The New Year was not far away. The more people there were, the colder the weather became. Everyone gathered together and talked about the past with endless emotions.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan endured the torture for almost two hours before they were put down. The arms of the person holding them were probably too sore to bear.
It was almost time for dinner. The three people of Zhuangzi gathered together and talked about what they used to be like, what they were like now, and what they would be like in the future. All of their faces were brimming with happy smiles.
Especially the villagers of Zhang Family and Wang Family. They seemed to have forgotten what happened yesterday. When they were talking with the Li Family, they didn't forget to call their children over and revolve the topic around them. They had reason to do so. Their children were studying in school, so of course they had to perform well.
The Li Family also had a school in Zhuangzi, but the children didn't have much time to learn. In addition, there weren't many people to take care of them, so it was very scattered. Their learning was not as good as that of Zhang Family and Wang Family. The only thing that made the villagers of Zhuangzi feel relieved was that Li Xun, the Little Prince, had never neglected his children when it came to eating and drinking.
With more people, the weather didn't seem so cold. Some people sat in the corner and even took off their outer clothes. There was a brazier in every room, so the temperature wasn't low.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were led by a servant to Zhang Wong Clan's residence. Father Zhang was also there, and so were their grandparents. Zhang Xiaobao hadn't seen Aunt Wang yet. It wasn't clear whether Aunt Wang had forgotten or if there were other reasons, but she didn't find this place.
These houses were surrounded by Li Xun and the old man's guards. Only the dozen or so yamen runners who lived close to the house didn't leave. They were still guarding the house. After the Jia County Magistrates and the others were escorted away yesterday, the rest of the yamen runners happily left with a large amount of New Year goods given by Zhangjia Zhuangzi.
Originally, they didn't want to accept the gifts, but the Zhang family insisted on giving them away. They went back and forth in order to protect the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. If they didn't give them something to celebrate the New Year, the Zhang family wouldn't feel good. Even the dozen bailiffs left behind went back home yesterday to deliver the gifts.
The dumplings were to be eaten at night. Now, on the table in front of everyone was a simple hot pot. The cut meat and some vegetables were served on plates. Jars of wine were also placed on the side. Those who wanted to drink could go and get it themselves, as long as they didn't drink too much.
The heads of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family in Zhuangzi, as well as Li Xun, said a few words. Everyone began to eat and chat. At this time, the sky gradually darkened.
Steward Zhang immediately arranged for people to light the torches on Zhuangzi. There were also many lanterns hanging in each house. When the Zhang Family and the Wang Family saw those torches, they didn't know what happened later. The people who came before told them what happened during the New Year's Eve.
When the people who came to Zhuangzi heard what the head of the Zhang family said about the New Year's Eve, they were all excited. They already knew that Zhuangzi was good, but they didn't expect it to be so good.
The old man and Li Xun also heard about this. For this meal, the old man didn't eat Between the Clouds and the Water. He planned to eat first before going back. This was his plan.
"The head of the family doesn't look like a head of the family. How can he eat with the villagers? He even lit the torches and said that they would light up the sky together. "
While others were praising, only one person found fault, and that was the Aunt Wang from the Wang Family. Dates and Jujube were eating happily. When they heard Aunt Wang's words, they suddenly had the idea of hiding away. They were afraid that they would be implicated when the villagers attacked them.
As if realizing that she had said something wrong, Aunt Wang looked around. When she saw that no one was looking at her, she was relieved. She came here yesterday and saw the battle. She wanted to see Zhang Xiaobao yesterday, but something happened, so it was delayed until today. She didn't want to be surrounded by people.
Amidst the laughter, they ate for a full four hours. After another two hours, it would be midnight, which would be next year.
After eating, the food was cleaned up by the people who ate. Then, someone placed tea and a few snacks for everyone to wait until nighttime.
The old man was very happy today. He drank two more bowls of wine and talked a lot. His face was rosy. Just as he was about to leave and return to Between the Clouds and the Water, the people taught by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan appeared on the stage that had been set up in the afternoon.
First, there was a song and dance. The old man and Li Xun didn't think much of it. It was really too bad. However, the other villagers were different. They usually didn't have the opportunity to see this, so they all focused on it.
When the song and dance was about to end, the old man stood up. Before he could leave the room, two people came up and began to perform crosstalk.
For them, this was something new. They had never seen it before. Listening to the two people on the stage, the crowd laughed from time to time.
The old man had also never seen such a thing before. He could only sit down and drink his tea. He digested the food while watching the performance.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were slightly nervous. They were afraid that the people they taught would mess up on the stage. Every time the two crosstalk performers paused, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan would clench their fists.
Others didn't know about the pauses and thought that it was just like that. Father Zhang was usually a serious person. At this time, he was also amused by the words of the crosstalk performers. The Wang family and Zhang family sat together, listening and watching. They knew that this matter was caused by the two children and praised them from time to time.
Mother Wang looked at Zhang Xiaobao and said to Jang Wong Clan, "Sister, your family's Xiao Bao is really amazing. Look at this crosstalk performance. It's great. Cuckoo is going to live a good life in the future."
Jang Wong Clan was happy to hear this and said, "Cuckoo is also not simple. Look at those songs and dances. I've never seen them before."
Jang Wong Clan's words were not so sincere. Instead of praising the song and dance, it was more like praising Wang Juan for being able to teach others songs and dances at such a young age. She had seen many songs and dances in the past. She herself was not bad, but she had never danced in front of outsiders before. Unless she was happy and danced for Father Zhang to add some fun to the bedroom.
As the few of them were talking, the old man decided not to leave. He wanted to watch before leaving. His family was also watching with great interest.
Aunt Wang wanted to say that the song and dance were not good, but she didn't dare to open her mouth and forced herself to hold back.
Who would have thought that after the performance started, there was no intention of stopping. Each of the performers took note of several people. When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were checking, they would usually do it in groups. The two of them would just look at each other.
If this situation continued, the performance might not be finished by tomorrow morning. The performers arranged the time well. Those who waited for a long time went to a place specially prepared for them to take a nap. After all, the performance was different from the performance.
"Wang Family's girl, did you see that? This is the ability of the Zhang family. During the New Year, which Zhuangzi can do such a thing? Especially the crosstalk and skit performances. There are even people who stand up to say New Year greetings and introduce the performance. Not to mention Zhuangzi, there are no such people in the palace. "
The old man didn't want to leave. He leaned on a reclining chair specially prepared for him and said to Aunt Wang, who was also attracted by the performance.
Li Xun echoed, "Minister Shangshu is right. In the past few years, I was either in the palace or in the manor for the New Year. Other than playing the zither, singing, and dancing, there were some people who recited poems. It was boring. It's better here. I didn't expect them to come up with such a new thing. When I go back, I must tell Imperial Uncle."
Aunt Wang didn't speak at this time. It wasn't that she felt that she was wrong, but that she was attracted by the skit on the stage. She clearly heard what the two of them said, but she couldn't find the time to say it. She could only smile and nod at them, making them think that she knew that she was wrong in the past.
Time passed quickly while watching the performance. In the blink of an eye, it was already midnight. The performance stopped, the dumplings began to be cooked, and the firecrackers were hung up.
Of course, the things made at home were not as reluctant to use as the things bought outside. A total of more than three million firecrackers, together with some simple fireworks, sounded and flew away in the sound of New Year's greetings.
The more than three million firecrackers were divided into 20 portions, each with 150,000 firecrackers. The fireworks rose into the sky one after another. The sound of the firecrackers seemed to not stop. The children covered their ears and moved forward, jumping and shouting.
When the sound of the firecrackers disappeared, everyone only felt that their heads were buzzing, but no one complained. Their thoughts were simple. The firecrackers were to drive away some things. The firecrackers were so loud that they thought that those things that shouldn't come out would not appear again.
"Delicious, these dumplings are delicious." The villagers were honest. When they saw the dumplings, some were dipped in chives, some were dipped in fermented bean curd, and some were dipped in garlic sauce or chili sauce. They ate one dumpling in two mouthfuls and drank some dumpling soup.
The villagers of Zhuangzi, Zhang Family and Wang Family were better. After all, they usually ate pretty well. If they wanted to eat dumplings, they could make them once every two or three days. As they ate the different flavors of the dumplings, they thought about how good their master was.
On the other hand, the Li Family couldn't compare to Li Xun. Li Xun did give a lot of benefits to the villagers, but what he gave was different from what the Zhang and Wang Families gave. He directly gave them things, and when something happened, he would give them something for them to take back to eat. Or, when it was done, everyone would eat together.
In Zhuangzi, Zhang Family and Wang Family would not only help during festivals and heavy work, but also help the villagers raise livestock and poultry. They would also arrange some small handicrafts for the idle people at home. No matter what it was, it could increase their income.
The people of Zhuangzi did not dare to make dumplings for fun when they had nothing to do. The noodles were precious enough, but they also had to put meat in them. If they did not put meat in the dumplings, it would be a pity that they did not have enough noodles and oil. At this time, when they ate the dumplings made by Zhang Family and Wang Family, they almost bit their tongues off.
"Where are our dumplings?" Wang Juan asked the person who was serving the dumplings at this time. She and Zhang Xiaobao did not like to eat such oily things. When they were young, it was to grow up. Now, they could use other things to supplement their nutrition.
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