Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12022

When Luo the blacksmith responded to Luo Fengtang's words, he deliberately emphasized the names Ping An and Xingwang.

Everyone understood the old man's intention, so they all smiled with their lips pursed.

Ping An and Xing Wang, who were standing to the side, looked at each other and both straightened their chests.

Look at this name, it's so well chosen, it'll be even more appealing during the Chinese New Year.

Because everyone likes peace and prosperity.

Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang didn't dare to delay any longer, because the sounds of fireworks outside were mixed with the shouts of Tuantuan and Yuanyuan.

Oh my goodness, these two impatient little ones! Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang arrived at the outside of the third house's courtyard like a gust of wind. At this moment, the third house left Sun Shi at home to guard the gate, while the others followed Yang Huazhong out the door. They met at the gate of the courtyard and then headed towards the old house in a grand procession.

Along the way into the village, the village was no longer the desolate, cold place it used to be in, where the doors would close after dark in the twelfth lunar month and the roads would be deserted.

Tonight is Lunar New Year's Eve. On this dam, and in the streets and alleys of the village, you can see villagers coming out to exchange New Year's greetings after finishing their New Year's Eve dinner.

Even the most aloof villagers would be unusually excited tonight.

When passing by other people's houses, and seeing adults and children playing with firecrackers in the yard, the eyes of Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, and the other children were naturally drawn to the firecrackers in the hands of the other children.

The adults, walking along, greeted each other through a half-person-high mud-brick and stone courtyard wall, their most frequent phrases being "Happy New Year! Happy New Year!" and "Where is this whole family going?" "Going to visit my second uncle." "Going to pay New Year's respects to the old folks at the old house."...

Several children ran happily ahead, leading the way. Da'an carried Jun'er in his arms and followed behind them, with Xiaohua walking beside them. The couple's eyes were always on the children ahead. Seeing that they were running too fast, they would call out, "Slow down," "Don't be afraid, you'll fall," "Wait for us behind you"...

Yang Huazhong walked in the middle, carrying New Year's gifts in his hands, looking at the scene in front of him with a happy smile, his eyes and brows full of joy.

Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang walked at the very back of the group. Luo Fengtang carried a gift in one hand, but secretly held Yang Ruoqing's hand with the other.

Yang Ruoqing had been looking around, observing the scenes of each household celebrating the New Year tonight. She felt that while every family had a different scene, the atmosphere of joy and reunion was the same.

Suddenly, he took her hand in his palm, and the warmth of his palm transferred to her hand. She turned her head and looked up at him.

He happened to look down at them, and their eyes met. They both smiled knowingly.

"Happy New Year! My love," Yang Ruoqing whispered.

Luo Fengtang not only understood the first sentence she said, but also the English sentence that followed.

Because she often whispered that foreign language to him...

"I love you too! My wife!" He gazed at her with deep affection, a thousand words condensed in that look.

At that moment, someone in the distance was setting off fireworks in their yard. With a sharp 'whoosh!' sound like a whistle, the fireworks shot into the sky and exploded into a magnificent chrysanthemum above everyone's heads.

The children who had been running ahead stopped and looked up at the fireworks overhead, laughing and joking.

Pedestrians on the road all looked up to watch.

Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang stood hand in hand under the fireworks, their pupils reflecting not only the splendor of the fireworks but also each other's figures.

Tang Ya Zi, this is another Lunar New Year's Eve we've spent together. I hope, I wish, that we can have year after year together, last year, this year, next year, and the years to come... we will spend them all together!

As firecrackers bid farewell to the old year, I wish that in the new year, all those I love, those who love me, all those who are grateful, and all kind-hearted people will be well.

To the stranger far away who also wishes to see this message, I also wish you happiness.

Perhaps you experienced some setbacks in the past year, and it was a bit tough and tiring.

But I hope that fate will smile upon you again in the new year. Let's cheer each other on!
Life goes on, hope endures, and everything will get better.

……

The group arrived at Old Yang's old house. At this time, two large red lanterns were hanging at the entrance of the old house, making it the most eye-catching presence in this alley from a distance.

There were already a group of children, including Xiao Sanzi and Xiao Niu Niu, playing at the gate. When the family members from the third branch of the family came over, Tuan Tuan, Yuan Yuan, Fu Wa, and the others immediately rushed to their friends.

"I'll call you when I kowtow later! Just play around here at the entrance, don't wander off." Yang Ruoqing and Xiaohua just smiled and gave them a few words of advice, then carried their gifts and filed into the main hall of the old Yang family's house.

The main hall of the old house is long and deep, with a courtyard in the middle. In the back half of the main hall, there are two square tables.

The table above holds offerings for the memorial tablets of the deceased elders of the Yang family, symbolizing that ancestors and deceased relatives are with everyone, and that we celebrate the New Year together.

On the octagonal table below are fruits, snacks, teacups, and other items to entertain everyone.

Two chairs with backrests were placed around each of the four sides of the octagonal table. Old Yang and Tan sat side by side on the two chairs on the east side. Some of the other sides were occupied, such as Yang Huaming and Yang Huazhou, while others were empty.

Several long benches were placed against the wall, where Kang Xiaozi, Liu Jinchuan, Dabao, Jiang Guiling, and their young grandchildren and granddaughters-in-law sat neatly.

Everyone was cracking melon seeds and drinking tea, teasing the children and talking about the various funny things the children did at the New Year's Eve dinner table. Every now and then, bursts of laughter would erupt in the large hall.

When the main group of the three families entered, apart from Old Yang and Madam Tan, everyone else stood up and greeted Yang Huazhong, warmly inviting Yang Huazhong, Luo Fengtang, and Da'an to sit down and have tea.

The appearance of Yang Ruoqing and Xiaohua instantly made them the center of attention, surrounded by the women.

Yang Yongqing put down his teacup and stood up. "Alright, the children from the third branch and the Luo family are all here. Now that everyone's here, I'll go get my best fireworks and take the kids to watch them!"

When Yang Yongqing said this, several voices echoed his sentiments:
"Qing is such a thoughtful person. He kept the good fireworks a secret until Uncle San's family came over."

"That has to be done carefully. It's Chinese New Year, so everyone has to be there to set off fireworks."

"Tsk tsk, stingy, couldn't you have bought a few more fireworks? Those of us who came first didn't get a chance to see them, we can only tug at Third Brother and the others' clothes?"

"Haha, Fourth Uncle, don't you feel guilty saying that? How much do good fireworks cost? I'm lucky if I can even afford one!" "Fourth Uncle, could you sponsor one for us younger generation to set off for fun?"

"Yongqing, Yongzhi, you two are just teasing your fourth uncle! Your fourth uncle is old and can't earn money like you young people!"

"That's right! You want your fourth uncle to buy you fireworks, but why don't you buy him two jars of liquor and two roast chickens instead? Greedy devils!" Well, Liu Shi also joined in, helping Yang Huaming tear apart the Yang Yongzhi and Yang Yongqing brothers.

Zhao Liuer stepped in with a smile to smooth things over: "Fourth Uncle isn't old at all, Fourth Uncle looks..."

Yang Yongqing chimed in, "Fourth Uncle isn't old at all! He looks like he's not even sixty yet, and he's still got it!"

"You brat!" Yang Huaming grabbed a peanut from the plate in front of him and threw it at Yang Yongqing: "Your fourth uncle is only forty-eight this year! What do you mean by sixty or not!"

Liu chimed in again, "That's right, if you can't speak properly, don't talk nonsense!"

Zhao Liuer and Xiao Mo both glared at Yang Yongqing, and Xiao Mo even pinched him secretly: "It's the New Year, don't be so frivolous, hurry up and go outside to set off fireworks for the children!"

Yang Yong smiled and nodded. Before leaving, perhaps to make up for what happened earlier, he bowed respectfully to Yang Huaming and wished him a Happy New Year.

"Fourth Uncle, Happy New Year! I wish you good health and everlasting youth in the coming year!"

"Haha, that makes more sense! Good, all good. May you young people earn more money and have more babies!" Yang Huaming was also happy, and the previous little unpleasantness vanished instantly.

Liu chimed in for the third time, "You can say hello, but there's no New Year's money for you."

"Fourth Aunt, what if I kowtow to you? Can you give me some?" Yang Yongqing straightened up and 'bargained' with Liu Shi with a grin.

Liu pointed to the ground in front of her toes and said with a smile, "I don't know either. Why don't you kowtow a couple of times and let me see?"

"Hey, you good-for-nothing, are you still going to set off fireworks or not?" This time, Xiao Mo walked over directly and pinched Yang Yongqing's arm harder.

"Ouch, be gentle, be gentle, it hurts, honey!"

"Go quickly if it hurts, you're keeping the children waiting!"

Yang Ruoqing and the others had watched the excitement for a while, so one of them urged Yang Yongqing, "Brother, you should hurry up. After the fireworks are over, we need to call the children home to kowtow to their great-grandparents!"

Yang Yongqing became serious: "Alright, I'll go right now. It'll be quick with just one 'Fireworks'!"

Soon, everyone saw Yang Yongqing build a sturdy, half-person-high thing out of his room and walk to the entrance of the main room. He told the children to come inside and leave a large open space at the entrance to set up the fireworks.

The children gathered at the entrance of the main room and near the courtyard, chattering excitedly about what kind of fireworks Yang Yongqing would set off.

The adults in the main room all turned their gazes toward the doorway.

Old Yang, who had been smoking his pipe, took a moment to ask Yang Huazhong and the others beside him, "How much did it cost for that young man to bring back such a big thing?"

Yang Huazhong shook his head, completely unaware of this; the firecrackers in his home were bought from Heifeng General Store.

But the fireworks were all brought back by Da'an from Changhuaizhou.

Yang Huaming smacked his lips and said, "This year for the New Year, I bought two fireworks this big for my Liangliang, which cost me two hundred coins. That big thing that Qing has must have cost at least six or eight hundred coins!"

Yang Huazhou thought for a moment and said, "More or less."

Yang Ruoqing raised an eyebrow. To be honest, the Luo family also had two similar "fireworks" like the one Yang Yongqing bought.

However, the two Luo family members did not buy them with their own money. Instead, several managers from the county restaurant pooled their money to buy New Year's goods and send them to Luo the blacksmith and Wang Cuilian as a gift. Among the New Year's goods, they also smuggled in two large fireworks, saying that they were a new type of fireworks that had arrived in the county this year, and they bought two to give to the two brothers to play with during the New Year.

Yang Ruoqing was definitely aware of the intentions of her subordinates.

So she roughly looked into the price of the fireworks. The six or eight hundred that her fourth uncle mentioned was probably not enough; it should cost around one or two taels of silver!

Suddenly, a clear and loud voice rang out from the bench to the side: "Hey, Fourth Uncle, your estimate is too conservative. Six or eight hundred is probably only enough to buy half of those fireworks!"

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the voice, and all eyes fell on Jiang Guiling, the fifth daughter-in-law, who was wearing a brand-new dress, had her hair styled in a new updo, adorned with hairpins and pearl flowers, and even had makeup on.

Yang Ruoqing had already noticed Jiang Guiling when she entered the room.

At the time, I felt that Jiang Guiling had put a lot of thought into her appearance.

With her clear and melodious voice, her outfit tonight, and her relaxed sitting posture with her legs crossed, she looks a bit like Deng Jie's version of Wang Xifeng!

She had the same round face, the same willow-leaf eyebrows and phoenix eyes, the same fair complexion and red lips.

She smiles from the moment she opens her mouth, and her teeth are remarkably white and clean. As she gets older, she becomes even more charming. In addition, she is a businesswoman, which makes her even more enthusiastic and cheerful. She is probably the type of woman many men would be attracted to.

At this moment, all the men in the main room, except for the three from the third branch (Yang Huazhong, Da'an, and Luo Fengtang), young and old, were focused on Jiang Guiling.

"Guiling, do you know how much one costs? Tell me quickly." Yang Huaming asked with a smile, his gaze gentle and loving, as if Jiang Guiling was not his nephew's wife, but his own daughter.

Jiang Guiling enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention. She smiled and subtly controlled her micro-expressions, saying, "I have a customer who runs a fireworks business in the county town. According to him, these fireworks are a new model this year. When they were first delivered to the county town, they were priced at 800 wen each. After the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the price changed, and at its highest, it reached 1,600 wen each!"

Sixteen hundred coins? That's only one and a half taels of silver!
Gee!

A gasp of amazement rippled through the main room.

Old Yang was equally shocked, and looked at Xiao Mo: "Yongqing's wife, how much did Qing boy pay for those fireworks?"

Little Mo hesitated, and seeing everyone's reaction, she became a little afraid to speak.

"I'm asking you a question, hurry up and answer!" Liu's curiosity was piqued, and she urged him to speak.