After rebirth, I became Qingmei's white moonlight

Chapter 379 377 New Year’s Eve
February 18th is the Lunar New Year’s Eve.

Jiang Shu and Zhong Yaoyao got up early and started cleaning the house after having breakfast.

In traditional culture, this is called bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

By cleaning the house and removing the dust and debris that have accumulated over the year, it symbolizes sweeping away the bad luck, misfortune and misfortunes of the past year and preparing for good luck and blessings in the new year.

Therefore, even if the house is not dirty at ordinary times, it is always necessary to clean the house carefully before the New Year.

Jiang Shu wiped the windows and windowsills while Yaoyao swept and mopped the floor. Of course, home appliances, furniture, and nooks also had to be cleaned. If you saw a spider web, just take a feather duster and turn it around to clean up all the dirt along with it.

The next step is to throw away some unneeded things and put away the useful ones. After finishing cleaning the living room and dining room, go back to clean up your own room.

The winter sun rises, and the warm sunlight shines into the house through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a light spot on half of the living room. Mimi lies lazily on the ground basking in the sun, and when she feels her body warms up, she turns over to bask in the other side.

After five or six months of growth, Little Coal Ball is almost as big as an adult cat, but he still has the temperament of a kitten and enjoys playing following his own shadow.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Fu Wanying, wearing an apron, walked over to open the door. When she saw it was Zhuzhu, she couldn't help but smile. She would come here almost whenever she had time.

"Auntie Wanying, good morning! I'm here to get the Spring Festival couplets from Xiaoshu." Xu Xinzhu smiled sweetly.

"Good morning, Zhuzhu."

Fu Wanying took out a pair of slippers and handed them over, saying with a smile, "Xiaoshu and Yaoyao are cleaning the house. Zhuzhu, have you had breakfast? If not, Auntie will make it for you."

"No need, Auntie, I've already eaten!"

Xu Xinzhu put on his shoes and said, "Auntie, go and do your work. Don't worry about me. I'll go help Xiaoshu and the others."

"OK, all right."

Fu Wanying smiled and nodded. Ever since Li Qiuyu had explained everything to her not long ago, the more she looked at Zhuzhu, the more she thought she looked like her daughter-in-law. She just didn't know who that brat would choose in the future.

Xu Xinzhu gently pushed open Jiang Shu's bedroom door and saw him carefully wiping the dust on the table with a rag. She tiptoed behind him and suddenly covered his eyes with her hands.

"Brother Xiaoshu, guess who I am?" She said in a low voice deliberately.

"Zhuzhu." Jiang Shu answered without hesitation.

Xu Xinzhu let go of his hand and said with a smile: "How did you guess that? You don't even need to think about it. I have already learned from Yaoyao to call you Brother Xiaoshu."

Jiang Shu looked at Zhuzhu, who was wearing new clothes for the New Year and looked particularly eye-catching in the bedroom.

The outer coat is a soft beige wool coat with delicate fluff on the collar and cuffs. A light brown belt is tied around the waist of the coat, outlining her slender waistline. She wears a high-necked knitted sweater underneath. The light pink color is like a touch of warm sunshine in winter, gently setting off her fair skin.

"Because the smell on you is different from that on Yaoyao Xiaolu, and Yaoyao is cleaning the room right now, so she wouldn't sneak over here and blind me. Other than that, it can only be you."

Xu Xinzhu blinked his bright eyes, thinking about letting Yaoyao try again later. He didn't believe that he could guess it so quickly.

"Why are you here so early? Shouldn't your family be busy today?"

"Yeah, there are relatives and cousins ​​coming to my house, but they are all naughty kids. I'm too lazy to play with them, so I came here~"

Xu Xinzhu chuckled and said, "Is there any place that hasn't been cleaned? I'll help you!"

"I'll be done with this soon, go help Yaoyao."

"Oh."

She looked back at the closed door, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek: "Happy New Year, Xiaoshu~"

"Is the New Year's gift just a kiss on the cheek?"

"Hmm, what else?"

Zhuzhu made a face. After all, Aunt Wanying was still at home, so she opened the door and went to look for Yaoyao.

"Sister Zhuzhu, have you finished cleaning your house?" Zhong Yaoyao asked.

Xu Xinzhu rolled up his sleeves and took a wet towel to help Yaoyao wipe the windowsill: "We finished cleaning two days ago. Mom called a cleaning lady to clean the house inside and out. Although I clean the house myself every year like you, Mom thinks it's troublesome."

Zhong Yaoyao nodded. She also felt that things like bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new were best done by one’s own.

"Sister Zhuzhu, I can do it by myself, won't you go help Brother Xiaoshu?"

"He asked me to help you. After the general cleaning, do we need to put up Spring Festival couplets later?"

"Uh-huh."

Soon, the house was cleaned and the three of them went to the study to write Spring Festival couplets.

Posting Spring Festival couplets is also called posting New Year red paper. It is also one of my country's traditional customs. It originated from the ancient "peach charms", which were used to hang peach wood on the door during the Spring Festival. Later, it gradually evolved into writing auspicious words on red paper, forming the current Spring Festival couplets.

In fact, Jiang Shu writes the Spring Festival couplets himself every year. Now his calligraphy skills are very profound, comparable to those of all the great calligraphers. The brush calligraphy he writes casually has a unique charm.

Jiang Shu placed a six-foot-long piece of bright red rice paper on the table and weighed it down with a paperweight. Zhong Yaoyao was grinding ink on the side. He picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, thought for a moment, and then started writing.

Xu Xinzhu stood aside and watched Xiaoshu splashing ink. He turned his wrist slightly and the tip of the pen danced on the red paper.

His brush strokes are vigorous and powerful, his handwriting flows smoothly, the ink color is just right, yet it is also somewhat free and agile. It has the dignity and grandeur of traditional calligraphy, and incorporates his own style, as if every stroke contains the accumulation of years and the expression of emotion.

First couplet: The door welcomes a hundred blessings and the lucky star shines
Second line: The house welcomes thousands of auspicious clouds
Horizontal banner: Good fortune fills the house

It was done in one go without any hesitation.

"Is it okay?"

Jiang Shu put down the brush and blew gently to let the ink on the paper dry quickly.

Xu Xinzhu nodded vigorously. This was more than okay. It was much better written than those sold outside. Both the words and the meaning were top-notch.

After all, couplets require neat parallelism and harmonious tones. For example, the number of words, structure, part of speech and tone of the upper and lower couplets must correspond.

The last word of the first couplet is usually a rising tone (third or fourth tone), and the last word of the second couplet is a level tone (first or second tone).

"Xiaoshu, if you set up a stall outside the square to write Spring Festival couplets today, I guarantee your business will be booming." Xu Xinzhu said with a smile.

"Do you want it?" Jiang Shu asked with a smile.

"Of course! I came here just to get the Spring Festival couplets."

Although she can write and her handwriting is acceptable, it is far inferior to Xiaoshu. He can win the first prize in a national calligraphy competition. There are probably not many people in Jiazhou who can compare with him in calligraphy.

In other words, with free labor like Xiaoshu around, who would want to write for themselves?

"Then I'll write for a while and you can take it back."

"Uh-huh."

"What kind do you want? A happy family, good fortune, or good fortune and a peaceful life?" "Something similar to yours will do."

Jiang Shu smiled, and when he was almost done with the Spring Festival couplets in front of him, he wrote the second one.

First couplet: Blessings come to this auspicious place and prosper for thousands of years
Second line: When money comes to the auspicious door, everything will be prosperous
Horizontal banner: blessing and luck

"Okay, okay, this is good."

Xu Xinzhu was delighted to see this, thinking that it was both blessed and wealthy, and the horizontal banner was the finishing touch. He was truly worthy of being called a well-read little tree.

Then Jiang Shu wrote several more Chinese characters for "Fu", each with a different writing style.

"Let's go, let's put up the Spring Festival couplets now."

Each of the three people held a piece of red paper and stuck it on the back with double-sided tape that would not leave any marks when they tore it off next year.

Jiang Shu is tall, so he doesn't even need to stand on a stool. However, in order to let Zhuzhu and Yaoyao feel a sense of participation, he gave them the upper and lower couplets and asked them to put up the banners themselves.

After tearing off last year's couplets, Xu Xinzhu and Zhong Yaoyao stood on either side of the door frame, with the upper couplet on the right and the lower couplet on the left. The horizontal scroll was at the top, and an inverted "Fu" character was pasted in the middle of the door with a festive look.

Yaoyao even made a lot of paper-cut window decorations in advance and pasted them all on the window glass.

Xu Xinzhu blinked his beautiful eyes and glanced at Xiaoshu secretly. This year, when he pasted Spring Festival couplets with him, he always had a strange feeling in his heart, as if he had become a member of this family.

At this time, Fu Wanying came out and looked at the Spring Festival couplets that had been posted. A satisfied smile immediately appeared on her face. She thought her son was very worry-free and could do everything beautifully.

"Not bad."

Fu Wanying smiled and praised him, then looked at her daughter-in-law who had not yet married into the family: "Zhuzhu, do you want to stay here for lunch? I'll make your favorite fried crispy meat."

Xu Xinzhu hesitated slightly. Of course she wanted to go, but she had relatives at home after all, and it would be bad if she didn't go.

"Aunt Wanying, there are relatives coming home, I still have to go back for lunch."

"Then come over for the New Year's Eve dinner tonight, and call your parents along as well." Fu Wanying said with a smile.

"Uh-huh!"

Not long after lunch, Bai Lu also arrived, bringing Dahongpao tea and two bottles of excellent Moutai. As for Wu Sixuan, she had a happy few days in Jiazhou and then returned to Shanghai.

Fu Wanying smiled and invited her into the house: "Xiaolu, come if you want, why bring a gift? Don't allow that next time."

"Yeah, definitely next time." Bai Lu said with a smile.

"Where are your parents?"

"They said they'd come back later."

"oh oh."

Bai Lu changed into plush slippers at the door and looked into the house: "Where's Xiao Shu?"

"He went to the store to get some dumpling wrappers. He'll be back soon. Yaoyao and Zhuzhu are here. We'll make dumplings and eat them later."

“Yeah.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the elevator door next to him opened, and Jiang Shu came out with dumpling wrappers. Seeing Bai Lu, he smiled slightly and said, "Are you here?"

"Ah."

Bai Lu smiled and nodded. Fu Wanying looked at the two of them silently. Xiao Lu was not like Zhu Zhu. He was more quiet.

Her interaction with Xiaoshu seemed to be just a casual greeting, but her emotions were restrained and there seemed to be subtle emotions flowing in her eyes.

Fu Wanying had only seen this feeling in some old couples.

What is there to say?

simple is the best.

"Mom, is this enough dumpling wrapper?"

"That's enough. We can't even use it all up." Fu Wanying said.

Although there was never a shortage of dumplings at home and they could just go to the store to get some if they didn’t have them, Fu Wanying would still choose to make her own dumplings every New Year’s Eve, just for the blessing of a happy family reunion.

"Let's make dumplings, kids, come quickly."

She brought the fillings and dumpling wrappers to the table: pork and leeks, corn and shrimp, and celery and beef. She smiled and said, "Make your own dumplings with whatever flavor you like. I'll put a few coins in the dumplings later and see who gets to eat them tonight."

"I guess it must be Brother Xiaoshu. He is the one who eats it every year." Zhong Yaoyao said.

"That's right." Zhu Zhu agreed.

Jiang Shu was helpless. He had no other choice. After all, Strong Luck was a passive skill. When it came to things that depended on luck, his luck would not be bad.

Xu Xinzhu suddenly smiled slyly: "Aunt Wanying, can I put some chili peppers, garlic, and peppercorns in it to see if Xiaoshu can still eat it?"

The time for making dumplings passed quickly. The five of us sat around the table chatting and laughing, and several pots of stuffing were finished in no time.

Fu Wanying looked at the three beautiful girls in front of her. Each of them had a strong liking for Xiaoshu, and they were all excellent, sensible and obedient. An ordinary person would be satisfied if he could have one of them as a daughter-in-law. But now there are three, and she doesn't know how to choose.

Later, Qi Wanling and his wife and Li Qiuyu and his wife all came. Starting from the past few years, the three families have celebrated New Year's Eve together. In the following days, some families would worship their ancestors, and some would visit relatives, and everyone was busy with their own things.

Li Qiuyu looked at the Spring Festival couplets pasted on both sides of the door frame. The flamboyant handwriting was obviously written by Xiaoshu.

"Wanying, the Spring Festival couplets written by Xiaoshu are much more beautiful than the ones I bought outside, and the meaning is also good. I will ask him to write some for me next year."

Li Qiuyu raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "I am smart. I asked Zhuzhu to come and get it early. It says 'Good fortune comes to a lucky place and everything will be prosperous. Fortune comes to a lucky door and everything will be prosperous. Horizontal banner: Good fortune and luck are all yours.' If you ask me, if Xiaoshu was born in ancient times, he would at least be a top scholar."

Qi Wanling heard the boasting in her words: "Qiuyu, you are jealous of me again."

"Hey, don't be angry, don't be angry. What I mean is that you can ask Xiaoshu to rewrite a few pieces and then take them back to exchange them."

Qi Wanling couldn't help but roll his eyes. There has been a saying since ancient times that "once the Spring Festival couplets are posted, good fortune will come into the house." Tearing off the Spring Festival couplets at will may be considered as "ruining blessings" or "ruining luck." If it is not necessary, they must not be re-posted or replaced.

"Forget about it this year. Once the Spring Festival couplets are posted, don't move them. Let the deer come and get them next year."

Fu Wanying just listened with a smile, not daring to speak in return. This confrontation seemed to be filled with swords and sabers. It was fine when they were together before, but in recent years, as the children grew up, the tension over fighting for a son-in-law became more and more intense.

And the culprit of all this is his own son.

Bai Zhantu and Xu Jiale looked at each other in bewilderment. As middle-aged men, how could they not know that their wives were fighting in the palace? When they thought that they were trying to snatch a future husband for their daughter, the two old fathers sighed.

(Happy New Year's Eve!!!)

(End of this chapter)