The sweetest in the entertainment industry

Chapter 579 Celebrating the Little New Year

In the morning, the young couple went downstairs and had just sat down at the dining table when they saw Mrs. Lu carrying in a small bundle of thick, straight, red-skinned sugarcane tied with a red string and still with its leaves. She wouldn't let the housekeepers touch it at all.

Lu Nanting hurriedly took it, and without his mother needing to say anything, he took it directly to the kitchen and placed it against the wall in a corner.

The Lu family has lived in North China for generations, but the matriarch of this generation is a Cantonese. Although she follows the ancestral tradition and celebrates the Lunar New Year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month according to northern customs, instead of the 24th, the sacrificial offerings have a strong Cantonese flavor.

There's no need to go into details about the others, but take this straight sugarcane for example. It's something that the Lu family prepares every year for the Kitchen God Festival after Zhang Ruolan married into the family.

Gu Lanxi knew about this last year, but what moved her the most was that Lu Nanting's grandmother had started doing this long before Lu Tai took over the household.

Mrs. Lu learned everything from the old lady in this regard.

Every time there's a family gathering, there are always three dishes that the daughters-in-law like, and none of them are the same. It's obvious that a lot of thought has been put into it.

The Lu family has a very good family tradition. With the elders setting an example, there are very few bad relationships between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, and between sisters-in-law.

Gu Lanxi not only had a good relationship with her mother-in-law, but she also never treated her two sisters-in-law coldly.

She wasn't supposed to be carrying anything, but seeing her mother-in-law take the towel off her shoulders and shake off the dust, she smiled, gave a thumbs-up, and said auspicious words:
"These sugarcane stalks look straight and sweet, with complete ends. The Kitchen God will surely be pleased! He will speak well of them in Heaven and ensure their safety on Earth! They will surely rise to great heights and have good fortune in the coming year!"

Lu Nanting came out of the kitchen and gave his wife a thumbs up: "Like a pig being caught in a flood, or a sugarcane being rolled up, you can have anything you want!"

He usually speaks Mandarin and can understand Cantonese, but he doesn't speak much of it.

This is a very authentic way of saying it, simply because I've heard it many times since I was a child.

Seeing his increasingly strange smile and the way he raised an eyebrow at her, Gu Lanxi instantly understood.

He must have remembered her game account and laughed at her for being greedy.

Today is the Little New Year, and Gu Lanxi doesn't argue with him. She just talks to her mother-in-law and ignores him.

"Was this sugarcane grown on a farm?"

Mrs. Lu was tired from all the work, so she took the honey water the nanny handed her, drank a couple of sips, and then said to her:

“Your uncle had it delivered early this morning. It’s already frozen up north, so it’s not easy to get such fresh and straight sugarcane.”

“My uncles have been doing well. I was filming over there recently, and they took good care of me.”

"They all say that your help in promoting the business has made the store even better."

That's how it is among relatives; they say nice things to each other, and everyone is happy.

Gu Lanxi didn't say anything more. Seeing that it was about time, she took Lu Nanting's hand and prepared to go out.

The first concert was on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the day they got married last year.

Today they're going to the Bird's Nest for rehearsals.

The rehearsals will last for three days until the actual day.

With a venue for nearly 70,000 people, the lighting, positioning, and sound all needed constant adjustment, making the task heavy for everyone.

"No sacrifices to the gods at Hai hour (9-11 PM). Be back before 6:30 PM so we can start sending the Kitchen God to heaven at 7:00 PM. Don't be late!"

Before leaving, Mrs. Lu gave them some more detailed instructions, and only let them go out after Gu Lanxi agreed.

The driver was already waiting. After the two got into the car, Lu Nanting asked her smugly, "Do you know why we don't offer sacrifices to the gods at Hai hour (9-11 PM)?"

Seeing him like this, Gu Lanxi couldn't bear to disappoint him and instantly became curious: "Why?"

"Because the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) belongs to water and is the last of the twelve two-hour periods, it is the time of extreme yin within yin. Deities belong to yang and like light and cleanliness. Sacrifices performed during the hour of Hai are prone to attracting interference from yin spirits, which may backfire on the deities and may render the prayers ineffective or even bring bad luck. That's why Mom told us to come back earlier."

Gu Lanxi nodded, looking at him with starry eyes: "Brother, you know so much!"

"Well, it's just so-so. There's still a lot of work to be done!"

Gu Lanxi couldn't help but laugh. That evening, the two returned home just in time, and their eldest and second eldest brothers had already returned with their wives and children.

There's a family dinner tonight.

When Lu Jianing saw Gu Lanxi, she rushed over and happily gave her a loud kiss on the cheek!
"Auntie! It's been so long since I've seen you! I've missed you so much!"

At first, Gu Lanxi didn't notice anything wrong, because Jia Ning had always been a sweetheart.

Not content with kissing everyone, she then went and kissed all the housekeepers as well.

You should know that the people who took care of her in the old house when she was a child all went to take care of her after she started school and moved back to the second family's small house. The new people who joined the old house in the last two years are not very familiar with her.

Jia Ning had just started elementary school and was still in a state of half-understanding many things. Gu Lanxi was quite sensitive and worried that her second brother and his wife were too busy and that the child would be led astray by those around her, so she held Jia Ning in her arms and asked her softly:

"What's wrong with Jia Ning today? Why is she kissing everyone?"

"Auntie, I'll tell you a secret."

Gu Lanxi immediately focused her attention: "What secret?"

Lu Jianing immediately hugged her neck and whispered to her, "Last night I heard Mom and Dad arguing. This morning, Dad kissed me and all the toys on the sofa in order to kiss Mom. Then he said that today is the Little New Year and he should give equal love to all family members. But Mom was still angry and pushed him away. I don't want them to continue to be angry, so I want to help Dad coax her."

It has to be said that this shrewd little man is quite logical in his actions.

Let Mom see Dad's loving parenting style, and she might soften her heart for the sake of the child.

Simple and direct, yet very effective.

Seeing her second brother and his wife awkwardly whispering to each other, Gu Lanxi didn't ask them why they were arguing. Instead, she took Jia Ning to find something delicious to eat.

After everyone went home that evening and the young couple returned to their room, they finally had time to talk about this:

"Did Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law have a fight? Why?"

"If you don't know, how would I know?"

"That's not a good way to get information out of a child!"

Lu Nanting yawned and poked her cheek: "Hey, I've noticed you've been really into gossip lately. You never used to ask me about it unless I told you."

"Probably because they have too much free time."

Gu Lanxi threw off the covers, turned her back to him, and stopped talking.

"Hey, don't be angry, I'll go and find out right away."

"Who should we ask?"

Gu Lanxi had just turned around when she saw that Lu Nanting had already sent a voice message: "Hey, second brother, did you and second sister-in-law have a fight? Why did you fight? Is there anything I can do to help?"

I didn't expect this guy to be so straightforward!!

Gu Lanxi was about to stop him when her second brother replied, "What else could it be? He wants to have a second child! Sigh, he doesn't want his herniated disc to get better."

Even brothers and sisters-in-law shouldn't say anything about this kind of thing, so Lu Nanting quickly put away his phone, and Gu Lanxi didn't ask any more questions.

Just before going to sleep, Lu Nanting suddenly heard her ask, "Do you think we should have a second child?"

"掂过碌蔗" (diān guò lù zhèng) means "straight as a sugarcane," implying something is done perfectly or in excellent condition. "掂" (diān) in Cantonese means "straight" or "standing upright," and by extension, "things are done well" or "in good condition." "碌" (lù) is a measure word, equivalent to "one root" in Mandarin. Therefore, this phrase means "straighter than a sugarcane root," describing something that is so successful that it's beyond reproach.

"Pig cage into water": As mentioned before, this refers to putting water into a pig cage, with the water flowing in from all directions, symbolizing wealth coming from all directions.

"要乜有乜" means that you can have anything you want.

Note that when 乜 is pronounced Miē, it is a surname. If you encounter someone with this surname, don't pronounce it incorrectly.

If you go to Guangdong for Chinese New Year, remember to say these few things to your friends there; they will be very happy.