Hometown beacon smoke old time shadow

Sun Xiangli and Mrs. Sun came to Shen's house on the day of offering sacrifices to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.The accounts of the factories, shops, and commercial firms have all been settled, and Sun Xiangli also helped Xiaozheng manage the accounts of the family for a year. In the evening, they had to sacrifice the stove and eat rice cake soup. For rice cakes, Lianzhou just drooled and waited for the stove fruit.The next day was the day of dust removal. Mrs. Sun and Xiaozhen used a cotton cloth soaked in soot to polish the brass on the mahogany furniture.Lianzhou pouted and squatted on the ground with her brothers and sisters to scrub the cabinet legs and stool legs.Stepping on the ladder, Zhaoshi took off the calligraphy, paintings and photos on the wall, wiped them clean and hung them up again.Mrs. Sun covered her mouth and said to Xiaozhen: "Grandma still has a way. Outsiders will never think that the young lady and the young master of the Shen family will squat on the ground and wipe the cabinet at home. Our family, Zhenghai, is also unwilling to do these jobs at home. , I did it honestly." Xiaozhen smiled: "Your family is Zhenghai, as long as you are with Huanzhu, you can do anything. Outsiders don't think that the young master and lady at home will do things, and they can't think of such a big one. There is only a little maid in Shen’s mansion. Grandma doesn’t allow men to use maids, and they have to clean up the house by themselves, even Lianzhou is no exception. You Zhenghaizu taught him how to dress and make quilts for a day. Grandma said, no matter what, The Shen family can't raise another dude." After saying this, the light in Xiaozhen's eyes suddenly dimmed.Mrs. Sun sighed in her heart, Uncle Shen is such a dude, his whole family is like orphans and widows, it is inevitable that the grandma has to put such efforts in educating the children.

In the days that followed, it was all about preparing for the annual eclipse and sacrifices.A whole pig's head is boiled on the big stove in the kitchen, ready to worship the ancestors.While Xiaozhen was cutting suet, she watched Mrs. Sun make fish balls. On the kerosene stove next to her, Jingxian was teaching Huanzhu to make egg dumplings.Simmer a long-handled metal spoon on the fire, rub a layer of lard, pour the egg liquid into it, shake it gently, then put some meat stuffing in, lift the side of the egg skin that is close to solidification, and stick it to the other side, One egg dumpling is ready.The golden semicircle is like a half moon in the sky.

Sun Xiangli was pushing a stone mill in the dining room, grinding glutinous rice flour, while Zhenghai and Lianzhou were cursing the nasty jobs assigned to them by their second uncle.Pour the black sesame seeds on a piece of white paper, pick out the soil particles inside, and leave only the sesame seeds. The picked sesame seeds are fried by Zhaoshi and ground on a small stone mill.Zhaoshi was pushing the stone mill while smiling as he watched the two little guys choose sesame seeds with patience. "I think this job should be done by the two of you. It is the most important thing to hone your will. In the future, whoever does your homework carelessly will come to pick sesame seeds. In this way, we will have more glutinous rice balls than we can finish in a year." Lian Zhou pouted: "I'd rather hit the palm of my hand than choose sesame seeds." In a word, Zhaoshi and Sun Xiangli laughed out loud.

As New Year's Eve was approaching, Zhaoshi went to buy red paper and asked Zhenghai to write Spring Festival couplets at home, but he and Sun Xiangli came back with a big box from the department store.After opening the box, several children jumped up happily, Xiaozhen also stood in the living room and shouted: "Grandma, come and see, there is someone in our family who can spend more money than me!" Waiting for Jingxian to rush to see At that time, I found that there was a huge monster in the living room - a floor-to-ceiling gramophone.She couldn't help scolding: "You child, you are too courageous. You didn't discuss with me when you bought such a big item." Zhaoshi smiled and said: "Sister-in-law, I also bought a lot of records, not only Western music, There are also Peking Opera and Pingtan.I'll play two of them for you to listen to, and keep them if you like them.If you like it too, you can't talk about me anymore. "For the next few days, Lianzhou wanted to climb into that big speaker to see if Boss Tan Xinpei was singing in it. Hiding in such a small box, how could he use a big sword?
In the early morning of New Year's Eve, Jingxian took Zhaoshi and Lianzhou to worship the ancestors in the ancestral hall.Women were not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, but now that the folk customs are civilized and Jingxian has become the head of the Shen family, there are not so many rules.It was the first time for Lianzhou to enter the Shen family's ancestral hall, and he felt that the gloomy atmosphere was not fun at all, and he didn't know what the meanings of those wooden tablets were. fruit.

After offering sacrifices to the ancestors, the family all changed into fresh clothes for the New Year, and Jing Xian, who has always been plain, also wore a crimson improved cheongsam.Everyone in the family wore brand-new western clothes, but Lian Zhou's sapphire blue satin trousers and jacket looked even more luxurious.He complained that the style of his clothes was different from that of his brothers and sisters. Zhaoshi pinched his face and said, "This clothes can run faster when setting off firecrackers, which is better than anything else."

At the beginning of the New Year's Eve dinner, Miantao poured the bayberry wine made by Mrs. Sun for everyone, and brought soft drinks for the children.Lianzhou saw that the red bayberry wine was pink and lovely, so she wanted to drink it.Mrs. Sun spoke for her: "This wine is like honey, so Grandma let him have a couple of sips." As a result, the child had only half-eaten the meal, and the child's eyelids were wrestling, and he cuddled up in his mother's arms and wanted to sleep.Zhaoshi had no choice but to take Zhenghai out to set off the fireworks. He said with a smile: "Lian Zhou didn't call him when he found out that the fireworks were set off tomorrow morning, so he might cry." Huanzhu hid behind Xiaozhen, wanting to watch the fireworks, but was afraid of the loud noise .Xiaozhen touched her head and said, "Don't be afraid, my aunt dared to play it with my brother when I was a child." So it went on until midnight, everyone yawned and fell asleep, only Zhaoshi was sitting in the living room with a magazine .Jingxian came out with her clothes on and asked, "Zhaoshi, why aren't you asleep?" Zhaoshi smiled: "Sister-in-law is tired all day, go to rest, I'm here to watch the new year. My mother said that children can bring blessings to their parents Tianshou, now that my parents are gone, I will be giving my sister-in-law a blessing and a longevity." Jing Xian's nose was a little sore, but she still smiled and said: "Good boy, sister-in-law is grateful, go to sleep. You In the future, if you study hard and have a future, you will add blessings and longevity to your sister-in-law.

Things like Chinese New Year are always very happy for children, but for a headed family like Jingxian, they are always endlessly busy.After all, the first month came out, and people came from the countryside.The Shen family and the Gu family are both rich families in Ningbo, and they also have many ancestral houses in the countryside. They usually entrust someone to look after them. Every spring and autumn harvest, they always talk about the situation.Jingxian got advice from her father and father-in-law, and she was good at shopping in the mall, but she couldn't do it in farming.So Sun Xiangli was called to inquire, and Sun Xiang wanted to say: "In my opinion, it's better to entrust the management of the land in the country to the Gu family. Wouldn't Grandma worry?" Jing Xian sneered: "I'm afraid my father didn't That idle time, besides, I don't want the members of their Shen family to say that if I become a family, all the property of their Shen family will be taken to their natal family. I am here to earn my life, so why should I be ruined? Follow me , I think it’s better to sell it.” “Sold it?” Jingxian nodded, “Not only the land in the countryside, but also pawnshops, grain stores and drugstores everywhere. Those that can be converted into silk and satin shops and garment shops can be changed, but they can’t be changed. Yes, it was also sold. I thought, let’s not be too greedy. Since the main business of the family is textiles, why not focus on doing it well. With the money from selling the land and the shop, let’s buy some foreign ones. The new machine is good for silk reeling and spinning. With the new machine, the cloth can be woven naturally. Last year, Zhaoshi told me about the boycott of Japanese goods. It’s a trick. How much good cotton and silk can be produced in a small country like Japan, isn’t it because of the good machines?”

Sun Xiangli was also lost in thought, and then nodded, "Grandma's words are reasonable, and I'll start making arrangements. It's just that I'm an outsider, so it's not good for me to intervene in the matter of selling the land. According to you, it's not appropriate for the Gu family to come forward. Who should I arrange to go? The Shen family will always let me know." Jingxian said without thinking, "You make arrangements first, and let Zhaoshi go back during the Qingming Festival." " Jingxian squinted her eyes and thought for a while, "Write a letter to my aunt and ask her to come back. I will take Lianzhou with me. Anyway, the Shen family has come to our room, isn't it just these two sons and one daughter? Let's all go Now, what else can the clan do to us, we orphans and widows can’t live on anymore, why don’t we go to the northwest wind if we don’t sell our houses and land?” Sun Xiangli smiled and gave Jingxian a thumbs up.It was only a year since he assisted Jingxian in managing the business that he discovered that this grandma was actually a heroine. He used to think that she was a well-organized head of the house, but now it seems that such a thing as head of the house has wronged her.When Sun Xiangli was young, he also knew the master of the Gu family. The master of the Gu family often said that doing business is the same as reading and writing. The business also has his father's structure, and it is not a small idea of ​​living by guarding the ancestral property at all.