1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

"You should put up the paper-cut window decorations too."

Su Man took the cleaned-up Chen Xiaosui and handed her the paper-cut window decorations she had just made.

"Give me that New Year picture too, I'll put it up while I'm at it."

Nowadays, whether it's Spring Festival couplets, window decorations, or the character for "happiness," everyone makes them themselves. Although it's a bit troublesome, it's very festive.

Unlike later years, when the New Year celebrations gradually changed and became more about meals, mahjong games, and travel... even fireworks were no longer allowed, and the festive spirit was long gone.

"baby!"

Chen Xiaosui stared at the chubby baby New Year picture that Chen Weidong had just pasted up with some curiosity.

Even Chen Xiaoan, who had just woken up, was kicking and jumping in Su Man's arms, looking like he wanted to come closer and take a look.

After finishing a bunch of work outside, Chen Weidong finally had time to sit down, but his hands didn't stop. He started making dumplings with Su Man. This time, they used two large cabbages, and even chopped up some pork from the pig they had slaughtered for the New Year and mixed it in.

Chen Weidong was busy until evening before he finally took a break.

Sometimes housework is more tiring than construction work, but tonight we have to "stay up all night" by replacing the wood in the stove with cypress logs.

The elderly give children lucky money, new bills wrapped in red paper, starting at two cents. The whole family eats melon seeds, roasts sweet potatoes, and listens to the elders tell stories of the past. The children stay up all night on New Year's Eve so that the God of Wealth will arrive.

Chen Weidong grew up like this, but now it's just his family, and the children are too young to follow any particular customs.

He took out the peanuts and melon seeds he had bought at the market earlier and ate them with Su Man.

There was no TV or cell phone at home, and Chen Weidong soon became drowsy.

Finally, at midnight, firecrackers started going off outside one after another, along with the startled cries of cows and horses.

Unlike later, when fireworks lit up the night sky, now most households only set off a single firecracker or a double-bang.

Chen Weidong also went out and set off a string of firecrackers at the door. He had only bought a board of firecrackers at the market that day, and he couldn't set them off all at once. He needed to set off firecrackers for the next few days and had to reserve some for the following days.

He took two pieces of wood, lit them with firewood, and once the wood was burning, Chen Weidong hurriedly went inside.

"Honey, you can go outside and warm yourself by the fire now."

In rural northern China, "warming oneself by the fire" on New Year's Eve is essentially about "staying up around a fire pit to welcome the new year." Elders often say, "The fire on the 30th is the lamp on the 15th," meaning that if the fire goes out, the "prosperity" for the coming year will be cut off.

Therefore, whether it's an adult or a child, everyone has to get up and "stir the fire" when it's their turn, symbolizing "passing on the torch and prosperity year after year".

By this time, Su Man had already dressed Chen Xiaosui and Chen Xiaoan, all of whom were dressed in brand-new foreign cloth.

Even Su Man herself made herself a set of clothes using the homespun cloth that Chen Weidong bought, but it looked a bit tight, as her figure had not yet returned to its pre-pregnancy state.

"I'll wrap An'an in another blanket. You take Sui Sui outside to warm up by the fire."

Chen Weidong nodded, picked up Chen Xiaosui, and walked out to the fire, where he put her down.

"Reach out and grill it."

Chen Xiaosui was a little scared at first, but after testing it and finding it didn't hurt, she immediately imitated Chen Weidong, stretching out her hands and repeatedly touching them back and forth, her face full of joy. She thought it was a lot of fun.

She took another step forward, wanting to get closer, but Chen Weidong stopped her.

"Don't get any closer, you might get burned, and it will hurt a lot."

"It's burning, it hurts so much!"

Chen Xiaosui nodded obediently, but her eyes remained fixed on the fire, clearly unwilling to give up and wanting to play a little longer.

Su Man also carried Chen Xiaoan out, circled around the campfire once, and then went back inside.

Chen Xiaoan is too young, and it's cold in winter. If he stays outside for too long, he'll easily catch a cold.

Chen Weidong and Chen Xiaosui stayed for a while longer, until the fire subsided, and then went back inside.

"Honey, how many dumplings would you like?"

After warming themselves by the fire, they would cook some dumplings, and also eat some peanuts, melon seeds... Even if they weren't hungry, they would still eat a little something.

"I'm not very hungry, two or three will be enough."

"Where's Sui Sui?"

Chen Weidong looked at his daughter.

"I'm hungry, I want to eat feet..."

"That's called dumplings."

While correcting his daughter's pronunciation, Chen Weidong cooked about ten dumplings.

After eating dumplings, Chen Xiaoan and Chen Xiaosui fell asleep. Chen Weidong washed up briefly, added some oil to the kerosene lamp, shortened the wick, and covered it with a glass cover.

This lamp must not be turned off tonight; it's called the "everlasting lamp" and must be left on until dawn. All other lamps must be turned off, and the water tank lid and pot lid must be tightly closed, symbolizing "wealth not flowing out."

With that, the Lunar New Year's Eve finally came to an end. Chen Weidong got into bed and fell asleep shortly afterward.

It felt like I hadn't slept for long before it started getting lively outside again.

"What's wrong?"

Su Man also woke up and said somewhat groggily.

"I guess they're welcoming the God of Happiness. I'll go check it out; you guys keep sleeping."

Chen Weidong got dressed and went out. It was already getting light outside, and the entrance to the brigade headquarters was already crowded with people.

"Wei Dong, over here."

He Yan greeted Chen Weidong.

"What direction is it this year?"

Just as Chen Weidong walked up to He Yan, he heard someone asking Wang Jianshui a question.

To welcome the God of Happiness, the direction must be checked in advance. Last night, the village's literate elders or accountants turned to the page of "The God of Happiness is in such-and-such direction" in the old almanac and drew the directional lines at the entrance of the village using a compass or a traditional "compass".

"Accountant Yang said that the first day of the lunar new year this year is a 'Gengchen day.' According to the principle that 'in the year of Yi Geng, Wu is the head,' we can deduce that the hour of 'Bingxu' is when Bing appears. Therefore, the auspicious star for this year should be in the northwest Qian position."

Soon after, someone came to spread the word that Yang Shuzhi had pinpointed the starting point, which was in the open field to the northwest of the village.

The villagers began to walk towards the empty fields. Chen Weidong followed He Yan and Wang Jianshui, and the group chatted as they walked.

When they arrived, a large crowd had already gathered nearby. Chen Weidong also saw Yang Shuzhi leading a mule and horse, with his son holding a lamb beside him.

Seeing that it was almost time, Yang Shulin blew his whistle, and all the men, women, and children in the village drove their livestock in a long line. At the front were two strong men carrying an incense burner, and the people behind carried lanterns and flashlights. Children set off small firecrackers along the way, and from a distance it looked like a fire dragon moving in a predetermined direction.

Then, they walk around the "God of Happiness" area outside the village, and finally tie a red cloth strip around the neck of the livestock. This is called "welcoming the God of Happiness" and is a prayer for the prosperity of the livestock.

As for the women, they would scatter a pinch of stove ash into the air, symbolizing the dispelling of "poverty".

Upon reaching the open field, three small mounds of earth were built using iron stakes, arranged in a "品" (pin) shape: the middle one represented the "Heavenly God," the left the "Earthly God," and the right the "God of Happiness." Three sheets of yellow paper were placed on each mound, followed by three sticks of incense. Then, the leader of the ceremony, Yang Shulin, knelt and loudly proclaimed: "May the Heavenly God bestow blessings, the Earthly God bring good fortune, and the God of Happiness bring joy! May the weather be favorable, and may the livestock thrive!"

After the blessing, everyone began their journey home. The elderly would pick up a dry twig or a bundle of grass from the surrounding area, which was called "picking up wealth." The children followed suit, and whoever picked up the biggest piece would receive the most New Year's money.

Chen Weidong also picked up a piece, and when he got home, he would burn it in the stove to symbolize "wealth entering the house and a prosperous year".

He returned home, cooked some dumplings, and heated up some of the pork he had prepared earlier. The family enjoyed a warm meal together.

Around 10 o'clock, Chen Weidong finally came out of his house and went to Yang Shulin, Wang Jianshe, and Yang Shuzhi's homes to offer a simple New Year's greeting.

If you're from the village, after welcoming the God of Happiness and having a meal, you'll get busy again, visiting all the relatives and elders to offer New Year's greetings.

Even if you meet someone on the street, if they are an elder, you will bow and say "Happy New Year, may you prosper!" The elder will reply "May you prosper too, may you prosper too!" and offer cigarettes or candy. On this day, you don't go inside to drink tea; you simply "pay respects on the street," and only after you have paid respects to all the elders in the village will you disperse.

Chen Weidong and the other educated youths had it easy; they didn't have many relatives. If it were like in previous years, he would have stayed at home after welcoming the God of Happiness, just like Liang Xiao and the others.

……