Chapter 193 New Year’s Eve

The next day is New Year's Eve. From this day on, not to mention the entire Wuzhai Fort, but also the entire Ming Dynasty, they were immersed in the atmosphere of the New Year.

From daylight, every household from Huangfu to Wuzhaibao is busy changing door gods, pasting Spring Festival couplets, hanging New Year pictures, hanging paper, pasting window flowers, and driving away the plague. Firecrackers exploded everywhere and laughter. In the years since the development of Wuzhaibao, the lives of the military and civilians have become better and better day by day, and the atmosphere of the New Year has become stronger and stronger every year.

The Huang Mansion was also busy since the early morning. After his mother Yang went to the capital, the hostess had changed to Gu Yunniang, and went in and out. After the work of the people, she was instructed by her, and several sisters and wives were helping him. Today is the first time that Gu Yunniang's brothers and sisters celebrated the New Year in Huang Mansion, and there was a little more novelty.

When I was busy until the evening, I had prepared a lot of wine and food in the lobby. According to the customs of the next year, the staple foods include rice cakes and dumplings, which mean that the growth is year by year. The side food must include fish, chicken, bacon, and braised lion heads. However, fish is used to look at it rather than eat it, which symbolizes surplus every year. You must drink Tusu wine when drinking.

Seeing that the time was almost over, Huang Laifu led his younger brother Huang Lingbin and his five sons to worship the ancestors of the Huang family. After his father Huang Sihao went to the capital, he is now the male owner of the mansion. The important task of worshiping the ancestors of the heaven and earth naturally fell on him. This made Huang Laifu sigh. In the blink of an eye, several years have passed.

After worshiping the ancestors of the Huang family, Huang Laifu smiled and said to his eldest son Huang Dalang: "Dalang, how about you let this happy cannon be fired today?"

After today, Huang Dalang is four years old. Like his father Huang Laifu, he is very handsome and has a stout figure. He heard this and said happily: "Okay, Daddy, come and fire the fun cannon!"

As he said that, he took a long string of firecrackers from a servant and went out the door excitedly. The younger sister Huang Xiurou stood up and shouted, "I'll go too!" The remaining four sons of Huang Laifu and a bunch of children also called to follow him. Several servants were also busy taking care of him.

Gu Yunniang was a little worried, and she scolded Huang Laifu: "Why did you let your son go and let him go? That's the overlord whip that sounds thousands of sons. Be careful not to blow him up!"

Huang Laifu disagreed: "If my son doesn't even dare to fire a wedding cannon, how can he inherit my family business in the future?"

Gu Yunniang gave him a blank look: "My son is still young..."

Before he finished speaking, the deafening sound of firecrackers was heard, and even the smell of gunpowder could be smelled in the inner house. It took a long time before the firecrackers were blown up, and then Huang Xiurou and a group of children ran back excitedly. Everyone was screaming and muttering from time to time, and everyone looked excited.

After the wedding cannon was set off, the Huang Mansion closed the door and ate the New Year's Eve dinner. Everyone sat around the table and gathered together. There were many people today, in addition to Huang Laifu and Gu Yunniang, there were also Liu Yumei and Liu Erniu, Qu Xiuhe, Meiyue, Liu Huan, and their five sons with Huang Laifu. There were Huang Lingbin and Huang Xiurou. There were eldest sisters, second sisters, third sisters, and their husbands and children. There were also Gu Yunniang's brothers and sisters-in-law, and their children. There was a large table full of people.

Huang Laifu was the most respected and sat on the main seat. His face was full of red light and raised Tu Su wine and said, "Come on, come on, today, everyone will have a drink."

Everyone responded with a loud bang and raised their glasses to drink.

After putting down the wine glass, Huang Laifu looked at Huang Lingbin next to him and said, "Second brother, after the New Year, you are twenty, it's time to start a family and set up a house. Is there any girl I like? I know that Governor Yang has a daughter, gentle and beautiful, and is only 28 years old, just match you. After all, our family is also a general in a town. Marrying his daughter is a good match. You kid, you are a bargain. I have no growth in a few sons, otherwise I will give her to my son!"

Everyone laughed and looked at Huang Lingbin jokingly. Huang Lingbin's face was so dry that his face was flushed, but he was shy and silent.

Gu Yunniang smiled and said, "Don't just make random couples, my uncle has a sweetheart!"

Huang Laifu said in surprise and said, "Which girl is it? Why don't I know?"

The eldest sister Huang Zirou smiled and said, "Brother, you are busy with military affairs all day long. How could you know what you are thinking about? The girl she likes is Fang Jieyu, who is the daughter of Mr. Fang, the teacher of Weixue in Kilan Prefecture. I heard that she is quite handsome. No wonder I was fascinated by the whole day after meeting her!"

Huang Lingbin blushed and whispered: "I'm not fascinated..."

Several sisters laughed at him: "Brother, you are the ones we grew up watching. Will the sisters not know your concern?"

Gu Shiyin's wife Zhao smiled and said, "It's not that brother Jin's heart-warming. I have heard of that girl Fang. She is also a famous talented woman in Kilanzhou. She is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. I also have some friendship with her mother, Mrs. Fang. If Brother Jin is interested, I will go and talk to her."

Sister Huang Zirou is most enthusiastic about these things, and she said, "Okay, I'll go with you too if I take the time."

Although Huang Lingbin was still shy, it was related to his happiness. He finally mustered up the courage and hesitated: "Mr. Fang likes me very much, but Miss Fang doesn't seem to pay much attention to me... I heard that she likes such a majestic man..."

His voice became lower and lower. If it weren't for everyone's good ears, he would be afraid that he wouldn't be able to hear it.

Third sister Huang Bi Judo: "I'm also so majestic."

The eldest sister Huang Zirou disagreed: "When is it her turn to make decisions about her parents' orders and matchmakers' words?"

Huang Laifu said: "Second brother, don't be afraid. I have experience chasing girls. As long as I have a strong face and a dark heart, I will eventually be able to hold the beauty. Isn't your sister-in-law just chased you? I'll teach you a few tricks later and I'll get what you want."

Everyone was laughing so hard that Qu Xiuhe and the girls were all smiling. Only Huang Lingbin was interested in Huang Laifu's words in a shy smile. Gu Yunniang blushed her cheeks and gave Huang Laifu a shy look: "What are you saying? You are a father, and you are so embarrassed to say such words. The uncle is serious, be careful not to teach him badly."

The eldest sister Huang Zirou also laughed for a while, pointed at Huang Laifu and said, "My younger brother is strange. I was not so slick before." When Huang Laifu didn't say anything, she turned her head and said to Huang Xiuju next to her: "Little sister, you are also a big girl after the New Year. By the way, men are married as soon as they are married as women are married, but should I ask the eldest sister to find a good husband for you?"

The little sister Huang Xiurou turned her face and her mouth curled, and said, "No, I will follow my elder brother in the future."

Gu Yunniang smiled and said, "My sister-in-law, girls always have to get married when they grow up."

Huang Xiurou just flattened her mouth. Huang Laifu couldn't help but smile when she saw her appearance. The child had an Oedipus plot, a brother-in-law plot, and an Oedipus plot, and it was normal to grow up. He raised his glass and said, "Come on, everyone drinks, drinks."

Everyone raised their glasses together, and then they talked and laughed, and had a happy New Year's Eve dinner.

After dinner, everyone stayed up late to stay up to New Year. As the head of the family, Huang Laifu distributed New Year's money to several sons and children, and distributed New Year's red envelopes to the people in the mansion. Thinking about it, the father Huang Sihao, mother Yang and others used to distribute New Year's money to themselves, but now it's his turn to distribute it.

All night, except for Huang Laifu getting up at the fifth o'clock in the morning, burning incense and paper to greet the Jade Emperor, he was playing horses with everyone and promoting the card to make fun of it. For a moment, the entire hall became a battlefield. The children were playing shuttlecocks and riding bamboo horses, and everyone was having fun.

At the moment, the sound of firecrackers in Wuzhai Fort resounded through the sky, and the New Year was welcomed by the sound of firecrackers.

After midnight, New Year's Day, which is the first day of the first lunar month of the 23rd year of Wanli, the time entered February 9, 1595.

From the fifth day of this day, incense and paper cannons were burned in the Ming Dynasty Palace. The palace people threw the yard three times with the door bolts, which was called "falling a thousand gold coins". Early in the morning, civil and military officials also went to the palace to celebrate the emperor. In the local yamen, the vassal kings, the officials and generals of various prefectures and counties also had to dress up and go to their yamen to hold ceremonial activities to congratulate the palace.

Early that morning, Huang Laifu dressed up and wore a bright red Ming official uniform. He first burned incense in the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors of the Heaven and Earth, and then worshiped his parents from the direction of Beijing. After eating millet cake, he prepared a carriage and horse festival. He put a flying goose made of black gold paper on his head and went to the Wuzhaibao official office. A group of women in the mansion were also charming and came to Gu Yunniang's room to salute.

Walking on the street, Wuzhai Fort was filled with the New Year atmosphere of firecrackers and smoke. The streets were filled with Wuzhai Fort merchants and civilians who were playing with such as hundreds of operas, six blogs, throwing pots, and having fun on stilts. The children in the fort even put on new clothes, kicked the tops, splatters, and other games on the street. From time to time, groups of children lit a firecracker, threw it out from afar, making a crisp sound of cannons.

Regardless of men, women, young and old, each of them had a "nooty" made of black gold paper, which was made of all shapes, such as flying geese, butterflies, grasshoppers, etc., as big as a palm and as small as money. Some even inserted "nooty" all over their heads. This was a custom in the Ming Dynasty at that time.

Huang Laifu's carriage passed by, and there were crowds of people paying salutes to Huang Laifu one after another. Under the guidance of his parents, the children also greeted Huang Laifu in a innocent voice.

Huang Laifu immediately bowed to everyone with a smile and greeted the New Year. His servants and guards were also busy distributing red envelopes to everyone.

When they arrived at the government office, all the officials and generals of Wuzhai Fort arrived, waiting for Huang Laifu. Everyone was happy and all dressed in official uniforms. When Huang Laifu arrived, he led He Chaoxun, Jiang Dazhong and others came to pay their respects to Huang Laifu.

Huang Laifu greeted everyone with a smile. Then, under Huang Laifu's leadership, everyone set up incense tables, danced in the direction of Beijing City, performed fourteen prayers, and verbally greeted the emperor to the new year. Finally, the ceremony of "Wangque Congratulations" was completed.

After the end of the tribute, the Huang Mansion ushered in a craze for New Year's greetings. From that day on, Huang Mansion's first door received greetings and bookings, and was very busy. The officers and merchants in the fort, the military generals and officers of the outer fort, and the military generals of Ningwu Pass, were countless people who served the people. Most of these people were handed over to Mr. Yang to keep the care of the people.

Most of the officers and generals in the Waibao were not allowed to come in person, so they sent famous posts to congratulate. At that time, the people in the Ming Dynasty had a popular trend of bidding famous posts to celebrate the New Year. Even if they didn’t know each other, they would post them everywhere. This post was a red paper bag with the owner’s surname written on it, called “Gate Book”, which was convenient for everyone to accept. In the Huang Mansion alone, there was no idea how many posts were collected by those who did not recognize Huang Laifu.

Of course, in addition to others paying New Year's greetings to Huang Laifu, Huang Laifu was also busy paying New Year's greetings to others, wishing New Year's greetings to his own battalions of military generals, and wishing New Year's greetings to relatives' homes. In addition, Huang Laifu also sent famous letters and gifts to his parents, adopted father of Kelanzhou, governor Yang of Ningwuguan, Shanxi Dushi, and even various departments of the Ming Dynasty.
Chapter completed!