pjbooks Chapter 88 Chinese New Year
Chapter 88 Chinese New Year
Chapter 88 Chinese New Year
After Lao Lang explained, Shan Yaowen finally understood why Lao Lang was so angry.
When he first arrived at Chu Er's house, the whole family treated Old Wolf with great courtesy.
After all, the head of the local police station personally came to investigate the report.
Moreover, in the Chu family's view, since the police station chief had personally taken action, their report was a sure thing.
The thought of the village committee and Shan Yaowen being in trouble made Chu Er so happy that he started humming a song.
However, after the old wolf understood the whole story, he asked about the sheep theft.
As a result, Chu Er reacted as if he had stepped on a dog's tail and immediately became anxious.
They started swearing!
He not only cursed the village committee, but also cursed the people who arrested him that day.
Old Wolf couldn't stand it anymore and decided to visit the neighbors, but the Chu family grabbed him and wouldn't let him leave.
They insisted that he arrest people directly.
At this point, the old wolf sensed something was wrong.
They insisted on going to ask others.
Then the Chu family got furious and started cursing along with him.
"So you just left?" Shan Yaowen looked at Lao Lang, suppressing a laugh.
"Hmm, they even threatened to report me to the county government and said they would petition the capital for our inaction." Old Wolf scoffed.
He finally understood why Shan Yaowen had said those things at the police station.
They are indeed a bunch of oddballs.
Even Shan Yaowen was underestimating the situation.
"This is normal for them." Perhaps because he had seen it so many times, Shan Yaowen seemed unsurprised.
"Normal my foot!"
There was something else he didn't mention.
When he left, the family tried to hit him, but luckily he walked quickly, otherwise he would have given them a good beating.
After finishing his business, Old Wolf left immediately.
He didn't eat either, and neither Shan Yaowen nor the Party Secretary tried to keep him.
After the Little New Year, the Spring Festival will be here soon.
Shan Yaowen also took a rare break and stopped causing trouble.
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He works when there's work to do, and when there's nothing to do, he stays home and sleeps with his wife.
Since it was their first year of marriage, on the 27th, Shan Yaowen took Lin Nian to his father-in-law's house with some gifts.
There's no need to send New Year's gifts after that; just visit them on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Thanks to Shan Yaowen's hunting and fishing trips recently, the family has plenty of stuff. In addition, the family has welcomed a new baby this year, so Mr. and Mrs. Shan are happy and don't skimp on supplies.
Therefore, the dishes they prepared for the Chinese New Year this year were quite abundant.
There's chicken, fish, and even baby meat.
The dishes made with just these three ingredients are already comparable to the lifestyle of city dwellers.
Not to mention that the father also left behind a pig's trotter.
Those were left behind by the two wild boars that Shan Yaowen killed when he was reborn.
Originally, Shan Yaowen had saved it for his father, who had just been injured, to help him recover, but his father refused to eat it and insisted on saving it for the New Year.
On the morning of Lunar New Year's Eve, Shan Yaowen went to the sheep pen to shovel snow as usual.
That's the thing about farming; there aren't really any special holidays or festivals.
The same repetitive tasks have to be done every day.
If you don't do it, problems might arise.
Those animals really will just snap and die right before your eyes.
The wind in December felt like it was mixed with ice shards, stinging my face, but the approaching New Year's atmosphere transformed that pain into excitement.
That's all there is to look forward to all year round.
How could I not be excited?
The dirt roads in the village were covered with deep and shallow footprints, left by people who went to the commune to buy New Year's goods.
No matter how frugal a family is, they will always buy something for the New Year.
Moreover, there is a market in town every year during festivals, and that's when you can buy the widest variety of things.
At this time, adults will have more money to spare and give their children some pocket money so they can buy whatever they want.
The adults also relaxed, and aside from household matters, they would invite a few friends to play cards.
In previous years, this time of year was when Zhao Laosan and his gang were at their most rampant.
After all, there are many people in the village during the Spring Festival, and they are willing to spend money to set up a card table at home, which makes it very lively.
However, this year, Zhao Laosan and his group have all disappeared without a trace.
Since Shan Yaowen shut down the gambling den, there has been much less gambling in the village. Chu Er doesn't dare to go out now either. Without a leader, most people just stay home and gamble with familiar friends.
"One of a kind!"
"bump!"
"Don't move, it's my turn to draw a card."
Walking along the village roads, you can hear shouts coming from the houses along the roadside.
On the way back after finishing work, you can still see a group of teenagers running and playing with their friends.
At this time, the most joyous "scenery" in the village is this group of children.
Wearing new cotton-padded coats, their bodies swollen like balls, it didn't stop them from playing.
"Little sister!"
Shan Yaowen, with his sharp eyes, spotted Shan Shan among the group of children running past.
Upon hearing her second brother's voice, Shan Xiaomei slammed on the brakes, turned around, and ran to Shan Yaowen, calling out, "Second Brother~"
At this stage, there is basically no difference between boys and girls; they are all raised as boys.
They're like little monkeys all the time. And this is in winter. If it were summer, they'd be rolling around on the ground, catching little horses and lambs. If you didn't stand right in front of them, you couldn't tell who was a boy and who was a girl.
"Go have fun."
Shan Yaowen only saw his sister call out once, and he wasn't about to spoil the mood by not letting her go back with him.
"Give."
Seeing the little girl's longing look, Shan Yaowen took out a few cents from his pocket and gave them to her.
He usually doesn't carry large sums of money with him when he goes out; he only keeps some small change on him to buy cigarettes.
Besides, kids only buy firecrackers to play with.
"Erguotou is the best!"
With the money, Shan Shan became the leader of a group of children, running towards the supply and marketing cooperative like a gust of wind.
Back inside, a wave of heat hit me. My sister-in-law was sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), fiddling with milk curd and fried rice. These were "Chagan Sarri," an indispensable offering for the New Year in their area, symbolizing purity and good fortune.
Shan Yaowen just got back, and his older brother and father came back one after the other.
The eldest brother went to deliver things to his grandparents, while the father went to the village accountant to write couplets.
"Give me a hand!"
As soon as Mr. Shan returned, he couldn't wait to paste the bright red couplets on the door frame.
In the evening, the family gathers around the warm kang table, and the New Year's Eve dinner begins.
In the center of the table was a large pot of steaming braised pork trotters with soybeans, next to which was a bowl of stir-fried fatty pork slices, and next to it was a plate of fish and freshly fried meatballs. Mom had specially made pork and cabbage dumplings.
The father specially poured out loose sorghum liquor, first offering it to heaven, earth, and ancestors, before everyone started eating.
"Well, things went well for us this year. Without further ado, let's keep up the good work next year and try to buy a TV."
The father smiled and said to his children.
Although he was injured this year and spent most of his time in bed, he was genuinely happy.
He was pleased that his second son had become sensible.
This year, my family had both welcomed my daughter-in-law and the birth of my eldest grandson. It would be a lie to say I wasn't happy.
"Come on, everyone, start eating. Don't be shy."