"Uncle, you can give us a challenge, but we need to offer a prize..."
The most important thing during the Chinese New Year is to have a good time. Seeing that his uncle was in a good mood, Zhuang Rui started joking around too.
"Hey kid, what kind of prize do you want? Just say it. I don't have any money..."
Ouyang Zhenwu said with a smile.
"Uncle, how about this: you give me a question, and if I answer it correctly, you, my second uncle, and my cousins will each drink a cup of wine. If I don't answer it, I'll drink six cups by myself. How about that?"
Zhuang Rui's words left the group looking at each other in bewilderment. They didn't know where Zhuang Rui got the confidence to make such a boast. It was fine for each of them to drink one cup, but if Zhuang Rui lost once, he would have to drink six cups. The cups they used were seven qian each, so six cups would be about four liang.
Ouyang Jun gave Zhuang Rui a smug look, as if to say, "You're doomed." He said, "Wu'er, nobody's stopping you from drinking. My dad's questions were really tricky..."
"A bet is a bet. Whoever loses drinks. Second Uncle, Little Uncle, how about it? Are you in or not?"
Zhuang Rui's grinning face made the others a little unsure. Who knew what this kid was up to? However, Ouyang Zhenwu was still a bit skeptical. At Zhuang Rui's age, how could he possibly understand these traditional customs?
"Let's do it your way. Whoever loses drinks. Here's the first question: tell me about these melon seeds and peanuts on that table over there. Is there any particular custom or significance to them?"
Ouyang Zhenwu smiled and gave the question: After the children finished eating, they cleared away the leftovers and replaced them with some snacks and peanuts.
"Hehe, Uncle, this is no problem for me. Sunflower seeds used to be called 'poor man's snacks,' meaning that ordinary people were poor and couldn't afford expensive things. Sunflower seeds were cheap, so they were something that poor people would eat for fun. But now, during the New Year, sunflower seeds aren't called 'poor man's snacks,' they're called 'eating away poverty,' so that we can eat away all the bad luck at the end of the year. Uncle, am I right?"
Zhuang Rui's words made the Ouyang brothers prick up their ears. Although they celebrated the New Year every year, they really didn't know that there was such a thing about melon seeds.
Ouyang Zhenwu smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, you even know this, kid. What about peanuts?"
"Peanuts are also called 'longevity fruit,' and they are eaten during the Lunar New Year to symbolize longevity and good fortune..."
Zhuang Rui wasn't intimidated at all and blurted out that when he first started working at the pawnshop after graduating from Zhonghai, he didn't go back to Pengcheng for the Spring Festival but spent it at Uncle De's house.
Uncle De came from the old society and was a folklore expert. He had always thought highly of Zhuang Rui and wanted to take him on as an apprentice. So he shared a lot of his knowledge with Zhuang Rui and later taught him a lot of miscellaneous things, all related to folklore. The questions Ouyang Zhenwu asked were really not difficult for Zhuang Rui.
"I told you so, didn't I? Let's all drink..."
Zhuang Rui smiled smugly. There are many things in folk customs that can be applied to the appraisal of miscellaneous items. When he was learning to appraise miscellaneous antiques, he practically wore out a book on Chinese folk customs.
Folklore, or folk customs, refers to the life culture created, enjoyed, and passed down by the general public in a country or nation. Chinese folklore has a long history and includes customs such as eating glutinous rice balls, dumplings, and zongzi and attending temple fairs.
"Okay, you're right, I'll drink this glass of wine..."
"I drank some too, it was worth it..."
"Yeah, we eat this stuff every day, I really didn't know there was such a thing..."
Ouyang Zhenwu took the lead, and the others all drank the wine in front of them. Zhuang Rui grinned and took the wine bottle, refilling everyone's glasses. Judging from their posture, he was thinking of getting his two uncles a few more drinks.
Zhuang Rui's second uncle, Ouyang Zhenshan, also became interested. Pointing to the twelve plates on the table in front of him, he said to Zhuang Rui, "Xiao Rui, let's talk about these dishes. Why are there twelve dishes in total? Is there any significance to them?"
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this and said, "Alright, let's talk about the dishes. Twelve dishes, four cold and eight hot. Four represents peace and stability, and eight represents stability. Put together, it means that we should have a peaceful and stable last meal of the year to welcome the New Year..."
"Alright, Uncle, you can't stump me. Now, have a drink with me..."
Ouyang Zhenshan nodded repeatedly. This time, Zhuang Rui didn't need to urge them to drink. Everyone at the table consciously drank the wine that had just been poured.
"Fifth brother, let's talk about food. What are the rules for chicken, duck, fish and meat?"
Ouyang Jun chimed in, but was immediately interrupted by Ouyang Lei, who said, "Forget about the chicken. It's just for good luck, it doesn't count. Even a child knows that..."
Ouyang Jun wholeheartedly agreed with his boss's words, and then quickly added a few more sentences: "Right, right, the chicken doesn't count, the other three dishes count as three items. If you can't name them, you have to drink six cups of each, that's eighteen cups of wine..."
"You silly boy, if he tells us, won't we have to drink three cups too?"
Ouyang Zhenwu was speechless at his son's cleverness. He couldn't seem to put it to good use. He was only thinking about harming Zhuang Rui and didn't realize that there was a give-and-take involved.
"Haha, Second Uncle, Youngest Uncle, you two should go and teach Fourth Brother a lesson. Let him drink all this wine..."
Upon hearing his uncle's words, Zhuang Rui burst into laughter and continued, "We're not talking about chickens. Lei-ge just said that chickens are for good luck, which is true, so I won't go into that. Let's talk about ducks first. The reason why the Spring Festival is called the Spring Festival is because spring is coming soon. Su Shi wrote in his poem 'Evening Scene on the Spring River by Huichong': 'A few peach blossoms bloom outside the bamboo grove; the ducks are the first to know the warmth of the spring river.' Eating duck during the Spring Festival is about looking forward to the arrival of spring..."
"Alright, one of them has said it. I'll drink this one first..."
Ouyang Jun readily drank the wine in front of him. To celebrate the New Year, everyone wanted to have a good time. Ouyang Zhenshan and the others also raised their glasses.
"As for the fish..."
"Wait a minute, Xiao Rui, everyone knows that fish symbolizes abundance year after year, right? You don't need to tell me that meaning. But you need to explain why there are two fish dishes on the table."
Ouyang Zhenwu stopped Zhuang Rui from speaking. Goodness, a group of people couldn't stump this little guy. Ouyang Zhenwu also felt that he was going to have a hard time. The difficulty of the test questions needed to be increased a bit.
"Alright, let's leave aside the 'May you have abundance every year' thing. Now let's talk about the second fish. This fish isn't eaten on New Year's Eve, but on New Year's Day. It's meant to symbolize not only abundance every year, but also continuous abundance, wishing for an even better year to come!"
Chapter 540 New Year Customs (Part 2)
"Alright, you guys. The questions you come up with are so low-level, let's drink..."
Zhuang Rui explained the intricacies of fish, and starting with Ouyang Zhenshan, everyone drank a cup of wine. This was already the third cup of wine, each weighing more than two ounces, and the atmosphere at the banquet became increasingly lively.
"The meat in this chicken, duck, fish and meat dish is braised pork, which symbolizes prosperity and good fortune, so let's have a prosperous and joyful Chinese New Year!"
Zhuang Rui's words left the others unsure whether to nod or shake their heads. Zhuang Rui was right; let's continue drinking.
"Alright, you guys keep fooling around, we're going to take a break..."
The Ouyang brothers, Zhenshan and Zhenshan, were both close to sixty years old. After several drinks, they were feeling the effects of the alcohol and left the restaurant to talk in the main room.
"You little rascal, you had a good time pouring us drinks, huh? Now drink up..."
After the elders left, Ouyang Jun got excited and pulled Zhuang Rui to drink several glasses of wine in succession.
It must be said that alcohol really is a catalyst for relationships. After a few drinks, the Ouyang brothers loosened up, and the five cousins ended up drinking two more bottles of Moutai before finally concluding their New Year's Eve dinner.
"Uncle, uncle, set off fireworks for me..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui stepped out of the restaurant, he was stopped by Xiao Nannan. She was the youngest among the children. Although she had a lot of firecrackers in her pocket, she didn't dare to set them off. She was so anxious watching others do it. When she saw Zhuang Rui, she quickly clung to her uncle.
"Okay, let's set off firecrackers with our precious princess..."
Seeing the lively scene in the courtyard, Zhuang Rui's childlike spirit was also awakened. It seemed that he hadn't let go of these things for more than 10 years. Memories of running around with a bag of firecrackers during the New Year when he was a child came to mind.
More than 20 years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhuang Rui is about to get married. He was filled with emotion and took Nannan's little hand to play with her in the yard.
Zhuang Rui's action of holding the bean sprout cannon drew gasps from a group of children, reminding him of the time when he was a child and his fingers were blown up like carrots to show off.
After making a fuss in the courtyard for a while, Zhuang Rui went to the front yard. He saw Zhang Ma and the guards. Apart from the different place where they were eating, all the dishes were the same today. There were also televisions in the front yard and the gatehouse. The Spring Festival Gala had just started, and Zhang Ma, Li Sao, and Peng Fei were all watching it together.
Back in the main room of the courtyard, Ouyang Wan beckoned to Zhuang Rui and said, "Don't set off firecrackers at midnight. Your grandfather is a light sleeper, don't wake him up..."
Hey, the old man wasn't having any of it. He glared at me and said, "What's there to be afraid of! Back in the day, I used to fall asleep to the sound of gunfire. What's there to be afraid of? Go ahead and set them off, the louder the better..."
"Okay, I know you're not afraid, Dad, but Mom is..."
Ouyang Wan was both amused and exasperated. This guy was really like a child in his old age. Despite his past as a warrior, he was no different from any other elderly person now.
"Your mother wasn't afraid at all. She was on the front lines carrying a stretcher back then. Otherwise, would I know her?"
The old man seemed to realize he had let something slip and quickly shut his mouth, while Ouyang Jun and the others were secretly laughing. It was a rare treat to hear about the old man's love life.
Around 9 o'clock, the old man started to feel unwell and went back to his room to sleep.
"Fourth Brother, come on, sit over there and help me soothe the baby. Look at those dumplings, you might as well call them steamed buns..."
The family watched TV while making dumplings. These Ouyang brothers might be good at writing papers, playing with guns, walking birds, and composing poetry, but they really couldn't do this job. The dumplings they made were all crooked and messy, and the filling would probably spill out before they even went into the pot.
The wives of those brothers weren't very good at manual labor, but Zhuang Rui's family did the work very efficiently. Zhao Guodong rolled out the dough, while Zhuang Rui, Ouyang Wan, and Zhuang Min wrapped the dumplings. Their movements were very skillful, and the dumplings they made were almost all the same size. Before long, the table was full of dumplings.
Zhuang Rui also put a few pieces of candy inside the dumpling wrappers, which is a traditional custom during the Lunar New Year. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, whoever eats a dumpling with a special filling is said to have good luck for the coming year. Originally, coins were supposed to be placed inside, but there were too many children, so Zhuang Rui could only use candy instead.
New Year's Eve always seems to pass by too quickly. Amidst the laughter and joy brought by the skits and crosstalk performances, the Spring Festival Gala is about to end. A group of children have already hung up firecrackers outside, ready to welcome the New Year with the sound of firecrackers.
These little guys usually stay at home during the Lunar New Year, but today they all went crazy playing. None of them wanted to go to bed. Little Nannan's eyes were almost closed, but she was still following Yaya around like a little shadow.
"We'll set off the firecrackers later. I'm going to check on Grandpa..."
Zhuang Rui gave instructions to Ouyang Lei's son, then went into Ouyang Gang's room. The old man was already fast asleep, so Zhuang Rui quickly used his spiritual energy to cleanse his body. He then did the same thing in his grandmother's room before leaving the room.
The most taboo thing for the elderly is extreme joy or sorrow. Although Zhuang Rui often helps them with their health, they are already past the age limit. Perhaps a pleasant surprise or a sad event could take their lives, so Zhuang Rui has to be careful.
As the clock struck midnight on the television, and the song "Unforgettable Tonight," sung by Li Guyi for twenty years, began to play, the deafening sound of firecrackers outside also rang out.
Not only in Zhuang Rui's courtyard house, but in that instant, it seemed the entire world was filled with the sound of firecrackers. Even those close by could hardly hear each other speaking. This heralded the arrival of the New Year!
The older children took out fireworks and set them off. The fireworks flew high into the night sky and exploded, flashing colorful lights that illuminated the entire night sky. Beijing was a city that never sleeps!
Zhuang Rui was on the phone with his future mother-in-law to wish her a Happy New Year when the call suddenly cut off. He couldn't hear anything coming from the phone. Taking advantage of the fact that he had nothing else to do, Zhuang Rui quickly went back to his room and video-chatted with Qin Xuanbing.
The white lion was startled by the sudden sound of firecrackers. It leaped onto the artificial hill by the pond, roared to the sky, displaying the majesty of a mastiff king, which made a group of children clap their hands.
Around 11 a.m., Ouyang Wan and her nieces-in-law, who had been waiting in the kitchen, put the dumplings they had made while watching TV into the pot of boiling water.
The elderly couple were also woken up by the sound of firecrackers. They got up and ate two dumplings before going back to sleep. Coincidentally, each of them ate a dumpling with sugar in it, which is a sign that they will be in better health in the coming year.
Amidst the congratulations of his children and grandchildren, the old man, as if he had won a battle, went back to his room to sleep. This left his two healthcare doctors quite perplexed; the environment was simply too noisy. If it weren't for the old man's insistence, they would never have come here for the New Year.
We stayed up quite late on New Year's Eve, and on New Year's Day, we all slept in. Luckily, all our relatives stayed together, so we didn't have to go out to visit them.
Zhuang Rui's house was quite large. After getting up, the children played games, while Ouyang Zhenwu and Ouyang Zhenshan went to work, and Ouyang Long even took a plane and left Beijing early in the morning.
Zhuang Rui stayed in the courtyard house on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year. He planned to return to Pengcheng with his brother-in-law on the fifth day and then return to Beijing on the tenth day to prepare for his engagement.
When Zhuang Rui returned to Pengcheng this time, he also wanted to send invitations to some elders, neighbors, and classmates he often visited. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Zhuang Rui had never been naughty in other people's homes since he was a child, and his relationships with them were no different from those with family.
On the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Zhuang Rui, who was feeling a bit bored at home, received a call from Zhao Hanxuan. It turned out that Zhao was unsure of the situation and was calling to ask Zhuang Rui when he would take over the shop. Of course, what he meant was that he was asking when Zhuang Rui would pay him.
Since he had nothing else to do today, Zhuang Rui simply called Ouyang Jun, Zhao Guodong, and Ouyang Lei's son Ouyang Ya, who lived here, and together with his daughter, they went to Panjiayuan to attend the temple fair.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Beijing was filled with a festive atmosphere. Whether they knew each other or not, everyone greeted each other with smiles and said the same two words: "Happy New Year!"
At the Panjiayuan Temple Fair, the crowds were immense. If it weren't for the little girl sitting on Zhuang Rui's shoulders, she probably would have been separated from the crowd long ago.
After wandering around the various stalls for a while, the little girl's hands, mouth, and pockets were already full of food and toys. The little one was holding Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade in her hand and making babbling noises, really treating Zhuang Rui like a big horse to ride.
"Boss Zhuang, Happy New Year! Happy New Year..."
Upon entering the reopened "Shuyazhai," Zhao Hanxuan, dressed in a bright red silk mandarin jacket, immediately bowed. His complexion was much better than a few days ago, presumably because Zhuang Rui's promise had relieved much of his psychological pressure.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Ouyang Jun also cupped his hands in greeting to Zhao Hanxuan, but was kicked from behind by Zhuang Rui. There are rules to this cupping gesture: the left hand should be on top and the right hand on the bottom, forming a fist. This is considered an auspicious gesture, while the opposite is considered an inauspicious gesture. If someone with a sense of propriety had encountered Ouyang Jun's gesture, they would have immediately turned him away.
However, Zhao Hanxuan knew that Ouyang Jun was not in the industry, so he didn't pay any attention to it and invited the group to sit down in the inner room.
"Old Zhao, I've been quite busy lately. Let's sign the transfer agreement. I'll have to rely on you to handle the paperwork..."
After sitting down, Zhuang Rui didn't stand on ceremony and took out two copies of the contract that he had printed at home from his bag, placing them in front of Zhao Hanxuan.