getting to the shore, the queue was already full, so when the cat saw the mouse, he would catch it and bite it. "
Old Dou said. It was one of the versions of the story. Diana was very happy to hear it and praised: "So that's it. This story is very interesting."
"My grandpa has told me this story a long time ago." Tianxiu is a child who wants to fight for everything.
"Everyone has a zodiac sign. The baby born today is still a dragon, and the baby born tomorrow is a snake." Lao Dou continued. This aroused Diana's curiosity, "What about me? What do I belong to?"
"I know, I know, you are a goldfish." Tianxiu laughed loudly.
Golden Fish Girl in Cantonese has two meanings: one refers to a girl who has no brain and speaks without thinking through her brain. This kind of name is not malicious, just because I think the girl is too innocent and cute. Another meaning is to describe a girl's voice that is very delicate and pleasant, like a cooing voice like a little goldfish.
Although they were not malicious words, they were still not polite in general, so Lao Dou immediately scolded: "Tianxiu, are you so rude?" Tianxiu had to apologize obediently. .
"What year were you born?" Lao Dou asked Diana directly after talking about Tianxiu. Diana replied that it was 1977. This made Kang Qirui look a little embarrassed. Why? Because in this way, the four brothers Ayao and Azu, the second boss and the second brother, have all found wives who are younger than themselves. Only Kang Qirui has a sibling relationship.
“The year 1977 is the year of Snake. After today, it will be the year of birth.” Lao Dou thought for a while and gave the answer.
"Birth year?" This is another new word, and Diana doesn't understand it again.
"You are born in the year of Snake, and tomorrow will be the Year of the Snake. You are born in the Year of the Snake, and this is the Year of the Snake. Do you understand?" Lao Dou explained it very clearly, and Diana understood it as soon as she heard it. , she clapped her hands and cheered, she thought her animal year was a good thing.
"In the year of birth, Tai Sui is violated. If Tai Sui is at the head, there will be misfortune if there is no happiness. This is a bad idea, Diana." Kang Qirui explained from the side.
After hearing this, Diana had a bitter look on her face, and her voice was low when she spoke, "What should we do?"
Old Dou waved his hand, indicating to Diana not to worry, "It's nothing, these are ancient customs , comes from feudal superstition. I don’t believe it.”
“You don’t believe it, but I do.” Diana is still worried. She admires Chinese culture very much and believes in it.
My sister-in-law happened to be passing by at this time, so she interrupted and said, "Let me tell you, in your animal year, it is best to wear something red next to your body, such as wearing a red belt or wearing red underwear."< br>
“Red underwear?” Diana grabbed the key word, “How did you know?”
"The Year of the Snake is also my birth year." Xianglan said shyly, "My mother called me two days ago to tell me this."
Diana thought for a moment and said to Lao Dou: "Uncle "I'll go out first, I have something to do." Halfway through, he came back and asked Tianxiu: "Tianxiu, I will give you a gift, what do you like?"
As soon as he heard the gift, Tianxiu asked. Excited, "I like a lot of things." Kang Qirui couldn't help but say, "Tianxiu, why are you so unruly?" He didn't want others to say that the Kang family had no tutors.
After talking about Tianxiu, Kang Qirui said to Diana: "There is no need to buy it specially. If you want to buy it, remember, don't buy a real snake." In Kang Qirui's memory, it seems that Diana is He gave Tianxiu a snake, but in the end he had to call the police, so Kang Qirui left early.
"Hahahaha how could that happen?" Diana smiled and went out. She came back after a while, because the Kang family was not far from Shangxiajiu, so it was very convenient to buy anything. This time, after Kang Qirui left in advance, she did not give a snake to Tianxiu, but bought a deformed one. King Kong was given to Tianxiu, and because it was the Year of the Snake, she specifically chose the role of the Snake-Bird Warrior.
"Eat, eat, eat." When it was time to have the family reunion dinner, Master Zhu also came over to celebrate the New Year. Because Zhu Wanling had to be on duty in the hospital today, she had already agreed to celebrate the New Year with Master at Kang's house. After all, the two families did not agree. We will be a family in a month.
"Dear viewers, congratulations on getting rich." The second brother and second sister-in-law's family appeared on stage. The whole family was dressed in traditional clothes, looking like an aristocratic family of three in the old era.
"Congratulations on getting rich, here you go with the red envelope." Tianxiu immediately reached out to Lao Dou and asked for the red envelope. "Hahahaha." Lao Dou smiled and patted his hand.
When Diana heard the red envelope being brought, she quickly ran over and took out the red envelope to give to Tianxiu. Tianxiu was a very cute boy and she liked it very much, "I have it here."< br>
The second brother and Lao Dou quickly stopped him, "Hey, hey, hey, Diana, you're not married yet, so you don't need to give red envelopes."
"Yes, you don't need to give them." Azu also agreed beside him. road.
“No need to give it.” Diana was a little surprised. She thought that all adults would give red envelopes to children. "The Chinese New Year red envelopes here in Guangfu are given to married people who are not yet married. If you are not married and are shameless, you can still go around to receive red envelopes in your twenties." Kang Qirui continued to explain. Something to say.
“You can still receive red envelopes when you are in your twenties?” Diana was a little surprised, “Does that mean I can also receive red envelopes?”
“Yes, as long as you are shameless enough. If you can accept it, fourth brother is the most experienced in this area, so just follow him out," Kang Qirui said with a smile. Azu wasn't embarrassed after hearing this. He wasn't married yet anyway, so according to the rules, he could receive red envelopes. He even got upset: "Yes, Diana, this year you will come with me to collect red envelopes. Don't be like Ari and refuse to accept them, thank you."
"Come on, come on, try my Kung Pao prawns." The dishes started to be served while they were joking, and Sachiko came out with a large plate of prawns, which were delicious. However, A Yao said worriedly: "Old Dou likes boiled ones."
The Chinese New Year is so festive, so Old Dou doesn't mind this, "It's okay, it's okay, such fragrant shrimps are perfect for drinking." Everyone laughed, it was rare to see Lao Dou so kind and cheerful.
While everyone was joking, Xianglan saw the old woman walking towards the attic with a broom and mop, and asked: "Mom, you put the broom so high in the attic, how inconvenient is it to transport it? "
The old lady replied, "If you don't sweep the floor on New Year's Day, your wealth will be wiped out." Xianglan didn't understand. What should I do if the floor is dirty? But Azu said that it’s not like he didn’t know where to put it, so he could just pick it up when he wanted to use it.
“Baby, I’ll lock it up and won’t let you take it.” The old lady also knew how to joke, but Azu retorted: “Mom, if you are afraid of losing your wealth, then buy it. The vacuum cleaner comes back and sucks all the wealth back.”
Azu's words reminded Kang Qirui, and he decided to buy a vacuum cleaner tomorrow. It's not because he believes in some nonsense about sucking back all the wealth, but because the house is twice as big now, and my mother is very tired of cleaning it every day. It would be much easier if I had a vacuum cleaner, so it would be a New Year's gift to my mother. .
"Tianxiu, you are so lazy." While everyone was talking, a large group of children walked in outside. When Tianxiu saw his friends coming, he immediately wanted to go out.
"Wait a minute, eat before you go." The second sister-in-law quickly stopped her, she hadn't eaten yet.
"I don't want to eat." The friends outside kept urging, how could Tianxiu eat here obediently, and wanted to run out.
“Wait a minute, get a lantern to light up the street.” The second sister-in-law had no choice but to tell Tianxiu to watch the road carefully
"Be lazy, be lazy, sell until the New Year's Eve, and you will be a big boy after the New Year, so don't learn to be lazy again." Tianxiu and his friends gathered together and sang a song before going out.
Selling laziness is a custom in Guangdong Province. Legend has it that in the peach orchard of the Queen Mother, there was a big lazy insect. It often curled up in the peach orchard, sucking the nectar of the peach in spring and eating the fruits in autumn. One autumn, there was a great harvest of flat peaches, and it wanted to eat them again. When the Queen Mother found out, she became furious and knocked the lazy insect out of the world.
After this lazy insect came down to the mortal world, it got into the child's nose and turned into a slug. When the child falls asleep at night, it crawls onto the quilt and turns into a big lazy bug. This is why children often stay in bed in the morning.
So on New Year's Eve, children have to go out and work hard in order to work hard and make progress in the new year.
In the past, lazy children would go to the nearby Tutu Temple to put incense on the incense table, or go to the well head on the street to put incense on the edge of the well, and then return along the way they came, eating red eggs while walking. Eating eggs symbolizes selling out the laziness; in some places, the laziness children do not eat the eggs, but go home and share them with their families. The more people eat, the clearer the "lazy" sales will be.
Of course, these latter customs gradually disappeared.
"Tianxiu is so good, so he doesn't need to sell his laziness. What he has to sell is you lazy bugs," Lao Dou said jokingly, and specially ordered Azu.
“No, Lao Dou, we cooked this meal.” Azu retorted.
"Hahaha, fourth brother, what does this meal have to do with you?" Kang Qirui couldn't hold it in anymore. He didn't blame Lao Dou for saying that Azu was lazy. This guy went out early in the morning. He came back just before dinner and brazenly said that he also had a share of the meal.
"Dong dong dong." At this time, someone was knocking on the door outside. It looked like an outsider. The Kang family only closed the outermost hanging door today. The locals came in directly without knocking on the door. Just like the group of children just now.
"I'll open the door." Outsiders are usually relatives of the elder sister-in-law, so the elder sister-in-law took the initiative to open the door. When the door opened, it turned out to be relatives of the elder sister-in-law, her second uncle's family, wearing big cotton-padded jackets, and kept saying that it was too hot in Guangfu. . Brought two huge pumpkins as gifts.
Then Sachiko’s cousin also came, saying that he was going to the Hong Kong City Casino for a trip. He passed by Guangfu and stopped by to see Sachiko. They brought rice cakes from the Magic City. Eventually even Diana’s mother came.
Fortunately, the Kang family now has a lot of space. In addition to the room where the Kang family lives, there are also two guest rooms and two attic rooms, which can just accommodate this large group of people.
(End of this chapter)