The fiefdom increases by 1 soldier in 1 second, and the empress kneels down and begs not to rebel

Chapter 293 Jinling is very busy

In recent days, most people in Jinling City have been busy.

To be precise, everyone in Daqian should be busy.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, it is necessary to offer sacrifices to the stove. According to the custom of Jinling, "sugar melon" must be prepared.

This sugar melon is sweet and sticky. When it is offered to the Kitchen God, it sticks to the Kitchen God's mouth.

If the Kitchen God is a stubborn man and still wants to speak even in heaven, then the words he speaks will be sweet and good.

Therefore, the couplet posted on the Stove King's shrine is "Heaven speaks good things, and the lower world ensures peace."

Needless to say, Hengpi must be the "head of the family".

But even so, after finishing the busy work on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the head of the family still had no time to spare and had to take the whole family to dust and sweep the house on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month.

"Chen" and "Chen" are homophonic, so dust-dusting should also have the same meaning as removing old things and making new ones.

Except for Chen? It's "poor luck" and "bad luck".

And this word "new" means to destroy the old and establish the new, and to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. People hope to ward off evil and eliminate disasters, and express the hope of welcoming good fortune and bringing good fortune.

But that's not all yet. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, newly cut window grilles must be put up and peach charms replaced. After the twenty-fifth day, pigs must be killed to cut the New Year's meat.

Even the poorest people have to tighten their belts and prepare some New Year's meat for a satisfying meal.

From this day forward, it is the happiest time for the children.

Whether it’s slaughtering pigs and sheep on the 26th, going to the market to buy new year’s goods on the 27th, or steaming noodles on the 28th.

Most of these are related to delicious food. Which child is not greedy these days?

Even the dogs at home started wagging their tails happily.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, there was a banquet at home, and the dogs were running around under the table.

The more courageous dogs may even dare to walk around the neighborhood after finishing their own meal to see if they can pick up a few bones to chew.

And until the evening of the thirtieth day, this festive day finally reached its peak.

That is tonight.

Every household wears new couplets, with various blessing words written in black and red paper.

Wealthy people have hung up red lanterns at the door. This bright red light carries celebration and joy everywhere.

A home near the north gate of Jinling City.

A kid named Yizhabian, who was about seven or eight years old, was squatting under the stove door, stuffing firewood inside.

This was a reunion dinner, and the meat was burning in the pot. Even though the lid was on, the rich aroma of the meat could not be concealed, and it went straight into the nose of the little man with a red face.

He raised his head, licked the corners of his mouth, looked at the old woman who was chopping vegetables and said:

"Mom, is this meat cooked? I've been cooking it for a long time."

The old woman didn't look back, she just smiled and said, "It's still early."

"This is old pork. The meat is tough and needs to be stewed until it's rotten. What's wrong? Are you greedy?"

"No, I'll just ask."

After all, he always stood up and even wanted to take a look at the pot lid.

The old woman knew that the child was impatient, so she smiled and said, "Don't be anxious, just wait."

"By the way, I'll test you to see if you know what 'New Year' means."

"Oh, eldest mother, you think I'm stupid, do you still need to take the exam? This year is over, isn't it just the New Year?"

The old woman shook her head, put down the food in her hand, turned to look at him and smiled:

"You kid, stop drooling and let me talk to you."

As she spoke, she took a wooden stool, sat down next to her grandson, and began to tell a story:

"In the past, there was a ferocious beast called "Nian" that came out of the sea. Nian is very special this year. It has two horns on its head and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It can swallow a person in one bite!"

"It also loves to eat children, especially those who are naughty and disobedient. It will eat one in one bite."

The old woman even made a childish face. Looking at her ferocious face, the child felt nervous and hurriedly squatted down.

The old woman continued: "This year, every New Year's Eve, it crawls out of the sea and hurts people. It doesn't come out on weekdays. Therefore, people at that time had to bring their families with them on New Year's Eve. Take me and run to the mountains."

"If I don't run away and get caught by Nian, then..." She drawled her voice.

The child then spoke, but his voice was trembling: "Then you are destined to be eaten."

The old woman touched his head and said, "Yes, yes."

"But then one day, an old man begging for food came outside a certain village. He saw everyone running out to go to the mountains, so he asked: 'Why are you running?'"

"The people in the village told him that on New Year's Eve, the year would come and kill people, so he must not leave quickly."

"But the old man just laughed and said there was nothing to be afraid of. He had a way to get rid of Nian."

"No one dares to believe it, but this old man pats his chest and promises that as long as he is here, nothing will happen this year."

Seeing the presence of the old woman and the god, the child was attracted by the story and hurriedly asked:

"Mom, what happened next? What happened next?"

The old woman smiled and continued:

"Later, the old man settled in the village, but the villagers didn't believe that he could drive away Nian. They persuaded the old man to leave, but he didn't listen. They had no choice but to flee into the mountains."

"But when I returned to the village after New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year, I found that the old man had been waiting at the entrance of the village. He was safe and sound."

Hearing this, the child's face lit up and he said:

"Oh! It turns out to be an immortal who descended to earth!"

"He must be an immortal! What kind of magic did he use to drive away Nian!"

"Auntie, what spell did he use?"

The old woman touched his head, looked at her grandson's red face with loving eyes, and said with a smile:

"No one knows whether he is an immortal or not."

"However, the method he used has been passed down."

The child's curiosity arose, and he asked impatiently: "What spell?"

The old woman pointed at the door with a smile on her face:

"This is the magic."

"Couplets and firecrackers, these are the methods used by the begging old man to drive away the New Year."

The child was stunned, but the old woman continued:

"It turns out that this year, I am most afraid of fire, red, and the sound of explosions."

"It's big, looks ferocious, and its teeth and claws are very scary. But who would have thought that it would be afraid of these things, hahaha."

Amid laughter, the old woman stood up and opened the lid of the pot. A stream of white gas mixed with the aroma of meat hit her face.

"Okay, the meat is cooked, it's time to prepare for the reunion dinner."

"Go, call your parents and prepare to eat."

Upon hearing this, the child burst out with a smile on his face and hurriedly ran out of the kitchen, shouting:

"Dad! Mom! It's time to finish your work!"

"It's time to eat!"

Outside the kitchen was the bedroom, but no one answered.

When the child saw no one, he ran towards the main door again, still shouting: "Where is the person?"

As soon as he walked out of the door, he saw his parents standing outside the door in a daze.

As soon as he stepped out, in addition to seeing his parents, he also saw a family standing opposite the door leaning on the door and looking out.

He turned his face, and on the festive street, a group of cavalry were running wildly on the street.

They are so out of tune with this festive street.

The leader's beard and hair were messy, and his face was covered in blood. Although he was wearing armor, his body was dirty, and his face was extremely ferocious, making him look very scary.

The appearance of these vicious people shocked the child.

As soon as his parents saw their son running out, they hurriedly pulled him into the house. The three of them held their breath and watched in fear as the cavalry rushed past.

After a long time, the child finally spoke in a trembling voice:

"Dad, this is..."

The middle-aged man shook his head and said in a deep voice:

"This is... the general who is holding down the country. He is not a good person!"

"It seems that he has lost the battle. In this direction, they are heading towards the Imperial City, but that place is now..."

He pondered for a moment and then said:

"They are in such a mess, it seems like someone is chasing them."

"Here he comes."

Hearing this, the child raised his head, looked at his father and said:

"Who?"

Before the middle-aged man spoke, the sound coming from outside the door had already given the child the answer.

Another cavalry troop was galloping past.