Three Kingdoms, at the beginning of the game, recognize the thief as the father, hit the spectacle,

"Young Master, Young Master, listen outside the door!"

"It seems that someone has started setting off firecrackers in the old city!"

……

As soon as he arrived at the front hall, Zhang Yan saw Qiao Jin sitting at the door with a smile on his face, craned his neck, and looked out the window.

It gets dark very early in Lujiang in winter, and the sky gradually dims before nightfall.

Through the gloomy sky, one or two crisp sounds of bamboo poles bursting could be faintly heard from the alley outside the door.

……

It can be seen that Qiao Jin's expression is a little excited.

……

"Okay, okay, Jin'er, come here quickly..."

"What does it look like to be blocked at the door all the time? It's fine if the grandma in the back kitchen doesn't talk about you. If you keep blocked there, how can other people's houses come in and out?"

Not far from the house, Qiao Ying had already put on a thick winter coat and curled up on a high-backed chair.

Different from the laziness and fatigue in the inner room, at this moment, Qiao Ying's feet are hanging in the air, and her slender legs are dangling slightly in the air. Compared with before, she looks more lively and energetic.

That pair of clear eyes just stared at the door curiously—don't look at the lightness of her mouth, asking Qiao Jin to go back to the house or something...

According to her temperament, she can't wait to go out to watch the excitement at this moment.

……

Unlike girls from ordinary families, as the second daughter of a local aristocratic family, Qiao Ying rarely had the opportunity to show her face outside.That is to say, after getting married, Zhang Yan never restricted her freedom, which gave Qiao Ying more opportunities to go out and hang out.

At this moment, the sound of firecrackers outside was continuous, like a cat's claws scratching Qiao Ying's heart.

Although there are no crackling firecrackers in later generations, the sound of firecrackers in the Eastern Han Dynasty is also very attractive to Qiao Ying—yes, the firecrackers in the Eastern Han Dynasty are really just firecrackers, literally kind of.

Every time the New Year closes, each household will set off a fire at the door of the house, and then throw the diabolo poles picked up from outside the city into the fire.

When the bamboo pole is heated, the finely divided fibers burst, which is the principle of the original firecracker explosion.

And no matter when it is, this kind of interesting and noisy thing is the favorite of children.

……

"Well, husband, are you awake?"

Seemingly hearing footsteps behind her, Qiao Ying looked back in surprise, and saw Zhang Yan nodding in her direction.

Her cheeks suddenly turned pink.

……

Yes, judging by her age, Qiao Ying is just a child now, and she is also very interested in things like firecrackers.

If there is no accident, the way I looked out the door with longing just now probably, should, maybe, or was watched carefully by Zhang Yan.

"Um...I..."

Although she really wanted to quibble, Qiaoying looked at Zhang Yan's interested eyes at this moment, and the prepared remarks in her mouth turned into a whimper like a young animal.

……

"Why, want to go out and have a look?"

Rubbing Qiao Ying's head casually, Zhang Yan pulled a chair and sat not far from her.

……

"Ye'er, what time is it now?"

……

"Master, it's not too long since you time, and it's not too dark outside. If you go out now, you can still see some roads."

……

The master and servant looked at each other tacitly, and after a soft smile, Zhang Yan turned around and took Qiao Ying's hand, and walked towards the door.

……

"Then let's go, call a few servants, let's go around the street, and let go of the explosive rod by the way, to get rid of this year's bad luck."

"The vegetation in our mansion is abundant, and the climate is dry in winter, so don't light a fire in this mansion and burn the yard."

……

In this way, a group of people quickly changed their clothes and squeezed out of the gate like a school of fish.

When he came to the street, Zhang Yan only took a look around, and saw that many people were lighting a fire at the door of their house, stuffing one or two slender bamboo pipes into it from time to time.

At that time, the explosions from time to time came from these fires.

Lujiang is located in the southeast and close to the river. There are a lot of green bamboos in the Huaihe River Basin. On New Year's Eve in Lujiang, the sound of firecrackers is much louder than that in Luoyang in the north.

"My lord, this way."

Walking to an intersection not far from Hou's mansion, the thin old slave stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Yan.

Afterwards, a few strong servants lit firewood and chopped bamboo, and the group of people got busy at the intersection like this.

……

"Hey, husband, what are you doing?"

……

Followed by Zhang Yan's side, Qiao Ying held Zhang Yan's arm in one hand while looking around curiously.

On the night of the New Year's Eve, if you were in another family's home, you would probably be preparing for things like cleaning the shrine and offering sacrifices to the ancestral hall.Come out like this to set off firecrackers...

Most scholars are unwilling or even look down on it.

Only Zhang Yan... such an upstart would think of running out of the house at night to watch the excitement.

……

"Ah... huh?"

……

Taking a look in the direction Qiaoying pulled, Zhang Yan was taken aback.

Not far away, there were a few scholars in coarse clothes and scarves squatting near the corner. Each of them had a stack of black and yellow square paper in their hands, facing the street, and they didn't know what they were doing.

Seeing these guys, Zhang Yan's eyes lit up immediately.

"Huh? Is there a custom of burning paper money at this time?"

Just as he was about to stretch out his hand to call these people to his side, he suddenly remembered something, so he pursed his lips, and simply led the crowd towards them and walked towards them.

……

"Ying'er, what these people are holding in their hands are yellow papers and the like. If there is no accident, they are probably here to worship their ancestors."

……

Lying on Qiaoying's shoulder and biting his ear, Zhang Yan seemed to be talking to her alone, but he was actually explaining to the people behind him.

In his impression, burning yellow paper to worship ancestors did not appear until the Wei and Jin Dynasties at the earliest, so he was not sure whether these guys really came here to burn paper for ancestors.

It would be fine if you were right, but it would be embarrassing if you guessed wrong.

"Ah, see... see the prefect!"

……

"Why did you come here?"

Seeing Zhang Yan and a large group of people walking in their direction, those scholars also panicked.

Fortunately, thanks to the vigorous publicity of many government departments, Zhang Yan's image is widely known in Lujiang.

Before everyone came to the front, two sharp-eyed scholars recognized Zhang Yan's identity and greeted Zhang Yan in a panic.

Since the practice of kneeling and kowtowing is not popular yet, when these people saw Zhang Yan, they all bowed at ninety degrees, their faces were flushed, and they didn't know whether it was excitement, excitement, or their respect for Zhang Yan and others. The sudden arrival of people is a little scary.

……

"Okay, okay, don't be too polite, get up quickly."

……

Waving at several people, Zhang Yan didn't put on any airs in front of his family, just motioned them to get up.

"I'm here now, just to ask you guys, what are you doing on the street if you don't go home to reunite with your family during the Chinese New Year?"

……

"This……"

Among the few scholars, you looked at me and I looked at you. In the end, the oldest middle-aged man who seemed to be in his thirties spoke up.

"Reporting to the prefect, we..."

"We also want to go home to reunite with our family, but it's a long way. If we go back, not to mention labor and money, the journey will take at least two months."

"Since that's the case, why not stay here in Lujiang this year, buy a house in Wancheng when you earn enough money in the coming year, and bring all your family members here to reunite together."

……

"Oh?"

"You said it would take you more than two months to go home..."

"Is your hometown Guanzhong or Hebei?"

"It can't be the boundary of Yizhou, can it?"

Zhang Yan asked with a smile.

……

"Hey, prefect Mingcha, I really came from Guanzhong, and my hometown is near Mengjindu, Henan. These little brothers are also my fellow villagers. I came to Lujiang with me at the beginning, and I admire your reputation. Find a job in Lujiang."

The middle-aged man responded with a smile, and then pointed to a pile of fire under his feet.

"It's just a pity that we are stupid, and we can say how many years older than others. In terms of academic ability, we may not be able to compare with the many students in Lujiang."