Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 888 - 453 The Problem with Worship_2
Mr. Loo said this phrase to encourage Wang Youheng and Wu Lang to relax, asserting that the Tongsheng exam is not difficult to pass. Being a sharp-minded person who had passed the Imperial Scholar examination himself, Mr. Loo found it easy, but Wang Youheng and Wu Lang dared not take it so lightly.
After a long conversation, Mr. Loo gave Wang Youheng another instruction, asking him to write a few essays during the New Year and present them for review after the holiday. Wang Youheng happily agreed.
It was not until the moon was high in the sky that Wang Youheng stood up to take his leave.
Everyone escorted him out, naturally including Lian Manman as well.
"Youheng, it won’t be until next year that we can meet again," Lian Manman said. She realized that Wang Youheng was returning to Jinyang County Town early, and she would not be able to send him off, meaning it would be next year when he returned.
"Exactly." Wang Youheng laughed, seemingly very pleased, "After the New Year, I will try to come back as early as possible."
"That sounds great." Lian Manman then said with a smile.
... 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
As the New Year approaches, there is always a particular bustle. The year’s accounts need to be summarized and cleared, the house needs a thorough cleaning, and there are New Year’s gifts to send and receive. On the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month, Lian’s breakfast shop finally closes, and the family gradually begins to relax.
On the thirtieth of the twelfth month, the last day of the year, everyone in Lian Manman’s family got up early, had breakfast, and then systematically busied themselves with preparations for a special New Year’s Eve meal.
The family first mixed several kinds of dough for frying meatballs, covered them, and placed them near the heated brick bed to ferment. Then, Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman began to slice pickled vegetables, soak dried wood ear mushrooms, and mushrooms while Lian Shouxin was in charge of slaughtering fish, marinating them to enhance flavor, and taking previously slaughtered chickens and ducks into the house to thaw in preparation for cooking.
Wu Lang and Xiao Qi were also busy. Although not the main labor force, they were responsible for the odd jobs, doing whatever Lian Manman and the others told them to.
Lady Zhang then scrubbed the large iron pot clean, getting ready to cook a pig’s head. The thoroughly cleaned pig heads, trotters, and large chunks of belly meat were placed in the pot, then garlic cloves, onion segments, ginger slices, and salt were added along with peppers, star anise, cardamom, tsao-ko, bay leaves, and other spices, before filling it with sufficient water. After covering the pot, it was heated up over high heat and then simmered over low heat, and finally stewed for a time. Around midday, the pig’s head was thoroughly cooked.
At this time, the pig’s head, trotters, and chunks of meat were all glowing red, aromatic and mouth-watering. They were retrieved and placed in a basin, ready to be sliced or chopped when one wished to eat them, either warm or as a cold dish.
Afterwards, the highlight of the New Year’s celebration—the frying of meatballs—commenced.
This year they prepared more varieties than before, starting with the Lian Family’s specialty tofu and vermicelli vegetarian meatballs, followed by radish vegetarian meatballs. Besides vegetarian options, Lian Manman also made meatballs containing pork, beef, and lamb, and then there were the sweet meatballs coated with noodle paste—for frying large dates, sweet potatoes, and trough cakes.
After the meatballs had been fried, Lady Zhang briefly fried spare ribs and carp in the frying pan.
Lian Manman and Lian Zhizhi had already steamed the rice in another large pot earlier. After scooping out the rice, they began to stew the pickled vegetables in that pot, while on another stove mushrooms with chicken were being stewed.
Lady Zhang then began stir-frying dishes.
By noon, a sumptuous New Year’s Eve meal was prepared. By this time, some eager households had already started setting off firecrackers.
"Go, take the firecrackers and set them off at the door," Lady Zhang ordered, "and invite Mr. Loo over, let’s start our meal."
Wu Lang and Xiao Qi each picked a string of thousand-round firecrackers and began to set them off at the main entrance. Meanwhile, Lian Shouxin had lit some incense, wrapped several bangers in his coat and went to the doorway to set them off into the sky.
Er Tijiao, is a type of firecracker with two bangs, making a particularly loud noise when set off. It is said that due to the type or method of the loaded explosive, the first bang of Er Tijiao shoots upwards, while the second bang veers to the side. Because of its double bangs and such characteristics, it is commonly called Er Tijiao
This is the loudest and most powerful type of firecracker available at the big market in Qingyang Town.
Seeing that Lian Shouxin, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi were all out setting off fireworks, Lian Manman felt the itch to join, but she dared not touch the Er Tijiao. Instead, she took out two fireworks, lit one herself, and called Lian Zhizhi out to light the other. The sisters then watched with laughter the fireworks shooting into the sky.
"Save some fireworks for later," Lady Zhang said as she stood at the door, wiping her hands on her apron and smiling, "Fireworks don’t look good during the day. Wait until night, that’s when they truly shine."
After setting off the fireworks, the family laid out food in the main hall and invited Mr. Loo over; the family sat down happily for the reunion dinner. After dinner, Mr. Loo, drunken, was helped back to his study to rest, and the family tidily returned to the inner courtyard.
Lian Shouxin was also slightly drunk.
"Wife, I just remembered, it’s New Year’s, we should offer incense and make offerings to our ancestors," Lian Shouxin told Lady Zhang.
In the past, before the family split, the Lian family would celebrate New Year’s by worshipping at Old Master Lian’s parents’. After the separation, last year’s New Year’s was also spent worshipping the ancestors at the Upper Room. Now that Old Master Lian and Lian Shouren had moved to Taicang, the ancestral tablets naturally went with them.
Now Lian Shouxin’s family needs to overcome some small difficulties to worship.
However, Lian Manman had already made other plans.
"Dad, if we wait until you remember, it’d be too late. Mom has already prepared everything with us," Lian Manman told Lian Shouxin.
"Really?" Lian Shouxin exclaimed in surprise.
"Dad, if you don’t believe me, come and see," Lian Manman led Lian Shouxin out of the room and stopped in the outer room.
"Dad, look, what’s that?" Lian Manman pointed at the ancestral tablet in the back door’s Upper Room, smiling at Lian Shouxin.
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Here’s the third update, looking for pink encouragement.
PS: The reader group for "Rebirth of the Little Landlord" is full, and those who applied in the last two days unfortunately can’t join. Sorry everyone, Ruoyan will solve this issue tomorrow and there will be a notification. Please reapply and don’t give up because of this. At the same time, we are looking for deputy moderators for "Rebirth of the Little Landlord" and heads for the author group.
Ruoyan is quite busy lately, anyone with ample online time and love for "Rebirth of the Little Landlord", please eagerly apply. Ruoyan looks forward eagerly.
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Recommendation for Ruoyan’s completed book: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles" light house fight farmland tale, featuring familial and emotional entanglements within a large household.
Book Number: 1771214
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