Reborn in 1985, starting from the mountains of Northwest China

The stall owner was an old man, wrapped in an old cotton-padded coat, with a brazier at his feet.

When he saw someone coming, he squinted and looked up.

"Buying lanterns? To celebrate the New Year."

Chen Feng squatted down, put Xiaoyue down, and let her choose for herself.

Xiaoyue looked at each lantern one by one, her eyes lingering for a moment on the one with the chubby baby painted on it, then at the one with the character "福" (fortune) written on it, and finally pointed to the one on the far right: "Dad, this one!"

The one with the big rooster drawn on it.

Xiaoyue said earnestly, "Roosters crow to wake us up early."

"Xiaoyue and her brother should study hard so they can buy their parents beautiful clothes in the future!"

Xiaoshan muttered quietly beside him, "But I can't wake you up. You always stay in bed too long."

"Call me. I'll get up when you call me, I won't stay in bed."

Xiao Shan couldn't help but smile slightly upon hearing this; his sister was just so adorable!

Chen Feng took down the lantern with the big rooster on it and asked Xiao Shan, "Which one do you want?"

Xiaoshan shook his head: "I don't want to."

Why?

Xiaoshan said in a muffled voice, "I'm a guy, I don't play this game."

Chen Feng glanced at him. How old is this kid?

Without thinking, he took a pendant with the character "福" (fortune) written on it and handed it to Xiaoshan.

Xiaoshan doesn't accept it.

Chen Feng patted his head: "Take it. Men need to celebrate the New Year too."

Xiaoshan paused for a moment, took it, looked down at it, his lips twitched, and this time he couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Chen Feng then picked out two more couplets, one to paste on the front door and one on the back door.

He also bought several "Fu" characters, as well as door gods depicting Yuchi Gong and Qin Shubao.

People in the countryside believe this.

I've believed in these things my whole life, but I can't say which generation they came from.

Anyway, ever since I can remember, sending the Kitchen God to heaven on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and inviting the Door Gods into the house on New Year's Eve is something ingrained in my bones, just like eating dumplings on the Winter Solstice and wrapping zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival.

Nobody asked why.

When asked, the elderly people couldn't give a clear answer.

At most, he'd tap the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) with his pipe, squinting as he said, "It's something passed down from the older generation; there must be some truth to it."

After paying, he handed the lantern to Xiaoshan: "Here, don't crush it."

Xiaoshan carefully held the two lanterns together.

Xiaoyue held up the windmill, which spun rapidly. As she walked, she kept looking back at the two lanterns, her face beaming with joy.

On the way back, Xiaoyue was sleepy, her head nodding. She hadn't finished eating the candied hawthorn in her hand, so Chen Feng wrapped the remaining two hawthorns in oil paper and put them in his pocket.

Xiaoshan didn't say a word, just walked silently, holding his two lanterns high as if he were carrying some incredible treasure.

By the time I got home, the sun was already setting.

Lin Xiu was collecting clothes in the yard when she saw them return. She greeted them with a smile, "You're finally back. If you had been any later, the food would have gotten cold."

Xiaoyue woke up as soon as she entered the door, holding up a windmill and running towards Lin Xiu: "Mom! Look! A windmill!"

Lin Xiu squatted down and hugged her, then looked up at the lantern in Xiao Shan's hand and asked with a smile, "Oh, you bought so many nice things?"

Chen Feng took out the shoes, and then pulled out red paper and the character "福" (fortune/blessing): "These are for my master's family. I'll deliver them to him in a bit."

Lin Xiu took it, looked at it, and nodded: "Okay, you can rest for a bit and have some water before you go."

Chen Feng drank a bowl of water, took three "Fu" characters (福, meaning good fortune), and went out to Zhang the blacksmith's house.

Before Chen Feng even entered the door, he could hear that it was very lively inside.

"Play! Play! Your hand is no good, stop dawdling!"

"What's the rush? Let me calculate..."

"What's the point of calculating? We'll still lose!"

Chen Feng pushed open the door and entered. The main room was filled with smoke. A group of people were sitting on and under the kang (a heated brick bed). In the middle was a low table with playing cards and a pile of loose change on it.

Besides Zhang the blacksmith, there was Zeng Tieniu from the same village, as well as two unfamiliar faces.

Chen Feng smiled and nodded, which was his way of greeting them.

Zhang the blacksmith sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), a pipe dangling from his lips. Seeing Chen Feng enter, he waved, "Hey, Fengzi's here! Come on in and sit down!"

Chen Feng walked over with a smile and handed over the "Fu" character: "Master, here are a few 'Fu' characters for you to put up for the New Year."

Zhang the blacksmith took it, unfolded it, looked at it, and put it on the table with a smile: "Good, good apprentice, you still remember your master."

A young man leaned over, glanced at the "福" (good fortune) character, then at Chen Feng, and asked, "Second Uncle, is this your apprentice?"

Zhang the blacksmith nodded: "Yes, Chen Feng, just hired. He's a reliable young man!"

The young man smiled and extended his hand: "I am Zhang Jianguo, and I work in the county. This is my younger brother, Jianjun."

They waved to Chen Feng and then went back to looking at their cards.

Zhang the blacksmith pointed to an empty seat next to him: "Come on, sit down and play a couple of rounds of Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game)?"

Chen Feng waved his hand: "No, Master, I have to go back."

"What's the rush? Sit down for a bit before you leave."

As Zhang the blacksmith spoke, he moved the money in front of him to the side, saying, "I'll just play a couple of rounds; I won't lose much money."

Chen Feng doesn't usually play much, so he decided to spend the New Year with his master and have some fun.

So he simply went along with it and sat down.

It's Chinese New Year, after all, all about having fun.

At the card table were Chen Feng, Zhang Tiechui, and Zhang Jianguo. Tie Niu and Jianjun had won a lot earlier, so they simply sat aside and watched.

Zhang Jianguo was shuffling the cards, making a loud swishing sound, and said as he did so, "Brother Feng, how much to bet? One or two cents, or one or two dimes?"

Chen Feng said, "One or two points, just a token gesture."

Zhang Jianguo nodded and began dealing the cards.

In the first round, Chen Feng used two planes with wings and a bomb, finishing off his losses in one go.

As Zhang Jianguo took out his money, he said with a grin, "Okay, Brother Feng has good luck."

Zhang the blacksmith, with his pipe dangling from his lips, slowly counted out three cents and handed it over, muttering, "This kid's luck is just weird."

Zhang Jianjun comforted him, "It's alright, it's only the first time. Fortune changes."

The second round begins.

Zhang Jianguo shuffled the cards, making a loud clattering sound, and then put them on the table: "Come on, let's cut the cards."

The blacksmith reached out and made a cut.

Zhang Jianguo started dealing the cards, one by one, and the landlord position fell to Chen Feng again.

Chen Feng gathered the cards together and sorted them out one by one.

Halfway through, his lips twitched.

Zhang Jianguo, with his sharp eyes, leaned over and asked, "What's up, Brother Feng? Good cards?"

Chen Feng remained silent and continued shuffling the cards.

After sorting through the cards, he slammed them together in his hand, his face expressionless.

Zhang the blacksmith glanced at him sideways: "How about it? Should we call the landlord?"

Chen Feng said, "Shout."

He turned over his hole cards—5 of hearts, 9 of clubs, and King of diamonds.

He put the three cards in his hand, sorted them out again, then looked up and glanced at Zeng Tieniu.

Zhang Jianguo's gaze made him uneasy: "What's wrong?"

Chen Feng didn't say anything, and just spread the cards in his hand on the table.

Zhang Jianguo looked down and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

A pair of Kings, four 2s, three Kings with a 3, and the rest can form a pair.

Zhang the blacksmith, with his pipe dangling from his lips, remained motionless for a long time, not even noticing the ash falling from it.

Zeng Tieniu leaned closer to look, stared for a long time, and finally managed to utter, "Damn..."