Chapter 0539 – New Year’s Customs (I)

After kowtowing to the old man and old lady a bunch of little ones, in order from Zhuang Rui’s second uncle, one by one, one bye down, kowtowed and stood up to reach out for the red packets, winter clothes to wear more, that one of the stupid look, look at the adults laughed a lot.

“Uncle, give red packets!”

Inside this room, only Zhuang Rui is the youngest, so row to the end to give him kowtow, looking at his niece stretched out the little fat hand, Zhuang Rui tears and laughs took out the ready red packets, one by one sent down.

Pro Zhuang Rui put the nui nui in his arms, said: “Nui nui, put your red envelope to uncle to keep, OK ah?”

“Not at all, mom said that this is the dowry for the inamorata when she grows up in the future ……”

The little girl shook her head repeatedly, and the words that came out of her mouth instantly drew laughter in the room, she didn’t know what dowry was called, she just repeated Zhuang Min’s words.

“Good. In the future, when you get married, uncle will give another big red packet ……”

Zhuang Rui scraped the little girl’s nose and let her go, the little children piled up to eat fragrantly, if this were in normal times, they would have to take a bowl and follow behind to chase after them, in order to let these little grandparents eat their meals.

After Ouyang Gang moved chopsticks, this New Year’s Eve dinner is considered to have begun, their family does not have any food without words rules, the restaurant is always full of laughter, at this time, there is no ministers, there is no governor or generals, there is just a strong affection.

The old man and the old lady did not eat much, after about half an hour or so, the health care doctor who ate in the front yard rushed over, together with Ouyang Wan, helped the two old men to go for a walk in the yard.

Children at this moment also eat almost, hula group of little guys, take the flower gun to the yard to set off firecrackers, outside the “crackling” sound, but also to the New Year added a lot of festive atmosphere.

“Okay, you several also come over ……”

After the old man left, Ouyang Zhenwu his son and Ouyang Lu several brothers, are called to the main table, in addition to Zhuang Rui’s great-uncle is still in the field at the moment in addition, this is considered the two or three generations are all here.

Listening to the sound of firecrackers outside Zhuang Rui picked up a glass of wine to toast the two uncles, said: “This is not a ban on artillery, only a little taste of the New Year, a few years earlier this New Year’s Eve tradition are almost lost.”

“This is a good thing to say though, but this is favorable also has disadvantages, New Year’s firecrackers, the city fire rate to be sixty percent higher than usual, do not let put it! And lose the tradition ……”

Speaking is Ouyang Long, he is now also regarded as the party in charge, for these things are very understanding, every New Year’s Eve, but also their busiest time, Ouyang Long today after the New Year’s Eve dinner, tomorrow to fly back to the duty of the.

Of course, busy is not the so-called running for office, on the contrary, a lot of people who are bigger than their official title, it is not possible to say that they will also visit them in turn!

“New Year’s Eve is not about national affairs, Xiao Rui, you are engaged in collecting. This is tied to our country’s traditional culture, can you say what this New Year’s Eve is about?”

Ouyang Zhenwu often heard his son praise Zhuang Rui in the appraisal of antiques, how how good, this is to want to test Zhuang Rui, to see how much he understands about the traditional Chinese culture?

“Brother-in-law, you make the question! But we have to be a little colorful to do …….”

New Year’s Day on a happy, Zhuang Rui see brother-in-law have interest, also opened up a joke.

“You kid, what colorful head, say it! To money I have no ……” Ouyang Zhenwu said with a smile.

“Brother-in-law, let’s do it this way, you come up with the topic, if I answer up, you and second uncle and a few cousins, each drink a cup of wine, if I can’t answer up, I drink six cups a person, how about it?”

Zhuang Rui these words let a few people look at each other, they do not know Zhuang Rui where to come from the bottom of the air, actually dare to say this big words, a few of them drink a cup each is nothing, Zhuang Rui if you lose once, can be to drink six cups ah! The cups they use to drink are seven dollars a cup, six cups will be about four taels.

Ouyang Jun put on an expression of you’re in deep shit and looked at Zhuang Rui gloatingly. Saying, “Fifth son, no one is stopping you if you want to drink, my dad’s that topic came out very tricky ah!”

“Willing to gamble, whoever we lose, who drinks, second uncle, brother-in-law, how about it, come or not?”

Zhuang Rui smiling appearance, let a few people a little uncertain, who knows what goods stored in the stomach of this kid ah? However, Ouyang Zhenwu was still a bit unconvinced that at Zhuang Rui’s age, he would know these yearly things.

“Let’s do it as you said, whoever loses drinks, let’s do it this way! The first question you first say over there on the table, set these melons peanuts eat things, there is no what to say ……”

Ouyang Zhenwu smiled and made the question, just now after the table of small children finished eating, they removed all the leftovers and rearranged some snacks peanuts and other things.

“Hehe, brother-in-law, this one is not hard for me. Melon seeds used to be also called poor stoned, it means that the people have no money, can’t afford to eat expensive things, melon seeds it’s cheap ah! So it is the poor people have nothing to do to get high. But now the New Year, this melon is not called poor high, it is called high poor, let us in this end of the year, the poor gas are stoned off, brother-in-law, am I right?”

Zhuang Rui’s words drew Ouyang Jun’s brothers to perk up their ears. Although the New Year was celebrated every year, they really didn’t know that melon seeds still had this preoccupation.

Ouyang Zhenwu smiled and nodded, saying, “That’s right, your kid actually even knows this, what about peanuts?”

“Peanuts are also called the fruit of longevity, eat at the time of the New Year, pay attention to a prolonged life, take an auspicious meaning ……”

Zhuang Rui did not scare at all, opened his mouth and said, he graduated from Zhonghai the first year just into the pawnbroker’s work, that year did not return to Pangcheng for the New Year, but in Uncle De’s home over the New Year.

Uncle De is from the old society over, itself is a folklore expert, he has always been very optimistic about Zhuang Rui, want to take this apprentice, so the knowledge in the stomach poured to Zhuang Rui quite a lot, and later handed over to Zhuang Rui a lot of miscellaneous types of things, all related to folklore, Ouyang Zhenwu asked about these things, but also difficult to fall Zhuang Rui.

“Right? All drink!”

Zhuang Rui smiled triumphantly, there are many things in the folklore of the New Year, can be applied to the identification of miscellaneous items, in the study of miscellaneous types of antiques identification, he has turned over a book of Chinese folklore.

Folklore, that is, folk customs, refers to a country or nation in the vast number of people to create, enjoy and inherit the culture of life, and China’s folklore, the history is even more far-reaching, including eating Lantern Festival, eating dumplings, eating rice dumplings to catch the temple fair and so on, are included in the category of folklore.

“Good, that’s right, I’ll drink this cup of wine.”

“I also drank, this drink is worth …… it.”

“Yeah! Eating these things day after day, I really didn’t know there was this precept ……”

Ouyang Zhenwu took the lead and several people drank the wine in front of them. Zhuang Rui smilingly took the wine bottle, one by one to several people re-filled the wine, look at this situation, he also wanted to pour these two maternal uncle a few more cups.

Zhuang Rui’s second uncle Ouyang Zhenshan also came to the interest, pointing to the twelve plates on the table in front of him, said to Zhuang Rui: “Xiao Rui, then let’s talk about this dish! Why is this a total of twelve dishes, is there any saying in it?”

Zhuang Rui smiled at the words, said: “line, let’s say this dish, twelve dishes, four cool eight hot, four is four flat, eight is eight stable, together is to take the meaning of the four flat eight stable, said we this year’s last meal, to be safe and sound through, to meet the arrival of the new year …… ”

“Come on, second uncle can’t test you, all accompany me to have a drink!”

Ouyang Zhenshan nodded his head repeatedly as he listened, this time there was no need for Zhuang Rui to persuade him to drink, and the table consciously drank the wine that had just been poured.

“Old Five, then let’s talk about the dishes, what is this chicken, duck, fish and meat all about?”

Ouyang Jun also chimed in, but was then interrupted by Ouyang Lei, saying, “Forget about the chicken! This is for good luck, it can’t be counted, children all know that.”

Ouyang Jun thought deeply of his boss’s words, and added a few sentences immediately afterward, “Yes, yes, the chicken doesn’t count, the other three dishes count as three, if your kid can’t say it, you’ll have to drink six cups of each, that’s eighteen cups of wine ……”

“Silly boy, if he says it, don’t we have to drink three cups too?”

Ouyang Zhenwu is speechless to his own son, how can this cleverness not be used in the place ah! Just think about harming Zhuang Rui, did not realize that there is a back and forth in this ah!

“Haha, second uncle, brother-in-law, you guys go teach fourth brother a lesson, this wine, let him drink it!”

After Zhuang Rui heard his brother-in-law’s words, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and then said, “We don’t count the chicken, just now Lei said, the chicken is a figure of good luck, which is correct, I won’t talk about it. Let’s talk about ducks first! The reason why the Spring Festival is called the Spring Festival is that spring is about to arrive, Su Shi in the poem “Huichong Spring River Evening Scene” has this line: three or two branches of peach blossoms outside of the bamboo, the spring river water is warm and the ducks are the first to know, the Spring Festival to eat ducks, it is in the thought of the arrival of spring ……”

“Come on, say it out one up, this cup I drink first.” Ouyang Jun was very conscious of the wine in front of him, the New Year’s Day figure a happy, Ouyang Zhenshan and others have also raised their glasses.

“As for this fish!”

“Wait, Xiaorui, everyone knows this fish, does it mean that the year is full of luck? You don’t need to say this meaning, you need to say why there are two fish dishes on the table?”

Ouyang Zhenwu stopped Zhuang Rui’s words, good guy, a bunch of people didn’t have a hard time defeating this little guy, Ouyang Zhenwu also felt a little bit over the top, the difficulty of this exam question to increase a little bit.

“OK, the yearly surplus is also not to say, let’s say this second fish, this fish is not eaten on the thirtieth day of the year, but to be placed on the first day of the New Year to eat, this is not only to be the yearly surplus, and also to have a surplus in successive years, I wish that next year will be better!”